NEWS ROUNDUP WHY 2013 WAS A HISTORIC GAY YEAR
SAM CALLAHAN HE’S GOT THE
SEX FACTOR!
SOBER! The gay men who party without booze
What should Tom Daley do next?* *A Gay Times cover, obviously
THE MONSTER AND ME A MALE RAPE VICTIM SPEAKS OUT
Theyou n me uldn’t sho ate! d HE’S BEHIND YOU! Panto fun with Gok Wan ROCK ROYALTY Rufus Wainwright THE GAY BEATLE Brian Epstein
30
OF RS S YEAYTIME GA
JANUARY 2014 THE ORIGINAL GAY MAGAZINE
happy new year
[01/14]
Editor DARREN SCOTT Assistant Editor LEE DALLOWAY Editorial Assistant RYAN BUTCHER Design & Art Direction MARK KING Style and Grooming Editor LLOYD-SCOTT TYLER Columnists BENJAMIN COHEN, THE GUYLINER, EDD KIMBER, PARIS LEES, ALAN ROSENTHAL, PAUL THORN, MICHELLE VISAGE, MIKEY WALSH Contributors JOHN MARRS, MATT PEAKE, LUKE SMITH, TIM MITCHELL, MIKE HIRD, MILO WAKELIN, BENJAMIN BUTTERWORTH, BOB HENDERSON, TOM JONES, JOE MCCORMICK, LIAM LESLIE, DARCY RIVE, EDWARD DYSON, PAUL TIERNEY, ROBERT GERSHINSON, GREG BAILEY, DARCY RIVE, NICHOLAS CHARLES, CALUM COCHRANE, JACK REAR, NATHAN GENESE, TOMMY HIBBITTS GT Dog TOBY THE PUG
Thanks to SARA LEE and BEN DUNCAN (Hackford Jones), NIGEL STONEMAN (Simon and Schuster), FRED MELLOR (MBC), DAN DEACON (Deacon Communications), CHRISTINE BATEMAN (Purple Carrot Communications), GREG BAILEY (Greg Bailey Photography), BEN WOOLDRIDGE (Birmingham Hippodrome), RUTH MOLONEY (Amanda Malpass PR), DANIEL PURSEY, EMMA BERGE and SHARON MCHENDRY (Mobius Industries), PETER LEONE (Arthur Leone PR), MATT HORWOOD (Visit Manchester) Production & Distribution Manager ALEXANDER SMITH Marketing & Advertising Designer LUKE BENJAMIN IT & Digital Management FERNANDO SAFONT Magazine Marketing Executive LLOYD PHILLIPS Management Accountant ARNAUD SEGUIN GT Advertising Sales KEITH MCDONNELL 020 7424 7406
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[46] [74]
© 2014 GAY TIMES All rights reserved ISSN: 0950-6101 The mention or appearance or likeness of any person or organisation in articles or advertising in GAY TIMES is not to be taken as any indication of the sexual, VRFLDO RU SROLWLFDO RULHQWDWLRQ RI VXFK SHUVRQV RU RUJDQLVDWLRQV ´$QG WKDW·V RXU politics.” No responsibility can be assumed for any unsolicited materials, and submission is construed as permission to publish without further correspondence and the fee payable (if any) at our usual rates. Advertisers are advised that all copy is their sole responsibility under the Trades Protections Act and must comply with the British Code of Advertising Practice. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publishers.
4
[58] gaytimes.co.uk
[contents] [82]
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
[64] first
features
06 Fitty at the Front 10 Denise Van Outen 14 Mikey Walsh 16 TV preview 18+H·VEHKLQG\RX 22 Jinkx Monsoon 23 Michelle Visage 266ZHHWLHGDUOLQJ"
46 Sam Callahan 58 Rufus Wainwright 64 Ballet Boys
news 28 2013 News Review 33 Benjamin Cohen 34 30 Things 36 Heroes 40 News Analysis 42 News Debate 44 Paris Lees
[26]
style 70 Grooming 72 Orange – The new black 74 Get formal 76 Home style
entertainment 80 Music 82 Bleona 90 Screen 94 Tech
real life 975HDGHUV/LYHV 987KH0RQVWHUDQG0H 102 Relationships 106 Sober 110 Alan Rosenthal 111(GG.LPEHU 112 Fitness 115 HIV
Happy New Year! Well, at least that’s what most people will be proclaiming. And look! Look to the left! Even we’re at it, in our new format for our 30th anniversary. But it’s not really a happy New Year, is it? Well, not for the people of India and Australia perhaps. As we went to press we heard that equal rights laws in both countries had been revoked. Horrible, horrible news. The black cloud that is the Winter Olympics in Russia rumbles ever closer, with a ray of sunshine trying to break through from the UK – yes, the long-awaited same-sex marriages come into effect (well, for England and Wales at least) from 29 March 2014. So while it’s not all doom and gloom, there’s still more that needs to be done, more that people need to know. With that in mind, and with 2014 being our anniversary year, we’ve upped our news agenda somewhat. Not just a homage to the publication we were before the internet changed everything (and indeed the magazine we originally began as, HIM, in 1974 – technically making us 40 and the longest-running gay magazine in print), but because the time is obviously right. I hope you enjoy the slight changes we’ve made. New year, new GT. Thin ankles, sweetie. But don’t worry about the eye candy that you love so much – it’s not going anywhere, as our special print subscriber covers show. Oh and next issue! Next issue... Q Darren Scott @darren_scott
travel 119 Letter from... 120,FHODQG 124 Manchester
SUE T IS NEX SALE
ON NUARY A 22 J
GT428 JAN 2014 Cover photograph by Joe McCormick Grooming by Evan Huang
gaytimes.co.uk
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[first]
Lofty ambitions If there’s one thing we like more than tasteful nudity, it’s limited edition tasteful nudity – which means we have to own one of only 100 specially produced books by Dylan Rosser. Loft is so exclusive that it will never be reprinted and only a mere handful of the incredible images housed within will be shown elsewhere. Like this one here, especially for you faithful reader. Q Loft is £250, dylanrosser.com gaytimes.co.uk
7
[first]
quiche
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SHE’S BACK! …and she’s totally quiche. Our favourite Chris Lilley character EVER gets her own series on BBC Three this year, Ja’mie: Private School Girl. As ever, Lilley’s gone completely over the top and we can’t get enough. We, like, totally want to be a member of The Prefects at Hilford. We’re totally quiche too. Q -D·PLH 3ULYDWH6FKRRO*LUOLVRQ%%& 7KUHHWKLVVSULQJ
Sam Smith is never off the stereo here at GT Towers. And now he’s scooped the prestigious Critic’s Choice Brit Award, previously won by the likes of Adele and Jessie J. Big shoes to fill, but Mr Smith can more than vocally hold his own next to those two power-voiced divas. After topping the chart with Naughty Boy on the infectious La La La, we don’t reckon there’s any danger of him hitting a bum note. Q 8
gaytimes.co.uk
inside Outen
[first]
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,·PVWLOOVWXSLGDQG\RXQJ,W·VUHDOO\ weird that my best friend, who I use
to go out partying with, sort of stays
in now and I go out with her daughter >ODXJKV@,GRQ·WJRRXWWKDWRIWHQ DQ\PRUH²,FDQ·W,·PDPXP%XW, WRRNP\PDWH·VGDXJKWHUWR,EL]DWKLV year and I stayed up with the kids. 7KHSOD\FRYHUVWKH VDQGWKDW·V when you entered the spotlight.
You were quite young, was it a lot
of pressure? ,·PUHDOO\JODG,VWDUWHG in television in the 90s because
there was less pressure. I would
hate to be young now and going out LQWKHSXEOLFH\H
RQ%LJ%UHDNIDVW,SUREDEO\ZRXOG have lost my job, the things we were getting up to [laughs]. I was talking
ZLWK-XOLDQ&ODU\DERXWWKLV¶FRVZH did a show called Prickly Heat in
Majorca together, and we were going out and getting drunk, being stupid.
We LOVE Denise Van Outen! So when we heard that she’s about to embark on a UK tour with her new one-woman show, Some Girl I Used To Know, we had to pin her down (oo-er) for a chinwag WORDS LEE DALLOWAY IMAGE DAVID VENI
Where did the idea for Some Girl come from? Well, I remember watching Shirley Valentine as a kid ²WKHUHKDGQ·WEHHQDQ\WKLQJOLNHLW DSDUWIURP$OÀHZKHUHDFWRUVVSHDN to the camera and the audience becomes a friend. I liked the style of it. I liked how it reached out to a female audience and the message behind it. At that time there were a lot of women in marriages they ZHUHQ·WKDSS\LQ WKHGRZQWURGGHQ ZRPHQ,UHPHPEHUP\PXP·V IULHQGVEHLQJOLNH´,·PJRQQDJR to Greece and have an affair with 10
some waiter.” Then I did Tell Me on a 6XQGD\ZKLFKZDVDZRPDQÀQGLQJ herself in her mid-twenties, going through heartbreak and coming out the other side. The feedback was similar and there were women at the time who were, like I was, really moved by that. I liked that and WULHGWRÀQGDQRWKHUUROHWKDWZRXOG replicate that feeling and power. I kinda just felt someone needed to voice the women of this generation. Is it a show us gayers will be able to relate to as well? I always said LW·OOEHIRUJD\VDQGJLUOV²WKDW·VWKH audience. I like the same things as gay men... we all like a big cock [laughs]. I love a game of hide the sausage! What can we expect from the show? Lots of funny moments of what it was like growing up in the 80s and 90s. My character talks about JRLQJWR,EL]DDQGWKDWHFVWDV\HUD WKDW·VNLQGRIP\JURZLQJXSDQGWKH area I feel I know most about. Do you still love a good party?
someone would be taking pictures of you in a bar.
would you like to do next? Do you NQRZZKDW,·YHWLFNHGDOOWKHER[HV QRZEHFDXVH,·YHDOZD\VGRQH PXVLFDOVEXW,·YHQHYHUGRQHDSOD\ ,·GORYHWRGRDVLWFRP,GLG%DEHVLQ the Wood, which bombed. The critics
just panned it. Unfortunately, because ,·GEHHQRQWKH%LJ%UHDNIDVWWKH\ MXVWGLGQ·WZDQWWRJLYHLWDFKDQFH ´%HFDXVHVKH·VDSUHVHQWHUVRZH·OO MXVWVD\VKH·VVKLWDQGFDQ·WDFWDQG OHWVMXVWVD\LW·VVKLWDQGQRWIXQQ\µ And, actually, some of it was funny. %XW,ZRXOGUHDOO\OLNHWRGRDVRUWRI %LUGVRID)HDWKHUW\SHWKLQJ Babes in the Wood could be
one of those cult things in a few
years... ,GRQ·WNQRZKRZ\RX·GJHW your hands on it. I think its been EXUQWKDVQ·WLW">/DXJKV@Q Some Girl I Used To Know tours the UK from 29 January until 19 March, somegirlIusedtoknow.com, @denise_vanouten
gaytimes.co.uk
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hot tv
[01/14]
One for all and all for one Oh, diet be blowed, why settle for one when you could have four? Yes, that’s four hot, hairy men in leather, with swords. That’s your Sunday nights in January sorted. Luke Pasqualino (Skins) leads the cast as D’Artagnan in this new BBC version of Alexandre Dumas’ classic. Oh, and some guy called Peter Capaldi plays the villain. Q The Musketeers is on BBC One.
12
gaytimes.co.uk
[first] Here’s to you Mr Robertson
Who said being JD\GRHVQ·WKDYH LWVEHQHÀWV" For GT readers, 0U5REHUWVRQ·V tailor-made suits DUHJLYLQJDQ H[FOXVLYH discount, simply E\HQWHULQJ*7 at the online checkout. You can customise HYHU\WKLQJIURP WKHIDEULFVW\OHÀW and buttons, right down to the lining DQGHYHQDGGD monogram text to your garment.
We get a Kick out of François Former porn star turned t-shirt designer and all-round tattoed-headed hotness, François Sagat, strips off again for his 2014 Kick Sagat calendar. Expect bulging muscles, come-to-bed eyes and some stunning shots that just ooze masculinity. QNLFNVDJDWELJFDUWHOFRP
SPEED DATE
JD\WLPHVFRXN
Until 4 January Jumpers for Goalposts is an adorable, heartwarming comedy about football, IULHQGVKLSÀQGLQJ your way and JURZLQJXSJD\ 7KHUH·VVWLOOWLPHWR catch it at the Bush Theatre in London XQWLO-DQXDU\ EXVKWKHDWUHFRXNQ
25 January /RYHÀOPV"/RYH VRXQGWUDFNV"/RYH gay choirs singing the soundtracks RIÀOPV"7KHQ this is your lucky day! Get down to Cadogan Hall in London the for an evening of A Night at the Movies with 7KH3LQN6LQJHUV FDGRJDQKDOOFRPQ
26 January :LWKWKHÀUVWJD\ marriages taking place on 29 March LW·VWLPH to start planning your big day! To help you out, The Big Gay Wedding Show comes WR0DQFKHVWHU HYHQWVVKRSFRXN the-big-gaywedding-show Q
6-15 February As part of LGBT History Month, Queer Contact presents a festival of events featuring the best performance, music, spoken word, and theatre from emerging artists all over the ZRUOGFRQWDFWPFU com Q
Until 3 March Isabella Blow is known for discovering the talents of Alexander McQueen and Philip Treacy, and now Somerset House are showcasing the fabulous clothes of one of the worlds ÀHUFHVWHGLWRUV VRPHUVHWKRXVHRUJ uk/blow Q
13
[mikey walsh]
And so it happened that a right-wing newspaper started to make people believe Gypsies really do steal your children. Of course, it all turned out to be a load of rubbish, but that’s not really the point. Mud sticks regardless, as we all know. And now the Gypsy culture has yet another negative stereotype to add to the bag. I’m said time and time again how very proud I am to be a Gypsy man. But the truth is, I learned long ago not to get too involved publicly when defending my culture. Especially on social media. No matter what I said, I would always end up getting bitten in some way; not just by those who believe such rubbish, but also by the very culture I try to stick up for. This is because sadly, the toughest Gypsy voices are still way behind when it comes to the reality of LGBT people within their own race. To put it very bluntly, to be a gay Gypsy is akin to being a witch that needs burning immediately. Many of those voices believe my presence makes them look bad. 14
THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF GYPSY BOY
After I wrote my first book, I choked on my tea as a Gypsy guy on telly said there was no such thing as gay people in our culture, and that I couldn’t have been a real person. I’d never felt so hurt, as though I’d been punched in the gut just hearing those words come out from his righteous mouth. Sadder still, this person knew me as a little boy, and even with full knowledge of who I was, like so many others, he didn’t want society to believe my culture could consist of such things as gay people. Just as he’d hate outsiders to believe there were thieves or murderers. (My family have been ALL of the above… but that’s another story… A very ‘peasant dynasty’ type story.) We all know that a culture, race or religion cannot protect from the fate of who you are. But try telling that to an old-school Gypsy man. After days of licking my wounds, I thought of all I’d had to do to be who I am today. I love what I am. I adore being part of a race that survived and prospered, despite horrible years of Holocaust and hatred. But
Gypsy voices are still way behind when it comes to the reality of LGBT people within their own race. To put it very bluntly, to be a gay Gypsy is akin to being a witch that needs burning
@thatbloodymikey
column
[first]
prejudice has excluded us even more from society, and many of our peoples’ views have become warped and of ‘another time’. The world is changing, but a huge majority of the Gypsy culture still has the same views as people during the war (the OLDEST ONE). And they’re not about to change, unless dragged kicking and screaming. There was only one option for me. When I was 15-years-old, I ran away. Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. And now, after years of being back in contact with my family, it has been made clear that I can never go home again. Not because my parents aren’t proud of me, but because they don’t want me to face prejudice from others who still fear the word ‘gay’ like it’s some kind of poltergeist. I learned the hard way that I can’t fight for my culture. Not in this time anyway. But I can be a Gypsy man that has survived the journey and who is proud of what he is. I’m humbled, but saddened, when I hear from people who’re going through what I did and are feeling so alone. I hate that bigotry is still so rife. But after years of being well shot of such ideals, and living in a city, I take for granted how easy I have it these days. I get messages from so many gay people, who’ve found themselves falling into self-hatred, all because their tradition, culture, race or religion tells them that they’re evil. I may still get shit from bigots with small minds, but I know my place. And I know that trying to make an arsehole respect me is as pointless as trying to bring back the shell suit. Things ARE changing, and these old ideals and the people that stand by them WILL die out. But in the meantime, there’ll always be people that are living proof that you’re not alone. Q gaytimes.co.uk
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BIRDS OF A FEATHER ITV1 THE BIRDS ARE BACK IN A BRAND NEW SERIES!
DANCING ON ICE ITV1 LYCRA, BULGES AND BONNIE LANGFORD.
SPLASH ITV1 OBVIOUSLY.
BLUESTONE 42 BBC THREE MATTHEW LEWIS JOINS THE CAST FOR SERIES TWO. OOF.
THE VOICE BBC ONE CAN KYLIE SAVE THE VOICE?
SHERLOCK BBC ONE TWO WORDS: SHERLOCK LIVES.
LOOKING SKY ATLANTIC GAY MEN IN SAN FRANCISCO - GUEST STARS RUSSELL TOVEY
FLEMING SKY ATLANTIC DOMINIC COOPER STARS AS BOND CREATOR IAN FLEMING
BENIDORM ITV1 CAMP ALERT – JOAN COLLINS AND THE KRANKIES
TVIV S G EW E R P
OMG it’s Men’s Fashion Week! Ugh, you’re not excited about that, are you? What’s not to be excited about? Multiple outfit changes, sexy men in suits, parties, after parties, after after parties, fashion victims galore... You really shouldn’t be excited about a capitalist industry that endorses unattainable standards of physical and superficial beauty. …but there’re men in pants. Yes, but the fashion industry judges people by who they wear and not who they are, while encouraging overspending and debt on sartorial ‘must haves’ that last no longer than a couple of months. ... but there’re models in their underwear. And champagne. Don’t forget the champagne. Fashion is an industry built on the sweaty brows of earnest workers who receive no payment for their relentless slavery. Yes, but did I mention the male models with six pack abs who wear nothing but teeny tiny briefs while wiggling up and down the catwalk. Also, vogue, vogue, poppers, vogue! …yes. *narrows eyes, walks off* Q
[trendsetter]
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gaytimes.co.uk
IMAGES CRAIG GREEN SS14 BACKSTAGE / DAN SIMS / BFC
gogglebox
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oh yes it is
[01/14]
SHE’S BEHIND YOU! IS THIS THE GAYEST PANTO?
WORDS LEE DALLOWAY
18
gaytimes.co.uk
[first] “Listen, panto is a very serious game, make no bones about it,” says John Partridge, who we’ve just seen perform an energetic and thoroughly modern street dance as Prince Charming. As you do. Yes, we’re talking panto. Witnessing the rehearsals of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was the most ridiculously camp thing we’ve done in donkeys. And that’s saying something. Gaily we minced down to the Jerwood Space studios in Sarf London to watch Gok Wan, John Partridge and the legend that is Stephanie Beacham *bows down* get into character for their upcoming pantomime. The Birmingham Hippodrome production of Snow White is camper than sitting on Christopher Biggins while chatting to Joan Collins, carrying a rat dog in a clutch purse and drinking cocktails from a martini glass. The moment seven gorgeous men all came shuffling towards us on their knees (calm down, they play the dwarfs) we knew the direction this article was going in. Cast aside your preconceptions of cheap and tacky entertainment in a drafty village hall – 21st century panto is serious, money-spinning business, featuring classically trained actors and contemporary twists on the traditional “man in a garish dress, woman as a young lad” formula. Yes, ever since Sir Ian McKellen strapped on Widow Twankey’s retina-searing frock, luvvies have been flocking to appear in slick, high-concept, bigbudget productions all over the UK. “We might look like we’re all codding about and taking the piss, but we’re not,” John tells us. “It’s 12 shows a week. If you didn’t have seasoned professionals who know how to look after themselves and handle that, you wouldn’t make it through a six week run. There’s no understudies, so if you’re off sick, then you’re in shit, basically.” No pressure, then, for Gok Wan, gaytimes.co.uk
who’s making his panto debut with this production. He’s even being followed around by a camera crew to document every last drop of nervous perspiration. But he seems to be taking it all in his somewhat tired stride. “I’m exhausted. I’ve never been this shattered in my life, but it’s incredible the amount of stuff I’m learning every day. I’ve got a solo song and a dance to do, and at the moment that’s preoccupying all of my fear. It’s all the stuff you might be slightly embarrassed about doing in three minutes on stage in front of thousands, so it’s quite a big deal.” Thankfully, Gok is pleased with the fashion choices for the panto, which must be a big relief for the production’s costume department. “The costume designer Ron Briggs is a genius! I’ve worked in fashion for years and years and all of a sudden I’ve realised that, outside of my world, there is this absolute raw talent of people brimming in their artistry, in their detailing. When you look at the mechanical costumes, like the dwarves, it’s mind-blowing.” Both John and Gok are literally foaming at the queer teat working with classically trained and campas-yer-nan actress Stephanie Beacham – who absolutely sizzles as the Wicked Queen, relishing every withering glance and sassy put down. Fellow star Paul Zerdin is also a master of puppetry and his near-the-knuckle humour, via his cheeky puppet Sam, is probably the funniest part of the show. If you’re thinking panto isn’t for you, maybe these wise words of Stephanie’s will help change your mind. When asked what she would say to people who are sniffy about panto, she quipped: “Well, darling… tell them to come sniff out ours!” Q Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs runs at the Birmingham Hippodrome until 2 Feb. birminghamhippodrome.com, @ therealgokwan, @mustbejp, @paulzerdin, @brumhippodrome
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[first]
photography
[01/14]
SOCKS APPEAL This should seriously brighten any winter blues! Swedish label Happy Socks gave world-renowned photographer David LaChapelle creative carte blanche to do whatever he wanted for their latest campaign. We can safely say that socks haven’t been this exciting since the Lamb Chop puppet entertained us during our childhood! Q happysocks.com
Just cruising Gay, African-American photographer Alvin Baltrop was a former US Navy sailor and selftaught snapper. He dedicated his life to documenting the pre-AIDS gay-cruising culture on Manhattan’s abandoned shipping piers during the mid-70s and 80s. His work will receive its UK premiere at Open Eye Gallery in Liverpool, alongside fellow pierside photographer, Gordon Matta-Clark. The images provide a remarkable document of a turning point in the sexual revolution of that period, and the decaying architecture and landscape of a Manhattan that no longer exists. Q Until 9 February, openeye.org.uk 20
gaytimes.co.uk
Treatment can stop HIV being passed on. But thousands have HIV and don’t know it.
Together testing, treatment and condoms can help stop HIV. Order your free postal HIV test or find where to test:
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life’s a drag
[01/14]
What was your experience like RQ5X3DXO·V'UDJ5DFH"It was a surreal and profound one. It changed me by not only exposing me to a worldwide audience, but DOVRE\OLJKWLQJDÀUHXQGHUPHWR take my drag to the next level! How were the early days of your FDUHHU"They were spent in gay dance clubs learning about drag and the Club Kid scene. Then, right before 5X3DXO·V'UDJ5DFH,ZDVPDQDJLQJ my time working as an actor, a cabaret performer and show host... and a MDQLWRU%XW,·YHDOZD\VGUHDPHGRI supporting myself fully as an artist.
:25'6/(('$//2:$< ,0$*(6*5(*%$,/(<&20
JINKX MONSOON The sassy winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 5 is a hard lady to pin down. With a career that’s exploded since the show’s finale, we managed to grab some time with the fabulous and feisty diva gaytimes.co.uk
[first] like Little Edie and Bette Midler.
Question
which song would you choose and
Answer
If you had to lip sync for your life, why? One song I know front, back and every which way – and almost
every version – is All That Jazz from
Chicago. So if any queen ever has to face me in that lip sync, they better bring their A game!
You suffer from narcolepsy. How does it affect you professionally and personally? It affects me
more personally than professionally, because once I get into show
PRGHWKHUH·VVRPXFKDGUHQDOLQH pumping that my symptoms are
decreased considerably. But in my GRZQWLPH,ÀQGWKDWWKHH[KDXVWLRQ and narcolepsy catches up with PHVR,WDNHDORWRIWLPHWRUHOD[ ZKHQHYHU,·PQRWZRUNLQJLQRUGHUWR control the symptoms. :KDW·VQH[WIRU\RXFDUHHUZLVH and what would be a dream acting role? ,·PWRXULQJZLWKP\RULJLQDO
show The Vaudevillians throughout $XVWUDOLDHDUO\QH[W\HDUDQGWKHQ taking it to Provincetown for a full VHDVRQQH[WVXPPHU,·PDOVR ZRUNLQJRQDQGSURGXFLQJP\ÀUVW album, The Inevitable Album, in
collaboration with my music partner Major Scales. A dream role for me
would be Mrs Lovett from Sweeney 7RGG,W·VP\DOOWLPHIDYRULWHPXVLFDO by Stephen Sondheim.
Who should we be keeping an eye
on in the world of drag that we may not know about? I had a wonderful
time starting out my career in Seattle with a drag queen named Sylvia
2·6WD\IRUPRUHDQG,DOVRKDYHWZR wonderful friends and drag sisters,
Robbie Turner and Ben DeLaCreme. Seattle is full of wonderful queens, and not just us campy comedy
queens, but also some gorgeous
female impersonators, like my sisters DW/H)DX[$FRXSOHRIP\SHUVRQDO favorites in the shock queen realm are -DFNLH+HOODQG$PRDQLD,·GORYHWR VHHHLWKHURIWKHPRQ5X3DXO·V'UDJ Race someday. Q -LQN[PRQVRRQFRP#-LQN[0RQVRRQ
gaytimes.co.uk
Why the gays? From @justadamw WHY NOT? I TXLFNO\LGHQWLÀHG the gays as family when I moved to NYC when I was 17-yearsold. This was the community that opened their arms and welcomed me completely. As IUHDN\DQGPLVÀWW\ as I was, they had NOTHING but love and supportive words for me. When I was down, there was ALWAYS a gay standing by to pick me up. When I thought I GLGQ·WKDYHZKDW it took to “make it”? My gay family told me there was QRRQHÀHUFHURU more talented. Throughout my career, beginning with Seduction, there has be NO ONE more loyal to me than my gays. End of. Q
Well, hello there my beautiful ones! My, how I have missed you all. Even a month away from you is too long! Mama is finally back in LA after having the most AMAZING time in San Antonio playing Magenta in Rocky Horror. Being back on stage has reallllly rekindled my love of all things musical theatre. I would be LIVING for a role on Broadway, or better yet? West End. Ya hear that Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber? I will sell the SHIT out of your torch songs! A belter I am; hit me up! Speaking of the most amazing experiences, I’m also back on dry land after the second annual Drag Stars at Sea cruise. OMG I have no words to describe the debauchery that occurred on the high seas. I cannot encourage/beg you all enough to come and join the queens and I on the European 2014 cruise. You will have a ball. Two balls if you’re crafty like me *wink wink*. ‘Tis the season to be jolly and we’re all feeling extremely festive over here in the Haus of Visage. It really
e l e h iM cisage V
is the most wonderful time of the year for a ho-ho-ho like me. And I’m not just talking about my excitement for the Downton Abbey Christmas Special and, more importantly, the TOWIE Christmas Special. But can you believe we’re almost into 2014? That means a brand new season of RuPaul’s Drag Race in January! I know, with every new season I promise you a bigger and better experience than ever before, but, honestly, have I let you down yet? Of course not. I would never do that to you. Sharpen your acrylics and prepare yourselves for some major drama. If it gets too much you can come rest upon my heaving bosom. I’m good like that. Until next time my loves, from me and everyone at Haus of Visage, I want to wish you all a fabulous Christmas and a fierce 2014. I hope you get everything your little hearts and loins desire. Come talk to me on Twitter @michellevisage and remember to visit my website michellevisage.com. XOXO MV Q
23
[first]
[01/14]
some legendary balls
Balls is a word with multiple meanings, yet Gerard H Gaskin has captured the word at its most stylish. For this photographer, balls are synonymous with glitz and glamour of the highest order. His new book, Legendary, collects photographs that document the North American ball scene – a place where gays, gals and everyone inbetween get together and dress to see and be seen. Gaskin captures his diverse subjects in motion; dresses twirl, fans wave, booties shake and crowds cheer. There’s an innate vibrancy and excitement to the pictures that will leave you desperately searching your wardrobe for what to wear to the ball. A must-have. Q 24
gaytimes.co.uk
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Please be upstanding for a living legend and national treasure. She’s best known as God-fearin’, gossip-lovin’ Dot Cotton, but in real life, June Brown is a lithe, fashionable figure of youthful energy, despite being 86. Yes, 86! She was more than willing to put down the wine glass and ciggie to dip a slender hand into GT’s sweetie jar… but first she insisted on having a crafty fag with Rizzle Kicks who were waiting for her outside. Yeah, this was kind of a weird day…
Swe e Da tie, rling ? WORDS LEE DALLOWAY IMAGES LIAM LESLIE
26
gaytimes.co.uk
[first]
Of all the people you’ve worked with on EastEnders, who’s your all time favourite? Oh, Ethel. Gretchen Franklin. She was very down to earth. I’ll tell you a story: she said to Anna Wing, who played Lou Beale, “I hear we have a rival.” Now, that rival was me. I never think of other actors as rivals, but she made it her business not to act with me to begin with. She would always look elsewhere in scenes. Wendy Richard said to her, “when you and June are on screen, you’re like two bulls.” And Gretchen suddenly realised that I wasn’t, well, useless is a horrid word… but I was of use. After that, she always looked at me. What other performers do you admire? Meryl Streep. I find her a fascinating actress. She is always different and her accents are brilliant. I wish I’d got an ear for accents, but I haven’t. I find most of them very difficult to do, dear. Theatre or television? Theatre. Because on screen, you can act your socks off but you’re at the mercy of the camera, and the director of course, and perhaps the editor. On the stage, people can choose who they look at and if they find you charismatic or they like what you’re doing, they’ll watch you. What was the best time in your life? My first thirty years. I loved the 50s. When you were in your 20s, there was a lot of freedom back in that time. We walked barefoot through London; we weren’t frightened of anything. We didn’t drink, but we talked and we talked, because we didn’t have any of these little boxes [June points to my mobile phone]. You see, you’re ruined! I think in the end people won’t talk to each other. You see girls sitting together in silence on their machines. Are they talking to each other? Why did it take you so long to come out with an autobiography? It took so long JD\WLPHVFRXN
to write! My editor Carly said, “don’t edit it, just get on with it.” But I can’t do that because I’m a perfectionist. I read in a book the other day, somebody said, “you’re a perfectionist”, and the other man said “what else is there to be?” I’m a perfectionist who’s also a procrastinator. What a combination! Do you think you’ll ever be a Dame? Oh, no, no, no. There’s a few Dames who I think are worth it. Eileen Atkins, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, because, you see, they’ve done a lot of wonderful work. Well, you’re the only actor who’s done a single-hander episode of EastEnders… Oh, that was absolutely wonderful! I daren’t say it at the time because they’d think I’m conceited, but it was the easiest thing I ever had to do, because there was no bugger mucking me up [laughs]. Is there an actor you’d still like to work with? John Hurt. There’s another one I love and can’t remember his name... I’m so dreadful at names… Tom Conti! I got a laugh trying to remember names when I got a Soap Award, but I just can’t be bothered thanking everybody, it’s very boring. What would you most like to see Dot do? I’d like a companion but I’m a bit tied up with poor old Jim, because he’s still there in the home. I haven’t had a good storyline since they hung that one hander on the fact that he had a stroke. It was his misfortune that was my good fortune, and if I had won a BAFTA, that’s what I would have said. You really wanted that BAFTA, didn’t you? Yes, I nearly got up when I didn’t win because the one who won, Anna Macsue-whaddyacall-it, wasn’t there because she’d had a baby. I was, like, “What?” I used to work two days after I had a baby! I probably shouldn’t have done but I did. Anyway, I thought
I’d get up and say “you must all be terribly disappointed that Miss Anna Macwotsit isn’t here, and you won’t get to hear a speech, so I’ll give you mine.” I longed to do it and create a disturbance, as it were. You’re a troublemaker, you are! [Laughs] When you get older, it’s lovely. It’s the only good thing about getting old. Absolutely the only thing. [Points to her head] As long as I keep this computer here going… What’s the thing that makes you most happy? I don’t know if I ever feel really happy. I try hard but I think I personally am somebody who needs a companion, I need someone to be happy with; I need to share. Have you ever been clubbing? Well, it was wonderful when we started EastEnders – we used to rehearse together as a group and afterwards we’d go out with the young people. We’d get into all the nightclubs for nothing because the show was so popular. I met Boy George one night; he’s very intelligent, I like Boy George. We have to ask - what did you think of Lady Gaga? Oh, I thought she was an enchanting girl. Very intelligent and very ordinary under that incredibly clever persona. And such courage to be like that. I wish I’d had that sort of confidence when I was in my late 20s. We want to be as sharp and fit as you at 86! Any tips? [Maybe it’s chain smoking, as she’s just put out her fourth fag and lit her fifth in a half hour interview]. You have to have turmeric and cinnamon. A glass of water every morning when you wake up. And rock salt. It’s what you eat – my heart should be riddled with holes right now. I just go Asian – tumeric, cinnamon, eggs, chillis, black pepper and you’ll live. Q BefoUHWKH
27
review of the year
[01/14]
Protests in Russia
HOLD THE FRONT PAGE
WORDS BENJAMIN BUTTERWORTH IMAGES AP PHOTO / REX GEOFF PUGH / ISTOCKPHOTO / RYAN HARDING
GT rounds up the best, worst and funniest gay news stories that made 2013 momentous 28
QSame-sex marriage passed into UK law. The plans received Royal Ascent on 17 July, after two thirds of MPs and peers supported the legal change. The first marriages will take place in England and Wales from 29 March 2014. France and New Zealand also passed marriage equality into law, both with popular support. ---------QStephen Fry wrote to the PM over Russia’s extreme homophobia. The country introduced laws banning so-called gay propaganda and ignored waves of attacks on gay men. Thousands attended protests outside Downing Street in solidarity and David Cameron spoke out about the injustice. ---------gaytimes.co.uk
[news] April Ashley
QStonewall founder and member of the European parliament Michael Cashman was honored with a CBE. The award was given for his lifelong campaign work for LGBT rights. Cashman famously had Britain’s first on-screen gay kiss in 1987. ---------QFeminist writers got embroiled in a transphobia row. Guardian columnist Suzanne Moore was criticised for saying women want to look like “Brazilian transsexuals”. Trans activists reacted angrily to the attack. ---------QFootballer Robbie Rogers came out. The Leeds United player opened up about being gay on his blog, saying he had used football as gaytimes.co.uk
an escape to admitting his sexuality. He subsequently moved to America to play for LA Galaxy. ---------QBritain’s top Catholic, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, resigned amid accusations of “inappropriate” behavior with other priests. The Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh had previously been voted Bigot of the Year for his homophobic views. ---------QCher released her first studio album in 12 years. The 67-year-old diva gave an exclusive interview to GT where she opened up about having a trans son. She turned down performing at Russia’s Winter Olympics because of the country’s gay rights record.
---------QHillary Clinton endorsed equal marriage. The former US Secretary of State appeared in a video for the Human Rights Campaign, urging Americans to support marriage equality and arguing gay rights are human rights. ---------QThe UK’s biggest ever LGBT exhibition opened. The Museum of Liverpool opened Homotopia, charting LGBT history through hundreds of years. The exhibition also charts the life of trans model and socialite April Ashley through photographs. ---------QPrince Harry was praised for defending a gay soldier. Lance Corporal James Wharton told of
29
review of the year
[01/14]
how the Prince defended him from six other soldiers threatening to “batter” him in his book, Out In The Army. ---------QArchbishop Desmond Tutu said he would serve a “gay god”. The 81-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate claimed he’d rather worship a gay god than a homophobic one, explaining: “I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven.” ---------QNew Pope elected. Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the 266th Pope, and has been widely considered more progressive on gay issues. “Who am I to judge gay people?”, the 76-year-old said. Quite. ---------30
QRobert Mugabe wants to “chop off” gay people’s heads. He made the remarks in a speech to a conference of his supporters, saying “homosexuality seeks to destroy our lineage”. ---------QThings seemed good in Australia, with PM Kevin Rudd coming out in favour of marriage equality, and a bill passing allowing same-sex couples to marry in capital city Canberra. But less than a week after the bill became law, it was overturned by the Australian High Court, with some 27 couples who married left with their unions declared invalid. ---------QOut4Mariage, the campaign
3 1 0 2
group set up by Benjamin Cohen, Mike Buonaiuto and James-J Walsh, was highlighted by The Independent newspaper for getting the likes of Hugh Grant and Richard Branson to speak out for gay equality. ---------QTesco recalled “gay best friend” doll. Britain’s biggest supermarket apologised after selling the inflatable aimed at three-year-old children. The blow-up was supposedly the ultimate accessory to be seen with. ---------QLady Gaga confirmed she’s bisexual. Gaga also did a surprise gig in the UK’s biggest gay venue, Heaven, where she stripped gaytimes.co.uk
[news]
Pope Francis
Paris Lees
completely naked. ---------QTeen Olympic diver Jack Laugher told GT that sport homophobes should receive an “instant ban” and be taken as seriously as racism. ---------QGT columnist Paris Lees became the first ever trans person to appear on Question Time. It seemed no one was more humbled than Paris herself, tweeting: “I’m just a slag from a council estate who doesn’t know too much about anything. Yikes!” Paris also topped the Independent’s list of the most influential LGBT people in Britain. ---------QBritney praised anti-gay preacher. The Work Bitch singer gaytimes.co.uk
Jack Laugher
Coming out in 2013 ROBBIE ROGERS FOOTBALLER JASON COLLINS BASKETBALL PLAYER WENTWORTH MILLER ACTOR CLIVE DAVIS RECORD PRODUCER TROYE SIVAN X-MEN ACTOR BARONESS LIZ BARKER POLITICIAN BEN WHISHAW ACTOR KEVIN GRAYSON AMERICAN FOOTBALLER DARREN YOUNG WRESTLER JODIE FOSTER ACTRESS TOM DALEY DIVER
claimed extreme anti-gay writer Max Lucado was her favorite author in a Q&A on Twitter. She also courted controversy for saying she likes gay people because we are “cute and hilarious.” ---------QA group of pastors created a Kenyan gay rights lobby. The Kenyan Christians got together to create a safe space for LGBT people in the country – where it remains illegal to have gay sex. ---------QIndia’s Supreme Court outlawed gay sex. It was the reversal of a landmark 2009 Delhi High Court Order, which had decriminalised homosexual acts. Zafaryab Jilani, the Muslim leader and petitioner of the case, said “we are living in
India, this is not America”, before hailing the court for “protecting what is right”. ---------QGT released its biggest ever Naked Issue. OK, we put ourselves in the news here. But with more hot celebs than ever it was well worth waiting through 2013 for. So big, in fact, it’s had to be split over two issues and will return again in next month’s mag. Q ---------QTom Daley revealed he’s dating a guy. The London 2012 medal winner put to bed years of speculation, announcing on YouTube that he’s been in a relationship with a man since spring. Q
31
column
[news]
If I was alive 75-years-ago and living in Berlin and not London, my outlook wouldn’t have been looking good. That’s because I’m Jewish, I have a disability, I’m a member of a trade union and like almost everyone reading this article, I’m gay. 2014 marks the 75th anniversary of the start of World War II and with it the Holocaust, the single worst example of the misery that humanity has ever inflicted on itself. It’s also 80 years since Hitler ordered the Gestapo to compile a list of gay people in Germany, who would later be persecuted. On 27 January, Britain commemorates Holocaust Memorial Day, an opportunity to galvanise us never to allow the same persecution of minority groups to happen again. It’s also an opportunity for us to consider, given how many countries around the world criminalise or discriminate gay people, how unchallenged prejudice can quickly and dramatically escalate into unimaginable brutality. However, the memory of this gaytimes.co.uk
PUBLISHER OF PINKNEWS
[benjamin cohen]
tragic incidence for our own community is still quite hazy. I’d hazard a guess that most people in the UK have no idea that, just like Jews, gay people were also victims of the Holocaust. For the most part, I wouldn’t blame them. The majority of the time since Auschwitz-Birkenau was liberated, gay people were not considered true victims of the Holocaust, despite the Nazis arresting 100,000 people for homosexuality, imprisoning half of them, including up to 15,000 in concentration camps. Many died, some after sickening experiments by scientists trying to find the ‘cure’ for homosexuality. When the allies, including the British, ‘liberated’ the inmates of concentration camps, they in reality liberated everyone other than the gay people. Gay men found themselves moved from concentration camps to prisons, because for the allies, being gay was still a crime. Unlike other victims, they were not offered reparations and it took until 2002 for the German government to officially apologise for the Nazis’ crimes
What happened during the Holocaust stands as a warning to all of us that societies can go backward as well as forward
@benjamincohen
against gay people. What happened during the Holocaust stands as a warning to all of us that societies can go backward as well as forward. In the 1920s, Berlin was one of the gay capitals of the world, with Germany’s prohibition on homosexuality widely ignored by the police and a large, open, flourishing gay community was in existence. Just before the Nazis took power, the German legislature was poised to repeal the legal ban of male homosexuality. It took a political climate that had nothing to do with gay people to radically alter the treatment of this minority group. The Nazis drew on deep rooted, latent homophobia within the population to stigmatise gay people to justify to ordinarily rational people the single largest act of persecution on the basis of sexuality that the world has ever seen. What worries me, almost eight decades on, is that some societies are now going down a similar backward path. Russia is perhaps the clearest example. Never a flagship for LGBT equality, being gay was made legal in 1993. However, 20 years later, the country came under the spotlight for a national ban on the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality to young people, a law that could severely restrict all LGBT activities including parenting. This legislative change mirrors a change in the way the Russian people think about homosexuality. While Russia is going backwards, in 41 out of the 54 countries that make up the Commonwealth, including 11 where our Queen is head of state, being gay is still a crime – based on our own, old, British laws that we imposed on the countries in the time of the Empire. Imprisoning gay men, in exactly the same way that the British did to the gay victims of the Holocaust at the end of the war. Q
33
[01/14]
Monday, 2 December 2013, will go down in history as Tom Daley Day. The day the diving boy wonder melted the internet by revealing he’s dating a guy – allegedly the Oscarwinning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black. It’s never easy walking down that yellow brick road of your first same-sex relationship. So, to help celebrate 30 years of Gay Times, we’ve come up with a list of 30 things Tom can do with his firstever boyfriend WORDS RYAN BUTCHER / BENJAMIN BUTTERWORTH
[01] Get married! Well, it might be a bit too soon. But we can do that from March. In England and Wales at least. Either way, Team GT are already shopping for hats.
[02] Long distance Skype calls. Dustin lives in the States, and Tom’s going to be training for Rio. But there’s nothing like a video call when you’re coping with distance.
[03] Speaking of Rio, imagine Tom dedicating his upcoming Olympic gold to Dustin. Yes, he IS going to win the gold next time.
[04] Teach Dustin how to dive. We honestly can’t come up with any real argument against more hot men in Speedos. [05] Speaking of Speedos, don’t forget to raid each other’s wardrobes. It’s one of the perks of dating another guy. [06] Go all out and over the top on Valentine’s Day. It’s not too far away, and you just know that Tom is one of those mushy, romantic types. [07] Make-out on the night bus and not have a care in the world for all the miserable, single people watching on. No? Is this just us?
30 THINGS
[08] Change your Facebook status 34
gaytimes.co.uk
[news] IMAGE FROM MY STORY BY TOM DALEY, PUBLISHED BY MICHAEL JOSEPH, £16.99
to “in a relationship”. Is there
one in his mouth and eats it. This is
anything more satisfying than
actually a surprisingly fun game.
proving to your school friends that
[22] Go for romantic walks on
you’re not actually undatable?
Plymouth beach. Or Brighton
[09] Go to provincial gay bars
beach. Or any beach, for
and dance with provincial drag
that matter. It’s a bit chilly at
queens. You haven’t seen a proper
the moment though, so we’d
cross-section of LGBT life until you’ve been to a local bar in rural Lincolnshire.
[10] Buy each other romantic presents from your international jet-setting travels. And make everyone else jealous, of course.
[11] Take inspiration from the Warwick Rowers and do a naked calendar shoot for charity. We can’t
recommend Tom leave his top on, on this occasion.
[23] Send soppy texts that end in “xxxxx”. They warm even the coldest of hearts.
[24] Spoon! Is there anything spoon? Big, little or versatile –
[12] Make a social statement
to you in bed in the morning. This is the single greatest thing
that’s going to wind the right-
about having a boyfriend, without
wing press up some how.
question.
[13] Adopt children? OK, again,
[26] Recreate the spaghetti
might be a bit too early. But if he’s
and meatballs scene from
not quite ready for that, maybe get
Lady and the Tramp… except,
a real micro-pig in the mean time?
without the Lady. And,
[14] Make a pot vase like that bit
hopefully, the tramp.
from Ghost everyone bangs on
[27] Be a force for change in
about. For reasons of cuteness.
the way that sexuality is treated
[15] Avoid the house of horrors
in the sporting world. Look, a
that is Grindr… Trust us, Tom.
sporting hero coming out as gay,
You’re not missing a thing.
bisexual or whatever will be less
[16] Finally silence all those
of a big deal when homophobia is
irritating “will you marry me
actually kicked out of sport.
Tom?” tweets. He’s off the market
[28] Change people’s opinions on
now, guys and girls. Move on.
what non-heterosexual people can
[17] Ask each other about
be and do. Nothing has changed
your days. Sometimes it’s the
in Tom’s professional life now he’s
little things…
dating a man!
[18] Tom could spread his arms
[29] Inspire LGBT teens to be
around Dustin’s on the front of
honest about their own sexuality.
ships, and talk about how their love
No doubt, since Tom’s video,
will go on and on. And on.
thousands of teens will have
[19] Lie in bed on a Sunday
followed Tom’s lead and bravely
morning with the Hollyoaks
stepped out of the closet.
omnibus on the telly and be
[30] Be on the cover of the longest running gay magazine in
[20] Get a pug and snuggle up to
the known universe, continuing
it in bed. Our editor swears by it.
to act as that beacon of hope and
[21] Throw Maltesers at Dustin’s
acceptance. Oh, that’s us by the
face until he eventually catches
way, Tom… Q
gaytimes.co.uk
Boy George sits down with GT to have a good ol’ bitch about the stars new and old, including George Michael, Judy Garland and Marc Almond. In an unusual twist, we explore lesbian pornography, and follow on with a look back to Soho in the 50s.
the choice is yours.
[25] Have a cup of tea brought
completely satisfied with life.
26 YEARS AGO Issue 112, 1988
better than waking up mid-
think of a single reason why not. just by holding hands. You know
GT VAULT
30
OF RS S YEAYTIME A G
20 YEARS AGO HIM Issue 79, 1994 Contrasting the two, heavy metal and homosexuality were explored, delving into the hard rock world that finally allowed a tad of pink among all that black leather and fist pumping. On the other side of the genre spectrum, techno fashion was featured along with a definitive A to Z of Sex.
8 YEARS AGO Issue 328, 2006 We started the New Year with a brand new look, and in the first of this revamped design we looked at gay cowboy movies following the release of Brokeback Mountain. Heading east, we checked out gay life in 21st-centruy China and the issue of football and homophobia is raised again.
35
BRIAN EPSTEIN HEROES
36
gaytimes.co.uk
[news]
Nicknamed “the fifth Beatle” by Paul McCartney, Brian Epstein was the manager of the biggest band in history until his untimely death of an accidental drugs overdose. Now, 46 years later, there are two biopics in the making and a campaign to get him inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. GT takes a look at the fascinating and flawed life of the gay genius WORDS JOHN MARRS IMAGES AP PHOTO
gaytimes.co.uk
“THEY WERE RATHER SCRUFFILY dressed, in the nicest possible way. Or I should say in the most attractive way? Black leather jackets, jeans and long hair.” Brian Epstein would never forget first meeting backstage with The Beatles back in 1961. With his creative eye, ambitious plans and gut instinct, his management of the Fab Four changed the course of music history, until his shock death from a lethal cocktail of sedatives and booze aged just 32. Born in 1934 to a Jewish family in Liverpool, Brian’s potential as a music mogul was hard to predict based on his schooldays. After being expelled for laziness and poor performance, he was sent to a boarding school where he decided to become a dress designer. But his parents had other ideas. And at 16, he was forced to join the family’s furniture retailing business before National Service drafted him into the army as a data clerk in London. In his 1964 autobiography A Cellarful Of Noise, Epstein glossed over an evening where he was caught impersonating an officer. It was later revealed he’d asked a tailor to make him an officer’s uniform that he wore to cruise bars for men, at a time when homosexuality was illegal. He was arrested by the military police for impersonating an officer, but avoided a court martial by agreeing to see an army psychiatrist, who learned of Epstein’s sexuality. After ten months, Epstein was discharged on medical grounds for being “emotionally and mentally unfit.” And it was on his return to Liverpool that he later told friends he’d had his first gay experience. But his sexuality was something he wrestled with. He once wrote: “I believe that my own will power is the best thing to overcome my homosexuality.” With Epstein harbouring ambitions to act, his parents let him study at London’s RADA. But
he dropped out after the third term claiming he’d become “too much of a businessman to enjoy being a student.” However, his leaving came soon after his arrest for “persistent importuning” outside a men’s toilet in Swiss Cottage. “Brian wanted to present the image of a normal person but it didn’t really work,” recalls Geoffrey Ellis, friend and employee. “He always knew, and I think his family knew, from a very early age that he was homosexual. When he later visited America he became fascinated by its homosexual scene of the 1960s and he behaved sometimes in a way which was dangerous. Deep down, he didn’t want to be homosexual but he also enjoyed his experiences very much indeed.” It was Epstein’s return home to manage his father’s new record shop that changed his life. He first came across John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best (later to be fired by Epstein and replaced by Ringo Starr) in local music magazine Mersey Beat, which he also wrote for. “Brian knew perfectly well who The Beatles were,” McCartney later recalled. “They were on the front page of the second issue of Mersey Beat.” He first saw them live, one lunchtime at the Cavern Club. “I was immediately struck by their music, their beat, and their sense of humour on stage – and, even afterwards, when I met them, I was struck again by their personal charm,” recalled Epstein. They were equally impressed by Epstein and his smart, expensive suits, large car and professional image. And in 1962, they signed a five-year contract giving Epstein 25% of their gross income, more than the usual 10% most managers received. It was all the more remarkable considering Epstein had never managed a musical act before. His first job was to transform their image. Gone were scruffy
37
clothes and in were suits and ties. He insisted they stop swearing, smoking, drinking and eating on stage. Then Epstein began courting the press to generate publicity and booked bigger and better venues for the band to play. Despite being rejected by many record labels, he was put in touch with the head of EMI’s record publishing division and, after convincing them The Beatles could become internationally famous, they were offered a recording contract. “He gave them style, he gave them taste, he gave them their charm and their impeccability in dress,” recalled Beatles producer George
prudish feathers for including “obscene content or nudity.” He kept his sexuality away from the public eye, but it was an open secret among his friends. McCartney said they knew he was gay straight away, but didn’t care because he worked hard for them and introduced them to previously off-limits social circles. “We didn’t have a problem with it,” he recalls. “It was just something we made fun of. The word was out that Brian was gay but the great thing for us was that it didn’t really affect us in any way. We suspected he might hit on one of us, so in the early days we were wondering if that was his interest in us.”
asking him to have no contact with any of them in the future. There were also rumours Lennon and Epstein had an affair during a four-day holiday in Barcelona. Lennon always denied the story, telling Playboy in 1980: “Well, it was almost a love affair, but not quite. It was never consummated... but we did have a pretty intense relationship.” McCartney adds: “I don’t actually know the truth of the John rumour. But to the best of my knowledge John was never gay.” The Beatles retired from touring in 1966 and Epstein found his influence on the group waning. Years earlier, he’d begun using prescription-free stimulants to help him stay awake for long nights on tour, but he gradually became dependent on them. In 1964, Bob Dylan had introduced him to cannabis, and Epstein soon became heavily involved in the drug scene. He also suffered from depression and was a keen gambler, often losing thousands of pounds in casinos in a night. And with a manager of his own, Epstein had plans to launch a new career himself as a TV presenter, starting in Canada. But his plans were unexpectedly cut short in August 1967. He’d invited friends to his East Sussex country home one night but after they arrived, he decided to drive back to London alone because an expected group of rent boys he’d invited hadn’t turned up. However, friends who were worried he wasn’t answering his door later that weekend broke into his bedroom and discovered Epstein, dead. He was dressed in his pyjamas on a single bed surrounded by paperwork, chocolate digestives, a joint and eight half-empty bottles of prescription tablets. A coroner ruled his death an accident, caused by a gradual buildup of the sedative Carbitral in his system, combined with alcohol. The Beatles didn’t go to their
[ ] DEEP DOWN HE DIDN’T WANT TO BE HOMOSEXUAL, BUT HE ENJOYED HIS EXPERIENCES VERY MUCH INDEED
Martin. “He was quite strict with them in dressing them up. He made them bow after each performance. He was a dear man and he had a great deal of talent.” Just months after signing the band, The Beatles took off internationally like no other act since Elvis Presley. And Epstein branched out into managing other acts, including Gerry and the Pacemakers, Billy J Kramer and Cilla Black. “We had complete faith in him when he was running us,” said Lennon. “He was the expert.” By 1965, Epstein was settled in London and bought the lease of the Saville Theatre, where he promoted new works by writers that ruffled
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“Him being gay was an open secret among his friends,” Billy J Kramer tells GT. “I knew about it early on but it didn’t bother me or the people around him because he was a wonderful human being. That was his business.” Although Lennon made sarcastic comments about his manager’s homosexuality to friends and to Epstein personally, no one outside the groups’ inner circle was allowed to. When one of Lennon’s art school friends once asked ‘Which one of you Beatles does he fancy?’ he was sent a letter by Epstein’s office within two days demanding an apology. And McCartney reportedly wrote to him
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manager’s funeral in Liverpool so as to allow his family privacy and avoid attracting fans and the media. But several weeks later, all four Beatles attended a memorial service for Epstein at a synagogue near Abbey Road Studios. Despite transforming four ordinary musicians into worldwide sensations, when Lennon, McCartney, Harrison and Starr were awarded MBEs in 1965, Epstein was overlooked. And even though The Beatles were among the earliest entrants into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Epstein has been snubbed in the Non-Performer’s category. But if campaigners have their way, that will be rectified as soon as possible. “Brian brought the biggest band the world had ever known onto the global stage, so it’s terrible that he’s become this forgotten man,” says Kramer. “There are people in the Hall of Fame who, in my opinion, are far LEFT BRIAN WITH THE less deserving BEATLES AS THEY RETURN FROM TOURING than Brian. THE US ON 21 SEPT 1964 His sexuality or the way he died shouldn’t have anything to do with why he hasn’t been included. It’s been 50 years now and by bringing The Beatles to America and making them so big, he opened the doors for a lot of British artists over there. The rock scene wouldn’t be what it is today without what he did in the early stages. It’s a sin he’s been left in the background and people seem to have forgotten.” Forty-six years after Epstein’s death, his profile is set to rise thanks to two film biographies in the works. One is based on a graphic novel, The Fifth Beatle, and the other is being produced by Tom Hanks and rumoured to be starring actor Benedict Cumberbatch. And if he is inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2014, it will be public recognition of his impact on the band and the music industry. “If anyone was the fifth Beatle,” adds McCartney, “it was Brian.” Q gaytimes.co.uk
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analysis
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WORDS DARCY RIVE
REMEMBER WHEN YOU LOST YOUR VIRGINITY? HORRIFYING, WASN’T IT? AWKWARD EVEN? NOW, IMAGINE GOING THROUGH IT ALL WITH 100 PAIRS OF BEADY EYES WATCHING YOUR EVERY MOVE. THAT’S WHAT 19-YEAR-OLD STUDENT CLAYTON PETTET FACES ON 25 JANUARY. AND ALL IN THE NAME OF ART “I’M GOING TO DESTROY MY virginity,” Pettet explains in a grainy Warhol-esque YouTube video, discussing his controversial project Art School Stole My Virginity. “As the performance piece happens, the meaning of the word ‘virginity’ will be stolen.” But there’s sound reasoning behind all this. By having penetrative sex for the first time in front of selected spectators, the Central Saint Martins student wants to ignite debate about gender roles and the value of virginity – for women in particular. “Virginity has almost become heteronormative in its definition, given that – in the most graphic of terms – it is the moment when a penis first penetrates the vagina. “Therefore, when is the moment of loss for a human male? And is virginity even real, for women and 40
men? Or is it just an ignorant word that was used to dictate the value of a woman’s worth pre-marriage?” Our inherent value in virginity seems to stem from religion. In Christianity, Mary, the matriarch of the church, was a virgin who gave birth to the soul-saving Messiah. And in Islam, Jannah – an eternal paradise for Muslims – is inhabited by 72 virgins ready and waiting to reward earthly mortality with their unbroken hymens. And even in our increasinglysecular Western society, the subject of virginity is still a contentious one at best. We live in a time of “born again” or “renewed” virgins; women who, despite previous sexual experiences, undertake plastic surgery procedures to “restore” their hymens, making them, for all physical intents and purposes, virgins once more. It’s
operations like these which endorse the idea that virginity is a mere technicality of flesh, not a matter of the mind or spirit. We also live in a society that values virginity to the extent we can put a monetary value on it. Last year, as part of a proposed documentary by Australian film maker Justin Sisely, 20-year-old woman Catarina Migliorini auctioned off her first time to an anonymous Japanese bidder for $780,000. The 24-yearold man Alex Stepanov, however, only managed a meagre $2,600 for his virginity in comparison. When you take all this into account, Pettet’s performance piece – or perhaps we should be calling it his protest piece – certainly rings true with the volatile virtue of virginity and the standards placed on women. His project, though, is more interesting in that it raises issues gaytimes.co.uk
[news] surrounding male virginity. In particular, homosexual virginity. Homosexual sex has always been something of a controversial matter. In the 1500s, that great withholder of the sanctity of marriage, Henry VIII, made anal sex between two men punishable by death. And it wasn’t until hundreds of years later, in 1967, that same-sex sex became partially decriminalised, provided both parties were above the age of 21. And even then, we had to wait until 2001 for the homosexual age of consent to be legally lowered to the same as heterosexuals. It seems that homosexual virginity has always been a difficult issue for society to take, as it were. But in most situations, when something is a taboo, its appeal is intensified. Homosexual virginity and its vexed past have led to it being fetishised. A quick Google search of “gay LEFT IMAGERY OF virgin porn”, for PETTET FEATURED ON example – and HIS TUMBLR BLOG yes, it was for research purposes – delivered more than 173 million results in a swift 0.32 seconds. With video titles like Anal Virgin Can’t Take The Pain and Yummy Gay Is Excited To Screw A Virgin, this fascination with virginity presents it as a virtue destined to be corrupted. It is in pornography that virginity is truly stolen, not willingly given as part of an art school project… In the UK, the average age of first intercourse is 16. And it’s assumed that most people have sex around this time. But at 19, Pettet has explained that people are somewhat shocked by his “advanced virginity”. “People form a negative connotation of what it means to be a virgin at my age,” he says. “‘Oh, you’re 19? Why haven’t you lost your virginity?’ That’s what fascinates me about it. The value of the word ‘virginity’ and how it can gaytimes.co.uk
dictate what people think of you.” Pettet’s sexploits also highlight a more abstract issue that affects gay men, raising the question that there could be two, or perhaps even three, virginities that he could lose. Sex with a woman before identifying as gay? Virginity number one. Sex as a top? That’s virginity number two. And sex as a bottom? Ding, ding, ding! That makes three. “Although virginity itself is an abstract idea, the moment the hymen is broken is completely physical, and thus, the exact moment of deflowering can be pin-pointed,” says Pettet. So, is a man who’s never broken a hymen still a virgin? What about the gay man who’s only ever topped or bottomed his way through intercourse? If he has penetrated but never been penetrated, or vice versa, is he still a virgin? Suddenly Regina George’s “I was half a virgin when I met him” quip doesn’t seem so ridiculous, does it? Perhaps this is the wonderful and liberating thing about homosexual virginity that Pettet’s artistic performance brings into the gay consciousness. We are free to create our own individual definitions on a very personal matter. Whether you consider virginity a virtue or a vice, a treasure or a burden, it’s up to you to place a value on it in your life. Clayton Pettet is hoping to “destruct the value of virginity” with his performance, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to resonate with everyone. Virginity is an abstract and personal concept and, as men who have sex with other men, we’re free to dictate our own definition of it. And, like a virgin touched for the very first time, this freedom to decide for ourselves is empowering and more than just a little bit exciting. Q artschoolstolemyvirginity.tumblr.com
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ART OR PORN? On 25 January Clayton Pettet will lose his virginity in front of 100 people, in a performance called Art School Stole My Virginity. Is this interesting or tacky? Is it art or porn? Or is it a bit of both? ART Dan Bunker
PORN Leng Montgomery
Dan is an equality campaigner who is keen on pushing boundaries when it comes to equality and identity.
Is it art? And just who gets to decide? These days we seem increasingly concerned with what can be classed as art and, by extension, who can call themselves artists. But art should be defined by its creator and interpreted by its viewer, so the question is neither here nor there. As consumers of life we have our personal reactions of what we perceive and experience as art. Art statements have made an important contribution to modern consciousness, and pioneers like Robert Mapplethorpe were pushing the levels of queer taste many years before young Clayton was even born. Once seen as a producer of “just” pornography, Mapplethorpe’s work is now celebrated and respected worldwide. More recently we’ve seen art and activism merge with feminist activists Pussy Riot and Pyotr Pavlensky, who nailed his scrotum in Red Square in protest of Russia’s anti-gay laws. Both grabbed the world’s attention and highlighted Russia’s increasingly right wing society. Art School Stole My Virginity is getting headlines too – from the Daily Mail to the New York Daily News – and naysayers accuse it of being a crass, attention-grabbing piece of toss. But how can something be dismissed before it’s even happened? Pettet wants to push the boundaries of what male virginity means and whether the importance of virginity is relevant in our supposedly liberated society. What is gay male virginity and how does it get taken from us? I was 18 and fumbling and it was dark. I may have had a few drinks. My hormones were all over the place. Was it actually happening? Pettet poses similar questions, “Is deflowering really a loss? Or is it an awakening, a beginning, a milestone that should be celebrated rather than feared?” In an age of free and easy access to hardcore pornography, these are ideas we should be thinking about in relation to our own personal values of sex and sexuality. To put a little more thought back into sex. I believe Pettet will look back on the day he lost his virginity with a greater sense of meaning than I ever had. Good for him. Q 42
Leng raises awareness of gay, bi and trans people in schools as an ambassador for Diversity Role Models.
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Art will always be controversial. It’s been used to convey political actions, thoughts, expressions as well as providing a medium through which to communicate sexual desires, expressions, fetishes, lust and exhibitionism. It’s not always a messy bed or a few lines across a canvas. In a static image many things can be conveyed, but art challenges us more when it stops being a vision or a picture. It’s less of an illusion once something is live. Sex, and sexual expression is something that has widely been debated, but there’s still a stigma attached to it. Usually, if an audience is invited to see it, it automatically becomes equated to porn. Pettet says he wants to challenge the notion that virginity, as a concept, is heteronormative in terms of values and assumption and it’s an interesting point. In terms of queer representation, though, can we really say this is a good move? For many years, gay and bi men have been depicted as sex-crazed predators, who live depraved lifestyles and have exhibitionistic, seedy natures. Sure, we like sex. I like experiencing all it has to offer, and what testosterone-driven person doesn’t? But at the same time it can be a problem when that stereotype is continually reinforced and when gay people are associated with entertainment and performance, or a louche and tacky subculture. Pettet, of course, has far loftier aspirations and there’s certainly something poetic about his plans for popping his cherry. But I’m not sold that making virginity a commodity in this fashion is really making a huge statement. We all have differing virginities throughout our lives and certain sexual activities we discover are a ‘virginity’ to lose. This can happen at any time, and not necessarily in the full glare of a room of spectators. Unless that’s what turns the artist on? I don’t question anyone’s right to sexual expression but I feel, in this instance, there is more than an element of exhibitionism being packaged as art here. And not such a strong stance against heteronormativity. Q gaytimes.co.uk
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Did you hear about the schoolboy who killed himself following months of homophobic abuse? Ayden Keenan-Olson was 14. He made 20 reports of homophobic bullying to his school. And that’s it now, because of the ugly way he was treated he’ll never be able to see how beautiful the world can be. And how many of us – gay or trans – can say we don’t know what it feels like to be afraid to go to school? On the whole, parents are becoming more understanding these days and kids are coming out sooner. Previous generations may have been less likely to come out at school, but they weren’t less likely to be bullied. I was bullied for ‘talking like a girl’ and ‘walking like a poof’ and had constant taunts, ridicule and the occasional kick in the face. When I got home I was bullied by my father for the same reasons. ‘Stop talking like a poof’, he’d shout, as he gave me a clip ’round the earhole. I was terrified of going to school and terrified of going home. The only time I felt truly safe was when 44
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I walked the dog, miles into the woods, where I’d imagine being old enough to move away. Smalltown boy, or something. Stonewall is doing great work to tackle homophobic bullying in schools. Good for them. They have the resources and clout to actually get into classrooms and make a real difference. There are other organisations doing similarly wonderful work – LGBT History Month and Schools Out, for example. The difference between those two and Stonewall, however, is that Stonewall only works to stop gay kids from being bullied. They’re going into classrooms and teaching kids that it’s wrong to pick on someone for being gay, but they’re not telling those same kids that it’s wrong to pick on someone for being trans. Hang on, you might ask, why isn’t there a trans charity doing that? The answer is: there aren’t any. At least none with the funds and reach that Stonewall boasts. Imagine an anti-racism campaign that only told kids not to pick on their Chinese classmates, while ignoring the tide of racist abuse directed at other ethnic minorities. Why bother
Stonewall goes into classrooms and teaches kids that it’s wrong to pick on someome for being gay, but they’re not telling those same kids that it’s wrong to pick on someone for being trans
@parislees
having the conversation about racist bullying if you’re not going to look at all racist bullying? The same is true of gender-based bullying – aka homophobia, transphobia and sexism. Ask yourself: If kids are killing themselves because parents, charities and schools can’t protect them from homophobic bullying, what do you think it’s like for trans kids? I remember what it was like and it was awful. My father’s family no longer speaks to me after I wrote an article for the New Statesman last year, discussing the violence and verbal abuse I endured both at school and home for being ‘different’. They say I’m a liar. This is what happens, isn’t it, when we speak out about abuse? I’m a big woman now, though, and I won’t be bullied or silenced by anyone. No matter how painful it might be to sever ties with the very people who should be there to support me. How do you find that strength when you are 12 though? And how many children today are too scared to catch the bus that will get them to school on time? How many boys will ‘forget’ their PE kit because they don’t want to be humiliated for being ‘girly’? How many will bunk off and run into the woods so they can be alone for a while? I was considered a ‘problem child’ and I agree I must have been challenging at times. Now that I’m no longer bullied, though, people seem to get along with me just fine. I’ve been allowed to enjoy my potential. I can’t get the image of Ayden out of my head, and every other desperately lonely kid out there who feels like life is hopeless. Even a kid like Ayden, who was fully supported at home, couldn’t be saved. When are we going to allow all our children to enjoy their potential? When are we going to stop trans kids from being bullied? And what are you going to do about it, Stonewall? Q gaytimes.co.uk
IMAGE RYAN HARDING
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KNOWS WHAT IT FEELS LIKE FOR A GIRL
WORDS PARIS LEES / RYAN BUTCHER PHOTOGRAPHS JOE MCCORMICK GROOMING EVAN HUANG USING MAC AND SHU UEMURA STYLE EDITOR LLOYD-SCOTT TYLER BRIEFS BY AUSSIE BUM AT PROWLER WRIST BAND BY ALEXANDER MCQUEEN AT MR PORTER
Sam Callahan may be young and fresh but, as GT found out, there’s more to the former X Factor hopeful than a pretty face. We talked to him about tours, Tamera and tough times – and then took some photos of him in his pants. You’re welcome. 46
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ONESIE BY RUSKIN AT BANGLADS.COM WRIST STRAPS BY ALEXANDER MCQUEEN AND BALENCIAGA AT MR PORTER
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“My love muscle,” Sam quips with a cheeky smile. We’ve just asked the strapping 19-year-old what his favourite body part is. “That wasn’t actually my answer! I don’t know, probably my abs. I get a lot of compliments on my stomach.” He’s topless as he says this and it’s kind of hard not to look at his snail trail. GT remains professional. Just. Could we tempt him to do one of our naked shoots? “I’ll have to have a think about that! I’ve got my Asda George boots with me, the lads reckon they look quite expensive.” We might make an exception to our “totally naked” rule if it means seeing him in nothing but a pair of boots. Even Asda ones. The girls loved Sam on X Factor, a phenomenon he describes as “every teenage boy’s dream”. Not every teenage boy, Sam! “For most of it I was in and out of buildings… now I’m starting to see the full effect of it, if I go down the high street or anywhere, people come and say hello.” His verdict on The X Factor rollercoaster is “surreal” – from start to finish. “I went to a red carpet event and I thought the security guy was going to say ‘You’re meant to be on the other side of the fence mate’ and grab me. But he didn’t.” Over the past 12 months he’s partied with his idols Olly Murs and Robbie Williams, been to St Tropez and generally had a blast, but he’s determined to make sure this “is not the end of the story, just the chapter”. We reckon his smoking hot cover shoot for us could win him a brand new following of male fans – and if it does, he’ll take that as a compliment, thank you very much. He made lots of gay friends at Sylvia Young Theatre School and condemns homophobic lyrics like those recently used by James Arthur: “You’ve got to think about what you say before you say it. And I don’t think he did, basically. I met him and he seemed like a nice guy, but yeah, he’s obviously done some stupid stuff.” Sam used to be in a band managed by “incredibly creative” Geri Halliwell and, in true boy band tradition, there was one gay member. “I’d known him gaytimes.co.uk
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for two years and because we’d slept in a bed together and stuff like that, he was really worried about telling me and I was like, ‘cool man, that’s fine!’ He was really worried about it, bless him.” What “stuff like that” Sam? A look of panic crosses his face before he assures us he is 100% straight. Sorry lads. We do get him to admit to a (purely platonic) man crush though: “Olly Murs. Yes. He’s a lad, I love him. And Tom Hardy.” GT points out that he may have to join the queue for Mr Hardy. “If I was in a film, I’d want to play one of his characters. He’s cool, isn’t he?” But what about his idol Robbie, would he marry him? “I would!” So that’s Robbie AND Tom? “Yeah, but if you choose two you’ve got to choose one musician and actor, you know?” Seems like sound logic from where we’re sitting. Although, technically, Olly takes the potential husband count up to three. Joking aside, Robbie provides Sam with genuine inspiration: “He never had the best voice, and there were so many things where people were like, ‘oh you don’t have this, you don’t have that’, and he made the most amazing solo career ever. I read his book and he said ‘If you’re deluded enough to think you can do it, you can’ and I think that’s great. So I think I just have this positive attitude and that helped me a long way through the competition.” It’s just as well. Though he describes Louis Walsh as “lovely and lively” and “much funnier in real life”, he didn’t get on with all the judges. Gary Barlow regularly criticised him: “I didn’t let it get to me for more than ten minutes at a time. I’m a positive person, I literally turn it around and think right, come back fighting next week if I get through. I’m one of those speedballs, punch it and it comes back quicker.” Someone who definitely did warm to Sam was 16-year-old Tamera. We play word association with him and when we read out Tamera’s name he responds instantly with “interviews”. He’s sharp, this boy. The media tried to whip the romance into something bigger than it was, but Sam insists 50
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the reality was far more mundane: “We just get on really well. We lived together for, like, two months and kept in touch after I left. The thing is, we’re so busy, I don’t know whether it could really work.” He’s fully aware that the next few months are crucial to securing his career: “I’ve written my own music since I was 13, I’ve done my groundwork. I used to gig all around the country, for free, in my clapped out estate with my PA system in the back, just trying to get exposure. Now it’s about keeping that up with an opportunity I’ve been given.” The next opportunity, of course, is The X Factor Tour: “I absolutely can’t wait! Every musician, every artist anywhere in the world has a dream, and a part of that dream, whether it’s the whole dream or not, is to go on tour. This is when I can show you what I do with my own music, how I perform on stage, and I hope that everyone sticks by me and gets to see all that.” Part of his determination comes from being bullied at school: “I was, like, this tiny little blond-haired, blue-eyed kid – probably a little bit too cocky for my own good – but only because that was the only way I knew how to stand up for myself. At one point, one of the older kids, when I was in year seven, he held me down while his mate kicked me in the face with a football boot and I had a big gash down my face.” Bullying can often be down to envy, he says, or sometimes people do it just because they can: “People mistake your niceties for weakness, and that won’t change me being nice, ever. Because if someone’s nasty to me, I’ll have something to say, but otherwise what’s the point in being nasty to anybody? It takes way too much effort.” So what advice would he offer to anyone getting bullied? “You’ve just got to keep fighting and stick up for yourself, because if you don’t you become a target… but the main thing isn’t to the people who are suffering but more to the people who don’t look up and realise it, those people’s gaytimes.co.uk
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VEST BY GODS GIFT AT EACHTOTHEIROWN.COM
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friends. People commit suicide, they start cutting or taking drugs and you’re like, well this is changing that person’s life. Just because they are who they are. And I don’t believe anybody should be discriminated against because of who they are.” He recently befriended a ‘Callafan’ online, who was getting bullied so badly she tried to kill herself. He’s since met with the girl and her family, and she’s doing better, but there are many more young people going through similar struggles. He tells us about one Callafan who died while he was doing X Factor: “She actually took her own life because she was bullied at school. And it just kind of shocked me, you know? I got bullied badly and I’m the sort of person, luckily enough for myself, that I can take it on and go, ‘you know, I’ll come out on top’. But so many people aren’t, everybody’s made of different stuff – and I tell you what, it does knock it out of you even if you are made like that.” There’s a lovely depth to Sam and we ask him if music is what gives his life meaning. “Music will always be the focus, but recently I’ve done a lot of stuff for the Teenage Cancer Trust. I met a guy who was 21, who just literally a couple of days before had asked his girlfriend who has cancer to marry him. And all the things we worry about, there’s so much more to life! Music’s absolutely the most important thing, but my family are really important to me, though I probably wouldn’t have said that if I hadn’t have been through that in the past couple of days.” GT’s allergies have kicked in by this point. Quick, compassionate and ambitious – Sam Callahan is so much more than a pretty face. “I hope people can see me for who I am now that I’m out of the competition. I’ve got a lot to give and there’s a lot to come from me that wasn’t shown.” Hang on, is he talking about his love muscle again? Q Sam Callahan will be appearing on The X Factor 2014 Live Tour, bookingsdirect.com, @samcallahan94
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The bad boy of gay melodic folk-rock Rufus Wainwright tells us why he’s traded promiscuity and methamphetamine for life as a devoted father, loving husband and the ongoing pursuit to write a great pop hit. Oh, and he’s got a best of album coming out, too I don’t often get nervous before an interview, but as I’m pounding a west London street – anxiously chain-smoking – on my way to meet Rufus Wainwright, it’s fair to say there’re a few butterflies in my stomach. After all, this is a man whose life has been entangled with high drama, family feuds and some of the finest songwriting for a generation. This is a man who’s long been withheld as both musical – and gay – royalty. A Gay Messiah, to borrow a phrase from Rufus himself. What’re you meant to say to a person like that? But as he greats me, shaking my hand with a warming smile on his face, he assures me: “Don’t worry, I don’t bite.” Rufus’ life to date is befitting of an ancient Greek tragedy – an apt comparison, considering his classically handsome good looks. At just 14 years of age, he was sexually assaulted after picking up a man in a bar, who left him for dead in London’s Hyde Park. What followed was years of celibacy, before crossing into a life of promiscuity, and a welldocumented crystal meth habit, which left him temporarily blind. Yet sitting before me, after recently hitting the unnecessarilygaytimes.co.uk
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I HAD THE DRIVE AND IGNITION AND THE PARTS TO DOMINATE THE WORLD. TO MAKE LOADS OF MONEY AND ALL OF THAT STUFF. TO BE A SEX SYMBOL 60
dreaded big four-zero, he’s now a committed family man. He married his long-term partner Jörn Weisbrodt last year, while the year before he fathered a child with Leonard Cohen’s daughter Lorca. Oh, and in his spare time he managed to write and showcase his debut opera Prima Donna to rave reviews and release possibly his finest work to date with his last studio album Out of the Game. So what’s a man who’s seemingly done it all got left to achieve? He laughs, running his fingers through his salt and pepper maine. “I’ve never had a pop hit.” We’re meeting today to talk about, among other things, his next release Vibrate – a career retrospective due in March. A best of, if you will. But certainly not a greatest hits collection. He’d be the first to contest that. “I’ve made an impact, but I’m not rolling in it in terms of the hit department,” he says, seemingly bemused by his own candid honestly. “I’m an artist with a very odd engine. On one hand, I had the drive and ignition and the parts to dominate the world. To make loads of money and all of that stuff. To be a sex symbol. “But on the other, the fuel that engine took was the antithesis to that. It was really high art and intellectual fervour. I’ve always been trying to rectify those elements. It’s almost like I’m a convertible station wagon.” Like you’re being pulled in two directions? “Yeah, which in the end made me kind of a reject, which a lot of people relate to. I think most folk feel they don’t fit into a particular box and feel rather aliened and questionable in terms of how this is all working out. That was sort of my niche.” From April Fools to Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk, to his cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah, Vibrate is an 18 track collection which is
going to leave both casual and hardcore Rufus fans pretty satisfied. It comes with a new track, too. The piano-pop enthused Me and Liza. “I have to be very diplomatic with the track. Let’s just say it’s about legend and arson,” he explains. “It’s very playful. A playful jab. Oh, and you know, possibly a hit?” Vibrate – titled because “anything with a v is impressive” – was pulled together with help from Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant. A man who knows a thing or two about a pop hit, certainly. But after such a vast and varied 15-plus year career, touring the world dozens of times over and, yes, even an opera, why now? “I hit 40 recently, and in that time span a lot has happened. I lost my mother, I had a daughter, I wrote an opera, I’m married… so we’ve kind of come full circle. I wanted to return to a more industry-friendly stance and Vibrate makes a nice bookend. Sort of an encapsulation of my youth. I’m still vaguely young, but 40 is a whole other ball game.” They say 40 is the new 30 anyway. “Yes, but 30 is the new 70! The thing that’s fantastic about 40 is that the bark is so much bigger than the bite. You know, the lead up, the frustration, the worry and fear and regret. Then the birthday comes and you wake up the next day and think ‘oh my God, I’m still young, I still have half of my life ahead of me and I know so much more about how the world works’. Overnight you realise it’s the greatest age and you’ve only just begun in terms of really enjoying and sucking up all this world has to offer.” But there’s not just turning 40. As you said, you’ve been welcomed into married life now. How’s that treating you? “We’ve been married for a year, and we’d been together for about eight years before that, so we do know each other. But I do have to gaytimes.co.uk
[feature]
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GAY MARRIAGE IS ABOUT WHAT’S POSSIBLE IN THE FUTURE. IT’S ABOUT LOVE AND IT’S ABOUT SURVIVAL. IT’S ABOUT HEALING AND GROWTH, AND GAY MEN ESPECIALLY NEED THAT 62
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[feature]
spend more time with him. With my husband and my daughter. I think, especially since my mother passed away, I’m far more aware of the finite nature of human experience. “It’s funny, because before our relationship was very much fuelled by the cosmopolitan, sporadic existences that we both had. Meeting up in European capitals and that can be a lot of fun, but with marriage, it’s kind of got to be about the small things. And you have to put the hours in. So we’re working really hard to rectify that. Marriage is work, but like all good work, it’s the most rewarding thing at the end of the day. But I love him, of course. He’s the love of my life.” Which is what’s important at the end of the day? Ten years ago something like same-sex marriage seemed so unobtainable. “Gay marriage is such a deep and tremendous issue, both because of what’s happened in the past, more specifically for my generation with AIDS and oppression and so forth, and what’s possible in the future. It’s about love and it’s about survival. It’s about healing and growth, and gay men especially need that.” And what about fatherhood? In just a couple of years it seems like your life has changed, and you really are living the life of a family man. “I’m very excited, honoured and scared with the prospect of being a good father. Every day that I’ve spent with my daughter, it blows everything else out of the water. “Every experience I’ve ever had. Whether it’s going to see Wagner operas or trips to Venice with my mother… those were all incredible things. But at the end of the day, when you finally put all those to sleep, and you come up with some small compromise over a toy versus eating your broccoli, it’s a towering achievement above everything else. I’m very lucky to experience that.” As our interview goes longer, we talk about his duet on the new gaytimes.co.uk
Robbie Williams record – “he’s so comfortable with his sexuality and expressing his attentions towards men that it makes me think that he isn’t gay” – and the atrocious LGBT oppression still going on in Russia – “whether it’s Jews, gays or black people, it’s a barometer of terrible things to come. And we all know what happened last time.” But there’s one thing Rufus is desperate to get off his chest. At a time when we’re worshiping fallen Disney idols who seductively simulate fellatio with industrial construction equipment, it’s time for the gay community to be looked upon once again as the taste makers – the cultural leaders – of a generation. “I have issues with gay culture, in terms of what the musical intake is, what it means and, y’know, Lady Gaga. I actually like Britney Spears because what you see is what you get. Lady Gaga, I have trouble kind of pinpointing what’s actually happening, what her character means and what she’s trying to profess. “But at the end of the day, what I will say with gay men – and this is a criticism – is that there was a period when a group of men, the sophisticated ones in major cities, were the pinnacle of culture and taste and intellectual prowess and advancement in the arts. I feel like that tower has crumbled and we’ve got a cesspool right now in terms of what we celebrate. “I’ve been trying, in the last few years, to rebuild that tower. It’s a struggle, but I’m gay, I’m proud, I’m out there, and I’m up to the challenge.” As our interview draws to a close and we get ready to part ways, Rufus warmly shakes my hand again. “See, I told you I don’t bite.” Well, no. Unless your name is Lady Gaga. Q Vibrate – The Best of Rufus Wainwright is released on 3 March, @rufuswainwright, rufuswainwright.com.
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THE BOYS OF BALLET WORDS/(('$//2:$<'$5&<5,9(
There are few things more special than watching the toned male form glide gracefully around a stage, and as winter gives way to spring, we’re spoilt for choice with not one but two wonderful ballet shows. With Le Corsaire and Kings of the Dance coming to the ENO, we speak to some of the talented fellas that will certainly be hotting up the London Coliseum stage
Le Corsaire is a much-celebrated and adored ballet, HYHUVLQFHLWZDVÀUVW choreographed by Joseph Mazilier in the mid-1800s. What do you think makes this English National Ballet production so different and exciting? The fact that LW·VQHZWRWKH8.,W DOVRKDVEHDXWLIXOQHZ VHWVDQGFRVWXPHVDQG VRPHKHOSIXOFKDQJHV WRWKHFKRUHRJUDSK\ DQGSORW%XWWKH JUHDWWKLQJLVWKDW PRVWSHRSOHLQWKH DXGLHQFHZLOOKDYH QHYHUVHHQWKLVEDOOHW EHIRUHVRLW·VIUHVK DQGLQWHUHVWLQJIRU WKHPDVZHOODVIRUWKH FRPSDQ\ The sets were designed by Hollywood favourite Bob Ringwood, DQGWKH\·UHSUHWW\ spectacular, especially the shipwreck scene. What is it like to have to dance and interact with these massive sets at the same time? 7KHVHVHWVDUH VSHFWDFXODUEXWQRW HVSHFLDOO\GLIÀFXOWWR ZRUNZLWK,W·VJUHDWWR EHRQVWDJHZLWKVHWV DQGFRVWXPHVWKDW HYRNHVXFKDUHDOLVWLF DWPRVSKHUHDQGWKDW UHDOO\KHOSXVWRWHOO WKHVWRU\ +RZGLG\RXÀUVW get into ballet? , UHDOO\OLNHGPXVLFDV D\RXQJFKLOGDQG XVHGWRGDQFHDURXQG WRDQ\WKLQJ,KHDUG VRP\PXPDVNHG PHLI,ZDQWHGWRJR WRGDQFLQJOHVVRQV, VDLG\HVDQGZHQWWR
FODVVHVIRUVRPDQ\ GLIIHUHQWW\SHVRI GDQFH%DOOHWLVWKH RQHWKDW,VHHPHGWR EHEHVWDWDQGWKHUHVW LVKLVWRU\ Do you still get nervous before going on stage in front of an audience? ,JHW PRUHQHUYRXV QRZWKDQ,XVHG WR7KHUH·VPRUH SUHVVXUHDVD VHQLRUGDQFHURI WKHFRPSDQ\RU DWOHDVW,SXWPRUH SUHVVXUHRQP\VHOI WRDOZD\VGHOLYHU, OLNHWRKDYHDVWURQJ FXSRIFRIIHHEHIRUH WKHVKRZDQGWDNH WLPHJHWWLQJUHDG\ DQGZDUPLQJXSVR, IHHOFDOPDQGUHDG\ EHIRUHFXUWDLQXS Ballet tours must take you to some wonderful places around the world. Where are the favourite place \RX·YHSHUIRUPHG" 'DQFLQJDWWKH +HURGHV$WWLFXV DPSKLWKHDWUHLQ$WKHQV ZDVDPD]LQJEHFDXVH LWZDVRSHQDLU7KH 3DUWKHQRQZDVOLWXS EHKLQGWKHDXGLHQFH VR\RXFRXOGVHHLWDV \RXZHUHGDQFLQJRQ VWDJH Le Corsaire is a pretty epic love VWRU\:KDW·VWKH most romantic thing \RX·YHHYHUGRQHIRU someone? ,GRQ·WJR LQIRUKXJHURPDQWLF JHVWXUHVEXW,XVXDOO\ WKLQNLI,FRRNRQH RIP\ER\IULHQG·V IDYRXULWHGLVKHVDQG ZHVSHQGDTXLHW HYHQLQJWRJHWKHUWKDW·V SUHWW\URPDQWLFQ
-DPHV)RUEDWDQG-XQRU6RX]DDSSHDULQ/H&RUVDLUHZKLFKUXQVXQWLO)HEUXDU\ DW/RQGRQ&ROLVHXP5REHUWR%ROOHDQG0DUFHOR*RPHVDSSHDULQ.LQJVRIWKH 'DQFHDWWKH/RQGRQ&ROLVHXP ²0DUFKHQRRUJ
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[ballet]
What made you want to be involved with Kings of the Dance? In 2006 I was invited by Sergei Danilian, the producer of the show, to be part of the world premiere of Kings of the Dance, but I was already committed with the Olympic Games in 7XULQ,·YHEHHQJLYHQ the opportunity again WKLV\HDUDQG,·PVR happy to be part of the cast. I know the other artists very well, WKH\·UHDOOKLJKOHYHO international dancers. Each of them has his own features and a unique charisma. It will be very interesting to share the stage with them. With such talent, one might assume LW·VTXLWHFRPSHWLWLYH between you guys? &HUWDLQO\WKHUH·VDORW of competition, but LW·VDKHDOWK\RQH,W·V a stimulus to always do better, to go beyond our own limits. Everyone is aware of his own value, talent and qualities, which are different for each RIXV:H·UHJUHDW dancers and we know we can grow thanks to the stimuli coming from competition. :KDW·V\RXU IDYRXULWHWKLQJ DERXWSHUIRUPLQJ and do you have a VWDQGRXWUROHIURP \RXUFDUHHUVRIDU"I love everything about this artform. I love the stage, the daily hard work and sweat, the relationship with the audience. But most of all I love the opportunity to play a variety of different roles. To feel beautiful and intense emotions and being able to
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communicate them to the audience. How do you balance DSK\VLFDOO\ demanding SURIHVVLRQZLWKD social life? Dance is the priority in my OLIH,W·VWKHFHQWUH the heart of my life. ,W·VFHUWDLQO\QRWHDV\ VDFULÀFHVZKLFKDIIHFW my private life are PDQ\EXW,·PDZDUH WKDWLWFRXOGQ·WEHDQ\ other way.
o t r e e b l o R Bo
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How did you get started in ballet? I ZDVDERXWÀYHZKHQ ,GLVFRYHUHGGDQFH DQGEDOOHWFDPHWRPH ZKHQ,ZDVHLJKWRU QLQH,NQHZ,ZDQWHG WRGDQFHULJKWWKHQDQG WKHUH,WEHFDPHP\ OLIHJRLQJWRWKHEDOOHW VWXGLRHYHU\GD\DQG ,FRXOGQ·WZDLWWRJR EDFNWKHQH[WGD\ Following performances in New York and Russia, this is the UK debut of Kings of the 'DQFH²ZKDWÀUVW attracted you to it? 7KHSURMHFWZDVLQD YHU\KLJKSODFHZLWK DPD]LQJGDQFHUVZKHQ LWVWDUWHGVRZKHQ, UHFHLYHGWKHLQYLWDWLRQ WRMRLQ.LQJV,MXPSHG ULJKWRQERDUG1RZ LWKDVHYROYHGLQWRD FROODERUDWLRQEHWZHHQ VRPHRIWKHEHVW PDOHGDQFHUVLQWKH ZRUOGDQGQRWMXVWLQ GDQFHEXWPXVLFDQG FKRUHRJUDSK\DVZHOO ,W·VMXVWVRH[FLWLQJ WREHDEOHWREHVR FUHDWLYHDQGWRSXVK RXUVHOYHVRXWVLGH RIRXUUHVSHFWLYH FRPSDQLHV Your gay uncle was very much an inspiration to you. Could you tell us a little about him?
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WLPHZLWKWKHPDWWKHLU KRXVH7KHLUORYHIRU HDFKRWKHUVHHPHGWR EHDQDWXUDOWKLQJIRU RXUIDPLO\+HWDSHGDOO P\SHUIRUPDQFHVDQG XVHGWRPDNHPHOLVWHQ WRFODVVLFDOPXVLFDOO WKHWLPH+HPRYHG WR/RQGRQIRUDZKLOH EHIRUHKHZDVVLFN +HZDVPRVWGHÀQLWHO\ P\KHUR:HKDYHD ORWRIWKHVDPHIDFLDO IHDWXUHVDQGZHERWK ORYHGWRODXJK There are still certain GDQFHUVZKRGRQ·W feel comfortable coming out. Why do you think this is? ,·PUHDOO\QRWVXUH 3HUKDSVWKH\·UHMXVW QRWUHDG\RUWKH\ WKLQNLWZLOOKXUWWKHLU FDUHHULQZKDWSDUWV WKH\·UHRIIHUHG,·YH DOZD\VWKRXJKWWKDWLI DSHUVRQFDPHWRVHH PHDV5RPHRDQGWKH\ GRQ·WEHOLHYHPHWKHQ ,·PQRWGRLQJP\MRE YHU\ZHOO,FDPHRXW SXEOLFO\RQWKHFRYHU RI7KH$GYRFDWHZKHQ ,ZDVDQGHYHQ ZLWKLQWKHEDOOHWZRUOG WKHUHZDVDELJIXVV DERXWLW7KHQLWZDV ROGQHZVDQG,IRFXVHG RQGDQFLQJDQGEHLQJ H[DFWO\ZKR,ZDQW to be. ,I\RXZHUHQ·WD dancer, what would you be? ,I,FRXOGQ·W EHDFKRUHRJUDSKHURU DQDUWLVWLFGLUHFWRURID EDOOHWFRPSDQ\ZKHQ ,¶JURZXS·,ZRXOGEH DFKHI6RPHRQHZKR FUHDWHVDKDUPRQLRXV SHUIRUPDQFHRQDSODWH LQVWHDGRIRQVWDJHQ
Marcel o Gomes
gaytimes.co.uk
[ballet]
This new production of Le Corsaire is very much a maleled performance and features challenging technique work, such as barrel turns and fouettés. What is it like to train for such a demanding role? Does training ever become competitive, friendly or otherwise? I guess the more demanding a role you get the more FRQÀGHQFH\RXJDLQ LQP\RSLQLRQ$QG \HVHYHU\GD\LV FRPSHWLWLYHEHFDXVH you watch other people doing different VWHSVVRZKHQ \RXKDYH\RXURZQ rehearsal you want WRGRLWHYHQEHWWHU But at the same time ZHQHHGWRKDYHD SDVVLRQWREHDEOHWR talk with other people and enjoy the work \RXGRDQGWKHZRUN they do too. How did you get into ballet? I got LQWRLWEHFDXVHRIP\ WHDFKHUDWERDUGLQJ VFKRROEDFNKRPHLQ %UD]LO(YHU\HQGRI WHUPZHXVHGWRKDYH a little dance and one term she saw me dancing and asked if I wanted to take VRPHEDOOHWFODVVHV with her daughter. So I went there without
my parents knowing. It was quite strange EHLQJLQDGLIIHUHQW SODFHDQGEHKDYLQJLQ a completely different way to who I was ²HVSHFLDOO\EHLQJ Brazilian [laughs].
r o n a u z J Sou gaytimes.co.uk
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WORDS LLOYD-SCOTT TYLER
ski-wear
[01/14]
[style]
SKI WITH SANDRO X FUSALP Ski season is upon us. Some prefer to drink and watch and stay warm, others actually ski. However you work the slopes, do not be seen in anything other than Sandro’s latest collaboration with Fusalp, the luxury heritage French ski brand. It’s gorgeous! Need we say more? Q sandro-paris.com, selfridges.com
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stay groomed!
[01/14]
ESSENTIAL GORGEOUS GROOMING PRODUCTS TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR SKIN THIS WINTER Top row &]HFK 6SHDNH 0DQLFXUH VHW 1LYHD &UqPH /·RFFLWDQH /DYHQGHU )RDPLQJ %DWK 1LYHD ([IROLDWLQJ )DFH 6FUXE 1LYHD ,Q6KRZHU 0RLVWXULVHU 3HUULFRQH 0' *O\FROLF &OHDQVLQJ%DU&]HFK 6SHDN1R6KDYLQJ6HW*HQWOHPHQ·V7RQLF'DLO\0RLVWXULVHU+,0(\H5ROO2Q;HQ7DQ)DFH7DQ3HQKDOLJRQV%HDUG2LO&]HFK 6SHDNH5HG:DVK%DJ
Relax ritual Enjoy a Moroccan cleansing experience, starting with a mint leaf foot ritual, before a bespoke blend of purifying Rhassoul clay and nourishing shea butter is applied to your body. The Dolphin Spa is a Moroccan haven in London, where we tried the Luxury Hammam Ritual. You are cleansed to restore a fresh complexion from head to toe. The ritual finishes with a traditional dousing of orange blossom and rose water. This treatment prepares the skin perfectly for a massage or facial, or just to feel cleansed and relaxed. We highly recommend, so why not recreate the treatment at home? Try at home: fresh mint and eucalyptus oil with sugar for body scrub, salt particles and oil for the foot scrub and natural shea butter to moisture and finish, with some orange blossom and rose water to cleanse and tone. Q GROSKLQVTXDUHFRXNVSD 70
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STILL LIFE BY JOSE POPE STYLED BY LLOYD-SCOTT TYLER BATHROOM WAS AT THE PARK PLAZA WESTMINSTER BRIDGE, 200 WESTMINSTER BRIDGE ROAD, LONDON, SE1 7UT. PARKPLAZA.COM/WESTMINSTERBRIDGE
[style]
Bottom Row Dr Ceuticals Super Repaid Hand Cream, Clarins Double Serum, Ermenegildo Zegna Uomo, Comme De Garcon Blue Cedrat, Czech & Speake No. 88 Shaving Set, Champneys Post Shave Balm, Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream, Nivea Day Moisturiser, Lab Series Overnight Renewal Serum
Christopher Kicks
For Spring/Summer 2014, Christopher Shannon collaborates with Kickers to create his fourth capsule collection. Shannon has created two styles – the Kick Shandal and the Kick Hi CS. We love both, we want both. Stylish and classic rolled into one! Q
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orange
[01/14]
[01] [02]
[03] [01] Coat by Topman, shirt by The Kooples [02] Coat Agi & Sam, t-shirt by Topman, jeans by Tiger of Sweden [03] Scarf and bodywarmer by Chucs, shirt by Jaeger, jeans by Scotch & Soda
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PHOTOGRAPHER TOM BUCK STYLE EDITOR LLOYD-SCOTT TYLER ASSISTED BY ALEX BAKER GROOMING BY DARREN HAU AT LOVELY MANAGEMENT MODELLED BY BAILEY, NATHAN, ASHER AT AMCK MODELS PRODUCTION & CASTING ASSISTANT JOSE POPE THANK YOU TO PATRICK AT AMCK MODELS / AMANDA AT LOVELY MANAGEMENT / LAURA AT ROOSTER
[04]
[style] [06]
[05] TRY–A–TREND Each season presents a new colour or trend that can either be tricky or just worn wrong. Orange is a key colour this season, and can add some much-needed vibrance to these dull and dreary months.
[04] Suit by Vivienne Westwood, shirt by Jaeger [05] Shirt by Vivienne Westwood, Blazer by Scotch & Soda, jeans by Tiger of Sweden [06] Top by Lacoste, trousers by Jaeger
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formal wear [01]
[01/14]
Formal wear can be suited and booted or a more casual affair. Either way don’t over complicate it and you will be suave and sophisticated. If you try out either of these trends, send a picture of yourself working it on Twitter to @gaytimesstyle and use #tryatrend to be in with a chance of winning a prize
[03]
[02] [01] Jacket by The Kooples, t-shirt by Harry Stedman, jeans by Scotch & Soda, backpack by Aspinal of London [02] Suit by Tiger of Sweden, tie by Alexander McQueen, shirt by Jaeger, shoes by Oliver Sweeney [03] Jacket by Tiger of Sweden, roll neck by Jaeger, trousers by The Kooples, boots by Alexander McQueen
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PHOTOGRAPHER TOM BUCK STYLE EDITOR LLOYD-SCOTT TYLER ASSISTED BY ALEX BAKER GROOMING BY DARREN HAU AT LOVELY MANAGEMENT MODELLED BY BAILEY, NATHAN, ASHER AT AMCK MODELS PRODUCTION & CASTING ASSISTANT JOSE POPE THANK YOU TO PATRICK AT AMCK MODELS / AMANDA AT LOVELY MANAGEMENT / LAURA AT ROOSTER
[style]
[05]
[06]
[04] [04] Tie by Alexander McQueen, suit by Selected Homme, shirt by Jaeger [05] Jacket by Jaeger, shirt by Jaeger, trousers by Jaeger, shoes by Oliver Sweeney, bag by Aspinal of London, selfridges.com [06] Jacket and waistcoat by Tiger of Sweden, tie by Alexander McQueen, shirt by Burtons, trousers by Jaeger, socks by M-6, shoes by Oliver Sweeney
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interiors
[style]
The hand-crafted feel is a huge trend in homewares this winter. Especially in accessories. Think uneven pottery with naive glazes, ethnic finds from your most exotic travels and soft furnishings with textures of the lovingly homemade WORDS MARK KING
Canevas Abstract cushions, various sizes, £165 each, wovenground.com
Henry Zig Zag pouffe by Donna Wilson for SCP, £235, scp.co.uk
Kalo woven laundry basket, from £45, habitat.co.uk
Fairisle rug by Donna Wilson for SCP, £1275, scp.co.uk
Get crafty!
Coates cushion,£40, habitat.co.uk
Dip ceramic platter, £18, habitat.co.uk
This Way That bean bag by Donna Wilson for SCP, £675, scp.co.uk
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[home]
Strip pasta bowl, £10, habitat.co.uk
Canevas Flower rug by Gan Rugs, £1,760, wovenground.com
.QRWÁRRUFXVKLRQV £80 each, habitat.co.uk
IX & M E R ATCH M Co-ordinating the soft furnishings in your home doesn’t have to mean resorting to stately home chintz. Keep it sharp and contemporary with a little help from Fenton. They scour art shows for striking work by up-and-coming artists and create a collection of home furnishings from a chosen piece. Elements from the original work are pulled out and reconstructed into new, complimentary designs for shades, cushions and even wall-size murals. You can also buy a print of the work that inspired your furnishings to hang and complete the look. A portion of product sales goes to the original artist, so you can both look good and feel good about supporting the arts. A great combination. Q Products shown are from the Evolution collection inspired by Haroun Harwood, fentonartdesign.co.uk
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[01/14]
[reviews]
OUR LATEST HOBBIE Everyone loves a bad boy and, oh, how we love this one! Brighton-born singer/songwriter Hobbie Stuart’s debut single, Still Here featuring Ghetts, hits the shelves in early 2014 and the 22-yearold already has 23 million YouTube views and a sold out UK tour. Some people have bird watching as a hobby, we’d rather gawp at the lesser-spotted Hobbie in our spare time. Fit, talented and definitely one to keep an eye on. We’ll just shimmy on over to the next page while you drool a little longer… Q hobbiestuart.com, @HobbieStuart
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albums
[reviews]
Sophie Ellis-Bextor Wanderlust With her Strictly stint a fading memory, Sophie Ellis-Bextor is back with her two feet planted ÀUPO\LQKHUVHULRXVPXVLFFDUHHU+HDUWEUHDN will not be making her a dancer this time, as VKH·VSLFNHGXSWKHDFRXVWLFJXLWDUDJDLQDQG rapidly written and recorded a new album with Ed Harcourt. It harks back to those heady theaudience days, making Proper Serious 0XVLFDZHOFRPHEUHDNIURPKHU*$<ÀOOLQJ fodder. We can safely say this in the knowledge that someone somewhere will surely knock out a Freemasons-style remix, bringing the world back into equilibrium. There are so many strings slapped over the arrangements, the album sounds like a one ZRPDQ0\/LIH6WRU\ \RX·OOKDYHWRUHPHPEHU WKHDXGLHQFHWRJHWWKDWRQH DOO%RQGÀOP glamour and literary allusions. The lead single Young Blood is a piano ballad, and is basically 6RSKLH(OOLV%H[WRU·V,PDJLQHDQGDKHDUWIHOW companion piece to the closing guitar ballad When The Storm Has Blown Over. Elsewhere you can expect faster-paced, organ-lead, VLQÁXHQFHGSRSDQGDQRRPSDKZDOW] ,I\RXFDQ·WGRLWZKHQ\RX·UHQRWVR\RXQJ when can you do it? QQQQQ 80
Painted Palms Forever You know when you put on a record and immediately fall in love? Painted Palms made us swoon from the ÀUVWFOLFNRISOD\)URPWKHRIIZH·UH whisked into a world of psychedelic 60s pop. A place inhabited by jewellery box melodies, like when MGMT were exciting, or if The Beach %R\VZHUHWDNLQJWKHLUÀUVWVWHSV into light electronic dance. Painted 3DOPV·PXVLFZDVKHVRYHU\RXLQ lazy happy waves, harking back to a non-existent summer, getting lovelier with each listen. Even their one downer, Soft Hammer, is dreamy. A total indie pop crush. QQQQQ
Amanda Palmer and Neil Gaiman An Evening With Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer Warning: contains poetry. A bizarre hybrid three disc literature, music and comedy bonanza with special guests a plenty (such as Margaret Cho talking foreskin). Neil does the talky schtick, with Amanda playing piano, ukulele and singing her unique brand of politically charged bedroom pop. QQQQQ Tensnake Glow With an impressive roster of collaborators from rent-a-guitar Nile Rodgers to Mr Confessions on a Dance Floor
Jacques Lu Cont, German DJ Tensnake has created and curated a classy, thoroughly modern electronic funk album. Several tracks have Fiora on vocal duties, adding a soft feminine touch to proceedings. QQQQQ Breton War Room Stories A classic, SRSÁHFNHGLQGLH band hailing from London, England. Drawing from the songwriting penmanship of Britpop, but crafting it with a dance sensibility, kind of OLNHÁDVKLQWKHSDQV Athlete or other blokey rock/dance cross-overs. Lead single Envy perfectly sets the tone. QQQQQ
I Break Horses Chiaroscuro Led by Swedish artist Maria Lindén, I Break Horses are back with a second album of slow burning electro. They subscribe to the Fischerspooner school of simple, direct beat programming and favour the gradual build to any whistle-blowing, beatdropping climaxes. Chiaroscuro harbors an unexpected, surprise EHDXW\²OLNHZKHQ\RX·UHH[KDXVWHG on a nightbus and suddenly look up and notice something jaw-droppingly pretty. The whole album gently drifts like a guitar-less goth, stumbling into the calmer moments of Crystal Castles, but lacking the smooth waftiness of Goldfrapp. In short, a blunt version of The Knife. QQQQQ gaytimes.co.uk
[music] WORDS BOB HENDERSON
The impossibly cute Elyar Fox is a brand new baby-faced popstar, spared the indignity of going through a reality TV show (it wouldn’t have been fair on the other contestants). And without resorting to that format’s 150% hyperbole, we’d say he’s a full package, triple threat; looks – not bad, vocals – spot on AND he can play the guitar. Like properly play the guitar with a capo and everything. Not just a detuned one finger wonder. We know this for a fact as we were witness to an intimate studio performance, where he perfected the teeny bopper smooth move of catching a girl’s eye in the audience and giving them a heart melting wink. Yes, our green eyes saw that. And Elyar’s vocal skills are as pure and faultless as his lady loving. Not only can he hit some breathlessly high falsettos (giving us the same “wow” we got first hearing Mika sing Grace Kelly), he has an adorable slight lisp when he’s singing. And yet he still has this abundance of youthful swagger that just stops short of being annoying macho arrogance. His first chart attack will be the debut single Do It All Over Again, which despite the guitar skills, is all out pop electro funk. It’s probably a bit early to call, but we’re pretty sure we’ve found the UK’s answer to Justin Bieber with this foxy little baby (baby, baby). Q
R A ELYOX F
Do It All Over Again is out 12 January, Elyarfox.com
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DIV A Las Vegas! Bleona is one of a kind. Literally. “My name is not even an Albanian name,” she casually mentions over lunch, while simultaneously doing her GT interview, editing a behind the scenes video and bossing around the waiting staff. “It’s a unique name. Bleona comes from the joining of my mother, father and brothers’ names. Every other Bleona that’s out there is because of me and they’re at least ten years younger than me. So I’m the world’s first Bleona – you can check. I can’t really be second in anything. I believe that second place is the first loser.” These are the kind of statements of unrelenting determination and unmitigated ego that pepper the average conversation with Bleona. It may sound
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arrogant, but in Albania she is a big deal, and all over Eastern Europe. She could be on TV all the time but is instead pursuing her own pop career. “I had no time for [Albanian] X Factor,” she states matter of factly, before sneaking in her wry sense of humour. “They wanted me to be a judge, I don’t have time for that. I’m too busy being X Factor myself.” Let’s take that backstory journey – you can imagine your own X Factor voiceover, faded photographs zooming past. “It all started with my father, making me dance on a table when I was three-years-old. You’re like the clown of the family, you know?”. The next step was the “Mickey Mouse type clubs”, then as a very loud six-year-old kid she met the Prime Minister of Albania to present
him with flowers. She had her first magazine cover before puberty. “So I’m pretty much used to hanging out with big shots, since I was a little girl,” Bleona quips. It’s two bigshots that have jump started the next stage of her career, a fixation with Timbaland who she managed to reach thanks to an encounter with Donald Trump. “He said ‘oh my god who are you? you’re basically the most famous person I haven’t met yet’.” It was Bleona’s sheer willpower that got them working together, and the result (Pass Out) is one of her best crowd pleasers, an arms aloft anthem about partying til you drop. It’s as upbeat as her latest single Take It Like A Man. It’s our favourite Bleona song, and not just for the blatant sexual innuendo, which
gaytimes.co.uk
[music]
WORDS BOB HENDERSON IMAGES VINCENT PETERS
gaytimes.co.uk
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diva las vegas!
[reviews]
IMAGE VINCENT PETERS
her trademark kisses, an Albanian princess giving a regal wave, while her bubble boys worked the crowd. And the following day, everyone got to see what all the hard work was for, headlining the main stage at Vegas Pride. True to form, she took no half measures. “I love it when people say it’s impossible, this is what gets me going,” she tells us. And her performance got her going, her crew going mad and the crowd going wild. She overcame every logistical nightmare involved in making a song entrance in an inflatable bubble (which could only happen thanks to involving four crew and her nonEnglish speaking mother). She was in the bubble for about five seconds onstage before a dancer stabbed it open and she burst into another high energy dance pop track. By the end of the show, all her hot dancers were ejaculating champagne over her and the audience, while she writhed in strawberries and chocolate sauce. Bleona is a health and safety nightmare, a redefinition of hot mess.
she is well aware of. “I mean the song has nothing to do with the gay community, it’s about a girl saying to a guy ‘this is who I am, take me as I am, or I’ll find someone else’. But for the gay community it has a total different meaning!” she laughs. As a song it joins the canon of covert pop songs about anal sex, while being armed with one of those stealth melodies that you find yourself humming at improbable moments. You don’t get to the point of catchy singles and 35 fashion magazine covers without putting in some serious work, and you don’t have to spend a weekend in Vegas to see that Bleona works really hard. And is hard work. “I’ve been called before ‘I’m too much’, I don’t have a problem with that,” she says. Our first hand experience of this included dropping by a sex shop off the strip for some latex buffing 84
spray for one of her outfits and listening to her shout over a tannoy during a soundcheck “Mummy! Computer!”. Oh, and she’d fired her assistant within the first 12 hours of us meeting her. Bleona is the living breathing Wilhelmina Slater of Euro-pop, you can’t help being in awe in her presence. “I like the idea of being a perfectionist,” she explains. “it’s very time consuming and you drive crazy everybody else around you, but then once they learn your standard they can just function for themselves.” It’s like Work Bitch went to the wrong woman. Of course, these are the extreme backstage moments. Her fans got to see her perched on an open topped charcoal grey Bentley, working the crowd during the night-time Vegas Pride parade. Her weave was done in big rainbow dipped curls as she blew
I can’t really be second in anything. I believe that second place is the first loser
But it’s not all VIP areas and lavish excess (though it is mostly, and it will be if Bleona gets her way). Half way through her set she made an empowering speech to and for the gays, which she repeats to us the next day over lunch. “I come from a side of the world where gay rights are barely there,” she says, “they sadly barely exist. “By me joining the parade last night and embracing this community in America, hopefully it will be sending a positive message to the other side of the world who are total losers and they just don’t fucking get it. Let people do whatever the hell they want! Why do you have a problem with it? Because we have better things to worry about than discriminating against people for no reason at all.” Q %OHRQD·VVLQJOH7DNH,W/LNH$0DQLVRXWQRZ EOHRQDZRUOGFRP
gaytimes.co.uk
[music] WORDS BOB HENDERSON IMAGES&+$5/,(%523+<
Daft Punk Instant Crush The Strokes vocalist is put through a Cher Believe vocoder, for a very stylish mope at the disco. Q Neon Jungle Braveheart The four piece female equivalent of 5ive are back in the ring for round two, which is somehow brasher, noisier and more of an enjoyable pop headache than the last. Q Union J Loving You Is Easy Not a Minnie Riperton squeak in sight, as what starts as boyband balladering soon cranks up a gear into interesting emo-electronica. Q Lily Allen Hard Out Here Now this is how to do a comeback, even if it is a downloadable Smack the Pony sketch. Q Ciara Overdose Finally this is getting the attention it deserves. Right? Err, no. This single is a Ciara business studies case study on how great pop music can be so badly promoted. Q Röyksopp Something In My Heart 7KH\·YHGRQHDWUDFNZLWK7KH,UUHSUHVVLEOHV frontman Jamie McDermott and very lovely it is – no Girl And The Robot, obviously, but slow hypnotic and haunting electro from a talented tagteam. Q Britney Perfume ,W·VQRWDVLPPHGLDWHDEDOODGDV (YHU\WLPHEXWRQFH\RX·YHJLYHQLWDIHZVTXLUWV LW·VULJKWXSWKHUH&XWWKURXJKZLWK6LDOLNHDVWLFNRI URFNWKLVLV%ULWQH\·V:UHFNLQJ%DOOQ Katy Perry Unconditionally Another second single release EDOODGVKRFNLQJO\QRWZULWWHQE\6LD,WVWLOOVRXQGV OLNH.DW\3HUU\·V:UHFNLQJ%DOOQ
[tracklist]
Put tneedl he e on it Now all the hype and hyperbole has died down, and the ridiculous rhetoric has eased up, we FDQÀQDOO\VHH Artpop for the album LWLV DVOLJKWO\ÁDZHG but gem-packed pop album. And as 2013 draws to a close, in its dying moments you can get hold of the vinyl version RI*DJD·VODWHVW
gaytimes.co.uk
:HFDQ·WZDLWWR hear Swine coming out of our record player, given how it sounds amazing already on tinny laptop speakers. You can get bundles too, together with t-shirts featuring *DJD·VVPHDUHG Applause make-up caked face on the IURQW:LWKMXVWH\HV and teeth, it reminds
Yolanda Be Cool “All that she wants is another baby, she’s gone tomorrow.” A lyric so simple, poetic and ambiguous, it should be taught alongside Carol Ann Duffy. We’re not the only ones who adore the 90s superhit from Ace of Base, as the decade’s revival continues with some heavyweight hipsters of dance collaborating to cover All That She Wants. We No Speak Americano hit makers Yolanda Be Cool have teamed up with Fritz Helder and Syf for this Dalston-esque makeover. It’s been dragged screaming into 2014 with a high hat tss-tss-tss so laid back it’s almost out of time, a bad ass bassline and some strange counter intuitive synth lines. The familiar vocals are down to Fritz, who was behind those Azari & III toplines (which is pretty handy given they’ve just disbanded). We’d be lying if we didn’t mention that we love and miss some of the cheesiness of the original, but damn it, it’s about time all this 90s nostalgia tackled the cream of the crop. Q Yolandabecool.com
us of those animals faces t-shirts, i.e. brilliant. At worst you can use the double 12” discs as an expensive postpostmodern Gaga costume, gotta be sturdier than those plastic shells from her last X Factor “performance”. The vinyl edition of Artpop is out 30 Dec, ladygaga.co.uk
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WINTER
SALE
27TH DECEMBER - 2ND FEBRUARY WWW.PROWLER.CO.UK SOHO 5-7 Brewer Street, Soho, London, W1F 0RF, 020 7734 4031 BRIGHTON 112-113 St James’s Street, Brighton, BN2 1TH, 01273 683 680 BIRMINGHAM 29-30 Stephenson Street, Birmingham, B2 4BH, 0121 665 6379
WORDS PARIS LEES / JACK REAR / NATHAN GENESE
[print]
[reviews]
Passion For Life: An Autobiography Joan Collins -RDQ&ROOLQVGRHVQ·WKROGEDFNLQKHU latest autobiography. The Dynasty star, whose career stretches over 60 years, talks about her friends and latest hubbie, Percy Gibson (who is 32 years her junior and she once responded to the age gap with, “If he dies, he dies!”). As well as dishing the dirt on her four ex-husbands and FRXQWOHVVER\IULHQGVWKHUH·VDOVR some revelations on antiques dealer Robin Hurlstone, who Joan dated for most of the 90s and previously GLGQ·WGLVFORVHPXFKDERXWWKHLU UHODWLRQVKLS'HOLFLRXVO\GHÀDQW brimming with attitude and chock-full of drama – everything we want from a true diva! QQQQQ
The Days of Anna Madrigal Armistead Maupin You must watch Breaking Bad. You must listen to Disclosure. You must see Book of Mormon. Sorry to add to your list of MUSTS, but if you KDYHQ·WUHDG$UPLVWHDG0DXSLQ·V7DOHVRIWKH &LW\VHULHV\RXPXVW,W·VLQVSLUHGVHYHUDO79 series and musicals and now the eighth book in this 30-year series is about to drop. 7KLVWLPHURXQGLW·VDOODERXW$QQD0DGULJDO SHUKDSVRQHRIOLWHUDWXUH·VPRVWZHOOGUDZQ and non-sensationalised transgender FKDUDFWHUV6KH·VEHHQTXLHWO\KDQJLQJDURXQG RWKHUSHRSOH·VVWRULHVLQWKHVHULHVODUJHO\ minding her own business, and the issue of her transgender past has never been a big GHDO1RZVKH·V DQG²GHWHUPLQHGWR´OHDYH OLNHDODG\µ²VKH·VRIIRQDURDGWULSWKDWZLOO take her, and us, deep into her past. As ever, WKHSURVHLVFULVSDQGFOHDQ0DXSLQ·VJUHDW strength is not his poetry but the richness and variety of his characters, his tight narrative control and his nuanced understanding of FRPSOH[KXPDQHPRWLRQV,W·VIXQQ\WRR² and provides a snapshot of modern San Francisco through the prism of one of its oldest LQKDELWDQWV$QGWKHUH·VQRWKLQJEHWWHUWKDQD fabulous old lady, is there? QQQQ Q
gaytimes.co.uk
Body Counts Sean Strub Sean Strub is a man of many talents. He founded the groundbreaking POZ Magazine, produced the hit play The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me, and EHFDPHWKHÀUVW openly HIV positive candidate for US FRQJUHVV6WUXE·V autobiography tells a touching, and often thoughtprovoking story of his experiences. QQQQQ Downton Tabby Chris Kelly Everybody loves Downton. Or at least, everyone puts up with someone who loves Downton. Likewise, everyone loves cats or at least everyone puts up with a cat person. This hilarious collection draws
together both worlds into a fabulous, cat-Downton mash-up, complete with photographs and artwork that will have tears of laughter streaming down your face. QQQQQ Confessions of a Showbiz Reporter Holly Forest Billed DV¶FRQIHVVLRQV· (part of a series where people reveal behind-thescenes job secrets). WKLVGRHVQ·WOLYHXS to the title, being observations of how celebrity and entertainment reporting happens. ,W·VWKLQRQUHDO gossip, and more the opinions of one person in the media machine – which LVQ·WDVJODPRURXV as you may imagine. QQQQQ
Beards: An Unshaved History Kevin Clarke Here at GT Towers ZHFDQ·WJHWHQRXJKRIÀWIHOODV rocking facial fuzz. And judging by this gorge new coffee table book, EHDUGVDUHGHÀQLWHO\ZLQQHUV7KLV collection may as well have simply EHHQQDPHG¶7KH%HDUG%LEOH· LI you need to know anything about IDFLDOÁXIIFKDQFHVDUHLW·OOEHKHUH Clarke documents everything from the “porn moustache” to the religious connotations of beards. Interviews, essays, and plenty of photographs ranging from tasteful to downright sexy are all contained within. If \RX·YHHYHUZDQWHGWRÀQGFRPPRQ ground for gays, straights, hipsters, porn stars and even the Taliban then look no further. QQQQQ
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[stage]
[reviews]
Happy Days ‘Tis the season of happy days, from snuggling around the fire with your nan after Christmas lunch to knocking back the gins with your BFFs for New Year’s Eve. But by 11 January, the month-long hangover will have kicked in and the Visa bills started to arrive. So if you can take just a bit more Bucks Fizz, Cheryl Baker is starring in a revival of 70s sitcom Happy Days. Get ready for some rockin’ and rollin’, girls. Q -DQ²-XO\KDSS\GD\VWKHPXVLFDOFRXN
Until 18 Jan &DEDUHWLVQ·WMXVW IRU&KULVWPDVLW·V IRU-DQXDU\WRR
gaytimes.co.uk
Until 19 Jan /LVWHQZH·YHIRXQG DJUHDWVKRZIRUDOO WKH6LQJOH /DGLHV,W·VRQHIRU D1DXJKW\*LUOWREH OLNH´,:DV+HUHµ -XVWGRQ·WJHWDQ (JREHFDXVHZH OLNHWKDW+DOR)ODZV $QG$OO
Until 25 Jan :HORYHDELWRI 'RFWRU:KR²RU RFFDVLRQDOO\TXLWH DORWRI'RFWRU :KR6RWKHLGHD RIWKH'RFWRUDQG 6KDNHVSHDUH FRPELQLQJLVSUHWW\ H[FLWLQJ'DYLG 7HQQDQWSOD\V 5LFKDUG,,LQD QHZDGDSWDWLRQ DWWKH%DUELFDQ WKHDWUH*HW\RXU FXOWXUHZLJVRQ EDUELFDQRUJQ
8 Jan – 1 Feb :HSUREDEO\ VKRXOGQ·WVD\WKLV RXWORXG1RW EHFDXVHLW·VWDERR ²REYLRXVO\ZH ORYHDWDERR²EXW EHFDXVHLW·VQRW UHDOO\LQWKHVSLULWRI WKLQJV'RZHKDYH WRDFWLWRXWIRU\RX"
Until November :HORYHD:LOO\ :RQND2U VRPHWKLQJOLNHWKDW 7KHFODVVLFÀOPKDV EHHQDGDSWHGIRU VWDJHZRZLQJ DXGLHQFHVVLQFH SUHPLHULQJRQWKH :HVW(QGODVW VXPPHU3RS &KDUOLHDQGWKH &KRFRODWH)DFWRU\ RQWKHWRVHHOLVW IRU&KDUOLHDQGWKHFKRFRODWHIDFWRU\FRPQ
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cinema/disc
[reviews]
All Is Lost For years people have been telling Robert Redford he’s all washed up, and now he’s taken them at their word, with a powerful solo performance in this film about a man shipwrecked on the Indian Ocean. Q 47 Ronin What links the films 47 Ronin, 13 Assassins, Seven Samurai, and Three Men and a Baby? That’s right - PRIME NUMBERS. I thought Keanu Reeves was past his prime, but he’s back in this martial arts fantasy. Q The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Ben Stiller directs and stars in this adaptation of the tale of a man who gets lost in his own daydreams. After years in development hell (Jim Carrey, Owen Wilson, Mike Myers and Sacha Baron Cohen were all tipped to star) let’s hope the result doesn’t turn out to be a nightmare. Q Last Vegas If the phrase ‘Robert De Niro comedy’ doesn’t strike fear into your heart, it should. He stars alongside Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman and Kevin Kline as a bunch of old farts who head to Vegas in an attempt to relive their glory days, which in De Niro’s case would be Casino (1995). Q
[also out]
The Frozen Ground Disc John Cusack is back as another coldEORRGHGVHULDONLOOHU KH·VVRJRRGLQ WKHVHNLQGVRIUROHV,·PVWDUWLQJWR worry. Nic Cage co-stars as a cop, DQG,·PZRUULHGDERXWKLPWRREXWIRU WKHRSSRVLWHUHDVRQ²KH·VSOD\LQJ LWVDQHDQGVDQHGRHVQ·WVXLWKLP The same goes for this Alaskan-set thriller: it may be based on true story LW·VJRWSKRWRVRIWKHYLFWLPVRYHUWKH HQGFUHGLWV EXWZKHUH·VWKHSL]]D]" QQQQQ Pain & Gain Disc Michael Bay is my .XEULFNDQGIXWXUHJHQHUDWLRQVRIÀOP students will wonder why his genius went unrecognised. This demented tale of bodybuilders, ambition, murder, extortion and steroidimpaired decision-making stars Mark :DKOEHUJDQG'ZD\QH¶7KH5RFN· -RKQVRQDQGLW·VZHOOZULWWHQÀQHO\ acted and spectacularly entertaining. 3OXV\·NQRZELJPHQLQWLQ\O\FUD QQQQQ Lovelace Disc7KLV/LQGD/RYHODFH biopic breathlessly recreates the 'HHS7KURDWVWDUOHW·VÀUVWDWWHPSWVDW full-throated fellatio – and judging by SHRSOH·VUHDFWLRQV\RX·GWKLQNWKH\ were watching the moon landing, QRWWKHJD\HTXLYDOHQWRIDFDVXDO handshake. Part period piece, part FDXWLRQDU\WDOHWKHÀOPFHUWDLQO\ looks the part, but the cast are let down by an underwhelming script, ZKLFKGRHVQ·WJLYHWKHPDQ\WKLQJ meaty to sink their teeth into. QQQQQ
The Wolf of Wall Street The Occupy PRYHPHQWDQGLWV ¶ZHDUHWKH · slogan might sound good on paper, but LW·VKDUGWRVWD\ mad at the bankers ZKHQWKH\·UH
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played by the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey and Jonah Hill. 0DUWLQ6FRUVHVH·V story of the rise and fall of a Wall Street stockbroker
looks and sounds DPD]LQJDQGLW HYHQIHDWXUHV Joanna Lumley – VRZKDW·VWRKDWH" They may be the EXWPD\EH WKH\·UHWKHWRS 5LJKW"Q
Riddick Disc Pitch Black was a %PRYLHSDUH[FHOOHQFHEXWHYHQ-XGL 'HQFKFRXOGQ·WVDYHLWVRYHUEORZQ VHTXHO:ULWHUGLUHFWRU'DYLG7ZRK\ DQGVWDU9LQ'LHVHOKDYHWDNHQWKH franchise back to its low-budget roots, and the results are entertaining if predictable, as the steel-eyed ex-con ÀQGVKLPVHOIVWUDQGHGRQ\HWDQRWKHU planet with a particularly unpleasant ecosystem and a host of bounty hunters queuing up to be dispatched. QQQQQ gaytimes.co.uk
[screen] WORDS0,/2:$.(/,1'$9,'&800,16
Inside Llewyn Davis Cinema 5DUHO\KDVDVKDJJ\GRJVWRU\ VRXQGHGVRJRRG WKH&RHQ %URWKHUV·DIIHFWLRQDWHLQFRQVRODEOH WULEXWHWR1HZ
Her Cinema I spend more time with my smartphone WKDQZLWKDQ\VLQJOHKXPDQEHLQJ,WNQRZV me better than my mother, and thanks to LWVVHOHFWLRQRI²DKHP²VRFLDOQHWZRUNLQJ apps, most of my relationships are conducted WKURXJKLW6RZK\GRQ·W,FXWRXWWKHKXPDQ HOHPHQWDQGVWDUWORYLQJZKDW·VLQP\SRFNHW" $IWHUDOO,KDYHQRSUREOHPVWXUQLQJLWRQZKHQ ,ZDQWVRPHWKLQJ6SLNH-RQ]H·VVFLÀURPDQFH stars Joaquin Phoenix as Theodore Twombly, DPLOGPDQQHUHGZULWHUZKRVHQHZRSHUDWLQJ system, Samantha (voiced by Scarlett -RKDQVVRQ LVVREULJKWDQGLQWXLWLYHKHÀQGV KLPVHOIIDOOLQJLQORYHZLWKKHU²DQGKH·V DPD]HGWRÀQGVKHIHHOVWKHVDPHZD\,W·VD ZKLPVLFDOFRQFHLWDQGWKHÀOP·VOXPLQRXVO\ EHDXWLIXOSURGXFWLRQGHVLJQGHWDLOVDSODXVLEOH \HWRIIEHDWDOWHUQDWHIXWXUH %XWWKHÀOP·VHPRWLRQDODQGSKLORVRSKLFDO WKHPHVDUHDVVHULRXVDVLWVVFLÀFUHGHQWLDOV Samantha starts out as a novelty OS, but as her capabilities become ever more developed, 7KHRGRUH·VÁDZVDQGOLPLWDWLRQVEHFRPHHYHU PRUHDSSDUHQW:KHQV\QWKHWLFHPRWLRQV become more profound than human ones, who will we turn to when our machines ditch us for WKHODWHVWPRGHO"QQQQQ
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Delivery Man Cinema Thanks to a fertility clinic PL[XSSURÁLJDWH sperm donor 9LQFH9DXJKDQ discovers he has VLUHGRIIVSULQJ – and they want WRJHWLQWRXFK ,W·VZHOOPHDQLQJ but infrequently funny, and the core SUHPLVH²RIIUHVK IDFHGWHHQDJHUV UXQQLQJURXQGZLWK 9DXJKDQ·V'1$ inside them – is MXVWSODLQFUHHS\ QQQQQ Interior. Leather Bar DVD /HJHQG has it that 40 minutes of S&M IRRWDJHZHUH cut from William )ULHGNLQ·VJD\ serial killer thriller, &UXLVLQJDQG James Franco
ZDQWVWRSXWLWEDFN This exploration RI&UXLVLQJ·V themes and LPDJHU\LVH[SOLFLW \HWIUXVWUDWLQJO\ elliptical, but if ZDWFKLQJ)UDQFR ZDWFKVRPHRQHJHW ÀVWHGÁRDWV\RXU ERDWÀOO\HUERRWV QQQQQ The Railway Man Cinema Colin Firth stars in the true story of a man haunted by his time in a Japanese 32:FDPS1LFROH Kidman shines as KLVZLIHHDJHUWR help explore her KXVEDQG·VWURXEOHG past – and with ÁDVKEDFNVFHQHV OLWWHUHGZLWKVHPL nude male cast PHPEHUV\RX·OO want to explore it WRRQQQQQ
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom Cinema,·PDOZD\VZDU\RIDELRSLF ZLWKWKHZRUG¶ORQJ·LQWKHWLWOHEXW if the late Mandela could endure \HDUVLQSULVRQ,ZRQ·WEHJUXGJH him a mere 2 hours 20 mins GHVSLWHWKHIXFNDZIXO%RQRVRQJ WKDWSOD\VRYHUWKHHQGFUHGLWV ,GULV (OEDLVDFRPPDQGLQJSUHVHQFH DVWKHOHJHQGDU\SHDFHPDNHU DQG1DRPLH+DUULVLVIHDUVRPH DV:LQQLHKLVFRQVRUWEDWWOHVKLS *LYHQ0DQGHOD·VSHUVRQDOTXDOLWLHV DQGSROLWLFDODFKLHYHPHQWVLW·V KDUGWRGLVWLQJXLVKELRJUDSK\IURP KDJLRJUDSK\EXW:LQQLH·VÁDZV WXUQRXWWREHWKHÀOP·VVDYLQJ JUDFHDQGLWFRPSHOOLQJO\UHFRXQWV WKHFRXSOH·VHTXDOO\IHUYHQWLI LQFUHDVLQJO\RSSRVHGVWUXJJOHVIRU IUHHGRPQQQQQ
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DIGITAL
DOWNLOAD THE ORIGINAL GAY MAGAZINE
ONLY
£2.49
WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE
READ GT WHEREVER YOU WANT, WHENEVER YOU WANT!
WWW.GTDIGI.CO.UK DOWNLOAD YOUR FAVOURITE BACK ISSUE
WORDS TIM MITCHELL
[geek]
[reviews]
In space no one can hear you squeeeal Not the scariest thing to come out of Ridley 6FRWW·VFXOWFODVVLF (7ÁLFN$OLHQ but possibly the cuddly-wuddlyist. -XVW'2127ORRN this super-deformed little gift horse in the mouth. Or the tiny mouth in its mouth. So many teeth. Q
Star Wars Tauntaun hobby horse,W·VZLQWHU The weather is PLVHUDEOHDQGWKH commute is worse. $YRLGWKHEXV journey – nothing gets you through a cold day on Hoth OLNHD7DXQWDXQ The best part is you GRQ·WHYHQKDYHWR be a young Jedi in training. Q
$7LPH/RUG·VEHVW friend This retro futuristic robotic FDQLQHKDVWUDYHOOHG through time and space with the 'RFWRUDQGVROYHG crimes with Sarah -DQH+H·VDWDONLQJ robot dog you can KXJZKRZLOOVSHDN $Q\DUJXPHQWV to its detriment are automatically LUUHOHYDQWQ
YOUNG AVENGERS STYLE > SUBSTANCE As the final arc of Young Avengers comes to a close under the all-star creative team of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie, we’re taking a look back over the journey spanning 15 amazing issues in 12 months. Marvel began by teasing Gillen and McKelvie’s headline grabbing series with the word “amateurs”. For a series that promised exciting new directions, unseen vistas and a reinvention of Marvel’s premiere teen super hero team (not counting the X-Men… because reasons), Young Avengers could easily have been all talk, conceptually, but instead delivered the definitive must-read Marvel title of 2013, attracting cover art from Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Malley. Bringing together 18-yearold gay power couple Hulkling and Wiccan, Kate Bishop, the lady archer Hawkeye and her intergalactic booty call Marvel Boy (an alien hipster inspired by David Bowie don’t cha know!), with fan favourites Kid Loki, and Miss America, the brief was nothing short of a reinvention of the teen super-hero comic for the 21st century. So yeah, no JD\WLPHVFRXN
pressure right? So what actually happens? Wiccan accidentally summons a mind-controlling interdimensional parasite when he tries bringing Hulkling’s mum back from beyond the grave (big whoops). This horrible mistake predictably comes back to bite everyone in the arse. Fast out of the gate it was all boys kissing and teens with parental issues (and back issues) on a pan dimensional road trip. Nailing the very spirit of Marvel NOW! with a fresh take on the current concerns of (albeit – super powered) kids on the brink of adulthood, from issue one the series had something special. McKelvie delivers a variety of mind-bending layouts, including some genius catch up pages illustrated in the social media styles of Facebook and Instagram. Teenage hormones. Zombie parent hordes. Pancakes! Get invested and get ready to have your adrenaline pumped. Terrific storytelling and innovative art in a read that’s exciting, funny, twisted and moving. You might throw up your heart. Just this side of the BEST! THING! EVER! Q
Marvel Announces Teenage Muslim Ms Marvel The publishing powerhouse is adding a little more diversity to its super hero ranks, introducing Kamala Khan as a Muslim teenage Pakistani-American Ms Marvel. She’ll be taking on the mantle of Ms Marvel, following former Ms Marvel, who now goes by Captain Marvel. Did we mention who’s publishing this title?
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idle hands?
[reviews]
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gaytimes.co.uk
[tech] WORDS MIKE HIRD
Illuminating Nokia appears to be undergoing something of a resurgence of late – having arrived late to the smartphone party, it’s Lumia range is seeing the Finnish communications giant regain some of the visibility it enjoyed in the first wave of mobile phone battles. Now it’s entering the tablet market with its first Windows tablet, the Lumia 2520 and, all things considered, it’s an impressive piece of kit. Combining 4G LTE and Wi-Fi connectivity, a 6.7MP camera, and for the first time ever on a tablet, ZEISS optics, letting people take beautiful pictures – even in low light. The Lumia 2520 runs on Windows RT 8.1 for an easy to navigate experience, and also features multiple colour choices (a boon in a world of slate grey and glossy black tech) as well as a fast-charging capability – providing up to an 80% charge in one hour. Battery issues are further addressed with the addition of the Power Keyboard (albeit at an additional outlay) which adds up to five extra hours of battery life as well as two USB ports – it’s also a lot friendlier to use than the flimsy mats attached to other tablets (step forward Microsoft Surface). Q Nokia.com gaytimes.co.uk
ANY OLD ION Clever camera sorts iON have unveiled the Air Pro 3, a wearable, high-definition video camera with a slew of new features that make the kit attractive to all sorts of people – athletes, cyclists, cottagers, you name it. Compact, lightweight and fully waterproof, the Air Pro 3 also features Wi-Fi connectivity and free cloud storage which works with Apple and Android devices, allowing users to control camera functions and settings, preview the scene
before shooting, instantly replay recordings, and immediately upload footage to Facebook, YouTube and other social networks. What’s more, the Air Pro 3 records HD video at up to 60 frames per second at full 1080p with dual streaming to enable users to simultaneously shoot and share recordings. Add in the fact that the Air Pro 3 is waterproof to 49 feet and you’ve got a one-stop shop for all your snooping needs. Q Ioncamera.com
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PJUR IS THE PERFECT LUBE FOR ANAL PLAY
AVAILABLE IN ORIGINAL, AQUA & LIGHT ALSO AVAILABLE SUPER HERO BACK DOOR & ANALYSE ME
AVAILABLE IN-STORE LONDON z BRIGHTON z BIRMINGHAM
IMAGE JOE MCCORMICK GROOMING EVAN HUANG USING MAC, SHU UEMERA AND MAKEUP STORE WORDS PARIS LEES
[01/14]
[life]
Conor Nash Norfolk, 20, student ,·PQRWOLNH FRPSOHWHO\ FRPIRUWDEOHQDNHG 6D\,·PRXWLQ,EL]D DQGWKHUH·VORDGVRI KRWJX\VDURXQGPH ZLWKPDVVLYHERGLHV 2WKHUWKDQWKDW, DPFRPIRUWDEOH ,JHWQDNHGDORW Sometimes at SDUWLHV:K\QRW" ,ORYHDELWRI strip poker. ,KDYHDVPDOO IUDPHDQGLWVXLWV PHDQGZKR,DP ,I,KDGEXLOWP\VHOI up to be bigger, it MXVWZRXOGQ·WVXLWPH DQGP\SHUVRQDOLW\ ,JHWFRPSOLPHQWHG RQP\MDZOLQHDQG P\FROODUERQHV, ZDQWDELJJHUEXP DQGELJJHUOHJV,·YH JRWUHDOO\WKLQOHJV VR,·GOLNHWRWLJKWHQ WKHPXSDELWPRUH ,ZLVK,ZDVWDOOHU PD\EHDERXW·µRU VRPHWKLQJ $P,DELWRIDQ DWWHQWLRQZKRUH" -XVWDOLWWOHELW
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gaytimes.co.uk
readers’ lives
97
WORDS JOHN MARRS IMAGES ROBERT GERSHINSON
THE MONSTER AND ME 98
gaytimes.co.uk
[life]
REAL LIFE
Last year, 9,000 men in the UK reported they had been raped by another male. But it’s estimated thousands of other victims are too ashamed to report their attacks or talk about them. However, Manchester’s John Lennon is an exception. After a savage attack where he was raped, beaten and had his genitals mutilated, John, 43, put his rapist behind bars and wrote a book about his horrific experience. He tells GT about the night that changed his life forever
I WAS AT AN ALL TIME LOW when I met the man I now call The Monster. I’d moved to Manchester to be with my then boyfriend, but when he was diagnosed with HIV, our life together fell apart. At some point during our relationship he had cheated, but by some miracle I was clear. Soon after that, my beloved dog died which broke my heart. So I was at a vulnerable point – I was single and didn’t want to go out and meet people, and concentrated on my dog grooming business instead. Then one Saturday afternoon, The Monster walked into my shop. I won’t humanise him by giving him a name – but he was half my age, beautiful, charming and trendy. He started chatting me up and said he fancied me, and I quite liked the attention. He asked if he could stay the night and I said yes. So we went to a party at a friend’s house and then back to mine where we had a bit of a fumble and I thought, ‘yeah, he’s okay, I like him.’ The following day he came with me to the Pink Dog Show in Manchester’s Village, where I entered my new puppy Indie. The Monster appeared to know a lot gaytimes.co.uk
of people, but they didn’t appear to know him. Then he introduced me to everyone as his boyfriend, which made me feel uncomfortable. I thought he wasn’t quite the full shilling, but he was only 20 so he might have just been young and daft. The alarm bells had started to ring, although only a little bit. He told me he was a part-time actor and also worked at a clothes shop. He stayed at my flat above the shop again that night, then the next day went to work. But he returned an hour later, pissed. He asked to stay but I told him I was busy, because by then I just wanted him to go. He said he couldn’t go back to his flat because it was being decorated. So I reluctantly allowed him to stay, however I didn’t want to have sex with him again because I’d make the situation worse. And for the next few days he just wouldn’t leave and there was something about him that worried me. I demanded he went and finally he agreed but he said only after he made me a farewell Jamaican meal. We got into my Jeep to go to the supermarket and he turned the music up to the maximum. I told him to stop but he wouldn’t so I turned it off and he started kicking the dashboard like a maniac. We got home and I noticed some money was missing from where I kept it in the kitchen. Then he started playing the music loudly again and when I turned it down, he had a tantrum, punching walls and doors. This really scared me.
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Survivors Manchester is one of only five organisations in the UK that deals specifically with male survivors of sexual abuse and rape “If you’re male and you’ve been sexually violated, on some level it can be seen as something to do with being gay, and there’s a reluctance to want to admit anything like that,” says Duncan Craig, services director. “If you’re a male victim of a sex crime, you can be seen by yourself or society as weak and who wants to be seen as that? The field of sexual violence has been very much dominated by the idea it only happens to females. But men are just as important as women. They have the right to heal. “We provide a self-help website, where many men begin their healing journey. We get 15,000 hits to our website from men who are looking for some support without revealing themselves. We have email support, a telephone helpline, face-to-face services offering counselling, psychotherapy, group support and non-formal therapy groups like a football team and gym group. “We are survivor-lead, so anyone involved here has been directly or indirectly affected by sexual abuse as boys or men. “Our advice is that in your own time, find some support. It is out there and you can get through this. You can take back that power and control that was taken away from you.” Q Survivorsmanchester.org.uk
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I called my friend and when she arrived, he was acting all nice and lovely in the kitchen, and he’d smoked some weed which seemed to calm him down. The next morning I checked my money again and £400 had gone. He was in bed drinking a beer when I approached him about it. He jumped up denying it, then threw me on the bed. He started running around trashing the bedroom then calmed down and started kissing my neck and trying to masturbate me. When I told him it wasn’t happening, The Monster said: ‘I’m gonna fuck you, hard, till it makes you bleed.’ He pinned me down and started raping me and the pain was overwhelming. I was struggling and managed to push him off. Then he twice sank his teeth into my penis and testicles and I screamed. I could see the teeth marks. The Monster then stood up on the bed and kicked me in the abdomen and started strangling me and I couldn’t breathe. The pain in my groin was intense and I could feel the blood pouring down my legs. Then he raped me again. At that moment, I wanted to die. He let go of my neck and punched me in the face which nearly knocked me out, all the time raping me. Then he grabbed my hair, dragged me off the bed with both hands and threw me against the wall. My head cracked the plaster and I begged him to stop. Then he shoved his penis into my mouth and told me I’d die if I bit him. I gagged and he ejaculated in my mouth, threw me onto the floor, wiped his semen all over my face and slammed my head into the wall again. I came round and out of the corner of my eye he was lying on the bed, masturbating and smoking a joint. He came over towards me again but my dog was in his way, so he kicked her right across the room. Somehow that gave me the strength to kick him in the head, grab her, and run downstairs, pulling some clothes off the washing line. I ran
to the park and hid in the bushes, shaking and bleeding. Then I phoned the police but only reported it as a theft. I understand now I did that because I didn’t want to admit to myself what had happened. The police took me home and said I needed to go to the hospital but I didn’t want to. I wanted to be on my own and consider what had happened. The following day I rang the police again and admitted The Monster had raped me. It was a massive step, but when I saw what he’d done to my genitals, I knew he couldn’t get away with it. The police sent round a specially trained policeman who was amazing. The Monster was arrested the following day. It took me a few days but the police officer persuaded me to go to the hospital and it was horrendous. I was examined and had to see a psychologist before they would release me. By punching my head against the wall, The Monster gave me a trauma cyst on my cheek the size of a golf ball which needed plastic surgery to remove. He was charged with rape and theft and a year later, he was on trial. He pleaded not guilty and fought like tooth and nail. He said it was consensual sex and S&M and tried to claim I was doing this for money, for the compensation. I wanted to walk into the court, face him eye to eye and slay The Monster. In the end, I chose to be kept away from him by screens because I couldn’t look at him. He was a horrible, vile creature. Five weeks after the start of the trial, I got a phone call from a friend to tell me the jury had unanimously found him guilty. I collapsed in tears. He was sentenced to four years but in my opinion, a life sentence would have been justice for what he did, because he enjoyed every fucking second of it. After just 15 months in prison, The Monster was paroled. I was devastated when I was warned he
RIGHT JOHN NOW, PICTURED WITH DOG JAYA
gaytimes.co.uk
[life]
was going to be released, and I withdrew into myself. I was scared he would find me and still am as he’s been seen in Manchester Village. I have a special link to the police on my phone which, when I press, they can be there in minutes. I managed to get a photo of him and every single day I put his picture on Facebook with his name and the words ‘sex offender.’ It have suffered badly from post traumatic stress disorder since the attack – sometimes I can’t walk, or am sick or have the image of constantly being raped in my head. I have had counselling for three years now, and I’ve really been helped by Survivors Manchester. They came to court with me, gave me one to one therapy and group therapy. It was a year after my rape before I had sex again. I needed to prove to myself that I could, and luckily I can. But it took me a long time to trust people again. Rape takes away your manhood and it’s a long time before you get that control again. With rape and sexual abuse, people talk about shame and guilt but I’ve never felt that – why should I feel ashamed of what he did to me? I wrote my book because I’d never met another man who, as an adult, had been raped. I hope it inspires another adult male like me to pick up the phone and report a rape. And I want to give people an insight into what it is to go through a rape and to come out – well, almost come out – the other side. I’m not quite there yet, but I’m getting there. Q My Journey To Justice? by John Lennon is available at shieldcrest.co.uk/johnlennon
gaytimes.co.uk
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reader’s dilemas
[life]
I’ve been dating a guy I really like for a few months. We met through one of my friends and things have been going great so far. The one drawback is a pretty big one: I live in London and he lives in Paris. He runs his own business and is really busy and I have a job in London I really love, so we see each other once or twice a month max. He tells me he misses me and wishes I were around all the time, but moving isn’t an option for either of us. I’m not sure where we can go from here – do I have to give up on a good thing? Sean, via email
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need advice?
The Guyliner replies On the face of it, this looks like a problem a lot of people would love to have! You have DJUHDWJX\ZKRLVVHOIVXIÀFLHQWZLWK his own business and lives in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. You, in turn, live in a pretty amazing city yourself, and only two or so hours RQDWUDLQVHSDUDWHWKHP%XW,·PQRW entirely unsympathetic to your LDR woe. Long-distance relationships bring pressures of their own: not being able to spend a lot of time together, except in short bursts; the idea of spontaneity all but disappears; and there has to be an element of trust. But long-distance relationships have WKHLUXSVLGHWRR²WKHUH·VOHVVULVNRI becoming sick of the sight of each
other, and only seeing each other once in a while can keep romance alive much longer than it would if you ZHUHLQHDFKRWKHU·VIDFHV
Got something to get off your chest? Need some good old-fashioned advice on matters of love, life or relationships? Email The Guyliner (and his panel of experts) on [email protected]. We can’t respond individually and your emails may be edited for use in the magazine.
gaytimes.co.uk
THE GUYLINER HELPS WITH YOUR LIFE DILEMAS AND ADVISES YOU WHO NOT TO DATE
The Corrector “It’s exhausting to be right all the time,” the Corrector will tell you as he swirls his drink around his glass. “But I can’t help myself. If I see an error, I have to correct it.” You may find this charming at first. Knowledge can be quite sexy, after all. But the trouble with a know-it-all is that sometimes they make a mistake. Whether it’s the eternally arousing question of whether to use ‘less’ or ‘fewer’ or a seemingly irrelevant factlet about the Spice Girls, he likes to be the one doing the correcting, and there’s no room for an upstart like you wading in with your addenda. Saying something you have the remotest doubt about becomes a nightmare – you live on a permanent knife-edge that every utterance will be met by a slow push of the spectacles back up the bridge of your paramour’s nose (there are always spectacles), followed by a small sigh and a withering look that tells you your very own Encylopedia Homosexualica is about to put you straight. Or perhaps, after a while, turn you straight.
WORDS THE GUYLINER IMAGES ISTOCKPHOTO
[01]
ALL THE MEN YOU SHOULD NEVER DATE gaytimes.co.uk
The solution Either live in a permanent war zone of “no, you’re wrong!” continually checking Wikipedia to outsmart each other, or lay down the ground rules early on that nobody ever died because someone said “movie” instead of “film” or used “literally” every now and again. He’ll dump you for a Countdown viewer in the end, of course, but it’ll be nice while it lasts. You’ll probably bump into him eventually on Grindr arguing over “you’re/your” instead of getting sex like everybody else. ---------The Sexy Gym Bunny Gyms used to be a place for getting fit, sweating yourself into delirium so you could get into those teeny
[02]
[advice] tiny jeans. Now the gym is an extension of a night on the tiles. Why wait until you hit the bars to pick up something nice for the weekend when there are 50 sweating bodies striving for perfection all within reachable radius of your libido’s lasso? Greying, overwashed baggy T-shirts and grubby old trackie bottoms used to be the uniform of your average gym goer, but nobody wants to hide those prized abs and bulging biceps away when Mr Right could be at the treadmill next door. Shorts have got shorter and tighter, vests are straining more than ever and – sniff, sniff – is that cologne we can smell? At the gym?! The excitement of potentially dating a guy who makes an extra effort to look sexy in the gym will soon fade once you’re actually an item. Unless he cancels that gym membership, he’ll be back in all manner of revealing outfits for his adoring audience. You can try to combat this by working out together, of course, but how are you supposed to concentrate on your exercise regime when you’re busy scoping out all those envious guys just waiting for you to pull a muscle so they can move in on your man? You could always ask him to cover up more at the gym, but you’re essentially admitting you’re a jealous old Victorian with control issues. And that ain’t sexy, is it? The solution Sure, date a guy who goes to the gym, but make sure it’s not at the same place as you. If you’re concerned there’s rather too little spandex and rather too much flesh on display, buy him some more, um, appropriate exercise gear as a present. It’ll show you take an interest in his hobby. And maybe suggest he take up running. Outdoors. With you as his running partner. Who needs the gym, anyway? Right? Q
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Join us in Provincetown for Valentine’s & President’s Day February 14-18
IMHPG'HK@
small things
[life]
GAVAN AND FAMILY EYES ON THE PRIZE On 5 December 2012 we were both woken up by the tinny clinking of Lego bricks being tipped out. This was to become the soundtrack to our lives. We had traded nights in clubs for nights in to the sound of Peppa Pig. For the best part of two years, we’d been scrutinised, had our pasts documented and our present recorded – all for the hope of a family-filled future. A hard skin, steady tongue and supportive partner are best tools to have during this assessment stage. It’s now nearly a year since our children, a sister and brother, aged six and five, were placed with us. In between then and now I have given up work for a year and we’ve celebrated birthdays and Christmas, moved house and started a business. Sometimes we sit wide-eyed at how we manage to fit things in, but you just do. You get on with your lives and things find a natural rhythm. From experience and talking to other friends who’ve adopted, it seems a natural and usual phase that the little ones gravitate more towards gaytimes.co.uk
one parent than the other. While it’s common, it still can blindside you. You’re left wondering, ‘so what’s he doing right that I’m not?’ – but it’s nothing to do with you. The children are finding their way and it will come to balance. Though it’s just over a year, we often look back with that bizarre perspective that comes with hindsight, and it feels a lot longer. I guess that’s how you know that things are working. When something is so much a part of your life that you can’t quite remember what was before? For us, these two little people arrived, imitated and absorbed our idiosyncrasies and have become a constant in our lives. We are now a family in every sense – physically, emotionally and legally, and so life carries on for us. It’s like they’ve always been here and always with us. Every now and then it hits us just how far we’ve come and how much we’ve done, good and bad days, beautiful and staggering at the same time. And then we smile and carry on. Q
[parents]
TOPKS R MA
It’s not just ladies-withbabies that get stretch marks you know – and if you’ve ever lost a lot of weight in a short space of time, you probably do know. This potion promises to rejuvenate your stretched, scarred and ageing skin with restorative rosehip – as used by dishy David Gandy. Does it work? How would we know? Everyone at Team GT has skin like a baby’s bottom. Q A 60ml bottle of Phytalotion is £9.99 at phytacol.com
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[life]
We meet three men who managed to get through the ups and downs of life’s big, gay rollercoaster, without needing a stiff drink to do it. It’s easy to call those who turn their back on alcohol “boring”, but perhaps it’s those of us (me included) who rely on alcohol to ease and block out the difficulties of social, emotional and sexual situations that are the ones looking for answers in the wrong places. We take a walk on the dry side to see what life without regular liverpounding is really like in the gay community
REAL LIFE
WORDS EDWARD DYSON
What with coming out of the closet, surviving high school and trying to find love in a world of Grindr – life isn’t always easy for today’s modern gay man. Which makes it hardly surprising that many of us often (and some too often) turn to that ol’ devil called booze to help us out every now and then. And as that wise figure – and in my eye’s unlikely gay icon – Homer Simpson once said: “Alcohol is the cause, and solution to, all of life’s problems.” But putting this profound insight aside, experts have more seriously referred to alcoholism as the grandaddy of gay health problems. Walter Armstrong said in his book Club Drugs In Gayville: “It may have little of the urgency or newsworthiness of crystal meth, say, or HIV, but it remains one of our community’s most insidious and intractable destroyers. “While there’s nothing about homosexuality that predisposes a gay man to alcoholism, the centrality of the gay bar to both coming out and going out has long given liquor a presence in gay society, and sex, that can’t help but be harmful.” But we’re not looking into the darker side of booze’s connection to gay culture. Step into any gay club after 10pm (8pm on a weekend) and there’ll no doubt be plenty of evidence of that to feast your eyes on. We are meeting the mysterious men at the drier end of the scale. Does that mean the duller end? We thought so, but after meeting a few teetotal homosexuals for a drink (coffee, of course) the grass started to look a bit greener on the sober side. 106
SOBER WE MEET THE GAY MEN WHO DON’T NEED BOOZE TO PARTY
gaytimes.co.uk
[alcohol] Meet teetotaller number 1: Anthony Gibb ---------Our parents influence us in many ways. Often the overbearingness of our mothers or disappointment of our fathers (cliché alert) can be what drives us to an over-reliance on rum and the like, which often stems from adolescence. But sometimes ma and pa can influence us in the opposite direction, as stage manager Antony Gibb can attest to. He saw the effect alcohol had on his family and decided the only way forward was to ban booze from his life, permanently. He admits: “Both of my parents have struggled with alcohol over the years and some of my unhappier memories as a child involve my parents being drunk. So I knew from an early age I didn’t want to behave like that. “And secondly, I really don’t feel I have the need for it anyway. I’m a really social person and I have relatively little inhibitions as it is so I’ve never needed something to help me relax, have fun and talk to people. As my friends will tell you I enjoy good night out, and usually the more drunk other people get, the more I know I can get away with!” But that doesn’t mean Anthony isn’t in the habit of practicing restraint, as he explains. “I do have an issue with the control aspect of drinking. I have a real need to remain in control of things at all times, which is what I guess makes me a good stage manager and supervisor. However the idea of something or someone controlling me is terrifying, so I don’t drink or do drugs because I’m not comfortable at all with the idea of a substance messing with my body and mind.” Of course we don’t only drink to have the confidence to pull, dance and deliver home truths to irritating friends (don’t pretend you haven’t gaytimes.co.uk
been there). Any avid drinker will tell you that the sip of cold beer on a hot day or that Baileys at Crimbo is proof that the taste of the devil’s juice is undeniably a factor too. But again, not for Ant. “I’ve tried it, but most of it was pretty gross. There are tastier things to drink in my opinion,” he insists. “We do cook with wine in the house, but the alcohol is burnt off.” In spite of the uber-wild cooking wine (naughty), it must be difficult to put up with constant pressure from friends doing a Mrs Doyle from Father Ted: “Ah go on…” But they haven’t managed to tempt the strong-minded Ant as of yet. He says: “There have been times friends have pressured me, but for the most part my friends have been incredibly supportive, and those that haven’t didn’t stay my friend for very long. I have a wonderful boyfriend and it’s never once been an issue with him, he drinks and we can respect each other’s choice. “It happened more during my school days, but I’ve been incredibly strong-willed from a really young age, just ask my mother. If I don’t want to do something then good luck swaying me. “I think in the end it earned me some level of respect with my peers, that I could go out, have a great time and not have to rely on getting smashed to do it. I think when people think of teetotal people, they think of uptight prudes, and I’m really not.” But isn’t being sober in a room full of drunks like being a straight man at a Dolly Parton concert? “I don’t usually get annoyed,” he tells us. “I just tend to end up mothering people when they have one too many. I have a friend who becomes a total brat when she’s pissed, but I find it pretty funny. It’s like having a three-year-old toe-rag stomping around a dance floor! “I will say I struggle to stay out
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[life]
really late – 3am is usually my max. I always know when its a good time to go home before people go from fun to sloppy drunk. I can’t really deal with sloppy drunks, that makes me uncomfortable.” But just incase anyone’s not swayed by Ant’s persuasive argument, he delivers his final killer blow. “Also, the best bit,” he grins. “Is that I obviously never have hangovers. Although sometimes I feel I have little fake ones by proxy…” You have no idea mate. Q ----------
Fancy a double? Teetotaller number 2: James Murrs ---------But it may have been an easier choice for Ant knowing from an earlier age he didn’t want to face the same issues he’d watched his parents go through. Surely once you’ve already discovered the wonders of alcohol, it would be more difficult to turn your back on the golden nectar? But not for everyone, as it seems writer James Murrs was more than happy to be the ever-dependable designated driver to his lucky pals. But why? We grill the reformed boozer about becoming master of the mocktail. “Well, I haven’t always been an angel,” James tells us. “I remember when I was younger, backpacking round the US – and I was always either stoned or hammered. “I do have good memories of it, but I don’t miss it. “When I got back, I was working 9 to 5 and the drinking just kind of stopped from there.” Of course drink or no drink, it’s unlikely a gay man in his twenties will avoid the clubbing scene altogether. “Obviously I still went out dancing,” he laughed. “I just didn’t need to be drunk to do it. My friends all were of course. But 108
I’d had such little alcohol in my system, it would take nothing to get me pissed by then. It would literally be one bottle of beer.” And with a tale as old as time, from that moment on the story went: Step forward, Mr designated driver… He tells us: “Occasionally I’d get annoyed being the designated driver, having to drag people out the club, and rounding them up… the drop offs would take ages. “And yes I did sometimes feel superior and smug, thinking – you’re gonna be ill. But I soon learnt that when reminding people what they did when drunk, you do have to be careful not to be too annoying.” And that goes for James’ hubby too. Yes, the smug designated driver’s other half doesn’t share his reluctant feelings towards alcohol. Is this a one-way ticket to the marriage counsellor’s couch? James admits: “My husband Stuart drinks, and he gets annoyed if we’re out for dinner sometimes. He has a couple of glasses of wine and says he feels like an alcoholic. So I’d feel pressured and, every now and then, feel like just doing it for an easy life.” And it’s not just his wine-loving hubby who isn’t always thrilled to have Sober Sally dampening the mood. “There have been a couple of situations where I’ve been left out,” he confesses. “There was a pub crawl in Northampton where my friends went around 15 bars and I know they didn’t invite me. “But on the other hand, there’s a couple of friends I wouldn’t invite to a dinner party because they get too hammered and I just want to catch up with people. I worry they’ll break stuff!” So us drinkers aren’t always the perfect guests either it turns out, but sneaky James is not completely adverse to lying about his lifestyle. “Once, on a date, I said I’d been to rehab and that’s why I wasn’t drinking,” he laughs. “Weirdly the gaytimes.co.uk
[alcohol] guy was really nice about it, much nicer than if I’d said ‘I just don’t like it.’ Maybe that’s what I should do more often!” Well, it’s certainly a more interesting answer than the fear of tomorrow’s banging headache. The drink-a-phobe confessed: “The hangovers are terrible. I think they’re hereditary, because my mum gets migraines. There were times back in the day when I couldn’t leave the bed for days, feeling sick and not being able to eat anything.” That’s not to say James is without habits though, he indulges eslewhere – rest assured. “I’d say imagination and porn were my indulgences,” he laughs. “I did shag around quite a lot as well before I was married. I just didn’t need alcohol to have the confidence to chat people up. Saying that, I did use to use chat rooms occasionally as well. But I didn’t come out until 27, so I had some making up to do.” Anyone who stayed in the closet until they’re knocking on 30 without being hammered every step of the way deserves an OBE if you ask us. James, we salute you. Q ----------
One for the road? Meet Stephen Lue, our third and final teetotaller ---------Apparently not everyone needs an, ahem, “reason” not to drink. Why should teetotal folks explain themselves? If someone doesn’t like the taste of fish, must they explain their reasons for not eating it? Or if they’re not really partial to the colour yellow? Stephen Lue, a barrister, argues his case well, as you might expect, and he laid down the law in a chat with us. “People say, ‘why don’t you drink?’, and all I think is, ‘why do you?’” he asks. This was going to be a long one… He elaborates: “I mean, I didn’t gaytimes.co.uk
grow up around alcohol. I was raised by my mum and she didn’t drink. The only rum she had in the house was for Christmas pudding, Jamaican style. She’s a Christian Scientist – not a Scientologist – and they tend not to drink. “Then I was quite into my swimming as a child and drinking just wasn’t conducive to my training programme.” So instead of swimming in youthful pools of vodka, Steve chose actual swimming pools. And you don’t get Tom Daley’s body by downing Jäger in Heaven on a Friday night. He explains: “The reality is, I don’t like the taste, and I am not huge fan of kissing someone who has drank too much either.” That rules out 99% of Soho then… “Also, I spent the last four years of secondary school at a Christian Science school, where boarders weren’t allowed to drink alcohol, so I didn’t drink from 14 to 18. “Uni was all about having fun while making ends meet and not drinking was an easy way for me to save money. I didn’t need it to party. I have never been the sort of person who needs drink to talk to someone I like and have never needed it to get up and dance. Those things come naturally for me.” He adds: “I have had a brilliant time in my 20s and I really value being able to remember it. All of it.” And just as Steve was veering on making us feel bad, he assures us living a life without gin doesn’t mean missing out on life’s mortifying night out experiences. “I am stupid enough as it is on a night out without alcohol, so I would be scared to see what would happen if I did drink.” Well, all we can say to that is, that’s where the “not being able to remember what happened” factor comes in. And we’ll definitely raise a glass to that. Q
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comfort food!
[life]
D D E BER KIM W BOY S E H E IS T BAK
HO
In the past, I’ve started a diet at New Year thinking, like everyone else, it’s a great time to turn over a new, healthier leaf. But I almost always fail; it’s too much pressure. If you want to diet properly, I think it shouldn’t be a resolution made on a whim but a genuine change. This month’s recipe does have a beautiful blueberry compote, so if you need to pretend it’s healthy, you can at least think of it as one of your five a day!
Fluffy Pancakes Serves 4-6 people 350g self raising flour 80g caster sugar 1/4 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder 4 eggs 260ml milk 60g melted butter Blueberry Compote 150g blueberries 25g caster sugar 1 tbsp lemon juice For the pancakes, place the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a large bowl and whisk together to combine. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and butter. Make a well in the dry goods and pour in the egg mixture, whisking together until smooth. Set the batter
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aside while you make the compote. For the compote, place the blueberries, caster sugar and lemon juice into a small saucepan and place over medium heat, cooking until the berries have started to pop and release their juice, around five minutes. Pour the compote into a bowl and set aside until needed. To cook the pancakes, place a non-stick saucepan over medium heat, and ladle in a small amount of batter and cook until browned underneath and there are a few bubbles on top. Flip the pancake and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Place onto a plate in a warm oven and continue to cook pancakes until all the batter has been used. Serve the pancakes warm with the blueberry compote. Q Author of The Boy Who Bakes and Say It With Cake, @TheBoyWhoBakes
gaytimes.co.uk
[food]
A SIDE ORDER OF ALAN ROSENTHAL As one year comes to an end and
a new one begins, I always enter a
bittersweet, nostalgic frame of mind, IRQGO\UHÁHFWLQJRQHYHQWVIURPWKH SDVWPRQWKV$WWKHVDPHWLPH ,IHHOVOLJKWO\VDGWKH\·YHEHFRPH PHUHPHPRULHV LW·VQRWVXUSULVLQJ ,·PDPLVHUDEOHEXJJHULQ-DQXDU\ 7RVKDNHWKLQJVXSDELW·V UHVROXWLRQLVDOODERXWORRNLQJ
THE PERFECT YEAR
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It’s tradition to ring in the new, but why stop there when Glenfiddich offers a range of taste and flavours to suit all whisky drinkers. Fresh pear and subtle oak mark their 12-year-old signature malt; vanilla, toffee and soft nutty notes of their Rich Oak, or the warm spice, honey and rich fruit flavours of their 15-yearold. It’s the world’s most awarded single malt, don’t you know? And although they’re releasing them in special edition carry cases (available now in most supermarkets from £34) that doesn’t mean you have to give them as gifts... Q
ER\OLNHPHIURPVXFFXPELQJWRWKH
gaytimes.co.uk
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1 sprig fresh thyme 4 bay leaves 2 tsp caraway seeds 5 garlic cloves, crushed 500g rindless smoked pork belly cut into chunks 1 tin tomatoes 6 smoked pork ribs (optional) 300g smoked pork sausage, cut into chunks 1 bunch Swiss chard, roughly chopped Salt and black pepper
6RDNWKHEHDQVLQGHHSZDWHU RYHUQLJKW7KHQH[WGD\GUDLQ FRYHUZLWKIUHVKZDWHUDQGEULQJWR WKHERLOVNLPPLQJRIIDQ\IURWKWKDW FROOHFWV'UDLQ 1H[WLQDODUJHKHDY\EDVHGSDQ PHOWVRPHRIWKHIDWIURPWKHSRUN EHOO\8VHWKHKRWIDWWREURZQ\RXU SKHDVDQWOHJVIRUDIHZPLQXWHV 5HPRYHWKHOHJVIURPWKHSDQDQG WKHQDGGWKHRQLRQVFDUURWVIHQQHO FHOHU\DQGUHGSHSSHUV6ZHDW WKH YHJ JHQWO\IRUWHQPLQXWHV7KHQ DGGWKHSRUNEHOO\WK\PHJDUOLFED\ OHDYHVDQGFDUDZD\VHHG&RRNIRU DIXUWKHUÀYHPLQXWHV 1RZDGGWKHWRPDWRHVULEV VDXVDJHDQGEHDQV&RYHUZLWK ZDWHUDQGSORSWKHEURZQHGOHJV
Smokey pork, pheasant and cannellini bean stew 6HUYHV 500g dried cannellini beans 6 pheasant legs (you can use duck) RQLRQVÀQHO\FKRSSHG 5 carrots, roughly chopped 1 head fennel, roughly chopped 3 sticks celery, roughly chopped 2 red peppers, roughly chopped
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with Tom Jones
[life]
Diets, gyms and general health seem to be top of the resolution hit list every year. But a recent study showed that only 6% of us actually achieve those resolutions! So, with Christmas over, now is the time to get back in shape, not just for a New Year fad, but for gradual, real change that will last a lifetime Many people use the holiday season as an excuse to binge one last time before the new healthy routine starts on New Years Day – the last time before they start hitting the gym regularly. This makes January the busiest time of the year for gyms, with plenty of offers to get you started. However, 60% of gym memberships go unused and attendance is usually back to normal by mid-February. When it comes to fitness and wellbeing, whether it be resolutions or just sticking to a new diet, gym plan or simply achieving goals, I find the most common problem is lack of knowledge. You need to discover what works for you and not give up at the first hurdle. ---------What can you do to make sure you keep to your fitness resolutions? ---------Write your goals down and put them somewhere like a fridge door, or in your bedroom, so you can see them as soon as you wake up. Never underestimate the power of a prominent, constant reminders of your goals to keep you motivated. Make sure to outline small, manageable steps in order to achieve 112
IMAGE JOE MCCORMICK
gaytimes.co.uk
[get fit] them and build to where you want to be. If your goal is to just ‘lose weight’ you won’t be as motivated as you would be if you had a specific goal plan like, ‘hit the gym at least four times per week for an hour a time, divided between the cross trainer and the stair stepper’. To simply ‘lose weight’ can be so overwhelming without any direction. Be realistic and break down your goals step by step. The most achievable plan is a six-week period with weekly goals, once you nail the first six weeks, you start another. As you make improvements in your chosen fitness goals, new ones will emerge. ---------Make it public. If you share your resolution with friends and family it can have multiple positive effects. From the support when you really don’t fancy going to the gym, or when you just want that juicy slice of cake. The ‘no man is an island’ method works amazingly well when trying to stay motivated. Looking for a training buddy is one of the best things you can do. No-one likes to let people down and it really makes you get up for that morning run or head to the gym before work if you have someone who’s relying on you, and vice-versa. ---------Know your labels! No, not designer ones, but those printed on the back of your food. Either through habit or ignorance, it’s easy to continue eating the foods we’ve always known and feel comfortable with, but it’s just as easy to take some time and see what you’re really shoving down your cakehole. You really are what you eat! Similarly, don’t be fooled by the razzmataz adorning the packaging, either. It may scream ’low fat’ or even ‘fat free’, but does that really mean ’high in sugar’? It still needs to taste appealing, so it may have more calories than the full fat versions. The packaging may shout ‘zero sugar’, but there could still be calories and carbohydrates from other ingredients. Their suggested serving gaytimes.co.uk
sizes can often be ridiculously small portions too, used to mask how much naughtiness you’re really taking in. It’s also important to know what you want out of your food. Clearly, if you’re looking to lose fat, it’s important to burn more calories than you consume. Try eating green veg or salads where you would normally eat potatoes, pasta and rice, especially during the evenings, as unused calories will turn to fat. If your goals are to get bigger and gain more muscle, you need calories to grow and your food should be high protein based: chicken, beef, eggs, pork and milk. ---------Reminders are always good. They can also be freaking annoying, but you don’t forget to do stuff, do you? You could download one of the zillions of fitness apps to your phone and move it to a prominent position on your home screen. Staring you in the face, daring you to exercise, it isn’t going away. Horrifying. Exercise to appease it! Zombie Run 2 (zombiesrungame.com) is particularly genius for cardio fans. It inspires fitness by dropping you in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and provides challenges to keep you entertained as you run. ---------Get some direction. To follow a path of success, you must know where you’re going. Know what you want to change, whether it be an inch off the waist, or an inch on your arms. Visualise it! You need to remind yourself why you’re doing this in the first place, and after each workout, each healthy meal, you’ll be a step closer. Why stop and go back to square one? You’ll have to start all over again. Any change is good change, from walking the dog, to riding a bike, to a hardcore fat fighting/muscle building gym session. Your will to change has to be stronger than your will to stay the same and there is no better time than now. Let’s start this year with a bang, eat well, train well and look hot! Q
[ask tom] I’ve just started training and I keep hearing how important diet is. Is there such a thing as healthy junk food? Great question. Healthy junk food is great,
but usually comes down to the ingredients in use. I love a healthy burger! Fresh minced pork and beef steak patty from the butchers, grilled, a wedge of cathedral city light, slice of tomato, diced onion, low fat tommy sauce on a wholemeal bap. Low in fat, high in protein and fibre. Q
Need advice? Ask Tom on Twitter @tomgt1
ZMA is a supplement popular among athletes but available on the high street. Its zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6 formula will help improve endurance, healing, growth and promote restful deeper sleep for a full recovery from working out. Highly recommended. Available from Optimum Nutritio. onacademy.co.uk/zma-2
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75 GREAT EASTERN STREET LONDON EC2A 3RY TEL: 020 7739 0292 WWW.EXPECTATIONS.CO.UK
IMAGE CHRIS GILES PHOTOGRAPHY
column
[life]
Everything changes, and HIV is no different. I’ve written the HIV column in various incarnations for GT for some years now. As the story of the virus in the world has evolved for around three decades, so has the way it is reported and written about. HIV writing has been public health driven and had an emphasis on prevention of infection. Then, after that, with the advent of treatment that works, retrospection. For a good while now, people with the virus have not only been living with HIV, they are surviving with it. For both those who are long-term diagnosed with HIV and the future they once didn’t think they had and for the newly diagnosed who don’t know which way to turn, and everyone else inbetween there is a future when on treatment. For the majority of us in the UK it isn’t the end of the world being diagnosed HIV-positive any more. HIV: Recipes for Life will focus on the possibilities out there for positive people and hopes to inspire those with the virus to make the most of the second chance that gaytimes.co.uk
HIV: RECIPES FOR LIFE
treatment can afford them. My own experience is that HIV became a catalyst to live the sort of life I really want. Over the coming months I shall be exploring surviving with HIV and lifestyle, self-image and self-esteem, relationships and sex, fitness and well-being, career and finance. Everything from tweaking a lifestyle to complete re-invention. Perhaps there is no need to change anything in your life? However there’s always room for improvement. You may already have a good idea of where you want to be and what needs to change to get there? Having a vision for ourselves is a good start, but what if we really have no plan, then what next? To cause change we need to make a conscious decision to do just that and then put in the action to instigate that change. It’s no good to only think about it. Once we make the choice to change, we must nurture and take responsibility for it. The best place to start, if you haven’t already, is to take responsibility for where you are in your life right now. It will provide you with a baseline. This is not about apportioning blame to a particular person for
[paul thorn]
What’s happened has happened and can’t be undone or changed. What can be changed is what happens in the future
@paul_thorn
one’s own HIV-positive status. It’s a fruitless exercise and little can ever come of it. If you put yourself in a situation where you were infected with HIV, then own it. You must have been there when it happened, after all. However difficult this is, it needs to be accepted to move forwards. Some do this quickly, others take time and some never can forgive others, or themselves, for becoming HIV-positive. This non-acceptance can only lead to an unhappy future. It’s a ‘no-brainer’. What’s happened has happened and can’t be undone or changed. What can be changed is what happens in the future. Let me explain from my own perspective. Twenty years ago I thought – wrongly – that I was a victim of circumstance. I thought I was a victim of chance and bad luck, of misfortune and of other people’s actions. For years, I took no responsibility for what had happened in my life, and having HIV often served me well as an excuse for when things weren’t right, and any given situation I didn’t like that I found myself in. It was always because I was HIVpositive and the fault of everyone else. The truth; my life was and is a result of my own choices and decisions, and more importantly how they translated into my actions. I felt trapped by my diagnosis, and rather than living with HIV I existed with it. I chose that. The reality is that as my choices and actions have fashioned my life in the past, I can also make new choices and take appropriate action to change it. It takes humility, a misunderstood concept, to look closely at your life and to admit to yourself that you are either entirely or partly responsible for where you are today. It is ego-deflating and sorts the men from the boys. Yet it can be a turning point where we can say to ourselves, ‘I’ve screwed up in the past, but I’m capable of change in the future’. Q
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community
[charity]
[life]
GT’s parent company Millivres Prowler Group is collaborating with a number of different LGBT charities on issues that are important to our community. Each month we will be working with a different organisation to help spread the word on the great work they do
BRIAN IS AN EX-SERVICE USER WHO NOW WORKS AT PACE. HE TALKS ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE OF USING PACE’S SERVICES For years I have struggled with poor self-image and have a badly distorted impression of how I look. At times this has overtaken my life in quite a significant way, from not being able to look at my own reflection in mirrors or windows to severe bouts of bulimia. As a gay man out on London’s gay scene, I have found this extremely hard at times, where everything seems so image orientated and quite unfriendly towards those who ‘don’t quite fit in.’ I attended a workshop at PACE called Friend or Foe a year or so ago. The idea of attending anything therapy-based completely terrified me at first. Throughout my childhood I was taught to ‘get on with it’ – that’s what people did. So for me to indulge in ‘therapy’ felt wrong, self-obsessed, and I knew I would probably be laughed
at by folks back home. But it also felt right as I knew I really needed some help. The sessions couldn’t have come sooner. But I was extremely shy and terrified of opening up for fear of what would be left exposed. My peers in the group were from all sorts of backgrounds and each had a very different reason to be there. But we all had a common goal which was to face up to our demons and not let them cripple us anymore. I am so glad that I shared my story with them as I was able to look my fear in the face and stand up to it for the first time, and look at my own reflection and think that I am not a bad or ugly person after all. To say that PACE has cured me is a little far-fetched, but it made me realise the importance of LGBT specialised services, giving a platform, a safe environment for us to talk openly about the issues
that present themselves on a daily basis, like isolation, internalised homophobia, making positive sexual relationships, living with HIV, or coming out for the first time on the gay scene. PACE created a safe space and a comfortable process for me to talk about my experiences. It felt like everybody’s opinion mattered and counted. We were all gay or bi men with the common goal of a happier and healthier existence, and stronger self-belief. It has opened my eyes to exploring my own personal issues further, including more therapy and working on myself. I would like to let other people know that PACE is out there and it can help you achieve inner peace like it has helped me. Q PA&(·VPLVVLRQLVLQVSLULQJEHWWHU/*%7 PHQWDOKHDOWK:HFUHDWHDVDIHVSDFHIRU /*%7SHRSOHWRGHYHORSWKHLUVHOIHVWHHP WRQHJRWLDWHUHODWLRQVKLSVDQGWRWDNHFDUH RIWKHPVHOYHV2XUIDFHWRIDFHDQGRQOLQH VHUYLFHVLQFOXGHFRXQVHOOLQJJURXSV DGYRFDF\DQGWUDLQLQJ:HDUHH[WUHPHO\ H[FLWHGWREHZRUNLQJZLWKRXUQHZSDWURQ :LOO
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WORDS MATT PEAKE IMAGES ISTOCKPHOTO
[rights]
[life]
LETTER FROM TRINIDAD & TOBAGO WE LOOK AT THE RIGHTS OF GAY MEN LIVING AROUND THE GLOBE
Stan explains: Trinidad and Tobago is a beautiful Caribbean destination. When it comes to being gay in my country, LW·VLOOHJDO$FFRUGLQJWR6HFWLRQ of our Immigration Act, it clearly bans homosexuals from entering the country, condemning gay UHODWLRQVKLSVDV¶LPPRUDO·,W also states that gay people are ¶PHQWDOO\FKDOOHQJHG·PRUHH[SOLFLWO\ GHÀQHGDV¶LGLRWVLPEHFLOHVDQG persons suffering from dementia DQGLQVDQLW\·)XUWKHUPRUHSHRSOH who are considered to be gay are not allowed to enter the country, providing they are not a citizen or a resident. Therefore, if Elton John, who previously visited our twin island Tobago upon a declaration and written admission letter from our Minister of National Security, wanted to visit our country as a tourist, he would be banned. The document also states that prostitution, homosexuals or persons living on the earnings of both, or persons reasonably suspected as coming to Trinidad and Tobago for these or any other immoral purposes, are banned from entering the country. gaytimes.co.uk
NO
No same-sex sexual activity is legal No equal age of consent No anti-discrimination laws of any kind No same-sex marriage No recognition of same-sex couples No joint and step adoption by same-sex couples No gays allowed to serve in military No right to change legal gender No commercial surrogacy for gay male couples No gay men allowed to donate blood
YES The Immigration Act is not the only source of legal oppression upon gay men and women here. Section 13 RIWKH6H[XDO2IIHQFHV$FW GHFODUHVWKDW¶EXJJHU\·RUDQDOVH[ to be a criminal act, even between consenting adults, whether involving males or females, and the penalty for this breach of act is 25 years in jail. With all these laws, it makes it hard for a gay man like myself to live in a country that has no respect for the lives of gay men and women. ,DP\HDUVROG,·YHEHHQJD\ since I was born, I have no choice LQEHLQJJD\DQGPDQ\WLPHV,·YH wanted to run away from it and pretend to be straight. I grew up in
a large home and I watched some of my family discriminate against gay men like myself, some were GHVFULEHGDV¶EXOOHUVIDJJRWVWDQW\ PDQ,7·VHWF·7KHUHZHUHPDQ\ times I was scared to even be seen because I knew I was gay. I had crushes on guys but had to keep WKHPWRP\VHOIDQGVWLÁHWKHHPRWLRQ inside. I tried to date girls so that I would not be condemned. :KLOH,VHDUFKHGWRÀQGRXWZKR ,ZDV,IRXQGDQ¶XQGHUJURXQG· gay club called Hedonism. I was so nervous that somebody would catch me. At the club, I met my supervisor from work and I met another student from my theology class. I met so many people that I knew. I was shocked that there was an underground club operating, where drag queens could perform and be free. Yet the saddest thing was when we left the club, we returned to being the beasts we were before. I knew this was the place where I wanted to be, I was not straight. I was gay. I could GDQFHZLWKDJX\ÁLUWZLWKKLPDQG know that I would not be discriminated against. I started going to this club every weekend because that was the only place I felt I belonged. :H·YHDOUHDG\DVNHGWKH government not for marriage, but rather rights as a gay person. Recently one of the government ministers proposed gay rights for all gay men and women, a few ZHHNVODWHUVKHZDVUHOHDVHG ÀUHG from her position. The government must realise it has no place in the bedrooms of consenting adults and no right to decide the form of intimacy between adults. The government proclaims that this is a nation of equal opportunity for all, but we are discriminated against on the grounds of sexual orientation. +RZFDQZHDVDFRXQWU\ÀJKWWKH spread of HIV/AIDS, when it leads to the spread of it, because we force gay men and women underground, denying them testing, prevention, treatment and care? Q
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WORDS PAUL TIERNEY IMAGES ISTOCKPHOTO
REYKJAVIK
ICELAND
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A
friend of mine once described Reykjavik as looking like a council estate on the moon, a place both beguiling and strange. He also cited it as one of the best travel experiences of his life, audibly jealous about my imminent visit. “Expect the unexpected,” he said, bitterly. “Breathe in the crystal clear air. And more importantly, remember to take lots of money.” He went on to relate other curious facts about this intriguing country. Did I know, for instance, that per capita the people of Iceland are the most literate nation on earth, drink the most Coca Cola, produce the most films (ten times more than the USA), eat the most fish and use the most electricity? Needless to say, it’s a highly developed country. But what did I know about this land of ice? To be honest, very little. Obvious facts aside: that it’s the homeland of Björk; that a huge cloud of volcanic ash ruined people’s holidays back in 2010; and that their once booming economy had been hit hard by the banking crisis – everything else feels as distant as the volcanic landscape itself. But what I do know is that Iceland is the shape of a human heart, which is fitting considering I found love, purity and a generosity of spirit at every turn. For the gay traveller this is especially true. Up until recently, their prime minister was an out and proud lesbian, and the mayor of Reykjavik has been known to drag up on special occasions. It’s hardly Iran. In short, you’ll find their attitude to same-sex relationships far cooler than any of its glaciers I’ve been invited to take part in the second annual Rainbow Reykjavik event, a winter festival of LGBT fun that aims to incorporate culture and nightlife into one beautifully organised package. There are over a hundred people here – mostly European – all gaytimes.co.uk
eager to sample an itinerary that includes the sublime and the ridiculous. I meet up with a bunch of journalists, tourists and couples, and immediately feel a sense of comradery that comes from being isolated on what feels like the top of the world. It’s cold, admittedly, and the snow falls down in occasional flurries, but it’s no worse than the UK on a bad day, and not the polar ice cap you might expect. Day one, I meet up with Danny, a nice guy from Swansea, to take an early peek around town, It’s a place that feels sleepily quiet for a capital city. The shops seem to open when they feel like it, and the streets are fairly deserted at 10am. I desperately need appropriate footwear (brogues are not going to cut it in the wilderness) so the search is on for a pair of resilient hiking boots. The first shock of the day comes when I discover everything here is as pricey as my friend back home suggested. A decent pair of boots costs the same as a month’s rent, so it’s a relief to find a charity shop tucked away at the back of the bus station. I spend the equivalent of £10 on an amazing pair of sturdy snow-kickers, replete with red laces, plus an oiled wool bobble hat embroidered with reindeers. Suddenly I look and feel the part, ready to take anything this quirky place can throw at me. At any point in Reykjavik you will be able to see the spire of the magnificent Lutheran cathedral, perched at the highest point of the city. Architecturally it is out of this world – a giant sci-fi rocket of a building, notable for being the tallest structure in the country. From here we stroll down intriguing streets, now filling up but hardly bustling, checking out the abundant vintage clothing stores and myriad coffee shops. The Icelander’s adore coffee and drink it in great abundance. On the advice of a local (and they
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are extremely helpful) we end up in Cafe Babalú – a crumbly but charming yellow house, furnished with bric-a-brac and smiles. Reykjavik is a compact city that’s small enough to walk around by foot, but with a glimmering, wideopen sky which shifts in colour by the hour, it feels much bigger. Although the light is prettiest and longest in the summer months, there’s something romantic about the wild clouds that often hover above. Make sure to take in the port area, where most of the museums line the seafront and imposing cargo ships transcend the idea of tourist prettiness. Perhaps the best view of the city is from up high, so we make our way to The Pearl
[
REYKJAVIK ICELAND POPULATION 119,108 SIZE 106 SQUARE MILES TIME ZONE GMT (UTC+0) GAY LEGAL SINCE 1940
from an industrial thermal plant has stayed with me ever since. It’s especially dramatic in the evening, when the spooky black lavascape is at stark contrast with the ethereal blue water. The stuff you bathe in is the by-product of an industrial effluent, but don’t let that put you off. Nor should the slippery white silica, which lines the pool. You’re encouraged to slap it all over your face (it’s good for you) and they enhance the whole surreal experience by serving chilled wine and beer from a bar while you soak. Can there be a better way to start the day than staring at dozens of superlative penises? The Phallogical Museum offers many things, but is frankly the
]
It’s especially dramatic in the evening, when the spooky black lavascape is at stark contrast with the ethereal blue water
observatory – a cool, revolving restaurant and museum perched on top of a huge geothermal plant. From here, the sky contrasts with charming scarlet rooftops and the odd splash of yellow and green. Like a child’s primary-coloured painting, the vista is a pure delight and seems to stretch for miles. Back at our hotel – a wonderful modernist construction on the outskirts of town, we gather with the group and head off on coaches to the infamous Blue Lagoon. A trip here is essential, and it’s for good reason that it’s the most popular tourist attraction in the country. It first caught my attention when Björk was photographed here by Juergen Teller in the early 90s, and the image of steam billowing
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and (mostly) losers from previous years. A great time is had by all, bopping around to the likes of the Hera Björk and her magnificent anthem, Je Ne Sais Quoi. Hera is so popular around these parts that gay men from as far as Australia have flown in especially to have her sing at their civil partnerships. It’s the very definition of camp. As the music fades and we all shuffle off back to the hotel, disappointing news filters through that this evening’s tour to see the Northern Lights has been cancelled due to bad weather. I was looking forward to this more than anything else on the trip, and the experience has been blighted by inconsiderate clouds. For those unfamiliar with the Northern Lights, it’s not a cabaret club in Doncaster, but one of nature’s most spectacular bits of trickery. Of particular interest to anyone seduced by disco lights (most of my group then), on a clear night, if the elements are right, solar winds cause electronic particles to collide with atmospheric gas, producing fluorescent swathes of green, pink and blue light. It’s a must-see, once-in-a-lifetime miracle. But unfortunately not in mine. Still, there are always the strobes of downtown Reykjavik to soften the blow, and there’s no shortage of sparkle there. The weekends see young people bar-hopping with great abandon, and streets are packed by midnight with jostling, good-natured thrill seekers. Because alcohol is expensive and state controlled, most people get drunk at home before they come out, yet you’ll rarely see any trouble. Laws are fairly strict here (beer was illegal until 1989!) and crime rates are unbelievably low. We’re all invited to Club Kiki, a place where gays and straights mix with consummate ease. It’s free to get in, like everywhere in Iceland, and although nothing special, the place is ignited by frenetic dancing
most un-erotic place imaginable. Who wants to see whale foreskins preserved in formaldehyde just before eating, especially as we’re about to visit an old theatre for lunch. Here we’re treated to the spectacle of two lycra-clad men demonstrating the art of glima wrestling. Needless to say, knives and forks are swiftly put down, and all eyes are on the grunting couple throwing themselves gracefully around the stage. The gay factor gets ramped up a notch or two as we attend a special Eurovision Concert at the futuristic Harpa concert hall. Iceland have just decided on who will represent them at the official contest and are celebrating in advance with a ‘best of’ spectacular featuring winners
gaytimes.co.uk
[travel]
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and an enthusiastic atmosphere. One thing I do notice is a gaggle of young and very boisterous lesbians marching around the place, taking great delight in elbowing their way to the bar and pushing each other around like playground bullies. ‘The Trucks’ as they’re known locally, can be found almost anywhere in the city, but I’m told their over-zealous antics are just a local affectation and, tedious though they are, not to be taken seriously. As for the boys, dirty blonde hair and blackframed glasses seems to be the default look of the season. If you’re seeking the idealistic Viking, you may be disappointed. The music is a tad generic (‘It’s Britney, bitch’) but it’s comforting to hear the Scanda-strains of Röyksopp, Trentemøller and Robyn moving the crowd as the night progresses. Next morning, slightly numb of head, the prospect of the great outdoors is a comforting thought. The Golden Circle Tour is a must-do package that takes in an amazing waterfall called Gullfoss, plus the country’s famous geysers that are about an hour’s drive from the city. As glaciers melt, they have to go somewhere and thus produce dramatic water flow which is a quite a sight to behold. The geysers are great fun too – boiling jets of trapped water, which rise to the sky with incredible ferocity. Jokes about premature ejaculation abound. Tell anyone you’re going to Iceland and they wittily tell you mum’s already gone. Astonishingly, there is an actual Iceland store in Reykjavik – I saw it – but that was the least surprising thing I discovered there. Bring strong boots, a bit of cash, and leave your preconceptions at the till. Q GT travelled ,FHODQGDLUÁLHVIURP*DWZLFN +HDWKURZDQGRWKHUPDMRU8.FLWLHV -DQXDU\IDUHVIURPDURXQG
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I
t’s been 16 years since I last visited Manchester. 1997, on a school trip to Granada Studios. I defaced Vera Duckworth’s back fence with juvenile graffiti. There, I finally came clean. I’ve been carrying that guilt around since I had curtained hair. But that trip was hardly a pre-Queer as Folk jaunt of giddy underage drinking and eye-swivelling rim jobs from an Irish stranger. Me and my friend’s attempts to break out of our hotel and see Manchester’s nightlife were thwarted by our hammered PE teacher. Sadly, not even so much as a sequin passed this sexually confused boy’s sizeable hooter. Flash forward to whatever the hell year this is and I got
WORDS LEE DALLOWAY
for staying in Manchester in style, aimed to please the luxury traveller, demanding city urbanite and the whiniest, neurotic business bitch… these three are all the same thing FYI. After checking in and jumping on the fluffy beds like we’re exciteable teenage girls rather than dead-inside thirtysomethings, we embarked on a mission to find the finest Manchester cuisine to satisfy our lunch cravings… We walked one block and found local Cantonese Yang Sing, ‘cos we’d just had two cocktails each and the name made us giggle. Thankfully the food and service wasn’t a joke. The famous Yang Sing has been in Manchester since 1977, serving aesthetically stunning and tongue-tingly
24 HOURS IN
stores and small coffee shops and bars made this big ol’ hippy seriously foam at the nethers. For me personally, after this, Spinningfields was a slight let down. Don’t get me wrong, this area has its charm and fun places too, but it’s also stacked full of high-end fashion stores and chain pubs. Great if you love that type of thing, but, as we’re not a hen party from Essex, it just wasn’t our bag. We head back to ABode for dinner and drinks in the Café Bar and Grill. Awesome cocktails, hot and friendly staff and they’re even playing my favourite bloody song, Fade Into You by Mazzy Star. Any place that blasts out early 90s hippy college lady rock without any sense of irony has wormed a place into my stone cold heart.
MANCHESTER offered a chance to finally see what Manchester has to offer us gayers. Add one sassy best gay gal pal (step forward Selina) and a challenge from Manchester’s tourist board to see, do and cause as much havoc that’s humanly possible in 24 hours. Challenge accepted, Manchester. Remembering I’m up north now and everyone is actually nice to each other, I put on a cheery grin and try to blend in when ordering a bread roll. “I’ll have a baaaaaaaaalllm caaaaehk please, duck.” Don’t ever do this. You just look like an arsehole. Dickish London ways aside, the gorgeous ABode hotel was our home for the next 24 hours. This is one seriously well-run hotel with a gorgeous mix of contemporary interior and classic architecture. ABode is certainly our recommendation 124
food. It’s one of Manchester’s best loved and most-respected names that makes immature fag/hag combos titter. After lunch we staggered, sorry, sashayed into Manchester’s Northern Quarter – now THIS is what it’s all about. Small, local businesses in super cute, winding side streets and atmospheric alleyways. It’s these kind of areas that make cities really pop – and so refreshing not to bump into a Tesco on every street corner. Looking at you, London! Full of creative types but not loaded with overbearing hipster twats with twirly moustaches (I mean, for God’s sake, you’re not a cartoon villain!), this area was chock full of quirky, fun places with a great vibe, yet not too taxing on the wallet. The collection of vintage shops, boutique record
Following a scrumptious dinner, it was time to go from one slab of hot meat to several as we entered the gay village. The drag queens here are fabulously friendly and deliciously sassy, as expected. Our favourite had to be the one, who shall remain nameless, cracking us up with fascinating stories of how Manchester has changed and why the people here are a real community, beautifully animated by the fact her jaw was swinging like an old gate. If you ever hear some bitter old queen bemoaning that Canal Street has had its day or is still riding 90s-shaped glory days, tell them to hush their beak, as they couldn’t be more wrong. The gay scene here is as wild and diverse as ever, and spreads further than the aforementioned famous street. gaytimes.co.uk
[travel] Whether you want an old man pub, a trendy cocktail bar, some cruisy fun or a dance off with a drag diva, Manchester supplies it all. Once the sun sets, the atmosphere by the famous canal is electric. We make no apologies for loving dancing to some handbag house. M People? Yes please, missus! The final act in this evening of sophistication saw us writhing round the pillars of Cruz 101, the place to be in gay Manchester once most of the bars have closed. Full of tasty lads, it’s a ridiculously friendly crowd with something for every dancing queen. You can go deep and dirty with the basement’s house tuneage, or, like us, strut to Beyonce and more poppier sounds upstairs. By this point we were positively giddy from soaking up Manchester’s multifaceted cultural spectrum ABOVE MANCHESTER CITY CENTRE BELOW PRIDE SEASON ON CANAL STREET
(read: off our faces), and Selina had been mistaken for a man in a dress. It was time to retire… Thank Jeebus for the fluffy pillows at ABode, as the next morning our heads were pounding harder than a King’s Cross hooker. After a fry-up the size of Greater Manchester, it was time to soak up some culture at the Gallery of Costume at Platt Hall. Absolutely amazing by the way, particularly the Christian Dior: Designer in Focus exhibit – and this is coming from someone whose idea of fashion is three T-shirts for a fiver at Primark. If you’re looking for a weekend away with some mates, we can wholeheartedly recommend Manchester. It’s a city with a village community vibe, more bustling than Birmingham but less daunting than London. Manchester, we were in you – and now you’re in our hearts. Q For further information, see visitmanchester.com. We travelled with Virgin Trains, virgintrains.co.uk.
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HOLIDAYS
HOLIDAYS To advertise in this section contact Ash Allibhai Tel 020 7424 7434 E-mail [email protected] Deadline for next issue 2 January SPONSORED FEATURE
GITES LE SUD JOIN TOM AND JÉRÔME FOR A WEEK OF EUROVISION FUN Tom Jordan and Jérôme Dubois, the Owners of Gites “Le Sud” would like to welcome you for a week of fun and extravaganza. From the 4th-11th May 2014, we will be hosting our very own Eurovision Song Contest Theme Week, at Le Sud. We are big Eurovision fans ourselves and it would be a great opportunity to party and meet with other like minded fans. This will be a jam packed week of Euro fun, quizzes, karaoke and much much more. For full details of this and booking enquiries;- Contact us at [email protected] /H6XG·LVVLWXDWHGRQWKHQRUWKHUQERXQGDU\RIWKH/RW department close to the River Dordogne (500 meters) with a variety of interesting countryside in all directions. ¶/H6XG·LVDGHOLJKWIXO WKFHQWXU\4XHUF\IDUPKRXVHDQG EDUQVVHWLQDFUHVRIJDUGHQVPHDGRZVDQGÀHOGVZKLFKDUH DERXQGZLWKZLOGÁRZHUVELUGVDQGDQLPDOVVXFKDVURHGHHU The well-maintained cultivated gardens are a colourful blaze against the attractive stone buildings and from the earliest snowdrops to the autumnal hues of the woodlands there is plenty to delight the avid nature lover or those just wishing to relax in solitude. Whichever season you choose to visit there is so much to offer. Spring, summer and autumn bring glorious days in which to explore the landscape and the hot days of summer are forever popular with sun-worshippers and water– lovers. We will also be offering Baking Courses lead by ex Master Baker of Harrods Jérôme Dubois(Contact us for dates) We are DOVRKDYLQJD%HH*HH·V7KHPH:HHNIURPWK0D\WR the 17th May 2014.(Contact us for full details) We usually rent our Gites from Saturday to Saturday but could propose alternative days, depending on the season and time of year. For Gay marriage or Honeymoon, or just to relax and see beautiful sites, “Le Sud” is the perfect site! Telephone 0033 (0) 565 40 97 36 or email [email protected] Or visit our web site www.giteslesuddordogne.com gaytimes.co.uk
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VERY NAUGHTY M, 60, seeks M to put him on the straight & narrow & get to the bottom of things. Kent. Box 654104 SLENDER SORT Very slim gay M, 43, enjoys country walks. Seeks older mature M, 60+, IRUIVKLS0·VLGH%R[ NICE, TALL, LAID-BACK White M, 45, likes meals out & drinks. Seeks similar black M for f/ship & more. Mancs. Box 216685 or text GT 216685 GOOD-LOOKING Romantic slim M, 39, smoker, loves ZDONVÀOPJRRGFRQYHUVDWLRQ cosy nights. Seeks M for trusting r/ship. Mancs. Box 657651 or text
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OUTGOING, ADVENTUROUS %L0·µZHOOEXLOWVHHNV79 CD or Bi M for good adult fun. Can accom/travel. Mancs. Box 372082 INEXPERINCED GUY )LWVWURQJ0·µGDUNH\HV short hair. WLTM understanding H[SHULHQFHG&'IRUÀUVWWLPHIXQ NW Ldn/Surrounds. Box 317171 or text GT 317171 ATTRACTIVE CROSS-DRESSER Tall blue-eyed CD, 38, smoker, med EXLOG6HHNVWDOOFRQÀGHQWJD\RU%, M, 45+, great personality, for fun+. Co. Down. Box 729383 HONEST M, 42, bi-curious, seeks similar M for light fun, to begin with. Middx. Box 763374 HONEST M, 55, bi-curious, seeks similar M for fun times. Wrexham. Box 651746 or text GT 651746 ATTRACTIVE Easy going M, 47, GSOH, seeks M for fun times, maybe more. Kent. Box 392549 CONVINCE ME Slim M, 52, seeks convincing TV/CD for fun times. Can travel. Wrexham. Box 962649 or text GT 962649 SMOOTHLY DOES IT %LZKLWH0· µPHGEXLOG clean-shaven, easy-going, seeks clean-shaven Asian M for fun & f/ship+. Middx. Box 471117 or text
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