Stormy?

[click to embiggen]

I spent another long day yesterday at John-John's, catching up with all the "Marvel geek" stuff I hadn't seen - the whole X-Men: 97 animated series and not one, but two of the original (20th Century Fox) X-Men films [which are not a patch on the cartoon, and quite half-arsed in comparison to anything Marvel's own studio has produced].

Deadpool didn't get a look in this time around, but I found the above spoof versions of the sort of advert that used to be in the comics I had when I was young, which are too good not to share, dear reader!

I got home (via Uber cab) in the wee small hours, just in time for the most tremendous thunderstorm!

Coincidence? Maybe.

Although all that's blown over, and today's weather's not that bad, I still think this old fave is appropriate...

...a track I previously described as "a battle-royal between Miss Viola Wills and Miss Lena Horne":

Viola Wills - Stormy Weather (Disco Video Mix by Glenn Rivera)

Faboo!

Great Scott!

Another day, another centenary - and another "Diva discovery"!

Miss Hazel Scott (for it is she) was a remarkable pioneer, it seems - a child prodigy at the piano, she was accepted into the Juilliard School of Music at the age of just eight; in her teens she played with the Count Basie Orchestra; by the 1940s she was earning more than $1 million [in today's money] a year and starring in otherwise all-white Hollywood musicals; and in 1950 she became the first black American to host her own TV show. Phew!

So why is she so forgotten? A lifelong civil rights campaigner (she refused to play segregated venues, and battled Hollywood over its portrayal of black people), unfortunately she became embroiled in the "McCarthy Witch-hunts" - which effectively destroyed her career, as it did to several prominent stars - and managed to get away from the flak by moving to France; only returning to the USA once the Civil Rights Act was enacted in the late '60s. She never recovered the prominence she had in her younger days, appearing in cabaret venues and occasionally on daytime TV.

Despite her importance, given current events, I can find absolutely no news coverage nor any mention of this momentous milestone out there on the interwebs. Which is a pity. Perhaps the BLM movement is too busy trying to pull down statues than to take a moment to commemorate [and maybe campaign for a statue to her?] the achievements of such an important woman in the history of the race equality struggle...

For our little celebration of a great lady, here's one of her remarkable screen performances:

Hazel Scott and Lena Horne - Jericho

Hazel Dorothy Scott (11th June 1920 – 2nd October 1981)

Gloom and misery everywhere

Malign, that's what this weather is. We had one sunny-ish day on Saturday, then yesterday and today the miserable drizzling rain returned. Just in time to go back to the office, as if that weren't depressing enough already. Will we ever get a proper Springtime?

Hey ho, on this Tacky Music Monday, I have the perfect pick-me-up - a battle-royal between Miss Viola Wills and Miss Lena Horne!

Viola Wills - Stormy Weather (Disco Video Mix by Glenn Rivera)

Oh, that's better...

...and could have been equally at home on a Thank Disco It's Friday...

A new kind of swing

Phew, it's a scorcher... Summer is here with a vengeance it seems, and I am taking full advantage of the glorious weather in the extensive gardens here at Dolores Delargo Towers [I'm off an extra day - mainly to recover from the excesses of Saturday's Gay Pride.]

To celebrate the sunshine on this Tacky Music Monday, what better than tomorrow's birthday girl Miss Lena Horne with something a bit Brazilian?

Lena Horne - Brazilian Boogie

Have a good week, folks!

Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (30th June 1917 – 9th May 2010)

Summer Horne

We are off to the Southbank tonight for a fabulous pre-birthday treat (it's my birthday tomorrow) - as part of Antony Hegarty's Meltdown Festival, Marc Almond has re-formed The Mambas for one night only, to play in full the critically-acclaimed 1983 album Torment and Toreros!

I can't wait...

Meanwhile, the sun is out and all looks good for a summery weekend - and for no better reason that that, let us indulge in a little bit of magic from Miss Lena Horne:

Lena Horne - Make Me Rainbows

Enjoy!

Meltdown Festival

It's Gay Icons Day

No internet at Dolores Delargo Towers again - and we are preparing to do battle with Virgin Media once more... Meanwhile, as there are a few anniversaries to mark today, let's have a little compilation of those femmes fatales beloved of we gentlemen who have "a touch of lavender" - all part of this week's countdown to Gay Pride on Saturday!

Opening this selection is Miss Lena Horne, whose 94th birthday it would have been today, with a little twist on a classic - it's the Boy from Ipanema (for a change):

Lena Horne - The Boy From Ipanema

68 years ago, the late Miss Florence Ballard was born. I am not sure, but I don't think she is actually singing about popcorn on this early Supremes number... Naughty naughty!

The Supremes - Buttered Popcorn

How about a little sin? Yes please! And who better to give it to us but the lovely Susan Hayward, who was born on this day 93 years ago?

Susan Hayward - Sing You Sinners

But of course all these ladies are merely an entrée to the real commemoration today. For 42 years ago, that doyenne of gay adoration Miss Judy Garland's star finally fizzled out. The link between this sad event and the subsequent Stonewall Riots is tenuous, to say the least, but suffice to say she remains adored here at Dolores Delargo Towers and still sits at the top of that mystical pantheon of gay icons.

Here is the great lady singing her rarely heard version of a very apt anthem for this weekend's (anticipated) million-strong Pride Parade...

Judy Garland - You'll Never Walk Alone

As the countdown clock ticks on, the campness level cranks ever upwards - enjoy!

Every honey bee fills with jealousy

Sad news today of the death (at the ripe old age of 92) of that magnificent vocalist, civil rights campaigner, and all-round entertainer Miss Lena Horne.

An eternal favourite here at Dolores Delargo Towers, Miss Horne defied the racial embargo in America in the 1950s and 60s with roles in Hollywood movies, and went on to become an international superstar, selling out concert venues across the globe and making numerous stage and TV appearances both in the US and here in the UK, where her music proved even more successful than it was back home.

Here are a couple of our personal favourites by Miss Horne. We will miss her luscious voice and shining glamour - RIP.

Lena Horne - Love Me or Leave Me/The Eagle & Me

Lena Horne - Honeysuckle Rose

Lena Horne obituary in The Times