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I S S U E S I X T Y 12 /11
W W W.O U T M AG .C O.UK
£FREE
Will Young
GIVING US THE
‘COME ON’
INSIDE WORLD AIDS DAY... CHRISTMAS GIFTS... LOGAN SCHMITZ
JODY AND BAYO FURLONG... KEY WEST
OUT IN THE CITY DECEMBER 2011
THE TEAM
Editor
DAVID HUDSON
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16
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After emerging from a long-term relationship of
several years, I have recently dipped my toes back
into the world of dating. I haven’t dated since 2005.
I was surprised to find that things have changed
slightly since then. Many of us now have online
lives.
I admit that I am a fan of Facebook. I don’t regard
myself as a prolific updater (well, not compared to
some people), but meeting new people did make me
pause to think about what I post. I realised that as
soon as I accept a friendship request from someone
I’ve just met, they can – should they so wish – trawl
back through my life over the last few years.
Depending on how much of yourself you choose to
reveal, it’s like handing someone a potted
autobiography of yourself. Do I really want a
potential boyfriend to have all that information all
at once?
Upon reflection, I decided that personally, I didn’t
mind. As I say, I’m not a prolific poster and I don’t
think I post anything that I would find hard or
awkward to explain to a potential new partner. If I
did mind, it occurred to me that perhaps I could get
into the habit of deleting stuff from anything beyond
a few weeks ago. Everyone I care about still gets all
my current status updates, but no-one new to my
friends list can go back to see what I was thinking or
feeling in such-and-such a year. It’s perhaps
something to consider now that many of us have
had online profiles for an increasing number of
years.
I find people’s Facebook walls fascinating, and do
wonder why some people I know post some of the
things they do, or – more importantly – if they are
aware of the portrait that they paint of themselves
when those updates are viewed in a cumulative
fashion. The same applies to any of us, I suppose,
so it is something to bear in mind.
Anyway, enjoy our December issue, which includes
information on World AIDS Day and some of the
scene’s best Christmas parties. We’ve also got a
chat with the lovely Will Young. I hope you have a
fantastic festive season, and look out for our
January issue, which will hit the streets just before
25 December.
hudson@outmag.co.uk
@OutInTheCityMag
CONTENTS
04 LETTERS
Send your
correspondence to
editorial@outmag.
co.uk
06 MY LONDON
Promoter Logan
Schmitz gives us his
capital highlights
08 SHOPPING
Lots of suggestions
from our Christmas
present wish list!
14 WILL YOUNG
Following the
success of recent
album Echoes, and
on the release of
new single ‘Come
On’, Will Young
chats exclusively to
Out In The City
PHOTO © CHRIS JEPSON
Paul Burston, Chance
Delgado, Mario
Forgione, Anthony
Gordon, John
O‘Ceallaigh, Steven
Sparling, Soren StaufferKruse, Richard Tonks
42
of the year
26 THEATRE
Backbeat reviewed
and theatre news
28 FOOD
New Indian
restaurant Carom
reviewed
22 MUSIC
Our favourite singles
and albums of the
year
31 OUT THERE
George Michael
teams up with Logan
Schmitz; and other
scene highlights for
December; plus
coverage of birthday
parties at Trade,
Salvation and
TheMenWhoFell2Earth
24 FILM
Our favourite films
44 OUTREACH
The Opening Doors
19 DIARY
December’s cultural
highlights and arts
listings
service for older
LGBT people
46 OUTNEWS
All the gay news
from home and
abroad
48 CAREER
Model and casting
agency owners,
twins Jody and Bayo
Furlong
50 FAMILY
How your life
changes when you
have a child, and
London Sperm Bank
56 PROPERTY
The Hale village in
Tottenham Hale, and
new items for the
home
64 TRAVEL
Gay Key West
64
71 BODY AND
SOUL
Agony uncle, World
AIDS Day and Body
Talk
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3
READERS’ LETTERS: DECEMBER 2011
FEEDBACK
S E N D YO U R P R A I S E , R A N TS O R C O M M E N TS TO
E D I TO R I A L@ O U T M A G . C O . U K - A LL L E T T E R S P R I N T E D W I N A P R I Z E …
OVER AND OUT
I was gutted to read of the
closure of First Out. I wasn’t a
regular visitor to the café, but it
was one of the very first gay
venues I visited in London 20
years ago, and I would still pop
in once or twice a year. There
are so few places that offer
such a community feel, or
where all sections of the LGBT
community felt so welcomed.
Which venue will be next?
relationships where the other
party didn’t want much sex. I
think it’s more common than
your agony uncle might
imagine. Sometimes it’s a
control issue. I’ve read that
people can subconsciously
withhold sex if they feel that’s
the only power that they have
within a relationship –
particularly if they have a
partner who dominates them
in other areas. Either way, as
your writer suggest,
counselling is probably the
best way forward – although
persuading someone that they
might need counselling can be
a whole other issue!
Troy, Bayswater
Michael, Croydon
NOT CHILD’S PLAY
I read your piece about adoption. I frequently now see posters
inviting people to explore adoption, and am aware that local
authorities, particularly in London, are desperate for people to
come forward as potential adoptive parents and foster carers.
Although all authorities now have to process applications from gay
people and same-sex couples, I do wonder whether individual
authorities are really gay-friendly, and exactly how many gay
placements they’ve made – perhaps as a follow-up piece you could
find out? I suspect that, sometimes, authorities claim to be gayfriendly but are less so in practice. In my experience, a lot of
emphasis is placed on prospective adoptive parents having a good
relationship with their own families and parents, ignoring that
some gay people – through no choice or effort of their own – may
have more difficult relationships with their family – particularly if
there are issues concerning their sexuality. I don’t think such
LGBT-specific issues are fully appreciated by some of those
working in the adoption field.
N, N15
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4
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DON’T GO WEST!
NO SEX PLEASE
I was interested to read your
Agony Uncle’s response to the
guy who was unhappy because
his boyfriend rarely wanted to
have sex with him. I have been
in similar situations myself –
both on the giving and
receiving end. I went off sex
with one boyfriend because he
wanted it all the time and
didn’t actually have the best
personal hygiene – something I
found difficult to discuss with
him. I have also been in
Dear Richard Tonks, I do love
your column, but for goodness
sake, get out of west London!
Move back east, or at the very
least to Vauxhall. Besides a few
trolly dollies down near
Heathrow and Acton, does
anyone live in west London?
Andrew, “Bow... and proud!”
Anyone who had a
letter printed this
month won a copy
of new DVD
Unhappy Birthday
Anyone who has a letter published in the January issue of Out In The City will win a copy of new DVD
Uncle David. David Hoyle co-directs and stars in this award winning black comedy – the unsettling tale of
an uncle and his nephew (pornstar Ashley Ryder), which was filmed over days on the Isle of Sheppey. It’s
out 5 December through Peccadillo Pictures. The writer of January’s Star Letter will win a copy of Uncle
David and Buffering, a frisky gay sex comedy from the makers of the film Shank about a gay couple who
decide to make their own internet porn to get their way out of debt. It’s out 5 December from TLA
Releasing. Send letters to editorial@outmag.co.uk, and please include your name and address if you
want to be in with a chance of winning a prize.
LISTED LONDONER
MY LONDON
C LU B P R O M OT E R LO G A N S C H M I T Z
G I V E S U S H I S C A P I TA L H I G H L I G H TS …
Portrait by CHRIS JEPSON
Where do you come from
originally?
I am a “country boy”, originally
from Oklahoma City, located
deep in the Bible belt and best
known for the 1995 bombing as
well as the musical, Oklahoma!
Yee-ha!
Where do you currently live
and when did you move there?
I have been living in the great
city of London for over five
years. I moved to the UK
permanently from Miami/Ibiza
after falling in love on the
dance floor in Ibiza.
What’s the best thing about
living in London?
It’s diversity, opportunity, and
accessibility. It is the hub of the
world welcoming all cultures,
offering something for
everyone, and there is never a
dull moment. Doors continue
to swing open with any bit of
effort, and its central location
makes it easily accessible to
any destination in the world.
…and the worst?
Most people would say the
weather, but for me it is the
commuting. Getting from A to
B can be absolutely exhausting.
With millions packed in, and
the weight of congestion, the
simple day-to-day tasks have to
be well organised, and meeting
a friend has to be planned well
in advance.
Favourite tourist haunt?
The London Eye – with its
spectacular views of the entire
city.
Favourite green space?
My favourite green space is
Clapham Common. With a
four-year-old dog, I have spent
more time roaming its pastures
than anywhere else. I have
picked up a few amazing
friends along the way.
Where do you escape the city?
The only place to escape inside
London is my home but I
usually travel at least twice a
month abroad. Once aboard the
aircraft, I find it very relaxing:
no phone, no messages, just
clear skies… usually.
What’s the most you’ve paid for
a cab, and to where?
The most I have ever paid for a
taxi was to Gatwick Airport as
I forgot my passport and I had
to rush home and back again! I
can’t remember the exact price,
but it exceeded £100!
Name a place or location of
sentimental value to you…
My bed. I can’t see to get
enough of it.
What’s London’s most beautiful
building?
I appreciate the older
architecture of the city, but my
favourite building is a tie
between the Gherkin and the
new Shard. I like big things…
What are your favourite
restaurants?
Are you single, dating or
partnered?
Growing up in the mid-west
United States, and only a
quarter of a day’s drive to our
southern bordering country,
Mexico. I am a huge fan of
“Tex-Mex” food. London not
being known for anything
Mexican, I have found a few
special restaurants that do it
just right. Cantina Laredo in
Covent Garden has the best
frozen margarita in London
and the guacamole is made
fresh at your table. Café
Pacifico is just around the
corner serving up a very nice,
but spicy homemade salsa.
What would you prefer…?
Where do you go drinking?
If I am not toasted on two
frozen margaritas, I like to
hang out at Profile and Lo
Profile for a drink in Soho.
6
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Invite us to a party…
You saved the best for last! I
would like to invite you to
biggest event of 2011: Logan
Presents 3rd Anniversary
starring George Michael and
Rebeka Brown at PROUD2,
inside the massive O2 Arena.
On 17 December, we will be
celebrating three years of
spectacular events under the
umbrella of Logan Presents
with our biggest line-up to
date! George Michael will
headline the main arena. He
will be performing tracks from
his catalogue remixed for this
event. Expect an action-packed
night of stage performance and
the best Ibiza-inspired sounds.
www.LoganPresents.com
SHOPPING: DECEMBER 2011
SHOPPING
3
1
BOOKS, BRICKS, DVDS, CAMERAS,
P H O N E S A N D F R A G R A N C E S . LO O K
W H AT G O R G E O U S G O O D I E S S A N TA
HAS IN HIS SACK THIS YEAR......
1 SLEEPLESS NIGHTS
The brilliant debut thriller from former
Out In The City columnist SJ Watson,
Before I Go To Sleep is available from
£5.99 on amazon.co.uk
from the Yves Saint Laurent label,
priced £33.50 (40ml), or £42.50 for a
gift set. www.theperfumeshop.com
9 FUZZ-FREE
2 TWENTY-SIX TALES
The new E>One laser hair removal
gadget is £1,299 - available from
www.eswin.co.uk
London Triptych author Jonathan
Kemp has a new collection of 26 short
stories entitled Twentysix, out now:
£9.99. www.MyriadEditions.com
10 GRIN AND BARE IT
3 ALL HAIL!
King Of Queens, a coffee table book
by Boy George is limited to only 999
copies. Each book includes a 10”
picture disc vinyl featuring unheard
and unreleased material from over the
years, plus a unique centrefold
spread, personalised by Boy George.
Pre-order price is £399 (plus P&P),
while retail price is £499. Full details
at www.kitchensinkpublishing.com
4 MAUDLIN MERRIMENT
The Smiths had their entire back
catalogue re-mastered. Eight-CD box
set is £30.47 from Amazon or £34.99
from www.rhino.co.uk/limited edition
vinyl box set for £149.99.
5 SPEXY MAN
It’s Christmas, invest in good times:
Alan Carr – Spexy Beast Live. It costs
£19.99 from all good DVD retailers.
6 PIERCING VISION
Camp melodrama Mildred Pierce –
available now on Blu-ray and DVD,
and starring Kate Winslet. It retails for
£24.99 on DVD or £29.99 on Blu-ray.
7 FEELING BLUE
Commons Sons has produced a
chunky range of knitwear for A/W11.
This Star Crew top (£80) is available
online only from ASOS. www.asos.
co.uk/commonsons.tumblr.com
8 FREE SPIRIT
L’Homme Libre is a new fragrance
8
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2
7
The Make A Difference Trust is a
charity that helps people living with
HIV and AIDS. Merchandise includes
this sexy calendar (£12) and mug
(£5) – with all money raised going to
a great cause. www.madtrust.org.uk/
11 KID’S STUFF
Examine these seemingly innocent
cubes and you’ll find the illustrations
offer a quirky take on modern life’s
ABCs. £27.95 from www.follyhome.co.uk
12 EEE-ZEE POSSE
Stuff magazine’s Gadget of the Year
award was the Asus Eee Pad
Transformer. The Android device
retails from £379 for the pad only, or
£429 for the pad and keyboard dock.
Check Comet, Argis, Amazon and
other good stockists.
11
13 IN THE RED
If you really want to make a point this
World AIDS Day, try these sparkly
ribbons from NAT (National AIDS
Trust). £14.99 or £16.99 (in
presentation box), proceeds helping
NAT to fund its work. www.
worldaidsday.org/the-red-ribbon.php
14 NIKON 1 CAMERA
Looking for a decent, mid-price digital
camera? The new Nikon 1 – available
in two formats – J1 (£549.99) and V1
(£829.99) covers all bases.
www.nikon.com
15 APPLE OF OUR EYE
The gorgeous Apple iPhone 4S retails
at around £499, or from around £20 a
month on contracts.
14
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BAROMETER: DECEMBER 2011
THE WORD
T H E A I D S S W I S H , W AT E R S TO N E S A N D OT H E R
T H I N G S F LO AT I N G O U T B O AT T H I S M O N T H . . .
ON FIRE
‘CHRISTMAS IN
SOHO’
SWISH FOR AIDS
A charity single from a
collective of the scene’s
performers and singers,
under the umbrella band
name of Soho Cares.
APP
OF THE
MONTH
WILLY MOON
Debut single ‘I Wanna Be
Your Man’ is a brief, oneminute and 50-seconds of
skiffle-influenced, oldstyle rock ‘n’ roll
eccentricity.
PHOTOGENE2
FOR IPHONE
IMAGE © DAVID HUDSON
The AIDS Swish is a
new event set to
take place for
the first time
this World AIDS
Day (Thursday 1
December). It’s
creators say that
they created the event
because they felt that some AIDSawareness-related events could be
rather sombre and fun-free in tone, and
they wanted to do something uplifting.
Organised by the London AIDS Memorial
campaign – who are trying to create a
permanent memorial to those lost to
AIDS here in the capital, the Swish
people are encouraging everyone to
dress up and swish down Old Compton
Street. Assemble by Ed’s Diner at 6pm,
swish down the street, and then attend
a short service in St Anne’s Gardens
conducted by the Sisters of Perpetual
Indulgence. The Swish will signal the start of various events taking
place in the bars of Soho for ‘Red Thursday’.
Ever wished you could have
Photoshop on your iPhone? The fully
updated Photogene2 is the answer,
allowing you amazing editing powers
over your photos, including retouching, colouring, adding text,
collage maker, cropping, rotating
and much more. It’s available now for
69p from the iTunes store.
AB FAB
It’s back, back, back! Eddy
and Patsy return to our
screens this month for the
first new episodes in over
six years, plus there’s talk
of a feature film.
THIS
MONTH’S
RISE AND
FA L L
X FACTOR
Feeling excited about this
year’s competition… or
can’t wait for it to limp to
its oh-so-predictable
conclusion…?
QUOTE
OF THE
MONTH
“Chris Evans on the radio
talking about golf. Could
the day get any worse?”
WORLD AIDS DAY AT WATERSTONES
Waterstones’ flagship store in Gower Street, WC1, will be
commemorating World AIDS Day this year with a range of events.
A team from www.nat.org.uk will be in the store on Monday 28
November highlighting its new ‘HIV Aware’ campaign and selling
charity Christmas cards. They’ll be followed by a team from GMFA
on Tuesday 29 November, and legal experts www.riverhouse.org
on Wednesday 30 November. On World AIDS Day event, teams
from www.foodchain.org.uk will be present, with a book signing
by Edd Kimber (winner of The Great British Bake Off) and a short
concert from the London Gay Men’s Chorus (6-6.30pm). Check
www.facebook.com/gowerstHIVweek for updates.
10
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Julian Clary – whose Twitter feed
WESTMINSTER
COUNCIL
…Particularly for its
proposed new parking
restrictions, banning
parking on single yellow
lines till after midnight.
JULIA GILLARD
The Austrialian PM refuses
to speak out in support gay
marriage in the country –
despite many of her Labor
colleagues doing so.
never fails to brighten our mornings.
ON ICE
C O L U M N I S T: PA U L B U R S TO N
PINK LISTS & PRIZES
PAUL BURSTON TALKS ABOUT A NEW LITERARY AWARD FOR
LGBT WRITERS AND EXPLAINS WHY HE BELIEVES PINK
PRIZES ARE STILL NECESSARY…
Why do we need pink
lists and prizes? It’s a
question that arises
every year when the
Independent’s Pink List
is published or the
winners of the
Stonewall Awards are
announced. And it’s a
question that has
occupied my mind more
than usual this year, as
I’ve been involved in
setting up The Polari
First Book Prize, which
is awarded to an author
for a debut book
exploring LGBT themes.
By the time you read this,
the winner will have been
announced. At the time of
writing, we’re down to a
shortlist of five authors - Clare
Campbell, DJ Connell, Timothy
Graves, Jonathan Kemp and
James Maker - any of whom
would make a worthy winner.
Some people are against
pink lists and prizes because
they regard them as special
pleading – or in the words of
the Daily Mail, “political
correctness gone mad”. Often
those same people are against
women-only awards like the
Orange Prize, never stopping to
wonder why every other
literary prize is dominated by
men. With few exceptions,
books written by women
simply aren’t taken as seriously
as books written by men.
Despite an abundance of
best-selling female authors,
there are fewer female book
reviewers and far fewer female
authors who see their work
reviewed. And even when it is,
all too often it’s dismissed as
‘too domestic’, ‘not literary
enough’ or simply ‘chick lit’.
It’s still a straight man’s
world - we just live in it.
Earlier this year, the writer VS
12
Naipaul stated that there
wasn’t a single female author
he regarded as his equal,
including Jane Austen. Naipaul
dismissed Austen’s “narrow,
sentimental sense of the
world”, and said that women
writers were “quite different”.
According to Naipaul, “I read a
piece of writing and within a
paragraph or two I know
whether it is by a woman or
and my name regularly appears
on The Pink List, I suppose you
could say that I have a vested
interest in such things. And
you’d probably be right. But the
reason I believe in gay prizes
isn’t because I live in hope of
winning one. It’s because I
firmly believe that they’re still
necessary.
That’s why we set up The
Polari First Book Prize. It’s also
“We may enjoy far more rights
than ever, but homophobia hasn’t
gone away. And nor has
heterosexism.”
not. I think [it is] unequal to
me.”
I dare say that Naipaul
would have similar feelings
about writers who are gay or –
god forbid! – lesbian. And
there are many others who
would share his view and
dismiss gay literature as
quickly and as easily as they
dismiss gay life. For me, gay
literature and gay life are
closely related. Of course, I
would say that – I’m a gay
writer. And as I’ve been
nominated for several awards,
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
why Stonewall still have their
annual awards, why The
Independent still publish their
Pink List and why Square Peg
Media, publishers of this
magazine, recently published
their own Pride Power List.
It’s about recognising the
contribution made by LGBT
people, and celebrating it.
Because if we don’t, there’s
still no guarantee that
someone else will.
We may enjoy far more
rights than ever, but
homophobia hasn’t gone
away. And nor has
heterosexism. A friend of mine,
who works for a major
newspaper, recently described
an editorial meeting at which a
news story about anti-gay hate
crime was dismissed because
“we ran an interview with Boy
George last week”. No
disrespect to George, but
attitudes like this are a perfect
example of why the battle for
equality isn’t over. An
interview with a gay pop star
does not fulfil a newspaper’s
‘gay quota’ for the week, not
when gay people are still being
bullied, beaten up and killed on
our streets. I hate to say this,
but we’re not out of the woods
yet.
We still need more
balanced news reporting. And
we still need more gay role
models. Gay international
rugby player Gareth Thomas
summed this up perfectly in a
piece he recently wrote for The
Independent.
“The first time I saw the
Pink List was about two years
before I came out. I remember
that Clare Balding was on it,
and she was a big name in
sports. To me that was a real
‘wow’ moment: looking
through the list and seeing
people in different jobs and
walks of life who had been able
to be themselves and be
successful. It was incredible.
The list itself didn’t prompt me
to come out, because that was
something I had to do when
the time was right for me. But
it was inspirational to see that
these people, who did not need
to pretend, could thrive in their
chosen field.”
Why do we need pink lists
and prizes? We need them
because we still haven’t
reached the point where being
gay is seen as a non-issue. And
we need them because out
there, there are still people like
Gareth Thomas, waiting for
that ‘wow’ moment.
C O V E R S TA R : W I L L Y O U N G
WHERE THERE’S
A WILL…
T E A M I N G U P W I T H P R O D U C E R R I C H A R D X H A S R E S U LT E D I N W I LL YO U N G’ S
F I N E S T A L B U M S I N C E T H E P L AT I N U M - S E LL I N G F R I D AY ’ S C H I L D . I N T H E
M I D D L E O F A 2 3 - D AT E U K TO U R , H E C H AT T E D TO D AV I D H U D S O N A B O U T H I S
NEW WORK…
It’s ten years since Will Young first shot
to fame by winning the first series of
Pop Idol. Despite a new X Factor winner
being thrust upon the public each year,
Young remains the most enduringly
successful contestant of any of the recent
TV talent shows. Not only has he
continued to notch up the hits (his most
recent album Echoes entered the charts at
number one a couple of months ago), but
he’s also diversified, with film and theatre
acting roles and numerous TV
appearances – recently being awarded his
own TV special on ITV and guest hosting
Never Mind The Buzzcocks. Made in
conjunction with producer Richard X,
Echoes finds the singer embarking on a
more dance-oriented direction. On the
back of its success, he’s currently finishing
a 23-date tour of the UK, but you’ll have
one more chance to catch him live this
year when he takes over the London
Palladium for a night on 12 December. Just
before the release of new single, ‘Come
On’, he chatted with Out In The City…
Hi, Will. How is the tour going?
The tour’s going well. Bit tired today. But
it’s great fun. It’s great to get out there,
particularly with the new music, and to
translate that live, and see how that works.
It’s a real challenge as a singer, definitely,
to sing the new songs.
You’re playing the London Palladium in
December – looking forward to that?
I am. That’s 12 December. I’ve got two
dates in London, and then this is a
separate Christmas show, to round it all
off. It should be really fun, and we’re
going to have some dancers. Secretly, I
want to dress as an elf, but I’m not sure
that will get past the powers that be!
Are you a Christmassy person?
I’m very Christmassy this year. Weirdly so.
I’ve been feeling Christmassy since early
October!
Why this year?
I’ve got a new house, and my new house is
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very Christmassy. It has fireplaces, and I
live on a square, and they do carol singing,
so I’m ramping up for it already, even
though there are a couple of months to go!
How did you come to work with Richard X
on your new album?
I just asked him. I’m a great believer in
waiting for the answer to things, and I
didn’t really think through who I wanted
to produce the songs, and then various
names were being put forward, and I just
thought ‘no, that’s not going to work’ or
‘it’s not exciting’, or ‘I don’t think that will
be interesting’, and then I was in
Manchester, and I bought the Steve Mason
record, which Richard had done. I loved
the production, and I thought that if he
can produce this then this is the man for
me. And he’s just done the best job. He’s so
brilliant... just brilliant.
“There
are still
challenges to being
a gay man in any
mainstream profession.
There are still people
who have problems
with other people’s
sexuality.”
What are your favourite tracks?
I normally do have favourites, but not on
this one because I think they’re all good in
their own way. It’s quite hard to choose
singles. And I really do mean that. I love
the song ‘Personal Thunder’. I think that
sits in its own pocket. And I love
‘Runaway’, which I did with Jonathan
Sloan, because I really liked what he’d
done with Empire Of The Sun, and it was
very much the type of song that I wanted
to do with him. I love ‘Hearts On Fire’,
which is a really cool one, and is a great
one to do at gigs.
Rewinding slightly back to your Greatest
Hits in 2009, I liked the single ‘Hopes and
Fears’, but it didn’t chart. Did that panic
you? Did you wonder if your pop career was
winding down?
No, because it was sort of different. It was
on the Greatest Hits, and that sold almost
half a million, which for a greatest hits is
brilliant, and that was just in the UK. The
single was just something I needed to put
out there to show that Hits was out there. I
think if ‘Jealousy’ hadn’t done so well, then
I would have been worried much more.
Then the new album went to number one,
which must have been hugely gratifying.
What was amazing, talking about singles,
is how well the single did, because in the
last few years, the albums have done well
but the singles not so much, so that was
really surprising, in a way.
The music business has changed greatly in
the last ten years. Does that make it
harder for you as an artist to be heard? Is
securing radio play an issue for you?
Radio play’s even more important, if
anything. I worried more when some
stations wouldn’t play my music, for
whatever reason, and that’s a concern. If
they don’t play me, then people don’t get to
hear it and they don’t know it’s out.
Luckily, I do have enough people that do
want to play my music. With ‘Jealousy’… I
don’t know; you get all these statistics,
saying it’s like the third most played song
in the UK, or something like that, and
that’s without two major stations that just
won’t play my music.
Doesn’t Radio One play you?
Radio One haven’t played my music in four
years.
Does that upset you?
Well, what can you do? Either you sit and
C O V E R S TA R : W I L L Y O U N G
cry about it or you just get on with it. In
any industry, it does come down to those
people who control the traditional
conduits and channels of communication
to the public. The mainstream. You can’t
do anything about that, so I’m really
thankful to the people who have decided
to play me; and I’ve learnt, over the years,
to let go of the things that I can’t do
anything about. On top of that, what’s
great now is that I might not get Radio
One and Capital playing my music, but
now you’ve got things like YouTube, where
you’ve got a video of me prancing around
in Lycra, and one-and-a-half million
people have watched it, so there are other
ways of getting around it. It’s a doubleedged sword, really.
What about your acting – do you have any
upcoming roles in film, TV or theatre?
I have actually, yeah. Hopefully… it’s a
mixture of all three. I’m really excited, and
have been thinking over the last few
months of trying to bring in
music and TV, but in an
interesting way, so I’ve
been looking at loads of
things that I can
maybe do around
that. And I don’t just
mean a musical; I
mean something
that had more of a
music element to it.
So, there are a
couple of things, and
occasionally I do
auditions for things, and
I either get them or I
don’t [laughs], and that’s
what I quite like about the
acting. I think my strike rate is about
50% at the moment, which is not bad.
“I oscillate
from being quite
content on my own
to thinking it would negative. And it
shouldn’t be. But I’ve
be nice to meet
gone off on a tangent...
with regards to acting…
someone.”
I haven’t seen it so much
Your music career proves that sexuality is
no bar to success in pop, but have you ever
experienced discrimination or typecasting
in the acting world?
I don’t think so. I think we’ve moved on a
long way, but I don’t think we can rest on
our laurels, you know? I think there are
still challenges to being a gay man in any
mainstream profession. There are still
people who have problems with other
people’s sexuality. We can sometimes
make the mistake of giving ourselves a pat
on the back and thinking that all is fine
now, but it’s not really. If you compare us
to places like Holland or Scandinavia,
where people really don’t give a shit,
people do kind of give a shit here. And it’s
very sly things. I think the use of the word
‘gay’, and the way that it’s used as a
derogatory term, in the mainstream, and
that you still hear it so much in schools –
that needs to be clamped down upon.
Language is so important – the power of
language – and claiming back language. In
schools, the use of the word ‘gay’ is still
very much a derogatory thing. You see it in
schools, on TV and on the radio. It’s very
powerful, and it plants a seed that gay is
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for me, I have to say.
You’ve done a lot of work for
charity over the last few years –
such as Mencap, Catch 22, Oxfam and
the Prince’s Trust – is it important to you
to use your fame in a positive way?
Yeah, it is. I was just thinking that I
haven’t had a chance to do enough for
Catch 22 [a charity that helps young
people facing difficult situations in their
lives] recently because I’ve been really
busy; but yeah, a lot of what I do is fairly
self-obsessed, so it’s quite nice to do
something that isn’t.
Catch 22 is a very worthy cause, helping
kids who are facing particular difficulties whether in their home life, education or
otherwise. Is the outlook for young people
and teenagers getting bleaker, given the
world’s financial woes?
Yeah. In the context of the summer riots,
there have been a lot more conversations
about this, and the youth can come out of
the wrong side of those arguments or
conclusions. I think it is [bleaker] in a way,
because families are more dissipated. I
don’t know what’s being done about it. I go
and see projects that we do at Catch 22
and I see kids and they learn really quickly,
and they’re not the monsters that everyone
seems to want to portray them as being.
They just need guidance. It’s why charities
like Catch 22 are so important.
Do you have a boyfriend or partner at the
moment?
I do not.
Looking for one?
Well, I suppose so, in as much as any single
person is looking for one? I’m always on
the lookout. Actually, I oscillate from
being quite content on my own to thinking
it would be nice to meet someone. I guess I
don’t want to get too content on my own,
[laughs] because then that would probably
be it and I’d be happy to stay that way.
Do guys throw themselves at you? Or do
you ever wonder: “Does this person just
like me because I’m famous?”
Yes, that goes through my head, but I don’t
warrant it with any more time than it
deserves. I kind of think I have a fairly
good judgement of character, and tend to
think that if I was proved wrong then it
would just be a bit disappointing, as it
would be for anyone else if they found out
that someone they like was an arsehole.
Luckily, in ten years, I haven’t had that.
Do you think your fame intimidates people
when you meet them?
Yeah, maybe. I think it can work two ways.
Sometimes it can work in my favour and
sometimes it doesn’t work in my favour.
That’s just the nature of the beast really.
People will have pre-judgements and think
certain things, good and bad, and that’s
just part of my life, so I just get on with it,
really.
‘Come On’ and Echoes are out now. Will Young plays
the London Palladium on 12 December – see www.
livenation.co.uk
C U LT U R E C A L E N D E R : D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1
DIARY DATES
D E C E M B E R ’ S C U LT U R A L H I G H L I G H TS I N A N D A R O U N D LO N D O N
1-2, 8-10 DEC:
10-31 DEC:
Improvised comedy
show Set List, which
has recently been
touring the UK, comes
to London for a short
residency at the Soho
Theatre. Expect a “A
Whose Line Is It
Anyway?-style
challenge” of stand-up
comedy, with the
nightly talented
professionals handed
an original, not-seenbefore set list of topics,
partially written by the
audience. Performers
include Tim Minchin,
Rich Hall, Zoe Lyons,
Phill Jupitus, Greg
Proops, Pajama Men
and Robin Ince, among
others.
www.sohotheatre.com
Following successful Christmas shows in
previous years, the Duckie collective
will be returning to the Barbican this
December for three weeks of
performances. The Duckie Copyright
Christmas will run for 30 performances
from 10-31 December. “Step inside the
Duckie superstore and witness the
decaying arcades of branded Britain…
conspicuous consumption thrives in this
promenade performance featuring saucy
shopaholics, supermarket sweepers and
sweatshop Santas.” Pondering whether
Christmas in 2011 means anything more
than shopping will be some of the club’s
most regular performers, including
Scottee, Harold Offeh, Jess Love, Ryan
Styles, Bird la Bird, Susannah Hewlett,
Sheila Ghelani, Roy Kerr, H Plewis and
Dickie Beau. Mark Whitelaw directs and
the designer is Robin Whitmore. The
show runs for 80 minutes without an
interval, with tickets at £19.99. There
will also be a free Duckie club night on
Friday 16 December until 1am.
Book at www.barbican.org.uk - with
more details at www.duckie.co.uk
01 & 22 DEC:
The amazing Rihanna
is back for what feels
like her 76th show at
the O2 Arena! If you
miss herat the atart of
the month, she has one
remaining show on 22
December. www.
rihannanow.com
FRI 02 DEC:
Electro DJ Richie
Hawtin, known as
Plastikman, plays the
London date of his ‘One
City’ world tour,
promoting his latest
album, Kompilation.
www.plastikman.com
O4 DEC:
In aid of the Make A
Difference Trust
‘A West End Christmas’
returns to St Paul’s
Church in Covent
Garden (‘the actor’s
church’). Performers
from West End shows
will be singing classic
songs and carols.
Mince pies and mulled
wine are served free.
Doors open at 7pm,
with tickets at £25-£35.
www.madtrust.org.uk
SAT 03 DEC:
The Kills perform a
one-off show at the O2
Brixton Academy,
following the release of
their album Blood
Pressures earlier this
year. www.thekills.tv
05-06 DEC:
Stepping away from
supergroup Take That
02-04 DEC:
You won’t be able to resist feeling festive
if you take yourself along to the ExCel
centre in Docklands on 2-4 December. It
will be hosting the annual food
extravaganza that is Taste Of Christmas.
Expect plenty of tastings, cookery
demonstrations, signature dishes from
leading London restaurants, and plenty
of opportunities to buy tasty goodies.
Jamie Oliver and Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall are among the chefs taking
part. Full details and ticket bookings at
www.tasteofchristmas.com
for a couple of nights,
Gary Barlow performs
his first solo shows in
over a decade playing
two nights at the Royal
Albert Hall in support
of the Prince’s Trust
charity. Expect plenty of
Take That hits to be
included in his
repertoire.
www.takethat.com
30 NOV-08
JAN:
Now an annual
Christmas tradition,
Sadler’s Wells will again
play host to a
production of The
Snowman this
December. The show,
which is based upon
Raymond Briggs’ muchloved children’s book of
the same name, has
now become a family
classic. Catch it at the
Peacock Theatre, WC2.
www.sadlerswells.com
07-08 DEC:
Fans of magic –
particularly those who
like to see stage
trickery deconstructed
– can catch eccentric
showmen Penn & Teller
in London this month.
The duo are celebrating
35 years of working
together, and will be
bringing their show,
Conversations with
Penn & Teller: 35 Years
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
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C U LT U R E C A L E N D E R : D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 1
of Magic & BS, to the
Indigo O2 at the O2
Arena. The show will
include an audience
Q&A session. www.
pennandteller.com
WED 07 DEC:
The big indie hopefuls
at the beginning of the
year, The Vaccines,
never quite managed to
break through in the
way that may have
been anticipated. That
said, debut album What
Did You Expect
FromThe Vaccines?
graced the top ten and
stands as one of the
year’s finest. Catch
them in all their fiery
glory at the O2
Academy Brixton –
their biggest gig to
date. www.thevaccines.
co.uk
THUR 08 DEC:
We’ve always been big
fans of actor and writer
Mark Gatiss (The
League of Gentlemen).
He and Steven Moffat
co-wrote the BBC’s reworking of Sherlock
Holmes – simply
entitled Sherlock – and
there will be a
screening of the first
episode of the new
series, starring
Benedict Cumberbatch
and Martin Freeman, at
the VBFI Southbank on
Thurs 8 December,
followed by a Q&A with
the writers and some
cast members.
www.bfi.org.uk
THUR 08 DEC:
Bryan Adams, will
celebrate the 20th
anniversary of his
Waking Up The
Neighbours album, at
the O2 Arena. www.
bryanadams.com
FRI 09 DEC:
Celebrating the release
of their fifth album, the
wonderful Mylo Xyloto,
Coldplay bring their UK
tour to London with a
date at O2 Arena. www.
coldplay.com
FRI 09 DEC:
24 NOV-14 JAN:
We’ve loved Sharon Gless (above) ever
since she pounded the streets of New
York as Detective Cagney in Cagney &
Lacey. The fabulous Ms Gless will be
treading the boards of the West End
when she brings her acclaimed
performance in A Round-Heeled Woman
to the Aldwych Theatre for a strictly
limited run, following a successful short
run at the Riverside Studios.
The show is based on a true story.
Retired Californian English teacher and
divorcee, Jane Juska, after 30 years of
being ‘severely deprived’ of touch,
realised that she ‘liked men’! She
decided to place a ‘Personals’ advert in
her favourite periodical, The New York
Review of Books, which stated: “Before
I turn 67 – next March – I would like to
have a lot of sex with a man I like. If you
want to talk first, Trollope works for
me.”
She received 63 replies from men aged
between 32 and 84, and went on to write
of her experiences in “A Round-Heeled
Woman – My Late-Life Adventures in
Sex & Romance”.
Tickets cost £35/ £45. www.
aroundheeledwoman.com
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WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
Get up close and
personal with Melanie
C, when the former
Spice Girl plays a
headline show at the
Scala in King’s Cross.
She’s promoting her
fifth album, The Sea.
www.melaniec.net
WED 07 DEC:
The brilliant Frisky & Mannish follow a successful run of
shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with a UK tour,
stopping off in London for a headline show at the Shepherd’s
Bush Empire on Wednesday 7 December. Following ‘School of
Pop’ (2009) and ‘The College Years (2010), this year’s show is
entitled ‘Pop Centre Plus’, offering their own inimitable
careers advice for those wishing to pursue a career in pop!
“Rigorous testing will identify your individual skill sets and
personal strengths,” say the duo, enabling them to ascertain
the right career path for you. “Some will be Biebers, some will
be Britneys, and if the requisite talent is available, five lucky
audience members will be hired on the spot. And, in the
current economic climate, that is an opportunity that one
simply cannot afford to miss!”
Expect interactive fun plus full-blown dance routines and
stunning renditions from these impressive musicians, singers
and performers. Tickets cost £17.50 from ticketweb.co.uk,
and the show starts at 7pm.
Young – plays a
headline show at the
London Palladium
celebrating his recent
number one album,
Echoes. www.willyoung.
co.uk
SAT 10 DEC:
Playing their first
London show in five
years, New Order –
featuring original
members Bernard
Sumner, Stephen Morris
and keyboardist Gillian
Gilbert – headline at
The Troxy in east
London. www.
newordernow.net
FRI 16 DEC:
MON 12 DEC:
SAT 10 DEC:
Anyone who thought
Duran Duran were a
spent force should
check out their
fantastic video for new
single ‘Girl Panic!’. The
band bring all their hits
to London for a
headline show at the
O2 Arena – a
rescheduled tour from
earlier in the year
following Simon Le
Bon’s throat problems.
www.duranduran.com
Burlesque star
Immodesty Blaize
teams up with popsters
The Noisettes for a
one-off show at the
HMV Forum in Kentish
Town, entitled Looking
For Trouble. Expect
music, fashion and
performance art, with
special guests expected
to join the shenanigans.
MON 12 DEC:
Wrapping up his UK
tour, this month’s cover
star – the fabulous Will
The Saturdays bring
their All Fired Up tour
to London, with a show
at Wembley Arena,
promoting last month’s
On Your Radar album.
www.thesaturdays.com
16-19 DEC:
George Michael wraps
up his hugelysuccessful Symphonica
tour with three preChristmas shows at
Earl’s Court. www.
georgemichael.com
23 NOV-29 JAN:
Following its hugely
successful run last
year, cult cabaret
sensation La Soirée
returns to the
Le Gateau
Chocolat
Roundhouse in Chalk
Farm. Expect risqué,
cabaret from some of
the cream of the scene,
including Hugo
Desmarais, Katherine
Arnold, Mario Queen of
the Circus, Mooky, Nate
Cooper, The Skating
Willers, the Wau Wau
Sisters and Out In The
City favourite, Le
Gateau Chocolat.
Tickets £15-£40. www.
la-soiree.com
Europe’s favourite Ski Pride Festival, from 8th to 15th January, 2012
New
website
with easy o
nline
reservation
system
www.gayskiweek.ch
Email: arosa@gayskiweek.ch
Reservations in UK, Amro
01 462 434 663
Meet with a beautiful crowd
from all over the world and
experience Arosa Ski at its best
10 gay-friendly partner hotels and
holiday apartments fitting any budget
70 km fantastic ski & snowboard runs
non-skiers always welcome in Arosa
cultural events & great theme parties
fine dining, apres-ski & wellness spa
MUSIC: REVIEWS
THE YEAR IN MUSIC
T H E O U T I N T H E C I T Y T E A M ’ S FAV O U R I T E C U TS F R O M 2 0 1 1
ALBUMS
SINGLES
1
1
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
PATRICK WOLF
Lupercalia
FLORENCE + THE MACHINE
Ceremonials
ADELE
21
WILL YOUNG
Echoes
CSS
La Liberación
SOUND OF ARROWS
Voyage
NICOLA ROBERTS
Cinderella’s Eyes
LADY GAGA
Born This Way
MEN
Talk About Body
CULTS
Abducted
LYKKE LI
Wounded Rhymes
KATE BUSH
50 Words for Snow
PJ HARVEY
Let England Shake
WASHED OUT
Within and Without
AZARI & III
Azari & III
20
NERO
Welcome Reality
BEYONCÉ
4
COLDPLAY
Mylo Xyloto
CASEY SPOONER
Adult Contemporary
BLANCMANGE
Blanc Burn
22
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16
17
18
19
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
NICOLA ROBERTS
‘Beat of My Drum’
PATRICK WOLF –
‘Time Of My Life’
ADELE
‘Someone Like You’
LANA DEL REY
‘Video Games’
NICKI MINAJ
‘Super Bass’
LADY GAGA
‘The Edge of Glory’
ADELE
‘Rolling in the Deep’
ROBYN
‘Call Your Girlfriend’
MARTIN SOLVEIG FT. DRAGONETTE
‘Hello’
RIHANNA FEAT. CALVIN HARRIS
‘We Found Love’
CSS
‘City Grrrl’
WILL YOUNG
‘Jealousy’
JESSIE J
‘Nobody’s Perfect’
CASEY SPOONER
‘Faye Dunaway’
PATRICK WOLF
‘The City’
BETH DITTO –
I Wrote The Book EP
EXAMPLE
‘Changed The Way You Kiss Me’
DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE
‘You Are A Tourist’
HERCULES & LOVE AFFAIR
‘My House’
NOAH AND THE WHALE
‘L.I.F.E G.O.E.S O.N’
FILM: REVIEWS
FILMS OF THE YEAR
THE OUT IN THE CITY TEAM CHOOSE THEIR
FAV O U R I T E M O V I E S O F 2 0 1 1…
1. THE GUARD
12. THE SKIN I LIVE IN
Although not a huge hit at the box office,
this little gem of a movie was one of the
year’s most unexpected comedic delights.
Set in rural Ireland, it finds strait-laced
FBI agent Wendell (Don Cheadle) pairing
up with eccentric and confrontational
small-town cop Sergeant Gerry Boyle
(Brendan Gleason) to bust an international
drug smuggling ring.
Spanish master Pedro Almodovar gave us
one of his best in this typically eccentric
tale about an obsessed surgeon.
13. THE IDES OF MARCH
Beginners
6. BEGINNERS
Christopher Plummer plays the 70something man who comes out as gay to
son Ewan MacGregor.
7. BRIDESMAIDS
One of the year’s funniest comedies.
Kristen Wiig struggles to hold it together
as maid of honour for her best friend.
The Guard
2. THE FIGHTER
Even if you don’t think you like boxing
movies, there’s plenty to admire in this
true-life tale that’s more about family
bonds than fists. It boasts great
performances from Christian Bale (who
scooped an Oscar), Mark Wahlberg and
Melissa Leo.
8. X-MEN: FIRST CLASS
4. THE KING’S SPEECH
A huge commercial and critical success,
this film swept the board at the Oscars and
BAFTAs this year.
5. WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Tilda Swinton gives a tour de force
performance as the disenfranchised
mother in director Lynne Ramsay’s
adaptation of Lionel Shriver’s best-seller.
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14. RABBIT HOLE
Nicole Kidman gives a memorable
performance in this heavy but engrossing
tale of grief.
15. SOURCE CODE
Jake Gyllenhaal ticks all the right boxes in
this slight but entertaining slice of
Hollywood sci-fi.
Just trumping Thor as our favourite bigbudget blockbuster of the year.
9. TRUE GRIT
Erasing memories of their poor remake of
The Ladykillers, the Coen Brothers come
up trumps with their take on the classic
Western, featuring an amazing debut from
Hailee Steinfeld.
3. ANIMAL KINGDOM
Another film about
family bonds, but a
decidedly more bloody
and brutal offering of
nail-biting drama about a
Melbourne crime family,
headed by ruthless
matriarch Jacki Weaver
(who was nominated for
an Oscar for her
performance).
George Clooney directs and stars in this
slow-burning but intelligent political
thriller, with the lovely Ryan Gosling.
Red, White & Blue
16. RED, WHITE & BLUE
Another undiscovered gem, Noah Taylor
stars in this brutal and extremely violent
arthouse revenge thriller.
17. I SAW THE DEVIL
This bold Korean murder-fest is not for the
squeamish.
Weekend
10. WEEKEND
18. TAKE SHELTER
A disquieting and engrossing tale of a man
plagued by visions of an upcoming storm.
Heralded as the best British gay film in
many years, Tom Cullen and Chris New
star as the men who embark on a weekendlong new affair. Is it possible to fall for
someone after just two days?
19. 127 HOURS
11. TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY
20. MORNING GLORY
Gary Oldman stars in this atmospheric,
big-screen adaptation of John Le Carre’s
classic spy novel.
Again, not a big box office hit, but
enjoyable comic froth with Rachel
McAdams and Harrison Ford.
Based on a true story, James Franco gives a
memorable performance in Danny Boyle’s
latest offering
T H E AT R E : R E V I E W S A N D P R E V I E W S
THE FAB FIVE
ST E V E N S PA R L I N G R E V I E W S B AC K B E AT
Book
your
tickets
MAKING A KILLING
PHOTO © NOBBY CLARK
One of the West End’s most eagerlyawaited new productions comes to
the Gielgud Theatre this month. A
new stage adaptation of the classic
Ealing comedy The Ladykillers will
feature Peter Capaldi (The Thick Of
It), James Fleet, Ben Miller and Clive
Rowe. The tale, which concerns itself
with a bumbling group of bank
robbers who pose as musicians, and
the old lady who unwittingly houses
them, has been adapted by Father Ted
writer Graham Linehan. It’s taking
bookings up until 18 February 2012.
Tickets from £35. Full details at www.
theladykillers.co.uk
GOTTA DANCE!
They are undoubtedly the world’s most
famous rock quartet – but they started
out life as a quintet. The story of how the
Beatles went from five members to four is
engagingly told in Backbeat, the newly
opened play at the Duke of York’s Theatre.
It’s an evening of drama with a little sex,
drugs and rock ’n’ roll added to the mix.
Based on the 1994 film of the same name by
Iain Softley, Backbeat traces the Beatles’
early years in Hamburg when Stuart Sutcliffe
played bass guitar. Stuart was, at heart, a
painter, and it was only the insistence of pal
John Lennon that convinced Stu to give
music a try. Over the two-hour play we trace
the highs and lows of this relationship as Stu
tries to choose between rock‘n’roll and art.
Like Christopher Isherwood before them,
who found his cold English heart woken up
by the decadence of Berlin in the years
between the wars, the Beatles landed in
Hamburg in the 60’s, finding the sleazy
Reeperbahn district added grit and
confidence to their music. Forced to play for
hours every night, they had to gel together
musically – it was an excellent training
ground for a young band. If the theory that it
takes 10,000 hours of practice to master
something holds true, the hothouse
environment of Hamburg went a long way to
helping the Beatles achieve their potential.
Backbeat was staged in 2010 for the
Glasgow Citizens Theatre by original
writer/director Softley before making its
way to the West End. It’s an excellent
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production. The actors are fantastic,
especially the five Beatles (Nick Blood,
Andrew Knott, Daniel Healy, Will Payne and
Oliver Bennett). Not only do they act well,
portraying some of the most loved popular
characters of recent times, but they also have
to play live instruments, which they do
brilliantly. When allowed full reign to let rip,
these boys really rock. They bring the
audience to their feet.
The supporting cast is no less commendable.
They play a multitude of small roles,
populating the nightclub with what feels like
hundreds of fans, while really only being ten.
Ruta Gedmintas is radiant as Astrid
Kirchherr, Sutcliffe’s love interest, while
Mark Hammersley is captivating as Brian
Epstein.
Biographical stories of bands can sometimes
be a bit slow moving, but Backbeat is slickly
directed by David Leveaux, so the action
never stops; while set pieces by Christopher
Oram and Andrew D Edwards glide across
the stage or are flown in and out, which
conveys a relentless filmic energy to the
piece. It’s surprisingly rich with humour and
well balanced with raw emotion.
Coming from a post-Beatles era, it was both
entertaining and educational. As Astrid says
of her introduction to the Beatles, “I followed
him down the iron staircase and my world
changed.”
Backbeat is an excellent piece of theatre that
has the potential to introduce a whole new
audience to the Fab Four.
Following a critically-acclaimed and
hugely popular run at the Regent’s
Park Open Air Theatre, the
outrageously upbeat Crazy For You
has now transferred for the winter
months to the Novello Theatre in the
West End. The production stars dishy
Broadway star Sean Palmer, who
some of you may remember from his
brief stint as Marcus on Sex and the
City. This much-loved show was
adapted from George and Ira
Gershwin’s 1930s comedy musical
Girl Crazy, and features such classic
songs as ‘I Got Rhythm’. It’s the tale
of handsome Bobby Child (Palmer), a
banking heir who just wants to tap
dance but who finds himself sent by
his disapproving mother to foreclose
a failing playhouse in Deadrock,
Nevada. Tickets from £27.50. http://
crazyforyouthemusical.com
CHRISTMAS HAUNTING
Who doesn’t like a spooky story at
Christmas? Coming to the Jerwood
Theatre at the Royal Court this month
is Haunted Child, starring the
fabulous Ben Daniels and Sophie
Okonedo.
“A small boy is driving his mother to
distraction – waking at night, hearing
phantom noises and fixating on his
absent father. When he glimpses a
figure prowling the house at night, a
shadow is cast which gradually strips
away his childhood certainties.”
It runs from 2 December till 14
January. http://royalcourttheatre.com
FOOD: REVIEW
SOHO SPICE
D AV I D H U D S O N R E V I E W S C A R O M
1 0 0 W A R D O U R ST R E E T, W 1 F
0 2 0 7 3 1 4 4 0 0 2 . W W W. C A R O M S O H O. C O M
Floridita and Meza Bar have both been
Wardour Street fixtures since 2004.
The Latin American-themed Floridita, in
the basement, with its regular cabaret and
South American menu, continues to pull
in custom, but clearly, Meza was in need
of a re-think, as owners D&D (who also
own Le Pont de la Tour, Bluebird Chelsea,
Quaglinos and Orrery, amongst several
others) have totally revamped the place
and relaunched it under the new name of
Carom – the brand’s first Indian
restaurant.
D&D own some of the capital’s best and
most well-established eateries, so for this
first venture into Indian cuisine, they
have recruited an expert in the field.
Executive chef Balaji Balachander
heralds from Chennai in south India, but
he relocated to London in 2005, where he
began a four-year run at the Michelinstarred Benares in Mayfair. He’s recruited
some of his former colleagues to join him
in his new kitchen, which is offering up
an imaginative selection of regional
Indian dishes.
The venue has received only a light
makeover. The room is still split between
a large bar area and dining area, which is
further sub-divided thanks to some
floor-to-ceiling, colourful voile curtains.
One wall has been painted bright pink,
and is adorned with Indian art prints.
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Thick candles sit in chunky silver
candlelabra, casting flickering
illumination over the black tables. Booths
along one wall provide more intimate
seating for groups or parties. The feeling
is contemporary with a dash of the
palatial.
We began our meal with poppadam and
homemade chutney (£2.50). The mini
poppadam were coin-sized but plentiful.
The mango chutney was good, although
we thought the tomato chutney a little
watery… it just tasted like mildly spiced
chunks of tomato. Our helpful waitress
recommended that we try six main dishes,
as portions are designed to be shared.
From the ‘Favourites’ menu we went for
some excellent potato and ginger cakes
with Punjabi chickpeas (£5) and crispfried chilli squid ‘Mirch Makeli’ with
coriander dip (£6.50). This was good,
although I found the batter strangely
powdery in texture. One of the meal’s
highlights was definitely the King Prawns
‘Ajwain’, with red pepper and onion, and
pomegranate raita (£10) – spicy, tandoorcooked King Prawns with a creamy and
cool raita accompaniment. Also hitting
the right note was the chicken tikka with
mint chutney (£8).
Another highlight was the beef ‘sukha’
(£9.50) from the curry menu – flavoured
with Goan spices, pepper and coconut. It
looked like a blackened mess but tasted
sublime. Also from the curry menu was
vegetable dumplings ‘kota’ (£8.50), in a
seductive and unexpectedly zingy
caramelised onion sauce. Add to this some
baked rice (£3.50) and south Indian flaky
bread (£3), and we were more than sated.
We held back on the rice to squeeze in a
couple of desserts. I was a little
disappointed with my rich carrot ‘fudge’,
with pistachio and almond (£5), which
was more like a spicy mashed carrot
spring roll, but my companion’s exotic
fresh fruits (£6.50) was the perfect end to
the meal, served with a small jug of
almond and saffron custard – a wonderful
twist on an old favourite.
Carom offers an imaginative and
interesting menu, which will no doubt
be tweaked over the coming months.
Prices range from the good to the very
good – those who don’t want to mix and
match several dishes can opt for hefty
basmati rice Biriyani – served under a
pastry crust – available for just £10.
Service was friendly and surroundings hip
and buzzy – although the adjacent bar
was quite noisy. Perhaps it’s not the best
destination for an intimate tête-a-tête
(unless you grab a booth), but perfect for
the upcoming party season.
O U T I N T H E C I T Y: A C C E S S A LL A R E A S
DECEMBER 2011
A
A
SCENE HIGHLIGHTS
OUR PICK OF THE BEST EVENTS IN TOWN...
George Michael
DECEMBER 2011
ACCESS
ALL
AREAS
OUR GUIDE
TO EVENTS
IN AND
AROUND
TOWN
WE LOVE DISCO!
Promising to be one of December’s biggest parties
is undoubtedly the first birthday mega-bash for WE
London. The night is one of Spain’s biggest gay
events, with a long-running residency in Madrid.
Over the last 12 months the team have hosted eight
parties here in the capital – each one proving bigger
and better than its predecessor. Expect the birthday
bash to be the most lavish yet! The theme will
simply be ‘Disco’, and We Party residents D’Johnny
and Gonzalo will be joined by the brilliant Paul
Heron on the main floor. There will also be a guest
set from Madrid regular Manuel De Diego. The
upstairs lounge will be hosted by Jodie Harsh, and
will feature DJs Kris Di Angelis and Fat Tony.
Advance tickets cost £15 – www.wepartylondon.com
LOGAN PRESENTS…
GEORGE MICHAEL!
Since hosting his first night on the London gay scene three years ago, promoter Logan has truly carved out a
place at the top table of London scene promoters. He’s thrown some of the capital’s most memorable
parties, rocking such venues as the Coronet in Elephant and Castle and Pulse in Southwark with the likes of
SuperMartXé and Hype. Now he’s in the final stages of putting together his biggest party yet… starring very
special guest George Michael! ‘Logan Presents – 3rd Anniversary’ will take place at Proud 2 (at The O2 is
Greenwich) on Saturday 17 December. If you’ve never yet visited this venue, prepare yourself to enjoy one of
London’s most state-of-the-art, purpose-built clubbing spaces. Hitting the main stage, direct from his
Symphonic tour, will be George Michael, who will be performing an exclusive set of club-oriented, remixed
hits – classic tracks re-worked specifically for the night. Doors will be open from 11pm till 7am, with £15
early-bird advance tickets available online from www.LoganPresents.com
DAMAGED DISCO
The folk from DiscoDamaged will be hosting a very
special event at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern on Friday
25 November, ahead of this year’s World AIDS Day.
They’ve made a short documentary entitled The
Bareback Issue, which examines gay men’s attitudes
towards safer sex. The evening will feature the UK
premiere of the film, and will then be followed by a
panel discussion with Suzie Krueger (Hard On),
Ashley Ryder (porn actor), Matthew Hodson (GMFA)
and campaigner Peter Tatchell. The debate will be
chaired by Stewart Who? (pictured), and will be
followed by a Damaged club night. Doors open at
8pm, with the film screening of the documentary at
9pm sharp. The discussion will take place at
9.45pm. Admission is £4. www.discodamaged.com
XMAS STARZ
The annual Popstarz Xmas Ball will take place on
Friday 16 December at the gang’s usual home, The
Den, and will feature three rooms of festive fun –
with the ‘Indie ice temple’, the ‘Pop Popsicle Room’
and the ‘R’n’B Wrappin’ Room’! Expect a show on
the main stage plus plenty of festive giveaways.
There will be happy hour drinks from 10pm till 11pm,
plus £2.50 drinks deals all night. This will be your
last chance to join the Popstarz crew until New
Year’s Eve, as they will be taking a break on Friday
23 December and Friday 30 December, with the next
big bash planned for Saturday 31 December. They’ll
be ringing in the New Year with a special uniformthemed party, and advance tickets for that cost just
£14 (more on the night). www.popstarz.org
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DECEMBER 2011
TRADE
Although it no longer has a weekly presence on
the scene, Trade’s reputation ensures that it still
has a massive following. So much so that its
annual birthday party, wherever it may be held,
is guaranteed to be rammed to the rafters.
This year’s 21st birthday was no exception.
Promoter Laurence Malice and his team took
over huge new super club Pulse in Southwark
for a Halloween weekend spectacular that was
appropriately themed ‘A Journey To The Dark
Side’. The Trade faithful came in their droves,
many zombie-fied for the occasion and only too
keen to do their own version of the monster
mash on the dancefloor. DJs Smokin Jo, Nick
Tcherniak, the Sharp Boys, Steve Thomas and
Pagano spun the hard house sounds, alongside
special Berlin guest Monkia Kruse and a special
live show from the fabulous Stewart Who?. The
Trade Lite room, featuring a live PA from Tonnic
and sounds from Fat Tony, amongst others,
offered some respite from the day-glo madness
of the main floor.
“Trade showed that it’s still as fresh today as it’s
ever been,” a happy Laurence said afterwards.
Thanks to all you who helped, and a special
mention must go out to our production team,
who produced such an amazing stage show!”
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PHOTOS: CHRIS JEPSON/LONDONCLUBLAND.COM
TRADE CELEBRATED
ITS 21ST BIRTHDAY
OVER HALLOWEEN
WEEKEND
A
O U T I N T H E C I T Y: A C C E S S A LL A R E A S
DECEMBER 2011
Launched by the same team who used to run
the much-missed Rebel Rebel, monthly night
TheMenWhoFell2Earth has quietly established
itself quite a following down at Old Street’s East
Bloc. The club is aimed at a party-lovin’ crowd of
“dressed up and dressed down homo’s and notso’s”, who happily get down and groove to a
mixture of electro, dancefloor pop, punk-funk
and throbbing disco. The team celebrated their
first birthday on 5 November, and the faithful
turned out in their droves to enjoy the Bonfire
Night fizz and sparkle. Following in the
footsteps of special guests such as the Drop
Out Orchestra, the party’s guest of honour was
S’Express legend Mark Moore, who worked the
basement disco dancefloor up into a frenzy. DJ
duo Another Night took care of Room Two,
offering plenty of tunes for those attending to
burn off some calories to – particularly needed
after enjoying some special ‘Bowie’-themed
birthday cake (in honour of the club’s name).
“Wowzer - our first birthday party was pretty
much our best night yet,” said delighted
promoter Tony Fletcher, afterwards. “Massive
thanks to everyone that came down, ate
birthday cake and danced to the super lovely Mr
Mark Moore, who was just amazing!”
www.themenwhofell2earth.co.uk
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PHOTOS: CHRIS JEPSON/LONDONCLUBLAND.COM
THE MEN
WHO FELL 2
EARTH
A
O U T I N T H E C I T Y: A C C E S S A LL A R E A S
DECEMBER 2011
FOREIGN
TONGUES
RICHARD TONKS
BRANDISHES HIS
TONGUE LIKE A
WEAPON…
With the approach of Christmas, my mind is
drawn to happy recollections of sunny
California, where I recently spent a pre-winter
boost, enjoying a generous West Coast slice of
San Franciso and LA gay life.
One of the things I have always enjoyed
about US travel is that it is possible to curry
favour by utilising your accent. For the record,
mine was originally cut in Wolverhampton, but
flattened for common London parlance. The
resultant combination of vowels and howls that
come tumbling out are challenging to place.
Nothing special on our damp little island, but
prompting substantial impact over the pond.
Now, I read on various internet polls, the
British accent (like every other bloody Brit thing,
it seems), is losing world currency in terms of its
sexual appeal. While holidaying in the States, my
choice of phrases and words among my varied
Californian buddies remained a constant source
of hilarity, but not in the way I had imagined.
“You always sound like you’re taking the piss
out of what we are saying,” they said. Or “Lighten
up Richard – this is gonna be awesome.”
I do like a sarcastic take on things, but this
bunch of LA hipster-lites should have been pretty
aware what was going on. My parlance was the
classic brand of Brit reserve mixed with sarcasm,
right?
But “Lighten up”? Was I being ungrateful?
They had just given me a Cyndi Lauper ticket.
I also felt terribly old-fashioned. There is
nothing worse than when you’re embarking on a
bit of flirty banter with a gruff, handsome man
from their southern States when you pop into the
conversation ordering a gin and tonic and
enquiring about the recent weather – because
they may interpret it as disinterest, until you
clarify that it is perfectly acceptable at home as
an early conversation starter. Maybe this
explains the super-prevelance of smartphone
dating. Directness is the key. Old conversational
codes go out the window.
Back to California. It looked like any kind of
holiday romance was definitely off the cards in
LA. I found myself unable to build much rapport
with people whose topic of conversation rarely
delved below ‘slightly negative’. As gay Brit
friends will know, I would happily bitch about
other bar characters at home.
Well, it seemed my luck changed when a
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“HE EVEN RECORDED ME
AT T H E B A R RANTING A B O U T
E A ST LO N D O N H I P ST E R
J U ST TO H E A R T H E W AY I
‘DISSED’ THEM”
champion Knight in Negative Armour came
charging my way.
“What a wanker,” he opened, before
launching into an entertaining diatribe
concerning my fellow American friends’ decision
to spend a weekend at a trailer park in Austin,
Texas. “Who would stay in a trailer anyway? Sure
it’s kind of cool, but kind of makes you trash.”
This is the sort of parlance I understand.
Mocking, laced with self-knowing, and this even
before he had been introduced to anyone.
“I suppose you know we’re all like ‘gonna
diiiiie’ over your accent then, Richard?”
Hmm, ‘negative one’ turns his attention to
me and I find myself getting excited at this little
toxic pool in the sea of Californian positivity.
“Yeah – these vowels are painful and I intend
to maim, then kill,” I retort, summoning a
stereotyped accent of my current west London
self.
I quickly realised that while my accent
might be seen as alluring, this pesky American
may have a faux-interest in it order to remain
‘cool’. He even recorded me at the bar ranting
about east London hipsters just to hear the way I
‘dissed’ them. After that he asked to keep in
touch.
He’s from Michigan and kind-of Jewish,
And that’s a fetish of mine that requires a
whole other column…
GETTING
ON THE
GUEST LIST
John Freeman.
Admission is £6, or
cheaper with a flyer/
advert.
The Club Mofo team
return with their Winter
party on Friday 2
Big changes are
December. Taking place
coming for Work –
at Corsica Studios (4/5
promoter Patrick
Elephant Road,
Lilley’s much-loved
Elephant and Castle,
midweek night of r’n’b, SE17), there will be
hip hop, house and
noisy live action from
other urban sounds.
Emika Patten, No Bra
The night has moved
and oFF Love, while
home, having just taken Hannah Holland, LMC
up a new Wednesday
and Mark East spin the
residency at Area in
indie, rock and electro
Vauxhall. Ruling over
punk tunes - joining
‘The Show Room’ will
resident hell-raisers
be DJs Niyi Maximus
The Daughters of Kaos.
Crown, Tuomo Fox and Doors 9pm till 4am,
Kingsley Jordan Wells. with admission just £4
Taking care of the
before 9.30pm, and
funky house, bashment then £7 after. For more
and hip hop in the
details, check http://
Runway Room will be
www.facebook.com/
Marlon Goodaz and Big clubmofo
O U T I N T H E C I T Y: A C C E S S A LL A R E A S
DECEMBER 2011
A
SALVATION
PHOTOS: CHRIS JEPSON/LONDONCLUBLAND.COM
THE MEGA CLUB
CELEBRATED ITS 13TH
BIRTHDAY LAST MONTH…
They say that everything comes full circle, and that was
certainly true for the Salvation team, who decided to
return to their original home to celebrate the night’s 13th
anniversary! Salvation has been running pretty
consistently during that time in a range of venues, but
Leicester’s Square’s Café De Paris has always been the
home of some of its more memorable parties, and so it
was to prove, yet again, for their birthday bash. The
gorgeous venue, in all its velvet and gilt-edged glory,
quickly filled up. Resident Salvation DJs Mis White, Olive
M, Gonazlo Rivas, Paul Coles and Pier Morrocco kept the
muscle boy brigade on the main dance floor bouncing,
while Howard Turner took care of the VIP room. Visual
entertainment was provided by Raul Gonazalez and his
scantily-clad team of hunky dancers.
There was no word from promoter Steve Elliot confirming
the next Salvation party, but we’d be surprised if there
wasn’t a Christmas or New Year party in the pipeline –
keep checking press for details.
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O U T I N T H E C I T Y: A C C E S S A LL A R E A S
DECEMBER 2011
HAVING A BALL
MARK AMES GIVES US THE LOWDOWN ON THE
WORLD AIDS DAY REMEMBRANCE BALL…
The owner of Pulse and XXL has organised one
of this year’s biggest World AIDS Day events.
The ‘World AIDS Day Remembrance Ball’ will
take place on Saturday 3 December at Pulse,
the huge new super club in Southwark.
Promoter Mark Ames tells us to expect “a huge,
spectacular show”, with confirmed DJs
including Freemasons and Cahill.
“We’ve also got a Gaydar Room featuring top
Gaydar DJs, and a super chill-out room for
remembrance. We’re not being maudlin about
this – we want to rejoice in people’s lives –
those who are living and those we have lost.
This is a disease that affects all of us directly or
indirectly and we have to be united to face it
and fight it.”
Mark is committed to creating an event that
raises awareness among the London gay
community, to highlight the need for us all to
educate and protect ourselves, and to
remember those who have been lost to HIV and
AIDS.
“We would like people to send in a photograph
of someone they have lost – so we can project
an image of them on to one of the video walls in
Pulse as we will have a Remembrance Room for
this – it’s almost like the patchwork quilts that
are done in the US – gone but not forgotten.”
The night will also act as a fundraiser for
organisations involved in helping those affected
by HIV and fighting the spread of the virus.
“We’re working with Status and Mildmay. We
chose Status for its pro-active work in
prevention of the AIDS virus – they are taking a
very hands-on and sensible approach to it. And
we chose the Mildmay due to its international
drive on tackling the AIDS epidemic head on.”
To avoid any confusion, Mark is keen to point
out that this is not an XXL event, and that XXL
will have its own event running on the same
night.
“We’re doing an XXL Fetish event at Arcadia –
The Rubbed-Up Ball – which is men-only. The
Remembrance Ball is open to everyone in the
LGBT and straight communities. It’s a party to
support and raise much-needed charity funds
for these groups.”
World AIDS Day Remembrance Ball takes place
on 3 December from 10pm till 6am at Pulse.
XXL members £8, non-members £15. Pulse, 1-4
Invicta Plaza, Blackfriars Bridge, SE1.
SHOW YOU CARE
DUSTY O EXPLAINS TO OUT IN THE
CITY THE CONCEPT BEHIND SOHO
CARES, AND ITS FUNDRAISING
CHRISTMAS CHARITY SINGLE,
‘CHRISTMAS IN SOHO’…
What is Soho Cares and how did the idea come about?
Dusty O: Soho Cares is a group of artists, singers and performers who
work in Soho, put together by Ben B of Boisounds and myself, and who
have all come together to record an Xmas song and video called
‘Christmas In Soho’ to help raise money and awareness for the Status HIVtesting organisation.
Who’s involved?
So many people have been kind and got involved. Ku Bar, Circa, Madame
Jo Jo’s, the Yard Bar and The Edge all donated money, while Victims of
Glamour Studios donated the space. Bambi Fantastic and loads of
industry pros donated time and know-how, and the list of artists is
amazing. It includes David Hoyle, Holestar, Nathan James, Mari Wilson,
Zee Asha, Marc Massive, Jeyjon, The Trannyshack Girls, Lorenza Johnson,
Vanilla Lush, Vicki Vivacious, Lucy Wilson, Rowan John, Michael Winaver,
myself … you name it, they came, and we had some really big voices on it!
Plus it has been remixed by some amazing scene DJ’s in a variety of
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different styles. I am so proud of the finished result.
What has it been like be part of the project and to watch it take shape?
Raising the money and coordinating it with Ben has been hard work! It
sounded like a good idea but the logistics are huge. Now it is all done
though, I am honoured to have helped it all happen. The song and video
are fantastic and our donor bars have all agreed to play it on heavy
rotation in their venues. It would be fantastic if people downloaded it and
helped us raise a bit of money for Status, who are helping the gay
community in a very direct fashion. This is a genuine coming together of
Soho, which has always been the heart of our scene. Please folks, buy it!
How can readers help or buy the single?
It is available on iTunes, with a whole selection of remixes by some great
DJ’s. The video is on YouTube and you can hear it in bars all over Soho.
For more details, check the Facebook group page ‘SOHO CARES’
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O U T I N T H E C I T Y: S C E N E G U I D E
DECEMBER 2011
GOING OUT
SCENE GUIDE AND PARTY SUGGESTIONS...
VENUES:
CENTRAL
LONDON
11.30pm. Fri & Sat 5pm2am. Sun 5-11pm. Longrunning and famed lesbian
bar.
79 CXR, 79 Charing Cross
Road, WC2. 020 7734
0769. Leicester Square
tube. Mon-Sat 1pm-3am,
Sun 1pm-10.30pm. Cover
charge after 11pm. Large,
cruisy, bar – always busy
after 10.30pm with those
who don’t want to head
home too early.
CIRCA, 62 Frith Street,
Soho, W1D 3JN.
Tottenham Court Road
tube. Soho gay bar, offering
pop and r’n’b tunes, drag
hosts and cute bar staff.
Open 4pm till 1am daily.
www.circasoho.com
ADMIRAL DUNCAN, 54
Old Compton Street, W1.
020 7437 5300. Leicester
Square tube. Friendly,
famous, traditional gay
pub – look out for the
purple and pink exterior!
COMPTONS, 52 Old
Compton Street, W1. 020
7479 7961. Leicester Square
tube. Noon-11pm. A Soho
institution. Large,
traditional gay boozer on two
floors, attracting a butch,
manly crowd. www.
comptons-of-soho.co.uk
CANDY BAR, 4 Carlisle
Street, W1. 020 7494
4041. Tottenham Court
Road tube. Mon-Thu 5-
THE DUKE OF
WELLINGTON, 77
Wardour Street, W1. 020
7439 1274. Piccadilly Circus
FESTIVE SONGS OF PRAISE
Following a successful launch party last month,
Songs Of Praise will be returning to East Bloc on
Old Street on Saturday 3 December. From some
of the team behind the late Kimono Krush, Songs
Of Praise will be returning with its “oh-so-holy
blend of high-quality pop”. They will be joined on
this festive special by the East End’s “very own
Dean of Disco”, Dave Kendrick (Macho City).
He’ll take care of the smaller ‘Chapel’ while
spinning the pop classics and future hits in the
Altar Room will be the Sugarlow Boys, David Oh
and Neil Prince. The club will be suitably decked
out for the festive season.
Doors will be open from 11pm till 4am on
Saturday 3 December, with admission £5 before
midnight (£7 after). East Bloc, 214-217 City
Road, Shoreditch, London, EC1V 1JN.
40
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
tube. Mon-Thu noon-11pm,
Fri & Sat noon-midnight, ‘til
10.30pm on Sun. Traditional
fun gay pub over two floors,
attracting a cross-section
from across the scene.
THE EDGE, 11 Soho
Square, W1. 020 7439
1313. Tottenham Court
Road tube. Noon-1am,
Sun 2pm-11.30pm. Stylish,
hip gay bar spread over
four intimate floors, with
regular nights from top
DJs, regular piano bar and
tasty food.
ESCAPE, 10a Brewer
Street, W1. 020 7734
2626. Piccadilly Circus
tube. 5pm-3am. Cover
charge after 11pm. Every
night’s a party at this latenight video dance bar.
FREEDOM, 66 Wardour
Street, W1. 020 7734
0071. Piccadilly Circus
tube. Opulent style bar, with
late-night club promotions
for a mixed, metrosexual,
trendy crowd.
www.freedombarsoho.com
FRIENDLY SOCIETY, 79
Wardour Street, WC1.
Piccadilly Circus tube.
Trendy and unique, intimate
basement bar with quirky
décor and fun atmosphere –
attracts a mixed crowd.
G-A-Y BAR, 30 Old
Compton Street, W1. 020
7494 2756. Leicester Square
tube. 12pm-12am. Huge,
poptastic gay bar, with a
multitude of video screens,
pop tunes and drinks
promotions. www.g-a-y.co.uk
G-A-Y LATE, 5 Goslett
Yard, off Charing Cross
Road, WC2. Tottenham
Court Road tube. 11pm-3am.
Late-night sister venue to GA-Y Bar – more video
screens, camp pop fun and
cheap drinks.Gets very busy
KU AUCTION
Now a World AIDS Day institution,
the Ku Bar in Lisle Street will again
be hosting its World AIDS Day
auction on Thursday 1 December
– as part of this year’s Soho Red
Thursday. Now in its fourth year, the
challenge this year is for the auction
to beat last year’s whopping sum of
£10,000 – a huge sum of money to
be raised at one bar in one evening!
How do they raise all that money? Well, once again they will be auctioning
off dates with the bar’s beautiful bar boys! That may not sound very
respectable, but trust us, it’s done in good taste for charity. Basically, after
the auction, successful bidders get to accompany their chosen Ku Bar boy
up to an exclusive reception in Ku’s first floor bar and to spend some time
together. If you don’t fancy bidding for a bar boy, other auction prizes
include a stay at the nearby W Hotel, a photoshoot with a professional
photographer, theatre tickets, afternoon tea at Claridge’s hotel and tickets to
see Steps in concert next year, amongst other goodies. The event will be
hosted by Boogaloo Stu and surprise guests, and the fun kicks off at 8pm
sharp.
Following this, a week later (8 December), the Ku Bar will officially celebrate
its 16th anniversary – check the website for further details at www.ku-bar.
co.uk
most nights of the week.
THE GREEN CARNATION,
4-5 Greek Street, Soho,
W1. 020-7434 3323.
Stylish, three-floored late
night gay venue, with bar,
dancefloor and nightly
promotions. Attracts a very
mixed crowd. www.
greencarnationsoho.co.uk
HALFWAY TO HEAVEN, 7
Duncannon Street, WC2.
020 7321 2791. Charing
Cross tube. Mon-Thu noon11pm, Fri & Sat 12pm12am. Old-style gay pub
spread over two floors.
HEAVEN, The Arches,
Villiers Street, WC2.
Charing Cross Road tube.
Huge, world-famous gay
club, which is now home to
G-A-Y, along with mixed/
studenty Monday nighter
Popcorn. Check www.g-ay.co.uk for details
THE KINGS ARMS, 23
Poland Street, W1. 020
7734 5907. Oxford Circus
tube. Mon-Thur 12pm–
11pm, Fri-Sat 12pm-12am,
Sun 12pm-11.30pm.
London’s bar for bears and
blokes. Traditional
atmosphere plus pool
table. Sunday night
karaoke very popular.
KU BAR, 30 Lisle Street,
Leicester Square, WC2.
020 7437 4303. Leicester
Square tube. Large, awardwinning, upmarket gay bar
spread over three floors,
open till 3am daily; always
busy throughout the week.
www.ku-bar.co.uk
KU BAR SOHO, 25 Frith
Street, W1. Leicester
Square tube. New, smaller
sister venue to Lisle Street
Ku Bar, with entrances on
Old Compton Street and
Frith Street - open till 11pm
daily. The first floor houses
a Gay Tourist Office from
noon-6pm each day (www.
gaytouristoffice.co.uk).
www.ku-bar.co.uk
LO-PROFILE, The
Basement, 84-85 Wardour
Street, W1. Swanky,
sophisticated, 400capacity late-night
basement bar and club
space – from the people
that bring you gaydar.co.
uk. Open 11pm-3am
Thursdays, and 10pm-4am
on Fridays and Saturdays.
www.loprofile.com
MADAME JO JO’S, 8-10
Brewer Street, W1. Longrunning, late night gig
venue, nightclub and
cabaret bar - open to very
mixed crowd. Home to
popular Wednesday
nighter Trannyshack. www.
madamejojos.com.
MOLLY MOGG’S, 2 Old
Compton Street, W1. 020
7434 4294. Tottenham
Court Road tube. Small,
intimate little gay pub, with
regular drag shows
attracting a mixed crowd
of theatre folk and tourists.
NEW BLOOMSBURY SET,
76 Marchmont Street,
O U T I N T H E C I T Y: S C E N E G U I D E
DECEMBER 2011
WC1. 020 7383 3084.
New, intimate basement
bar/lounge, beneath
Snappy Snaps on
Marchmont Street between Russell Square
and King’s Cross tubes.
Open 4-11pm Mon-Sat (210.30pm Sunday). www.
newbloomsburyset.co.uk.
PROFILE, 84-84 Wardour
Street, W1. 020 734 3444.
Piccadilly Circus tube.
Upstairs bar above LoProfile, owned and run by
the team behind Gaydar.
Stylish gay bar/diner, open
for food and drink from
early morning through till
11pm – when the action
moves downstairs. www.
profilesoho.com
THE QUEBEC, 12 Old
Quebec Street, WC1. 0207629 6159. Marble Arch
tube. Long-running and
huge pub, on two floors,
attracting an older crowd.
Open till 3am at weekends.
Off the beaten Soho track
but worth checking out.
www.thequebec.co.uk
THE QUEEN’S HEAD, 25
Tryon Street, SW3. 0207589 0262. Sloane Square
tube. Popular, very longrunning, cosy gay pub – a
Chelsea institution.
RETRO BAR, 2 George
Court, WC2. 020 7321
2811. Charing Cross tube.
Mon-Fri noon-11. Sat 5pm11pm, Sun 5pm-11pm. A
traditional boozer for the
gay scene’s indie,
alternative and studenttypes – Tuesday’s pop quiz
is an institution.
RUPERT STREET, 50
Rupert Street, W1. 020
7292 7141. Piccadilly
Circus tube. 12-11pm, Sun
10.30pm. Large, designerstyle bar, popular with
professional gay boyz and
post-work drinkers.
SHADOW LOUNGE, 5
Brewer Street, W1. 0207287 7988. Piccadilly
tube. Exclusive, gorgeous,
late-night bar and club for
A-list gays and celebspotters. Open from late
each evening.
www.theshadowlounge.
com
THE STAR AT NIGHT, 22
Great Chapel Street, W1.
Tottenham Court Road
tube. Relaxed, mixed gay/
lesbian bar – in traditional,
bistro-type surroundings.
Great food menu and
cocktails. Open 6-11.30pm
Tue-Sat. www.
thestaratnight.com
SWEATBOX, 1-2 Ramillies
Street, Soho, W1. 0203214 6014. Exclusively gay
gym (ground floor) and
sauna (basement levels),
with occasional late-night
parties. Friendly and fun.
Open Sun-Thurs noon2am, and till 7am Friday
and Saturday. www.
sweatboxsoho.com.
VAULT 139, 139 Whitfield
Street, W1. 020-7388
5500. Central, daytime
and evening intimate
cruise club, for a men-only
crowd. Open 1pm-1am
seven days a week. www.
vault139.com
VILLAGE, 81 Wardour
Street, W1. 020 7434 2124.
Piccadilly Circus tube. 121am, Sun 11.30pm. Late
night door charge. Soho’s
original gay café bar,
spread over four floors,
and now with basement
dancefloor and discos.
Popular with a youngish
crowd of boys and girls.
THE YARD, 57 Rupert
Street, W1. 020 7437
2652. Piccadilly Circus
tube. Mon-Thur 4pm-11pm,
Fri & Sat 1pm-11pm, Sun
1pm-10.30pm. Busy gay
bar with hugely popular
courtyard area, outdoor
balcony and cosy loft bar.
SAUNAS
CHARIOTS WATERLOO, 101
Lower Marsh, Waterloo, SE1.
020 7401 8484. Waterloo
tube. Well-presented, popular
sauna, open 24/7. www.
gaysauna.co.uk
PLEASUREDROME, 124
A
Cornwall Road, Waterloo,
SE1. Waterloo tube. Big
venue with lots of different
areas – open 24 hours,
365 days of year. www.
pleasuredrome.com
SAUNABAR PORTSEA, 2
Portsea Place, Marble
Arch, W2. 020 7402 3385.
Marble Arch tube. Small
and friendly gay sauna
with masseurs. www.
gaysaunabar.com
SAUNABAR COVENT
GARDEN, 29 Endell Street,
Covent Garden, WC2. 020
7836 2236. Covent
Garden tube. Basement
sauna with pool, sauna
and rest rooms. Check
website for discount entry.
www.thesaunabar.co.uk
SWEATBOX SOHO,
Ramillies House, 1-2
Ramillies Street, Soho, W1.
020 3214 6014. Oxford
Circus tube. Gay-owned
and run gym and large
basement sauna area.
www.sweatboxsoho.com
NORTH
LONDON
THE BLACK CAP, 171
Camden High Street, NW1.
020 7485 0538. Camden
Town tube. Shufflewick
Bar: Mon-Thu Noon-1am,
Fri-Sat 12noon-2am, Sun
Noon-10.30pm. Club: MonThu 10pm-2am, Fri-Sat
10pm-3am, Sun 10pm1am. Long-running, famed
gay pub – probably the
most famous cabaret pub
in London. www.
theblackcap.com
CENTRAL STATION, 37
Wharfdale Road, N1. Tel:
020 7278 3294. Kings
Cross tube. Big, lateopening gay bar on three
floors, with ground floor
cabaret and infamously
cruisy cruise nights in
basement. Upstairs B&B
accommodation. www.
centralstation.co.uk
CLUB KALI, The Dome, 1
Dartmouth Park Hill,
Tufnell Park, N19. World’s
biggest lesbian and gay
D.E. Experience
ROYAL DECEMEBER
The Royal Vauxhall Tavern offers a full roster of entertainment every month
of the year, but it goes crazy in December, with the annual RVT Pantomime
being just one of the delights on offer! The panto has become a must-see
institution over recent years and always draws a big crowd. This year’s adult
production will be ‘Robyn Hood’, and will star Jonny Woo, Holestar, Myra
Dubois, Timberlina, Miss Annabel Sings and the voice of Scottee. You can
catch an early preview on Wednesday 7 December, plus further shows on 28
December (doors 7pm), and then two performances each night on 29 and 30
December (show at 7.30pm and 10.30pm). Tickets cost £8.50 online or £9.99
on the door (limited early bird tickets online £6.50 for 28-30 December).
Other festive events this month include ‘Baubles, Bangles and Biddie!’ on
Wednesday 14 December, with James ‘Biddie’ Biddlecombe hosting a
seasonal smörgåsbord of festive free-range frivolity, accompanied with
musical backing by Chris Marshall. Doors are at 7pm, and entry costs £8.50.
This will be followed on Wednesday 21 December by the return of the
monthly, popular avant garde life drawing class with Dr Sketchy. Bizarre
circus acts and hunks of man flesh provide the cabaret, while the audience is
given paper and pencils to come up with the art! Tickets £10 in advance or
£15 on the door.
Continuing its Thursday night run, up to and including 22 December, is David
Hoyle’s Winter Warmer. The cabaret legend will take to the stage each week
for a topical chinwag and avant garde lecture, and he’ll be joined each week
by some special guests. These will include Dublin-based ‘self-made manmade woman’ Veda, and author Jonathan Kemp (1 Dec), Al Pillay and poet
Rachel Pantechnicon (8 Dec), Gerry Potter, Helen Noir and Darrell Berry (15
Dec), contemporary circus performer Chrisalys and “Professional dirtbag
and slut” Ashley Ryder (22 Dec).
Other attractions at the venue include Monday’s gay bingo session with
Timberlina and Hey Baylen (excluding 26 December), and Tuesday’s Bar
Wotever (excluding 27 December), a performance free-for-all and laidback
midweek session for girls, boys, trans-folk and glorious wotevers.
Fridays in December offer up new club night Rooster (2 Dec), with the
ComeAndTurn DJ collective and performers Timberlina and JonJo. Premier
pop party ‘Push The Button’ returns on Friday 9 December, followed by
another special Bar Wotever party on Friday 23 December, with free
admission all night.
Weekend institutions include Duckie every Saturday (excluding 24 and 31
December), and the long-running S.L.A.G.S/CHILL-OUT every Sunday, with
DJs Simon Le Vans, Andy Almighty and Sean Sirrs spinning the commercial
house and big dance anthems. The D.E Experience offers up the 5.30pm
cabaret. Bear in mind that the venue will be closed on Sunday 25 December,
but there will be a special S.L.A.G/S/Chill-out on Boxing Day 26 December
(2pm-2am), Tuesday 27 December (2pm-midnight), and another to see in the
New Year on 31 December (the Chill-Out Pink Ball with D.E Experience on
stage at 10pm). Doors for NYE will be 8pm till 5am, with early-bird tickets
£15, then £20 (more on door).
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
41
A
O U T I N T H E C I T Y: S C E N E G U I D E
DECEMBER 2011
gay pub, with long history
of hosting cabaret. Packed
to rafters on Saturday
(Duckie) and Sunday
(S.L.A.G.S/Chill-Out).
Check www.rvt.org.uk or
the facebook group RV
Taverners for information.
THE STAG, 15 Bressenden
Place, SW1. 020 7828
7287. Victoria tube. Mon &
Tue midday-midnight,
Wed-Fri midday-2am, Sat
5pm-2am, Sun 4pmmidnight. Dark and
atmospheric gay bar in
Victoria, occasional
cabaret,DJs at weekends,
upstairs theatre space.
www.abovethestag.com
Southern Asian music
night, running every third
Friday of the month.
Always busy and rather
unique. www.clubkali.com
EGG, 200 York Way,
King’s Cross, N7. 020
7609 8364. King’s Cross
tube. Bespoke club space
on three floors, hosting
occasional gay club nights
and after-hours sessions.
www.egglondon.net
THE GREEN, 74 Upper
Street, N1. 020-7226
8895. Angel tube.
London’s first ‘gay gaystropub!’ Stylish, Islington
bar, serving full food menu
and wide range of
cocktails. Mixed, chilled
crowd.
KW4, 77 Hampstead High
Street, NW3. 020-7435
5747. Large, cosy,
traditional old gay pub,
with regular
entertainment, beer
garden and food. One of
London’s longest-running
gay establishments. www.
kw4.co.uk
THE LOAD OF HAY, 207
Pinner Road, Watford,
01923-441113. Watford’s
only gay pub, with big
beer garden and regular
entertainment. www.
loadofhay.co.uk
42
THE OAK BAR, 79 Green
Lanes, N16. 020-7354
2791. Manor House tube.
Friendly, diverse gay bar
with late-night club
promotions (open ‘til 3am
at weekends). Very popular
with lesbians and male
friends. www.oakbar.com
SOUTH
LONDON
AREA, 67-68 Albert
Embankment, SE1.
Gorgeously-designed,
hard dance club and
cabaret rooms, with
eclectic roster of different
gay nights and one-off
promotions, including
Friday nighter Onyx and
new Sunday nighter
Booster, amongst others.
www.areaclub.info
BARCODE VAUXHALL,
Arch 69, Albert
Embankment, SE11. 0207
734 3342. Vauxhall tube.
Open 7 days a week. MonThu 4pm-1am, Fri-Sun
4pm-4am. Very popular
club bar, with dancefloor
and mezzanine chill-out
space - gets busy at
weekends.
CLUB COLOSSEUM, 1
Nine Elms Lane, Vauxhall,
SW8. Huge, late-night
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
venue for after-hours
crowd – hosting various
monthly promotions such
as Bootylicious (www.
bootylicious-club.co.uk).
THE EAGLE, 349
Kennington Lane, SE11.
020 7793 0903. Mon, Tue,
Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat 9pmlate, Tue 9pm-2am, Sun
9pm-late. Vauxhall tube.
Large, club-bar with
nightly promotions.
Tonker (Fridays) and
Horse Meat Disco
(Sundays) are particularly
popular. www.
eaglelondon.com
FACTORY, 65 Goding
Street, SE11. Stylish,
railway arch Vauxhall
venue, hosting occasional
dance and cruise nights,
such as the infamous
Hard On (www.
hardonclub.co.uk).
FIRE, South Lambeth
Road, Vauxhall, SW8.
Vauxhall tube. Infamous,
late-night gay venue
beneath the Vauxhall
railway arches, host to the
likes of Orange, A:M, Later
and Juicy. Open around
the clock at weekends.
www.fireclub.co.uk or
www.myspace.com/
firelondon or www.
clubtickets.com
THE GEORGE &
DRAGON, 2
BlackheathHill, Greenwich,
SE10. 020 8691 3764.
Deptford Bridge DLR. MonThu 4pm-1am, Fri & Sat
4pm-4am, Sun 4pm-2am.
Late-night pub with nightly
entertainment and cabaret.
www.gandd.org.uk
THE HOIST, Arch 47c,
South Lambeth Road,
SW8. 020 7735 9972.
10pm-late. Door charge
and strict dress code. One
of London’s most famous
dress-code and cruise
clubs - busy with a menonly crowd. Open FridaySunday and occasional
Thursdays (SM Gays every
third Thursday of the
month - www.smgays.
org). www.thehoist.co.uk
JACKIE’S JUKEBOX,
Rivoli Ballroom, 350
Brockley Road, SE4. First
Saturday of the month,
7pm-midnight (£7). Gay
ballroom and Latin
dancing night, attracting
up to 300 dancers a
month to the glam 1950sstyle Rivoli Ballroom.
Crofton Park BR. www.
therivoli.co.uk
KAZBAR, 50 Clapham
High Street, SW4. 020
7622 0070. Clapham
North tube. Mon-Thu
4pm-midnight, Fri 4pm1am, Sat noon-1am, Sun
noon-midnight. Clapham
video bar, popular
throughout the week, with
DJs at weekends.
LITTLE APPLE, 98
Kennington Lane, SE11.
020 7735 2039.
Kennnigton tube. Open 7
days a week. Small,
traditional gay boozer for
local gay boys and girls open till 1.30am Fri-Sat.
PARIS GYM, 73 Goding
Street, Vauxhall, SE11.
020 7735 8989. Vauxhall
tube. Huge, well-equipped
men-only gym with large,
devoted following. Regular
classes. Tourists welcome.
Check website for entry
details and membership.
www.parisgym.com
PULSE, 1-4 Invicta Plaza
(corner of Blackfriars
Road and Southwark
Street), SE1. Southwark
tube. State-of-the-art,
5,000-capacity megaclub,
hosting occasional gay
parties/one-off events.
www.pulse-club.info
ROYAL VAUXHALL
TAVERN, 372 Kennington
Lane, SE11. 020 7840
0596. Vauxhall tube.
Opening times vary. Huge,
traditional and historic
286, 286 Lewisham High
Street, SE14. 020-8690
7648. Large, late-opening
gay venue, with regular
entertainment, DJs and
cabaret. Open till 2am
Sun-Thur and 4am Fri-Sat.
www.two8six.co.uk
THE TRAFALGAR ARMS,
148 Tooting High Street,
SW17. 020-8767 6059. A
spacious, lively, attitudefree, gay-friendy pub.
Excellent food served all
day. Weekly DJs on Friday
and Saturday nights.
Karaoke on Wednesdays.
THE TWO BREWERS, 114
Clapham High Street,
SW4. 020 7819 9539.
Clapham Common tube.
Mon-Thu 5pm-2am, Fri &
Sat 5pm-4am. South
London’s most famed gay
cabaret venue. Large bar
and separate dancefloor
room. www.the2brewers.
com
UNION, 66 Albert
Embankment, SE1. 0207793 9262. Cruisy dance
club which hosts regular
promotions. Plays areas
and hot go-go’s. www.
clubunion.co.uk and
www.ma1.co.uk
XXL, Arcadia, 51-53
Southwark Street, SE1.
London Bridge tube. Huge
world-famous club for
bears, big men and
admirers, on Sat and
Wed. Pulls in 1,000+
O U T I N T H E C I T Y: S C E N E G U I D E
DECEMBER 2011
TAKE THE G-A-Y TEST!
Jeremy Joseph,
promoter of G-A-Y, is
well known for his
fundraising efforts,
having raised many
thousands of pounds for
the Elton John AIDS
Foundation over the
past few years – even
running the London
marathon two years on
the trot! HIV awareness
is something that he
feels passionately
about, and to coincide
with this year’s World
AIDS Day he’s
organising his most
ambitious project yet. In
conjunction with
trailblazing Soho sexual
health clinic 56 Dean
Street, he’s hoping to
enter the Guinness Book
of World Records – for the most HIV tests to be carried out in an
eight-hour period!
Why should you take part? Well, first and foremost, everyone should be
aware of their HIV status. Should you be HIV positive, the sooner you know
about it, the better your chances of receiving effective treatment before
you ever fall ill. Even if you have tested negative, you should get yourself
tested again, at least on an annual basis. And if you’ve tested negatively
only recently… well, for everyone who signs up to be tested – even if they
don’t reckon they need a test –
G-A-Y will donate £5 to the Elton John AIDS Foundation. So, if they get 500
people tested, that will be a £2,500 donation – or £5,000 if they can get
1,000 people tested!
56 Dean Street staff will be providing discreet testing and support services
at one of the nine HIV testing stations throughout the G-A-Y bar on Old
Compton Street.
Dr Alan McOwan, Lead Consultant at 56 Dean Street (part of Chelsea and
Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust), said, “We will be using the
world’s fastest HIV antibody test, which provides a result in just 60
seconds. One in 20 gay men in London has undiagnosed HIV and
two-thirds of undiagnosed men think that they are negative. 56 Dean
Street is now diagnosing one in five of all new HIV diagnosis in gay men in
London. Testing early for HIV can add 16 years to someone’s life.”
In order to set the record within the time frame, G-A-Y is encouraging
everyone to pre-complete the registration form that will be printed in Boyz
magazine or can be picked up at G-A-Y. Registration forms will also be
available on the evening (Thursday 1 December).
The mass testing takes place at G-A-Y Bar on Thursday 1 December from
2-10pm on Thursday 1 December.
customers each Saturday
with uplifting dance
anthems and occasional
guest DJs. www.xxllondon.com
SAUNAS
CHARIOTS STREATHAM,
292 Streatham High
Road, SW16. 020 8696
0929. Streatham station.
Large sauna, with weekly
theme nights (bears, men
of colour, etc). www.
gaysauna.co.uk
CHARIOTS VAUXHALL,
63-64 Albert
Embankment, Vauxhall,
SE1. 020 7247 5333.
Vauxhall tube. Large,
modern sauna in
converted railway arch.
www.gaysauna.co.uk
THE LOCKER ROOM, 8
Cleaver Street,
Kennington, SE11. 020
7735 6064. Kennington
tube. Long-running,
intimate gay-owned and
run sauna. www.thelockerroom.co.uk
STEAMWORKS, 309 New
Cross Road, New Cross,
SE14. 020 8694 0606.
New Cross/New Cross
Gate station. Small, longrunning establishment.
www.steamworkslondon.
co.uk
EAST
LONDON
THE ANGEL, 21 Church
Street, E15. Tel: 020 8555
1148. Stratford BR and
tube. Big gay pub, always
popular at weekends, with
regular cabaret, DJs and
disco nights. New night
Hidden InDa Hood held
each Tuesday (8pm till
late - offering r’n’b,
bashment, Soca and
funk).
THE BACKSTREET,
Wentworth Mews, off
Burdett Road, E3. 0208980 8557. Over 25 years
old – small but legendary
East End dress code
leather club, open ThurSun. Very strict rubber
and leather dresscode,
ensuring a wide and loyal
following. www.
thebackstreet.com
BISTROTHEQUE, 23-27
Wadeson St, E2. Tel: 020
8983 7900. Bethnal
Green tube. Very mixed,
gay/straight crowd of
trendy metrosexuals.
Great bar, restaurant, plus
separate cabaret room.
www.bistrotheque.com
DALSTON SUPERSTORE,
117 Kingsland High Street,
E8. 020 7254 2273.
Highbury & Islington tube.
New, two-floor mixed
gay-straight venue - café
by day and fashionable
performance space and
club promotions at night.
Open from breakfast until
2am every day.
GAY LICK, Club Lick, 58
Hoe Street, E17.
Walthamstow tube.
Twice-monthly gay
promotion at a cruisy club
space. Every first and
third Friday from
9pm-4am. Entry £4
before midnight and £7
after. www.gaylicke17.co.uk
THE JOINERS ARMS, 116
Hackney Road, E2. Tel:
020 7739 9854.
Debauched decadence
– old-skool boozer
popular with post-club
crowd at weekends. Gets
busy later in the evenings.
KINGS HEAD, 11 Church
Street, E15. Tel: 020 8534
0197 Stratford BR and
tube. Intimate and
welcoming East End gay
pub – regular cabaret.
Open till late throughout
the week.
THE OLD SHIP, 17 Barnes
Street, E14. Tel: 020 7790
4082. Limehouse DLR.
Small, local, traditional
gay pub, with regular
cabaret - five minutes’
walk from BJ’s White
Swan (see below).
VOGUE FABRICS, 66
Stoke Newington Road,
N16. New, underground
and arty hangout for the
Dalston set. Mixed crowd
but regular gay events.
BJ’S WHITE SWAN, 556
Commercial Road, E1. Tel:
020 7780 9870.
Limehouse DLR. A large,
legendary, long-running
gay pub and club, open
throughout the week.
Wednesday’s Amateur
Strip is an institution.
www.bjswhiteswan.com
SAUNAS
CHARIOTS LIMEHOUSE,
574 Commercial Road,
E14. 020 7791 2808.
Limehouse rail station.
Multi-level, wellestablished sauna.
Themed parties such as
‘Big and chunky’ each
Monday evening, amongst
others. www.gaysauna.
co.uk
CHARIOTS SHOREDITCH,
1 Fairchild Street,
Shoreditch, EC2. 020
7247 5333. Liverpool
Street station. Biggest gay
sauna in UK, with a maze
of rest rooms. Very
popular (particularly at
weekends). www.
gaysauna.co.uk
E15 CLUB, 6 Leytonstone
Road, Stratford, E15. 020
A
8555 5455. Stratford
tube. Deceptively large
sauna behind a discreet
facade. www.londonnoise.
com/e15
WEST
LONDON
THE HOPE & ANCHOR,
20 Macbeth Street,
Hammersmith, W6. (020
8748 1873). Gay pub for
Hammersmith and
Chiswick. Traditional
boozer with nightly
entertainment – open
noon-11pm throughout
week, with popular
karaoke at weekends.
THE RICHMOND ARMS,
20 The Square, off
Princes Street, Richmond.
020-8940 2118.
Long-running, traditional
gay pub, with regular
cabaret and
entertainment. One of gay
London’s better locals.
TED’S PLACE, 305a
North End Road, West
Brompton, W14. 0207
385 9359. Earls Court or
West Brompton tube.
Mon-Fri from 7pm-late,
closed Sat & Sun. Small,
West London cruise club.
Dark and sleazy. www.
tedsplaceuk.co.uk
WEST 5, Popes Lane,
South Ealing, W5.
020-8579 3266. Large,
popular gay pub with
Piano Room and cabaret
bar, open till late at
weekends with
entertainment and DJs.
Attracts a big local crowd
- particularly at weekends.
www.west5ealing.com
WINDSOR CASTLE, 152
Bath Road, Hounslow,
TW3. 020 8577 6590.
Hounslow West tube.
Large, local gay pub with
regular cabaret and
entertainment throughout
the week. www.thewinz.
co.uk
TO UPDATE LISTINGS, PLEASE
SEND INFORMATION TO
EDITORIAL@OUTMAG.CO.UK
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43
CAMPAIGN
OPENING DOORS
CONNECTING LIVES
As part of its ongoing campaign to highlight the work carried out by
Age UK’s Opening Doors London project, Out In The City chats to its
LGBT Development Coordinator, Nick Maxwell.
Nick Maxwell
OPENING DOORS
What are the main functions that Opening
Doors performs?
We provide social opportunities and
support to older LGBT people who would
otherwise be isolated and cut off. Isolated
from their own community – whether that
be the LGBT community or their own older
peers – but also cut off for a variety reasons
from services upon which they are
increasingly reliant. The project provides
many things, from social events and
activities, to befriending services, keeping
people in touch via the newsletter,
accessing people through our advice and
information teams so that they’re getting
the right benefits advice or are able to fill
in housing applications and – if necessary –
are able to make the smooth transition to
sheltered accommodation. We offer many
services, but it’s basically providing social
opportunities, support and information.
Is the future secure?
No. Unfortunately, in the charity sector,
nothing’s secure. Funding comes in to
cover basic costs, but we have around 22
activities a month now, and they all have to
take place in a venue somewhere, and
sometimes you’re relying on the goodwill
to give us those venues free, but the Age
UK venues in London are closing because
of council cuts, so we need to pay venues
and there’s more and more demand in the
funding. We’re secure for the next three
years, because that’s the funding we’ve
been allocated from the different charity
providers, but beyond that is a big question
mark, so we’re very much part of a working
and developing service, but a big part of
our work is also securing donations and
ongoing funding.
When did you get involved?
If you were speaking directly to an older
gay person who may be reading this, what
would you say to them?
I came on board at the start of the project
in January 2008. I had been involved
beforehand with the Gay Men’s Group, as it
was known before. Age UK Camden, as it
was known then, were aware that older gay
men were attending their Henderson Court
resource centre, which is up in Hampstead
– a very gay-friendly area. So they set up an
older gay men’s group, and quite often, that
is what happens in some organisations: a
lesbian or gay member of staff will
recognize the unique needs of LGBT
service users, but when that staff member
leaves, the group folds. Age UK Camden
decided to actually invest in the group.
I don’t have any one message. We are here
to listen to them and to ask what they
want. Our service starts at 50, and although
we talk about the older LGBT generation
being 50 and upwards, we don’t talk about
the younger LGBT generation being 50 and
below. Fifty and above is men and women
in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s – we’ve
got service users in their 90s – so that
covers half a century of experience, so
there is no one package that you can offer
to that wide a variety of people. That’s why
we’re trying to expand the service, and why
we’re asking people to tell us what they
want.
44
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
Out In The City is running an awareness-raising
campaign around the work carried out by Age
UK’s Opening Doors London project.
Running for the past six years, Opening Doors
London is a unique project providing
information and support services to LGBT men
and women aged 50 and above from across
London. The organisation estimates that there
are around 100,000 older LGBT men and
women in London, many of whom are socially
isolated, cut off from family and friends and
not in contact with appropriate services, or still
hiding their sexuality or gender identity
because of fears born from very real negative
experiences. Stonewall has recently published
a comprehensive report (Lesbian, Gay &
Bisexual People in Later Life) about some of
the problems experienced by the older LGBT
community. Amongst its findings where that
gay and bisexual men over the age of 55 were
almost three times more likely to be single than
heterosexual men in the same age bracket
(40% compared to 15%). LGBT people were
more likely to live alone (41% compared to 21%
of heterosexual people), and, unsurprisingly,
were far less likely to have children. They were
more likely to have suffered from depression or
anxiety (gay men twice as likely as heterosexual
men). Opening Doors is a lifeline for many
hundreds of older LGBT people. It runs both
men and women’s group, and helps organise
social events, workshops, talks, as well as
offering advice. For full details of these, check
the latest newsletter at www.
openingdoorslondon.org.uk
For more information, you can call LGBT
Development Coordinator Nick Maxwell on 020
7121 3335 or visit the website at www.
openingdoorslondon.org.uk
NEWS
IN THE NEWS...
Gay stories from the UK and further afield...
VIGIL AGAINST
HATE CRIME
An estimated 2,000 people attended
this year’s Vigil Against Hate Crime,
which took place in Trafalgar Square
on Friday 28 October. The third such
annual vigil, it was again organised by
the 17-24-30 campaigning group, in
partnership with the Harvey Milk
Foundation. The event included
performances from the Gay
Symphonic Winds Orchestra and
members of the London Gay Men’s
Chorus, Pink Singers and Diversity,
while speakers included Equalities
Minister Lynne Featherstone MP and
Beverley Smith (of Disability Hate
Crime Network). There was also a
two-minute silence at 8pm. Smaller
vigils took place at the same time in
Brighton, Kettering, Leicester, Norfolk,
Norwich, Plymouth, Sussex, Suffolk
and Stoke.
Mark Healey, organiser of the London
event said “We had a good turnout
again this year, although I did expect
more people following three highprofile attacks in central London…
However it’s not just about the
numbers, is it? It is about making as
many people aware that there is a
problem and that we all need to be
vigilant, to look out for each other
and keep our communities safe. At
the same time we need to keep the
pressure on local authorities to
ensure that they are doing everything
within their powers to prevent these
attacks – especially in the current
economic climate.”
SCOTTISH
CONSERVATIVES VOTE
FOR GAY LEADER
Ruth Davidson, and openly gay MSP,
has been elected leader of the
Scottish Conservative Party. Ms
Davidson was only elected as a
member of the Scottish Parliament
earlier this year and succeeds
Annabel Goldie as the leader of the
third largest party in the parliament.
Speaking of her election victory, Ms
Davidson said that she felt optimistic
about the future for Scottish
Conservatives. “A political party is not
a leader, a political party is its
membership and I want to bring our
members at all levels much closer
together in our party going forward
and to take our party forward in
unity.”
46
Trust Supper Club, which took
place in a range of top
restaurants and private homes
across London on 1 November.
Forty-five dinner parties were
staged at venues such as Scott’s,
Mr Chow, China Tang, J.
Sheekey, The Greenhouse and
Massimo, with guests including
members of the public and
names such as Rory Bremner,
Russell Tovey, Sean Pertwee,
Nick Herbert MP, Ronni Ancona
and Francis Barber. After dinner,
guests were chauffeured to a
glamorous, cocktail-filled after
party at Piccadilly’s Café De
Paris, hosted by Coronation
Street star Charlie Condou. By
the end of the evening, around
£80,000 had been raised for the
HIV charity, which will go
towards its ongoing campaigns
to fight the spread of HIV and
AIDS. For more details, check
the website at www.tht.org.uk
THT’S SUPER
SUPPER
Cilla Black, Graham Norton
and Dan Gillespie-Sells were
amongst the celebrities who
turned out to help support
the annual Terrence Higgins
DIVERSITY
ROLE MODELS
LAUNCHED
The House of Commons played
host to a launch event for
Diversity Role Models in early
November. This new charity has
been created to help stamp out
homophobic bullying in schools
by educating children of all ages
about diversity. It was set up by
schoolteacher, Suran Dickson,
following the suicide of a
schoolboy, 15-year-old Dominic
Crouch, who killed himself
following taunts that he was gay.
The launch event took place
in the State Rooms just a few
days before the start of AntiBullying Week. It was attended
by a mix of public figures, role
models, teachers, politicians and
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
anti-bullying and diversity
campaigners, including: the Rt
Hon John Bercow MP; BBC
newsreader Jane Hill; Minister
for Equalities Lynne
Featherstone MP; Labour MP
Chris Bryant; and journalist and
Dragon’s Den/Today show
presenter Evan Davis; along with
representatives from Stonewall
and other related charities. A
keynote speech was made by the
Minister for Women and
Equalities and Home Secretary,
the Rt Hon Theresa May MP,
followed by Roger Crouch,
Dominic’s father (who was
awarded Stonewall’s 2011 “Hero
of the Year”). The charity aims
to take positive role models –
whether straight, gay, bisexual
or transgender – into schools to
run workshops and talk to
pupils.
For more details, see www.
diversityrolemodels.org
“The last 12 months have been the happiest and most
special of my life. To become a parent is a blessing I never
imagined might be bestowed upon me until recently.”
Elton John speaks in The Guardian about becoming a parent.
AND
FINALLY...
WORLD
NEWS
STONEWALL
AWARDS 2011
The sixth annual Stonewall Awards
took place at the V&A in London on
Thursday 3 November. One of the
most glittering events in the UK’s
gay calendar, the drinks reception
was followed by prize-giving, which
this year was hosted by comedian
Stephen K Amos. Around 400
people attended the show, and the
winners were as follows:
Hero of the Year – Roger Crouch
Roger has tirelessly dedicated
himself to raising awareness of
homophobic bullying in schools,
after his son Dominic took his own
life in 2010.
Broadcast of the Year – Scott Mills
Scott’s documentary was The
World’s Worst Place to be Gay?
Entertainer of the Year – Jane
Hazlegrove (aka out gay paramedic
Kathleen ‘Dixie’ Dixon on BBC’s
Casualty)
Joint Journalist of the Year –
Vanessa Feltz, Daily Express, and
Matthew Todd, Attitude magazine.
Politician of the Year – Chris
Bryant MP
Publication of the Year – Guardian
Weekend
Sports Award of the Year – Anton
Hysen
Writer of the Year – Alan
Hollinghurst.
Stonewall Community Group of
the Year – UK Black Pride.=
Bigot of the Year – Melanie Phillips
An award voted for by thousands of
Stonewall supporters, in
recognition of her “shrill views on
just about everything from the NHS
to Barack Obama to gay rights.”
GEORGE SPEAKS OUT
AGAINST EASTENDERS
COMMONWEALTH AID TO
BE CUT TO HOMOPHOBIC
COUNTRIES
Prime Minister David Cameron has
indicated that British financial aid
will be cut to Commonwealth
countries that have a poor record
on gay rights. He told the BBC’s
Andrew Marr Show at the
weekend: “Britain is now one of
the premier aid givers in the
world… we want to see countries
that receive our aid adhering to
proper human rights, and that
includes how people treat gay and
lesbian people.” Some
Commonwealth nations reacted
with wariness to the
announcement. A Ugandan
presidential official, John
Nagenda, told the BBC his country
was “tired of these lectures” and
that the Commonwealth nations
should not be treated like
“children”. The move has also not
been universally welcomed by
LGBT rights campaigners. MacDarling Cobbinah, the executive
and national director of the Centre
for Popular Education and Human
Rights Ghana, has said the move
would bring “pain and anguish” to
the struggling country, and could
backfire if gay people are blamed
for the aid cuts. Veteran human
rights campaigner Peter Tatchell
has also criticised the plan, saying
that cuts in aid would penalise the
poorest and most vulnerable
members of such nations, and
recommending that the
government instead donates to
organisations working within such
countries that are campaigning for
human rights and humanitarian
projects within such countries.
Singer George
Michael has spoken
out against a gay
storyline in
EastEnders, saying
on Twitter that he
felt it was
unrealistic and gave
a negative
impression to youngsters who may be
struggling with their sexuality.
Although he praised the actors
involved, he said that, “The
relationship between Sayed [sic] and
Christian is the most insulting piece
of bullshit on British television right
now... So far, Christian has been
beaten up 3 times that I can
remember, and is now accused of
child molestation. Sayed [sic] has
been disowned and is now mistreating
his partner shamelessly, presumably
because he is now a confused
bisexual after all. Total fucking
bullshit.”
“I know that there are gay people
involved in the writing of the show but
they really need to rethink their
approach to gay ‘issues’.”
JESSIE J
TALKS
ABOUT
GIRLFRIEND
Singer Jessie J has
spoken out again
about her
bisexuality in an
exclusive interview
with Cosmopolitan, revealing that she
was dating a woman until recently
and that this had made some music
executives initially uncomfortable.
“When I was with my girlfriend last
year and used to go to studio
sessions, I remember going, ‘This is
my girlfriend,’ and some people were
initially uncomfortable with it. But
after a while they weren’t because I
wasn’t. I’ve never used it as a
gimmick. I’ve always said I’ve dated
guys and I’ve dated girls… If I’m in
love, I’m in love.”
She revealed that she has since split
from her girlfriend and is now single.
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
47
CAREER
MEN ON TOP
Model and casting agency owners, twins Jody and Bayo Furlong
Q
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR WORK
AND WHAT IT INVOLVES.
Q
HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INTO THIS
LINE OF WORK?
J: We own The Eye Casting Ltd and we act
as casting director, model scout and model
agent. The company is split in two. I do all
the casting and Bayo runs the agency. My
job is to find the right people to appear in
advertising, be it photographic, TV,
commercial, runway or catalogue. We do
conventional casting through agencies,
and also a lot of street casting. We also do
scouting for a lot of the big model agencies
in town. We’ve models placed at Models 1,
Elite, Union, Next and Nevs in London,
and our models – including the new
Burberry girl, Milly Simmonds – are
placed in NY, Paris, Milan, and all over
Europe and Australia.
B: We also have a street cast agency of
young, good-looking types. Sometimes
clients want to book ‘real’ people rather
than professional models, so we look after
lots of students, musicians, artists, etc,
who can lend their cool vibe to all kinds of
advertising.
J: When we were young, we belonged to
loads of casting agencies. We used to do
‘extra’ work: TV adverts and pop videos,
so we knew the industry from that side.
About ten years ago, I got a job working at
a casting studio where I got to know a bit
about the other side. I ended up working
for a couple of casting directors, where I
Andrew Marshall
did a lot of the casting for all the original
Dove ads with ‘real’ women. In 2006, I set
up by myself and started The Eye agency.
My first client was a worldwide Nokia
campaign with photographer Rankin.
B: When Jody went off to film Find Me
The Face for six months, I came in to run
things. When he returned, we split the
company in two or else we’d have killed
each other by now!
Q
ARE YOU COMPLETELY ‘OUT’ AT
WORK?
Q
AS TWINS, WHO CAME OUT TO WHOM
FIRST?
J: Of course – we’ve been completely out
for 18 years. It helps that we own our own
company, but in the business we’re in,
being gay would never affect our work
opportunities.
J: We never really came out. DJ Fat Tony
took us under his wing when we first
moved to London and we used to go
clubbing with him all the time. Back in the
90s there used to be loads of clubs that
were what was called ‘mixed’: nobody
cared if you were gay or straight; it was all
48
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
L-R: Bayo and Jody Furlong
about dressing up and having fun. He had
this amazing club called Fierce Child and
one night I ended up kissing a boy. I don’t
think we even discussed it, it was a given.
B: Ha! I saw him snogging some boy in a
club and that was it really. It never came
up again.
Q
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO
ANYONE WANTING TO ENTER YOUR
PROFESSION?
J: The same advice I would give anyone:
you need to start at the bottom, work hard
and learn your craft. Too many young
people these days think they know it all.
I’d worked in all aspects of this business
before I set up my own company, and it
served me well because I really know what
I’m talking about. Do some research and
learn what jobs are out there and what you
would be most interested in, be it casting,
production, booking, scouting, etc. Most
importantly, pay attention to detail. You
have to make sure you do your job 100%
correctly even if it means staying in the
office till midnight – that way you’re
covered when others inevitably mess up.
B: I agree with Jody. If I’d tried to do what
I do now ten years ago I would have been
terrible. There is no substitute for
experience and it’s really nice to be in a
position where you can be confident in
your work rather than constantly feeling
you’re blagging it.
www.theeyecasting.com
CAREER
FIRST
IMPRESSIONS
As soon as you walk through the door of a job interview you are
being judged. First impressions remain vitally important. Anthony
Gordon offers some advice to ensure you get off to the best start…
There’s rarely such a thing as
a job for life these days. Most
of us will work for several
employers over our lifetime
and, in the current economic
climate, competition for most
roles is fierce. Like it or not,
first impressions still count for
a great deal when you turn up
for an interview. Besides
knowing that you are capable
of doing the job, a prospective
employer is going to want to
know whether you can act as
an ambassador for their brand,
fit in with the rest of any
existing team and show
potential for the future. Making
a good first impression can
help swing an interview in your
favour from the very beginning.
If you’ve an imminent
interview, congratulations!
Make sure you’re prepared to
‘wow’ them from the moment
you walk through the door.
1. Think about your
appearance. It may sound
obvious, but you’d be
surprised by the number of
people who still think
dressing casually will do
their chances no harm. In
some circumstances and
some companies, it won’t, but
in others, it will. Don’t
assume that just because the
person interviewing you
works for some young and
funky company that they
have a relaxed attitude
towards attire. Everyone
likes to see that you’ve made
an effort and can look
professional and presentable
should the need arise. In
short, you can never dress
too smart for a job interview.
If you haven’t got a suit and
can’t afford to invest in one,
ask around friends to see if
you can borrow.
2. Arrive early. Check the
Transport For London website
50
interviewing you may well
open the conversation with a
comment about the weather
or your journey to the
interview. They want to
engage with you at a more
informal level before getting
down to the nitty gritty.
6. Try to maintain eye contact
when speaking, and make sure
you can also demonstrate that
you are able to listen. Using the
interviewer’s name makes the
interview more personable, and
shows that you paid attention
during the introductions stage
– but don’t go overboard. Overfamiliarity can come across as
sycophantic.
7. Carry copies of your CV,
and know its contents inside
out. Should you be pressed
for more details about a
specific point, a look of blank
confusion does not go down
well. Don’t tell lies or make
up hobbies to make yourself
appear more interesting!
the night before your interview
to ensure your regular
transport services aren’t closed
or on strike. Even if all appears
to be running smoothly, give
yourself plenty of time to reach
your destination.
3. Treat everyone equally –
whomever they are. You might
be working with these people
in a few weeks’ time, and for
all you know, the receptionist
you were rude to might be
dating the very person who is
interviewing you.
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
4. Practise your handshake. You
want to come across as
confident, at ease and pleased
to meet your interviewer. In
fact, you may even want to
practise speaking out loud
beforehand – particularly the
key points that you want to get
across to the interviewer.
Speaking these words aloud
also helps to cement them in
your mind.
5. Be prepared for small talk.
When you sit down for an
interview, the person
8. Be prepared to give examples
of when you have
demonstrated initiative in past
roles, and also be armed with
your own questions to ask at
the end of the interview. “What
do you enjoy most about
working at [name of
company]?” shows you have an
interest in the organisation and
its culture.
9. Finally, be aware that you
might be judged before
you’ve event set foot through
the door. It’s not unknown
for some prospective
employers nowadays to
check the Facebook or
LinkedIn profiles of those
they summon for interview.
Either ensure your privacy
settings disallow this, or that
you don’t post anything that
could embarrass you.
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51
PARENTING
THE FIRST YEAR
Ever wondered what it might really be like to suddenly find yourself the
parent of a child. Gay parent Lea Andrews offers us five things she wishes
somebody had told her during the first 12 months…
So... we’re pregnant. Well, she is, and I am
wandering around in a pre-parenting fog. I
ask all my mum’s friends (of which there
are increasing numbers nowadays) what to
expect. They say I’ll pick it up. Well, here I
am, thirteen months into parenthood and I
have decided that I should attempt to go
forth where others have fallen. You will
probably be aware of the 40,000 books that
are already out there on this subject, but if
you are nervously expecting the arrival of
your little bundle of joy, or sitting in a room
with a very young baby, you will know that
you are about as likely to go sky-diving as
you are to read a thesaurus-sized book. So
here are my top tips:
1. Sleep
Sleep very quickly becomes like a tiny
endangered bird on a remote island. You
will soon celebrate a couple of hours’
uninterrupted sleep like you used to
celebrate the idea of winning a house
overlooking Hampstead Heath. Learn to
love your quiet moments. Get them
wherever and whenever you can, and don’t
be scared to ask for help and take a break.
2. Your relationship
If you are in a partnership, then get your
relationship in the best possible shape
before the baby arrives, because sleep
deprivation, lack of time and space and
differences in opinions on parenting can
put quite a strain on even the most loving of
couples.
Learn to give each other a break where you
might usually slip into an argument. And
remember, if your partner picks on you, it’s
probably not them – or you – but just the
burden of sleep deprivation.
3. Your time
I sometimes hear parents say, “We haven’t
had a night out in ten months. We just don’t
want to leave the baby!” You may as well
say, “My life is over now, I am merely a
feeding and cleaning machine”. Stop! Call
a friend or a relative, and even if you sit
at the end of the garden playing
Monopoly, go and do something
non-baby related at least once
every couple of
weeks.
Your
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child will thank you, because not only are
you preventing yourself from becoming a
frightening infant-obsessed parent, but you
are also teaching your baby to feel relaxed
and confident around other people.
Obviously, if you’re a woman and you’re
breastfeeding there are certain things you
need to put into place, but nothing is
impossible.
4. Money
If you read the back of any baby shop
catalogue, you will see the handy, what-tobuy list to ‘help’ you get fully
prepared for parenthood.
This ‘handy’ list is
actually a genius way
for the shops to
fleece you- of
hundreds of
pounds. Ignore
the list, and use
your common
sense. Your baby
needs
somewhere to
sleep, clothes to
wear and
nappies. Despite
owning half of
Mothercare
(thanks mum!),
our 13-month-old
son’s favourite toys
are two old
saucepans and a Tupperware box. Oh, and
we bath him in (shock!)... the bath.
Obviously, there is the overwhelming
excitement of being a new parent that
sends you reeling into every baby and toy
shop, emerging two hours later in a sweaty
haze with 56 plastic bags full of gear, but
you will need a lot more money and a lot
more stuff when they are older, so restrain
yourself!
5. Routine
Boring as it sounds, babies crave, need and
thrive on routine. And after a few
weeks, however raucous and
crazy you are in other aspects
of your life, so will you.
This doesn’t necessarily
mean sticking to the
Gina Ford rulebook,
just keep it simple.
Concentrate on
helping your baby to
learn to sleep, eat and
relax.
Finally, don’t try
and achieve
everything in an
instant. Just get
through and enjoy each
day and try to remember
it… because it will fly
past quicker than you can
possibly imagine.
PARENTING
GENE THERAPY?
Toyin Jegede of the London Sperm Bank looks at some of the
reasons men choose to donate sperm, and the process new
donors go through before they can start donating…
“Donor 101: Caucasian, green
eyes, brown hair, 1.80m,
atheist, marketing executive”
What would your profile say?
If you feel you have good genes,
are healthy and like the thought
of “passing on your genes”, then
why not become a sperm
donor?
Not only will you continue your
gene pool but you will also help
others who are not able to
conceive. Becoming a donor is
more than just a gesture of
altruism, but a way that you can
fulfil your desire to procreate in
an unconventional way.
Whether you are currently in a
relationship or single, we would
like to hear from you. Our
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donors come in all shapes and
sizes; regardless of education,
social background, race or
hobbies, we want you – as long
as you are aged 18-45, fit and
healthy, and free from
hereditary or infectious disease.
The first step involves filling
out an enquiry form on our
website (check out www.
londonspermbank.com) or
calling one of our consultants
on 020 7935 9004 to book an
initial screening visit.
During this visit you will get
the chance to speak to a
member of the team who will
be more than happy to answer
any questions that you might
have. We will also get you to
complete a medical
questionnaire and also produce
a sperm sample for us to check
its suitability to freeze.
If you are considered fit and
healthy, with great sperm
quality after freezing, you are
already halfway through the
screening process. We will then
ask you to come in for blood
and urine tests for sexually-
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transmitted diseases. If these
tests come back with the all
clear, you are asked to see our
medical doctor for a medical
assessment and then you are
free to start making donations.
If for any reason you are not
accepted on to our programme,
our meticulous screening
process means that at the very
least you find out more about
yourself than when you
previously enquired.
If you’re still not 100% sure
about making that initial
enquiry, here are just some of
the reasons why our donors,
have joined the programme:
‘…people close to me have
suffered testicular cancer and
become infertile…’
Police Officer, 34
‘…my partner and I won’t be
having kids so I really want to
help couples who want them…’
Plumber, 32
‘…I have no idea what might
happen in the future, and I
knew a couple who were unable
to have children, so I decided to
do this…’
Student, 26
‘…so that my friends could
know more about where the
sperm used to create their child
came from…’
Mathematician, 29 (known
donor to lesbian couple)
Each and every donor has their
own reason for joining, so
whether you are considering
donating for altruistic reasons
or to “pass on your genes” make
today the day you choose to
take action!
www.londonspermbank.com
PARENTING
NEW YEAR, NEW BABY
Barrie Drewitt-Barlow of the British Surrogacy Centre offers some
guidelines on those planning to explore surrogacy in 2012…
With the festive season now upon us,
we’re all feeling the pressure to buy
those ‘must have’ presents for our loved
ones. A few years ago, many a gay man
putting together his wish-list for Santa
would have included at least five bottles of
premium D&G aftershave and the latest
trendy underwear. These days, when Santa
empties his sack in our house, it’s full of
PS3 games and other toys for the kids!
Of course, if you’re just starting out on the
process of trying to become
parents through surrogacy,
there’s always next year to be
thinking about gifts for
junior. If you’re thinking of
starting a family in 2012,
then these are the steps
you need to be
considering:
Financial preparation
Surrogacy can be
expensive, depending on
where in the world you
want to do it. The USA
offers the gold standard for
surrogacy, which means there
is a price to pay. Always get as
much information as possible on
the process outlay and costs.
Budget for all the fees for the
agency, clinic, social
worker, legal costs,
immigration, hotel,
flights and not
forgetting the allimportant egg donor
and surrogate fees.
My best advice?
Don’t go to India! It
may seem a
temptingly cheaper
option, but surrogacy
for gay couples is
illegal in India.
Regardless of what
you hear from anyone
else, it is illegal for
same-sex couples and
if you are caught,
you face
prosecution –
leading to a huge
fine and possibly
even
imprisonment!
Legal
preparation
It’s most important
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to make sure you have legal coverage in
your surrogacy journey. There is a list of
legal experts available to you from the
British Surrogacy Centre, with our
recommendations on where to go and what
to pay. Don’t be scared into thinking that
everything will be problematic. If you can
do a lot of the prep work yourself and
submit it to a court, this will certainly save
you many thousands of pounds. My advice
is to make sure you have a good lawyer,
certainly in the USA, as you will encounter
many legal minefields on your journey to
parenthood. Here in the UK, I would
recommend A City Law Firm, ran by Karen
Holden. In the USA, I would only
recommend Tom Pinkerton, based in San
Diego. Both firms are easy to find on the
internet.
Clinics
IVF clinics around the world are now
accepting that there are many same-sex
couples who wish to become parents. Such
couples want to use the services of these
clinics, and, given the current economic
downturn affecting the world, these clinics
are now much more readily accepting of
our community. This means that we have
great power as consumers to shop around
and to get the best prices. We no longer
have to beg for assistance! There are a few
very good clinics that we would
recommend, but none in the UK better than
The London Women’s Clinic on Harley
Street. In the USA, my recommendation at
this time is Dr Guy Ringer at CFP in
California. Both have a fantastic pregnancy
rate, both have a huge gay and lesbian
following, and both have worked for many
years promoting same-sex parenting. Prices
vary a lot between clinics but these two
establishments are fair and honest.
They want to help you achieve
pregnancy first time round, without
the worry of how much things are
going to cost.
If you are considering having a
baby, now is the time to
start doing your
homework. Costs for many
services are currently lower
than usual, and the
economic climate has never
been better.
For more information
on any aspect of
surrogacy or donor
insemination,
please contact
British
Surrogacy
Centre 01621
878650.
For more
information, check the
website at www.
britishsurrogacycentre.
com
PROPERTY
ALL HALE!
The Hale, built by leading property developers Newlon, is Tottenham Hale’s
new village for first-time buyers…
Now one of London’s major
regeneration areas,
Tottenham Hale is fast
becoming a hotspot. A £400
million project to create Hale
Village is now well underway.
Newlon Housing Trust is building
185 affordable one and two
bedroom apartments through
New Build HomeBuy (part buy,
part rent), which are perfect for
first-time buyers.
Now, an affordable home can
be purchased from just £56,000
for a 40% share. So extensive is
the project that it will create a
brand new suburb of London,
including its own primary
school, health centre, hotel and
high street. It will transform this
large area of former industrial
wasteland and open up a vibrant
waterfront area over the River
Lea.
Some of the contemporary
homes boast private winter
gardens and views of the nearby
river, whilst others have access
to roof allotments, landscaped
gardens and communal
courtyards. Newlon has been
particularly careful to design the
apartments to provide energyefficient living, and they have
been designed with space
planning in mind. All apartments
feature substantial window light
and have been constructed with
high-quality materials and
finishes.
All the apartments include
the following:
n Secure door entry system
n Ceramic floor tiling in the
kitchen and bathroom
n Wool-mix carpets
throughout the living areas and
bedrooms
n Contemporary fitted
kitchens
n All kitchens are fitted with
an oven, hob, stainless steel
extractor hood, washing
machine, fridge freezer and
dishwasher
n Modern white bathroom
suites with ceramic tiles to floor
and walls
n Balcony or terrace to
selected apartments
n A 12-year BLP
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Construction Warranty
Tottenham High Road is
nearby, while the Tottenham
Hale Retail Park is just five
minutes’ walk away. There are
also excellent transport links,
with Tottenham Hale station
just a two-minute walk away. It
provides connections to London
Liverpool Street in just 12
minutes. It is also on the Victoria
underground line and is just four
stops from King’s Cross St
Pancras. Stratford is just ten
minutes away by train, so
residents will be within easy
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striking distance of the new
Westfield Shopping Centre. For
further afield, it’s also worth
bearing in mind that Tottenham
Hale offers a fast train service to
Stansted airport.
Just to the north of Hale
Village lies Lea Valley Park,
which offers over 100 acres of
open, green space. A large part of
the area is managed for the
preservation of wildlife, with
woodlands, wildflower
meadows, ponds and waterways.
Newlon’s new affordable
homes at Hale Village are
available now. Prices start from
£56,000 for a 40% share based
on a full market value of
£140,000 for a one-bedroom
apartment. The two-bedroom
apartments are priced from
£66,400 for a 40% share with a
full market value of £166,000.
Newlon will also pay legal fees if
you complete within their target
times and use one of their
approved panel of solicitors.
For more information contact Newlon
Home Ownership on 0800 058 2544
newlonhomeownership.org.uk.co.uk
INTERIORS
SOMETHING IN THE WATER
Despite a grey and imposing exterior, Shanghai’s new Waterhouse hotel has
been scooping awards for its effortlessly minimalist and modern interior…
If, like many of the Out In
The City team, you favour a
chic, cool minimalist look for
your home, and you’re
seeking some inspiration, you
could do a lot worse than
look east for ideas. The
Waterhouse Hotel in Shanghai
opened for business last year,
since which time it has picked
up a clutch of design awards –
most recently, the inaugural
World Interior of the Year
Award, announced at INSIDE:
World Festival of Interiors in
Barcelona in early November.
From the outside, the
Waterhouse, in the South Bund
district of the city, is
unremarkable. In fact, unwary
travellers who have booked
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themselves a room may turn up
and wonder if they have the
correct address. The owners of
this riverside development
have taken a disused army
warehouse and retained much
of the original exterior, but
lavishing great care and
attention to the detail of the
interior.
Shanghai-based architects
Neri & Hu are the team
responsible for the building’s
startling transformation. They
pride themselves on having “a
good understanding of how to
preserve historical buildings in
the proper way”, yet at the
same time being sensitive to
the client’s remit – in this case
to create a four-storey, 19-room
boutique hotel to the highest of
standards.
Design-wise, the architects
decided to follow a philosophy
of blurring the distinction
between internal and external
spaces, to create a disorienting
spatial experience for guests in
search of something out of the
ordinary. This is where you will
find baths and shower units in
glass-walled rooms in the
centre of bedrooms. Public
places allow glimpses into
private rooms while the private
spaces invite guests to peek
into public areas.
The feel of the venue –
which is owned by Singaporean
hotelier Loh Lik Peng – is both
industrial, with exposed
concrete walls, steel beams and
the imposing views of the
nearby Huangpu River and
docklands landscape, yet warm
and enticing, with extensive
use of real wood, stone, and a
palette of soft greys and pale
creams. Against this simple
backdrop, the hotel also boasts
a significant collection of
designer furniture, including
selected works by leading
names such as Arne Jacobsen,
exemplar of the “Danish
Modern” style; Finn Juhl, the
master of functionalism in
furniture design; Hans Wegner,
one of the most innovative
Danish furniture designers.
The end result is a beautifully
modern and contemporary
hotel in what was formerly a
bleak concrete shell.
waterhouseshanghai.com
www.insidefestival.com
HOMES
01
02
03
04
We Want
T H I S M O N T H ’ S H OT
PRODUCTS FOR THE HOME
01. Owl Lamp
02. FUSION table and chairs
03. Stained Glass
Glowing softly, this cute owl
lamp would make a soothing
nightlight for a child’s
nursery but works just as well
in a bedroom or hallway.
Made in England from fine
bone china, the owl is one of
a range of animals available
– you can also choose from a
puppy and rabbit.
If you’re hosting mates or
your other half’s folks this
Christmas, IKEA provides a
reasonably cheap means to
seat extra dinner guests in
comfort. Structured so that
the chairs slot beneath the
table when not in use, the
FUSION set can be pushed
aside when the time comes
to get the Wii out.
If you’d like to introduce
some non-ecclesiastical
Christmas cheer into your
home this month, this wintryhued artwork brings the
beauty of churches’ stainedglass windows to the
homesteads of London. Made
from a mosaic of coloured
glass pieces, it looks like a
shimmering kaleidoscope
when illuminated.
RRP £60
www.urbancuckoo.co.uk
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RRP £229
www.ikea.co.uk
RRP £111
www.artisanti.com
HOMES
05
06
07
08
04.Emer Bed
05. Oriel sofa
06. Sailor’s chest
07. Cardboard Radio
08. Dualit coffee grinder
Snowy December weather
and classic Christmas
movies mean this is a month
that demands plenty of duvet
days. That makes it a good
time to invest in a suitably
comfortable bed and this oak
model is our
recommendation. Solid,
inviting and stylish, it should
look the part and keep you
cosy for years to come.
Alluringly elegant and
classically styled, the Oriel
sofa is brought bang up to
date with this vivid turquoise
shade. With each piece being
bespoke, you’ve a choice of
fabric and colour that suits
you best, but the supremely
comfortable duck-feather
and reflex-foam cushions
come as standard.
Pockmarked and weatherworn, this substantial sailor’s
chest will stand out when
housed on terra firma. With
two separate compartments,
it’s an attractive storage unit,
but we recommend using it
as a coffee table so guests
can appreciate its chunky
rope handles and nautical
detailing.
RRP POA
www.rume.co.uk
RRP £359.99
Offering ‘environmentally
sound sounds’ is this
Cardboard Radio from
designer Christopher
McNicholl. The no-frills FM
radio and MP3 player,
complete with audio input
cable and four AA batteries,
is aimed at anyone who’s
aghast at the unnecessary
packaging and nonbiodegradable gadgets.
We do love Dualit accessories
for our home, so we were
immediately taken by this
new coffee grinder. It’s a
small but sturdy piece of
equipment, with a conical
burr that spins at 450 rpm.
That’s intentionally slower
than other machines in order
to minimize heat and
preserve aromas and oils
released during the grind. It’s
available now priced £79.95.
RRP £949
www.livingitup.co.uk
RRP £24.99
www.Monsterstuff.co.uk
www.dualit.com
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TRAVEL
GO WEST
David Hudson kicks back and soaks up some rays
in Florida’s most southerly point – Key West…
Key West is approximately
four miles long and two miles
wide. It’s home to a permanent
population of around 25,000
which is, at any one time,
swelled by a constant stream of
visitors. The island remained
fairly isolated until the arrival
of a railroad to the mainland in
1912. This was destroyed by a
hurricane in 1935, and was
deemed too expensive to
rebuild. Instead, a highway was
created in 1939 – an extension
of the U.S Highway 1. Situated
just 90 miles from Cuba, the
island has also proved a regular
stop-off for naval vessels, and –
in more recent years – visiting
cruise ships.
Key West has also attracted its
fair share of artists and writers
– many looking to escape
somewhere to work in peace,
and others merely seeking a
holiday home. Famously,
Ernest Hemingway lived here
in the 1920s and 30s –
continuing to visit regularly
until his suicide in 1961. Writer
Tennesse Williams was one of
the first gay men to succumb to
the attractions of Key West,
tempted in 1949 by the balmy
climate and perhaps the
68
endless influx of sailors. He
was followed by countless
other affluent gay men and
artists – many of whom took
over and restored bungalows
and colonial-style houses on
the island.
Key West is proud of its
distance from mainland
U.S.A. Indeed, in 1982, it
fleetingly declared itself
independent of the U.S, when
it seceded itself as the ‘Conch
Republic’ in reaction to a U.S.
border control roadblock and
checkpoint. The
demonstration lasted barely 24
hours, but the islanders made
their point and the blockade
was abandoned. However, the
notion of the ‘Conch Republic’
stuck, and Key West continues
to celebrate its ‘Independence
Day’ every 23 April.
Many factors contribute to
making Key West quite unlike
anywhere else in the U.S.
There’s the Caribbean climate,
and the ‘island mentality’
fostered by its geographical
isolation. The island was –
until just a couple of decades
ago – a major marijuana
smuggling point into the U.S
and something of the ‘anything
goes’, laid-back vibe of those
days persists. Due to Highway 1
ending on the island, it’s a
pilgrimage spot for motorcycle
enthusiasts – and Harley
Davidsons and bars ‘welcoming
bikers’ are not uncommon. The
island is flat, and there are no
high-rise buildings that could
be battered by hurricanes.
Wooden houses and pastelcoloured bungalows are
common, with touches of art
deco mingling with 50s
simplicity. Palm trees and
exotic flora abide. The average
temperature in January is 21 C,
rising to 31 C (average) in July
– nudging towards 40 C on the
hottest days of the year.
Thanks to the large gay
population and its popularity
with creative types, the island
boasts a tangible air of San
Francisco-style bohemia. One
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1
2
2
3
PHOTO © DAVID HUDSON
If you’re looking for a gay
escape that guarantees yearround sunshine, America’s
Key West is a destination
both paradoxically far-flung
yet easily accessible for UK
travellers. It’s famously the
southernmost part of the US –
being a small island at the tip
of the Florida keys – a string of
islands stretching down
towards the Caribbean. To
reach it, you must first fly to
Miami and then on to Key West
either by road for 160 miles
(bridges span the various keys
en route) or – as I did – catch a
connecting flight, which takes
just under an hour in a
propeller-powered plane.
Although the road route is
unquestionably scenic, most of
those who have done it once
subsequently opt to fly out of
sheer convenience.
Pictured:
1. View from the Lighthouse
2. Gay trolley tour
3. Typical Key West architecture
4. Bears at Key West Bear Fest
5. Big Ruby’s Guesthouse
6 Ernest Hemingway’s House
7 Key West from the air
4
5
6
4
7
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69
TRAVEL
action at the adjoining leather
club, Saloon One (801 Duval –
rear entrance – 801Bourbon.
com). It’s the only cruise club
in the world where I’ve seen
a leather harness accessorised
with flip-flops. Blame the
tropical climate!
CfZXc[iX^hl\\eJlj_`n\cZfd\j`ek_\E\nP\Xi\m\ip*(;\Z\dY\i%%%
suspects that there is little
that would raise an eyebrow
here. People are too busy
minding their own business,
enjoying the sunshine, or
mixing their next margharita.
And exactly how gay is Key
West? That’s a debatable point.
When a census was taken in
2000, LGB residents living
with partners were encouraged
to register the fact that they
lived in a same-sex household.
By that poll, one in three men
and one in four women were
estimated to be gay. It’s
possible that the figure used to
be higher. HIV cut a huge
swathe through this
community in the 80s and 90s,
and there remains a highly
visible AIDS memorial on the
eastern side of the island in
memory of those lost. Today,
estimates of one in three may
be a little on the optimistic
side. Fort Lauderdale, north of
Miami, has emerged as another
hugely popular destination for
gay men wishing to set up
home in a tropical climate,
while Miami itself is also
popular. Frequent visitors to
Key West say that the gay
scene is smaller than it
once was.
Nevertheless, for a
town of 25,000, Key
West is pretty darn
gay. For
confirmation, take
advantage of the
gay trolley tour –
a 60-minute
excursion on an
old-fashioned
trolley with a
70
guide that will give you the
low-down on the island’s gay
history.
The majority of gay visitors
will opt to stay at one of the
various gay guesthouses. These
are typically small
establishments of 20-40 rooms,
situated around the obligatory
pool and hot tubs. I stayed at
Big Ruby’s Guesthouse,
situated just off Duval Street –
the island’s main thoroughfare.
One of the most popular
guesthouses on the island, you
can expect a warm welcome, a
legendary breakfast, a large
communal Jacuzzi and pool.
The island’s other main gay
guesthouse is Island House,
which is a bit more modern,
and offers a range of
guestrooms, sun deck, gym,
pool, sauna and steam room.
It’s open 24 hours a day, and
non-residents can pay a daily
admission charge if they wish
to take advantage of the
amenities.
The bulk of the gay scene is
clustered around the middle
of the aforementioned Duval
Street. Start your evening at
the 801 Bourbon Street Bar
(801 Duvall –
801Bourbon.com) or the
more local-friendly
Bobby’s Monkey Bar
(900 Simonton –
BobbysMonkeyBar.
com). Enjoy the
nightly cabaret
shows upstairs at
801, featuring a
rotating line-up of
local drag talent, or
move on for cruisier
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There’s more drag cabaret
and dance tunes at Aqua (711
Duvall – AquaKeyWest.com),
while the biggest late-night
destination is probably
Bourbon Street Pub (724
Duval – BourbonStPub.com),
with its army of go-go’s and
outdoor pool and hot tub.
On Sundays, the Tea Dance at
La Te Da (1125 Duval –
LaTeDa.com) is something of
an institution.
For added fun, plan your trip
around one of the island’s big
gay festivals. Key West Pride
will take place 6-10 June 2012,
while the annual Fantasy Fest
– an Island-wide carnival for
all – takes place 19-28 October.
My visit coincided with the
annual Key West Bear Fest,
which although small by
international bear event
standards, attracted a good
number of chunky daddies and
furry fellas. The 2012 event is
planned for the end of
September, but keep checking
www.keywestbearfest.com for
details.
Away from the scene, if you
can tear yourself away from
your guesthouse pool, Key
West offers a limited and
laid-back selection of
activities. Explore Ernest
Hemingway’s House, which
has been preserved as he left it
and still houses a large
community of polydactl cats – a
rare breed with up to seven
toes on its paws.
Catch a ferry for a day
excursion to the
aforementioned Fort
Jefferson – the ruins of which
stand as a slightly eery white
elephant to US military hubris
(its impressive canons were
never once fired). It’s situated a
two-hour ferry ride from Key
West. Alternatively, for a
shorter excursion, book a place
on the Blue Q snorkeling
expedition – a gay-run
catamaran trip that will take
you out snorkeling to local
sandbanks. If you’re lucky, you
might get to see some local
dolphins, and if not, you can
always console yourself with a
free drink from the cooler box.
In a similar vein to watching
the sun rise in Ibiza, watching
the sun set in Key West is a
vacation rite of passage, with
many choosing to make their
way to Mallory Square on the
sea front – where you’ll find
market stalls, street
performers, and one of
Mother’s Nature’s most aweinspiring sun sets – particularly
so if the sky is dotted with
some of the giant
cumulonimbus clouds that
form in the rainy season.
With its laid-back
atmosphere, balmy climate,
romantic star-filled nights,
and gay-friendly atmosphere,
it would take a hard soul to
resist Key West’s tropical
charms. Check out, tune in,
and don’t forget to pack your
sun cream…
For further information on The
Florida Keys and Key West, please
visit www.fla-keys.com/gay
EATING OUT
›DXe^f\j, 700 Duval Street, Key West. A very popular and gayfriendly Duval Street restaurant. nnn%dXe^f\jb\pn\jk%Zfd
›8ekfe`XÊj, 615 Duval Street, Key West. A fabulous, upmarket
Italian restaurant. nnn%Xekfe`Xjb\pn\jk%Zfd
›9iXqXC\eX, 421 Caroline Street, Key West. A South American
barbecue meat feast._kkg1&&YiXqXc\eX%Zfd&
›?Xigffe?XiipÊj, corner of Caroline and Margaret Streets –
very gay-friendly diner. _kkg1&&_Xigffe_Xiipjb\pn\jk%Zfd&
C@EBJ
›nnn%Fe\?ldXe=Xd`cp%`e]f - Key West LGBT information
›nnn%9`^IlYpj%Zfd - Big Ruby’s Guesthouse
›nnn%`jcXe[_flj\b\pn\jk%Zfd - Island House gay resort
›nnn%b\pn\jk$XccdXc\%Zfd - Website for gay guesthouses
Oasis, Coral Tree Inn and Coconut Grove
›nnn%]XekXjp]\jk%e\k - Fantasy Fest
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71
PROPERTY
72
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PROPERTY
FITNESS
WELLBEING
LEGAL
TRAVEL
SERVICES
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73
HEALTH / WELLBEING / ADVICE / FITNESS / NUTRITION / GYM
identify feelings. Some struggle to
find positive ways of making
themselves feel better. Exercise, a
healthy diet and someone to talk to
are all good ways to address a work/
life imbalance. There can be a healthy
middle ground between abstinence
and addiction. Maybe you are able to
dabble because you can manage that
middle ground. It’s much harder to
manage it when psychological factors
such as stress or depression are
underlying the use of substances. I
have heard many gay men talk about
a life of ‘working hard and playing
hard’. That usually translates as: ‘I
am so exhausted from working this
hard that the only way for me to play
is to obliterate my mind with drugs’.
Whilst I understand that it can be fun
to dabble, there is something wrong
when you need drugs to have sex.
W O R L D A I D S D AY
PA G E 7 4
Help me Out!
GROOMING
PA G E 7 6
B O DY TA L K
PA G E 7 8
Soren Stauffer-Kruse offers words
of advice and guidance…
HE’S ALWAYS HIGH
Dear Out,
I’ve met a great guy. Or at least I
thought he was a great guy. My main
problem is that he takes a lot of drugs.
I admit that I dabble occasionally, and
we were both high when we first met
three months ago at a club. We spent
the whole weekend together and have
been seeing each other since. However,
I now realise that he takes drugs a lot
more than I do – from GHB, ketamine
and cocaine to ecstasy and miaowmiaow. He doesn’t tend to touch them
during the week, when he has to work,
but he does often get drunk – and
every weekend seems to be turning into
a drug-fuelled bender. He also seems to
need to be high, or drunk, to want sex.
I’ve told him that he should cut back a
bit, but he says that I’m acting “boring”
and doesn’t want to discuss it. He says
he works hard and is entitled to play
hard. I don’t want to dump him, but I
don’t know what to do.
C
Dear C,
He may be a great guy but it sounds
like he has a problem with drugs. The
fact that he is being defensive when
you try to talk to him about cutting
back, as well as needing drugs and
alcohol to have sex suggest that his
drug use is more than playing hard.
The first step is for him to
acknowledge this. The substances on
your list can be very addictive and
have detrimental effects on physical
and mental health as well as possibly
interfering with sexual functioning.
Most of us sometimes use alcohol,
food, sex, shopping – or drugs – to
make ourselves feel better. The effect
is short-lived and you end up feeling
worse the next day when you wake up
and look in the mirror or at your
credit card receipts. It’s a quick fix
and soon, feelings of stress, anxiety
or whatever else may be underlying
our behaviours re-emerge. Some of us
try to drown out feelings of stress or
low self-esteem by partying with
alcohol and drugs. This masks the
fact that we may find it difficult to
So how do you get him hooked on
you instead? Relationships are an
opportunity to connect with another
person on an intimate level that is
better than any high of any drug. I
would suggest that you do not dump
him yet, but be clear about your
boundaries first. Know what is right
for you and tell him. This is an
opportunity for the two of you to
connect on a deeper level. Rather
than telling him that he has a drug
problem, tell him that you want to get
to know him more, find out who he
really is, not relate through a haze of
drugs and alcohol. Do something fun
with him that isn’t taking drugs or
drinking alcohol, something that
relaxes both of you and gets you out
of your regular pattern. Plan a
weekend away that doesn’t involve
partying. Have a walk, go for dinner
and have sex and see if he isn’t able
to have fun without being on a
cocktail of drugs. If he really wants to
be with you he will adjust his lifestyle
and find out that you are much better
than ecstasy.
GET IN TOUCH
Soren Stauffer-Kruse is a
Chartered Counselling Psychologist
and an expert in gay relationship and
sexual issues. If you have a problem
and are seeking advice, email
editorial@outmag.co.uk
We regret that Soren cannot enter
into personal correspondence.
VWWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
75
WORLD AIDS DAY: 1 DECEMBER
HIV AND ME
MARIO FORGIONE REFLECTS ON 30 YEARS OF HIV,
ADVANCES IN TREATMENT, AND WHY LIVING WITH THE
V I R U S WI LL I NEVITABLY STILL TAKE ITS TOLL …
HIV is 30 years old.
It was in June 1981
when a report was first
published in the USA
about a mysterious new
illness that had resulted
in the deaths of several
men – all of whom
happened to be gay.
Initially, this new disease was
dubbed GRID (Gay-Related
Immune Deficiency),
mistakenly suggesting an
inherent link between
homosexuality and the illness,
and unwittingly feeding a
stigma that, in certain circles,
even today, is hard to shake off.
As it turned out, HIV proved to
be less discriminating as to
whom it infected, and went on
to infect tens of millions of
people worldwide, regardless
of race, gender and sexual
orientation.
I was diagnosed with HIV in
2007. Although I went
through some traumatic
times, I am now on effective
medication, with an
undetectable viral load.
Provided I stick to my
treatment regime, there is the
chance that I may never
actually develop AIDS.
Unfortunately, this was not
always the case, as Garry Brough
(who was Patient Representative
at the clinic I attended) told me
when I first met him. He was
diagnosed with HIV in 1991,
when the virus was still a death
sentence and AZT the only
treatment drug available. The
high dosages of the drug
prescribed at the time resulted
in side effects that were as
difficult to manage as HIV itself.
Patients were guinea pigs for
new treatment regimes, and
many continued to die. “Give it a
go, have faith and hope for the
best,” was the prevailing attitude
Garry was lucky in that he
didn’t need to rush into
taking experimental
76
treatments and he held out.
Thousands did not have that
option and died, all the while
furthering research on how
drugs might best work against
HIV. Until 1995, HIV was the
leading cause of death for
Americans aged 25-44. Then
the first protease inhibitor was
approved, ushering in the era
of Highly Active Antiretroviral
Therapy (HAART). HIV infects
keep an individual healthy but
also to dramatically reduce the
chances of that person
infecting another.Having
another sexually-transmitted
infection can cause the viral
load to temporarily rise above
undetectable levels, increasing
the chance of transmission,
which is why condoms will
always be the first barrier of
defence; but knowing an HIV+
“With a vaccine proving as
elusive as ever, HIV is still
winning. It’s simple as that.”
and destroys the helper T-cells
of the immune system,
destroying them and leading to
generalised failure of the
immune system. Therefore, the
first aim of HAART was to
reduce the amount of virus (or
viral load) present in a patient’s
blood. Put simply, the less HIV
in your blood, the smaller the
likelihood of the virus knocking
out your immune system. As it
turned out, an undetectable
viral load has also proven to
decrease the chances of passing
on the virus, so these days the
aim of HAART is not only to
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
person’s viral load can help you
make an informed choice on
the sexual activities you want
to indulge in – remembering
that condoms also reduce the
chances of catching other STIs.
I wish there were more
people like Garry, to remind
the rest of us how the
epidemic started, and how in
the 80s and 90s people died
needlessly, and often alone,
even in the so-called
developed world. The younger
generation tends to take things
for granted. They never knew
those who passed away in
previous decades, nor do they
see people dying of AIDS every
day, which is why I believe
there is so much complacency
around the issue of HIV. In this
new age of naïve ignorance,
regardless of what they state in
their online profiles, many
people practise bareback sex.
Often they don’t find out until
it’s too late how devastating the
virus can be, if not on a
physical level, then definitely
on a psychological level.
HIV changes you.
Eventually, taking medication
for the rest of your life will
become second nature, but it’s
never an ideal situation. And
medication won’t prepare or
equip you with the tools to deal
with the rejection you will
experience in relation to your
status; a major factor that fuels
depression among the HIV
community. You may also
experience discrimination
because – even in this supposed
age of equality and respect –
the average gay person has a
problem with HIV, mainly due
to lack of knowledge on the
subject.
Ignorance can be just as
dangerous an enemy as HIV
itself, and at a time when even
the healthiest looking man can
be harbouring the virus, we
must continue to raise
awareness and educate the
masses… or sometimes, even
just our next sexual partner.
When I look from the past
to the present – and then to
the foreseeable future – I
realise that HIV isn’t
disappearing any time soon.
With a vaccine proving as
elusive as ever, HIV is still
winning. It’s simple as that. It
is down to everyone, regardless
of their HIV status, to take
responsibility for their health
and ask the right questions.
Other than that, just like when
it began 30 years ago, all we
have left is hope, faith and our
love for life and each other.
WORLD AIDS DAY: 1 DECEMBER
KEEP AWARE
Charli Scouler of NAT (National AIDS
Trust) explains the results of research
recently carried out by the organisation,
and why many gay men still need
to educate themselves about HIV
infection…
World AIDS Day
is an important
opportunity to raise
awareness and
encourage people to
learn the facts about
HIV. This is
particularly relevant
to gay men as not only
do one in 20 gay men
have HIV, but last
year also saw the highest-ever number of new HIV diagnoses
among gay and bisexual men – a clear reminder of the need for
better education, awareness, targeted prevention and testing
efforts.
One area where knowledge is particularly lacking among gay
men is the early indicators of HIV infection. Research from NAT,
conducted among more than 8,000 gay men in partnership with
Gaydar, showed that 60% of gay men incorrectly believe there are
no symptoms of early HIV infection.
In fact, between 70-90% of people experience symptoms –
most commonly a combination of sore throat, rash and fever –
soon after HIV infection, but fewer than one in 10 respondents
were aware of this. This lack of knowledge is extremely worrying,
as spotting the signs of recent HIV infection presents one of the
best opportunities to get diagnosed early. Lack of awareness of
these facts increases risk to your own health and to the health of
your sexual partners.
Despite a clear lack of knowledge around the indicators of
early HIV infection, it was positive to see that 65% of gay men
surveyed were aware that someone with HIV will be highly
infectious in the first few weeks after infection. This suggests
that if knowledge of HIV symptoms were improved amongst gay
men, they would be likely to take the necessary action to reduce
the risk of passing it on to others.
It is important that if you experience a combination of sore
throat, fever and rash, you go and get tested for HIV as soon as
possible. The worst thing you can do is wait until the symptoms
disappear and then forget about it, as the symptoms will go away
and someone with HIV may then live for many years without any
further indicators that they are HIV-positive until their immune
system is severely compromised several years later.
The signs of recent HIV infection are just one aspect of HIV
information that many people still unaware of, but there are also
common myths and misconceptions that people still believe. NAT
has been working to raise awareness and educate the public about
all aspects of HIV by launching www.HIVaware.org.uk, a brand
new website aimed at everyone which provides all the information
you need to know about HIV. We’ve also revamped our web
information for people living with HIV, making it more userfriendly and interactive. Check it at www.lifewithHIV.org.uk.
Log on to both websites today and tell us what you think.
78
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
BE A CLEVER
DICK!
We preview THT’s new Clever Dick/
Smart Arse campaign…
The Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) has launched a new
campaign to coincide with World AIDS Day. The new ‘Clever
Dick /Smart Arse’ campaign has been designed to encourage gay
men to talk about HIV prevention, and it features “real men”
speaking out about why they use condoms to protect themselves.
The England-wide campaign is urging gay and bisexual men to
use condoms during sex. There are now more men with HIV on
the gay scene than ever before, one in four of whom remain
undiagnosed and therefore more likely to pass the virus on. To
combat rising rates, THT is calling for gay businesses and
individuals to help halt the spread of HIV on the scene by placing
a renewed focus on condom use.
To create the ‘Clever Dick / Smart Arse’ campaign, THT
invited eight gay men from across England to take part in a
photoshoot and talk about why they use condoms when
having sex. Men came from all areas of the gay community – from a
Soho bar manager to a rugby player with the Kings Cross Steelers –
to lend their voices to the campaign, which will run via print and
online press advertisements, posters in gay venues, and on 100,000
condom packs to be distributed across the scene.
Other areas of the campaign include an online
SexScore survey at www.clever-dick.org, where gay and
bisexual men can receive tailored information on how
risky their sex lives are, along with advice on how to stay safe. All
men who complete the survey can choose to be entered into a
prize draw to win an iPad 2 and one of ten pairs of Monkee Jeans.
Ben Tunstall, Head of Health Promotion at THT, said: “At
THT, we’ve been talking about condoms for almost 30 years. But
our oldest message is also our most important: when you’re
having sex, condoms are the best way to guard against HIV.
“How much do you know about the guy you just picked up?
How confident are you that you know his HIV status? With the
vast majority of new infections passed on by people who don’t
know they have it, the chances are he may not know himself.
Thirty years on from the start of the epidemic, condoms are still
the best way to protect not just your health, but also your peace of
mind. We want everyone on the gay scene to
get behind this campaign – putting up
posters in venues, picking up our
condom packs, or just
talking to their
mates about safer
sex – and help us
reduce the
spread of HIV in
our community.”
›www.tht.org.uk
- THT website
›www.freedomsshop.nhs.uk - Buy
reduced price
condoms
›www.myhiv.org.
uk - Information for
anyone living with
HIV
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79
GROOMING
METAL GURU
David Hudson reviews Nickel Spa London, 27 Short’s Gardens
London WC2H 9AP. 020 7240 4048 www.nickelspalondon.co.uk
that I’m sure I nodded off on a
couple of occasions – which
demonstrates that the
treatment was certainly
relaxing.
They also offer waxing, IPL
hair removal and both
‘overground’ and
‘underground’ waxing (above
or below the waist area!). They
can also offer anti-wrinkle
injections and dermal fillers
for those wanting to hold back
the years more aggressively!
Of all the men’s treatment
rooms in London, Nickel Spa
– which launched in Covent
Garden back in 2006 – is one
of the best known. This is
primarily because it’s one of
the few London spas catering
exclusively for men. Given its
prime WC2 location – just a
five-minute walk from Old
Compton Street – it’s had a
huge gay following ever since
it opened, and it has continued
to prosper whilst other spas
have come and gone.
Nickel is both a skincare
range and spa. It has outlets
in London, New York and
Paris. I was fortunate enough
to enjoy treatment at the
flagship New York branch back
in July, and can confirm that it
operates along very similar
lines to the London branch
– even down to the décor. The
80
colour scheme is all cool blues,
to reflect the skincare product
packaging, with clean white
walls and pale wood floors.
Upstairs, you’ll find the
reception area and grooming
store, which stocks the
complete Nickel range as well
as selected products from
other bespoke beauty brands.
Upstairs also offers manicure
and pedicure stations. These
are tucked away in a side room,
primarily because the staff
appreciate that most men don’t
want their nails being fussed
over in front of large windows
overlooking the street!
Downstairs, for further
privacy, are the six treatment
rooms. Nickel offers a wide
range of treatments, ranging
from a large selection of
massages and aromatherapy
treatments through to
microdemabrasion and facials.
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
I opted to try the
signature Nickel Complete
Fitness Facial – 60 minutes
of serious pampering for £70.
My therapist led me to a
treatment room and left me
alone to strip down to my
trousers and lie on the
treatment bed. He then
returned and asked me
questions about my skin and
beauty regime, which he
considered to be good, except
for making a recommendation
that I try to use a clay mask
once a week to help suck the
dirt from my pores. Then he
set about working on my face
– which involved cleansing,
steaming and blackhead
extraction. I’m pleased to
report that on this particular
occasion I didn’t have too
much gunk that needed to be
squeezed out! After the
extraction, an exfoliant mask
was applied and then cleansed,
followed by copious amounts
of moisturising. I was also
treated to plenty of neck and
scalp massage… to the extent
The hour seemed to fly
past, and I emerged from the
treatment room positively
glowing – at least according
to the friend who I then met
for coffee. I was very pleased
with the result, and before
seeing me on my way, my
therapist gave me an envelope
of treatment sachets, so I could
try some of the creams and
potions he’d used in the
privacy of my own home.
If you have any queries
about Nickel Spa, do check out
its website. Not only does it
carry an exhaustive list of its
treatments and prices,
including some good package
deals, but it’s got an online
store selling its full range of
grooming products, and all the
information you could possibly
need about booking. It also has
a helpful section on DOs and
DON’Ts aimed at anyone who
has never visited a spa – or
Nickel – before. This includes
advice on what to wear when
having a massage (“What to
wear, or not to wear, is a
surprisingly big concern when
it comes to spa treatments”),
through to the friendly
warning that “Do you do
‘specials’?” is not on the menu.
So, don’t ask. But should an
awkward situation, ahem,
naturally ‘arise’ then there’s no
need to panic. These things
happen. Think about your tax
return, mother-in-law or
Margaret Thatcher and all
should return to normal!”
Finally, fans of Nickel, if
they haven’t already done so,
should ‘Like’ its Facebook page
(Nickel Spa London). Each
month, the team randomly pick
a Facebook fan to receive free
treatment, and they also send
out regular messages about
discounts.
www.nickelspalondon.co.uk
FITNESS
My body
Nico Modestine –
Dancer and fitness
instructor
DID YOU START
QWHEN
WORKING OUT?
YOUR TYPICAL GYM
QWHAT’S
ROUTINE?
Just at the moment I have planned
eight weeks of strength-training
to achieve a maximum result in
muscle hypertrophy (muscle
growth). I do try to keep my
workouts fun and varied, so I
include lots of circuit training and
plyometrics. I also pole dance 2-3
times a week and use it essentially
to increase my core stability and
flexibility, which I believe to be
fundamental as a dancer. At the
gym, I usually workout 5-6 times a
week, unceasingly stimulating my
muscles with a great variety of
exercises. I tend to workout
Monday to Saturday, and I usually
superset opposing muscle groups
(with no rest between sets) as it
gives you that nice skin-splitting
pump and boost!
Q
WHAT SORT OF WEIGHTS DO
YOU LIFT NOW?
Resistance machines are excellent
for beginners in order to slowly
increase strength and coordination, however, I mainly use
heavy weights and free weights.
They are, for obvious reasons, a
better way to improve posture and
balance but each exercise has to
be performed with the right
technique to avoid unnecessary
injury. To help me train, I read
many articles on the internet
concerning nutrition and training.
82
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK
HOW TO GET A
BODY LIKE
NICO
1. Plyometric is a
type of training
designed to produce
fast, powerful
moments, generally
for the purpose of
improving
performances in
sports. Such
exercises are
designed to increase
the speed or force of
muscular
contractions.
PHOTO © DAVID HUDSON – WITH THANKS TO SWEATBOX, SOHO
I’ve always been a sporty geek,
into languages and psychology,
but constantly challenging myself
at the gym, in a dojo [a type of
martial arts school], or dancing in
a studio. I started doing Tae Kwon
Do, capoeira and other martial
arts when still quite young and I
always envied my idols such as
Jean-Claude Van Damme or Bruce
Lee, who were a lot more skilful
than I was with their beautiful
sculpted bodies. It was only in
2006, when I moved away from
my native island of Martinique to
study in the South of France, that
I developed a deeper interest in
fitness and started working out at
university.
2. USN Muscle Fuel
Anabolic offers a
generous helping of
protein, amino acids,
creatine and lactose
enzymes (to aid milk
protein absorption).
YOU TAKE NUTRITIONAL
QDO
SUPPLEMENTS?
I keep a strict diet and avoid the
usual evils (alcohol, takeouts,
pastries, candy, etc). As they say; if
it doesn’t grow, walk, fly or swim,
don’t eat it. Processed foods are
full of the things that you need to
stay away from – trans fats,
colouring and sweeteners. My
partner in crime – and probably
one the best pre-workout
supplements on the market at the
moment – is the USN Muscle Fuel
Anabolic, which is packed with
seven different forms of proteins
and fast and slow-acting carbs. It’s
perfect if you have a mass-gaining
plan. I also like to use intraworkout drinks to minimise the
onset of muscle soreness the next
day, in order to be consistently
effective at the gym. I may feel
less motivated one day or want to
work harder, so I use a pretraining igniter called N.O Xplode
as it increases mental alertness,
focus, strength, power or
resistance to muscle fatigue.
YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE
QDO
OR TIPS?
Educate and discipline yourself!
Always make technique and form
prevail in order to slowly but
surely achieve your targets. Pride
will only push you to lifting
beyond your abilities, risking
injury and compromising your
goals. Nutrition is also essential in
your plan, so stay firm and walk
away from your daily doughnut!
Try out new activities and you’ll
be surprised that losing weight
can also be fun.
3. Dancing is an
excellent cardiovascular activity,
strengthening core
stability and burning
fat. Think about
joining a dance class
to aid your flexibility
and complement
your gym work.