To make up for the lack of tacky music yesterday (unless you count Dotty Squires massacring Ivor Novello's song), here's a delightfully tasteful contribution to the countdown to Saturday's Gay Pride...
Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Monday, 29 June 2009
A Welsh gay icon who isn't Shirley Bassey
That iconic Welsh superstar of stage, screen and music Ivor Novello is finally recognised with the unveiling of a statue to him in his native Cardiff.
He has a blue plaque already (on the house of his birth, not far from where I used to live, in Canton and across the road from the long-demolished cottage where (allegedly) a Bishop of Llandaff was once caught in flagrante delicto).
But now the gay genius (who died in 1951) finally has a statue smack-bang in the middle of Cardiff Bay - an area which in his day was notoriously known as "Tiger Bay", the haunt of whores of all sexes. Given his reputation for seduction and sexual proclivity (this is the man who supposedly bedded dozens of famous actors, members of the nobility and politicians - including Winston Churchill), I suppose that's quite fitting really...
Read the whole article on the BBC
Some other Welsh artistes have also done tributes to their fellow countryman by singing some of his classic compositions...
Dorothy Squires - We'll Gather Lilacs [skip to 4:10]
Sunday, 28 June 2009
Forty years on, and..?
The Stonewall riots are widely described as a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn, in the Greenwich Village neighbourhood of New York City.
They are frequently cited as the first instance in American history when gays and lesbians fought back against a government-sponsored system that persecuted homosexuals, and they have become the defining event that marked the start of the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.
Yet, as Haydon Bridge, writing in this week's issue of QX magazine, says:
Many and varied are the "myths" that surround the events at Stonewall. If everyone who claims to have been there actually was there, the tiny bar and its surrounding streets would have had a crowd the size of an audience at one of Tina Turner's concerts.
As for the link between the news of the death of icon Judy Garland and the heightened emotions of distraught queens being their reasons for rioting, not a single eye-witness recalls Garland's name being discussed. In fact gay activist and pioneer Bob Kohler said:
Trannies certainly were prominent in the struggle, as witnesses confirm:
But what was the legacy of the riots? A united front? A world gay rights movement? Although it was probably as a direct consequence of those events that forty years ago queer activist organisations such as the Gay Liberation Front and in the UK the Campaign for Homosexual Equality were founded (and it is certainly the reason why Pride marches are held at this time of year), not everyone in the gay community considered the revolt a positive development.
To many older gays and many members of the Mattachine Society [an organisation that worked throughout the 1960s in the US to promote homosexuals as no different from heterosexuals; its equivalent here in the UK was the Homosexual Law Reform Society] the display of violence and effeminate behaviour was embarrassing. An early gay rights pioneer Randy Wicker even went as far as to say that the
In truth, there has always been a divide in opinion between lobbyists such as the UK's Stonewall group (yes, it was named after the riot) and those such as Peter Tatchell, who says in an article in yesterday's Times:
Public mass events like the Gay Pride parade must still be seen as a political statement, not just a fluffy carnival. I may be wearing feathers, fouf and faff next Saturday, but I am there every year (along with thousands of other gay people) in order to make certain that the media and the public realise:
"We're here, we're queer - get used to it!!".
They are frequently cited as the first instance in American history when gays and lesbians fought back against a government-sponsored system that persecuted homosexuals, and they have become the defining event that marked the start of the gay rights movement in the United States and around the world.
Yet, as Haydon Bridge, writing in this week's issue of QX magazine, says:
"When it comes down to it, we know little for certain about one of the most significant events in gay history. Why was The Stonewall Inn raided? Who was there that first night? Who started the riot? Who did what to whom? Opinions differ. We’ll never be sure exactly what happened in Greenwich Village in the summer of 1969 because only one newspaper thought that the whole event was worth recording. That’s not surprising because it was no big deal. New York gay bars were raided all the time. This was also the decade of riots, much bigger ones than the “melée” around The Stonewall Inn. Not only were there no TV crews covering the event, there were hardly any photographers. The news took months to reach the rest of the U.S."And in the UK, it hardly made an impression at all - coming as it did at a time when decriminalisation of homosexuality had just been achieved here by genteel political means.
Many and varied are the "myths" that surround the events at Stonewall. If everyone who claims to have been there actually was there, the tiny bar and its surrounding streets would have had a crowd the size of an audience at one of Tina Turner's concerts.
As for the link between the news of the death of icon Judy Garland and the heightened emotions of distraught queens being their reasons for rioting, not a single eye-witness recalls Garland's name being discussed. In fact gay activist and pioneer Bob Kohler said:
"When people talk about Judy Garland's death having anything much to do with the riot, that makes me crazy. The street kids faced death every day. They had nothing to lose. And they couldn't have cared less about Judy. We're talking about kids who were fourteen, fifteen, sixteen. Judy Garland was the middle-aged darling of the middle-class gays. I get upset about this because it trivializes the whole thing."In his foreword to Philip Core's brilliant book Camp - The Lie That Tells The Truth (one of my favourite books of all time - available on Amazon), George Melly says:
"It should not be forgotten, particularly by the macho-clones with their short hair and big boots, that when, in Greenwich Village, for the first time and without precedent, a group of effeminate little queens refused to accept the police's casual invasion of one of their bars, they repelled them, not with knuckle-dusters or karate blows but with hand-bags!"A wonderful piece written in defence of "camp" against the bigotry of certain types of "straight-acting" queers and assimilationists maybe, but even Gorgeous George was working on second-hand anecdotal evidence. For even now no-one is really certain whether it was in fact the "effeminate little queens", or even the drag queens, who fought back first - or was it the dykes?
Trannies certainly were prominent in the struggle, as witnesses confirm:
"An officer shoved a transvestite, who responded by hitting him on the head with her purse as the crowd began to boo", "Fights erupted with the transvestites, who wouldn't go into the patrol wagon", and "All I could see about who was fighting was that it was transvestites and they were fighting furiously".
But what was the legacy of the riots? A united front? A world gay rights movement? Although it was probably as a direct consequence of those events that forty years ago queer activist organisations such as the Gay Liberation Front and in the UK the Campaign for Homosexual Equality were founded (and it is certainly the reason why Pride marches are held at this time of year), not everyone in the gay community considered the revolt a positive development.
To many older gays and many members of the Mattachine Society [an organisation that worked throughout the 1960s in the US to promote homosexuals as no different from heterosexuals; its equivalent here in the UK was the Homosexual Law Reform Society] the display of violence and effeminate behaviour was embarrassing. An early gay rights pioneer Randy Wicker even went as far as to say that the
"screaming queens forming chorus lines and kicking went against everything that I wanted people to think about homosexuals ... that we were a bunch of drag queens in the Village acting disorderly and tacky and cheap."And gay and lesbian rights activist Jean O'Leary certainly made her feelings clear subsequently, deriding transvestites and drag queens for mocking women as entertainment - to the point that transgender activist Sylvia Rivera and "freedom fighter for men who dress as women" Lee Brewster felt prompted to storm Ms O'Leary's stage shouting "You go to bars because of what drag queens did for you, and these bitches tell us to quit being ourselves!"
In truth, there has always been a divide in opinion between lobbyists such as the UK's Stonewall group (yes, it was named after the riot) and those such as Peter Tatchell, who says in an article in yesterday's Times:
"We had a beautiful dream, but it is fading fast. In the 40 years since Stonewall, there has been a massive retreat from the ideals and vision of the early gay liberation pioneers. Most gay people no longer question the values, laws and institutions of mainstream society. They are content to settle for equal rights within the status quo. Conservatism and respectability have taken over the gay movement. In the late 1960s, we saw the family as a patriarchal prison that enslaves women, gays and children. Four decades later, the focus of most gay campaigners is on safe, cuddly issues like civil partnerships and adoption. Gay people are increasingly reluctant to rock the boat and more than happy to embrace traditional heterosexual aspirations."There are still many, many battles to be fought for the rights of gay people (in the West as well as in more repressive regimes across the world), and there are still many people whose attitudes need to be changed - both straight and gay!
Public mass events like the Gay Pride parade must still be seen as a political statement, not just a fluffy carnival. I may be wearing feathers, fouf and faff next Saturday, but I am there every year (along with thousands of other gay people) in order to make certain that the media and the public realise:
"We're here, we're queer - get used to it!!".
Saturday, 27 June 2009
Gay icon overload!
What can I say about a show that features not one but two international gay icons sharing a stage? We went to see Barbra Streisand and Liza Minnelli appearing together last night - of course, not the ladies themselves but the masterful and award-winning Steven Brinberg (Barbra) and Rick Skye (Liza).
It was a fantastic show! After opening with a typical Broadway duet between the two divas, Mr Brinberg took centre stage, and with an uncanny eye for detail (with all the careful hair flicking, stuttering and pomposity for which Miss Streisand is famous) led us through a beautifully sung, hilarious and OTT session of the grand dame's hits and repartee.
At one stage he morphed from Babs into Cher, Eartha, Bette Davis, Lena Horne and even Susan Boyle(!) and back again, and concluded the glittering set with the duet You Don't Bring Me Flowers, singing both the Streisand and Neil Diamond parts simultaneously. Superb.
After the break, it was the turn of the magnificent Mr Skye as Liza - appearing from the wings into the glittering spotlight (much to the joy of our friend David, when he/she ruffled his hair!).
Attacking the role with amazing energy, Rick takes uproarious twists on a whole raft of Liza's classic songs, some of which we had seen in his previous show A Slice o'Minnelli - including My Roller Chair and his very funny version of Aznavour's mawkish Quiet Love, complete with cod sign language - and some we had not, including a tribute to Betty Ford.
Not only a great singer, Mr Skye also take the micky out of Liza's endless anecdotes about her "Mama" and "Papa" and her "best friends", and can't resist several sideswipes at Lorna Luft (and her show "Songs My Mother Taught My More Talented Sister While I Was Sat In The Kitchen").
Ending all too soon (apparently there are two shows on at the Leicester Square Theatre in one night) with another duet - in which Rick/Liza managed to drown out Steven/Barbra alarmingly - this was nevertheless a superb night, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world!
It was a fantastic show! After opening with a typical Broadway duet between the two divas, Mr Brinberg took centre stage, and with an uncanny eye for detail (with all the careful hair flicking, stuttering and pomposity for which Miss Streisand is famous) led us through a beautifully sung, hilarious and OTT session of the grand dame's hits and repartee.
At one stage he morphed from Babs into Cher, Eartha, Bette Davis, Lena Horne and even Susan Boyle(!) and back again, and concluded the glittering set with the duet You Don't Bring Me Flowers, singing both the Streisand and Neil Diamond parts simultaneously. Superb.
After the break, it was the turn of the magnificent Mr Skye as Liza - appearing from the wings into the glittering spotlight (much to the joy of our friend David, when he/she ruffled his hair!).
Attacking the role with amazing energy, Rick takes uproarious twists on a whole raft of Liza's classic songs, some of which we had seen in his previous show A Slice o'Minnelli - including My Roller Chair and his very funny version of Aznavour's mawkish Quiet Love, complete with cod sign language - and some we had not, including a tribute to Betty Ford.
Not only a great singer, Mr Skye also take the micky out of Liza's endless anecdotes about her "Mama" and "Papa" and her "best friends", and can't resist several sideswipes at Lorna Luft (and her show "Songs My Mother Taught My More Talented Sister While I Was Sat In The Kitchen").
Ending all too soon (apparently there are two shows on at the Leicester Square Theatre in one night) with another duet - in which Rick/Liza managed to drown out Steven/Barbra alarmingly - this was nevertheless a superb night, and I wouldn't have missed it for the world!
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Pride, striptease and Jesus's skid-mark
Despite the warm weather that evidently keeps even the stalwart literary queens away from events in downstairs bars mid-week, a reasonably healthy crowd eventually turned up for Paul Burston's Polari "Love & Pride Night" last night, making for yet another excellent evening's entertainment.
True to the theme, I dug out my historic collection of Gay Pride badges dating back to 1991 to celebrate the occasion.
Once the music and the cocktails flowed sufficiently, it was time for the readers to take the stage. First up, VG (Val) Lee read another hilarious story from her anthology As You Step Outside, this time about the dressing of her mother's body for the funeral, and the strange mix of emotions this brings out. I love her writing (having heard her first at Polari "Stalkers' Night" back in January), and this tale was enough to persuade me to buy the book - get your copy from Amazon today!
Val, Maureen and friend
Maureen Duffy, explaining that publishers prefer authors to read from their latest works (and fighting the microphone that has a mind of its own), took us through a piece from hers - The Orpheus Trail - a revelation by an eminent archaeologist that his forbidden feelings for a young Arab boy had discredited his career, yet provided him with something worthwhile (and entirely innocent) in the process - a feeling of love. Check out Maureen's website for more...
After a break, it was the turn of the boys. Anthony McDonald read from his new sequel to his bestseller Adam, titled Blue Sky Adam, and chose a charming extract about the awkward meeting again of two teenage lovers after a period of time; their circumstances may have changed but their feelings for each other evidently have not. Read an extract on Amazon.
Paul followed, with a hilarious excerpt from his early work Shameless evoked a fabulous (and ever-so-slightly familiar) scenario, as early 90s queens, popping pills and dancing in a tent at Gay Pride, confuse the real meaning of "pride" with the party and the music - the drugs may have changed, but the shallowness of queens today has not!
Michael Arditti (losing the battle with the dodgy microphone) read acapella (with his marvellous vocal projection) a fascinating extract from his latest The Enemy Of The Good, a complex story about the trials and tribulations of a very mixed-up family and their clash with faith, sex, death and relationships - and in this piece the desire of an HIV-positive man to conceive a baby with his dead brother's widow, and the tragic realisation that he cannot do this, even for love. The Enemy of The Good on Amazon
But before our top billing reader Dan Mathews (activist and vice chairman of anti-fur campaigners PETA) took to the stage, it was time for a special treat as our host (and stripper for the evening) made his own very special commitment to the cause:
Dan, an imposing figure, took us through parts of his memoir about campaigning and the trouble it can get you into. Not only did he harbour a long-standing notion that in order to back up PETA's claim that Jesus was indeed a vegetarian someone should ask to test the "skiddy" on the Turin Shroud (!!), but surprisingly (unsurprisingly, some might say, given the previous anecdote) he was once committed to a mental asylum in France for his views.
He obviously survived the experience, and was thankfully here to tell the tale. Committed: A Rabble-rouser's Memoir is available on Amazon.
Despite not exactly being surrounded by the coterie of megastars we had hoped for (Tasty Tim is no substitute for the rumoured Chrissie Hynde or Kate Moss in my book!!), Dan is a charming man, circulating the room afterwards and talking to everyone, including Christopher Bryant of Polari Magazine, who was thrilled to arrange an interview for a future issue of the mag. I finished off having a couple of drinkies afterwards with Mr Bryant - a lovely chap - and in all, had a superb evening!
Roll on Polari "Porn Night" on 15th July!!
Polari
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Rejoice in the gay way
As tonight's Polari theme is "Love & Pride Night", I just had to share this little understated video with the world - and henceforth the official countdown to Pride 2009 on July 4th begins...
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
A legend
Forty years ago yesterday, the legend that was Judy Garland died in a hotel in London. Say no more.
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