it's an open smile on a friendly shore

Yep. It's here again. Another joyful week in work beckons...

News on the weekend of the departure of Mr Jack Jones - a singer so laid-back and middle-of-the-road he made Andy Williams seem like Lemmy from Motorhead by comparison - for the Tiki Lounge in Fabulon has given me a chance to play one of his more famous numbers.

It's not the godawful misogynistic Wives and Lovers. On this Tacky Music Monday, it could only be this!

Jack Jones - The Love Boat

Have a good week, dear reader...

Who's "The Greatest Star"?

Bugger!

Another weekend is over in the blink of an eye...

As we vainly attempt to wake ourselves up enough to haul the bloody laptop out of the cupboard once again, there's a glimmer of joy on the horizon. Tomorrow would have been the 90th birthday of the magnificent Miss Della Reese [see more here, here and here] and so, on this Tacky Music Monday...

...what better excuse do I need to revisit probably my favourite (and probably the campest) clip from an American TV show, EVER?!

Ethel Merman, Carol Channing, Ann Miller, Della Reese - Love Boat Follies

Have a good week, dear reader.

Come Aboard. We're expecting you.

News of the death of Henry Colman at the age of 89 is sad. However, he deserves to be remembered by showbiz-loving queens everywhere.

Why? The man was (among his many other classic US shows such as I Love Lucy, Hawaii Five-O and The Beverly Hillbillies) the producer of one of the kitschiest television shows of all time, The Love Boat, of course.

Another excuse to play one of my favourite clips in the history of camp, ever!

Ethel Merman, Carol Channing, Ann Miller, Della Reese - Love Boat Follies

Miss Merman, Miss Channing, Miss Miller and Miss Reese in full battledress is simply perfect (and a scenario that could never be matched nowadays, or at any time)!

He also began an archive of American Television, which you can visit here.

RIP

Look my eyes are dry

And so, farewell then Ernest Borgnine.

Always the watchword for "ugly bloke done good", Mr B was in loads of films over the years, mainly playing the "tough guy". Unsurprisingly he was also remarkably homophobic, speaking out against the award-winning gay movie Brokeback Mountain in 2005.

So why would I feature him? For one reason only - he married our "patron saint" here at Dolores Delargo Towers Miss Ethel Merman in 1964. It lasted 32 whole days.

In a marvellously bitchy and camp gesture, Miss Merman devoted a whole chapter of her memoir to the marriage - it consisted of one blank page!

"Christmas carols always brought tears to my eyes. I also cry at weddings. I should have cried at a couple of my own," she later said.

Miss Merman never married again...

Any excuse, really, to feature the original divine Miss M, here with a most appropriate number (from The Love Boat, of course - well, it is Tacky Music Monday after all!):

Ethel Merman - What I Did For Love (A Chorus Line)

Ethel Merman: a brief biography

Queen of Tap

In memory of Miss Ann Miller, who died eight years ago today, I have created her a brand new "exhibit" in the Dolores Delargo Towers - Museum of Camp.

Over here I feel like sharing some more of my favourite performances of hers...

Ann Miller - Shakin' the Blues Away (Easter Parade)

A magnificent 1989 performance of 42nd Street:

Ann Miller - 42nd Street

Her last stage appearance, aged 75, in Follies (1998):

Ann Miller - I'm Still Here

And finally - I really can't believe I have never featured this, possibly my favourite piece of kitsch TV EVER, the "Love Boat Follies" (in which she does diva battle with Ethel Merman, Della Reese and Carol Channing!)...

Love Boat Follies

Magnificently camp!

RIP, Miss Miller.

"Come on with the rain, I've a smile on my face"

Our birthday picnic yesterday was the most magnificent fun!

Loads of food, loads of booze, loads of friends - then came the rain. It didn't stop the party, of course - we're British! - as we decamped into the hedge, and carried on... The band were excellent, we danced in the douwnpour, got very drunk indeed, did a conga line and had a sing-song.



And there was a romantic twist, too, as Baby Steve proposed to Houseboy Alex (now that he's passed 30, we're going to have to refer to him as "The Butler" from now on!), on bended knee, in swamplike conditions. Awwww - now we have to buy more hats!

Anyway, it is Tacky Music Monday, and our friend Lionel has furnished us with a most appropriate choon - whoever thought it was a good idea to do a dance remix of the theme from The Love Boat?

Theme from The Love Boat (remix)

Enjoy the rest of the week, and avoid the riots!

A tiger is a tiger not a lamb

Apparently on TV tonight was a programme where John Barrowman agreed to subject himself to all sorts of humiliating "investigations" in an attempt to find out if there is a reason why he is gay. I refused to watch it.

I do, however, have some thoughts on the matter - what makes me who I am..?

101 Must See Movies for Gay Men

Liza Minnelli - Mein Herr

Alison Jiear - I Just Wanna Fucking Dance

Ethel Merman, Carol Channing, Ann Miller, Della Reese - Love Boat Follies

Donna Summer - I Feel Love

Read about the BBC programme "The Making Of Me"