Juicy

In general I prefer my apples made into cider, but, if they insist...

Oh, who would ever have thought the onerous task of going back through the history of this blog*, replacing missing photos and videos, could be such fun?

Especially when I rediscover the "fruity" talents of Mr Mark Bunyan and his paean to the food we all adore...

Mark Bunyan - The Fruit Song

Love it!

[* I've done 2010 and 2011, and am roaring through 2012, from whence this originated.]

Books and fruit

"We were looking for somewhere central but cheap and I found out that Camden Council had some empty shops in Marchmont Street due to the cancellation of the second phase of the Brunswick Centre.  I applied for the lease of one with no response. I discovered, through a gay friend who worked for the council, that the officers were not taking it seriously – my surname, Hole, being the reason for that."

When, a couple of weeks ago, the magnificent institution that is Gay's The Word bookshop in Bloomsbury celebrated its 33rd birthday with a rather excellent historical article by its founder Ernest Hole (published in the splendid online gay journal Polari Magazine), little did I know this would bring a rather unexpected musical discovery.

For among the reminisces, Mr Hole recalled how the shop would be packed to the gunnels every Thursday in the late 70s/early 80s. This crowd was there to hear a remarkable cabaret performer (and obvious influence on the likes of Kit and the Widow and Topping and Butch) - Mr Mark Bunyan, who is still performing his magnificent innuendo-filled ditties today!

My personal favourite (and if you listen, you'll understand why!) - The Fruit Song:

Mark Bunyan - The Fruit Song

... and the fab IKEA Song:

Mark Bunyan - BILLY - The IKEA Song

Magnificent - I hope to catch him live one day!



Gay's The Word is the UK's pioneering first (and is today the last surviving) lesbian and gay bookshop. It is one of the places every self-respecting gayer simply must visit when in London - meanwhile visit their website.

I will be featuring a few more blogs on the theme of gay history during this, LGBT History Month.

You do something to me

Madame Arcati and I went to the swanky Pheasantry in Chelsea last night (well, it is actually a posh Pizza Express, but lovely all the same) to see the venerable actor John Standing in cabaret, with his tribute to one of the world's greatest ever songwriters Cole Porter. It was fabulous!

Here's the review by Charles Spencer in The Telegraph:

It’s not every day that one has the pleasure of seeing a septuagenarian hereditary baronet singing Cole Porter’s greatest hits in a Pizza Express, but that is the delightful, delicious and de-lovely experience on offer in John Standing Swings Cole Porter.

This top toff actor, whose mother was the actress Kay Hammond and whose stepfather was the actor Sir John Clements, has long been one of my favourites, with his mixture of wry old-school English charm and a delicious hint of the louche about him. And after success with an earlier Noël Coward compilation – his mother played Elvira in the premiere production of Blithe Spirit – Standing now turns to the even greater songs of Cole Porter.

With his lined, hangdog face, dashing co-respondent shoes, and wary, weary eyes that have clearly seen a lot over the years, Standing cuts a striking and charismatic figure. Better yet, his lived-in voice and air of casual sophistication are beautifully suited to the mixture of wry wit and aching romanticism of Porter’s American songbook classics. And yes, backed by a terrific pianist (Will Stuart) and a sexy, jazzy female double-bass player (Jo Carter), Standing really does swing.

The songs range from famous hits like I Get a Kick out of You, Anything Goes and Night and Day to the less familiar – I particularly liked You Do Something to Me with its effortlessly brilliant triple rhyme – “Do do that voodoo that you do so well”.

I couldn't have put it better myself...

There are no videos out there yet of Mr Standing's Cole Porter performance, but here are a couple of him doing his much-admired Noel Coward tribute (which we missed when it was on):

[2019 NOTE: ALL GONE FROM YOUTUBE]

And, partly to illustrate the brilliance of the late great Cole Porter, and also to mark the 104th anniversary of the birth of our patron saint Miss Ethel Merman on Monday, here's the great lady's own Porter medley...

Ethel Merman – Cole Porter medley

The Pheasantry

Oh, Rosie!

"She is a generous and rather camp performer, she has fun on stage and her enjoyment is infectious. Imagine a cross between Joyce Grenfell and Barbara Windsor, a soupçon of Jo Brand and an all pink ensemble and the picture is complete."
What’s On In London



I managed to secure - out of the blue! - tickets for something really special yesterday evening.

Miss Rosemary Ashe is a West End trouper of the first order. Her wealth of theatre roles include "Carlotta" in the original London run of Phantom of the Opera, "Madame Thenardier" in Les Misérables, The Witches of Eastwick (which we went to see in 2001), Mary Poppins, Oliver! and the concert version of Sweeney Todd starring Bryn Terfel (which we went to see at the Royal Festival Hall in 2007).

We saw her most recently as "Lottie O'Grady" in the brilliant revival of JB Priestley's When We Are Married at the Garrick in January this year. [Read my blog about that show.]

Never having been to any Pizza Express cabarets before (their restaurant in Soho and the sadly now closed Pizza on the Park have hosted some fab - mainly jazz - artistes over the years), Russ, Joe, Paul and I weren't sure what to expect from the posh and historic Pheasantry (a venue in that erstwhile chain) in ever-so-swanky Chelsea. Do you have to eat? Is there a dress code? But as it turned out, it was fabulous (in a luxury cruise ship sort of way)...

And so was Miss Ashe!

Appearing as a guest in "The Sondheim Society presents" series, her repertoire needless to say included some of the great man's works, including house fave I Never Do Anything Twice, excerpts from Sweeney and other songs from the Sondheim catalogue - as well as the irreverent I'm Getting Sick of Sondheim. But Miss Ashe is more than just a Sondheimite - a comedienne as well as a trained opera singer, we were treated to fabulous arias (with a twist), jokes ("Did you know that Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice are getting together to write a new musical based on the life of Victoria Beckham? It's called Superstar? Jesus Christ!"),
Forbidden Broadway piss-takes, and a variety of beautifully rendered show-tunes (from productions as diverse as The Boy Friend, Candide, Gypsy, West Side Story and of course Witches of Eastwick) and lesser-known cabaret numbers including her own Killer Soprano.



The lady is a consummate professional, and has appeared at venues from West End to Broadway, Melbourne to Manchester, and two seasons on gay cruises ("What do you have if there are twenty gay men in a room? A musical. What do you have if there are twenty gay men and five lesbians in a room? A musical, with excellent stage production!"). she kept us enthralled and delighted for the whole of her excellent two-hour set - and Russ enjoyed it as his birthday celebration too! [As did the fabulosa Ann Reid, who was also in the audience.]

A brilliant evening's entertainment from a lovely lady in a lovely venue...

Here's Rosie appearing on one of those very cruises:

Rosie Ashe Cruise Reel

An interview with Rosie Ashe