James Ledward, Graham Robson, Gary Hart, Alice Blezard, Ray A-J
SPORTS EDITOR Paul Gustafson
ARTS EDITOR Michael Hootman
SUB EDITOR Graham Robson
DESIGN Michèle Allardyce
FRONT COVER
MODEL Romone Clarke
PHOTOGRAPHER Jack Lynn www.facebook.com/jack.lynn.353
CONTRIBUTORS
Simon Adams, Ray A-J, Jaq Bayles, Jo Bourne, Nick Boston, Brian Butler, Suchi Chatterjee, Bright Daffodil, Morgan Fabulous, Craig Hanlon-Smith, Samuel Hall, Adam Mallaby, Enzo Marra, Tin Nguyen, Carl Oprey, Eric Page, Del Sharp, Gay Socrates, Brian Stacey, Michael Steinhage, Sugar Swan, Glen Stevens, Duncan Stewart, Craig Storrie, Mike Wall, Netty Wendt, Roger Wheeler, Kate Wildblood
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Matt Brooks, James Ledward, Jack Lynn, Maleshots.co.uk Hugo Michiels photography
All work appearing in Gscene Ltd is copyright It is to be assumed that the copyright for material rests with the magazine unless otherwise stated on the page concerned No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in an electronic or other retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior knowledge and consent of the publishers The appearance of any person or any organisation in Gscene is not to be construed as an implication of the sexual orientation or political persuasion of such persons or organisations
TAVERN
FEATURES
16 MR GAY WALES
Eric Page catches up with the rather hunky Mr Gay Wales, Ben Brown
18 OUT ON THE STREETS
Bright Daffodil discusses LGBT youth and the UK homelessness crisis
20 FORT L AUDERDALE
The award-winning destination of choice for LGBT+ travellers of all ages
23 CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME
Dr Rajendra Sharma explains how to cope with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
47
HOPE ALONG THE WIND
Gay Socrates talks to Joey Cain about Harry Hay and the film about his life
48
GERI LOVE
Morgan Fabulous chats with Geri about sexuality, politics and Ladyboys
49
NEON MOON
Matthew Callow talks music and mental health with Jason Saw
50
MAN OF MANY PARTS
Brian Butler chats to Mark Inscoe about Les Mis, Sweeney Todd and Priscilla
BRIGHTON PRIDE 2018
) LoveBN1Fest ticket holders have yet another reason to celebrate, with news that Jess Glynne, R aye, Gabrielle, R owetta and House Gospel Choir have been added to the main-stage lineup for Sunday, August 5 LoveBN1Fest is so Brighton & Hove and will bring all the city’s diverse communities and Rainbow families together for an afternoon of fun on Preston Park while raising extra funds for the Pride Social Impact Fund
Grammy-winning composer, producer, arranger, guitarist Nile R odgers and his multiplatinum selling band Chic will headline the main stage Famed for tracks such as Le Freak, I Want Your Love and Good Times, Nile has written and produced for some of the most illustrious ar tists in the world and his signature is scrawled across an amazing array of music and performances This unique set will see the band perform some of the songs from the greatest collaborations of Nile’s four-decade career including David Bowie, Madonna and Diana Ross
Mighty Jess Glynne made her name with the sultry power-pop vocals to Clean Bandit’s 2014 Grammy Award winning anthem Rather Be, scoring another number one earlier that same year on Route 94’s My Love The following year, Jess topped the singles char ts five times with the release of her debut album I Cry When I Laugh –making her only the second ever British female solo ar tist to achieve this feat, after Cher yl More recently, she teamed up with Tinie Tempah on last year’s char t smash Not Letting Go Glynne’s success is down to her unique ability to turn stories of hear tbreak into big, bold crowd pleasers, be they piano-backed ballads or synth-heavy house anthems She credits greats such as Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, Mariah and Whitney as providing her inspiration
R aye, the 20-year-old South Londoner already has plenty of experience under her belt Her feet have barely touched the ground since releasing the first of her two EPs four years ago She provided knock-out vocals on Jonas Blue’s house mega-hit 2016 By Your Side and Jax Jones’ single You Don’t Know Me the same year, has collaborated with mega-rapper Nas, suppor ted Years & Years, and Jess Glynne on her arena tour – and was shor t-listed for BBC Music Sound of 2017 award, coming in third
Gabrielle dominated the char ts in the 1990s with a string of hits, including Dreams, Out of Reach, Sunshine, Walk On By and her classic duet with East 17, If You Ever, achieving for her over 10 million record sales, winning her two BRIT Awards and bona fide pop goddess status Last year, exactly 20 years after her debut she released a new album, containing six new tracks alongside some of her greatest hits She also proved she can still cut it with today’s pop crowd, with a featured credit on Naughty Boy’s star-studded album Hotel Cabana
R owetta found fame in the late-1980s providing vocals on rave classics, notably Sweet Mercy’s Reach Out in 1989, before teaming up with the Happy Mondays Over the next years, she sung on their classic single Step On, worked with the band on their two studio albums, joined them on three world tours and lives to tell the tale!
When the Happy Mondays split, she kept on doing her thing, recently stunning crowds as a singer with Hacienda Classical, and alongside New Order bassist Peter Hook on his Unknown Pleasures tour Away from the Manchester music scene, Rowetta has had a glittering career as a singer on both The Best of Broadway and The Songs of Sister Act tour with Sheila Ferguson
House Gospel Choir is the place where spirituality and the euphoria of the dancefloor come together Founded by creative producer and vocalist Natalie Maddix, HGC is a voice for those that can sing but don’t always know the words! It’s a home for anyone who has ever found themselves lost in music at a festival, or in a night club or on the tube on the way to work
The LoveBN1Fest festival site on Preston Park will feature a huge main stage, English Disco Lovers tent, Circo R um Ba Ba performance, The Circus Project, family enter tainment with kids cinema, face painting, kids theme par ty, a community market, foodie village, Well Being area and Accessibility Matters tent
To purchase online standard entry tickets costing £37 50, view: www pride-tickets org/lovebn1fest-tickets/
BRIGHTON & HOVE PRIDE LAUNCH NEW CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT FUND
) Brighton & Hove Pride has launched a new Pride Cultural Development Fund to suppor t local ar tists and groups
Brighton Pride has ear marked up to £10,000 for community grants to help local ar tists par ticipate in local Pride activities in 2018 and promote Pride’s inclusive ethos Awards of up to £250 will be available to help individual ar tists or small community groups cover the cost of developing a creative project for par ticipation in Brighton & Hove Pride, 2018 This can include costs for costumes, instr uments, ar tist fees and venue hire for per for mance, rehearsal or studio space.
Individual ar tists, local community groups, local voluntar y or charitable organisations, are all eligible to apply.
In order to be considered for a grant, applicants should have a project in development and all applicants must be based in Brighton & Hove (or have a connection to the city), be fully committed to cultural diversity and social inclusion in the ar ts and be able to demonstrate a proven track record of their ar ts practice
All applications to the Brighton & Hove Pride Ar tists' Small Grant Award must be received by Monday, April 30, 2018 A panel will select the winning entries and successful applicants will be notified by email by May 20, 2018
Decisions are final and there will be no system of appeal
For more infor mation, view: http://Brighton-Pride.org/pridecultural-development-fund-launch
BRIGHTON PRIDE PUBLISH ‘STANDARDS' PROTOCOL FOR CORPORATE SUPPORTERS
) Brighton & Hove Pride have developed and published a new set of ‘standards’ for Corporate par tners and brands wishing to take par t in this year’s Community Parade which takes place on Saturday, August 4 marking the 40th anniversary of the iconic R ainbow Flag with a Colour My World theme
Brighton Pride has taken this action to maintain the integrity of the community parade and ensure that floats and entries from corporate par tners or brands suppor t and celebrate the rights, achievements, culture, and aspirations of those belonging to the LGBT+ communities of Brighton & Hove
The standards highlight that floats, banners, t-shir ts, flags or any form of messaging in the parade entry must include specific messages of suppor t for all LGBT communities, their rights or diversity and inclusivity whilst rejecting consumer promotions, generic branding or marketing messages Entries will only be permitted if they show what the sponsor/parade entry believes or wants to stand for and that these messages are also featured across other platforms such as social media when highlighting Brighton Pride
Paul Kemp, Managing Director, Brighton Pride CIC, said: “ We’re thankful to parade entries from business organisations and consumer brands that support Pride and without their support we wouldn’t be able to deliver the costs of producing the community parade in the current climate However, in the last few years at some Pride events we’ve seen brand marketing messages becoming more prevalent and some instances of brands using Pride to ambush market LGBT+ consumers Brighton & Hove Pride has always celebrated our local LGBT+ community groups, charities and red light services and with the publication of the new more robust set of standards we’re aiming for all our business partners and brands featured to honour and celebrate the very reasons that Pride exists and to celebrate Diversity & Inclusion and support of LGBT+ employees ”
To read the ‘standards’ complete, view: https://mainbrightonpride.s3.amazonaws.com/wpcontent/uploads/2018/03/Sponsorship-Standards-for- Corporate-Par tnersof-Pride- Organisations-1.pdf
AMSTERDAM MANAGER RAISES MORE THAN £700 FOR SUSSEX BEACON
) Miguel Morán García, bar manager at The Amsterdam Bar & Kitchen on Marine Parade, ran the Brighton Half Marathon last month to raise money for the Sussex Beacon Due to the generosity of the Amsterdam customers and friends he raised more than £700, making him the winner of the Beacon's Team Beacon Fundraising Prize! You still have a chance to suppor t Miguel's herculean fundraising effor t To make a donation to JustGiving and help Miguel raise even more for the Sussex Beacon view: www justgiving com/fundraising/miguel-moran
SUNDAES TO APPEAR AT 2018 GOLDEN HANDBAG AWARDS
) Following their appearances on All Together Now, the BBC singing contest with a twist, The Sundaes, the 'biggest' girl group in the land, will appear at the Golden Handbag Awards on Sunday, July 1
#MYPRONOUNSARE
Council’s pronoun campaign marks Trans Day of Visibility
local NHS trusts, the University of Brighton and Sussex Police Wearing of the badges was voluntar y
The following badges were available:
This unique larger than life group combines stunning vocals and sensational choreography with superb comedy timing, not to mention flamboyant costumes! They are big, they are camp, they are the perfect choice for Brighton’s Gay Oscars, the Golden Handbag Awards These sassy girls with the big voices and even bigger presence will make their Golden debut at this year’s Handbags singing disco classics such as I'm Every Woman, It's Raining Men and No More Tears (Enough is Enough) from their Diva Las Vegas Collection
The Golden Handbag Awards, Brighton’s annual extravaganza of everything fabulous and gay, will take place in the glamorous surrounding of the Oxford Suite Ballroom at the Brighton Metropole Hilton Hotel on Sunday, July 1 from 7.30pm The awards will be hosted by Lola Lasagne and the full line-up of ar tists appearing will be announced in May Gscene
The Golden Handbag Awards gives everyone the oppor tunity to acknowledge all that is positive about the LGBT+ scene and voluntary sector in Brighton & Hove Who’s your favourite top? Where's your favourite bottom? What’s your favourite bar and which is your favourite voluntary sector organisation? The winners of these much sor t after awards will be announced in spectacular Hollywood fashion by an impressive list of showbiz personalities and local dignitaries
Voting in the Golden Handbag Awards 2018 goes live at midnight on Tuesday, May 15 after the Golden Quiz at Charles Street Tap to find out who has the brainiest suppor ters in Gay Brighton Voting this year will once again take place online at www gscene com
There is still chance to nominate someone you think should receive a special Community or Lifetime Achievement Award. Email your nominations to info@gscene.com by May 1
VIP tables at the Brighton Hilton Metropole seating 12, costing £240, will be available from April 2 by emailing info@gscene.com or calling 01273 749 947
Unreserved single tickets, costing £20 each, will go on-sale at Prowler, 112 St James’s Street, Brighton from Friday, April 6
) Badges pointing out that you can’t assume someone’s gender identity or the pronouns they use were distributed to Brighton & Hove City Council staff and city par tners to mark Trans Day of Visibility on March 31 In the past, pronouns for individuals have only described male or female, he or she, his or hers, forcing people to confor m The city-wide campaign aims to raise awareness of trans and non-binar y people illustrating ever yone has their own gender identity Making assumptions can be hur tful and distressing, so it helps to know what pronouns people use
The campaign was put together by the council with suppor t and involvement from the Clare Project, Trans Alliance, the council’s LGBT Workers Forum,
• She, her, hers
• He, him, his
• They, their, theirs
• Please use my name
• Blank, for the wearer to fill in
• #MyPronounsAre
Cllr Emma Daniel, Chair of the Neighbourhoods, Inclusion, Communities & Equality Committee, said: “We all define our ow n gender and w e should respect other people’s identities, and rights Now there’s more freedom and safety to be ourselv es but there’s still more to do Who a person is may not match w hat y ou expect and may not be defined easily If someone’s pronouns differ from w hat y ou assume, it’s for y ou to adapt and it’s okay to ask
We’re proud of being a div erse city, and the council is committed to equality and inclusion for all people including our trans and non-binar y residents R ead the badge, respect people, it’s that easy ”
UK RANKS AS SECOND BEST COUNTRY IN EUROPE FOR LGBT+ ACCEPTANCE
) In recent analysis, conducted by online home rental company Spotahome, the UK was narrowly beaten by Nor way to the top spot as the most accepting countr y of the LGBT+ communities in Europe Spotahome used the latest available data to rank major countries and cities across Europe on a scale of 10 for overall equality and individual equality categories including LGBT+ friendliness, income inequality, immigrant acceptance, the gender pay gap, wheelchair access, quality of life and political issues
The UK scored well for LGBT+ acceptance (8 55) Norway was the only countr y out of those analysed to score higher (8 80) Belgium (8 07), France (7.95) and Portugal (7.71) made up the remaining top five Countries in Europe with the lowest levels of LGBT+ acceptance were: Russia (0.12), Turkey (0.48), Belarus (0.96), Macedonia FYR (1.33) and Latvia (1.45), which made up the bottom five
Melissa Lyras, Brand & Communications Manager at Spotahome said of the findings: “Many of our customers are looking to mov e to different cities across Europe, so our research into L GBT + acceptance should help people decide w hich areas w ill best suit their personal needs and v alues While it’s hopeful to see strides being taken in some countries to ensure ev er y one is accepted, it’s ev ident there is still much w ork to do L GBT + acceptance has hindered ov erall equality scores for many of the countries analy sed and has highlighted this as a key area for improv ement ” Helsinki topped the Best Cities list for LGBT+ acceptance, with Bristol the highest UK city coming four th Other UK cities featured on the list included Leeds (9), Edinburgh (10), Birmingham (12), Manchester (26) and London (32). Dublin came in at twentieth while Brighton did not feature in the top 33
To view the full data for each city and countr y, view: www.spotahome.com/equalityeurope-city-ranking
LGBT+ HISTORY PROJECT RECEIVES LOTTERY FUNDING
) Latest Group CIC has received National Lottery funding for a project, Live & Let Live, which will char t Brighton & Hove’s LGBT+ histories from all gender perspectives
Latest Group CIC is based in Manchester Street at the Latest Music Bar and TV Studios, a few yards from the gateway to St James’s Street and Kemptown Village The project will be created and screened in Manchester Street, both internally and externally, over the course of the coming year
The funding will help create a permanent digital exhibition that char ts the city’s liberal social history across the last 50 years, much of it based East of the Pier and focusing on the successful LGBT+ story
Directors of Latest Group CIC have been promoting events in Brighton since 1978, publishing magazines since 1982 and filming professionally throughout this century and before!
The projections will be an all-encompassing colourful display of the large archive of fascinating material that they have on video and film and on posters, flyers, newspapers and magazines The project will use this unique resource of visual history char ting Brighton & Hove’s LGBT+ history from both female and male perspectives, indeed from all gender perspectives, in this the most liberal of British cities
However, Brighton was not always like this and Latest Group CIC will credit those who built this beacon of hope and diversity that is the modern city of Brighton & Hove They will put up signs that recognise Kemptown! It’s surely no accident that the current Director of the resurgent Brighton Pride is named Paul KEMP!
Live & Let Live! will work with both professionals and volunteers who will all have access to training and educational oppor tunities
Lloyd R ussell-Moyle, MP for Brighton Kemptown & Peacehaven who is a patron of Latest Group CIC and suppor ted the funding bid, said: “I am thrilled that the CIC has received this award from the Heritage Lottery Fund and I am confident that this exhibition will attract audiences in huge numbers and hundreds of participants who will join in celebrating the diversity of our city and take advantage of the learning opportunities that it will offer An exhibition of this kind will create a focus of attention for both visitors and locals and help in what I believe in most passionately – the regeneration of St James’s Street, and Kemptown Village and East Brighton – East of the Pier –as one of the city’s most vibrant communities We don’t talk Diversity, we are Diversity We live and let live We’ve seen the support from the public over here and indeed across Brighton & Hove for the Madeira Terraces East of the Pier, the rebirth continues with this project ”
Michelle R offe, Head of Heritage Lottery Fund in South East England, added: “ We are delighted to support Latest Group CIC in exploring Brighton & Hove’s LGBT+ heritage through local people’s stories, archives and film Thanks to National Lottery players, participants will learn new skills and explore their heritage, whilst providing a lasting record of this important heritage for wider communities, both locally and beyond ”
The exhibition will also be available to be viewed online and accessed by other organisations globally At the end of the project, archive materials will be donated to The Keep to ensure they are accessible to all
MINDOUT RECEIVE LOTTERY FUNDING FOR NEW MENTAL HEALTH PROJECT FOR OLDER LGBT+ PEOPLE
) MindOut, the LGBT+ Mental Health Service, has received a grant from Big Lotter y Fund R eaching Communities programme totalling £312.086 over next five years
The grant will fund salaries for advocacy and peer suppor t workers and volunteer expenses MindOut Age Matters will offer peer suppor t, intergenerational befriending and peer mentoring, develop LGBT+ affirmative practice in residential care and suppor ted housing, and seek to consult with a wide range of older LGBT+ people about their mental health needs
Helen Jones, MindOut CEO, said: “ We’re so pleased to receive this grant, we are looking forward to extending the work we do with people aged over 50, particularly people aged over 70, where we know there is much need for mental health support The grant will enable us to develop more peer support and advocacy We are very concerned about the stigma and ageism towards older LGBT+ people and we’ve consulted widely on a number of exciting ways to address this ”
www.mindout.org.uk
BEAR-PATROL RAISE ALMOST £2,500 FOR MENTAL HEALTH CHARITY
) Bear-Patrol (BP), the social networking community group, have raised £2,349 28 for the counselling service at MindOut, the LGBT+ mental health service
The sponsorship money was raised by four of BP’s members, Kieran Fitsall, Peter Stevens, Mark Alexander and
Baker who ran in the
also provided 26 volunteers to man one of the water stations during the race
The Brighton Half Marathon, one of the longest established and most popular road races in the country is organised by the Sussex Beacon
Graham
recent Brighton Half Marathon BP
FATBOY SLIM IS NEW MARTLETS AMBASSADOR
) Superstar DJ Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, has been announced as an official Ambassador for Mar tlets The Brighton-based musician and business-owner has been a much-valued suppor ter of the charity for many years and fronted their 2016 Snowdogs by the Sea campaign and recently launched Snailspace for the hospice Emma Knight from Mar tlets, said: “To have such a personable, Brighton-based international star like Norman generously lending his support to us is very exciting He is a fantastic and highly influential Ambassador for Martlets Being associated with Norman is tremendously valuable to us, and we’re very grateful to him for all that he has done to help us already We’ve really appreciated his sense of fun and kindness so far, and are enthusiastically looking forward to working with him into the future ”
£250 RAISED FOR MINDOUT AT BLAGSS BOWLING EXTRAVAGANZA
Norman said: “I’m honoured to have been asked to represent Martlets as an Ambassador I’ve known about Martlets for some time, having had a family member need their care So I know first-hand that what Martlets does for people and their families is, indeed, life-changing What I’ve discovered personally since then, by being involved with Snowdogs by the Sea in 2016 and now Snailspace, is that the people who make Martlets tick are truly a pleasure to be around I am of ten a bit stuck for words when it comes to serious subjects, but they make it easy and have always bought a huge amount of fun to the projects that I’ve been involved with ”
For more information about Mar tlets, view: www.themar tlets.org.uk
) Twenty-six teams from local LGBT+ organisations and businesses battled it out at the Brighton Marina Bowlplex on Februar y 28 at the annual BLAGSS Tenpin Bowling Extravaganza
Bear-Patrol, the social networking community group, took the oppor tunity
to shake buckets during the evening raising £251 for the LGBTQ Counselling Project at MindOut
Winners of the tournament were the badminton team from BLAGSS Pictured are some of the players from the three Bear-Patrol Teams, and the team from MindOut who bowled on the night
GREENS CALL FOR PERMANENT SOLUTION TO BRIGHTON’S HOMELESS CRISIS
) Green Party Councillors in Brighton & Hove are calling for yearround suppor t to end rough sleeping as the temporary Brighton Centre Night Shelter closes its doors In January 2017, Green Councillors successfully called on the Labour administration to use its empty buildings to accommodate rough sleepers The temporary shelter, which has suppor ted 102 people since opening in December, was a direct result of that call
A recent public petition, signed by over 5,000 people calling for 365 day provision for rough sleepers, gained backing from all political par ties However, Green Councillors are concerned that news on longer term provision for rough sleepers has fallen quiet Along with the decision of the Council to continue funding for homeless provision from April, Green Councillors are calling for the Council to act with greater urgency to end rough sleeping and to put plans in place for a year-round resource
David Gibson, Green Par ty Housing spokesperson, said:
“Almost a year af ter the original proposal from the Greens to open up empty buildings for use as shelters, we heard from the manager of the Brighton Centre shelter that ‘it’s possible that we have saved lives this winter ”
“For 36 local people, the shelter was a first step towards permanent accommodation and in four cases, recovery It is great to hear that in such a short time the shelter achieved so much, and is a credit to all those working and volunteering to provide services to end homelessness However, with the doors closing, what we need now is a clear sense of urgency from the Labour Council to provide similar services on a more permanent basis
“ We demand more action to end the city’s housing scandal Green budget proposals that focused on ending rough sleeping, such as expanding Housing First and setting up Council- run emergency accommodation, were voted against by the other two parties We’re pleased to hear that the night shelter helped so many off the streets, but it took the Council almost a year to get even this provisional shelter in place and then it was forced to move buildings twice
“ Work needs to start now on setting up a long-term facility that helps rough sleepers move on to supported accommodation and we must do this in time for when the budget becomes available in April With homelessness rising and affordable housing out of reach, the most vulnerable in our city should not have to wait any longer for more permanent provision The housing scandal is a crisis and it needs to be treated as one ”
BRIGHTON BEAR WEEKEND REVEAL JUNE PROGRAMME
) Organisers of Brighton Bear Weekend (BBW) have announced a full programme of events from Thursday, June 14 to Sunday, June 17
Events planned over the BBW weekend include a welcome par ty at Bar R evenge, pub quiz at Camelford Arms, club nights at Envy, Subline and Latest Bar, a Bear breakfast at Camelford Arms, Bear-a-oke at Bar Broadway, the very popular Bear-B -Que in Dorset Gardens, and Cabear-et at Charles Street Tap all featuring popular local performers, international DJs and sparkling drag queens
For the complete programme of BBW events, view: http://brightonbear weekend.com/events/ where you can buy a wristband which gives you drink deals, reduced entry to events, store discounts and the oppor tunity to buy an exclusive Bobo Bear designed T-shir t
BBW is run completely by volunteers and suppor ts the R ainbow Fund, a Brighton based grant giving body who make grants to local LGBT/HIV groups who deliver effective frontline services to LGBT+ people in the city
Graham Munday, chair of BBW, said: “Last year's BBW was a huge success and it is great to bring back everybody's favourite events We will also be adding more events this year with new venues and remixing others We always want to keep it fun, furry and fresh ”
www.brightonbear weekend.com
SEA SERPENTS RFC TO STRIP FOR CHARITY
) As one of their fundraising activities for 2018, the Brighton & Hove Sea Serpents RFC are joining the Naked Rugby Players Calendar for 2019 The Sea Serpents will get their kit off with other gay and inclusive teams from Bristol, Liverpool, Glasgow and Northampton
The Naked Rugby Players 2018 Calendar was a global success and a new batch of players are ready to strip for the 2019 edition Organisers are about to shoot the 2019 Calendar in rugby settings across the UK to raise funds for their own clubs as well as the Balls to Cancer charity
Hopefully it’ll be warmer by the time the Serpents have to drop their shorts!
Monty McKinnen, principal photographer, said: “I’m so excited to be returning to the Naked Rugby Players to build on the success of 2018 It’s a real privilege to be involved in a project that raises awareness about male cancers and the importance of checking yourself regularly whilst shining a spotlight on inclusive rugby across the UK It was amazing how many players wanted to take part in the first shoot and, as word got round, 2019 is set to be even bigger and better raising more funds for charity ”
Damian Giles, Club Secretary of the Brighton & Hove Sea Serpents, said: “This is a unique fundraising opportunity for our
rugby club It is an activity that can create a greater team spirit and bolster our relationships with the many other gay and inclusive rugby clubs across the UK Testicular cancer can affect men directly whatever their sexuality, of course, everyone can be affected by cancer whether their own or of someone they love Being aware of the early signs improves potential for successful treatment and the club sees education as vital The players, including me, who are taking part in this project are looking forward to sharing our assets with the audience of the calendar and hope the people of Sussex and further afield buy one to promote us, the sport of rugby and most importantly testicular cancer awareness”
Look out for hashtag #feeltheserpent in the run up to its debut
200,000 men in the UK are diagnosed with cancer each year It kills 10 men every hour Balls to Cancer, a registered charity, aim to fight cancer with fun while raising funds for male cancer awareness and education They occasionally donate a proportion to other associated causes and research 100% of funds raised or donated goes into this charity
To pre-order the 2019 calendar, view: www TheNakedRugbyPlayers com
MR GAY WALES
Gscene’s own Valleys boyo, Eric Page, catches up with the rather hunky Mr Gay Wales, Ben Brown, to see what ’s occurring and how he won that lush sash!
) Have you a St David’s Day message for us?
“Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus or Happy St David’s Day! Eat plenty of Welsh cakes, don’t skip leg day at the gym, drink a protein shake with extra peanut butter (my signature dish) and have a lot of beer.”
You served with 2nd Battalion the Royal Welsh, why did you join?
“I joined the armed forces although I actually really wanted to be in the fire service. At 19 I was working in a clothes store and was on a public service course in college and I found out you had to be 21 to join the fire service I said ‘sod this, I'm not working in retail for two more years ’ so walked into the army careers office and enlisted Whilst serving I learnt a hell of a
lot, I was a fully trained soldier I was taught the drills and skills necessary to be effective member of the Royal Welsh Battalion, one of the largest infantry regiments I also learned about where my courage lay Being part of a highly trained unit taught me discipline and values to live by and I still try to live by them I was posted all over the world: Belgium, France, America, Cyprus, Africa and Afghanistan to name a few.
“Being gay in the army was challenging I remember having to sneak my boyfriend onto the base on the weekends. Being gay in the army is difficult as many people have this stigma that people aren't allowed to be gay in the forces. I want to raise awareness and let people know it’s okay. When people learned I
was gay they were fine and it was all very relaxed.”
You’ve been a pretty lush Mr Wales, why did you enter the competition?
“After leaving the army I was homeless and it was a tough time for me. My boyfriend finished with me, I was devastated and very down. I needed a push and some motivation to pull me through I entered Mr Gay Wales to get me through this difficult time and to channel my negative energy into something positive and I also wanted to raise awareness about LGBT people in the armed forces It can be tough for us, but it’s getting better I wanted to help people struggling with it themselves in the army. Since then I’ve been honoured to be an ambassador for Shelter Cymru to raise awareness of homelessness. In Wales there’s over 16,000 homeless people.”
I saw you marching with the army in your sash at Pride in Cardiff, how did that feel?
“Marching with the army at Cymru Pride was spectacular, it was the first time the armed forces marched in Wales Pride, it was a huge achievement and a right step for the armed forces. I hope they were as proud of me as I was of them ”
How have your army mates been about you becoming a gay sex symbol and international representative of Gay Wales?
“International sex symbol, Welsh hunk and now Gscene cover pin-up, that’s a new one! My army
mates are very supportive of everything I’ve achieved They’re very proud of Mr Gay Wales
When I won I had messages from my officers congratulating me and still get messages saying how well I’ve done after leaving the forces.”
What does being Welsh mean to you today?
“Being Welsh for me is all about being patriotic and proud of where I’m from - which is Wales NOT England, I’m not English. I’m Welsh and British, it’s an important distinction. When I start up about it, my partner, who’s in Germany, says ‘oh you ’ re in the UK mood again’. ”
Are all Welsh men as hot as you?
“In a nutshell, yes! But I doubt they'll find a better Mr Gay Wales than me. ”
Who’s your dream threesome?
“Ha ha, cheeky! Austin Wolf (don't google him on the work computer) and Christian Bale.”
What’s been good about the last year and what are you up to at the moment?
“My proudest moment was winning Mr Congeniality in the Mr Gay Europe competition It was a massive confidence boost, I felt people actually looked up to me, and they would come to me if they have any issues which was very rewarding I might not have won the competition but you don't need a big title to be successful! One Direction only got third place in X-Factor and look at them now. My year ’ s been amazing. I’ve been so busy year this year, my work with Shelter Cymru as an ambassador is superb. I've got lot of trips planned and working hard at the gym and concentrating on my body ready for next year ’ s goal, to compete in Mr Leather.”
Ben, you’re big, strong and beautiful with a killer smile - what gives you such hope and where can folk find out more about you?
“This smile is really getting me through and persistence gives me hope. When you ’ re down always think that it’s only going to be for a short period of time, be determined and fight through,” (he beams a big beautiful smile), “Ha ha, check my Instagram: mrgaywales benjgram89 Be warned - I’m half naked ”
OUT ON THE STREETS
LGBT youth and the homelessness crisis in Brighton & Hove by Bright Daffodil
) If you live in and around Brighton, it’s impossible not to notice the streets are littered with bodies and makeshift beds. Homelessness has always been a problem, but it’s never been as taken for granted as now 2018 sees the highest numbers of homelessness since the 1980s In fact, worse than that, we now have children leaving care and ending upon the streets, with no provision NO future!
So why do I care? Well, I’m a trans woman who grew up in care As a young effeminate gay boy I know only too well how frightening the streets are, and how welcoming they are compared to being abused at home and school simply for being gay I was lucky in the 1990s, kids leaving care got housed, yes it was a fight, but I was classed as vulnerable for being gay and eventually housed. Young LGBT kids are no longer classed as vulnerable even if they are HIV positive.
That was 20 years ago so why have things gone backwards? I’ve personally worked at a charity called the Pillion Trust in Islington since 2007, so I speak from professional experience when I say that I’ve never seen a system so deprived of funding and a society so deprived of compassion. I understand that there are more young people identifying as LGBT now, but in my experience, this hasn’t changed the levels of young people being thrown out or having to leave home because of their sexual and or gender identity
When I fled domestic violence from my older lover I ended up on the streets again at 19 Thankfully Albert Kennedy Trust were there to find me supported lodgings with a caring gay couple, who not only provided me with a safe home and a platform to get into work and education, they provided the first positive gay role models I had ever had in my life.
Tim Sigsworth, CEO of Albert Kennedy Trust, noted the reduction in government funding to housing providers has led to a drop in standards when it comes to caring for LGBT homeless people. I agree and have experienced first hand
LGBT people being discriminated against by the very services which are supposed to support them
begging for small change for food. This is no longer a country I recognise. I grew up in the Thatcher era, and I hear everyone say how awful she was to our communities, yet I know back then there were still homes, and legislation to protect the young Where have we gone wrong as a community when we are allowing this to happen and not protesting?
Statistics show that now approximately a quarter of all young people who are homeless identify as LGBT This is highly disproportionate to the general heterosexual population LGBT young people are more likely to experience sexual abuse, mental health and addiction issues as a result and HIV infection are on the rise again. Yet services have been shut down and pathways into services blocked, bars raised higher and the level of care support and duty lowered. Brighton is a hub for young people from the LGBT communities, they see it as safer than London. In reality it’s anything but.
Tim told Pinknews: “The proportion of mainstream housing providers targeting services at LGBT homeless people has dropped from 11% to 1% between 2011 and 2013 Homeless people, those who identify as LGBT, have multiple and complex needs, and agencies within the UK are offering increasingly generic support due, in part, to a reduction in funds "
Why 20 years on are the youngsters of our community being put back to the dark ages?
Conservative government cuts have been vicious Pillion Trust now run a shelter for young people on donations and funding from food outlet, Pret a Manger It was unheard of when I started working there to even have LGBT homeless clients, especially very young people Now most of the residents are under 21 and LGBT, alone afraid and have three months to move on. Yet nowhere to move on too? There are not enough services to sign post to, they have been closed, and the local councils won't honour their duty of care.
Housing benefit was available before 2017 to under 21s who couldn’t live at home to fund supported accommodation. There still was supported accommodation. Now both have been removed. Now we have a generation of young people who have been failed. We have the biggest class divide I’ve ever seen, like countries in the third world we have an everdepleting middle class and more people living in dire poverty
In 2018 working in the small shelter, I’ve experienced young LGBT people selling themselves for a chicken burger I’ve experienced the council telling HIV positive trans kids recovering from surgery that they’re intentionally homeless and not vulnerable I’ve witnessed teenagers sleeping in the snow,
Trans youth are especially affected because of the physical and mental processes they face, without a stable home these cannot be managed or achieved. Locally the cut to housing benefit for under 21s, and introduction of the unworkable benefit universal credit means that the most vulnerable people in LGBT society and the most marginalised are now facing a broken system which offers no support
Attendees at the LGBT homeless workshop, Outside Out: Rough Sleeping & Homelessness in the LGBT Community held at the Phil Starr Pavilion during the B RIGHT ON festival run by the Homeless Team from Brighton & Hove City Council, heard that 25% of all homeless nationwide were LGBT while in Brighton the percentage rises to 33%.
We need to remember that Britain in the 1990s and 2000s was a country renowned worldwide for its compassion towards minority communities Since the current government came to power, my job working with the homeless has become almost impossible, on top of that the clients have become increasingly more vulnerable. Not only LGBT youth, but people affected by the chem sex epidemic, HIV and Aids related illness being told they are not too vulnerable to sleep rough?
Modern Britain has become a divided place, dictated to by a right-wing media, a place where the LGBT communities have become politically invisible, and where our vulnerable are left to build tent cities and freeze, sometimes to death
For any society to work we must invest in young people and safe housing and spaces which encourage them to thrive Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs dictates that without a home a person cannot thrive if a quarter of all homeless young people are LGBT this will have a massive impact on our communities’ place and role in society in the future This isn’t about demographics, politics or blame it’s about recognising that we have a responsibility to help our own and if our political choices mean our community is boosted by the necessary funding it needs to provide services suitable for us then so be it.
WHAT IS CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME?
How to cope with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
by Dr Rajendra Sharma.
) There are no specific tests in conventional medicine for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and diagnosis is based on the patient’s symptoms This means that CFS is really a ‘label’ rather than a diagnosis and the label is based on excluding identifiable diseases
The patient’s symptoms must include fatigue, or lethargy, which must have been causing: a 50% drop in physical and social function for at least six months and four of the following symptoms must also be present:
• Physical: sore throat, persistent infections, swollen and/or sore lymph nodes, headaches and pain in muscles or joints.
• Psychological depression: impaired memory or concentration, excessive sleep requirement, appetite loss or gain and agitation.
What leads to CFS?
Some doctors doubt CFS has a physiological cause and consider it a psychological issue. That said, stressful events, be they physical (lack of sleep, over or under exercising, alcohol/drug use, nutritional deficiency, food intolerance/allergy and many others) or psychological (such as professional, personal or social issues) may lead to CFS
CFS can occur with no previous or obvious illness preceding it, although in many cases seems to follow an infection CFS has been reported in association with dormant or persistent (chronic) viral infections such as Epstein-Barr virus or Herpes and testing to rule these out needs to be considered
Toxicity from environmental chemicals, such as heavy metals, pesticides and other
organophosphates and environmental toxins, have been evidenced as being associated with CFS There is a higher rate of CFS in those working in jobs that have exposure to chemicals such as pesticides and also in those using recreational drugs.
Scientific papers also show imbalanced and unhealthy bowel flora is associated with CFS and many people with CFS have a long-term bowel issue or have used many antibiotics which alters the bowel flora. Establishing bowel health is vitally important.
Food intolerances and allergies may be a frequently and unidentified part of CFS.
What is the cause of the tiredness?
The conventional medical world has yet to embrace scientific papers, published since 2009, that identify CFS as being associated with the dysfunction of mitochondria. These are the small parts of cells that produce energy from sugar and oxygen. They can be present in the thousands in busy cells such as the heart muscle and the nervous system.
Research shows that in the presence of diminished mitochondria function, a lack of energy in nerve pathways transmits feelings of fatigue to the brain.
Faulty mitochondria lead to a lack of available energy for the body’s cells, so potentially it can affect any area in the body.
Another effect of fatigue can be caused by a stress/adrenaline response which leads to blood vessel constriction and reduced blood flow to parts of the central nervous system.
“There is a higher rate of CFS in those working in jobs that have exposure to chemicals such as pesticides and also in those using recreational drugs”
Long-term poor perfusion of oxygen and nutrients leads to fatigue and other symptoms
How do I know if I have CFS?
General practitioners simply don’t have the time to go into the very detailed medical history needed to ascertain if a patient has been exposed to long term stress, environmental pollutants or whether one has a reduced immunity. It’s also important to establish if your digestion and bowel flora are healthy.
However, pioneering (non-NHS) tests can now be used to measure cellular ATP production and identify deficiencies in specific nutrients needed by mitochondria. Tests are also performed to measure environmental toxins that block these cell ‘batteries’ from making energy.
If infection either preceded the start of CFS, or is a recurrent part of the picture, chronic infections and depressed immunity need to be assessed.
Conventional Therapy
Current conventional therapy revolves around graded exercise, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and anti-depressants, but there is a slow recovery time associated with such treatment.
Integrated Treatment and therapeutic options
As there may be many underlying causes to CFS, working with your health practitioner and undergoing tests clarifies the best treatments.
Nutritional advice, establishing a healthy exercise programme and dealing with lifestyle choices must come first.
Using natural supplements, plant and herbal extracts, bowel bacteria can be rebalanced and chronic infections, including viral and yeasts infections (such as Candida), can be removed. Supplements can also support detoxification at a cellular level and by promoting liver activity.
If chronic (long-term) stress is an issue, then natural remedies known as ‘Adaptogens’ help the nervous system increase calming and destressing neurotransmitters.
MORE INFO
Dr Rajendra Sharma is the author of the award-winning Live Longer, Live Younger (Watkins Publishers).
Dr Sharma practices Integrated Medicine in Wimpole Street, London and in Exeter, Devon. www.drsharmadiagnostics.com
FORT L AUDERDALE
Fort Lauderdale remains the award-winning destination of choice for LGBT+ travellers of all ages. James Ledward finds out why.w
) Affectionately referred to as the Venice of America, Fort Lauderdale is located on a network of scenic inland waterways, flanked to the east by the turquoise waters of the Atlantic ocean. It enjoys an average 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, a balmy 77º average temperature, pleasant ocean breezes, and miles upon miles of the finest sandy beaches in all of the USA.
The most pressing decision facing LGBT+ visitors is whether to stay on the beach or closer to the nightlife at the Wilton Manors Gay Shopping Mall on Wilton Drive in the City Of Wilton Manors, named as the Second Gayest City in the USA in the 2010 national census
Whichever decision you come to, Fort Lauderdale is large, spread out, and car rental is advisable This can be organised at the airport when you arrive Alternatively download the Uber taxis app (www uber com) onto your phone, it’s the most economical and reliable way of getting round the city
While always a gay-friendly destination of note, Fort Lauderdale has changed
dramatically in the last 20 years. In the not too distant past the city annually played host to thousands of US students and tourists for Spring Break. In reality it brought the wet Tshirt and kiss me quick crowd to the city. Then, following changes in the early 1990s to local planning laws, developers moved in, investing multi-millions of dollars in upmarket hotels and resorts on the beach, all featuring restaurants of international standing complete with the mandatory celebrity chefs This in turn has seen existing businesses raise their game, elevating the city into an entirely more attractive proposition, transforming Fort Lauderdale into the LGBT+ jewel in Florida's crown with so much to offer the LGBT+ traveller.
WHERE TO STAY
) The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitor Bureau website features over 40 gay and gay-friendly residences in the central Fort Lauderdale area, ranging from intimate men only, clothing optional resorts and gorgeous guesthouses to an impressive selection of corporate resorts located directly on the beach
including Marriott, Conrad, Hilton and St Regis The variety and range of accommodation on offer is impressive with something to suit everyone's budget requirements
) We stayed at the impressive and recently redesigned Fort Lauderdale Harbor Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, which has its own private beach located at the south end of the main promenade. Priced at the upper end of the market, the rooms are luxurious as is its spectacular lagoon swimming pool and public rooms. World class food is prepared by Executive Chef Adrienne Grenier at the 3030 Ocean Restaurant, a chic dinner bistro serving stylish
American cuisine and seafood If you prefer something slightly more relaxed, Riva offers choices from a Marriott burger, to house-made soups, chowders and hearty salads, with a distinct Floridian vibe. Sunday brunch is a highlight of the weekend and can be eaten on the outside patio area while enjoying panoramic views of the beach.
WHERE TO DINE IN THE CITY
) Our favourite place to eat is Rosie's Bar & Grill (2449 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, tel: 954-563-0123) a lush tropical outdoor restaurant serving award-winning burgers, juicy chicken wraps and fresh fish, from a brilliant, quirky menu with first class, sassy service. It's always busy and lively but even if there's a line the wait is usually short because of the large numbers of covers available.
) Shooters Waterfront (3033 NE 32 Avenue, tel: 954-566-2855) located on the intercoastal waterway comes a close second. It offers high
contemporary design, open concept seating, outdoor waterside lounge elegance and 340 feet of dock space if you want to arrive by boat or water taxi They serve great fresh seafood and handcrafted cocktails all prepared against the breathtaking backdrop of Florida's boating lifestyle.
) Another restaurant to checkout is the Casablanca Café (3049 Alhambra St, tel: 594764-3500) which was the first home built on Fort Lauderdale beach, and is its oldest remaining structure. Designed by architect Francis L Abreu, it provides a romantic setting for you to enjoy impeccably prepared flavours of American and Mediterranean specialties.
) For the best in Mexican and Spanish try La Bamba (4245 N Federal Highway, tel: 954-5685662) and for a great steak, Houstons (2821 E Atlantic Blvd, Pompano Beach, tel: 954-7839499) which also has a fantastic cocktail bar serving knockout martinis
WHERE TO PL AY
) During the day, visitors and locals alike tend to take the sun at Sebastian Street Beach. It is located between Sunrise and Las Olas Boulevard close to all amenities. Best not to get there too late as the sun goes down behind the big seafront hotels quite early, leaving the beach in shade from around 4pm each day.
) Home for a quick shower and the party moves over to Wilton Manors where you have the choice of a multitude of gay bars offering great happy hour deals, fine restaurants and speciality shops. For a listing of bars, clubs and saunas, view: https://fortlauderdale.gaycities.com
WHERE TO DRINK
Here are just three of my favourite bars: ) Hunters (2232 Wilton Dr, Wilton Manors, tel: 954-630-3556) is the most popular bar in Wilton Manors with top DJs, great sound, lights and regular karaoke and cabaret. Check out the spectacular Classic 54 Tea Dance every Sunday.
) Georgie's Alibi Monkey Bar (2266 Wilton Dr, Wilton Manors, tel: 954-565-2526) one of the city's longest established gay bars, located in the Wilton Manors Shopping Mall Great food served on the patio cafe includes burgers, massive salads and tapas There is free entertainment most night of the week and a daily 2-4-1 happy hour deal on Monday to Saturday till 9pm. The Jazz Brunch every Sunday till 2pm is well worth checking out.
) Ramrod Leather Bar (1508 NE 4th Ave, tel: 954-763-8219) is still going strong and along with Georgie's was one of the original bars that helped jump start the development of Wilton Manors as the centre of the gay universe in Fort Lauderdale in the early 90s It has a great music policy and light show every Friday and Saturday at midnight Check out the Pig Dance on the first Saturday of each month featuring world famous DJs It’s awesome and very naughty!
WHERE TO SHOP
) Fort Lauderdale is a shoppers’ paradise and will give your credit card plenty of exercise. Take time out to stroll up and down the elegant Las Olas Boulevard awash with chic boutiques and cafés or visit the enormous Galleria Shopping Mall (2414 E Sunrise Blvd) boasting more than 100 fashion retailers, including Neiman Marcus, Macy’s and Dillard’s, as well as several fine dining establishments, including: Seasons 52, The Capital Grille, Truluck’s, P.F. Chang’s and Blue Martini.
) If that’s not enough to satisfy you, take a 20 minute drive out to the second largest tourist attraction in all America, Sawgrass
Mills Mall (12801 W Sunrise Blvd, Sunrise, tel: 954-846-2300), where you’ll find one of the largest shopping malls in the country with more than 350 designer outlets, high-end luxury fashion boutiques, speciality shops, restaurants and department stores, including: Bloomingdale's and Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th. It has to be seen to be believed; wear comfortable shoes.
CULTURE
) If you feel like getting out and about you can explore the beauty and wilderness of the Everglades at the traditional Seminole Indian Reservation at Big Cypress After a short
journey west of the city, you can take a swamp buggy or airboat through natural wetlands, at the Billie Swamp Safari (www billieswamp com) where native wildlife includes alligators, ostrich and even Florida panthers have been observed.
) For culture vultures, Fort Lauderdale offers plenty Bonnet House Museum & Gardens (900 N Birch Rd, tel: 954-563-5393), the former home of American artist Frederic Bartlett, was built in 1893. Now a gallery of
his and wife Evelyn's work, the house itself is the main exhibit, having been beautifully preserved amongst several acres of wild gardens and lakes. Wander around or take a golf cart, it's a fascinating way to spend a morning.
) If you want to hear a concert or see a show, check out the Broward Centre For The Performing Arts (201 SW 5th Ave, tel: 954462-0222), a venue of choice for top touring theatre companies and major recording artists.
) Finally, leave some time to visit the stunning NSU Art Museum (1 E Las Olas Blvd, tel: 954-525-5500) which is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2018. It's a premier destination for exhibitions and programmes encompassing all facets of civilisation’s visual history.
DATES FOR THE DIARY
) The Stonewall Street Festival & Parade community event will take place in the City of Wilton Manors on Saturday, June 16 starting with a parade at 4pm. The event marks the Stonewall Riots in 1969 when the gay communities in New York City fought back against police harassment and violence.
) Fort Lauderdale Pride takes place on the beach in February and is free. In February 2018 Trans Pride was incorporated into the event for the first time. The date for Fort Lauderdale Pride, including Trans Pride, in 2019 will be Sunday, February 24.
) Fort Lauderdale has something to offer all sections of the LGBT+ communities The Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitor Bureau has its own LGBT+ division attracting LGBT+ visitors to the city from all over the world Vice President Richard Gray has worked especially hard to promote Fort Lauderdale as a safe place for trans people to visit bringing the Southern Comfort Transgender Conference to the city in 2015. This year ’ s conference will be held on September 6-8.
MUST VISIT
) World AIDS Museum & Educational Centre, 1201 NE 26th St, Suite 111, Wilton Manors, Florida 33305 (on NW corner at NE 14th Ave)
The World AIDS Museum is the first museum dedicated to the HIV/AIDS pandemic The Educational Center provides information on treatment and prevention of HIV The museum was created in 2008 by the Fort Lauderdale based HIV positive support group Pozitive Attitudes who still meet there, every Wednesday evening between 7-9pm.
Museum exhibits illustrate how people rallied together to help each other during the early days of the AIDS pandemic, relating not only the 'history of AIDS' but also reflecting the 'heart of AIDS'. It charts the political struggles of the 1980s, the advances of the new medications in the 1990s through to the reality of the present day as long-term survivors, in video testimonies explain how AIDS is no longer a death sentence.
The World AIDS Museum isn’t a sad place, rather it provides an emotional and uplifting experience. Allow at least one hour to view the signature exhibit The Chronology Of AIDS which charts the progression of the pandemic juxtaposed against key global events
It skilfully summarises the political winds that were central to the world’s response to the pandemic, while respectfully honouring those affected by the virus Basketball superstar Magic Johnson dedicated the museum in 2013, 22 years to the day after announcing his HIV status. Speakers in the last year have included author and AIDS activist Larry Kramer and AIDS and LGBT rights activist Cleve Jones. More than a museum, this a MUST SEE for every person visiting Fort Lauderdale. Telephone Museum Director Ed Sparen for a tour on 954-390-0550
GETTING THERE
) We arrived in Fort Lauderdale by cruise ship from Marseille, docking at the marvellous Port Everglades cruise facility which is located just ten minutes from the airport and the city centre We cleared customs in just 20 minutes, picked up our rental car at the airport and were at our hotel within two hours of disembarking the ship ) You can fly direct into Fort Lauderdale from Gatwick with Norwegian airlines, avoiding completely the immigration nightmare that is Miami International airport. They have three flights a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) from January to September and on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday in November and December Outward bound prices start at just £159 with inward flights starting from £114.90
) Just last month, Fort Lauderdale was named the best retirement city in the USA for LGBT senior citizens by SeniorAdvice, a free resource for senior citizens in the US The city boasts a vibrant expat community of Brits, including many people from Brighton & Hove who have retired there for the warm climate For advice about real estate talk to John Castelli at the top estate agents in the city, CastelliHomes www.castellihomes.com
) www.sunny.org/lgbt/ ) www.gayftlauderdale.com
AMSTERDAM BAR & KITCHEN
l 11-12 Marine Parade, BN2 1TL, T: 01273 670976, www amsterdambrighton com
l OPEN daily from 11am–late, closed evening Sat (28) for Private Function
l FOOD Mon–Fri 11am–8pm; Mon (23) St George’s Day with traditional fish & chips and pint for £12; Sat 10.30am–8pm; Sunday roasts from 12.30pm till gone, booking recommended: 01273 670 976 Full tea & coffee menu available
l DRINK PROMOS Carling £3 50 a pint; selected bottles of beer £3; house spirit and a mixer £3 or a double £5; house wine £10 90 a bottle; cocktails: two for £15
l EASTER WEEKEND Sunday (1) is Easter
Enter tainment with Jason Thorpe & Joss from 5pm
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Sunday SERENADE with some of Brighton’s best singers serenading you after lunch from 5pm: Gabriella Parrish (8), Jennie Castell (15), Will Mar vin (22) and Jason Thorpe (29)
l REGUL ARS CABARET FRIDAYS with top enter tainers on stage at 9pm: Mrs Moore (6), Sally Vate (13 & 27) and Spice (20) l MUSICAL Saturday at 9pm: Jason Thorpe’s Karaoke (7 & 14) and DJ Tony B (21)
Information is correct at the time of going to press Gscene cannot be held responsible for any changes or alterations to the listings
SUNDAY 1
l AMSTERDAM Easter Sunday Cabaret: Jason Thorpe & Joss 5pm; Sunday roasts 12pm-till gone
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Easter Sunday Par ty: extended karaoke 8pm
l BAR BROADWAY Easter Showtune Karaoke: Sally Vate & Ross Cameron
8.30pm
l BAR REVENGE Easter Sunday Shuffle:
Alfie Ordinary & special guest 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Easter Pop!Candy DJ Claire Fuller 9pm
l BOUTIQUE Easter Sunday Roof
Terrace Par ty: DJ/Easter shots 6pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Easter Bear Bash, free food & raffle 5pm; roasts, Easter eggs/select menu 12pm–till gone
l CHARLES ST TAP Easter Cabaret: Drag With No Name 7 30pm; roasts 12pm
l DR BRIGHTONS Easter Sunday: Bank
Hol Reflex 80s Night: DJ Adam Rice
9 30pm
l GROSVENOR BAR Annual Easter
Bonnet Parade & Drag Race 12pm
l LEGENDS BAR Easter Cabaret:
Lucinda Lashes 3 30pm; roasts 12–3pm
l MARINE TAVERN Sunday roasts 125pm; Drag Open Mic Easter Special with Stephanie Von Clitz 9pm
l PARIS HOUSE Easter Sunday live music: Fleur de Paris/Easter eggs 6pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Easter Sunday: Mar tin Fisher Foundation Fundraiser with Son of a Tutu & Davina Sparkle 12pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Easter roasts, jazz, raffle/free Easter eggs 12pm
l VELVET JACKS Easter Sunday roasts 1pm
l ZONE Easter Sunday Cabaret: JP Christian 6pm
MONDAY 2
l BAR BROADWAY Fireplace Sessions
pres: Keris Lea of The Sundaes 8.30pm
BAR BROADWAY
l 10 Steine Street, BN2 1TE, Tel: 01273 609777, www.barbroadway.co.uk
l OPEN Mon–Thu 6pm–1am, Fri 5pm–3am, Sat 4pm–3am, Sun 4pm–1am
l DRINK PROMOS Download the Bar Broadway app for exclusive drink deals l There’s cute and there’s CUTE!!! Welcome to the new addition to the Bar Broadway family Dexter, a Champagne German Shepherd puppy arrived in March to keep Taylor the resident eight year old German Shepherd company and share his duties protecting the customers Dexter says: “It’s been a tough few weeks learning to bark at the right time when the Drag Queens sing out of tune but I am slowly getting there When I’m old enough to drink, mines a Bucks Fiss please!”
l EASTER WEEKEND Sunday (1) is Easter Sunday SHOWTUNE KARAOKE with hosts Sally Vate & R oss Cameron at 8.30pm Monday (2) is Bank Holiday FIREPLACE SESSIONS Present: Keris Lea from The Sundaes at 8 30pm Bar Broadway say: “We bring you Chocolate Sundae on a Bank Holiday Monday! Recently wowing the audience and viewers as part of The Sundaes in BBC’s All Together Now, Keris makes her Broadway debut with a set list to finish off the Easter weekend ”
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Wednesday (18) is Spice’s SERIOUSLY STUPID SPEED DATING from 9pm with the chance to win a dinner for two or a bottle of prosecco if the stars align and the correct boxes are ticked! Bar Broadway say: “Spice is back being serious stupid about speed dating! This is the dating solution before Grindr, with a twist Spend 3 minutes with potential life partners by asking those questions that are usually taboo on a first date!”
l REGUL ARS Tuesday is PIANO SING-ALONG hosted by the R egency Singers at 9pm, all welcome to get up, sing along or watch the performers! l Wednesday is Tabitha’s BLANKETY BLANK with £100 cash prize from 9pm l Wed (25) is OPEN MIC–STUDENT WARS from 9pm l The BIG THURSDAY NIGHT QUIZ is hosted by Tabitha Wild (5) and R oss Cameron (12, 19 & 26) with great prizes including cash, at 8pm l Friday and Saturday: BROADWAY JUKEBOX all night Download the app, pick, click and the bar will play! l Sat (7) is BROADWAY REMIXED in the Broadway Lounge with R oss Cameron playing your fave Broadway numbers with an up-tempo beat from 10pm l Sunday FIREPLACE SESSIONS at 8.30pm: Topsie R edfern kicks off his heels and performs as Nathan Kiley in his Broadway debut (8), Paul Diello (15), Jennie Castell (22) and Jason Lee (29)
l CHARLES ST TAP Bank Holiday Cabaret: Mary Mac 7 30pm; Sally’s Rock & Roll Bingo 8 30pm l DR BRIGHTONS Bank Holiday Weekend Recovery 1pm l LEGENDS BAR Bank Holiday cabaret: JLO (Miss Jason/Lola Lasagne) 3.30pm; Miss Jason’s Mad Mondays 9 30pm
l DRINK PROMOS Tue, Wed, Fri & Sat drink deals all night
l EASTER WEEKEND Sunday (1) extended KARAOKE and EASTER BANK HOLIDAY PARTY from 8pm
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Saturday (28) is Pre- Gran Can CONSTRUCTION PARTY with Cr ystal Lubrikunt from 8pm Crystal Lubrikunt, standout drag performer turned international lip sync assassin, storms stages left, right, and centre! From London to Scotland, Ireland to New York City, Crystal has quite the resumé, but fear not, as through her drag she means and brings nothing but love, ferocity and r e s p e c t! Prepare to get kunty as Crystal Lubrikunt comes to Crawley!
l REGUL ARS Friday is 7-UPSTAIRS with all-star DJs playing pop/dance/guilty pleasures at 8pm, free entry till 11pm l Saturday is 7-SINS with DJ Jazzy Jane spinning tunes at 8pm, free entry till 11pm l Wednesday is CREWSDAY with resident DJ Lewis Osborne from 7pm
TUESDAY 3
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Crewsday: DJ Lewis Osborne 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY The Regency Singers pres Piano Singalong 9pm
l BAR REVENGE Lip Sync for Your Life: £50 cash prize + win a paid gig 9pm
l MARINE TAVERN Curry & Quiz 8pm
l PARIS HOUSE Live blues: Mike ‘Dr Blue’ Blues 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Baga Chipz 9.30pm
l REVENGE DJs Toby Lawrence & Trick 11pm
WEDNESDAY 4
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Fresh!: DJ Jazzy Jane 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Open Mic: Jason Thorpe 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Ice: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Seniors’ lunch
2-3.30pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Silly Willy Wednesdays with Drag With No Name & cash prizes 9pm
l PARIS HOUSE live music: Gabriel Garrick & band 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Sally Vate 9.30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN Quiz Night 7pm
l SUBLINE Hump Day 9pm
l VELVET JACKS Quiz: prizes 7 45pm
THURSDAY 5
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Total Request Thursdays: DJ FRESH Princess 9pm
BOUTIQUE
l 2 Boyces St, West St, BN11AN, 01273 327607 www boutiqueclubbrighton com
l OPEN 6pm–late Sat, 8pm–late Mon (excluding Bank Holiday), Wed & Fri, closed Tue, Thur & Sun, excluding Easter
l DRINK PROMOS daily specials including 5 J Bombs £5, 2 vodka mixers & 2 shots £5, 2 beers & 2 shots £5 Mon & Wed: Bottles of Moet £50
l EASTER WEEKEND Sunday (1) is the EASTER ROOF TERRACE PARTY with a DJ spinning a cracking selection of tunes and free shots on arrival from 6pm
l ONE FOR THE DIARY T G I F every Friday with superstar DJs Thierre (6, 13 & 27) and Franco (20) from 8pm, free entry for students (27) Boutique say: “Friday is let your hair down night, work has finished and the weekend has begun! Expect the best drink deals in town, competitions and amazing atmosphere! Come check out the most talked about and loved DJs and take the party home with a free CD of the night’s tunes!”
l REGUL ARS Every Saturday, hit the dancefloor with renowned DJs /themes/ giveaways from 8pm: Franco (7 & 28) and Klipz (14 & 21), Take the par ty home with a free CD including the tunes from the evening!
l BAR BROADWAY Big Quiz: Tabitha Wild & prizes 8pm
l BAR REVENGE FOMO pre-par ty 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Now That’s What I Call Legends: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS £300 Big Cash Quiz 9pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Throwback
Thursday: DJ Ruby Roo 9pm
l CROWN KEMPTOWN Games Night: bring your board games 6pm
l GROSVENOR BAR Abel Mabel’s Bingo 8 30pm
l MARINE TAVERN cabaret: Spice 9pm
l PARIS HOUSE World Music: Tudo Bem 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Miss Jason
9 30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN Open mic with Jason Thorpe 8pm
l REVENGE FOMO DJs 11pm
l SUBLINE Brace Yourself 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Mitch’s Quiz 7 30pm
FRIDAY 6
l AMSTERDAM cabaret: Mrs Moore 9pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY 7 Upstairs 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 5pm
l BAR REVENGE Pop-Tar tz warm-up 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS
Glitter: DJ David Noakes 11pm
l BOUTIQUE T G I F: DJ Thierre/ competitions/CD giveaways 8pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Friday Club 6pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Fabulous Friday: DJ Morgan Fabulous 9pm
l CROWN KEMPTOWN Funky Friday 7pm
l DR BRIGHTONS House Rules: DJ Nick Hirst 9.30pm
l GROSVENOR BAR cabaret: Trudi Styles & The Pianoman 9.30pm
l LEGENDS BAR Pre-Glitter 9 30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Jukebox Disco 9pm
l PARIS HOUSE DJ Havoxx 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Gabriella Parrish 9 30pm
CAMELFORD ARMS
l 30-31 Camelford St, BN2 1TQ, Tel: 01273 622386, www.camelfordarms.com
l OPEN daily from 12pm The most dog-friendly pub in town
l FOOD Mon–Sat 12–9pm; Sunday roasts and select menu served 12pm–till gone; seniors’ lunch Wed 2–3.30pm, two courses £9.50 l Free Easter eggs on Easter Sunday (1)
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Thursday is the BIG CASH QUIZ at 9pm with a £300 cash prize, free sarnies and great atmosphere
l REGUL ARS Sunday is the BEAR BASH with free food and a raffle at 5pm
l REVENGE Pop Tar tz DJs on level 1; Fat
Lip with DJ Fifi on level 2 10.30pm
l SUBLINE Steam 9pm
l ZONE cabaret: Kara Van Park 10pm
SATURDAY 7
l AMSTERDAM Jason Thorpe’s karaoke 9pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY 7 Sins 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 4pm; Broadway Remixed: Ross Cameron 10pm
l BAR REVENGE WTF warm-up 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Fusion: DJ Peter Castle 11pm
l BOUTIQUE DJ Franco, free CDs & competitions 8pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Fierce: DJs 9pm
l DR BRIGHTONS Saturday Session: DJ Tony B 9.30pm
l GROSVENOR BAR cabaret: Miss Terry Tour 9.30pm
l LEGENDS BAR Pre-club DJ 7pm
l MARINE TAVERN Saturday Club 4pm
l PARIS HOUSE Live jazz 4pm; TC’s Joyful Noise: DJ Kenny 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Saski 9 30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN cabaret: Kara Van Park 9pm
l REVENGE WTF!: DJs over 2 floors 11pm
l SUBLINE The Men’s Room: DJ Screwpulous 10pm
l ZONE cabaret: Sally Vate’s Bir thday Bash 10pm
CHARLES STREET TAP
l 8 Marine Parade, BN2 1TA, Tel: 01273 624091, www.charles-street.com
l OPEN daily from 10am
l FOOD served daily from 10am–10pm, including: breakfasts from 10am; #MeatFreeMondays with a free smoothie with veggie & vegan meals; fresh homemade Sunday roasts from 12pm: hand carved roast beef or turkey £8.75, roast lamb shank £10 75
l DRINK PROMOS 2-4-1 cocktails Mon–Thur 5–8pm; half price drinks every Fri 5–9pm and bottles of Prosecco £15 all night; 2 for £6 on any craft cans or bottles every Sun from 5pm
l EASTER WEEKEND Sunday (1) is CABARET with the legendary Drag With No Name and host Sally Vate
7.30pm l Bank Holiday Monday (2) is CABARET with the tar tan-wrapped Mar y Mac and host Sally Vate at 7.30pm; Sally Vate’s ROCK & ROLL BINGO follows
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Wednesday is the return of SILLY WILLY WEDNESDAYS, a night of crazy enter tainment with the fabulous Drag With No Name, hilarious antics and prizes galore at 9pm DWNN says: “Silly W illy Wednesdays is as obvious a title you could possibly imagine Lots of silly willyness will entail! Expect games and camp competition between teams - there is something for everyone! It’s filled with much campness and frivolities and it gets you out of the house for a couple of hours so you’re not stuck indoors watching The One Show It’s a no brainer really ”
l REGUL ARS Monday is GAYMERS NIGHT with consoles, board games and tournaments from 8 30pm l THROWBACK THURSDAY is with DJ R uby R oo throwing out those 00s guilty pleasures and 1990s retro anthems from 9pm l FABULOUS FRIDAYS are with DJ Morgan Fabulous spinning delicious house anthems to kick-star t your weekend from 9pm l Saturday is FIERCE with top DJs on rotation from 9pm l Every Sunday is CABARET with stars of the scene from 7 30pm: Myra Dubois (8), Cinebra (15), Miss Penny (22) and Miss Jason (29) Stick around for Sally’s ROCK & ROLL BINGO straight after the cabaret
ENVY @ CHARLES STREET TAP
l 8 Marine Parade, BN2 1TA, Tel: 01273 624091, www.charles-street.com
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Saturday (28) is the SERPENT MASKED BALL, raising money for MindOut from 10pm Join the award-winning Brighton & Hove Sea Serpents Rugby Football Club for a night of mystery and intrigue with DJ Little Ted (Wild Fruit and Revenge) and live PAs TBA! Entry: £5 in advance or £7 on the door
THE CROWN KEMPTOWN
l 24 Grafton Street, Kemptown BN2 1AQ Tel: 07949590001,
http://tinyurl com/CrownKemptown
l OPEN Tue–Fri 4pm–late, Sat–Sun 1pm–late, closed every Mon The Crown Kemptown is a dog-friendly pub
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Thursday is GAMES NIGHT at 6pm Bring your board games for an evening of competitive fun!
l REGUL ARS Friday is the OLD SKOOL DISCO with funk tunes all night from 7pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Bear Bash, free food & raffle 5pm; roasts & select menu 12pm–till gone
l CHARLES ST TAP cabaret: Myra Dubois 7 30pm; Sally’s Rock & Roll Bingo
8 30pm; roasts 12pm
l LEGENDS BAR cabaret: Miss Penny
3 30pm; roasts 12–3pm
l MARINE TAVERN Sunday roasts 125pm; Drag Open Mic with Stephanie Von Clitz 9pm
l PARIS HOUSE live music: Dolly Par ton tribute act 6pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Sunday roasts, jazz & raffle 12pm
l VELVET JACKS Sunday roasts 1pm
SUNDAY 8
l AMSTERDAM cabaret: Gabriella Parrish 5pm; Sunday roasts 12pm-till
gone
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY DJ Bullard’s karaoke 8pm
l BAR BROADWAY Fireplace Sessions presents: Nathan Kiley aka Topsie Redfern 8 30pm
l BAR REVENGE Sunday Shuffle: Alfie
Ordinary & special guest 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Pop!Candy: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
MONDAY 9
l CHARLES ST TAP Gaymers Night: consoles, board/card games 8 30pm
l LEGENDS BAR Miss Jason’s Mad Mondays 9 30pm
l PARIS HOUSE live jazz: Al Nicholls Trio 2pm; Imogen Ryall & band 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Monday Madness: Kara Van Park 8 30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN Games Night 7pm
l ROT TINGDEAN CLUB Quiz 7pm
TUESDAY 10
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Crewsday: DJ
Lewis Osborne 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY The Regency Singers pres Piano Singalong 9pm
l BAR REVENGE Lip Sync for Your Life: £50 cash prize + win a paid gig 9pm
l MARINE TAVERN Curry & Quiz 8pm
l PARIS HOUSE Live blues: Smokestack 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Baga Chipz 9.30pm
l REVENGE DJs Toby Lawrence & Trick 11pm
WEDNESDAY 11
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Fresh!: DJ Jazzy Jane 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Tabitha’s Blankety Blank: cash prize 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Ice: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Seniors’ lunch
2-3 30pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Silly Willy Wednesdays with Drag With No Name & cash prizes 9pm
l PARIS HOUSE live music: Ben Clatwor thy & band 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Sally Vate 9.30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN Quiz Night 7pm
l SUBLINE Hump Day 9pm
l VELVET JACKS Quiz: prizes 7 45pm
THURSDAY 12
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Total Request Thursdays: DJ FRESH Princess 9pm
DOCTOR BRIGHTONS
l 16-17 Kings Rd, BN1 1NE, Tel: 01273 208113 www.doctorbrightons.co.uk
l OPEN Mon–Thur 3pm–midnight; Fri & Sat 1pm–2am; Sun 1pm–midnight
Free entr y every day and night
l DRINK PROMOS all day Sun–Thur; 1pm–close on Fri; 1–7pm on Sat
BOGOF Cocktails all day Sun–Fri and till 7pm on Sat Free pool with every round every day
l EASTER WEEKEND Sunday (1) is Bank Holiday
REFLEX 80s night with DJ Adam Rice spinning cheesy tunes from 9 30pm l Monday (2) is Bank Holiday Weekend RECOVERY from 3pm
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Friday (13) is DOCTOR’S PARTY with DJ Tony B spinning 70s–00s tunes at 9 30pm
l REGUL ARS Friday (6) is HOUSE RULES with DJ Nick Hirst spinning decadent classic house tracks from 9 30pm l Fri (20) is SOUL SOLUTION request night with DJ Tony B at 9.30pm l VINYL FRIDAY (27) with DJs play vinyl at 9 30pm l The SATURDAY SESSIONS with DJ Nick Hirst from 9 30pm l Sat (28) is CURIOSITY CLUB with DJ Lizzie Curious at 9.30pm
l BAR BROADWAY Big Quiz: Ross
Cameron & prizes 8pm
l BAR REVENGE FOMO pre-par ty 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Now
That’s What I Call Legends: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS £300 Big Cash
Quiz 9pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Throwback
Thursday: DJ Ruby Roo 9pm
INFINITY BAR
l CROWN KEMPTOWN Games Night: bring your board games 6pm
l MARINE TAVERN Throwback
Thursday 80s Night 8pm
l PARIS HOUSE World Music: Babou & Abraham de Vega 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Tanya Hyde 9.30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN Open mic with Jason Thorpe 8pm
l 129 St James’s Street, Brighton, BN2 1TH, www.InfinityGayBar.com
l OPEN Infinity Bar is the latest addition to the commercial gay scene in Brighton Located at 129 St James’s Street, in the hear t of the gay village, the Infinity Bar will offer a unique twist of fun with great enter tainment for the gay community and their friends in stylish, contemporary surroundings Customers will be put at the hear t of everything as the new owners provide a modern safe environment where their guests are welcomed as friends Follow social media for announcements about the opening date and Gscene website for daily listings and updates following the opening night
G R O S V E N O R
l 16 Western Street, Hove, BN1 2PG, www.thegrosvenorbar.com
l OPEN daily from 12 noon–late
l DRINK PROMOS 3–5pm Mon–Fri all pints £3 50
l EASTER WEEKEND Sunday (1) is Annual EASTER BONNET PARADE and DRAG RACE from 12pm
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Friday CABARET with local and national stars at 9 30pm: Trudi Styles & Piano Man (6), Spice (13), Sally Vate (20) and Krissie Du Cann & the Piano Man (27)
l REGUL ARS Thursday (5 & 26) is ABEL MABEL’S BINGO at 8 30pm l Sat is top CABARET with stars of the scene at 9.30pm: Miss Terr y Tour (7), Miss Jason (14), Dave Lynn (21) and Jennie Castell (28) Jennie has performed on stages up and down the country as a solo ar tist for many years and is known for powerhouse vocals, versatility, range, power and ‘ballsy-ness’! Jennie says: “ You can expect to be entertained, not just by great vocals but off the cuff humour and cheekiness!”
l REVENGE FOMO DJs 11pm
l SUBLINE Brace Yourself 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Mitch’s Quiz 7 30pm
FRIDAY 13
l AMSTERDAM cabaret: Sally Vate 9pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY 7 Upstairs 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 5pm
l BAR REVENGE Pop-Tar tz warm-up 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS
Glitter: DJ David Noakes 11pm
l BOUTIQUE T G I F: DJ Thierre/ competitions/CD giveaways 8pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Friday Club 6pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Fabulous Friday: DJ Morgan Fabulous 9pm
l CROWN KEMPTOWN Funky Friday 7pm
l DR BRIGHTONS The Doctor’s Par ty: DJ Tony B 9 30pm
L E G E N D S B A R
l 31-34 Marine Parade, BN2 1TR, T: 01273 624462, www.legendsbrighton.com
l OPEN daily from 11am–5am
l FOOD Mon–Sat 12–5pm Sunday lunch served 12–3pm: choose from beef, belly pork, chicken supreme or wholesome nut roast served with crispy roast potatoes, a selection of seasonal vegetables, homemade Yorkshire pudding and real stock gravy If you have a sweet tooth, then make sure you leave some space for one of the moreish desser ts
l DRINK PROMOS Buy one bottle of wine and get the 2nd half price, Mon–Fri 12–11pm Fri (20) is the Launch of Legends’ New Gin Menu from 9pm
l EASTER WEEKEND Sunday (1) is Easter CABARET with Lucinda Lashes at 3 30pm l Monday (2) is Bank Holiday CABARET with JLO (Miss Jason & Lola Lasagne) at 3 30pm
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Miss Jason’s MAD MONDAYS return from 9 30pm One of the campest queens of the cabaret circuit, Miss Jason has been enter taining the crowds for many years in the UK and beyond! Miss Jason says: “The more raucous the crowd the more I like it! Come along and see what happens, dear ”
l REGUL ARS Fri is Pre- Glitter at 9.30pm with hosts heating you up with tracks and giggles before the big one downstairs l Pre-Club sounds every Saturday from 7pm l Sunday is CABARET at 3 30pm with top acts of the stage: Miss Penny (8), Lola Lasagne (15), Mar tha D’Ar thur (22) and Lady Imelda (29) Lady Imelda (29) came to England from the Philippines with a suitcase of dreams and a handbag of nightmares One of the most unique cabaret drag acts, Lady Imelda’s unpredictability makes her a joy to watch She says: “There are 2 types of Imeldas: one is corrupt and the other one is corrupted I am the corrupted My jokes are based on everyday life or sometimes from the news It‘s all based on my character Most of my jokes are politically correct Most of my jokes are selfdeprecating jokes It’s not putting myself down But I have to base it from my point of view ” L E G E N D S
l GROSVENOR BAR cabaret: Spice 9 30pm
l LEGENDS BAR Pre-Glitter 9.30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Jukebox Disco 8pm
l PARIS HOUSE DJ Havoxx 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Kara Van Park 9 30pm
l REVENGE Pop Tar tz DJs on level 1
10 30pm
l ROT TINGDEAN CLUB cabaret: Drag
With No Name 8 30pm
l SUBLINE Dir ty Tackle: spor tskit night 10pm
l ZONE cabaret: Dave Lynn 10pm
SATURDAY 14
l AMSTERDAM Jason Thorpe’s karaoke 9pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY 7 Sins 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 4pm
l BAR REVENGE WTF warm-up 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Fusion: DJ Peter Castle 11pm
B A S E M E N T C L U B
l 31-34 Marine Parade, BN2 1TR, T: 01273 624462, www.legendsbrighton.com
l OPEN Wed–Sun from 11pm
l DRINK PROMOS £2 50 drink deals all night on Sun, Wed & Thur, and various promos on Fri
l EASTER WEEKEND Sunday (1) is Easter POP!CANDY with DJ Claire Fuller playing a cracking mix of egg-cellent recent and classic pop tracks
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Saturday is FUSION at 11pm with DJ Peter Castle spinning char t /club remixes Basement Club say: “Come and feel gorgeous tonight at Fusion, our BIG Saturday night dance party with all your favourite club and chart remixes!”
l REGUL ARS Thursday is NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL LEGENDs with DJ Claire Fuller taking you on a journey through the 1970s/80s/90s!
l Friday is GLIT TER with DJ David Noakes’ char t & dance tracks l Sunday is POP!CANDY with DJ Claire Fuller’s mix of new and retro pop l Wednesday is ICE with DJ Claire Fuller melting the dancefloor with char t/house/r&b
l BOUTIQUE DJ Klipz, free CDs & competitions 8pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Fierce: DJs 9pm
l DR BRIGHTONS Saturday Session: DJ Tony B 9 30pm
l GROSVENOR BAR cabaret: Miss Jason 9 30pm
l LEGENDS BAR Pre-club DJ 7pm
l MARINE TAVERN Saturday Club 4pm
l PARIS HOUSE Live jazz 4pm; TC’s Joyful Noise: DJ Kenny 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Topsie Redfern 9.30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN cabaret: Miss Treated 9pm
l REVENGE WTF!: DJs over 2 floors 11pm
l SUBLINE Men’s Room: DJ Screwpulous 9pm
l ZONE cabaret: Marshha Mallow 10pm
SUNDAY 15
l AMSTERDAM cabaret: Jennie Castell 5pm; Sunday roasts 12pm-till gone
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY DJ Bullard’s karaoke 8pm
l BAR BROADWAY Fireplace Sessions pres Paul Diello 8 30pm
l BAR REVENGE Sunday Shuffle: Alfie Ordinary & special guest 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Pop!Candy: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Bear Bash, free food & raffle 5pm; roasts & select menu 12pm–till gone
l CHARLES ST TAP cabaret: Cinebra
7 30pm; Sally’s Rock & Roll Bingo 8.30pm; roasts 12pm
l LEGENDS BAR cabaret: Lola Lasagne 3.30pm; roasts 12–3pm
l MARINE TAVERN Sunday roasts 125pm; Drag Open Mic with Stephanie Von Clitz 9pm
l PARIS HOUSE live music: Sam Chara & band 6pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS double cabaret: Lucinda Lashes at 6 30pm & 9 30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN roasts 12-5pm
l SUBLINE Guilty Pleasures: DJ Screwpulous 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Sunday roasts, jazz & raffle 12pm
l VELVET JACKS Sunday roasts 1pm
M A R I N E T A V E R N
l 13 Broad St, BN2 1TJ, Tel: 01273 905578, www.marinetavern.co.uk
l OPEN daily from 12pm
l FOOD daily from 12–9pm; Curr y & Quiz for £1 on Tue from 8pm; roasts every Sunday 12–5pm, booking advised
l DRINK PROMOS Gin Club offers every Wed
l EASTER WEEKEND Sunday (1) is DRAG OPEN MIC EASTER SPECIAL with Stephanie Von Clitz at 9pm
l ONE FOR THE DIARY FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE (20) with Jacquii Cann from 9pm Expect all the hits from thrilling Alison Moyet tribute act and winner of Stars in their Eyes including: Don’t Go, Only You, That Ole Devil Called Love, All Cried Out, plus many more! Jacquii is an act not to be missed!
l REGUL ARS THROWBACK THURSDAY 1980s music at 8pm l Thurs (5) is CABARET with Spice at 9pm l Sunday is DRAG OPEN MIC with Stephanie Von Clitz at 9pm
MONDAY 16
l CHARLES ST TAP Gaymers Night: consoles, board/card games 8 30pm
l LEGENDS BAR Miss Jason’s Mad Mondays 9 30pm
l PARIS HOUSE live jazz: Hot Club Trio 2pm; Chris Coull & band 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Monday Madness: Kara Van Park 8.30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN Games Night 7pm
l ROT TINGDEAN CLUB Quiz 7pm
TUESDAY 17
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Crewsday: DJ Lewis Osborne 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Piano Singalong with The Regency Singers 9pm
P A R I S H O U S E
l 21 Western Rd, BN3 1AF, T: 01273 724195, www.parishousebrighton.com
l OPEN daily from 12pm l FOOD served 12pm–close ever y day
l EASTER WEEKEND Easter Sunday (1) free live jazz with Fleur de Paris singing French Chanson/Swing, plus free Easter eggs, at 6pm l Monday (2) is Bank Holiday free live jazz with the Mick Hamer Trio at 2pm; Sam Carlese sings jazz at 8pm
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Sunday is LIVE MUSIC at 6pm: a Dolly Par ton tribute act (8), Sam Chara & band (15), Dave Williams & band (22) and Marilyn Du Sax & band (29)
l REGUL ARS Monday is free LIVE JAZZ at 2pm: Al Nicholls Trio (9), Hot Club Trio (16), Nils Solberg-Mick Hamer Trio (23 & 30); then at 8pm: Imogen Ryall (9), Chris Coull (16), Geoff Simkins (23) and Darren Beckett (30) l Tue LIVE MUSIC at 8pm: Mike ‘Dr Blue’ Blues (3), Smokestack (10), Banned Sauce (17) and Mike R oss (24) l Wed is free LIVE MUSIC at 8pm: Gabriel Garrick (4), Ben Clatwor thy (11), Terr y Seabrook (18) and Paul Richards (25) l Thur is free WORLD MUSIC night at 8pm: Tudo Bem (5), Babou & Abraham de Vega (12), Pollito Boogaloo (19) and Son Guarachando (26) l Fri is PARTY TIME with DJ Havoxx at 9pm l Sat is AND ALL THAT JAZZ with live jazz at 4pm; TC's Joyful Noise with DJ Kenny at 9pm, free entry
l BAR REVENGE Lip Sync for Your Life: £50 cash prize + win a paid gig 9pm
l MARINE TAVERN Curry & Quiz 8pm
l PARIS HOUSE live music: Banned Sauce 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Baga Chipz 9 30pm
l REVENGE DJs Toby Lawrence & Trick 11pm
WEDNESDAY 18
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Fresh!: DJ Jazzy Jane 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Spice’s Seriously Stupid Speed Dating with prizes 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Ice: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Seniors’ lunch 2-3 30pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Silly Willy Wednesdays with Drag With No Name & cash prizes 9pm
l PARIS HOUSE live music: Terry Seabrook & band 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Sally Vate 9.30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN Quiz Night 7pm
l SUBLINE Hump Day 9pm
l VELVET JACKS Quiz: prizes 7 45pm
THURSDAY 19
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Total Request Thursdays: DJ FRESH Princess 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Big Quiz: Ross Cameron & prizes 8pm
l BAR REVENGE FOMO pre-par ty 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Now That’s What I Call Legends: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS £300 Big Cash Quiz 9pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Throwback
Thursday: DJ Ruby Roo 9pm
l CROWN KEMPTOWN Games Night: bring your board games 6pm
l MARINE TAVERN Throwback Thursday 80s Night 8pm
EASTER CABARET
SUN 1APR ALL DAY FROM 4PM
FUNDRAISER IN AID OF NHS LAWSON UNIT SCH WITH SON OF A TUTU & DAVINA SPARKLE
MON 2APR 6PM & 9.30PM JASON LEE
FRIDAY AT 9.30PM
6APR GABRIELLA PARRISH
13APR KARA VAN PARK
20APR STEPHANIE VON CLITZ
27APR DRAG WITH NO NAME
MONDAY FROM 9APR 8.30PM MONDAY MADNESS WITH KARA VAN PARK
TUESDAY AT 9.30PM
DADDY OR CHIPZ? WITH BAGA CHIPZ
WEDNESDAY AT 9.30PM
SALLY VATE SHOW
SATURDAY AT 9.30PM
7APR SASKI
14APR TOPSIE REDFEERN
21APR COSMIC
28APR DAVE LYNN
SUNDAY CABARET
1APR ALL DAY FROM 4PM
THURSDAY AT 9.30PM
5APR MISS JASON
12APR TANYA HYDE
19APR ROSE GARDEN
26APR SPICE
FUNDRAISER IN AID OF NHS LAWSON UNIT SCH WITH SON OF A TUTU & DAVINA SPARKLE
DOUBLE CABARET 6.30PM & 9.30PM
8APR CHERRY LQUOR
15APR LUCINDA LASHES
22APR MRS MOORE
29APR MISS PENNY
HAPPY HOURS MON-THUR 5-9PM FRI-SUN 12PM-6PM HOUSE SPIRITS + MIXER £2.50 DOUBLE UP FOR EXTRA £1 •
Q U E E N S A R M S
l 7 George St, BN2 1RH, T: 01273 696873, www.theqabrighton.com
l OPEN from 5pm Mon–Thu, 2pm Fri–Sun
l DRINK PROMOS Mon–Thur 5–9pm, Fri–Sun 12–6pm
l EASTER WEEKEND Easter Sunday (1) is the Mar tin Fisher Foundation Fundraiser with Son of a Tutu and Davina Sparkle from 12pm Bank Holiday Monday (2) is CABARET with Jason Lee at 6 30pm & 9 30pm
R E G E N C Y T A V E R N
l 32-34 Russell Square, Brighton BN1 2EF Tel: 01273 325 652
l OPEN Sun–Wed 12–11pm, Thur 12pm–12am, Fri & Sat 12pm–1am The Regency offers great enter tainment, warm and friendly staff and delicious food
l FOOD Tue–Sat 12–8pm, hear ty Sunday roasts 12–5pm, two for £19 95, booking recommended especially for Easter Sunday (1)
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Tuesday sees the sensational Baga Chipz live on stage from 9 30pm Baga believes personality is everything, and idolises and bases her drag act on strong workingclass women featured in the 1960s and 70s ‘golden age’ of Coronation Street Baga says: “I'm Baga Chipz! I'm salty, I’ll batter ya sausage for 80p and I love to be covered in daddy’s sauce! I’m the Queen of Elegance and trollop with that extra dollop I’ll be belting out the likes of Cilla, Jane McDonald and songs of the West End, topped off with a gob full of smutty gags and gin Oh I do like a good knees up!”
l REGUL ARS MONDAY MADNESS is with Kara Van Park at 8 30pm The QA say: “Expect cheap drinks and showtunes aplenty with Kara Van Park! Who knows what mayhem we're in for?” l Wed is the Sally Vate Show at 9.30pm l Thursday CABARET at 9 30pm: Miss Jason (5), Tanya Hyde (12), R ose Garden (19) and Spice (26) l Friday CABARET at 9.30pm: Gabriella Parrish (6), Kara Van Park (13), Stephanie Von Clitz (20) and Drag With No Name (27) l Saturday CABARET at 9.30pm: Saski (7), Topsie R edfern (14), Cosmic (21) and Dave Lynn (28) l Sunday top CABARET at 6 30pm at 9 30pm: Cherr y Liquor (8), Lucinda Lashes (15), Mrs Moore (22) and Miss Penny (29) Miss Penny is an award-winning international cabaret ar tist with fast wit and amazing vocals Miss Penny says: “Lover of vodka and gorger of Greggs, you will find my show entertaining from start to finish Expect amazing live vocals, class, comedy patter and audience participation NO evening is complete with out a bit of Penny!”
l PARIS HOUSE World Music: Pollito Boogaloo 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Rose Garden 9.30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN Open mic with Jason Thorpe 8pm
l REVENGE FOMO DJs 11pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Mitch’s Quiz 7 30pm
FRIDAY 20
l AMSTERDAM cabaret: Spice 9pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY 7 Upstairs 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 5pm
l BAR REVENGE Pop-Tar tz warm-up 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS
Glitter: DJ David Noakes 11pm
l BOUTIQUE T G I F: DJ Franco/ competitions/CD giveaways 8pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Friday Club 6pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Fabulous Friday: DJ Morgan Fabulous 9pm
l CROWN KEMPTOWN Funky Friday 7pm
l DR BRIGHTONS Soul Solution: DJ Tony B 9 30pm
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Saturday has top enter tainment at 9pm, free entry all night This month’s line-up: Kara Van Park (7), Miss Treated (14), Alfie Ordinar y (21) and Stephanie Von Clitz (28) Alfie Ordinar y, the “UK’s only Drag Prince”, has been taking the UK drag and cabaret scene by storm with his unique take on society’s obsession with masculinity Alfie has worked alongside some of the UK’s top cabaret ar tists such as David Hoyle and Dickie Beau, and international drag stars such as Raja Gemini, Sharon Needles and Alaska Thunderfvck
l REGUL ARS Wed is QUIZ NIGHT with free food (different each week) for the teams at 7pm, £1pp l Thur is OPEN MIC Night with Jason Thorpe from 8pm l Mon is GAMES NIGHT at 7pm
l GROSVENOR BAR cabaret: Sally Vate 9 30pm
l LEGENDS BAR Gin Menu Official Launch Par ty 9pm
l MARINE TAVERN Friday Night Live with Jacquii Cann as Alison Moyet 9pm
l PARIS HOUSE DJ Havoxx 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Stephanie
Von Clitz 9.30pm
l REVENGE Pop Tar tz DJs on level 1 10.30pm
l SUBLINE Filth: mixed full-fetish 9pm
l ZONE cabaret: Topsie Redfern 10pm
SATURDAY 21
l AMSTERDAM DJ Tony B 9pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY 7 Sins 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 4pm
l BAR REVENGE WTF warm-up 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS
Fusion: DJ Peter Castle 11pm
l BOUTIQUE DJ Klipz, free CDs & competitions 8pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Fierce: DJs 9pm
l DR BRIGHTONS Saturday Session: DJ
Nick Hirst 9 30pm
l GROSVENOR BAR cabaret: Dave Lynn 9 30pm
l LEGENDS BAR Pre-club DJ 7pm
l MARINE TAVERN Saturday Club 4pm
l PARIS HOUSE Live jazz 4pm; TC’s Joyful Noise: DJ Kenny 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Cosmic 9 30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN cabaret: Alfie Ordinary 9pm
l REVENGE WTF!: DJs over 2 floors 11pm
l SUBLINE Men’s Room: DJ Screwpulous 9pm
l ZONE cabaret: Sally Vate 10pm
SUNDAY 22
l AMSTERDAM cabaret: Will Marvin 5pm; Sunday roasts 12pm-till gone
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY DJ Bullard’s karaoke 8pm
l BAR BROADWAY Fireplace Sessions pres Jennie Castell 8.30pm
l BAR REVENGE Sunday Shuffle: Alfie
Ordinary & special guest 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS
Pop!Candy DJ Claire Fuller 9pm
R O T T I N G D E A N C L U B
l 89 High St, Rottingdean, BN2 7HE, Tel: 01273 309529 f therottingdeanclub
l FOOD New spring/summer menu coming soon; ask at the bar for details
l MEMBERS CLUB The Rottingdean Club, a members’ bar in the hear t of the village, is the perfect place to meet with friends and clients, work remotely with a coffee or mix and mingle with other like-minded members With regular enter tainment, a large suntrap garden and free Wi-Fi, the Rottingdean Club is a unique venue so pop in and ask at the bar for membership details The Rottingdean Club says: "We’re a private members’ bar where there’s always a warm welcome We offer the comforts of a traditional pub with modern standards of service and superb food!”
l MEMBERSHIP If you’re interested in joining the Rottingdean Club, please email bar@therottingdeanclub co uk
l EASTER WEEKEND Beautiful south west facing garden, with an outside bar, opening Easter Weekend!
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Friday (13) CABARET with Drag With No Name live and loud on the Rottingdean Club stage from 8 30pm You can’t fail to be enter tained by one of the most versatile drag ar tists on the cabaret scene Expect lots of live vocals, mimicry, patter, impressions and visual comedy!
l REGUL ARS Monday is the QUIZ NIGHT at 7pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Bear Bash, free food & raffle 5pm; roasts & select menu 12pm–till gone
l CHARLES ST TAP cabaret: Miss Penny 7 30pm; Sally’s Rock & Roll Bingo 8.30pm; roasts 12pm
l LEGENDS BAR cabaret: Mar tha D’Ar thur 3.30pm; roasts 12–3pm
l MARINE TAVERN Sunday roasts 125pm; Drag Open Mic with Stephanie Von Clitz 9pm
l PARIS HOUSE live music: Dave Williams & band 6pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS double cabaret: Mrs Moore at 6 30pm & 9 30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN roasts 12-5pm
l SUBLINE Guilty Pleasures: DJ Screwpulous 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Sunday roasts, jazz & raffle 12pm
l VELVET JACKS Sunday roasts 1pm; Live acoustic music: Mike Newsham 4pm
MONDAY 23
l AMSTERDAM St George’s Day: fish, chips & a pint £12 all day from 11am
l CHARLES ST TAP Gaymers Night: consoles, board/card games 8 30pm
l LEGENDS BAR Miss Jason’s Mad Mondays 9 30pm
l MARINE TAVERN St George’s Day Vintage Party 6pm
l PARIS HOUSE live jazz: Nils Solberg-Mick Hamer Trio 2pm; Geoff Simkins 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Monday Madness: Kara Van Park 8 30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN Games Night 7pm
l ROT TINGDEAN CLUB Quiz 7pm
TUESDAY 24
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Crewsday: DJ Lewis Osborne 9pm
B A R R E V E N G E
l 5-7 Marine Parade, BN2 1TA, Tel: 01273 606064, www.revenge.co.uk
l OPEN Sun 12pm–2am, Mon–Wed 12pm–1am, Thur 12pm–2am, Fri & Sat
12pm–6am Buy a drink on Thur, Fri & Sat to pick up discount entry passes for Club R evenge
l DRINK PROMOS Sun 5pm–close & Mon–Fri 5–8pm is 10 @ £2 50 with the most popular drinks priced at £2 50; all bombs & shots (house spirits) £1 on Thur 10pm–close; selected drinks £2 50 every Sat
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Join Drag Prince Alfie Ordinar y for SUNDAY SHUFFLE, an evening of cabaret that’s full of surprises from 9pm Bar Revenge say: “Each week Alfie will have a different performer lip-syncing, singing or dancing their heart out on the brand new Bar Revenge stage!”
l REGUL ARS Tuesday is LIP SYNC FOR YOUR LIFE, like karaoke but without the singing, from 9pm! Simply move your lips to your favourite song and you could win £50 cash prize, the chance to compete at the Grand Finale and a paid gig at the next Powder R oom show! l Thur is the FOMO Pre-Par ty with all-star DJs warming you up with char t bangers from 9pm l Fri is the Pop Tar tz warm-up with DJs at 9pm l Every Sat warm up for WTF! with DJs from 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Piano Singalong with The Regency Singers 9pm
l BAR REVENGE Lip Sync for Your Life: £50 cash prize + win a paid gig 9pm
l MARINE TAVERN Curry & Quiz 8pm
l PARIS HOUSE live blues: Mike Ross 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Baga Chipz 9 30pm
l REVENGE DJs Toby Lawrence & Trick 11pm
WEDNESDAY 25
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Fresh!: DJ Jazzy
R E V E N G E
l 32-34 Old Steine, BN1 1EL, Tel: 01273 606064, www.revenge.co.uk
l OPEN Tue from 11pm, Thur, Fri, Sat & Sun (1) April at 10 30pm
l DRINK PROMOS drinks £2 50 on Tue; £1 drinks before midnight on Thur
l EASTER WEEKEND Sunday (1) is the EASTER SUNDAY RAMPANT RABBITS with DJs, free bunny ears and Easter egg giveaways! Revenge say: “ We’ll be bringing you the cheekiest bank holiday party to celebrate Easter! Our resident DJs will be mashing up pop, R&B, dance and your requests all night, plus there’ll be Easter-themed drink deals!”
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Thursday (26) FOMO–SUPERHEROES celebrate the launch of the new A vengers film with all-star DJs putting the Kaboom into your Pow!
l REGUL ARS Tuesdays are with DJs Toby Lawrence & Trick spinning a mixture of pop/house/r&b and your requests all night l Sat is WTF with Brighton’s best DJs and a range of guests over two floors! Get moving to char t/pop/ r&b, cheese and your requests on level 1 and vocal anthems bringing the house down on level 2 l Thur is FOMO with Revenge’s all-star DJs spinning an eclectic mix of pop/char t/house/pop-punk/bass/hip-hop l Friday is POP TARTZ with resident DJs sweetening the dancefloor on level 1 with pop anthems l Fri (6) is FAT LIP with DJ Fifi playing big pop-punk/indie/nu-metal/rock anthems on level 2
Jane 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Open Mic-Student Wars 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Ice: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Seniors’ lunch 2-3 30pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Silly Willy Wednesdays with Drag With No Name & cash prizes 9pm
l PARIS HOUSE live music: Paul
Richards & band 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Sally Vate 9 30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN Quiz Night 7pm
l SUBLINE Hump Day 9pm
l VELVET JACKS Quiz: prizes 7.45pm
THURSDAY 26
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Total Request Thursdays: DJ FRESH Princess 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Big Quiz: Ross Cameron & prizes 8pm
l BAR REVENGE FOMO pre-par ty 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Now That’s What I Call Legends: DJ Claire Fuller 11pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS £300 Big Cash Quiz 9pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Throwback
Thursday: DJ Ruby Roo 9pm
l CROWN KEMPTOWN Games Night: bring your board games 6pm
l GROSVENOR BAR Abel Mabel’s Bingo 8.30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Throwback
Thursday 80s Night 8pm
l PARIS HOUSE World Music: Son Guaranchando 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Spice 9.30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN Open mic with Jason Thorpe 8pm
l REVENGE FOMO Superheroes
Special for launch of new Avengers film: all-star DJs 11pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Mitch’s Quiz 7 30pm
S U B L I N E
l 129 St James' St, BN2 1TH, T: 01273 624100, www.sublinebrighton.co.uk
l OPEN Sun, Wed & Thur from 9pm, 10pm Fri & Sat
l DRINK PROMOS draught pints £1 off all night Wed
l EASTER WEEKEND Easter Sunday (1) Par ty with cracking tunes and atmosphere, £3 members, £5 otherwise
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Saturday (28) LEATHERMEN MEET at 10pm, free entry in legit leather gear, or £5
Subline say: “DJ Screwpulous will be grinding out some dirty tunes, the bar staff will be eager to refresh, andwhether you're in dress code or not - there'll be hot and friendly hordes to mingle amongst Always a busy night, if you're changing into gear when you get here, we recommend arriving early to get a locker!”
l REGUL ARS Wednesday is HUMP DAY with 1980s/90s alternative music, free entry! l Fri (13) is the DIRTY TACKLE spor tskit night, £3 in spor tskit or £5 l Fri (20) is FILTH mixed full-fetish par ty with Kitten Skye and DJs; advance tickets online, fetish wear only l Saturday is THE MEN'S ROOM with DJ Screwpulous at 9pm, free till 11pm, £3 after, guests £5 l Sunday (29) is CUM IN YOUR PANTS underwear par ty from 9pm, free for members, £5 for guests
FRIDAY 27
l AMSTERDAM cabaret: Sally Vate 9pm
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY 7 Upstairs 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 5pm
l BAR REVENGE Pop-Tar tz warm-up 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Glitter: DJ David Noakes 11pm
l BOUTIQUE T G I F: DJ Thierre/ competitions/CD giveaways 8pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Friday Club 6pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Fabulous Friday: DJ Morgan Fabulous 9pm
l CROWN KEMPTOWN Funky Friday 7pm
l DR BRIGHTONS Vinyl Friday: DJs play vinyl records only 9 30pm
l GROSVENOR BAR cabaret: Krissie DuCann & The Pianoman 9 30pm
l LEGENDS BAR Pre-Glitter 9 30pm
l MARINE TAVERN Jukebox Disco 8pm
l PARIS HOUSE DJ Havoxx 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Drag With No Name 9 30pm
l REVENGE Pop Tar tz DJs 10.30pm
l SUBLINE Steam 9pm
l ZONE cabaret: Mar tha D’Ar thur 10pm
SATURDAY 28
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY Pre Gran Can Construction Costume Par ty: host Crystal Lubrikunt 9pm
l BAR BROADWAY Jukebox 4pm
l BAR REVENGE WTF warm-up 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS
Fusion: DJ Peter Castle 11pm
l BOUTIQUE DJ Franco, free CDs & competitions 8pm
l CHARLES ST TAP Fierce: DJs 9pm
l DR BRIGHTONS Curiosity Club: DJ Lizzie Curious 9.30pm
l ENVY The Serpent Masked Ball: MindOut fundraiser with Brighton & Hove
Sea Serpents RFC, DJ Little Ted & live PAs 10pm
l GROSVENOR BAR cabaret: Jennie Castell 9.30pm
V E L V E T J A C K S
l 50 Norfolk Sq, BN1 2PA, Tel: 07720 661290 tinyurl.com/VelvetJacks
l OPEN Tue–Thur 4–11 30pm, Fri & Sat 12–11 30pm, Sun 1–11pm
l FOOD Sunday roasts served with roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables, homemade Yorkshire pudding and real gravy from 1pm Choose from succulent rump of beef, roast leg of lamb, roast chicken or mixed vegetable and puy lentils wellington Booking recommended, call: 07720 661290
l DRINK PROMOS from 4–7pm daily except Sat
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Sunday (22) is LIVE MUSIC with Mike Newsham from 4pm
l REGUL ARS Wednesday is QUIZ NIGHT with prizes, from 7.45pm for 8pm star t
l LEGENDS BAR Pre-club DJ 7pm
l MARINE TAVERN Saturday Club
4pm
l PARIS HOUSE Live jazz 4pm; TC’s Joyful Noise: DJ Kenny 9pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS cabaret: Dave Lynn
9 30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN cabaret: Stephanie Von Clitz 9pm
l REVENGE WTF!: DJs over 2 floors 11pm
l SUBLINE Leathermen Meet 10pm
l ZONE cabaret: Spice 10pm
SUNDAY 29
l AMSTERDAM cabaret: Jason Thorpe 5pm; Sunday roasts 12pm-till gone
l BAR 7@CRAWLEY DJ Bullard’s karaoke 8pm
l BAR BROADWAY Fireplace Sessions pres Jason Lee 8 30pm
l BAR REVENGE Sunday Shuffle: Alfie Ordinary & special guest 9pm
l BASEMENT CLUB@LEGENDS Pop!Candy DJ Claire Fuller 9pm
l CAMELFORD ARMS Bear Bash, free food & raffle 5pm; roasts & select menu 12pm–till gone
l CHARLES ST TAP cabaret: Miss Jason 7 30pm; Sally’s Rock & Roll Bingo
8.30pm; roasts 12pm
l LEGENDS BAR cabaret: Lady Imelda 3.30pm; roasts 12–3pm
l MARINE TAVERN Sunday roasts 12-
l 59 Nor th Rd, BN1 1YD, Tel: 01273 608571, www.3jollybutchers.com
l OPEN from 12pm on Mon–Sun Private function room available
l FOOD Mon–Fri 12–7 30pm, Sat 12–6pm, Sunday roasts 12–6pm, Mon–Thur Meal Deal: two for £15, 12–7 30pm
l EASTER WEEKEND free Easter Eggs on Sun (1)
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Sunday JAZZ and R affle at the JAZZ ROAST with chilled jazz at 12pm, free entry
l REGUL ARS Thur is Mitch’s QUIZ NIGHT at 7 30pm, all welcome
T H E Z O N E
l 33 St James’ St, BN2 1RF, Tel: 01273 682249, www.zonebrighton.co.uk
l OPEN 11am Sun–Thur, 10am Fri & Sat
l DRINK PROMOS all day Sun-Thur, till 10pm Fri & Sat
l EASTER WEEKEND Sunday (1) is JP Christian’s EASTER SUNDAY SPECIAL at 6pm
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Saturday (7) is Sally Vate’s BIRTHDAY BASH from 10pm Celebrate the bir th of this good all round (fat) Nor therner with the liver of a house brick! Sally says: “ What are you waiting for? Join me for my birthday! I never perform the same show twice, only because I can never remember what I did!”
l REGUL ARS Friday has top CABARET stars at 10pm: Kara Van Park (6), Dave Lynn (13), Topsie R edfern (20) and Mar tha D’Ar thur (27) l Sat CABARET with sensational acts at 10pm: Marsha Mallow (14), Sally Vate (21) and Spice (28)
5pm; Drag Open Mic with Stephanie Von Clitz 9pm
l PARIS HOUSE live music: Marilyn Du Sax & band 6pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS double cabaret: Miss Penny at 6 30pm & 9 30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN roasts 12-5pm
l SUBLINE Cum in Your Pants: underwear par ty 9pm
l THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS Sunday roasts, jazz & raffle 12pm
l VELVET JACKS Sunday roasts 1pm
MONDAY 30
l CHARLES ST TAP Gaymers Night: consoles, board/card games 9.30pm
l LEGENDS BAR Miss Jason’s Mad Mondays 9.30pm
l PARIS HOUSE live jazz: Nils SolbergMick Hamer Trio 2pm; Darren Beckett 7 band 8pm
l QUEEN’S ARMS Monday Madness: Kara Van Park 8 30pm
l REGENCY TAVERN Games night 7pm
l ROT TINGDEAN CLUB Quiz 7pm
SUNDAY 1
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD Easter Sunday Special: DJs Luke Ennor & Missy B 9pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Sing Your Hear t Out Karaoke: DJ Mikey G 10pm
MONDAY 2
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD 20something: DJs Lee Harris & Luke Ennor 9pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Reboot Reloaded: DJ Darcy Buckland & raffle 10pm
TUESDAY 3
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD Drag Show: host Cherry Liqour, special guest Tanya Hyde & Innuendo Bingo 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR The Winner Takes It All Quiz: Neil Sackley & prizes 7pm
l EDGE Time Out: DJ KT 11pm
WEDNESDAY 4
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD Big Navy Night: karaoke with host Aura Jay 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR Bar 150 10pm
l EDGE Bar 150: DJs Liam Searle & Missy B, Cassidy Connors karaoke v cabaret 10pm
THURSDAY 5
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD A Night on the Lashes: Lucinda Lashes, karaoke/DJ 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR Bingo Balls: host Misty Lee & prizes 8pm
l EDGE Smart: DJ Liam Searle 10pm
FRIDAY 6
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ Toby Lawrence 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR GLOW: DJs 11pm
l EDGE GLOW: DJ Darcy Buckland, guests & UV lights 11pm
SATURDAY 7
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ Ruper t Ellick 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR The Big One: DJs 10pm
l EDGE The Big One: DJs Claire Fuller & Neil Sackley 10pm
SUNDAY 8
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD ReWind 80s/90s 9pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Sing Your Hear t Out Karaoke: DJ Mikey G 10pm
MONDAY 9
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD 20something: DJs Lee Harris & Luke Ennor 9pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Reboot Reloaded: DJ Darcy Buckland & raffle 10pm
TUESDAY 10
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD Drag Show: host Cherry Liqour, special guest Mrs Moore & Innuendo Bingo 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR The Winner Takes It All Quiz: Neil Sackley & prizes 7pm
l EDGE Time Out: DJ KT 11pm
WEDNESDAY 11
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD Big Navy Night: karaoke with host Aura Jay 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR Bar 150 10pm
l EDGE Bar 150: DJs Liam Searle & Missy B, Cassidy Connors karaoke v cabaret 10pm
THURSDAY 12
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD A Night on the Lashes: Lucinda Lashes, karaoke/DJ 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR Bingo Balls: host Misty Lee & prizes 8pm
l EDGE Smart: DJ Liam Searle 10pm
FRIDAY 13
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ Toby Lawrence 7pm SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR GLOW: DJs 11pm
l EDGE GLOW: DJ Darcy Buckland & guests + UV lights 10pm
SATURDAY 14
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ Rupert Ellick 7pm SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR The Big One: DJs 10pm
l EDGE The Big One: DJs Claire Fuller & KT 10pm
SUNDAY 15
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD ReWind night 9pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Sing Your Hear t Out Karaoke: DJ Mikey G 10pm
MONDAY 16
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD 20something: DJs
Lee Harris & Luke Ennor 9pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Reboot Reloaded: DJ Darcy Buckland & raffle 10pm
TUESDAY 17
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD Drag Show: host
HAMPSHIRE BOULEVARD
PORTSMOUTH
l Hampshire Terrace, Southsea, PO1 2QN, Tel: 02392 297509
l OPEN Sun & Mon 9pm, Tue–Sat 7pm
l HAPPY HOURS selected drinks £1 50 on Mon, 2-4-1 selected drinks on Tue, till midnight on Wed (incl select doubles £3), 7–10pm on Fri, all night on Sun
l EASTER Sunday (1) DJs Luke Ennor & Missy B, £3 b4 midnight/£5 after
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Brand new for Thursday is A NIGHT ON THE LASHES with legendary Lucinda Lashes tearing up the stage with banter, karaoke & tunes!
l REGUL ARS Friday DJ Toby Lawrence spins tunes to move you, free b4 10pm, £3 b4 11pm, £5 after l Sat DJ R uper t Ellick spins char t/par ty anthems, free b4 10pm/£3 b4 11pm/£5 after l Sunday REWIND with 80s/90s dance classics brightening up those end-of-weekend blues l Mon is 20SOMETHING with DJ Lee Harris & Luke Ennor, free b4 10pm/£3 b4 midnight/£5 after l Tues DRAG SHOW with host Cherr y Liquor, guests and INNUENDO BINGO with cash prize! This month’s cabaret: Tanya Hyde (3), Mrs Moore (10) and Drag With No Name (17) and Jacqui Swallows (24) l Wed is BIG NAVY NIGHT OUT with host Aura- Jay’s Karaoke
Cherry Liqour, special guest Drag With No Name & Innuendo Bingo 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR The Winner Takes It All Quiz: Neil Sackley & prizes 7pm
l EDGE Time Out: DJ KT 11pm
WEDNESDAY 18
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD Big Navy Night: karaoke with host Aura Jay 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR Bar 150 10pm
l EDGE Bar 150: DJs Liam Searle & Missy B, Cassidy Connors karaoke v cabaret 10pm
THURSDAY 19
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD A Night on the Lashes: Lucinda Lashes, karaoke/DJ 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR Bingo Balls: host Misty Lee & prizes 8pm
l EDGE Smart: DJ Liam Searle 10pm
FRIDAY 20
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ Toby Lawrence 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR GLOW: DJs 11pm
l EDGE GLOW: DJ Darcy Buckland & guests + UV lights 11pm
SATURDAY 21
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ Ruper t Ellick 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR The Big One: DJs 10pm
l EDGE The Big One: DJs Claire Fuller, Luke Ennor & Audio K9 10pm
SUNDAY 22
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD ReWind 80s/90s 9pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Sing Your Hear t Out Karaoke: DJ Mikey G 10pm
MONDAY 23
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD 20something: DJs Lee Harris & Luke Ennor 9pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Reboot Reloaded: DJ Darcy Buckland & raffle 10pm
TUESDAY 24
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD Drag Show: host Cherry Liqour, special guest Jacqui Swallows
THE EDGE & BOX BAR SOUTHAMPTON
l Compton Walk, SO14 0BH, T: 023 8036 6163, www.theedgesouthampton.com
l OPEN The Edge: 10pm daily, 11pm Tue–Sat; l Box Bar: 7pm Tue–Sat
l FOOD Box Bar: 7–10pm Tue–Sat
l HAPPY HOURS The Box Bar: 2-4-1 cocktails 7–10pm Tue, Thur & Fri (till 8pm Wed & Sat); The Edge: £1 select shots & £2 house singles Mon, £2 50 bombs & 3 bottles of Fosters £5 Tue, £1 50 drinks Wed, £2 50 bombs & six Cactus Jacks £5 Thur, Pussy Glow Pitchers £6 50 Fri, house singles £2 50 / house doubles £3 50 Sun
l ONE FOR THE DIARY Thursday is BINGO BALLS with Misty Lee with prizes every round from 8pm, entry £1 per bingo book Stick around for SMART, a night dedicated to you being you, with DJ Liam Searle
l REGUL ARS l Fri is GLOW with DJ Darcy Buckland, guest DJs & UVs! l Sat is THE BIG ONE at 10pm with 3 bars, 2 dancefloors, DJ Claire Fuller & guests: Neil Sackley (7), KT (14), Luke Ennor & Audio K9 (21) & Phil Marriott (28) l Sun SING YOUR HEART OUT KARAOKE with DJ Mikey G l Mon is REBOOT RELOADED with DJ Darcy Buckland char t/house and raffle to win a case of WKD! Tues is WINNER TAKES IT ALL QUIZ with Neil Sackley at 8pm Win cash, VIP package and more! Stick around for TIME OUT with DJ KT r&b/pop/ char t tunes l Wed is BAR 150 with DJs Missy B and Liam Searle, plus KARAOKE V CABARET with Cassidy Connors
& Innuendo Bingo 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR The Winner Takes It All Quiz: Neil Sackley & prizes 7pm
l EDGE Time Out: DJ KT 11pm
WEDNESDAY 25
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD Big Navy Night: karaoke with host Aura Jay 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR Bar 150 10pm
l EDGE Bar 150: DJs Liam Searle & Missy B, Cassidy Connors karaoke v cabaret 10pm
THURSDAY 26
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD A Night on the Lashes: Lucinda Lashes, karaoke/DJ 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR Bingo Balls: host Misty Lee & prizes 8pm
l EDGE Smart: DJ Liam Searle 10pm
FRIDAY 27
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ Toby Lawrence 7pm
DANCE MUSIC
DJ PROFILE BY QUEEN JOSEPHINE
DJ PROFILE: SUZE ROSSER
As April shows its sparkling face, Queenie catches up with a DJ who’ll put the biggest of springs into your step. Get ready for some serious wiggling in the company of the gorgeous Suze Rosser!
How are you? I’m pretty dandy, thanks!
Where can we hear you? Out and about - I play mostly at The Arch in Brighton these days You can also listen to my Inspired Presents ‘Radio’ show every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month on 1BTN between 6-8pm
What are you playing these days? Depends on where and when I’m playing really! Generally I play house music right across the board, from deep to real jacking US house I love warming up a room as it gives you the chance to play some experimental slow beats, then gradually moving through the gears as the room fills It’s a difficult but great job once you get it! So many people don’t always understand the term ‘ warm up ’ . It’s a little similar with the radio show, but with that I have even more room to play whatever I like! Music I don’t get the chance to play on the dancefloor or that isn’t suitable.
Any other projects going on? I always have something on the go, including a new club project for the summer! The plan is to launch around Pride funnily enough – though it’s all in the preparatory stages. I have also just FINALLY taken on a studio, so am looking forward to getting some musical projects underway this month.
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR GLOW: DJs 11pm
l EDGE GLOW: DJ Darcy Buckland & guests + UV lights 11pm
SATURDAY 28
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD DJ Rupert Ellick 7pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l BOX BAR The Big One: DJs 10pm
l EDGE The Big One: DJs Darcy Buckland & Phil Marriott 10pm
SUNDAY 29
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD ReWind 80s/90s night 9pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Sing Your Hear t Out Karaoke: DJ Mikey G 10pm
MONDAY 30
PORTSMOUTH
l HAMPSHIRE BLVD 20something: DJs Lee Harris & Luke Ennor 9pm
SOUTHAMPTON
l EDGE Reboot Reloaded: DJ Darcy Buckland & raffle 10pm
Fave song of all time? Ah that’s sooooo difficult and so unfair as there are loads! I adore Fern Kinney’s Love Me Tonight, Al Green’s Let’s Stay Together and Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody, but I also love so many others!
Best ever gig? Mixmag LIVE warming up for The Black Madonna at Patterns, which was an honour as she’s an awesome lady whom I’ve so much admiration for. She has such gratitude for what she does. She also loved my set and gives THE best hugs ever… meaningful, lovely and genuine.
Dream gig? Croatia Love International Festival, where the temperature’s hot as is the music and vibe… Dimensions Festival for the same reasons. Basically anywhere outdoors and warm, or club-wise Tresor, Blitz or Lux!
Tune you wish you’d never played! The one that I put on by mistake!
Guilty pleasure? Real Housewives of New York I resisted for so long, but my girlfriend watches it and now I watch it even when she isn’t home
Describe yourself in three words... Hardworking Thoughtful Tough
SUZE ROSSER’S CURRENT TOP FIVE
) DJ KOZE Nein König Nein (original) Pamper
) COEO Never Going Home (original) Slam City Jams
) SEBB JUNIOR Got Yo Lovin (Crackazat remix) Papa
) SOLEDRIFTER Kare (original) Doin Work Records
) PEGGY GOU Han Jan (original) Ninja Tune
BRIGHTON CENTRE
Kings Road, Brighton, Box office: 0844 847 1515
) BILL BAILEY (Fri 20) Larks in Transit is a compendium of travellers’ tales and the general shenanigans of 20 years as a travelling comedian. With musical virtuosity, surreal tangents and trademark intelligence, Bill Bailey tackles politics, philosophy and the pursuit of happiness. Plus, he fashions a symphony from a ringtone, tells the real story of Old McDonald, and a re-imagines the Stars and Stripes 'Virtuoso Comedy’s Mozart’ The Sunday Times
) NOEL GALLAGHER'S HIGH FLYING BIRDS (Sun 22) With material from Who Built the Moon?, the follow-up to Chasing Yesterday ) CHAMPIONS OF MAGIC (Sat 28) Five world-class illusionists perform feats including disappearances, levitation and teleportation 'So mind-boggling that I won’t even attempt to describe it’ Wales Online
) THE VAMPS (Sun 29) Playing songs from Night and Day including their smash hit, All Night
ACTUALLY GAY MEN’S CHORUS
St Andrew's Church, Waterloo St, Hove, Box office: actuallygmc.org or Prowler, St James’s St ) OVATION - EVERY SONG AN ENCORE! (Sat 21) A concert jampacked with emotion, spinetingling anthems and performances that promise to keep the audience on the edge of their seats and begging for more! Expect everything from musical theatre standards, the biggest pop chartbusters and modern movie
triumphs bursting straight out of Hollywood. Only the biggest stars could join this stellar event, and so Actually welcomes back Chorus patron and audience favourite Miss Jason to oversee proceedings The soprano for this production will be a surprise guest especially selected for Ovation! The night will raise money for the Sussex Beacon
AL START
The Brunswick, Hove, www.gokidmusic.com ) AL START & THE BEASTIE BAND celebrate Earth Day (11 30am & 2 30pm, Sun 22) A big family gig with new songs and old favourites
about our wonderful planet How can we make it a better place for everyone? Let’s change the world a little every day through music and our kids! Tickets £7/family of 4 £24 from: www.gokidmusic.com/tickets
FRIDA FRIDAYS
The Master Mariner, Brighton Marina f/ fridafridays
) FRIDA FRIDAYs presents LISA ABBOTT singing Joni Mitchell (7.30pm, Sat 28). Get in your Big Yellow Taxi and join Frida Fridays for an evening of live music with talented singer Lisa Abbott and fellow musicians performing Joni Mitchell’s Blue LP and other hits while tucking into a full on Middle Eastern buffet Tickets £12 50 pp (include show & buffet) from: www.ticketsource.co.uk/fridafridays
JUNKYARD DOGS
Edward St, Brighton, Box office: www.pauldiello.com/el-geebee-tea
) EL GEEBEE TEA QUEUE (Sat 21 & Sun 22) A two-day festival from the variety night of LGBT+ entertainment from Brighton and beyond. In the main cafe/bar area there’s non-stop comedy, live music, cabaret, spoken word and theatre performances with
screenings in the back room of a diverse selection of short films, full lengths, documentaries, interviews and music videos all created and/or featuring LGBT+ artists, plus an art exhibition and delicious food and drink. Performers include: Dryadic, Alfie Ordinary, Laura Nixon, Debz Shindig Ukulele, Max Legroom, Anny Knight and more.
KOMEDIA
Gardner St, Brighton
Box office: 0845 293 8480
) BENT DOUBLE (Sun 1). A gayfriendly night of frolics hosted by Zoe Lyons (Mock the Week and Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow) and featuring headliner Mary Bourke with Chelsea Hart and Abi Roberts
) CHARLIE HIDES: A DOZEN DIVAS (Sun 15) Charlie Hides, multi award-winning glamazon, Youtube star, international cabaret artist and star of RuPaul’s Drag Race, returns to Brighton with an outrageous tribute to your
favourite divas. Heir to Joan Rivers’ crown as queen of the wicked oneliner, she’s got all the Season 9 gossip and is ready to spill the tea. Not for the easily offended.
THEATRE ROYAL
New Road, Brighton, Box office: 08448 717650
) SON OF A PREACHER MAN (Tue 17–Sat 21). Dusty Springfield’ s greatest hits feature in this show set in a Soho hangout, called The Preacher Man, where kids used to dance the night away and dared to dream of love, while the legendary owner dispensed advice to cure the loneliest of hearts until now
Starring Michelle Gayle (Wolfblood, EastEnders, Beauty & the BeastWest End), Alice Barlow (Hollyoaks,
Drifters), Nigel Richards and directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood. ) AN EVENING WITH PAUL GAMBACCINI (Mon 30) Paul Gambaccini reveals how he started life as a boy in the Bronx and wound up the Professor of Pop in the UK With clips of great artists he’s known, he talks about experiencing the phenomena of Elvis Presley as a child and The Beatles as a teenager, how he got into radio, Rolling Stone magazine, Radio 1, 2, 3 and 4, Classic FM, and TV appearances. He also discusses the three great crises of his life: the Vietnam War's challenge to his American generation, enduring the AIDS era and surviving a hostile encounter with the Metropolitan Police Plus a music quiz and Q&A THE MARLBOROUGH Princes St, Brighton, Box office: marlboroughtheatre.org.uk
) BOOGALOO STU’S BIG QUIFFY QUIZ (Thu 5, 12, 19) Stu will put your wits to the test with torrents of topical teasers, an array of anagrams, puzzling picture rounds and mind-mangling music rounds Bonus rounds give you a chance to win a double vodka and mixer. First prize is a signed photo of Mr Boogaloo himself, and the chance to win the jackpot.
) JUNO DAWSON’S LOVELY TRANS LITERARY SALON (Fri 27). The acclaimed writer of The Gender Games welcomes some of her favourite trans authors to celebrate the wealth of trans talent writing in the UK. A night of readings, animated conversation and a bit of a party!
ART MATTERS
This month I have sourced two local exhibitions for you to experience, both at a friendly walking distance. I hope these two will quell you appetites till the Brighton Festival in May.
PHOENIX GALLERY
Brighton, www.phoenixbrighton.org
) ROCKET ARTISTS presents Art By Johnny (11am–5pm, Wed–Sun Apr 4–29), an exciting, vibrant exhibition and series of events that reveals their curation process and celebrates the impressive artwork by young, prolific and autistic member of the Rockets; Johnny Carroll-Pell
The exhibition coincides with World Autism Awareness Week (Mar 26–Apr 2) and it aims to provide opportunities for various communities of artists, families and organisations to connect through a celebration of art, inclusion and diversity whilst inviting us to re-consider what curation can be. Alongside the exhibition will be an associated programme of talks, workshops, happenings and a book launch all taking place in and around the gallery. Amongst these events, Henry Normal will be launching his new book about family life, A Normal Family, local musician Tom Cook, who works with Daniel Wakefield and Beat Express, will be hosting an event and there will be a talk by motivational speaker and horse whisperer Dido Fisher The Rocket Artists work from their studio in Phoenix Brighton and are a social enterprise CIC Phoenix Brighton is embracing new ways to showcase their unique approach to collaboration and inclusive art practices which is exemplified by this exhibition
FABRICA
GALLERY
Brighton www.fabrica.org.uk
) DAVID SHRIGLEY Life Model II (Apr 14–May 28) Brighton Festival 2018 Guest Director David Shrigley brings his largescale installation Life Model II alongside a selection of his animated films to Fabrica Life Model II upends our preconceptions about the traditional 'life drawing' class by replacing the live model with a sculptural one. Visitors are invited to sit, observe, and draw the model using easels and materials provided. The finished drawings are then pinned to the surrounding gallery walls, becoming part of the exhibition. Best known for his distinctive drawing style and works that satirically comment on everyday subjects and human interactions, David’s hand-rendered drawings are quick-witted and typically deadpan in their humour and present chance utterings as if snippets of overheard conversations. His animations are a natural extension of his drawings, bringing to life his thought process and the narrative potential of his drawings. Widely admired by the art world and public alike, he works across an extensive range of media including sculpture, large-scale installation, animation, painting, illustration, photography and collaborative music projects. Currently on display in Trafalgar Square is Really Good, the 11th commission in the GLA’s Fourth Plinth project, comprising a seven metre-high elongated bronze sculpture of a thumbs-up In 2013 David Shrigley was nominated for the prestigious Turner Prize for his solo show David Shrigley: Brain Activity at the Hayward Gallery (2013)
ALL THAT JAZZ
) JOHN SURMAN Invisible Threads (ECM) English saxophonist John Surman has been a mainstay of British jazz since the late 1960s, his often-overdubbed solo saxophone albums presenting a beguiling mix of the pastoral and the bucolic, of folk roots and jazz development all enhanced by subtle electronics. His most recent set is an international affair, as he is supported here by Nelson Ayers, a renowned Brazilian pianist, and New York vibist Rob Waring, now resident in Norway, where Surman also lives Given that background one might expect a Brazilianflavoured, or perhaps a percussive, set, but it is Surman’s usual folk influences that hold sway Whether on soprano or deeper baritone sax, or the rarely heard guttural bass clarinet, he is as fluent and melodic as ever, floating high over the accompanying piano and vibes or marimba. Nothing too demanding, but eminently enjoyable.
) VARIOUS The Complete History of Jazz (1899–1959) (Properbox) The first jazz record, by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, was released in 1917, making the music just over a century old, although jazz had gone unrecorded for quite some years before then. But its development during that century has been nothing short of extraordinary. The poet Philip Larkin remarked that jazz had gone from the caves of Lascaux to the abstracts of Jackson Pollock in little more than a generation, and it is still evolving today Making sense of this constant change can be difficult, hence my recommendation of this fine 4CD box set Properbox has made a name for itself through its well-curated box sets covering different jazz styles and artists, and this new box is another strong addition to their range All the highlights are here in a set list that ends in 1959, a year of monumental change that saw the new music of Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman and John Coltrane totally transform the idiom As a beginner’s guide to a complex music, you can’t better this introduction.
LIVE JAZZ
The Brighton Festival arrives in May with, for once, some good jazz gigs.
ST GEORGE’S CHURCH
St George’s Road, Kemp Town, https://brightonfestival.org
) Best of all is man of the month John Surman with Norwegian pianist Vigleik Storass (Thur May 10).
) For Miles fans, there is a double afternoon and evening bill (Sat May 12) where the classic Kind of Blue set from 1959 and then Miles’s fusion work from the 1970s, such as Dark Magus, are first played and then interpreted live by a band
) Try also Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita (Sun May 26) in a magical collaboration, linked by the migration of the osprey that links their two lands together Their new album, Soar (Bendidedig Records), is entrancing.
) Vocalist Carleen Anderson, along with pianist Nikki Yeoh and rapper Speech Debelle (Tues May 22), present A Change Is Gonna Come, an interpretation of iconic songs from the Civil Rights Movement.
Also, check out Brighton Fringe for some more good gigs.
CL ASSICAL NOTES
REVIEWS
) JOHANNES PRAMSOHLER and PHILIPPE GRISVARD French Sonatas For The Harpsichord & Violin Audax ADX13710
Johannes Pramsohler (violin) and Philippe Grisvard (harpsichord) have worked together on a number of recordings Their latest, lavishly produced and beautifully packaged double CD recording focuses on French Sonatas for the Harpsichord and Violin. They begin with JeanJoseph Cassanéa de Mondonville (17111772), and explore his influence on other composers from around 1740-1760, and the changing role of the violin in accompanying sonatas for the harpsichord from that period As ever, the energy and dedication that Pramsohler & Grisvard bring to the repertoire is highly engaging. There is a consistent brightness and energy in their sound, always refined, and with incredible attention to the fine detail, with delicate ornamentation and graceful poise. It is also fascinating to hear the contrasting styles of different composers, from the sophisticated grace of Jacques Duphly’ s (17151789) characterful pieces, grouped and presented here as two ‘sonatas’, to the virtuosic and more dramatic Sonatas by Louis-Gabriel Guillemain (1705-1770). These latter works put great technical demands on both players, and the evident enthusiasm Pramsohler and Grisvard have for them is infectious. The harpsichord is perhaps most dominant in the Versailles harpsichordist Luc Marchand’ s (1709-1799) Suite here, with its rattling repetitions and ringing scales in the final Carillon du Parnasse, whereas the melodic lines and ideas are shared and swapped back and forth between the instruments more in Michel Corrette’ s (1707-1795) Sonata. This is a fascinating collection, put together with great insight (and highly informative notes from the players), and performed with such energy and commitment throughout. Highly recommended
) THE FLAUTADORS Bavardage
First Hand Records FHR55. The Flautadors formed just over ten years ago and perform a wide repertoire, spanning 900 or so years, and they have built up an impressive collection, ranging through medieval, renaissance and baroque, through to modern instruments – a total of 54 different recorders are used on this new recording alone. Here they mix works from the last 40 years or so with arrangements of Scottish traditional melodies by Ian Wilson, one of the quartet members They are joined by three more recorder players to perform Arvo Pärt’ s (b 1935) ringing Arbos, with its characteristic falling lines and layers built up by different instruments playing the lines at differently proportioned speeds, with added overtones from three triangles.
The extra recorder players also join in for the most substantial work here, the iconic In C by Terry Riley (b.1964). Here they use 25 different instruments to create a wider range of pitches, to perform the 53 repeated cells that make up the work, to be performed consecutively by all the players at times of their own choosing
Other works worthy of mention here include the disc’s title piece, Bavardage by David Murphy (b.1970). This is full of highly virtuosic chromatic runs, intentionally overblown, harsh chordal effects and great gossipy, chattering effects.
In contrast, Ryohei Hirose’ s (1930-2008) Idyll 1 is full of dark, mysterious atmosphere, which the performers enhance by using Norwegian ‘ sea flutes’ The highly effective Scottish arrangements provide welcome contrast to some of the harsher technical exploits on display in other works, and the disc is nicely rounded off with another effective arrangement of Peter Maxwell Davies’ (19342016) Fairwell to Stromness. An intriguing exploration of the perhaps unexpected versatility of the recorder, expertly performed by The Flautadors throughout.
) PETER DONOHOE Igor
Stravinsky Piano Solo, and Music
For Piano & Orchestra Somm SOMMCD266-2. Pianist Peter Donohoe has released a comprehensive double disc of music for piano solo, and music for piano and orchestra, by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971). The solo works take up about a disc and a half, and include two early but highly contrasting Sonatas, as well as Three Movements from Petrushka, Stravinsky’s own recasting of music from his successful ballet score The first Sonata from 1904 shows the influence of his teacher Rimsky-Korsakov, with strong flavours of Rachmaninov and Prokofiev, amongst others. For the second Sonata here, we jump forward 21 years, into Stravinsky’s neo-classical phase, and the writing is much more angular and sparse, and here Donohoe plays Stravinsky’s ironic score with great precision and bite, without ever allowing it to tip over into pastiche The Three Movements from Petrushka have drive and those wonderfully Stravinskian crashing rhythms, and Donohoe produces a bright, almost glassy sound here Other works include the Serenade in A, with its
Chopinesque opening, and perky Cadenza finale, and a quirky, humourously dark Tango, as well as Piano-Rag-Music, in which the jazz influences are mixed with dislocated rhythms that could only be Stravinsky’s. Donohoe is joined by the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by David Atherton, for the three orchestral works here. The Concerto For Piano and Wind Instruments receives a tight performance, with spiky woodwind matching the percussive piano The mournful and ponderous central movement is lifted by the cadenza like passages, given great energy by Donohoe here The short serialist Movements For Piano & Orchestra is performed here with great clarity and conviction, and the interest of the detail shines through the austere writing. The Capriccio For Piano and Orchestra is playful and exuberant, where rhythm is paramount, and there is some really tight playing from the woodwind in particular Overall, Donohoe convincingly traverses the wide range of styles here, giving us great insight into Stravinsky’s writing for the instrument over his lifetime
Reviews, comments and events: v nicks-classical-notes.blogspot.co.uk t @nickb86uk ) nbclassical@hotmail.co.uk
CINEMA
) Verdi’ s Macbeth comes live from the Royal Opera House (Wed 4), with Anna Netrebko and Željko Lučić
) You can see Plácido Domingo in Verdi’s Luisa Miller (Sat 14), and Joyce DiDonato and Alice Coote in Massenet’ s Cendrillon (Sat 28) from the MET Opera.
CONCERTS
BRIGHTON DOME
Box office: 01273 709709, www.brightondome.org
) The London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by John Storgårds (Sat 14), perform Stravinsky, Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky’ s Rococo Variations with Stéphane Tétreault (cello)
LEWES TOWN HALL
www.eastsussexbachchoir.org
) The East Sussex Bach Choir are joined by the Baroque Collective Singers, with the Baroque Collective, conducted by John Hancorn (Sat 21, 7.30pm) for Bach’ s B Minor Mass, with soloists including Amy Carson & James Newby. ACCA
University of Sussex, 01273 678822
www.attenboroughcentre.com
) The Quatuor Arod (Sun 29, 11am) play Haydn, Attahir and Beethoven.
CONCERT PREVIEWS
BRIGHTON FESTIVAL
www.brightonfestival.org
01273 709709
) This year ’ s festival opens with a fascinating collaboration by two locals, filmmaker Cesca Eaton and composer/conductor Ed Hughes Cesca’s film, Cuckmere: A Portrait & Environmentalism 2.0 (Sat 5, ACCA) with specially composed music by Ed, is performed live by the Orchestra of Sound & Light.
) Belgian early music group Vox Luminis (Sun 13, Glyndebourne) to perform Bach, Scarlatti and Handel (Sun 6, Glyndebourne) Then tenor Mark Padmore and baritone Roderick Williams, accompanied by Julius Drake (piano) are joined by actor Rory Kinnear for Songs of the Sea, a programme of music and poetry
) In the Brighton Festival Chorus’ 50th anniversary year, they perform two concerts in this year ’ s festival. First, they are joined by the Brighton Festival Youth Choir (Sat 12, Brighton Dome) in Britten’ s War Requiem, with the Britten Sinfonia and the Orchestre de Picardie Arie van Beek conducts, with soloists Ian Bostridge, Gerald Finley and Claire Booth
They return at the end of the festival (Sun 27, Brighton Dome) for a performance with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of the work that launched the chorus 50 years ago, Walton’s Belshazzar’ s Feast.
) Lunchtime concerts include the Van Kuijk Quartet (Thur 10, All Saints) playing Schubert and Poulenc, pianist Alexander Panfilov (Thur 17, Theatre Royal) performing Albéniz and Prokofiev, and the Chineke! Junior Quartet (Thur 24, All Saints) playing Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Florence Price and Beethoven
) St Michael & All Angels have lots of Bach, with the Goldberg Variations from Rachel Fryer (piano) (Sat 19) and the Sonatas & Partitas for violin from Benedict Cruft (Sat 5 & Sun 6).
There’s more Bach and Beethoven from the Cruft-Robertson-Pleeth String Trio (Fri 18), and Purcell and Vivaldi from Paul Gregory (guitar) (Fri 25)
Hear music by Gabrieli, Lassus and more sung by Byrdsong (Sat 5) and Shostakovich’ s 24 Preludes and Fugues performed by Jonathan Powell (piano) (Sat 12).
Lunchtime concerts include Glière and Ravel from Ellie Blackshaw (violin) and Esther Ward-Caddle (cello) (Sat 12), and Beethoven, Schubert and Debussy from PierreBastien Midali (piano) (Sat 26)
) MOOT (Music of our Time) focus this year on ‘Bernstein at 100’ at St Paul’s Church, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the American composer/conductor’s birth, with Anna Litvinenko (cello) and Craig White (piano) performing Bernstein alongside Britten and Copland (Wed 9), and Rachel Gorman (violin),
Steve Dummer (clarinet) & Norman Jacobs (piano) adding music by Feldman and Stravinsky (Wed 16)
In the final concert, Rebecca Griffiths (flute), Daniel Lauro (percussion) and Norman Jacobs, include music by Messiaen and Copland, as well as a new commission from Stephen Montague (Wed 23)
) Pianist Jean Angliviel performs Debussy’ s Preludes Book 2, with Schumann and Chopin (8, 10 & 12, various venues) You can also hear organ music from various performers in lunchtime recitals (8, 15, 22 & 29, St Bartholomew’s).
HOPE ALONG THE WIND
A film about the Sussex man who started two Queer Revolutions in the USA! Gay Socrates talks to Harr y Hay's friend and carer, Joey Cain, about Hay, the man, and the movie made about his life, coming to the Brighton Fringe next month.
) Harry Hay (1912-2002) was born in Worthing As an adult he became a gay activist in the US and founded the first Gay Liberation movement (The Mattachine Society) in 1950 He then went on to co-found the Radical Faeries Hope Along the Wind... is a lovely movie which sets this unlikely story in its historic context and captures rare interview footage of this iconic character in his later years
Joey Cain knew Harry in person and was one of the devoted band of 'Loving Companions' who tended to the care of Harry and his partner in their closing years. For the 100th anniversary of Harry’s birth in 2012, he curated a major exhibition about his life and times in San Francisco and coorganised a conference about Harry in New York City Joey is flying from his home in San Francisco to present a screening of this movie as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival next month
Who was Harry Hay to you?
“Harry was a dear friend, political comrade and gay visionary the likes of which we probably won’t see again Without his tenacity, deep thinking and integrity, the LGBT revolution, at least as far as the USA goes, would have been a much longer time coming He traversed many worlds, as gay people often do
“A Communist activist and great music lover who was a trained baritone, he read long and deep in history and anthropology to find the hidden history of our people.”
Why are you bringing Harry Hay's story to the Brighton Fringe?
“Harry was born in Worthing, his birth house still stands, and we thought it would be a lovely idea to ‘bring Harry back’ to this part of England, where he started out. This whole area is so rich in queer history what with Edward Carpenter being born in Brighton, Oscar Wilde writing The Importance of Being Ernest practically around the corner from where Harry was born. And that’s just scratching the surface.”
Why do you think conceiving of the Radical Faeries was important to Harry?
“Harry always said that the Radical Fairies was the realisation of the dream he had when he started The Mattachine Society in 1950. The essence lies in the three questions he posed to be answered by both groups: Who are we? Where do we come from? Why are we here? For Harry, the Fairies were about answering those questions and acting on the answers ”
) Eyes Wide Open Cinema and Fabrica Gallery presents Hope Along The Wind: The Life of Harry Hay, Fabrica Gallery, 40 Duke St, Brighton BN1 1AG at 7.30pm, Tuesday May 8. Tickets: www.brightonfringe.org
)Eyes Wide Open Cinema is a queer film strand based in Brighton www.eyeswideopencinema.co.uk
Church still technically has influence on the government’s decisions. We are a bit left behind when it comes to the sexual revolution since it’s a very conservative country, and yet there are so many Ladyboys, so I don’t really get it!
GERI LOVE
Morgan Fabulous sits down with Filipino vocalist Geri Love to talk about sexuality, politics and Ladyboys.
) Geri Love was born in 'the pearl of the orient seas', the Philippines. Growing up unsure about your sexuality and gender in a Roman Catholic country, with a disapproving Father and very little opportunity, was difficult
“It was a struggle, but I was grateful that my mother believed in me and supported my dreams of becoming a singer She knew from the start that I was different, and she was always there to help me grow and be myself My siblings were supportive too and they were quite relaxed with me living my dream to live as a woman
“I was bullied when I was a kid because of my sexuality; I didn’t see myself growing up as a full-blown ‘macho man ’ but as a beautiful woman I felt very different from others My friends and I would pretend as if we were competing for Little Miss Philippines, those were fun memories. Being surrounded by boys made me feel uncomfortable because I felt I didn’t belong, I felt strange, like I was born in a different body and that’s when I realised I was different.
“During my childhood, I was the only one who was very transparent about my gender identity It is only when I attended high school that I met other kids like myself, who shared the same thoughts about gender expression Then, as I grew older, I witnessed other kids growing up in similar ways to myself and I was able to support them "
How did you get into music?
“I was part of the church choir; I trained to sing Gospel My mentor saw something in me and before you know it I was head of the choir and singing solo in front of the whole congregation, I felt like a Diva. For me this was a great creative outlet, it let me be myself, the boys and the girls all wore the same choir gowns, so we were all unified, and I felt part of something great.”
What is it like now for the LGBT+ communities in the Philippines?
“Unfortunately, my home country is still conservative as people are too slow to accept that a non-binary system should be part of their contemporary lives, plus the fact that we are still influenced by the Church, and the
“Our new President in the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, largely supports the LGBT+ communities and we have our first ever representative in congress who is the voice of the transgender community Even though transgender beauty pageants are famous in the Philippines, and have been televised nationwide to celebrate gender identity, our male passports remain male passports But thankfully, in Great Britain, I’ve been able change my documents and paperwork legally to female, and my title to Miss. I would never have experienced this in the Philippines and I’m so grateful to the UK government for making this possible.”
What does performing mean to you?
“Joining pageants is my way to take part, engage and celebrate my sexuality. I’ve been influenced by my TS circle of friends who are all beauty queens, they trained me to walk and how to stylise myself from head to toe. I won Miss Exilio 2015 for the Latino LQBT+ community and Miss Alternative London 2016
I learned a lot through attending and participating in these competitions but realised the pageant life is not for me Like all competitions, what you see on stage is different from what goes on behind the curtain.
“When I’m on stage, I feel alive, it’s all eyes on me and I feel like a celebrity It’s living proof that you can achieve your dreams, and all your hard work pays off. I love how I can express myself and celebrate my femininity.
“I used to work as a singer/comedian in some famous comedy clubs in the Philippines. I enjoyed making people laugh and at the same time showcasing my talents as a singer. One of my favourite performances was singing at Summer Festival in Shoreditch, along with other Trans stars. I have also had the pleasure of singing in famous LGBT+ clubs in London and various Pride festivals in the UK ”
What or who inspires you…
“My favourite styles of music are Motown, pop, and R&B. My inspirations are Amy Winehouse and Caro Emerald, and I love pop music artists, including: Little Mix, Jennifer Lopez and Whitney Houston ”
What’s next for Geri Love?
“This year, I’m trying to establish myself as a singer here in Brighton since I now live here with my partner
“My ideal career would be to sing every night in my own show, the Ladyboy Experience Singing, dancing, costumes and some light comedy In addition, if given the opportunity, I’d love to have my own roadshow to tour around the world, like the Ladyboys of Bangkok show, but with a singer, who can perform live!
“While all that is happening, I’ll be performing locally over the Easter holidays and you can also see me at the Wayoutclub, which is a transgender club, in London on Saturday, May 5 ”
MORE INFORMATION
) For more information and to connect with Geri Love, view: www.geri-love.com
NEON MOON
Matthew Callow talks about music and mental health with Jason Saw, MindOut's Ser vice Manager.
Your new album Neon Moon is out now, you must be ever so excited?
“Oh I really am! Putting the album together has been quite a journey, which I started in 2015 I have literally spent three years developing a sound that I now feel happy and confident with It's been fun experimenting with different ideas and influences, which is something I’ve been unable to do with previous projects.”
You are performing lots at the moment, how's that going?
“Performing at festivals is my biggest love; it's where I'm most confident. My album launch at the Marlborough Theatre was a very special event for me as I’d worked so hard on the album and I wanted to share it with friends. I decided to make the event a fundraiser for MindOut I can’t wait for Brighton Fringe this year I’ve been attending shows at the festival for the past eight years and I’m so excited to be a part of this year's line-up ”
What’s your favourite track on the album?
“This Life - it's the one track that gets people dancing I would say it's the happiest track on the album It has lots of electronic sounds, delays, reverbs and Yma Sumac styled growls, which I love!”
Is the whole album influenced by Yma?
“Well, I'm a massive Yma fan, and love how she sang notes in the low baritone register as well as notes above the range of any ordinary soprano The album has many eclectic influences; I wanted something that was mainly upbeat, and I found lots of inspiration with Goldfrapp, Marc Almond and the brilliant Bjork. I’ve battled with depression a lot in the past and music has been a great sanctuary for me. So I wanted to dwell on something that was mainly happy within the music.”
Why did you choose MindOut as a charity to support?
“MindOut are just great, they really do go the extra mile when it comes to supporting LGBTQ people with mental health concerns I know many people who have benefited from the support they offer and I do know their work to be both life changing and lifesaving, so I always do my best to support the charity whenever I can. I’ve taken part in some of MindOut's anti-stigma events and I ran the Brighton Marathon for MindOut a few years ago too, which was a combination of being one of the most traumatic and rewarding things I’ve ever done! I am very committed to supporting the work of MindOut, especially considering the high prevalence of mental health problems and suicidal distress in our communities ”
How's your mental health at the moment?
“Well, it's been a challenging few months for me as I’ve had a number of difficult changes in my personal life to deal with I do lots of things to take care of my wellbeing, which in turn helps me feel well mentally Music is my therapy, I talk about how I feel to friends I feel safe with and I try my hardest to get all the basics right, e.g. health food, sleep, lots of fresh air and exercise.”
MORE INFORMATION
) Matthew Callow's album Neon Moon is out now and you can see him at the Latest Music Bar on May 6 and 8 as part of the Brighton Fringe
For more information about MindOut, view: www.mindout.org.uk
the West End ” He thought having played it before would be a handicap but it hasn’t proved so “It’ll be a more modest and honest version, more like the film ” Preparation includes makeup, wigs, costumes and, of course, heels, which he plans to wear all through rehearsals. Did you do research to get inside the head of a transgender woman?
“I used to know some transgender people back in the heyday of Madame Jo Jo’s club in Soho, when the world was negative they felt safe and comfortable in the club.“ And no, it hasn’t made him want to do drag except he’d like to do a show about April Ashley, the legendary transgender model and hostess.
What other roles beckon? He’d like to have a crack at Sweeney. He feels he is too old for the role, which he certainly isn’t.
Back to Priscilla. Did you realise at the time how ground-breaking the film was? “I loved it. It was rebellious, it was brash. I didn’t think Stamp was feminine enough and then discovered he wasn’t really interested in the role.”
MARK INSCOE –MAN OF MANY PARTS
Hove-based musical theatre star, Mark Inscoe, is about to reprise his West End role of the transgender woman Bernadette in the stage version of Priscilla, Queen of the Deser t, having played the role in London’s Palace Theatre nine years ago. Brian Butler talks to him about homophobic bullying at school, Les Mis, Sweeney Todd and Priscilla.
) Looking round Mark Inscoe’s home, you are struck by a large glass cabinet containing carefully laid out rocks – not the stripy seaside kind, but the fossilised variety There’s a very good reason for the impressive display “When I was 12 at a Jesuit school I got interested in geology and went on to read the subject at Exeter University ” But it wasn’t to be his career choice, as the theatre seriously took over the young undergraduate’s life. “There was no O-Level in music at school but at 15 I was cast as a non-singing, non-speaking guard in the Mikado. ”
His teenage acting rise was meteoric, the following year he played the lead of Frederick in the Pirates of Penzance. Once at Exeter University, musical theatre became a passion and his friends included Anthony Stiles and George Drewe, destined to be the musical sensation we know today. Mark helped set up a musical theatre society at uni and stayed on after graduation for eight months to work on Stiles & Drewe’s musical Tutankhamun, in which he played Howard Carter
While appearing in Stiles & Drewe’s Just So, he was spotted by Cameron Macintosh Mark found himself in 1987 in the second cast of
Les Mis A wonderful start to a career spanning more than 30 years, but Mark describes it differently “I didn’t push myself forward into the limelight, largely because I had no formal theatre training so my career has been a gradual progression Even now I think I don’t get some of the more acting kind of roles because of that gap in my CV.”
With no major period out of work, and wide experience in voice-overs, cabaret, corporate entertaining and even computer game narration, he can pick and choose what he wants to take on. “Although there are fewer middle-aged roles, there’s less competition. I don’t tap dance so I've done what I call the more dramatic musical performances.“ The list is very impressive: from Higgins in My Fair Lady to Emile in South Pacific, Captain Von Trapp in the Sound of Music to the lecherous Judge Turpin in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd And of course, Bernadette in Priscilla, made famous in the original film by Terence Stamp Mark will reprise the role in the first major revival of the stage show at Hornchurch
How does it feel to do the part again? “It’ll be a totally new approach with new director, new cast, and smaller scale than in
Do you have a favourite show you've done? “Grand Hotel and Priscilla. ”
In the wake of the Kevin Spacey allegations, have you experienced bullying in the theatre? He says no, though he was bullied at school because even though he wasn’t ‘out’ he was just presumed to be gay. He led a double life and thinks it might be one reason he became an actor “My experience in the theatre is that people accept you for what you are, though I accept terrible things have happened to women in branches of entertainment ”
Are there more Stiles & Drewe around? “Yes, there’s some wonderful writing out there, but producers don’t want to take risks on new works, audiences like what they know and know what they like, that’s why so called ‘jukebox musicals’ are so successful ”
He still has an ambition to repeat Tutankhamun – “it’s an amazing piece” In the meantime he is busy Having narrated a BBC TV series, Secrets of the Human Body, and played the Sorcerer King in the computer game Divinity – Original Sin
PRISCILL A INFO
) Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert, directed by Douglas Rintoul, Queen’s Theatre, Billet Ln, Hornchurch RM11 1QT, April 27-May 26; previews: Fri 27, Sat 28 & Mon 30 April. Tickets: £12.50–£30/under 26s: £8 (Tue–Thur & previews). Box Office: 01708 443333 or online: www.queens-theatre.co.uk
) THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA (Eureka blu-ray) Herman Mankiewicz’ s film is a companion piece to his earlier All About Eve with Broadway replaced by Hollywood A cabaret dancer (Ava Gardner) becomes a film star under the guidance of writer-director Harry Dawes (Humphrey Bogart). Instead of just George Sanders to contend with, she has three men who want to take non-sexual possession of her, the last of which is an Italian count played by Rossano Brazzi. The movie is decidedly non-realistic: barely a scene goes by without someone comparing the unfolding events to fictional narratives Though I’m not sure this inoculates the film against charges of implausibility Originally Mankiewicz had the count being a closeted gay, but rewriting his homosexuality as an unfortunate war wound is just too much of a fudge Constantly teetering on the edge of the ridiculous, it’s redeemed by some great performances: particularly Marius Goring as perhaps cinema’s first example of jet-set Eurotrash and Oscar-winning Edmond O’Brien as a sweaty publicist
) JARMAN VOLUME ONE (BFI bluray) The first box set of the director’s films covers 1972–1986 and features his psychedelic debut IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN; punk classic JUBILEE; his adaptation of Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST; more bard with sonnets, skinheads and Judi Dench in THE ANGELIC CONVERSATION; censorbaiting and latin dialogue in SEBASTIANE; and biopic of queer artists, CARAVAGGIO The set includes 30 extras and a fully illustrated 80page booklet
) Mr B clothing from £18.95 (Prowler, 112-113 St James's Street, Brighton, 01273 603813)
We’re happy for you. When you’re ‘masc’. Or come on in. It’s oh so shallow.
By Craig Hanlon-Smith @craigscontinuum
) Russell Tovey announces his marriage and receives almost no Tom Daley-style vitriol from the gay community. It couldn’t be because we would all serious make a play for his rugby playing beau Steve Brockman, could it?
And so another openly gay celebrity has announced an impending nuptial to their current beau. In late February, Russell Tovey revealed plans to marry his boyfriend, Steve Brockman The established gay press were all over it in no time, celebrating Mr Tovey’s engagement and referring to his partner, Brockman, as ‘his rugby playing boyfriend’ Social media went nuts and people were initially lovely Too many to quote directly here but genuinely pleased hoards of gays and Tovey fans celebrating their love and future commitment. Hurrah.
Of course, as the day progressed, perhaps only a few moments as real life minutes equate to social media months, a few messages delved their toes into cheekier and slightly suggestive waters, and then some were downright horny Openly describing where exactly they’d like to sit in a Tovey/Brockman ‘sandwich’ which is a polite homosexual word for ‘hot sweaty f**k orgy ’ The rampantly determined did not hold back and despite not actually having an invitation to interject into the forthcoming marriage, this did not appear to bother most. And I’m assuming from the messages that I read, the grandmothers of these young men are not following them on Twitter, or perhaps they are and I’m just an old-fashioned girl.
Of course, only a few days earlier, yet more gay celebs had revealed their latest relationship developments and posted a picture of their unborn child courtesy of a surrogate mother, only the reaction both online and in the press had been a little different This perhaps, should not have been a surprise, as so it had been the case when Mr Tom Daley and his husband Dustin Lance Black first announced their intention to marry earlier last year Now, when the Daily Mail plays its expected nasty card following the announcement of Daley and Black’s impending delivery, no one is surprised Just as the algorithmic Facebook feeds us the nonsense it knows we like from taking part in those online quizzes, the Daily Mail has a
responsibility to its heartless readers. And as they’re all gleefully planting tiny union jacks into their crumbling sandcastles, Richard Littlejohn hangs the gays out upon the battlements The Daily Mail has a fanbase and they want to hear all the hits, and encouraging homophobic vitriol is their multi-million best seller Bring it on Littlejohn, we expect it What I wasn’t prepared for, was the gay male twitterati joining in
And so I asked the question: Why? Why from (some) gay men, such unpleasantness and use of violent language towards other gay men, celebrating their life together, marriage and now expected first child? I received many, many responses: ‘Oh we ’ re tired of them. They’re over exposed’; ‘If you put yourself out there you should expect it’; ‘They’re smug ’ ; ‘The old one (he’s 43) has been in porn and lied about it’; ‘Daley sends nudes to other men ’ . The last one is borderline ridiculous as half of Brighton is up to that after a couple of shandies of a Tuesday, but I’m not sure I see any of them as a reasonable justification for vicious name calling that resembles bullying and intimidation, albeit from the safety of a smartphone But there we have the uncomfortable explanation for it Bullying and intimidation
It’s common behavioural understanding that the bullied become the bullies and much of the gay male community is likely to have experienced bullying in some form and in many cases throughout their lives The bullying domino effect is a spiral of catastrophic but almost inevitable behaviour, and our ability to make ourselves feel better about our perceived weaknesses by screaming obscenities at others is both an horrific and highly ineffective human recovery action. In short; clever boy for being nasty with your smartphone but you won’t feel better in the long run It is, however, likely that the truth is much more complex and perhaps uglier than that
The response to Russell Tovey’s engagement announcement was mainly positive and sexually suggestive so why such a disparity between types of gays? Could it be that Tovey’s rugby playing boyfriend persona, however distant and unobtainable, plays into our
masculine ideal of how we would ourselves like to be received, perceived and desired? Tom Daley is (perhaps, and I’m not endorsing such a view) an irritatingly hairless camp queen and his screenwriting boyfriend all velvet tuxedos and artistic flair – we actively seek to distance ourselves from this type of homo. And the morning after this year ’ s Oscar ceremony, US Winter Olympian Adam Rippon, slated on social media for his harness/tuxedo look by hoards of gay men. His supposed brothers. Rippon has done more for gay male visibility in six weeks than most can achieve in a lifetime, but perhaps competitive figure skating just isn’t tough enough to satisfy our masculine ideals
I get it. Diving, screenwriting and skating in sequins is hardly muddy jock straps in the changing rooms. Steve Brockman is more likely to come straight off the sports field all overdeveloped thighs and bounding testosterone and feeds into a perception of what we really want to be The type of gay that does not appear to be gay at all
Gay men of all ages… ask yourself; have you ever looked at another homosexual man and thought ‘ gays like that give gays like me a bad name’? And then whatever the behaviours we observe in the appointed pariah, we seek to distance ourselves from as much as possible That level of finger pointing, name calling and social distancing is likely to come from a form of self-loathing that is rooted deeply in those years of aggression and hostility that we were ourselves in the firing line of.
It’s without question desperately sad that when we perhaps needed it most, there was no one there to give us a hug and tell us that it would all be okay. But let’s not take any anger at our years of lost comforts on to the platforms of social media, and attack others for celebrating, and yes, showing off their flamboyant happiness. We may be tired of them, they may be over exposed, they may be smug, they may have had secret careers in pornography that they now deny, and they may, despite being married, be sending nudes to other men outside of their relationship If you have something to say, say it But make sure your own blotting paper is as clean as a whistle before you throw ink And whatever you say, be nice Be nice It really is that simple
“Gay men of all ages… ask yourself; have you ever looked at another homosexual man and thought ‘gays like that give gays like me a bad name?’”
WALL’S WORDS
BY M I K E WA L L
ARE YOU GIVING IT AWAY FOR FREE?
) Like a lot of you out there I remember my life before the internet, social media, mobile phones and other portable internet enabled devices. Was life better without all of this technology and these communication tools?
I have to say that I’m one of those people who barely has an online presence and I’m very proud to say so. In my day job I’m very involved in a world of data protection, freedom of information, information security, cyber security etc and due to the knowledge I have, I very much protect my personal data when online. If all of you reading this only knew a fraction of what I know you may not be so willing to just give away your data willingly and for free
I’d like to take this opportunity to just pose a few questions to you. Does Facebook own your data? Who does Google share your data with? Do you know how many companies have your bank details? How much would I be able to find out about you if all I had was your name, photo and town you live in?
I’m intentionally not going to give you the answer to all of these questions but I assure you that you might be very frightened by some of the answers It may be worth spending a little bit of time looking for the answers, as I guarantee that your online activity would drastically change
I enjoyed my world ignorant of the random thoughts that floated casually through the minds of individuals like Donald Trump Whilst I do not and will not ever follow anyone on Twitter, it seems I cannot escape this egotistical lunatic I only have to switch on the radio for a short time and most days I can be almost certain that there will be some news about what this man has posted So, going back to my original question, I feel that I was probably less stressed, frustrated and angry before the interweb
“Whilst I do not and will not ever follow anyone on twitter it seems I cannot escape this egotistical lunatic”
In the interest of balance I should however now offer up some positives I enjoy reading news each morning on my tablet I enjoy the ease of researching subjects. I think that it is wonderful that libraries now provide access to the internet for the public so that we can all benefit from the positive aspects of an internet world. I believe that when used properly we can all benefit from the ability to share information for good reasons.
I would only ask one favour of all of you reading this: consider the questions I posed above If you discover the answers you will not only gain information but also knowledge This knowledge will provide you with the ability to make informed decisions about what happens to your personal data and how you can prevent it from causing you harm If, however, you are happy to share everything with the world then please do but be aware that one day you may not be able to deal with the consequences of your own actions.
GAY WISDOM
RADICAL FAERIES: WHY ARE WE HERE?
) There are times in the history of our humanity when, suddenly, unexpectedly, and dramatically, human consciousness shifts. When this happens, historians are usually curious about how these changes came about. Who did what to whom, and when?
The development of an LGBTQI+ liberation movement is one such event. We all know there was a time, back in the dark ages, when queerness didn’t even seem to have a consciousness of itself. And then there was a time when queers were vilified and persecuted, even killed and eugenicised. And then came the time when one queer said ‘No!”.
There is a scientifically recognised phenomenon known as ‘morphic resonance ’ (discovered by biologist Professor Rupert Sheldrake), whereby a puzzle or dilemma solved by one living creature is immediately more likely, and more rapidly, to be solved by another, regardless of geographical proximity Maybe it is by this little understood process that historic shifts of consciousness occur However, in terms of queer liberation, there must have been that moment when, not only did one particular queer say “No! This is not acceptable”, but then went on to say “And this is how we’ll go about changing it ”
It is quite possible that the name of that queer was Harry Hay, one of the founders of the first gay liberation movement organisations in the US - the Mattachine Society The story of how that small group brought hope and then ultimately tangible human rights equality to a growing number of nations across the world is told in a short, gripping movie biopic Hope Along The Wind coming to the Brighton Fringe Festival next month.
Interestingly, Harry Hay’s involvement at the inception of the LGBTQI+ liberation movement was not the end of the story. After the movement’s historic successful legal challenge of a cottaging charge, the movement was flooded with ‘assimilationists’ (who believed ‘ we ’ re just like straights apart from our sexualities’). He stepped away from the movement believing steadfastly that having sexualities was one of the few things that queers did have in common with the mainstream He believed that queerness gave us a unique window through which we are able to view society and that we then favourably influence it through our own individual cultural engagements
He threw himself into research constantly asking his famous three questions: ‘Who are we?’, ‘Where do we come from?’, and ‘Why are we here?’
Following his discovery of a resonance with the Native American identity of Berdache or ‘Two Spirit’, he began to see queers as a tribe of magical spiritual creatures with a unique role to play in the development of human consciousness
As Faeries, we locate our own unique purpose by celebrating our wild and mysterious natures together in community Hope Along the Wind: The Life of Harry Hay, showing at the Fabrica Gallery, 40 Duke St, BN1 1AG on Tuesday, May 8, 7 30pm Tickets £8/£6: www brightonfringe org
Come along and say hello to the Brighton Faeries!
CHARLIE SAYS
Friend or online foe by Charlie
Bauer Phd
http://charliebauerphd blogspot co uk
) It's great that we're concerned about our safety on the web. It might be too late though, because while we've been downloading apps and wondering if our houses will ever go up in price again we slipped into a chasm of hell Don’t say you have not been warned
Here is my Gscene article from five years ago on the very subject, in case you missed it or were doing something more important
So the truth is finally out - we ’ re all being watched Some time ago I covered online identities including shagsites like Grindr, but the very notion of this most recent internet profiling is making me feel a bit queazy Either way, I can’t help thinking that all this Ed Snowden stuff is really just the tip of the slippery iceberg All this surveillance makes me wonder how they are ever going to get us to behave ourselves. We’re all free and well out of our closets and we all know our rights. And we ’ re not doing anything illegal, are we? What we do in bed is (now) our own business as long as it doesn’t constitute any form of involuntary force over another. Correct? And we can also perve away across the internetbecause we see this as free information - and delude ourselves that we are still operating within the law Even if we don’t know what the law is
The thing about this profiling is that it’s now the single most profitable activity in the modern world I’ve already had a taste of the creepies - doing a Google search for a dentist, then local dentists adverts appearing in the sidebar when you log onto Facebook I’ve bashed on about the fact that the iPhone contains everything about yourself in a neat little package – your information then being sold back to you by the crypto-hippies at the Apple store.
Most people I talk to about my concerns tell me they have nothing to hide, ‘Whoever they are, they can’t spy on everything we get up to
online Can they?’ Well, I’ve just scrawled down my two-day web search history and it’s actually embarrassing I stopped scrolling at the query, ‘Yellow pus - Ear - Pain’ What is my personal profile going to be if I’m banking search results like that?
There are also those of us who say, ‘they can look at whatever they want – I’m not hiding anything or breaking any laws ’ This is where we come unstuck
There was once a very important queer elder by the name of Michel Foucault who came up with the idea of surveillance, which he based on old-fashioned prisons called Panopticons In the centre of these prisons was an observation tower with slit windows where the guards would sit. In a circle around these were the prison cells with railings on both sides so the guards could see through each cell at every prisoner. But here was the trick - the prisoners couldn’t tell if they were being observed or not because they couldn’t see through the slits in the tower at the guards. What the prisoners did, because they didn’t know if they were being watched, was regulate their own behaviour In other words, they started to ‘behave’ themselves This meant the job was done – and cheaply too because sometimes the central turrets had no guards in, but the prisoners didn’t know that and so behaved themselves
This is becoming the same way with the internet, but they can’t afford to police us anymore so they profile us instead – building up a contrived image of who we are via every
activity we make on the internet, text, phone, Facebook, Grindr
So do we have to ‘behave’ ourselves because they may be looking? It’s actually gone beyond that We have to regulate our behaviour now because Ed Snowden informed us that they can go back at any point and put together a case based on hearsay from our own digital history And we will not be able to defend this because they will carry all the so-called ‘evidence’.
Whenever you complain about a politician shafting the economy or Murdoch using wealth to cover everything up, just remember that information is also designed to make you lose all faith in any system of order. So that when, if it were all to break down, in that good old colonial way, the powers that be will stomp in with a new moral treaty in hand in order to ‘protect’ us from ourselves.
Profiling is not only about ‘targeting’ advertising at you via your online searches. They now know all your sexual peccadillos by what porn you view – even how long it takes for you to orgasm as a result Is that personal enough for you?
As for ‘having nothing to hide’, your personal information may seem innocuous now, but think about some idiot invested with power at GCHQ compiling their tailored choice of profile based on carefully selected ‘real events’ from your online life What about that time you and a mate stumbled on the ‘How to make a nail bomb’ website when you were drunk or having a disagreement Or that time when you typed ‘Sexy boys’ into Google search when you really should have tapped in ‘Sexy men ’ .
All of this, as well as what you bought at the Tesco Metro yesterday, and your most recent STD information, is currently on a chip the size of your little toenail at a storage facility in F***hampton, Pennsylvania. And it’s not what you ’ re doing now in your temporarily emancipated lives, but what can be held against you from your digital past if someone decides you ’ ve suddenly stepped out of line. And they wont be favourable either. Even if you believe yourself to have a moral compass, they can shift the polarity of your identity to make you appear to be Josef Fritzl, if they so desire What will happen is that we will enter a closet far colder than the one we ’ ve just broken out of Of course we’ll all be equal - but we’ll all be stuck in there together
Relax - none of this is actually real. It’s only a profile of you that does not yet exist and will only ever really be a fragmented case, in a virtual court of law
“It’s not what you’re doing now in your temporarily emancipated lives but what can be held against you from your digital past if someone decides you’ve suddenly stepped out of line”
HYDES’ HOPES
BY R E V M I
THE GOD & THE BAD
) I came to the Metropolitan Community Church in the early 1990s I was at a Pride event in Brockwell Park just outside Brixton. I remember thinking how strange these people were, and that the idea of an LGBT+ church was ridiculous. But I was curious, so I went to the special Pride service in Shaftsbury Avenue. Where I met Jesus. And I can say it was the very last thing I expected.
Of course today I wouldn’t bother going along to see what it’s all about, I’d simply have a look at the website. I’d scan through some of the pictures posted on Facebook, maybe read a tweet or two. I’d know everything - and nothing.
Church is about relationships. With each other, with God. You can’t find out whether or not it’s a good fit for you without going along. Beyond the obvious I think that the website simply tells you whether or not they have a good web designer. The Facebook page tells you about the agenda of the media volunteer. Twitter gives you an idea about their ideological and political position.
Dating online is the same. Based on a single picture you swipe right or swipe left. Not that I’m suggesting you date everyone just to see what they’re really like, (but wouldn’t that be fun!), but judging someone, or a group, on the basis of their media presence is like trying to guess a jigsaw picture on the basis of only one or two pieces Without a complex interaction our brain only gives us the information that fits our filters We see what we think we should see, what we want to see, not what's really there
I think if I were in the same position today I probably wouldn’t have gone to MCC Too outside the box Too radical Too different It can’t be an affirming church and a genuine spiritual home - just look at them online And I’d never have realised what a gift I’d just dismissed
“The internet can provide illumination in all the colours of the rainbow, and can provide a cover of darkness for unspeakable evil”
On the positive side I believe that the internet has made information and connection accessible in ways we could have only dreamed of 25 years ago In my early years, if you wanted support you called gay switchboard or looked around the marketplace at Pride Now a teenager who identifies as LGBT+ can connect with other LGBT+ teenagers, and support networks, 24/7 from the safety of their own bedroom It gives those in need an access point, and it gives those who are reaching out to help a platform on which to work
But it also gives predators a new way of grooming youngsters It gives trolls a platform from which reach out to harm people It gives anonymity in ways that can make it hard to catch the perpetrators of crime The Dark Web is a dream for drug dealers, paedophiles, and crime of all kinds. The internet can provide illumination in all the colours of the rainbow, and can provide a cover of darkness for unspeakable evil. It’s most certainly a double-edged sword.
Perhaps I’m a little negative because on the internet I really can’t judge what is and isn’t real Because we can see a picture on Facebook we think we know something about somebody. Just because we read a tweet we think we have a truth. Because we see a picture, then it’s a fact. The reality is that the internet is a platform for the full spectrum of human interaction. Some of it is honest. Some of it is a downright lie. So I end up trusting what I know. And where's the fun in that?
SCENE & DONE IT
BY
THE TWILIGHT OF MY YOUTH
) Out of the blue it happened! Bluetooth to be precise, with my mobile not wanting to pair with my speaker, and I just couldn't figure out why. Then it hit me, like a ton of Minecraft bricks! It's started, and it ends in a scene I remember well from my youth. My grandparents had bought a new TV, and my then 11-year-old cousin, Jork, was explaining: “This is the button to make it loud for you Gramps, but you must use your pinky, otherwise you’ll press all the buttons at once!”
Yes, I realised in horror, I’ve taken the first step down the unavoidable path to becoming an old person who can’t do technology!
Recently, I’ve become a bit obsessed with ageing. I’m not quite 40 (though I worry that the beard and bald head make me look it), but I’m absolutely dreading this rapidly approaching milestone. Depending on whom you chat to on Grindr, 40 is either totally over the hill or still a spring chicken. I don’t quite feel either category but I’m starting to spend both more money and time on face cream and at the gym, waging war against saggy cheeks wanting to happen North as well as South of the navel
I stay up to date with the latest divas and their pop music, I spend time on grooming that heterosexual counterparts spend on getting their young children to put shoes on, and I’m firmly in denial as I’m off clubbing Saturday 11pm, when all I want to do is to fall asleep with vino and Netflix
The inevitable is inevitable though, and another turning point came for me when my mother objected to a photo I’d put on Facebook Suffice to say it involved a poster showing a bum at a gay bar in Manchester Justifying my actions with phrases like ‘ own self be true’ and ‘sexuality should be celebrated not shamed’, I thought I had her cornered, but she sharply replied: “Yes my darling, and that's all good and well when you're in your 20s, but a man of your age?”
The library was open, and it was clear who was wearing the reading glasses.
“My time of topless gym selfies is very limited indeed. Whilst they’re still up there however, I may as well carry on”
Madonna, the other woman who raised me, would disagree for sure, but my time of topless gym selfies is very limited indeed Whilst they’re still up there however, I may as well carry on I'm not spending the twilight of my youth locked up in a basement Unless Is there a part of me that is very much looking forward to a time when I will leave the youth-obsessed gay scene behind? Absolutely, perhaps I can then focus on more worthwhile things, like writing a book or learning French, but now I must stop deliberating, and google when I can get 5G for my phone The cleaner has pulled all the wires out the router, so God knows when we’ll get the home broadband back on!
MINDOUT
Online support for mental health
www.mindout.org.uk
) MindOut runs a service using the reach of the internet to offer support. We have a national online instant chat service which operates out of hours and at weekends. This is a service that you can go to wherever you have internet access, you don’t have to make an appointment or travel to get there, you simply click a button and start typing
For some of us, maybe for all of us sometimes, it can be hard to put what we are going through into words, it can be hard to speak At those times, talking through typing can be a real benefit
Jed had been feeling more and more anxious as the day went on Work was awful, trying to be polite and quick when your stomach is churning and you dread everything was getting too much Jed was barely coping and couldn’t look at the manager at the end of the day, they were so worried they’d get the sack Once the day was done, Jed felt exhausted, crumpled. Going back to the room they were renting felt dismal, cold and dark, the house a greasy smelly mess, the other tenants loud and hostile. Jed knew they should go out, do something, but this just added to their anxiety. Pacing up and down, unable to rest, unable to eat, Jed was in a state. Talking about it all was hard, who could understand all this? Jed couldn’t understand it, they couldn’t see a future without fear, Jed just did not know what to do, where to turn
A couple of weeks ago, Jed had picked up a card for the MindOut online service, curious about how it might work They decided to give it a go, see if it was open It was, a simple invitation to make contact Jed started with typing ‘I am so scared that nothing will help’ Even before the reply came, Jed felt a tiny bit
The
The majority of the people we support through this service are suicidal, it is a life saving, life changing, intervention, accessible to all
When we started the online service we hadn’t realised its value in supporting people over a period of time and that people might use it for the on-going support they needed It’s a service you can take with you, wherever you go
“I contacted MindOut online chat support And I talked to them, and I kept talking to them, lines and lines and lines and lines of talking to them, and I pretty much didn’t stop talking for 18 months. They listened and responded, they kept listening and responding, lines and lines and lines of patient, warm, insightful, steady, compassionate responses, and they never stopped responding for the whole 18 months.
calmer, having named it, having put their fear into plain words. The reply welcomed them, invited them to say more, if they could. Jed found that having someone there, someone responding directly was encouragement enough to keep going, and as Jed put thoughts and feeling into words their panic slowed a little It helped
Jed contacted the online service several times over the next few months as they began to lift a little out of that dreadful anxiety Jed started seeking support elsewhere, went to their GP and started counselling The online service remained a touchstone for them, somewhere they knew would be there for them if needed. The service had given them hope, had helped to start a journey.
As a national/international service we find ourselves supporting people anywhere and everywhere, including people who are very isolated. Often people have not told anyone else about the issues they are facing, the distress they are feeling. This is a privileged, precious moment to share with another person.
“I've chatted with a real variety of people from many countries from Scotland to Egypt and really feel like I'm benefiting the community and understanding myself better in the process. It's been humbling to witness the hardships that many LGBTQ people live with ” Andrew Baker (online volunteer)
As an anonymous, confidential space it offers a safety many of us do not have elsewhere in our lives You cannot see each other, it’s just one caring human talking to another in distress This can be very helpful because it bypasses some of the barriers which can get in the way of face-to-face communication
majority of the people we support through this service are suicidal, it is a life saving, life changing, intervention, accessible to all
“The online chat volunteers would also gently nudge me in the direction of other supports –never pushing, just gentle signposting. An example of this was the peer support groups, which I eventually accessed through the MindOut service This was a huge help during the time I was feeling low, without hope and mostly retreating If I reached, if I needed them at the end of a day, they were there I’ll never forget sitting at a campsite café (they had WiFi there) looking out over the most beautiful expansive view of the sea and feeling nothing, just empty, and getting through to MindOut ”
ONLINE SERVICES
As well as opening in the evenings from 5 30pm and at weekends, we now run:
• Online advocacy sessions run by experienced, qualified mental health advocacy workers (Friday 10am–12pm)
• Trans and non-binary sessions run by trans and non-binary online support workers (Tuesday 5 30–7 30pm)
• Black, Asian and minority ethnic sessions run by BAME online support workers (Sunday 7.30–9.30pm)
• Young people’s sessions run in partnership with Allsorts Youth Project (Thursday 12–4pm)
Session times may change, please see website for details.
MINDOUT
) Please do contact the online service through our website: www.mindout.org.uk
The service is anonymous and confidential, independent and non-judgemental You can use it to seek support for yourself and if you are concerned about someone else If the service is closed you can leave a message and we will contact you as soon as we ’ re next open The website always shows the next opening time
If you would like to know more about this or the rest of MindOut’s work: ) contact us on info@mindout.org.uk ) or call us on 01273 234839
SMOKE & MIRRORS
) Oh Dear Reader, there you are, and looking so lush! So how’ve you been? It seems like ages since I’ve last had your sweet little shell-like to mumble my hypnotically charming nonsense in. I’ve changed Baby, I’m all different, somewhat older and reflective than you may have known me, all a little smoke and mirrors if you know what I mean, and if you do know what I mean and have ever held Montezuma’s obsidian dagger in your hand then please send a postcard, be good to stay in touch!
Yes, Time has happened in the last year, it’s swept past, swept me up, more like a lilo atop a Japanese lithographic wave than a dustpan of ashes but you get the gist; it’s all in the movement, not the method in how you get there. So yes, swept up, like Farrah Fawcett’s hair and bedsheets, aflame with regret and only slightly soiled, I sit before you on this page, naked in all but words You’ve always preferred me like this anyway, simple, uncluttered by the fascinators and fake millenary distractions of fashion and technology so you enjoy unencumbered your experience of me, and me of you, as this is a two way thing You read the words, I speak in your mind, and as long as you ’ re entertained you won’t notice what else I might be up to back there behind the curtains of your ID, in the dusty cupboard of your Ego, and yes I noticed how much it needs a good scrub, but I’ll not slut shame ya. Not today, anyway.
While I rummage and find what it is I’m looking for in this jumble sale of your remembrances, I should tell you that I’ve got a message from you, and not from your dead Aunty Maud, the one who told you she’d leave you her rubies then ran off with the coal man and died in Addis Ababa without even so much as a postcard! No, a proper message, a portend, of the range and gravity that old flake Belshazzar got from that flaxen headed hottie Daniel. Now I’m not saying that he and I are similar, he’s a far better aim than me with his catapult but I’ve the advantage on the ice. The message - yes! - keep up dear reader, stay keen
So brandishing my fabulous 50 years, I whirl once again towards birthday; I’ve been jumped on by monkeys and watching the sunset off ancient heathen temples, fallen asleep inside a pantomime camel, been branded by a nun and lost more than a few evenings to the bacchanalian distractions of indulgence. I’ve seen the seas rise and the earth move, the sun didn’t wobble in the sky though and if you ever come across a few fibbing kids saying they’ve seen a floating vision of the Virgin Mary give them a swift smack across the back of the head and send them home I’d like to fade off mumbling about seeing C beams glittering or the Tannhäuser Gate but retro references are old hat and no I’m not your father I can prove it, I was in Milwaukee that weekend, stalking Billie Graham, who WAS my father, or so my grandmother Poison Ivy divulged to me on her deathbed But just before I share your very important message, with her dying breath she also told me not to dither as it was wasting precious sentences and to always, always be exquisite and never explain
REPORT IT!
) As two Dads to an 11-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, we find that the internet plays a rather big part in our family life. From YouTube to Facebook, to Music.ly and Instagram, I sometimes feel like we ’ re on a constant battle with the world wide web.
Our daughter is often heard pleading, “But how can I live without the internet?”. Our son, often tells us how he needs to make another music video on Music.ly to send to his classmates.
Without giving away my age, there was no internet in our school when I was young We wrote with pens, we delved into endless reference books to find the answers that were needed, and we had to chat face to face with those around us.
Today, some classes are full of tablets and laptops and a lot of the work is done on the internet, which is great! It’s a great skill to have, the kids are learning to use a keyboard. Their minds are absorbing much more information than we probably did as kids. It’s all at a click of a button, and there lies the problem for me.
The internet has created an expectation for instant knowledge, instant gratification and access to everything.
I think that it can create a laziness in learning. There is little effort to be made in asking Google a question rather that searching the library shelves for the right reference book that covers the right subject. The sheer horror on my daughter’s face when I once suggested she use a dictionary rather than a search engine to check a spelling was, quite frankly, horrifying! I haven’t dared mention the thesaurus yet
Of course, the internet is great. It makes the world smaller, it gives millions of people worldwide access to support services, to online shopping, to music and so much more It can help those that are housebound feel less alone
As an author and artist, I use the internet daily for research and to sell my work. So I’m a great fan. I’m just concerned about its overuse in schools, how our kids are educated How they learn to explore and search the knowledge that surrounds us Apparently, school libraries are now used more by kids sitting on their laptops researching the internet, than for the books The shelves that are full of knowledge, right behind where they’re sitting, are hardly ever visited
“Apparently, school libraries are now used more by kids sitting on their laptops researching the internet, than for the books”
The internet is a great beast but shouldn’t be at the detriment of past skills. Social media is damaging the way our kids socialise. Families can be at different ends of the world while under the same roof.
At our home, when we do manage to prise our kids away from the internet and play a board game, or go for a walk, it is always enjoyed by all. But, when its over, it isn’t long before they are both once again lost in the virtual world around us.
TRANSITIONING WITH SUGAR
www.ilovetheinternet.trans - Ms Sugar Swan explains what the internet means to her.
) I love the internet. It has saved my life. Quite literally. Without the internet, I would be dead.
I remember being in my early teens when we got a PC at home. I was one of the first of my friends to have one and therefore was suddenly very popular, much to the disapproval of my mother and younger sibling who were unable to spend hours speaking to their friends on the phone (we were yet to get mobile phones for another few years)
Once the night fell and I was alone and I could use the computer without friends or family seeing what I was doing I first found people that understood me I found what we now collectively call Queers I found chat forums for just about everything I was interested in from someone to suck my c**k, sex workers openly plying their trade, polyamorous people looking for like-minded folk, and it was here amongst the dark side of the internet that I found other trans people for the first time in my life, real trans people that I was able to talk to.
I made online friends with trans women in the US and I was able to speak to them about how I was feeling as a teenage girl being forced
into a male role as puberty was changing me physically in ways in which I hated.
Many, many times I tried to speak of my gender identity to both my family and my school teachers. The result of this was me being put under child psychiatry and fed Prozac, and I soon realised that the more I insisted I was a girl, the worse my life was made in the education system and at home. This led me to suppress my feelings and I stayed in the closet for another 20 years on the back of how I was treated then
The women I met in those chat rooms in the early 1990s did so much for me, they reassured me that I was not mad and that things would get better for me eventually, and they were right, eventually, they did Without them, I would have most likely been the victim of teenage suicide believing that I was mentally ill as I was told by the system
Fast forward 20 years and I finally came out and without the internet, which was now an integral part of our lives, I would have struggled in transition much more than I did When I finally came out I was at a crossroads in my life where I had only two options, transition, or end my life. I am so glad I chose transition.
This time around, it was so much easier to find my community online and I didn't have to sneak downstairs in the middle of the night to talk to trans women on a shared PC, I could do it straight from the palm of my hand on my mobile phone. I joined online groups, where I could connect with my trans elders who were happy to offer advice and experience (something I now do for the new generations of trans people dipping their toe into the world of coming out)
I was able to find the information I needed to get myself onto hormones as the wait to be seen by a Gender Identity Clinic (GIC) of up to two years in the UK was not something I could cope with I was able to arm myself with all the tools I needed to transition in the way in
which I wanted to I was able to do my research on hair transplantation, facial feminisation, breast augmentation and genital reconstruction surgeons so that I was able to get the best possible results for me.
Without the internet I wouldn’t be where I am today I would never have found one of the best hair restoration surgeons, which saw me go to Latvia for surgery this time last year. I would never have found some world leading surgeons working in the field of feminisation and pioneering techniques in genital reconstruction which saw me spend a month in India last September.
Without the internet I wouldn’t be as educated as I am in Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and the use of cross-sex hormones in trans women. I wouldn’t have obtained the base breast tissue required for successful aesthetic breast augmentation or the hips and butt that I’ve grown through fat redistribution I wouldn’t have the soft skin or the female pheromones that I do All of this, whilst of course, the result of many, many hours of reading, is thanks to the internet
The UK GIC guidelines for HRT in trans women are woefully behind the times and it both saddens and angers me that I see so many of my sisters come to the forums for advice around their HRT and their GIC has them on a regime that isn’t strong enough to trigger female puberty. We have to take our medical care into our own hands with a good network of understanding GPs who are happy to monitor our bloods for us and regularly test our liver and kidney functions, and thanks to the internet we are able to find private gender practitioners and the means to obtain our own hormones.
My own transition aside, the internet has meant that I’ve been able to reach and help a wide selection of people, both cis and trans, through my activism and work as an advocate. The popularity of social media has meant that I’m able to educate people as often as I have the ability, not to mention this Gscene magazine column along with my other freelance work
Of course, for every positive there has to be a negative and transitioning so publically and writing about it so frankly and honestly puts me in direct target of hate mail, but the love and support I receive and the messages from trans people that my work has helped far outweighs any amount of negativity.
May the Gods and Goddesses bless the internet!
“Many times I tried to speak of my gender identity to both my family and my school teachers. The result of this was me being put under child psyciar tr y and fed Prozac”
SAM TRANS MAN
Dr Samuel Hall on the risky business of opening up online to change how people think.
) I made it! When I last wrote my column I was on the brink of surgery that I’m now slowly mending from. And what an incredible month it’s been. I’ve had highs and lows, mishaps and setbacks, euphoria and dysphoria, felt elated and despairing in the same breath, and am finally beginning to settle into a more manageable pace emotionally and physically
Phalloplasty surgery wasn’t lightly undertaken. This was the first and hopefully worst of three surgeries to get my working penis A decision I neither undertook lightly, nor wanted to undertake at all for the most part I meanwho would, right?
Being trans is a constant battle for me; since my mid-30s I’ve been fighting the urge to ‘change sex ’ Of course, it all started long, long before that, in my earliest memories a missing penis was a constant reminder of the shame I felt about my body, betraying me the moment my genitals were revealed to me or anyone else. I managed to keep a lid on it for half a lifetime, but eventually gave up fighting about 10 years ago. Exhausted by my own shame, I came out. And now, well now, everything has changed.
For the past few months, even while I was planning a date and negotiating with the surgical team, and I was pretty certain I had to do this, I was still going round in circles asking myself the question, “Is this the right thing to do?” As a person with experience of gender dysphoria and the treatment thereof, I forged ahead, knowing from the previous steps I’d taken in transition that this too would catapult me into a better, more wholesome and functional life
But as a clinician and a scientist, I have and do struggle with justification for these lifechanging, expensive and sometimes dangerous treatments Like most doctors, I’d rather not
WEEKLY DROP-IN is based in central Brighton in a safe and confidential space to explore issues around gender identity Facilitated peer support is an important element, as well as providing access to low-cost psychotherapy and speech therapy
do anything to my body that isn’t essential for health and wellbeing. Despite my own firsthand experience of vast improvements in self esteem, mental and emotional health, capacity to function and ability to concentrate on my family and career, still I hesitated to take this final step
Some of my reluctance was related to my conservative Catholic upbringing and the deep rooted beliefs I have had to grapple with these past 10 years Further hesitancy stemmed from knowledge of the surgical risk, pain, failure of the graft, scarring and damage to my arm, which has become the donor site for my precious new penis. Still, more of my musings were about the morality of this kind of surgery and whether this would really make a difference to how I felt about myself - surely what was in my underpants wasn’t really going to change my life to any degree? No-one else knows or needs to know, right?
But I knew. I’m the one who felt like a fraud, masquerading as a man but not fully male. Who knew? This is a ridiculous way to think, I know. But I did think this and it crippled me. Now, after just the first operation, my shame has gone The simple act of looking down at my genitals and seeing my penis, has healed this lifelong burden
I’ve long been an admirer of Dr Michael Dillon, one of the earliest documented people to transition from female to male, also a physician, who pioneered genital surgery as a guinea pig in the 1950s We’re still guinea pigs, with genital surgery for female-to-male people very much a poor cousin to male-to-female in terms of expertise and development, and difficulty of access. The techniques are crude and in need of further
CLARE
PROJECT meets every TUES 2.30– 5.30PM at DORSET GARDENS METHODIST CHURCH
Dorset Gardens (off St James Street) Brighton BN2 1RL Except 1st Tues when there’s an optional meal out preceded by the drop-in 5–7 30PM www.clareproject.org.uk fClare Project clareprojectinfo@gmail.com
research and investment worldwide, although we are fortunate in this country to have a team of surgeons working in this field
As a doctor, I know I have a more detailed and intimate understanding of what is involved than most, and I’m able to talk about the surgery I’m having in a dispassionate and medicalised way that facilitates the education of others and fosters a better understanding. I had flirted with the idea of speaking up in a public forum for a time, but right up until the morning of surgery, wasn’t sure I had the balls for it. Suddenly I was imbued with enough conviction to post on Facebook as I waited for, woke from, and wondered about the consequences of my decision I would open myself up to the world in the interests of changing how people think It was my time to step up
Of course, this kind of vulnerability, the kind that the internet has afforded us, is risky The worldwide web is a cruel place, we live in bubbles, it’s largely unpoliced, it’s easy to see it as more real than the ‘real’ world, and we can be badly hurt if we ’ re not prepared or emotionally robust enough to cope with the backlash when it comes
Even if we are prepared, sometimes the price is just too high I worry about all the trans people who are speaking up at the moment, in their homes, schools, towns, city halls, at regional and national government elections, in the media, in private and public sectors, in the NHS, the armed forces and in celebrity circles. I worry that a backlash is coming.
I worry that with the increased visibility we trans folk are enjoying, with the rising up of Trans Pride that corresponds with the loss of shame we feel as we step up to the plate, with the freedom that comes with being out, also comes the vitriol, the hatred, the discrimination, both overt and covert, the micro-aggressions, the unwarranted personal attacks and widespread vilification of whole communities of people just because they are ‘different’
I worry that we haven’t even seen half of what is coming our way in this country. Dirt lifting to the surface. The political shift that we have seen these past 10 years is terrifying, and the internet is the place where the battle for what is right will happen
I HAVE A PHOBIA
What if I told you fear could be dissolved in under an hour? Completely - gone in a matter of minutes. Would you believe me? Asks Ray A- J.
) What if I told you fear could be dissolved in under an hour? Completely - gone in a matter of minutes Would you believe me?
Sitting in a brightly lit little waiting room, I was nervous My phone yelled at me the timeit was four o'clock and I had just made it to the building with minutes to spare Anxiety brewing at what I might have to face, I stared at the coffee machine in hopes of seeking some comfort studying the mundane object. I didn't know exactly what I was in for. But before I could make a break for it out of the door, footsteps came from around the corner and with them a familiar face.
I was in therapy, seeking help for my phobia. It had been 13 years that I'd suffered with it, and I'd had enough. Luckily there happened to be a therapist near my home in Brighton, so I went with hopes I'd leave with one less thing holding me back. Rightfully so.
In the smaller session room, I felt like an imposter - my phobia isn't that debilitating compared to others, I can still go outside and carry out my life as normal. Thoughts crept up on me like a sudden rising tide; did I deserve to be there? But as the session continued, I realised it doesn't matter how severe your phobia is, it still holds you back
The therapist asked how I was - the normal niceties, and I relaxed a little But then the topic of Peter Pettigrew came up That character from a ridiculous movie (Harry Potter) has plagued me for my entire childhood, right into adulthood It was just one chance encounter of the rat man, when I was five, and I was tortured for years His face
imprinted itself into my whole life But, of course, we had to talk about it In order to move on and bring up the suffocating feelings of terror for the therapy to kill, I had to remember.
I was back in my house with my family Five years old, and we were watching a film before it was bedtime (as we usually would). Blinds were shut, curtains closed, and a shroud of nighttime darkness filled the room. My often overactive imagination had already taken hold of my brain, painting its own little creatures and monsters out of the dark shadowy room.
All of a sudden my pulse elevated. Hands began to sweat. A burning sensation rose from my throat and flooded itself into my eyes and cheeks. A simple rat (the pet of Ron Weasly) had leapt from his hand Scurrying along the floorboards of the attic room, it darted forward into a crevice Slowly, his face grew outwards, stretching and stretching until his nose was long and teeth busting out of his mouth Gradually, he took on a more human form; with puffed out cheeks, long coarse hair wildly sticking out at all ends, sharp unforgivingly angry eyebrows digging into his face he gnawed at the air in a rat-like pose. It was this transition that got me.
Like the rat he was quick, and hurled himself across the room to escape Harry, Sirious and
the other characters But they found him, named him Wormtail and held him so he couldn't move Sirious told the story of this crazed figure It was he who had killed Harry's parents, he who had made an attempt on Harry's life. He was their childhood friend, and he betrayed them. As soon as that word ‘betrayed’ was spoken, a flurry of panic overcame me. Helplessly I clung to a pillow, blocking the TV screen from harming me further. But the damage had already been done
Back in the therapy room, my eyes burned with the panic and fear of that memory. Tears came pouring down my face with no regard for my integrity The therapist could see I was distraught, debilitated She asked what the emotion felt like and I tried in vain to answer
It was an ice cold, turquoise block in my chest My hands were sweating out a river, and my heart pounded a stampede of horses, but that wasn't emotion She explained that those were the fight or flight responses, and what was really the problem was the energy from my emotional reaction When you feel fear as intense as a phobia's, your body reacts - not your brain An emotion gets trapped in your energy lines, if you're not allowed to process it fully. If you can't truly feel it and let it go by itself. Forcing it down and suppressing emotion is what we're told to do if it's negative. But we shouldn't.
Mine had been trapped in my body for years, forever knocking at the door each time Pettigrew's face appeared, in hopes of it being answered and understood. It was being retriggered every time. It needed to go.
She then asked for me to give the emotion a colour and shape; a turquoise block of ice for me. And words were selected to describe the feeling (I think I just said "oh cr*p" and "I need to look away, this isn't making me feel good"). I felt ridiculous saying it, but that's what my brain was telling me We were now ready to begin Emotional therapy treatment (ETT)
ETT aims to rid the victim of their lingering negative feelings around their trigger, dislodging them until they are fully acknowledged and can leave We had to tap on the ends of the meridian lines whilst reciting a mantra of "even though I'm scared, I still love and accept myself" in order for the emotion to be released It was about four rounds of this, each time checking my reaction to the character and noticing the intensity quickly decreasing, in total that got me.
It felt stupid, I felt stupid, but it was beginning to work...
“Suppressing emotion is what we’re told to do if it’s negative. But we shouldn’t”
SERVICES DIRECTORY
LGBT SERVICES
) ACCESS 4 ALL
LGBT disabled people’s forum: safe, welcoming, suppor t, activities, awareness 07981 170071 or email stevenwithn@talktalk net
) ALLSORTS YOUTH PROJECT
Drop-in for LGBT or unsure young people under 26 Tues 5 30–8 30pm 01273 721211 or email info@allsor tsyouth org uk, www allsor tsyouth org uk
) BRIGHTON & HOVE POLICE
Repor t all homophobic, biphobic or transphobic incidents to: 24/7 assistance call Police on 101 (for emergencies 999) Repor t online at: www.sussex.police.uk
LGBT team (not 24/7) email: LGBT@sussex pnn police uk
• LGBT Officer PC Sarah Laker: 07912 893557 f Brighton LGBT Police t @policeLGBT t @PCLaker
) BRIGHTON & HOVE LGBT SAFETY FORUM
Independent LGBT forum working with the community to address and improve safety issues in Brighton & Hove 01273 855620 or info@lgbt-help com www lgbt-help com
) BRIGHTON & HOVE LGBT SWITCHBOARD
Help-line with email & webchat facility: 01273 204 050 (opening times on the website)
Info, counselling, drop-in space, suppor t groups 01273 698036 or visit www womenscentre org uk
) BRIGHTON GEMS
Community Base, 113 Queens Road, Brighton, BN1 3XG
Social group for gay men over 50 with several events every month inc meeting at Dorset Gardens last Fri of month 7-9pm For info email info@brightongems.com www brightongems com
) LESBIAN LINK BRIGHTON
Local social group offers friendship, social events, meet 1st Thur at Regency Tavern, 7 30pm 07594 578 035 www.lesbianlinkbrighton.co.uk
) LESBIAN & GAY A A
12-step self-help programme for alcohol addictions: Sun, 7 30pm, Chapel Royal, Nor th St, Btn (side entrance) 01273 203 343 (general AA line)
) LGBT NA GROUP
Brighton-based LGBT (welcomes others) Narcotics Anonymous group every Tue 6 30–8pm, Millwood Centre, Nelson Row, Kingswood St 0300 999 1212
) LGBT MEDITATION GROUP
Meditation & discussion, every 2nd & 4th Thur, 5 30–7pm, Anahata Clinic, 119 Edward St, Brighton 07789 861 367 or www bodhitreebrighton org uk
) LUNCH POSITIVE
Lunch club for people with HIV Meet/make friends, find peer suppor t in safe space Every Fri, noon–2 30pm, Community Room, Dorset Gdns Methodist Church, Dorset Gdns, Brighton Lunch £1 50 07846 464 384 or www lunchpositive org
) MCC BRIGHTON
Inclusive, affirming space where all are invited to come as they are to explore their spirituality without judgement 01273 515572 or info@mccbrighton.org.uk www.mccbrighton.org.uk
) MINDOUT
Independent, impar tial info, guidance for LGBT people with mental health problems 24 hr confidential answerphone: 01273 234839 or info@mindout.org.uk www mindout org uk
) NAVIGATE
Social/peer suppor t group for FTM, transmasculine & gender queer people, every 1st Wed 7-9pm & 3rd Sat of month 1-3pm at Space for Change, Windlesham Venue, BN1 3AH For info see https://navigatebrighton wordpress com/
) PEER ACTION
Regular low cost yoga, therapies, swimming, meditation & social groups for people with HIV contact@peeraction.net or www.peeraction.net
) RAINBOW FAMILIES
Suppor t group for lesbian and/or gay parents 07951 082013 or info@rainbowfamilies org uk www rainbowfamilies org uk
) SOME PEOPLE
Social/suppor t group for LGB or questioning aged 14-19, Tue, 6-8pm, Hastings Call/text Nicola 07974 579865 or email Neil or Nicola: somepeople@eastsussex gov uk
) VICTIM SUPPORT
Practical, emotional suppor t for victims of crime 08453 899 528
) THE VILLAGE MCC
Christian church serving the LGBTQ community Sundays 6pm, Somerset Day Centre, Kemptown 07476 667353 www thevillagemcc org
HIV PREVENTION, CARE & TREATMENT SERVICES
) AVERT
Sussex HIV & AIDS info service 01403 210202 or email confidential@aver t org
) BRIGHTON & HOVE CAB HIV PROJECT
Money, benefits, employment, housing, info, advocacy Appointments: Tue-Thur 9am-4pm, Wed 9am-12 30pm Brighton & Hove Citizens Advice Bureau, Brighton Town Hall 01273 733390 ext 520 or www brightonhovecab org uk
) CLINIC M
Free confidential testing & treatment for STIs including HIV, plus Hep A & B vaccinations Claude Nicol Centre, Sussex County Hospital, on Weds from 5-8pm 01273 664 721 or www brightonsexualhealth com
) LAWSON UNIT
Medical advice, treatment for HIV+, specialist clinics, diet & welfare advice, drug trials 01273 664 722
Drop-in: Richmond House, Richmond Rd, Brighton, MonWed & Fri 10am-4pm, Thur 10am-7pm, Sat 10am-1pm; 9 The Drive, Hove 01273 680714 Mon & Wed 10am-12pm & 1pm-3pm, Tue & Thu 10am-4pm, info & advice only (no assessments), Fri 10am-12pm & 1pm-3pm
• Gary Smith (LGBT* Suppor t) 07884 476634 or email gsmith@pavilions org uk
For more info visit weblink: pavilions org uk/services/treatment-recovery-options/
) SUSSEX BEACON
24 hour nursing & medical care, day care 01273 694222 or www sussexbeacon org uk
) TERRENCE HIGGINS TRUST SERVICES
For more info about these free services go to the THT office, 61 Ship St, Brighton, Mon–Fri, 10am–5pm 01273 764200 or info brighton@tht org uk
• Venue Outreach: info on HIV, sexual health, personal safety, safer drug/alcohol use, free condoms/lubricant for men who have sex with men
• The Bushes Outreach Ser vice @ Dukes Mound: advice, suppor t, info on HIV & sexual health, and free condoms & lube
• Netreach (online/mobile app outreach in Brighton & Hove): info/advice on HIV/sexual health/local services THT Brighton Outreach workers online on Grindr, Scruff, & Squir t
• Condom Male: discreet, confidential service posts free condoms/lube/sexual health info to men who have sex with men without access to East Sussex commercial gay scene
• Positive Voices: volunteers who go to organisations to talk about personal experiences of living with HIV
• Fastest (HIV testing): walk-in, (no appointment) rapid HIV testing service for men who have sex with men, results in 20 minutes: Mon 10am-8pm, Tues-Fri 10am5pm (STI testing available)
• Sauna Fastest at The Brighton Sauna (HIV testing): walk-in, (no appointment) rapid HIV testing service for men who have sex with men,results in 20 minutes: Wed: 6–8pm (STI testing available)
• Face2Face: confidential info & advice on sexual health & HIV for men who have sex with men, up to 6 one hour appointments
• Specialist Training: wide range of courses for groups/ individuals, specific courses to suit needs
• Counselling: from qualified counsellors for up to 12 sessions for people living with/affected by HIV
• Informed Passions: exper t volunteers project to identif y & suppor t sexual health needs of local men who have sex with men and carry out field research in B&H on issues affecting men’s sexual health, extensive training provided
• What Next? Thurs eve, 6 week peer suppor t group work programme for newly diagnosed HIV+ gay men
• HIV Suppor t Ser vices: info, suppor t & practical advice for people living with/affected by HIV
• Volunteer Suppor t Ser vices: 1-2-1 community suppor t for people living with or affected by HIV
• HIV Welfare Rights Advice: Find out about benefits or benefit changes Advice line: Mon–Thur 1:30-2:30pm 1-2-1 appts for advice & workshops on key benefits
) TERRENCE HIGGINS EA STBOURNE
Dyke House, 110 South St, Eastbourne, BN21 4LZ, 01323 649927 or info.eastbourne@tht.org.uk
• HIV Ser vices suppor t for HIV diagnosis, managing side effects, sex & relationships, understanding medication, talking to your doctor, finding healthier lifestyle Assessment of suppor t needs and signposting on to relevant services Suppor t in person, by phone or email
• Suppor t for people at risk of HIV confidential info and advice on sexual health & HIV for men who have sex with men Up to 3 one hour appointments depending on need Sessions in person or on phone
• Web suppor t & info on HIV, sexual health & local services via netreach and myhiv org uk
• Positive Voices: volunteers who go to organisations to talk about personal experiences of living with HIV
) SEXUAL HEALTH WORTHING
Free confidential tests & treatment for STIs inc HIV; Hep A & B vaccinations Wor thing based 0845 111345645
NATIONAL HELPLINES
) NATIONAL LGBT DOMESTIC ABUSE
HELPLINE at galop.org.uk and 0800 999 5428
) SWITCHBOARD 0300 330 0630
) POSITIVELINE (EDDIE SURMAN TRUST) Mon-Fri 11am-10pm, Sat & Sun 4-10pm 0800 1696806
) MAINLINERS 02075 825226
) NATIONAL AIDS HELPLINE 08005 67123
) NATIONAL DRUGS HELPLINE 08007 76600
) THT AIDS Treatment phoneline 08459 470047
) THT direct 0845 1221200
ADVERTISERS’ MAP
1 AMSTERDAM BAR & KITCHEN
Marine Parade, 01273 688 826
2 BAR BROADWAY 10 Steine Street, 01273 609777 www barbroadway co uk
3 BAR REVENGE
7 Marine Parade, 01273 606064
www revenge co uk
4 BEDFORD TAVERN
30 Western Street, 01273 739495
5 BOUTIQUE
2 Boyces St @ West St, 01273 327607
6
ARMS 30-31 Camelford St, 01273 622386
7 CHARLES STREET TAP
8-9 Marine Parade, 01273 624091 www charles-street com
8 THE CROWN 24 Grafton St, 07949590001
9 DOCTOR BRIGHTON’S 16 Kings Rd, 01273 208113 www doctorbrightons co uk
10 GROSVENOR
16 Western Street, 01273 438587 11
Marine Parade, 01273 624462
13 Broad St, 01273 681284 www marinetavern co uk
14 PARIS HOUSE
21 Western Rod, 01273 724195 www parishouse com
15 QUEEN’S ARMS
7 George St, 01273 696873 www theqabrighton com
16 REGENCY TAVERN 32-34 Russell Sq, 01273 325 652
17 ROT TINGDEAN CLUB
89 High St Rottingdean, BN2 7HE 01273 309529 f Therottingdeanclub
18 SUBLINE
129 St James St, 01273 624100 www sublinebrighton co uk
19 THREE JOLLY BUTCHERS
59 Nor th Rd, 01273 608571 www three-jolly-butchers co uk
20 VELVET JACKS
50 Norfolk Square, 07720 661290
http://tinyurl com/VelvetJacks
21 ZONE
33 St James’ St, 01273 682249 www zonebrighton co uk
) CLUBS
12 BASEMENT CLUB (below Legends)
31-34 Marine Parade, 01273 624462 www legendsbrighton com
5 BOUTIQUE CLUB
2 Boyces St @ West St 01273 327607 www boutiqueclubbrighton com
7 ENVY (above Charles St Tap)
8-9 Marine Parade 01273 624091
www charles-street com
22 REVENGE
32-34 Old Steine, 01273 606064
www revenge co uk ) FOOD
1 AMSTERDAM BAR & KITCHEN
11-12 Marine Parade, 01273 688 826
www amsterdambrighton com
3 BAR REVENGE
7 Marine Parade 01273 606064
www revenge co uk
6 CAMELFORD ARMS
30-31 Camelford St, 01273 622386
www camelford-arms co uk
7 CHARLES STREET TAP
8-9 Marine Parade, 01273 624091
www charles-street com 23 CUP OF JOE
28 St George’s Rd, 01273 698873 www cupofjoebrighton co uk
LEGENDS BAR 31-34 Marine Parade,
25 GULLIVERS HOTEL 12a New Steine, 01273 695415 www gullivershotel com
12 LEGENDS HOTEL 31-34 Marine Parade, 01273 624462 www legendsbrighton com
24 NEW STEINE HOTEL 10/11 New Steine, 01273 681546 www newsteinehotel com
26 QUEENS HOTEL 1/3 Kings Rd, 01273 321222 www queenshotelbrighton com
) HEALTH & BEAUTY
27 BARBER BLACKSHEEP
18 St Georges Rd, 01273 623408 wwww barberblacksheep com
28 DENTAL HEALTH SPA 14–15 Queens Rd, 01273 710831 www dentalhealthspa co uk
29 VELVET TAT TOO 50 Norfolk Square 07720 661290 http://tinyurl com/VelvetJacks
) SEXUAL HEALTH
30 CLINIC M Claude Nicol Abbey Rd, 01273 664721 www brightonsexualhealth com/node/11
31 THT BRIGHTON 61 Ship St, 01273 764200
) SAUNA S
32 BRIGHTON SAUNA
75 Grand Parade, 01273 689966 www thebrightonsauna com
) SHOPS
33 BARBARY LANE
95 St George’s Rd Kemptown
34 PROWLER
112 St James’ St 01273 683680
35 SUSSEX BEACON Charity Shop
130 St James’ St 01273 682992 www sussexbeacon org uk
36 SUSSEX BEACON Home Store
72-73 London Rd, 01273 680264 www sussexbeacon org uk
) LEGAL & FINANCE
37 ENGLEHARTS
49 Vallance Hall, Hove St, 01273 204411 ) COMMUNITY
