Beige Vol 3 Issue 6

VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 6

beige | Volume 3 | Issue 6

BECAUSE YOUR LIFE IS COLOURFUL ENOUGH

LEONARDO DICAPRIO

Hollywood’s hesitant hunk

GAVIN CREEL

Back in the West End

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS

Part one of our exposé of Sin City

FAY PRESTO

Up close and personal

BRIGHTON PRIDE

Two sides to the argument

IT’S A LONG ROAD

BEN RICHARDS JOINS THE CAST OF PRISCILLA

TRAVEL: TEL AVIV THEATRE: TAP DOGS WELLBEING: DIET DRINKS REVEALED

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Indulge

your sense of adventure. Since 1972 we have provided worldwide adventures for the uncommon traveler and this year is no exception. Whether your dreams take you to see the Pyramids of Egypt or the Great Wall of China, we have a trip for you. Explore new places with like-minded people who appreciate the finer things this world has to offer, both natural man-made. Over 35 years ago our founder set out to provide and man-mad unique gay travel adventures and we’re proud to keep that legacy going. We hope you can join us for a tour!

A

Is ex by of fo tr ho

Classical Tour of Turkey Enjoy stunning city sites, archeological wonders and a 3 night boat ride along the coast in a classic vessel.

20 Sept. - 2 Oct., 2010

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Italy: The Men’s Tour Starting in Florence we proceed to San Gimignano and Assisi and end at Caesar’s doorstep, Rome.

5 - 13 November, 2010 Nile in Style Sail the Nile on the SS Karim, a 15 cabin paddle-wheel steamer built for kings.

19 - 30 November, 2010 China and the Yangtze Experience Beijing, Xian, Shanghai and China’s mighty river. Cruise in elegance down the Yangtze.

N e

1 - 16 June, 2011

Definitely not

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your Grandmother’s group tour! www.HEtravel.com

Celebrating 38 years!

You can also book through our UK partner: alyson ad.indd 4

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w

C

m

s!

not your style?

Adventure Permitted!

Isn’t it time for some adventure? Life’s too short to sit back and watch the world go by, so come on out and experience it! Each Alyson Adventure offers a physical challenge, and the opportunity to experience things by immersing yourself in another world, another culture. You can share your experiences with a small group of like-minded people and receive the best value possible. Alyson Adventures has been providing tours for gay men, lesbians and friends for over 15 years and in more than 30 countries, and in that time we’ve traversed the globe with a unique style. Whether you hike, bike, dive, kayak or raft you can be sure that your holiday will be anything but ordinary and as always... Adventure Permitted!

Biking the Nile

Antarctica Grand Canyon Adventure Rafting

Wild Kiwi

Bike along the Nile by day. Sail in elegance by night!

A tour of the Southernmost Continent.

White water, red rock, blue sky.

Everyday is different on our New Zealand multi-sport adventure!

31 Oct. - 7 Nov. 2010

10 - 20 December 2010

2011 Departures now online!

26 Feb. - 12 March 2011

See all of our tour offerings online!

www.AlysonAdventures.com

Celebrating 15 years!

r:

01462 434663 alyson ad.indd 5

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Three Fabulous All-Gay Cruises this Summer.

Copenhagen to Amsterdam Pride Cruise • 29 July - 8 August

Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, plus an overnight for Amsterdam Gay Pride on the stunning Eurodam

Venice to Athens Cruise • 16 –24 August

Istanbul, Santorini, Mykonos, and the Dalmation Coast on the new Celebrity Equinox

Athens to Barcelona Cruise • 24 August - 2 September

Rome, Sicily, Naples, and an overnight in Tel Aviv on the new Celebrity Equinox

Photography: Kal Yee, Jeff Eason

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Summer Holiday Plans?

We’re sailing Europe.

Do you cruise? We’re bringing the biggest and best gay cruises of all time to Europe this summer, with three fantastic new sailings on the newest top-rated ships in the world. We’re even sailing the first cruise into Amsterdam’s legendary gay pride! Unique experiences, custom designed for the way we play.

From the beaches in Mykonos to the cafes of Tel Aviv, you’ll relax and explore in style and comfort.

Featuring the world’s best gay and lesbian entertainers, innovative parties, and friends from around the world. All at rates you can easily afford.

To learn more about these and our other exciting Atlantis holidays, visit our web site, see your travel agent or ring us today at +44 (0) 20 7292 2380.

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15/06/2010 15:30:40

contents

28

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS

Part one of our exposé of Sin City

FAY PRESTO

Up close and personal

BRIGHTON PRIDE

Two sides to the argument

IT’S A LONG ROAD

BEN RICHARDS JOINS THE CAST OF PRISCILLA

TRAVEL: TEL AVIV THEATRE: TAP DOGS WELLBEING: DIET DRINKS REVEALED

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Manchat

Ben Richards

Leonardo DiCaprio Josh Winning looks at the reluctant sex symbol.

40

Las Vegas Part one of our look at Sin City.

44

Tel Aviv Israel’s best kept secret.

50

Manchester Pride How to make the most of Manchester Pride.

58

Matthew Montgomery We talk to the star of Pornography A Thriller.

In closing, have a great end of Pride season and we’ll see you at the other end!!

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Sales Executive Craig Davies 0203 371 1425 craig@beigeuk.com

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Finally we catch up with the hunky Ben Richards as he dons his heels and releases his inner drag in Priscilla. You honestly couldn’t meet a nicer guy who really cares about his profession and the paying public.

Enjoy!

Associate Editor Antony Strutt antony@beigeuk.com

We look at boths sides of the Brighton Pride debate.

Hunky Ben Richards dons heals and joins the cast of Priscilla.

Elsewhere, we talk to Fay Presto, Gavin Creel and Matthew Montgomery, feature some hot summer fashion, investigate some unusually fabulous hotels, and find out that Sherry is on a comeback.

Commercial Manager Chris Colman 0203 371 1850 chris@beigeuk.com

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Features 14 Brighton Pride

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Travel wise we take you to Las Vegas and Israel. I have the pleasure of being stuck in Vegas during the volcanic ash cloud fiasco so get set for loads of great Vegas stuff.

If you thought that all you could do was gamble in Las Vegas you’d be wrong!

Editor Douglas Mayo editor@beigeuk.com

Hollywood’s hesitant hunk

The latest craze sweeping the net.

It’s time for Brighton and Manchester Pride and this issue looks at the opinions of both sides relating to the Brighton Pride controversy. Anyone outside Brighton would think that a gay civil war is brewing down there. We’ll leave it up to you to draw your own opinions thanks to Jamie Hakim and Geoffrey Bowden’s comment pieces.

DOUGLAS MAYO Editor

LEONARDO DICAPRIO GAVIN CREEL

Hello and welcome to Beige!

We’ve been tremendously busy here at Beige towers this month developing our new website which should be going live as you read this issue. Check it out and let us know what you think.

BECAUSE YOUR LIFE IS COLOURFUL ENOUGH

Back in the West End

vol 3 iss 6

Welcome

VOLUME 3 | ISSUE 6

beige | Volume 3 | Issue 6

beige ‘

PLEASE ADJUST SPINE WIDTH TO FIT NO. OF PAGES

Cover: Ben Richards as Mitzi in Priscilla

Sales Development Executive Scott McPherson 0203 004 8133 scott@beigeuk.com

Advertising/ Subscriptions advertising@beigeuk.com Contributors Adam Lake Tony Tansley Josh Winning

Peter Burton Jamie Hakim Geoffrey Bowden Michael Krans Darren Cooper Phil Marriott Martin Roberts Mark Ludmon

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Gavin Creel

78

Fay Presto

We chat to the star of Hair The Musical.

Could it be magic!

Beige is published by Next Phase Media Suite 404 Albany House 324 Regent Street London W1B 3HH

P: 0203 004 8133 F: 0871 714 6996 ISSN 1756 7211 www.beigeuk.com

All rights reserved throughout the world. No part of this magazine may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written consent of Beige UK. The views and opinions expressed by contributors to this magazine may not necessarily represent the views of Beige UK. Beige UK takes no responsibility for claims made in advertisements featured in this magazine.

Beige UK can take no responsibility for unsolicited material. Information has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness, and the opinions based thereon are not guaranteed. Disclaimer: Publication of the name or photograph of any person or organisation, articles or advertising in Beige UK should not be construed as any indication of the sexual orientation of such person or organisation or advertiser. (c) Next Phase Media

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contents

vol 3 iss 6

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Fresh!

New products, people, names, faces, gigs and fabulous stuff.

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20 v 50 Adam Lake and Tony Tansley talk holidays and homophobia.

23

Wellbeing Fitness, products, treatments.

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Film Josh Winning looks at the latest releases.

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Off The Shelf: Books The best new queer literature.

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40 82

Upstaged Latest theatre reviews.

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Homestyle Latest products for your home.

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Property Our resident expert Martin Roberts imparts home advice.

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Nightcap

Mark Ludmon leads the sherry revival.

Beige distribution list MANCHESTER Alter Ego Crunch Churchills Coyotes Cruz 101 Company Bar Legends New York, New York Paddy’s Goose Queer Spirit Thompsons Arms Vanilla Via Taurus The New Union Velvet Essentials Clone Zone LONDON SOUTH Barcode Kasbar The Little Apple The Rose and Crown Two Brewers

The Lounge Retreat Old Market Tavern Two8Six Eagle London Union XXL RVT LONDON CENTRAL Barcode Admiral Duncan The Box Bar Comptons The Edge Friendly Society Halfway2heaven Ku Bar / Ku Club Kudos Clone Zone The Stag Gays The Word Profile Prowler The Quebec Retro Bar Rupert St

79 CXR Vault 139 Village The Yard The Green LONDON EAST The Angel Bar Music Hall The George & Dragon The Joiner’s Arms The Victoria The White Swan Dalston Superstore

The Queen’s Head The Richmond Arms West 5 The Windsor Castle Escape Kingston Lush

LONDON NORTH The Black Cap The Green The King Edward VI Kink Bar KW4

BRIGHTON Amsterdam Aquarium Theatre Bar Bulldog Caledonian Bar Charles St Bar Grosvenor Bar Legends Marine Tavern The Jury’s Out The Queen’s Arms R Bar Revenge The Star Inn Vavoom Bar The Zone

LONDON WEST The Hope & Anchor The Load of Hay

BIRMINGHAM The Loft Lounge Bar Jester Eden

Equator Missing Bar The Village Inn Club DV8 The Fox The Fountain Nightingale CARDIFF 4 Play Bar Icon The Golden Cross Pulse WOW Bar Yupi Bar Exit Club SWANSEA Champers The Exchange The Kings Arms NEWPORT Aber Pride SOUTHAMPTON The Bevois The Edge

The Endeavour The London The Pink Broadway BOURNEMOUTH The Bakers Arms The Branksome Arms The Triangle Club Xchange Bar Beyond RubyZ

Flamingos The Lounge Retreat Old Market Town To have Beige stocked in your venue please contact chris@beigeuk.com

PORTSMOUTH Hampshire Boulevard Martha’s Club The Old Vic BLACKPOOL Flamingos The Flying Handbag Funny Girls Kaos Bar The Mardi Gras The New Road Inn Pepes Bar Roxy’s BRISTOL Bristol Bear Bar

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Thunder_Beige_Thunder_Beige 28/05/2010 14:44 Page 1

THUNDER £129.99 STOCKIST INFO: 020 7874 6900 WWW.STORMWATCHES.COM 21 CARNABY STREET LONDON W1 WESTFIELD LONDON BROMLEY WATFORD BRIGHTON MILTON KEYNES BULLRING LEICESTER NEWQUAY TRURO PLYMOUTH

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XTG STORE OPENING

Sexy guys, gay bars, transvestites in 9 inch heels, there are a lot of similarities between Soho and the Yumbo Centre of Gran Canaria; and now there’s one more - XTG. Most of us have come home from holiday with a fabulous pair of XTG underwear and probably wondered why they weren’t available in Britain.

Well now they are, the Spanish underwear and swimwear brand have just opened up a store in Soho so make sure you grab yourself a sexy pair of pants and feel like you’re right back on holiday! XTG - Lenita & XTG in London. www.xtg.es/en 60, Dean Street on the corner of Old Compton

fresh!

gigs | news | gadgets | products | stuff!

La Bohème

Opera may not be right up your alley, but now it is right up your street. La Bohème is coming to the Soho Theatre – and is the first opera to do so. This time it’s not a lot of stuffy old fat ladies and pompous guy in big wigs singing in double Dutch, this classic

by Puccini has been given a facelift and is now set in modern day Soho (a far cry from the original 1830’s Paris) and is sung in English. This production is already the longest continuously-running opera in history and is as immediate, relevant, accessible and emotionally engaging for today’s audiences as it was when it was first performed in 1896. Accompanied by live piano, the story will unfold in both the auditorium and the bar, with a young and vibrant cast of world-class trained singers. If you’ve always fancied attending an opera but weren’t sure you’d fit in, this is the perfect opportunity to go and get a taste of something splendid.

Soho Theatre, running from 27 July – 4 September www.sohotheatre.com

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is back!

That’s right, just when the rest of the country begins to enjoy some much deserved sunshine, thousands flock to the rainiest capital on the Isles to see what’s hot and what’s not. Running from the 6th-30th August, Edinburgh hosts the hottest theatre, comedy, dance and music that the world has to offer. The hottest venues as always are The Pleasance, Udderbelly, Just the Tonic, PBH Free Fringe and Gilded Balloon.

Hosting festival favourites and newcomers alike, be sure to check all that’s on offer before splashing out £30 just to see Jimmy Carr. Again. Beige recommends checking out Nighty Night’s Kevin Eldon at The Stand, Foil Arms & Hog at the Caves and, following on from their Matt Lucas directed online work, ‘til we leave’s Stranded at Bar 50. Don’t forget your brolly! www.edfringe.com

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Graze

If you’re anything like the boys in the beige office you spend all day snacking away at your desk and feeling pretty guilty about it too. Thank goodness then someone has finally decided to do something about it! www.graze.com will deliver healthy nibbles to your home or office from just £2.99. The graze snack boxes are nutritionally balanced and personalised to your tastes with delicious, healthy, natural food; fresh fruit, delicious nuts, seeds & dried fruits, tasty crackers & olives, as well as some well deserved natural treats. The range is completely free from artificial colourings, flavourings and preservatives and everything is hand-picked from the finest producers. www.graze.com

Econogo

We all know the future is electric and now we’re starting to see electric vehicles come on to the market. The benefits of course being that they are cheaper and cleaner to run and not dependant on the depleting reserves of fossil fuels. The downside to electric vehicles is that they are not thought of as cool – but here is a sporty little number to challenge that concept. The Yogo from Econogo looks every piece like the nippy scooter.

With a top speed of 30 mph and a max distance of 22 miles (or 44 miles if you carry a spare battery!) it’s not one for long distance, but we think it would be great to get around the gridlock of an inner-city commute. One of the great things about the Yogo is that the battery is removable and can be recharged in an hour, inside your home or at your destination, which does away with the impracticality of running a cable from your third floor flat window to charge your ride. Of course the most important benefit to the planet is that the scooter gives out zero emissions. The Yogo costs £1999 and you can arrange a test drive at www.econogoelectricscooters.co.uk

Frae

London fell in love with FRAE last summer when it opened its doors selling delicious 100% fat-free, low calorie, organic frozen yogurt in Camden Passage, Islington. FRAE have now just opened a new store in Notting Hill Gate.

Swirled in its simplest, healthiest and most natural form, FRAE yogurt comes fresh from the farm, and no additional additives or preservatives are added. The yogurt is packed full of live pro-biotics and active cultures and with just ‘83 calories (in a small), it’s a great healthy snack! FRAE comes in two flavours: Natural or Green Tea and if you are feeling indecisive, the menu includes a list of topping combinations such as FRAE RED (strawberries and raspberries) and FRAE BLUE (blueberries, granola and honey). A range of blended smoothies is also available. We think they’re pretty nummy, just watch out for brain freeze! www.frae.co.uk

Bang

Keep an eye out for the latest fragrance from Marc Jacobs – Bang. The explosive name is reflected in the bottle, which has the appearance of a metallic box which has been squashed or crushed by a “Bang” or a huge impact at its core. The scent is masculine and spicy, just like Marc Jacobs who is modelling in the advertising campaign himself - and he looks pretty damn lickable! ‘Bang’ is set to go on sale exclusively at Harvey Nichols from 1 August 2010 and available nationwide from 25 August 2010. www.marcjacobs.com

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I Love Lamp

Here’s a Toy Story to give you a Buzz and light up your life. We spotted these lamps by designer Ryan McElhinney and just thought they were to die for. Camp as you like but fabulous with it, each lamp is made from used and found toys from car boots, charity shops and yard sales. The pieces are bonded together and then coated in a high gloss polyurethane spray finish. Each piece is handmade to order by private commission. Visit www. ryanmcelhinney.co.uk for more details and products.

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YOU CAN’T PLEASE ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME, BUT THEY SHOULD TRY…

BRIGHTON PRIDE

Jamie Hakim, a former trustee of Brighton Pride, reveals the difficulty of creating an event to keep the gay community happy….

B

y all accounts, Brighton Pride is in big trouble. In less than 10 months it’s lost the support of the gay business community, as well as managing to alienate many core supporters and fans. In addition to Wild Fruit coming off the park,The Women’s Performance Tent, Popstars, Girl Action and Vavoom Bar have all pulled out, leaving a real question mark over the viability of this year’s event.

SO HOW ON EARTH DID THIS HAPPEN?

comment

“Brighton’s got a very passionate and very vocal gay community.

They don’t like it when they’re not being heard and they don’t like it when they feel like they’re being bullied.”

Mr Hakim’s comments are not necessarily those of Beige magazine. If you have a viewpoint on this topic, we would love to hear from you.

Write to us at editor@beigeuk.com with the subject line “Letter to the Editor”

Well, it all began after last year’s Brighton Pride, when the organisers announced they hadn’t made enough money to cover their costs and said the 2010 event was to be ‘scaled down’. A public meeting followed where an angry crowd accused the trustees of trying to turn the event into a ‘picnic in the park’. Alternative plans to save the familiar face of Pride were put forward by long serving Pride suppliers but the trustees appeared to think they knew better. Then a Facebook page called ‘Save Brighton Pride As We Know’ opened and quickly gained 5000 members. Since last November the group has been the main focus of disquiet on how Brighton Pride’s been run but, like any Facebook page, it’s generally unregulated and we all know we shouldn’t believe everything we read.

free-for-all where no one seemed to have to pay for anything. No wonder the organisation is broke. I’ve never understood why there wasn’t an army of bucket shakers filtering the crowds as they enter the park each year. “A Pound for Pride” policy would have brought in many shiny gold coins.

Now if I were prime minister, and thank heavens I’m not, I would ditch the park event, turn the parade around by starting it in Preston Park and ending it on the seafront where a sea of community and charity stalls were waiting. There could be a big dance tent with paid entry somewhere along the front as well as a hum-dinger of a street party on St James’s Street.

Incidentally, one thing is for sure this coming August, the St James’s Street Party will go ahead as usual because it’s arranged by local gay businesses operating outside of the Pride organisation and that’s where me and the boys will be over the weekend of 7th & 8th August. There will also be loads of familiar clubbing events around the city over Brighton Pride including some big parties from those well know Pride stalwarts at Wild Fruit. Just don’t expect to find them on the park this year. Or me for that matter. Gay Pride…!

I’ve been living in Brighton & Hove for ten years now. I’ve been a volunteer on Brighton’s Gay Switchboard as well as Brighton Pride’s volunteer press officer in 2004. I also co-owned a gay-oriented business 2004 - 2007. The result of all the above is that I pretty much know how it works around here and how hard it is to please everybody.

Brighton’s got a very passionate and very vocal gay community.

They don’t like it when they’re not being heard and they don’t like it when they feel like they’re being bullied. The feeling is that’s exactly what the current trustees of Pride are doing. Their mistake, in my humble opinion, is they didn’t realise that without the support of the vocal minority – they’re a bit buggered.

Despite what’s being banded around on the Internet, I am 99% sure the current board of trustees are not a bunch of megalomaniacal nutters hell-bent on self-interest. It’s much more likely they are simply a bunch of well-intentioned local people who are trying to do some ‘good’ and ‘give something back’. However, they’ve clearly failed in this and I would say that’s probably down to a lack of clear, decisive leadership at the top. Every organisation needs strong leadership. Without it, you end up in all sorts of trouble resulting in unregulated Facebook groups with thousands of unhappy members all with a different opinion of what went wrong.

I don’t know anyone currently on the board but I do know many former volunteers, trustees and many, many ordinary people who have simply volunteered to help out over the years – doing things like putting up a tent at the annual dog show or going around collecting money tins. These people worked harder than many of you will ever know and pretty much all of them got little or no thanks for their time.

How this will all be resolved, I have no idea. Personally, I feel the event got too big with the Preston Park event turning into a massive

Brighton Pride takes place on 7 August.

Visit www.brightonpride.org

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WHY SHOULD WE BOTHER?

BRIGHTON PRIDE

Trustees and employees of Pride in Brighton & Hove have been under the cosh since it announced a potential deficit last November. Here Pride trustee Geoffrey Bowden writes exclusively for Beige magazine to put forward Pride’s side, following a spate of negative headlines and a concerted campaign to get trustees to resign.

T

Sponsors have continued to show their confidence in Pride too and all the much-loved features of the Park will be in place, including dance, cabaret and bear tents. We are also working closely with local LGBT community groups, who’ll have a strong presence on the Park.

It is has been bloody and a number of trustees have found the pressure, personal attacks and unfounded allegations too hard to take. They’ve stepped down.

Our local city council has also demonstrated its confidence in Pride. First it advanced us a loan to bridge the short-term gap in our finances after the charity had taken drastic action to cut its overheads and encourage fund raising efforts by local businesses.

Then it renewed its generous annual grant and announced a fund to support community groups wanting to get involved in Pride in the park.

o pretend that it has all been sweetness and light over the last six months for those on the inside of Pride would be disingenuous. Our hard working staff have had to put up with a torrent of aggressive and abusive telephone calls and emails, while new media outlets have been used to tar all trustees as corrupt.

I stopped reading the Facebook attacks when I was told that I had become a target. Life is too short to waste time on the vitriol of people who don’t know me from Adam.

comment

“Being passionate about Pride is great.

However, when it goes over the edge and outright lies are pedaled as truth something has to give.”

The idea that any trustee benefits from the charity is laughable.

Trustees give hours and hours of our time freely because we believe passionately in Pride and what it stands for. At times though, it seems that the prejudice we should have been countering was from within the LGBT community, not from outside it.

Trustees have always tried to make decisions in the best interests of the charity to enable it to meet its objectives. We didn’t always get those decisions right though.

Most recently, we were forced into a position where we had to part company with our bars contractor, who was unjustly withholding contracted payments to Pride. We nailed our colours to another contractor that promised large amounts of cash. Adverse headlines about one of its directors led us to cancel the contract as our confidence in them plummeted and our reputation took a pounding for the association.

The support for Pride by the local authority is not just about recognizing the key role it plays in educating and countering prejudice throughout the year. It is estimated that the summer festival brings in at least £1.5 million to the local economy – perhaps more. In the current economic situation that’s too significant an amount to ignore.

So what now? We have announced a new contractor to manage the bars in the Park. Club Revenge and the R-Bar are locally respected brand names and for Revenge it’s a return to working with Pride. It held the bars contract until 2008 and knows what’s needed.

A bonus of Club Revenge’s renewed involvement is that it has had a beneficial knock-on effect. There’s a dramatic return of confidence in Pride with local businesses and community groups announcing that they too will be in the Park celebrating the festival on Saturday, 7th August whose theme is Pride and (No) Prejudice.

We’ve been down a rocky road, but all the elements are now in place for us to deliver the best free Pride festival in Britain.

Being passionate about Pride is great. However, when it goes over the edge and outright lies are pedaled as truth something has to give.

One example was when a local LGBT title published an open letter from a former employee of Pride accusing one of its current employees of having taken gifts from a sponsor.

The Pride employee engaged a leading firm of libel lawyers. The result? With absolutely no proof to back the allegations there was a groveling apology sent by the accuser to all trustees and published by the magazine that had carried it in the first place.

Mr Bowden’s comments are not necessarily those of Beige magazine. If you have a viewpoint on this topic, we would love to hear from you.

Write to us at editor@beigeuk. com with the subject line “Letter to the Editor”

In the interim though the unfounded and scandalous charges were picked up by anti-Pride factions and pedaled as facts across new media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter, further damaging confidence in Pride.

In such an atmosphere it is amazing that Pride has been able to focus at all on delivering a festival in August. But despite the noises off we have had to turn away groups wanting to take part in the parade. The authorities set an upper limit of 55 floats and tableaux to avoid traffic chaos in Brighton.

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Holiday Time!!!

Adam Lake

Should gay men holiday in homophobic countries?

It’s that time of year again where all I can think of is where I am going to go on holiday. As a gay man in my early twenties I feel a bit embarrassed that I seem to have done all of the gay destinations already. Gran Canaria, Mykonos, Sitges… if ever there was any doubt what Vauxhall would look like with the sun beating down on it then these places should give your imagination a bit of a nudge.

As someone who worked in the travel industry for 20 years I travelled extensively to all four corners of the globe. Sailing in the Caribbean, touring the deserts of the Middle East, cruising the rivers of South America, drinking in bier kellars in Europe and trekking through India and East Asia. I have seen some of the wonders of the world including the Grand Canyon, Pyramids, Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, Petra, and Machu Picchu.

When you experience structures this awesome and get emotional at the Berlin Wall, Ghandi’s home, the Kennedy memorial, The Forbidden City, and gasp in awe at the Victoria Falls or the Serengeti, you come to realise that one of life’s greatest pleasures is to see as much of the world as is physically possible. This is part of growing up and part of life.

But for all of their faults, for single boys like me the odds of a holiday romance get cut dramatically when I start looking at the straighter alternatives. Don’t get me wrong, Rio De Janeiro and San Fran offer the pink traveller treasures beyond their wildest dreams but for those whose credit cards flex a little less after the credit crunch we need to look a little more, dare I say it, budget.

The problem with travelling to developing countries is that not only are their economies developing but often their opinions on equality too. The sad fact of the matter is that certain countries, Jamaica, Malawi and Gambia are prime examples of this, have strong and violent homophobic traditions. Let’s be fair, often these religiousbased views were brought over to these countries by us when Britain was hell-bent on world domination, but while some countries have modernised, others sadly still lag behind.

One may argue that when you travel to a foreign country you must respect their beliefs and traditions but I think that when you go on holiday you should choose somewhere that you feel comfortable with being openly gay; you’re probably more likely to get laid too. Once these countries catch on to the fact that they cannot sustain tourism with a poor gay rights record hopefully we will see some positive moves in the right direction.

Tony Tansley Civil liberties and human rights apply to all and not just gay men whether this includes homophobia or not. I doubt if there is a country in the world that, at one time, has been an instigator of some form of attack on gay men, so I don’t feel that this should be an integral part of any decision on travelling the world.

When I want to go on holiday I want to get away from it all, somehow drinking the same drinks, dancing to the same music with the same boys (the Europe gay scene is smaller then my latest pair of D&G trunks) doesn’t feel like a holiday at all.

There has been a surprising increase in demand for holidays in places such as Gambia and Egypt. Beautiful beaches and guaranteed sun now seem to come at a lower price that the average Joe can afford whilst leaving a bit of change left over for sunglasses and factor 1 tanning oil.

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He won’t be promoting gay holidays anytime soon

“The problem with travelling to developing countries is that not only are their economies developing but often their opinions on equality too.”

Ask yourself what is so important about going on a gay holiday as opposed to any other, or visiting a gay resort where generally everything is inflated in price because we are a captive market, and do we feel at ease in an environment where we don’t expect to spend the duration in fear of attack or abuse? Of course the answer is that you feel comfortable amongst your own kind and it gives you the sense of security that you require.

However, travelling to any country requires you to abide by their customs and religious beliefs, even though some may be extreme.

So, what I’m saying is that you don’t always have to be gay to enjoy the beauty of a world that is fast disappearing and part of that process is understanding the culture. If you happen to disagree then you bring it to the attention of the media and public from the safety of your own home and country where others can support you.

www.abstractdreams.org www.bprlondon.com

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29/07/2010 20:44:22 19/03/2009 08:30

beigecomment

MAN CAM

CHAT GOES VIDEO

Chat is back. But it’s not the AOL chat rooms of the late nineties. AOL inspired, for sure, but with an important technological advancement: video!

Michael Krans says “Welcome to The Jetsons’ era of chat.”

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fter ten years from its initial launch on AOL, the chat craze emerged again this spring with the introduction of ChatRoulette.com, a popular website that puts users face to face with strangers via video.

Users go on in front of their web cams to talk and IM with strangers from all over the world. There’s no log in, there’s no registration. Press play and you are instantly connected with a stranger. Chatters can see each other live and even talk on an open mike. The site says you must be 16 and wear clothes, but there’s no registration and no way to verify a users age.

During testing, we met 18-year-old girls from Holland and some grunge rockers from the UK and a middle-aged man from Spain, holding a plunger. We guessed he was a plumber but were afraid to ask.

Young adults are often intrigued at the idea of meeting people from around the world. Some even claim to have met celebrities. “I swear I saw a Jonas brother,” said Kevin Turner, 25, from Washington DC. “My friend chatted with Ashton Kutcher.”

A number of spinoffs have followed suit, including a gay version called GayRoulette.com. However, the gay version has proved disappointing to users.

With ChatRoulette.com’s raunch factor being pretty high, we expected GayRoulette.com would take it to new levels of inequity. Sadly, it’s quite the opposite.

Every person we encountered was fully clothed and actually looked bored to be on the site. Additionally, the site was not able to maintain its traffic. We frequently received a notice stating: “All users are currently engaged in sessions. Hit NEXT to try again.”

package in nice pants, clearly waiting for a good hookup where they will finally unleash the goods – and hope their partner doesn’t click the next button mid-flow. We also saw a few who were fully-dressed and showing their faces (the guys that actually want to chat one assumes) the surprising thing was that some of them were really attractive. The other thing to note was that, unlike chatroulette.com, you do not require a camera on your side to be able to connect. Of course if you don’t have a camera up and running you are guaranteed to be clicked off pretty quick by the bored guy on the other end, but you have a long enough view to get a taste of what’s out there. Still with Manroulette.com you still only get to look at one video at a time – so we turned to Manhunt Chat.

Hurrah! After initial testing in Boston and New York, Manhunt Chat launched nationwide earlier this month on Manhunt.com. Our view? Well, with high-quality video, oversized pictures and lots of hunky men online, Manhunt Chat is already touting itself as the best way to meet other gay guys in real time.

On Manhunt Chat, guys can join rooms of local guys, or join one of the special interest rooms where men are video chatting on a wide range of topics including leather, jocks, and even feet. If you’re looking for raunch – as we were - you are in the right place!

The most popular feature that all the men on the site seem to be using is the multiple chat function. It enables guys to view several cams at the same time. During testing we watched five men on five different screens pleasuring themselves at the same time!

There are cleaner rooms for less-adventurous guys but they didn’t seem as active during testing.

“It’s a new frontier in chat”, they say. So what’s next in the world of online gay ‘entertainment’? Bring it on, geeks!

Perhaps it was just us, but surfing GayRoulette.com didn’t float our boat. Perhaps other sites, such as Manhunt.com and Manroulette.com may offer a better alternative?

Manroulette.com was an instant improvement. Firstly there were no connection problems when we tried it. Secondly there seemed to be a good range of guys online.

There were of course the obligatory stomach and cock shots and that might be enough for some people to get off. There were also quite a few men hiding their

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health

beigewellbeing

Greg Brookes is a personal trainer, author and martial arts black-belt.

This article and many others can be found in the blog section of Greg’s Health and Fitness Website www.gbpersonaltraining.com

THE TRUTH ABOUT DIET DRINKS With the diet drinks market booking, Greg Brookes asks if we really know what we’re consuming.

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any people are still amazed to hear that diet drinks and artificial sweeteners are not good for you. People are even more amazed when they hear that it’s the diet drinks that are preventing them from losing weight and causing a multitude of other side effects.

Case studies are now revealing that those who do consume diet-based drinks have a higher BMI than those that do not.

Research also shows that just drinking one can of a diet drink per day increased their risk of metabolic syndrome by 34%.

Metabolic syndrome leads to problems like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

The active sweetener in many diet or zero calories drinks is Aspartame, which is an excitable neurotransmitter.

Aspartame is not natural and when too much enters the brain it causes the death of brain cells, and there is evidence to support links with Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, depression and more. Aspartame further breaks down in your system to methanol and finally formaldehyde, both of which have well known side effects including: Headaches, dizziness, weakness, gastrointestinal problems, and even cancer.

The fact is there is overwhelming evidence to support the dangers of artificial sweeteners and the adverse effects they have on fat loss. My advice is to go natural, drink water. You can add lemon or orange for flavour if you wish. Buy a juicer and juice fresh fruit and vegetables, but ensure you drink them straight away. Don’t buy juices that are in bottles, only ones that are juiced in front of you. Forget sports drinks, they are loaded with artificial sweeteners and won’t do your waistline any good.

Aspartame is the active ingredient in NutraSweet, Equal and over 5000 other products. The side effects of aspartame are so strong that pilots are frequently warned of the dangers of seizures and vertigo. The topic is so important to pilots that articles are regularly published in the Air Forces magazines. Rats have died from cancer caused by feeding them aspartame and this chemical has been used as an effective ant poison too!

Think natural and live natural, it’s the only way to beat fat in 2010.

But not only is aspartame a deadly chemical that causes a whole myriad of side effects and diseases but its ineffective at helping you lose fat too!

When you consume an artificial chemical it tricks your system into thinking it’s getting something sweet. When the sweet stuff doesn’t arrive it sends out a strong signal to go out and find some. In other words you get stronger cravings for sugar from consuming the artificial sweetener, it’s like a drug. In an experiment 94% of animals chose the artificial sweetener over cocaine even though they were already addicted to cocaine.

As your taste receptors change, sweet things don’t taste as sweet as they used to so you crave even sweeter foods and due to the excess of insulin you have created in your body this turns all foods you do eat into fat.

DIET DRINK FACTOIDS • • • • • •

Drinks that contain aspartame include Diet Coke, Diet Pepsi and Diet Sprite.

Diet Coke was introduced in 1982 and surprisingly does not use a modified form of Coca Cola but in fact an entirely different formula.

Diet Pepsi does not specify on its US packaging how much aspartame the drink contains.

On average PepsiCo make annual sales of around £35 billion.

Around 1.2 billion cans of Coca Cola brand soft drinks are consumed a day globally.

Aspartame can be found in a wide range of products such as; breath mints, cereals, sugar-free gum, juices, laxatives, yoghurts and instant coffee.

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PECS4PRIDE

It’s Pride season, which means (with any luck) there will be much cause for walking around in the sun with your top off. But, oh dear, you didn’t keep up those press-ups you promised yourself you would do every day after last pride. We sent Scott McPherson to Soho Gym in Clapham to learn how to get the most out of your time in the gym and train more effectively, using advanced training techniques to get the perfect pecs!

Exercises for beginners by Alex Artiaga 1. Pectoral Primary Muscle(s): Chest Equipment: Pectoral Machine Easy exercise to bulk your chest up to the maximum on your first days.

3 sets x 4-6 repetitions 60 seconds rest Sit with back flat against pad. Adjust seat height so that upper arms are parallel to the ground when positioned in the arm pads. Adjust seat-back so upper arms are perpendicular to slightly forward of the body. Close your arms simultaneously, pushing on the pads with your forearms. Your forearms must remain against the pads at all times during the movement. Control the speed of movement constantly, the return speed should be slower than the outward speed.

In the return movement of the last repetition, press the easy-start foot bar fully down.

Return slowly until the weight can be felt transferred to the easy-start foot bar, then release the handgrips and lower the weight down by slowly raising the bar.

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2. Cable Chest Press Primary Muscle(s): Chest Secondary Muscle(s): Shoulders, Triceps Equipment: Cables 3 sets x 5-7 repetitions 60 seconds rest Stand in the middle of the cable crossover and grab one cable in each hand so that your hands are extended out to the side.

Contract your chest muscles while keeping your arms semi-straight. Pull your hands in towards the front of your body keeping your arms straight.

Return to starting position and repeat.

3. Press-Ups Primary Muscle(s): Chest Secondary Muscle(s): Triceps, Anterior Deltoids, Biceps Equipment: Body 3 sets x 10 repetitions 60 seconds rest Good press-ups are performed in a prone position, lying horizontal and face down, raising and lowering the body using the arms.

Lie prone on the ground with hands placed as wide as or slightly wider than shoulder width. Keeping the body straight, lower body to the ground by bending arms at the elbows. Raise body up off the ground by extending the arms. Repeat. Body weight should be lifted by the arms; don’t be tempted to use your butt, stomach or the lower half of your body to pull yourself up. To maintain correct body alignment, imagine a straight line running from your head down to your ankles.

Advanced exercises by Laurence Farncombe 4. Tri-set 3 demanding exercises to hit the chest muscle with virtually no rest. Very intensive.

These are one of the most popular exercises in the gym along. All three are important for developing a well-rounded, balanced, and strong chest.

A1 Dumbbell Flat Bench Press Fly

2 Exercise Profile Primary Muscle(s): Chest Secondary Muscle(s): Triceps, Anterior Deltoids, Biceps Equipment: Bench and Dumbbells 3 sets x 5-7 repetitions 10 seconds rest Lie flat on a bench, feet firmly on floor. Make sure that your butt, back, shoulders, and head are firmly positioned on the bench. Press the dumbbells straight up above you.

Your elbows should be slightly bent and your palms should be facing each other. In this position the dumbbells should be touching each other (or pretty close). Keeping a slight bend in your elbows, slowly lower the dumbbells away from each other in an arc. Lower them until a comfortable stretch is felt in the chest area. Raise them along the same arc back to the starting position. (Another way to understand this exercise is to imagine you are hugging a tree.)

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c o n t e m p o r a r y

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LOOK LIKE THIS IN HALF THE TIME Spending much of his life in the public-eye, former Steps star Lee Latchford Evans knows the importance of achieving and maintaining the look you want.

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beigefitness 5. A2 Dumbbell Flat Bench Press Exercise Profile Primary Muscle(s): Chest Secondary Muscle(s): Triceps, Anterior Deltoids, Biceps Equipment: Bench and dumbbells 3 sets x 3-5 repetitions 10 seconds rest Grab yourself a pair of dumbbells that you can handle – heavy enough to be challenging, but not so light that it’s easy.

While holding the dumbbells, sit down on the bench and rest the weights on your thighs. Lie back on the flat bench and push the weights up directly above your chest. Don’t lock your elbows!

With your palms facing your feet, slowly lower the dumbbells to your chest, flaring your elbows outward. Hold.

Don’t allow the dumbbells to travel so far downward that you’re unable to push them back up. As you do the exercise, you’ll feel a “point of no return” – go to this point, but no further! Doing this puts a ton of stress on your shoulder joint and overstretches your pecs, especially when using heavier weights.

Push the weights back up to the starting position.

3 1 4 6..A3 Dumbbell Inclined Bench Press Exercise Profile Primary Muscle(s): Chest Secondary Muscle(s): Triceps, Anterior Deltoids, Biceps Equipment: Bench and dumbbells 3 sets x 5-7 repetitions 120 seconds rest The incline bench press is performed exactly like the flat bench press, except on an incline bench. Everything else remains the same. This chest exercise can also be performed using dumbbells instead of a barbell. Again, both methods are effective.

And start all over again twice or more.

5

Soho Gym Clapham Common 95-97 Clapham High Street, London, SW4 7TB Tel. 020 7720 0321 Fax 020 7720 6510 Photos by Scott McPherson

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BEN RICHARDS beigeinterview

HITS THE ROAD AS MITZI

For the past few years Ben Richards has played tough sexy men in stage shows like Saturday Night Fever and The Full Monty and television series like The Bill and Footballers Wives.

Douglas Mayo caught up with him as he unleashes his inner drag taking on the role of Tig/ Mitzi in Priscilla – Queen Of The Desert.

Beige: So how did you end up getting the role in Priscilla?

Ben: It was coming up to three years in The Bill and I felt it was time to move on. I spoke to my agent and said I wanted a really interesting challenge and the mentioned Priscilla had been in touch. I thought well playing a gay drag queen will be the biggest challenge I’ve faced so far so let’s do it.

Beige: It’s a long way from your previous TV and stage roles?

Ben: I’ve always played very alpha male roles. I’m always interested in something that is going to stretch me, so I sang for them and went to see the show and fell in love with it.

I thought it was big, camp, brash and fun but also had a beautiful story and message at its heart with those three characters. So far it’s been great and we’ve had a fantastic response.

Beige: Have there been any challenges for you?

Ben: There are the obvious physical challenges of going around in heels but for me the biggest one was being a straight guy playing a gay drag queen. He’s not over the top, you need to believe he had a wife and a child way back, but you also need to believe he lives this gay lifestyle and that his friends are drag queens and that he lives in that environment.

So it’s a blend which you need to get right. I have a lot of gay friends and what I didn’t want was to play some sort of stereotype that was over the top. I really didn’t want to get this wrong as it would have pissed off a lot of my gay mates.

I didn’t want them saying “well you know better than that” so getting it right was really important to me. I had a lot of help from the creative team and it worked out really well. You have a real responsibility with this, if you get it wrong it’s “Oh get the straight guy trying to be gay”, it could all be really cod really easily. It was just a case of trying to play the truth.

Beige: With the new cast some of the characterisations are closer to the original film, was that intentional?

Ben: Don and I have had a chance to put our own mark on it and we all worked really hard in rehearsals to really bring it back to the film by allowing each character to breathe. Tig, being the sort of middle one of the three is always trying to keep Photo this page: Catherine Harrbour

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the group together. We spent ages building those relationships so that you really enjoy the big camp numbers and then be moved in the small little scenes and really care about their physical and emotional journeys. When Tig meets his son he’s scared that he’ll think him a freak but he doesn’t, he’s completely ok with who and what he is.

There are similar moments for Adam and Bernadette when she finds love. You really need the audience to feel that and want that. There’s the moment where we have the bus sprayed Fuck Off Faggotts and what we wanted was for it to be a great jolly fun number where the mood drops like a stone and for the audience to go from laughing to being shocked.

Most importantly the audience needs to be aware that these three characters are genuinely hurt. I have a friend who is very alpha male and works in football and that moment genuinely moved him.

Beige: So are you finding Mitzi’s outfits liberating?

Ben: What’s interesting is when you don all the gear and have the make up on it’s a different persona. This persona just comes out and your physicality changes, everything changes. I was told that when you put the gear on you feel very different and you do, you become this larger than life alter ego.

Beige: So have there been any costume malfunctions so far?

Ben: Well the platforms are massive, I’m almost four inches taller. I’ve been pretty lucky so far though. Everything is held fairly securely in place, but I must admit I keep laddering my tights!

Beige: So how are you coping with the quick changes?

Ben: Yes they are very very quick. I didn’t get through all of them at my first dress rehearsal and it was a big headache right up until my opening night, but now it’s like a well choreographed machine backstage and it’s fine. It’s a manic show, as crazy as it is onstage it’s even more manic behind the scenes.

Beige: How has audience reaction been and how are you finding it?

Ben: The reaction has been amazing, they stand and cheer at every performance. I’m very proud with where we are at as a company. They are just so great to work with and work so hard. There are no egos backstage, we’re a big family and I love it that way. Every

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“It’s a manic show, as crazy as it is onstage it’s even more manic behind the scenes.” show is different, this one has its own flamboyance and fun. It’s like being part of a sisterhood. There are only 3 guys in the cast that are straight and that alone brings its own fantastic energy to the show. At London Pride it was just brilliant, a lot of the guys got dressed up in their most outrageous hot pants and went down Old Compton Street. I was like Old Mother Hen, watching my Boys.

They looked fantastic, they are all so good looking.

Beige: Having worked in TV and theatre do you have a favourite medium?

Ben: Theatre is my first love and I’ll always come back to it but I do love the ever changing world that is TV and the buzz you get from it. As long as there is a challenge and an edge to whatever I do it will keep me interested.

Beige: A lot of actors complain that having been in musicals they cant get cast in film or TV. What’s your experience been?

Ben: That certainly used to be the case, but it’s not the case at all now in America. They have a great respect for actors who can do a scene then break into song without looking ridiculous. In the UK for a long time casting directors had their heads up their own arses and thought that if you were in a musical you couldn’t act which was ridiculous. It wasn’t until you had people like Shane Ritchie and Tamsin Outhwaite breaking through that that changed. I’ve always worked against being pigeon-holed in what I’ve done.

Beige: What would you like to do next?

Ben: I would love to work with Baz Luhrman or Luc Besson. I would seriously love to do Moulin Rouge on stage but I have a funny feeling I’d be too old by the time that comes around. It’s one of my dreams.

Beige: You’re working on Priscilla till March 2011. How do you stay fresh during a long run?

Ben: Being surrounded by great actors helps enormously.

When you are doing eight shows a week it’s a matter of discipline. I studied Miesner and was taught if you listen to what the other person is saying your lines will remain fresh. I have a strong work ethic though and I know that most people are spending £50 on average to see the show. If I was spending that amount I’d expect the actor up there to be giving their best – it’s a big motivator!!

Ben Richards is appearing in Priscilla – Queen Of the Desert the musical at the Palace Theatre, London. www.priscillathemusical.com www.benrichards.com Photos: Tristram Kenton

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RELUCTANT HERO beigeinterview

From hesitant hunk to Hollywood big shot, Leonard DiCaprio has become one of this generation’s most remarkable talents. But is he still hot stuff? Josh Winning investigates.

W

hen I was 18, River Phoenix was (far and away my hero). One night I was at this Halloween party and he passed me. He was beyond pale - he looked white. Before I got a chance to say hello, he was gone – driving off to the Viper Room where he fell over and died. That’s a lesson.”

By the early ‘90’s, DiCaprio had made films with Robert De Niro (This Boy’s Life), Johnny Depp (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?, which earned him an Oscar nod) and Gene Hackman (The Quick And The Dead)… By 1995’s The Basketball Diaries, he was landing a slick salary of $1m.

Leonardo DiCaprio knows fame. This is the guy, after all, who near defined what it meant to be a ‘heartthrob’ in the late ‘90’s. A droopy-haired, twinklyeyed pretty boy, his Titanic collaboration with director James Cameron set hearts hammering. Fame is fickle? No doubt – but while the heartthrob status never sat easy with the actor, DiCaprio has spent the last decade attempting to transcend the label by carving out a diverse and captivating career for himself.

Just two years later, his life was spun off its axis by Titanic. Today the film is the sixth highest grossing film of all time, with a total earning of just over $1bn worldwide. The title also proved fortuitous, turning Leonardo DiCaprio into a household name, while teenagers swooned in cinemas the globe over.

This year, after a thrilling turn in Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island, DiCaprio is headlining trippy mind-fuck flick Inception. But 13 years after he set pulses pumping and steered Titanic to a massive box office haul, is the California native still a hot ticket? “Just because you’ve done a good performance once, doesn’t mean you’re always going to be good,” the actor deliberates. “You just have to realize that when you’re hot, you’re hot, and when you’re not, you’re not…”

Fame Game

At aged five, a mini DiCaprio appeared in educational TV show Romper Room. His first ever experience of being on a set, he nearly got booted off for his “uncontrollable” behaviour. Long before the word ‘heartthrob’ was uttered in his vicinity, DiCaprio was branded a wild child with little in the way of restraint.

It was a reputation that haunted him throughout the teething years of his burgeoning career. “People want you to be a crazy out-of-control teen brat,” DiCaprio remembers “They want you to be miserable, just like them. They don’t want heroes. What they want is to see you fall.” Dodgy film roles didn’t help, with the actor’s first ever film gig pitting him against outer space uglies in (guilty Screener favourite) Critters 3. “I admit I’ve done a few lousy roles in the beginning of my career. But at that age, you’ll do anything for attention!”

Son to a German ma and Italian/German pa, DiCaprio famously gained his distinctive name after his pregnant mother felt him kicking while she contemplated a painting by Leonardo da Vinci. (At 10, DiCaprio’s agent wanted him to change his name to the more US-friendly Lenny Williams. He refused.)

A baseball card collecting, museum and comic book loving youngling, his parents had divorced by the time he was just a year old, and baby Leo spent most of his young life being raised by his mother in Los Angeles.

“My mom and I lived at Hollywood and Western, a drug-dealer and prostitute corner,” DiCaprio recalls, going on to paint a picture of a childhood that would provide prime material for any number of gritty Hollywood dramas. “It was pretty terrifying. I got beat up a lot. I saw people have sex in the alleys. I remember I was five years old, and this guy with a trench coat, needles and crack cornered me.”

This unconventional upbringing perhaps accounts for the actor’s nervous energy, of which he had plenty “I was the most insane child you can imagine, pretty intolerable to be around. High-octane energy all the time, never wanting to focus on schoolwork”. And like most hyperactive, attention-seeking children, DiCaprio realised from an early age that he was suited to a life in the media – something that his love for River Phoenix and James Dean inspired.

The attention and acclaim was a blessing and a curse. “My name wasn’t me anymore,” DiCaprio notes. “I was sort of this thing. A lot of the attention was on me because of the teenage girls who repeatedly went to see the movie. I had the blond hair, and I was Jack Dawson, this heroic figure.”

Most galling, though, was being titled a ‘hunk’. “I hate this whole hunk thing!” the actor raved at the time. “I feel when I see myself in that I’m just part of this meat factory, like, ‘Wow! Here’s the hunk of the month! This month we’re shoving Leonardo DiCaprio down your throat! Isn’t he cute? Let’s put him on the cover and we’ll sell so many more magazines...’”

He even successfully sued Playgirl magazine, who were intending to print screenshots from earlier movie Total Eclipse that revealed him in all his full frontal glory. “That’s definitely not what I want to be,” he says, “and I’ve tried real hard to get away from that whole situation.”

Future Fantastic

The glare of the Titanic spotlight could easily have burned DiCaprio up just in time for the new millennium. Instead, the actor “stripped down” the himbo image that the media had created for him, plumbing for roles that actively destroyed his heartthrob persona (tellingly, his first post-Titanic film Man In The Iron Mask had him hiding his face).

Now commanding a salary of $20m per movie, DiCaprio has established himself as a malleable, staunchly dedicated talent who consistently picks interesting projects – not to mention he’s worked with a raft of Hollywood greats. Recent years have seen him playing against Jack Nicholson in The Departed “he flips everything on its side”, frequently teaming up with Martin Scorsese (his favourite director), earning further Oscar noms for The Aviator and Blood Diamond, and becoming a passionate environmental activist. (Not just a pretty face.)

He’s learnt to ignore the rumours (“I’ve heard some pretty bad rumours...

That I’m gay. If I want to go to a party with a few male friends, it doesn’t mean that I’m gay!”), and now new, fresh meat male stars Robert Pattinson and Zac Efron are being tarred with the same hunk-brush that once threatened to stall his career.

Those new hot stuffs would do well to study DiCaprio’s trajectory. Now 35 years old and showing no sign of letting up “The great thing about turning 30 in this business is that you get to perpetuate being young or old as long as we want”, he’s still not forgotten where he came from. “When a role for a young guy is being offered to me, I think of River Phoenix. It feels like a loss.”

Adds the actor: “I’m not the sort of person who tries to be cool or trendy. I’m definitely an individual.” Yep, he’s still got it.

Inception is out in cinemas now.

“Probably the only thing I knew with complete clarity was that I wanted to be an actor,” he says. “There was always an element of me that needed to prove something to myself. It’s something I don’t want to get rid of, because it’s what drives me. I’m never settled and I’m never satisfied.”

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beigefashion

SUMMER SWIMWEAR Summer is here and as the sun is shining we need to grab it while we can. So whether you’re staying home or jetting off on holiday make sure you’re wearing the hottest styles around to make the most of your manliness!

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SUMMER STYLE

Top Row: ES Cut Swim £44.99, Andrew Christian Show It Trunk $USD41, Andrew Christian Arch Square Cut Sport UPF50+ Fade Resistant $USD40.85,.

Middle Row: Andrew Christian Flashback Swim Trunk $USD49, ES Sexy Cut Swim £44.99, ES Sexy Cut Swim £44.99.

Bottom Row: ES Basic Swiimshorts £54.99 ES vailable at Clone Zone Stores Nationwide and www.clonezone.co.uk Andrew Christian available online at www.andrewchristian.com

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SUMMER TOPS Clone Zone - ES ‘69 Tank’ £39.99

Clone Zone - Pistol Pete ‘Truth Tank’ £29.99

Clone Zone - ES ‘Tank’ £29.99

Andrew Christian - Boardwalk Deep V Neck $USD36.00

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Hay Max

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SUMMER UNDERWEAR

Clockwise from top left: Lick Classic Hipster £18, Lick Lesiure Brief £18, Lick Individual Brief £20, Lick Individual Hipster £22, Lick Kinky Jockstrap £12, Lick Individual Boxer £24. www.lickunderwear.com. See discount offer on Page 37.

Stockists for this feature: Clone Zone Stores Nationwide, wwww.clonezone.co.uk, www.andrewchristian.com, www.lickunderwear.com

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beigetravel

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IT’S VEGAS BABY! beigetravel

Las Vegas is an oasis in the middle of the desert. A city of legend, a city of excess, but well worth a visit. Douglas Mayo indulged recently and very nearly didn’t come back...

L

abelled a playground for adults, Las Vegas has a reputation for excess which is the envy of holiday resorts around the world. The city can be all things to all people. It’s a wild ride - an outrageous fantasy that will never let you down.

Even if you don’t spend big bucks, you’ll still leave town convinced you’ve had the time of your life.

Time is irrelevant here. There are no clocks, just never-ending self-indulgence that can often overwhelm the average visitor in just a few days, but give Vegas those few days and it will give you the world.

Las Vegas was founded in the early 1900’s and had a lucky hand in its early years of development, dodging the great depression thanks to the development of the Hoover Dam. The world’s tallest dam at the time, it helped to establish a stable water supply to the city and provide a ready made audience for the developing casinos as workers gambled away their wages. In 1941 Thomas Hull opened the city’s first hotel casino ,The El Rancho, it was this development that started a development trend that continues today.

The El Rancho attracted a new element to Las Vegas. The city’s proximity to Los Angeles saw a stream of movie stars visiting to gamble and rub elbows with the characters of Las Vegas. The allure drew mobster Benjamin ‘Bugsy’ Siegel to Vegas with dreams of building a luxurious hotel/casino development, a resort that would attract people from around the world – The Flamingo.

The success of these early developments meant that every new development tried to outdo the competition in terms of size, glamour and entertainment. The reputation of the Vegas strip was born with international headliners including Sinatra and the Rat Pack performing.

1966 saw the arrival of eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes. He arrived at the Desert Inn, entering through the back door and did not leave the hotel for four years. Once he wore out his welcome he simply purchased the hotel. Hughes’ arrival in Vegas gave the city a much needed credibility boost, allowing the town to shed its mob image and finally move into a new era. A slew of themed hotels in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s have now given way to new directions in the development of luxury accommodation with incredible public spaces. Construction continues apace as Las Vegas has built a reputation as a convention and entertainment city, the likes of which exists nowhere else on Earth.

WHAT’S ON OFFER?

There’s no doubt that Las Vegas is a city that never stops developing. A servant to its constant flow of visitors, it is always looking to improve the Vegas experience. In recent times high-end shopping has come to Las Vegas with stores such as Tom Ford, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Apple, and Dior amongst others, indeed the Vuitton store is the largest in North America. Whilst you can certainly blow your winnings at these stores, great bargains are also to be had at the Premium Outlet Mall (www.premiumoutlets. com) located a short cab ride from the strip. This discount village boasts stores from the likes of Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Diesel, Levi and Izod and is well worth a trip, but allow a good few hours to wander, the complex is huge and can sometimes be crowded.

Las Vegas’ tradition as an entertainment town remains unchanged with a veritable smorgasbord of incredible shows on offer. The partnership of Cirque Du Soleil and MGM has seen no fewer than seven incredible Cirque shows land in Las Vegas. These are not your ordinary Cirque shows, they are purpose built for the spaces they occupy, just consider that “O”, the water show, uses literally millions of gallons of water and that “Ka” at the MGM Grand cost more to stage than every Broadway show combined the year it opened. These presentations have also lead other casinos to develop their own versions of these high concept entertainment spectaculars. La Reve at the Wynn has to be seen to be believed. The theatre offers VIP seating with behind the scenes video and champagne and strawberries on call throughout the performance. It has even recently been announced that divers wanting a unique experience can dive the

Experience Las Vegas in Style.

WHERE TO STAY

Vegas offers visitors an incredible range of accommodation options ranging from ultra cheap hotel rooms through to luxurious suites that will set your head spinning and your wallet screaming. Searches of sites like Expedia soon reveal that rooms in some of the larger resorts can be obtained very cheaply but be warned, weekends tend to be peak time and prices will rise accordingly. That said, veritable luxury can be yours without busting the bank. It doesn’t matter where you stay on the Las Vegas strip, everything is easily accessible with a lot of casinos providing interconnecting passages. The strip is deceptive though, at just over 4 miles, walking from one end to another is a trek in itself and best avoided in the heat of the Las Vegas sun. Hotels such as Caesars Palace, The Flamingo, Mandalay Bay, Bellagio and Luxor offer guests just about everything you could possibly want from fine dining through to spectacular entertainment. Most hotel complexes boast spa facilities for that much needed pampering session and some of the most amazing pool areas you will ever see.

The latest development in Las Vegas is the opulent City Centre. This amazing complex features Aria hotel and the new boutique hotel Vdara, a non-gaming hotel which includes spa access as part of your stay. Of course if you just want pure luxury, Steve Wynn’s Encore & Wynn hotels can’t be beaten. They’ll even ship the bed from your hotel room to you anywhere in the world.

Just a word of warning, in nearly all hotels (Vdara excepted) you’ll not only pay for internet access but for each device (iphone etc…) that you want to connect wirelessly.

With roaming charges for data access climbing ever higher it’s worth calculating this in your travel budget.

Las Vegas Limousines is a premier provider of luxury ground transportation services.

For reservations or information, call 00 1 702 736 1419 and mention the code BEIGE, for special pricing.

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www.lasvegaslimo.com

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beigetravel show’s enormous underwater stage space whilst it is in performance. Whilst spectacle rules in many of these enormous shows, Las Vegas retains its reputation for headliners with performers like Cher and Celine Dion (returning in 2011) at the Coliseum at Caesars, Australia’s Human Nature (Imperial), Donny & Marie Osmond (Flamingo) and Matt Goss performing with his big band at Caesars. With many Broadway shows now hitting the strip, we can certainly recommend Phantom of the Opera – the Las Vegas spectacular. In its own purpose built theatre, this 95 minute, one act version of the world’s most popular musical must be seen.

Las Vegas has the most diverse dining experiences on offer. For the budget conscious, Harrahs were offering 24hr buffet passes for £29.99 (plus tax) which gained you unlimited buffet access at all of their hotels including The Flamingo, Caesars, Paris, Planet Hollywood, Bellagio, Rio and Imperial Gardens.

If you’re hitting Vegas as a group or just want a unique experience then visit our friends at Las Vegas Limousines. You need to spend at least one night doing the Las Vegas Strip in style and there’s no better way of doing it than looking the part with a limo.

Las Vegas Premium Outlets

The Scene

Whilst Las Vegas is not really a “gay” destination per se, there is certainly something for the LGBT visitor with Krave, the only Gay venue on the Vegas strip, throbbing most nights. Off strip, a small group of bars has earned itself the name The Fruit Loop. This area on Paradise Road (a few blocks behind the Planet Hollywood complex) contains bars including Piranha (www. piranhavegas.com), Freezone (www.freezonelv.com) and Buffalo Bar. The latest addition comes in the form of Closet Sundays, an event for “boys who like boys and their girlfriends” staged in the Revolution Bar at The Mirage (www.lightgroup.com). Of course, if you want to sample decadence from a previous era, MGM has transplanted New York’s infamous Studio 54 into the MGM grand. At just over 22,000 square feet and featuring some of the club’s original fixtures it’s well worth a look. To check out the latest offerings, grab a copy of QVegas when you get there (most hotel concierges can get you a copy) or visit them online at www.Qvegas.com.

Las Vegas is an amazing town. Whilst excess is the norm it’s encouraging to see the green side of Vegas. With the Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy, Vegas boasts one of the country’s foremost dolphinariums. MGM are also proud to show off their green credentials by not using bottled water – they treat all their water in house.

Las Vegas is something that needs to be experienced. No matter what you’ve heard it’s well worth a visit. If you haven’t been for ages arrange to go back. The city is constantly changing and there’s always something new to see. Vegas has something for everyone, I wonder if Bugsy Siegel knew just what they were starting all those years ago!

For more information on Las Vegas, visit the official website of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority www.visitlasvegas.co.uk.

T 020 73670979 British Airways offers daily flights from London Heathrow to Las Vegas. To book visit ba.com or call British Airways on 0844 493 0787.

The Venetian

La Reve at Wynn

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LAS VEGAS EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED Stroll the Strip by the light of a neon-lit sky, testing your luck at the slot machines and poker tables. Or soak up the desert sunshine, golf clubs in hand, before indulging at award-winning restaurants or restocking the wardrobe at resort shops.

On ba.com we offer a wide range of hotels in Las Vegas from great value 2 star hotels to opulent 5 stars. Plus, if you book a flight + hotel together, you'll enjoy guaranteed savings and ATOL protection for total piece of mind.

For more information, visit ba.com/lasvegas

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beigetravel

TEL AVIV Middle Eastern Odyssey

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Forget what you’ve seen on CNN, Tel Aviv is a bustling, vibrant city with much to offer gay tourists. Darren Cooper paid a visit and found much to shout about.

M

ost people have heard at least something about Tel Aviv, and let’s face it, not all of it is necessarily good. Situated in the Middle East this region has its fair share of troubles that are given ample coverage by what is, on the whole, a fairly pro-Palestinian UK media.

Of course it would be silly for me to say that I don’t have an opinion on the area.

However I also realise that media coverage can give a very distorted image of a place, particularly if it focuses on one aspect of a country and particularly if that aspect is of conflict. I know people that have visited the city, and also people who have lived there for many years and their advice was to come and see for myself, the best way for finding out what any place is actually like from my experience.

I’m a little apprehensive it has to be said, but then I am in very good hands. My five days in the city has been organised by Kenes Tours which has been organising tours of Israel and Jordan for many years. More recently their membership of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) has seen them add LGBT specific tours to their list of itineraries.

My host and guide for the trip is Russell from Kenes, a gay resident of Tel Aviv who I have met on numerous occasions now and who I also count as a trusted friend. My itinerary includes not only Tel Aviv, but also a surprising number of other sights and attractions too.

At 260 miles from north to south and 71 miles across at its narrowest point Israel is a small country, but there is a lot to cover and all within an hour and half of my base in Tel Aviv. My five day tour is all set to take in the Mediterranean coast and beaches, Tel Aviv, including the gay nightlife, Haifa, Jerusalem, biblical sites, the Dead Sea, desert, mountains and a history marked by Jewish, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Persian, Byzantine, Christian Crusader, Arab, Ottoman and British rule - and all this is without even venturing south into the Negev desert and Eilat’s Dead Sea coastline.

First stop after the 5 hour flight is my hotel, the Crowne Plaza, one of many large 4 and 5 star properties that line the strip along Tel Aviv’s beachfront. While there are no specific gay or lesbian hotels in Tel Aviv, this is Israel’s most liberal city with a visible LGBT community. Most of the large hotel chains are represented here and the welcome is as warm as I would have expected in any of Europe’s large cosmopolitan cities.

Tel Aviv is a relatively new city which has just celebrated its centenary, but the city has

undergone rapid growth over the last few decades. It now sprawls from north to south along the coast and, including the suburbs and surrounding cities, is the largest urban area in Israel and also the cultural and commercial centre of the country.

That’s not to say that Tel Aviv isn’t rich in history. It also incorporates the old port of Jaffa, which has been a fortified port for over 4,000 years. Jonah’s journey that ended in the belly of a whale started here, it’s also where Andromeda was rescued from the Kraken by Perseus and the apostle Peter received a vision. (Incidentally it’s also where Jaffa cakes take their name from).

Today the old port has been renovated and the little alleyways and narrow streets are lined with artist’s studios and small boutiques. Climbing up from the harbour, the hill above is where the 19th century Franciscan church was built in the ruins of a crusader castle, that now serves as a very impressive hostel. The Ramses II gate gardens at the top of the hill offer not only some fantastic views up the coast to central Tel Aviv, but are also home to excavations that date from the rule of the Pharaoh 1,200-1,400 BCE. Another of the big draws for tourists to Jaffa is the flea market, which spreads haphazardly on the streets around the clock tower. The market has a real Middle Eastern bazaar feeling and is packed with stalls selling all sorts of trinkets, home decor, furniture and assorted knick-knacks. It’s a really interested place to browse, and haggle for goods and refuel with pastries, delicious breads and extremely garlicky humus at one of the cafes in the clock tower plaza.

It’s still only the beginning of June, but by the afternoon the heat is really beginning to take its toll so we decide that it’s time for the beach. Tel Aviv’s most popular gay beach is located in the centre of the strip just in front of the Hilton hotel, which is best reached in one of the plentiful and relatively cheap taxis.

The beach itself is one of many sandy crescent-shaped bays along Tel Aviv’s beachfront, that runs for several kilometres along the city’s seaboard. The beach is backed by the promenade, which runs from Jaffa to the northern suburbs and Tel Aviv’s beach culture is thriving. The succession of trendy beach bars that have sprung up along the seafront cater for the flocks of urban sun-seekers by day and the hordes of party goers until late into the night.

Today the beach is busy, but not completely packed and it was easy to tell which side of the huge outdoor decked bar that the gay crowd favoured. A couple of drinks, some

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chats with the locals to suss out the local scene and a few dips in a very warm sea topped the afternoon.

After the sun sets and a leisurely wash and brush up at the hotel, (there’s no need to rush, evenings start late here) it’s time to head out for the evening. The beach front promenade is the place to head for on a pleasant summer evening and we walk north past packed restaurants and bars towards one of Tel Aviv’s most lively quarters, the old port.

Built by the British and in use from the 1930’s until the 1960’s, this old stretch of industrial waterfront became the focus of a highly successful renovation project starting in the 1980s. Many of Tel Aviv’s most upmarket seafood restaurants now line the old quay and people come to eat, browse and hang out, in what has become one of the city’s hippest night time hotspots.

Gay nightlife in Tel Aviv means Evita, the most recently renovated and popular bar in the city. Located in the upcoming area of Tel Aviv, just off Yehuda Halevi Street, it’s highly recommended and the best place to find out what else is happening in the city during your stay.

Day two continues with our tour of Tel Aviv and the historic residential neighbourhood of Neve Tzedek, the first area of the city to be settled, and Rothschild Boulevard, Tel Aviv’s most famous street. Tel Aviv, is also known as the White City and gets this name from the large number of Bauhaus buildings constructed here in the early 20th century.

A guided tour of this street reveals not only some of the best preserved architecture of this time anywhere in the world, but also a glimpse into the extremely interesting modern history surrounding the declaration of the state of Israel in 1948.

Days three and four, and we get the chance to leave the city. On the first day we travel north, up the coast stopping at the ruins of Caesarea, the most important port in Roman times in the eastern Mediterranean and also the site of a later Crusader castle. Much of this old Roman city is still intact, including the huge amphitheatre and impressive arena right on the shores of the sea. The visitors centre here explains the entire history including the devastating defeat of the Crusaders and the sacking of the castle by the Arab sultan Baibers.

The next day we take in the many sights of Jerusalem which is just an hour’s drive from Tel Aviv and spend a full day exploring a city whose history reaches back for 4,000 years. Despite having an area of only 0.9 square kilometre (0.35 square mile), the Old City is home to sites of key historical and religious importance including the Temple

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KIMPTON HOTELS & RESTAURANTS

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Offer is based on availability and valid for stays Thursday - Sunday until September 5, 2010. Some restrictions and additional conditions apply.

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beigetravel Mount, Herod’s Temple, the Western Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.

The view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives provides some of the best views and photo opportunities of the city. Also outside of the Old Town is Yad Vashen, the holocaust museum opened in 2005 and is an incredibly moving and poignant memorial and educational facility that should definitely not be missed.

Perhaps my lasting memory of Israel though came on the last day. Russell decided to take me to the Dead Sea but as time was pressing we headed to the northern end which is located in the West Bank. Tourists normally head to the southern end where modern spa hotels cater for visitors and a stop at the ancient Jewish fortification of Masada is requisite.

a conversation in Arabic with them as they float past. They don’t have any spit roast lamb for us; they do whoever invite us to share their fruit water pipe, which we accept and all smoke together.

I explain to Russell that this isn’t quite the image that I was used to seeing of the West Bank and he translates for me. This causes quite a lot of amusement on all sides.

Perhaps this place isn’t quite as conflicted as I had been lead to believe after all?

For more information on Israel contact www.thinkisrael.com/gems

The journey takes us from Tel Aviv back up through the wooded hills to Jerusalem where the scenery changes dramatically going further east. The landscape becomes arid desert very quickly as we drop to the lowest point on Earth, 420 metres below sea level, and it’s hot! We pass the city of Jericho, out of bounds for Israelis apparently which is a shame as Russell explains the spit roast lamb is divine, and arrive at a small hotel on the banks of the world’s largest saline lake.

In the car park the number plates of cars are a mix of Palestinian and Jewish, which reflects the mixed clientele we find using the facilities. The day is spent covering ourselves in the mineral mud (it’s very rejuvenating apparently) and bobbing around like corks in the sea.

A group of Palestinian guys are also there enjoying themselves and Russell strikes up

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MARCH TO

MANCHESTER

It’s not often that those south of the Watford gap venture north, but this is one of those very special occasions – and it doesn’t get much more special than Manchester Pride’s Big Weekend! Antony Strutt investigates.

F

irst of all the term Big Weekend is an epic understatement. It’s not big - it’s huge, with music, dance, comedy, clubbing, markets, and of course, the parade. Manchester Pride also makes a concerted effort to raise money for charity and since 2003 has raised over £780,000 for local LGBT and HIV charities.

Secondly, it’s not just a weekend. All though the Pride event itself runs from Friday 27th to Monday 30th of August, there is also the Pride Fringe which runs the week beforehand and holds a myriad of events such as a Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, comedy nights, ice climbing, a canal run, self defence for women, a dog show, a family fun day, poetry slams and a Glee Quiz (for ultimate gLeeks!).

The Welcome to My World exhibition at the Selfridges Exchange Square (From August 20th) is a must see while you’re in the area – stars such as Kym Marsh and Patsy Kensit have posed for celebrity lifestyle photographer Rachael Joseph. The shots proudly state ‘My Brother/Mother/Friend is Gay’. The exhibition will “break down negative attitudes and encourage celebration of LGB life through a set of portraits of well-known celebrities who people can easily identify with.”

If you’re planning on heading down to Manchester on the 27th here’s what you need to know – and please do bear in mind that it is a bank holiday weekend and make your travel arrangements carefully to avoid traffic queues and packed trains. Or at least

make sure you have enough water, Haribo and camp anthems in the glove box to keep you sustained should you be delayed.

Friday 27th August

Your first job on arrival (or maybe second after visiting the little boys’ room) will be to check into your hotel. There is a wide range of accommodation available to you from budget (Weston Hall, Manchester Student Village) to the four and five star (City Inn Manchester, The Lowry Hotel). You can find further details on places to stay at www. manchesterpride.com.

If you’ve arrived during the day you should head out for a spot of shopping. Hervia Bazaar, Vivienne Westwood and Anglomania all have discount offers plus a special free gift with purchase for those wearing Big Weekend wristbands – and to further sweeten the deal Hervia Bazaar will have live male models in store for some first class perving.

The rest of the day and in fact most of the weekend can then be spent enjoying the delights of Canal Street, however, don’t miss out on the events going on at Sackville Gardens just down the road, on Friday you’ll catch upcoming, quirky and off the wall music there. Also, on the Gaydar Main Stage in Sackville Park, Friday is your night to enjoy some top performances from Heaven 17 and Belinda Carlisle.

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“Big Weekend is an epic understatement.

It’s not big - it’s huge” Saturday 28th August

On Saturday make sure you attend the Parade, which starts at 1pm at the top of Deansgate, heads down through St. Anne’s square, past Albert Square and finishes conveniently at the gay village. The atmosphere is electric and following the carnival through the streets of the city really gets you in the partying spirit. The sex factor amongst the floats will be provided by the local police and fire services (check out those men in uniform!) as well as local football and rugby teams (great legs!). Gaydar will also be present in the parade and, as an extra treat, the cast and crew of Manchester’s most famous export, Coronation Street, will be joining in the fun to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The theme for the parade this year is Through the Decades.

Once you’ve made it to the village, there’s plenty to keep you entertained while you wait for the sun to go down so you can go clubbing. Make sure you visit the lifestyle expo – open 11am – 8pm, Saturday to Monday.

There you’ll find over 50 stalls providing you with information on health, community groups, sports groups, legal advice and much more.

Sackville Gardens surely is a garden of Earthly delights throughout the weekend and on Saturday it plays host to a number of comedians to tickle your funny bone.

If you came to Manchester to dance and dance hard, you’ll want to go to the Gaydar Main Stage in Sackville Park where you’ll find the Gaydar dance party with performances from Chicane and Starman (of Pineapple Dance Studios fame).

Sunday 29th August

Hopefully by Sunday you’ve still got the energy to party, as the weekend shows no sign of slowing down.

Throughout the gay village you will find market stalls offering you everything from AA Membership to Zipper bags and all that’s in between, including underwear, t-shirts, jewellery and wigs. The market is open Saturday to Monday.

If you need a lazy day to prepare you for another highoctane night then cosy up in Sackville Gardens for the Proms in the Park. If you hang around until 6pm the band will tootle off and the women will take over the stage to bring you a range of acts including musicians, comediennes and the Drag King competition final.

Acts on the Gaydar Main Stage are Sam Gray, The Sticks, May68 and Dragonette. The headline act is yet to be announced (at time of print) so keep a keen eye on the

website to find out who it will be.

If you fancy something a bit different then why not take in a show at the Birdcage? The Sunday Supplement, featuring Showbears, music and comedy, starts at 3pm – tickets are £8.

Monday 30th August

What better way to celebrate a day off work than continuing to enjoy the festivities and nightlife in Manchester? This is the last day the markets and life expo will be open so now’s the time to make up your decision about the hilarious t-shirt you’ve been considering purchasing to amuse and amaze your friends.

We suggest you take in a walking tour to balance out all that clubbing to make yourself feel like a wellrounded individual. Starting from the Tourist Information Centre in Piccadilly Gardens you’ll be taken on a trail of ‘the once dark and closeted area around Canal Street’ including Mantos, the Village’s first openly gay bar

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beigetravel and the statue of Alan Turing, the WW2 mathematician famously persecuted for his homosexuality.

Want to be a Dad?

During the day in Sackville Gardens sample the cornucopia of local music talents. Come nightfall, at 9pm, there will be a Candlelit Vigil to remember the people we have lost to HIV and to support those living with and fighting against the disease. The Vigil is the spiritual heart of the Manchester Pride weekend and there is a truly magical and moving atmosphere. The Vigil is not ticketed but capacity is limited so it is suggested you arrive early to avoid disappointment.

Lesbian couples and single women are looking for genuine gay men willing to donate sperm by personal arrangement.

The Gaydar Main Stage will make sure the weekend ends with a bang as Beverley Knight headlines with her hits.

This is a welcome return for Beverley who sang at the Candlelit Vigil in 2005.

There will also be performances from Adam Rickitt, 4 Poofs & a Piano and Pride Angel is a new social networking website, forum and blog for the LGBT Same Difference – there is literally community wishing to become parents. Visit our site to read more information something for everyone!

about legal rights, health screening and home insemination.

Tickets cost £17.50 for the whole weekend or £10 for a single day.

Details of how to buy tickets, as well as information on anything else you might want to know about Manchester Pride’s Big Weekend, can be found at www. manchesterpride.com

Register as a co-parent or sperm donor for FREE

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AND NOW FOR SOMETHING C

Never again need you just sleep in a boring bedroom, when Unusual Hotels of the World showcases over 200 of the most outrageous properties where you can ‘Sleep with a Story’.

Receiving over a million visitors every year to their www.UnusualHotelsOfTheWorld.com website, Beige magazine caught up with co-founder Steve Dobson to highlight some of his favourites.

1. Jumbo Stay - on Arlanda Airport, Sweden (just outside Stockholm)

This is a real c1976 Jumbo Jet, retired and converted to hostel and cockpit accommodation. With 27 rooms and 75 beds, this 1976 vintage plane guarantees a memorable night for guests. Choose between a couple of en-suite rooms, budget dormitory, twin and three-bed combo rooms with shared shower and toilet in the corridor or the luxury suite in the converted cockpit with its panoramic view of the airport. At Jumbo Stay you’re guaranteed a unique and outstanding experience for all traveler budgets - and a fantastic stop off for Stockhlom sightseeing. Combine it with the Sala Silvermine if you dare!

Scared of flying? Start your trip here! http://www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com/JumboStay

2. Propeller Island, Berlin - flying beds and upside down rooms of amazing creativity.

This is an extraordinary property. All rooms and objects were created by the German artist Lars Stroschen. Much more appropriate than “hotel” is the designation “living in a work of art”. 30 rooms with an absolutely unique and personal ambience.

“Unique” is meant literally, for the entirety of all furnishings and other objects you will

discover here are custom-made, individual handiwork. None can be found anywhere else on this planet - one could consider the CITY LODGE to be a MUSEUM with guest accommodations or a stay-in work of SCULPTURE. The rooms are designed and constructed without compromise (!), varying from the tame to the extreme, and provide the opportunity to more or less alter your perspective of reality - according to your taste and sense of adventure.

UHOTW love this hotel. It justifies a trip to Berlin on its own! http://www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com/PropellerIslandCityLodge

3. Medieval Hotel, 1hr from Prague

Medieval themed hotel providing magical middle ages experiences in an authentic setting. This property is a fantastic escape from the day to day boredom and way better than any chain hotel for stories to tell your friends about. Step back to a more rustic time and enjoy the authentic and imaginative attention to detail, the quality of entertainment, excellent food, wine and the whole atmosphere to make your trip memorable and truly MEDIEVAL! Wooden floors, wooden beds, simple and rustic furniture – original pieces, candle lit rooms, unique bathrooms – simple, rough but stylish, woode- faced flushing toilets, etc. Behind the decor, the facilities and service are modern. Step back in time and enjoy a magical middle ages experience and a change from the traditional nightlife of Prague. http://www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com/MedievalHotelDetenice

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G COMPLETELY DIFFERENT 4. Molja Lighthouse, Aalesund, Norway

6. Marmara Antalya, Turkey

Experience Molja lighthouse. There is nowhere else quite like it! http://www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com/MoljaLighthouse

This 2750 ton building floats in a tank holding only 478 tons of water. With the 3 bottommost floors submerged, there is a lounge at the entrance and rooms on the other 3 floors. Yet somehow, the taps still work and the toilets still flush. Great summer sun - and a great destination hotel, with a man-made river kayak course in the hotel complex too!

Tiny 150 year-old lighthouse at the entrance to the harbour of Aalesund. The interior of the lighthouse is completely round, only 3 meters in diameter, but through effective use of the available spaces, Molja now boasts a bedroom upstairs and a bathroom downstairs. The interior design was carried out by Snohetta, Norway’s most well-known architects (designers of Oslo Opera House and Ground Zero museum in the New York City among many other landmark projects). They have carefully achieved a wonderfully distinctive blend of modern facilities with the historic and rustic interior. You’ll find stunning scenery in this regular entrant to ‘most picturesque town in Norway’.

5. Sala Silvermine, Sala, Sweden,

You can sleep 155 metres underground in an underground suite in historic Sala Silvermine, one of the world’s best preserved mine settings. Here you will see dark winding galleries, vast caverns and magic lakes. Even to those not familiar with mining, the underground setting is sensational. It is cold, damp and dark, but very beautiful.

Experienced guides tell you of a fantastic chapter in industrial history. During its heyday, production amounted to more than 3 tons of silver a year, and a total of more than 400 tons of silver and about 40,000 tons of lead were extracted - completely by hand!

Combine it with a visit to the Jumbo Stay plane and make a weekend trip to include a day in Stockholm sightseeing.

The worlds deepest bedroom http://www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com/SalaSilvermineUndergroundsuite

Located on the famous Falez cliffs near Antalya, the world’s only revolving hotel building gives guests magnificent 360° views. The complete ‘Revolving Loft’ annex building moves, with a full rotation of its 24 guest bedrooms taking anywhere between 2 and 22 hours. The rotation is smooth, aided by 6 electric motors in the basement and you can go to sleep facing the sea and wake up facing the pool.

Greet one day with an infinite Mediterranean scenery and go to sleep with a view of the pool. 2 bedrooms for one price!!! http://www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com/TheMarmaraAntalya

7. St Merry, Paris France

Hidden in the middle of the historic Marais quarter, this minute but magnificent hotel was once the presbytery of the adjacent Saint-Merry church, a flying buttress of which bisects one of the rooms. The 17th-century stone interior has been restored to its gothic origins, with ornate headboards constructed from confessional boxes and iron candelabra hung from beamed ceilings. Three elements predominate in its decor; stone, iron and wood, resulting in a gothic style of great nobility. Paris needs no introduction, and the location of this property next to the Pompidou centre at Les Halles is second-to-none.

The creator of this place devoted his life to make this decor perfect. http://www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com/HotelSaint-Merry

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8. Pavilion Hotel, London, UK

The Pavilion Hotel is a small funky laid back townhouse in central London. Created by the brother and sister duo of Danny and Noshi Karne as an eclectic, exquisite alternative to boring hotels. Danny is a former fashion model who got tired of staying in boring hotels around the world and wanted to set up something different. All the 30 rooms have ensuite facilities and are decorated in a variety of amazing styles, from Honky Tonk Afro - as a tribute to the 70’s through to Better Red Than Dead - a room covered in every imaginable shade of red. Popular for photo shoots and with actors, musicians and pop stars, it’s regularly used for TV and Music videos. You’ve not visited London - ‘till you’ve stayed at the Pavilion!

Funky Rock’n’Roll hotel in Central London. http://www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com/ThePavilion

magnificent restoration in a made-to-order, without restraint, makeover. Their redesign can only be described as awesome – dramatic architecture, luxurious materials, spectacular lighting and even an underground extension in Beaconsfield, have created elaborate, luxurious properties. Be it Oxford or Beaconsfield - both properties offer special occasion luxury with a fantastic element of style-done-well.

Luxury design at its most dramatic. http://www.unusualhotelsoftheworld.com/CrazyBear-Beaconsfield

Check out their special offers on their twitter feed at www.twitter.com/unusualhotels - or suggest your own favourites via the website.

9.Crazy Bear (London and Beaconsfield), UK

Zürich

Uninhibited and uncompromised design. These two masterpiece properties - one in Beaconsfield and the other in Stadhampton, just outside Oxford, have both received

Take his breath away on a Swiss city break.

MySwitzerland.com/gaylesbian Discover the charm of our Swiss cities.

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beigeinterview BEIGE: PORNOGRAPHY - A Thriller is a title that grabs you right away – does the film deliver what the title promises?

MM: Absolutely. David Kittredge makes the promise to his audience to catapult them into a whirlwind of dark and nightmarish supernatural twists and turns... Make no mistake that this is an incredibly sexy and provocative film that certainly delivers its fair share of “skin” so to speak. However, the primary thread of the story lies within the journey of the three main characters and how, in some way, they reflect one another in obscure and reality-blurred ways.

BEIGE: The film is about gay actors who are tortured and murdered – did this ever make you feel uneasy, being a gay actor yourself?

MM: I’m not much of a believer in the supernatural or the bogeyman... The truth is that if I ever started hearing strange things in my apartment, I’d probably just move out. I don’t put up with that kind of shit. I’d rather leave it for the next tenant to deal with.

BEIGE: Most of your work has been in gay cinema. Do you believe it is easier for a gay man to make a career in gay cinema than mainstream cinema?

MM: I don’t think any of this is easy. If I did, I’d need to have my head checked.

Admittedly, I’ve had a consistent career and continue to work whether in the gay niche market or otherwise. What people don’t realize though is that I’ve been struggling at this for almost ten years.

I’ve had a lot of day jobs that I hated and sometimes had days when I couldn’t afford to put food on the table - all the typical stories you hear about actors. I never lived in my car though. I’m way too much of a diva for that... I think I’ve made it this far because I’ve just wanted it more than most. I’ve wished on the same star that everyone else has. I’ve just slept with more people to get here.

BEIGE: You grew up in Texas. Is Texas as homophobic as it is portrayed on TV – was it difficult growing up as a gay man in that environment.

MM: Recently I did the show, Corpus Christi (a play by Terrence McNally) and we took the play to Dallas, Texas... We expected huge protests, had the local police department stationed outside our venue to catch any suspicious activity and keep the protests from escalating out of hand. When we got there and had our weekend of shows, we had not one protester there. It was actually hilarious because we had built it up in our heads as being this incredibly bigoted area and expected there to be a crowd of people ready to try and shut us down... I still feel that it’s much more conservative than some other areas of the country, but I believe in giving credit where it’s due. And the fact remains that we’ve come a long way. Don’t get me wrong, I

probably wouldn’t dress up in a rainbow flag and march down the main drag of my hometown, but I might wear a rainbow pin.

BEIGE: You went on to study at the University of Southern California – was that a complete culture shock after living in Texas?

MM: Yes. I kind of went a little nuts actually. Somehow I managed to maintain a rather successful experience during my first run at USC. I was rather active in the theatre department there, had an agent, a manager, and still found the time to get laid every week and dabble in the drug life - something I’m not exactly proud of but which is also something that kind of makes me giggle considering how much of a bore I am nowadays. Eventually I dropped out of college and floated around the country before finally getting my shit together.

that surrounds the story of an openly gay struggling alcoholic artist, Joseph Sticke, who returns to his hometown to attend a funeral of his ex-girlfriend (from his “straight” days) only to discover that he’s been left with sole custody of the seven year old daughter of his ex, which he is reportedly the biological father of. .. I’m working on a number of other projects, including a romantic comedy with David Moretti and Rebekah Kochan called Finding Mr. Wright. I’m also working on adapting a screenplay for Without One Plea, written by Ben Mitchell. Aside of all this and more, I’m somehow finding time to do this damn interview. Go figure.

PORNOGRAPHY: A Thriller is released August 29th by Peccadilo Pictures. www.Matt-Montgomery.com

BEIGE: A few years ago you started getting involved in production as well as acting. Which do you prefer?

MM: I’m way too self-absorbed to not prefer acting. Plus, I truly have a love of the craft. It’s something that has always resonated with me and something that I continue to find new aspects of it to learn and it’s never stagnant. It changes and shifts, much like life does. I guess you could say that it’s become my new vice.

Not bad for a former college drop-out druggie slut, huh?

BEIGE: You recently received an award for Artistic Achievement for Acting at this year’s Philadelphia QFest – how does that feel?

MM: What I actually loved most about the evening that I accepted the award was finally having the opportunity to vocalize in front of a crowd my appreciation and gratitude for the people that have helped bring me here in the first place, namely that of my mother, who has never turned against me and has never questioned her love or acceptance of me. You can catch the speech at: http://vimeo. com/13580089 BEIGE: In upcoming movie Role/Play you star alongside your real-life partner Steve Callahan. Isn’t that a bit risky? Did you ever worry what would happen to the film if you broke up during production?

MM: Not really. I would’ve just fired him.

One of the perks of being a producer.

BEIGE: What can we expect from you in the future?

MM: You should tell everyone to support and help my newly found production company, Proteus Pictures, to finalize funding efforts for my upcoming film, Sticke Figures. Threaten people if you have to! I’m incredibly thrilled about this project and am so close to getting it off the ground. It’s more of a gay family film

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MATTHEW MONTGOMERY

Matthew Montgomery is a 32 year old actor and gay man from Texas. Antony Strutt spoke to him about his latest film PORNOGRAPHY: A Thriller. vol3 issue6 | beige | 59

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now showing

Words: Josh Winning

Splice

Showing: 23 July See, that’s the problem with festival buzz. Having gripped this year’s Sundance festival by the unmentionables, Splice seemed set to be a corking, subdued indie horror-thinker that explored the nightmarish possibilities behind genetic tampering. Instead, Vincenzo Natali’s film is an over-the-top cheesefest that even makes daft ‘90’s alien flick Species look credible. Which is fine, if you’re in the mood for a dippy monster caper in the same vein as Jeepers Creepers, where characters do incredibly stupid things and the central Frankenstein’s monster has a seemingly unending supply of ridiculous abilities. But if you’re after something a little smarter, this isn’t the film for you. Yes, Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley are brilliant, but even they can’t pull off some of the ridiculous dialogue shoved down their throats here. Us? We’d rather watch Species.

City Island

Showing: 23 July Some movies shouldn’t be made. And some movies should be made as TV shows instead. City Island is one of those, a hilarious family dramedy tumbling with secrets, lies and everything else in-between. Andy Garcia heads up the Rizzo clan as a corrections officer who keeps his dream of becoming an actor secret from his wife (Julianna Margulies) and two teenage children. Meanwhile, he discovers a son he never knew he had, while his other son is a closet feeder and his daughter works as a stripper. Yup, City Island is jostling with an amalgam of storylines, sort of like The Sopranos meets Desperate Housewives, with a two-hour running time that crunches in as many plot twists as an entire season of those top-rated shows. Still, it’s funny, heartfelt and endearing, even if by the end you’ll only be wanting more. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Le Concert

Showing: 16 July Only in Europe could a film about a concert become a poignant romp that is both farcical and nutty and intimately involving. Renowned Russian conductor Andrei Simoniovich Filipov falls from his esteemed position after hiring Jewish musicians – now, 30 years later, he’s a recovering alcoholic who cleans for a living. But when he spies a chance to conduct again in a concert at the Châtelet Theater in Paris, he must find a way to make it happen no matter what. Meanwhile, who is violin virtuosi Anne-Marie Jacquet and how does Filipov know her?

Leaping from rambunctious scenes of high farce to beautifully quiet moments of heartbreak, Le Concert is as stirring as anything composed

by Tchaikovsky, perfectly capturing the great composer’s soaring moodscapes. C’est magnifique.

Shrek Forever After

Showing: 2 July And so the galumphing Scottish ogre brings his phenomenally successful film series home for its final adventure – if you believe the marketing, that is.

Considering Shrek Forever After’s massive Stateside haul at the box office, we wouldn’t be surprised if the friendly fiend finds a way back onto our screens for a fifth round in the near future. And on the evidence of his fourth fairytale frolic, he’d be more than welcome.

Taking a leaf out of It’s A Wonderful Life’s much-thumbed book, Shrek’s latest finds the green giant wishing for his old life back, and accidentally re-writing history so that he and Fiona never fell in love, while Far Far Away is transformed into a dark domain run by evil midget Rumplestiltskin. As ever, the joy is in the details, with this 3D presentation literally jumping off the screen in a way that Alice In Wonderland could only dream off. In lieu of more eloquent wording, Shrek Forever After is pure magic in motion.

60| beige | vol3 issue6

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CLASH OF THE TITANS 26 July, Warner Bros

Tanned. Buff. Blue-eyed. Massive sword… Sorry, where were we? Right, Clash Of The Titans. Ignoring Nicholas Hoult’s presence as a rather beautiful young soldier, this half-hearted clash-in of a beloved classic has nothing that made the 1981 version of Clash so heart-warmingly delightful. Sure, the effects are better (sort of, we still prefer Ray Harryhausen’s creaky stop-motion monsters), and Gemma Arterton spars admirably with Sam Worthington – but this is an expensive waste of space. Only Hoult’s worth shelling out for; and he’s barely there. A bit like that tiny army skirt he wears…

screener the

dvd

Pornography: A Thriller

Raging Sun, Raging Sky

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

The Crazies

29th August, Peccadillo Pictures Matthew Montgomery heads the star line up that reads like a who’s who of gay cinema in Pornography: A Thriller.

The non-linear telling of an intriguing mixture of sex and violence set to the backdrop of the gay pornography industry is potentially confusing so either pay close attention or just sit back and enjoy without worrying too much about what’s going on. If you like your thrillers with a little more heat, then this is the film for you. Sex, lies and video tapes – this movie has it all, as well as an unhealthy dose of torture, murder and paranormal activity.

19 July, Momentum Talk about literal titling. This superior offering from Sweden retools the original Scandinavian title Men Who Hate Women for something a little less risqué – perhaps they felt the content itself (including brutal scenes of rape and violence against members of the fairer sex) was risky enough. Adapted from Steig Larsson’s Millennium trilogy of crime novels, this first flick (the other two are out later this year) is a skilful, brittle drama that features a breakout performance from Noomi Rapace as the titular girl with the monstrous body art.

A star is born.

12th July, TLA Kieri and Ryo are very handsome, young, Mexican men with a deep connection and devotion to each other. Their love is expressed through an intense sexual bond that gives both of their lives meaning. When Ryo is abducted, Keiri embarks on a journey to reunite with his soulmate. There’s plenty of flesh on show as many gorgeous men get it on in a variety of beautiful and honest sex scenes. Don’t expect a linear, Western plot though; the film takes a fantastical tangent which comes as a welcome break from predictable storylines.

19 July, Momentum No surprise that zombie-obsessed horror legend George A. Romero produced this ooky skin-crawler, which sees the inhabitants of a small Iowa town going a little, well, mental. It’s an old concept given fresh zing by the likes of Timothy Olyphant (finally bagging himself a decent script after a string of duds) and Radha Mitchell, who play a couple caught in the eye of a flesh-munching storm when their peers start turning into murderous nutjobs. Low-key atmosphere, gorgeous cinematography and some eerie setups make this a stab above more recent horrors. You’d be crazy to miss it? We think so.

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Music

1.The Shapeshifters’ ‘Lola’s Theme’ (Original Mix) Positiva Originally appearing as a white label (like most club anthems), it first took Miami by storm. Then the UK gay scene embraced it with open arms. And it’s no surprise why. One of the most uplifting and cheery club anthems ever! This will always remind me of attending Brighton Pride in 2004. This track came on just as we approached Preston Park on the march to the party and it put everyone in such a great mood. A classic.

2. Kid Massive & Jolly featuring Elliotte Williams N’Dure ‘Pride (A Deeper Love)’ (2010 Original Mix) Caballero Recordings

Will Survive’ (in its original form) is up there in the Top 3 of rainbow flag-waving screamers or gay empowerment. This should be applauded. There are some folk who would cringe at the thought of a modern club DJ including it in a list of gay pride anthems, so I have included the brilliant, more minimal recent rework from Subliminal Records’ Richard Grey. Both are brilliant in their own way and despite the former version now being scoffed at as a tired and camp karaoke hit, it should never be forgotten.

9.Serge Devant featuring Hadley Poole ‘Addicted’ (Original Mix) Ultra

The clue is in the title. No LGBT Pride event would be complete without some version of this true giant, whether it’s the original form or a rework. This new mix for 2010 keeps the spirit of the classic, but brings it bang up to date with a fierce vocal from young diva-in-themaking, Elliotte Williams N’Dure. Incredibly rousing!

This has fast become one of the most played club anthems on the scene over the last year or so and with his new track ‘Ghost’ (also featuring Hadley Poole) expected any time now, the Serge fever is refusing to die down. This will undoubtedly be a part of many DJ’s sets at Pride this year and people will also be dropping this in their bedrooms to get them in the mood before they go out to party.

Amazing. Still.

3. Coming Out Crew ‘Free Gay and Happy’ (Deep Throat Vocal) Out On Vinyl

10. Nathan C & Danny Dove ‘Something Goin’ On’ (Big In Ibiza Mix) White

I will always have such a fondness for this track because it reminds me of the time I embraced clubbing in a big way and it surfaced when Rollo & Sister Bliss had a total grip on the sound of that time. I came out in the early ‘90’s after moving back to London and ventured out to places like Love Muscle at The Fridge in Brixton. This was a big Fridge anthem and could always be heard at all the Pride festivals at that time. Boasting a superb vocal from Sabrina Johnston, this still gives me goose bumps, even though it’s fifteen years old now.

A Pride classic reworked for 2010 with an even larger, big-room feel than ever before. Amazing.

Phil Marriott appears: Onyx at Area, London - every Friday night Wild Fruit Pride Welcome Party @ Audio, Brighton - Friday 6th August

4. Steve Angello & Laidback Luke featuring Robin S ‘Show Me Love’ (Original Mix) Ultra

Phil Marriott lists his Top 10 Pride Anthems

“Can you feel me? If you’re looking for devotion, you’ve got to show me love. What I need is somebody who really cares. I really need a lover, a lover who wants to be there” Now you try telling me which Pride-goer wouldn’t go mad for those words on a loudspeaker system? It is definitely something us gay boys all identify with. And when you feel the rush of the crowd going crazy when the opening keyboard riff trickles in, you’d be mad not to call this a Pride anthem.

5. Donna Summer ‘I Feel Love’ (Original Version) Casablanca / Rhythm Masters & MYNC featuring Wynter Gordon ‘I Feel Love’ (Original Mix) Cr2 Undoubtedly, this is one of the most stirring gay classics of all time.

Personally, I would love to hear the ground-breaking original at more Pride events now, but fortunately we have Rhythm Masters’ amazing 2010 rework at hand for this year’s parties. This disco classic will never die. A sexual masterpiece.

6. Norman Doray & Tristan Garner featuring Errol Reid ‘Last Forever’ (Original Mix) Cr2 No Pride event would be complete without a true arm-raiser with a soaring male vocal and this hits the spot every time it is played, thanks largely to the passionate vocal from Errol Reid and its feelgood factor. Despite the track being a good couple of years old now, it still goes down a storm on the dance floor when played out, thus proving its longevity as a gay classic. You’d be hard pushed to wander into any Pride party without hearing this somewhere!

7. Freemasons featuring Amanda Wilson ‘Love On My Mind’ (Original Mix) Loaded / Freemasons featuring Katherine Ellis ‘When You Touch Me’ (Original Mix) Loaded / Moby ‘Disco Lies’ (Freemasons Mix) Mute The Freemasons, aka James Wiltshire & Russell Small, have pretty much defined the sound of the LGBT club scene over the last few years, so it would be wrong not to include them somewhere in this Top 10. It would also be wrong not to include a diva with a big voice.

Amanda Wilson and Katherine Ellis both have voices that your deaf granny would hear. Not that you’d probably want to take yours along to a Pride party (well, some of you might).

8.Richard Grey ‘I’m Back’ (Original Mix) Subliminal / Gloria Gaynor ‘I Will Survive’ (Original version) Polygram In true ‘gay anthem’ terms, Gloria Gaynor’s self-sufficient stormer, ‘I

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Off the Shelf

E M Forster: A New Life

Peter Burton reviews the latest queer literary offerings.

By Wendy Moffat (Bloomsbury, £25) Named for his aesthetically inclined and possibly gay father (who was dead before his only child had reached the age of two), Edward Morgan Forster was born in 1879 and lived until 1970. He grew up dominated by his mother, with whom he continued to live until her death in 1945. He developed into a physically unprepossessing but intellectually muscular man who wrote some of the most highly regarded novels of the first half of the twentieth century (A Room With a View, Howards End, A Passage to India) and whose sexuality was the prime impetus for his creativity.

There have been previous biographies: P N Furbank’s two volume E M Forster: A Life appeared in 1977, Francis King’s E M Forster and His World was published in 1978 and Nicola Beauman’s Morgan: A Biography of E M Forster came out in 1993. There have also been innumerable critical studies and memoirs in which Forster prominently featured, Harry Daley’s This Small Cloud, for instance. It might thus appear that Wendy Moffat’s E M Forster: A New Life is surplus to requirements. Far from it. This appropriately sub-titled ‘New Life’ proves to be very much an original contribution to the canon, taking for its basic premise the importance to his life and his creativity of Forster’s homosexuality.

Sixteen at the time of the Oscar Wilde scandal and trials (a profoundly destructive influence on generations of British gay men), Forster remained a virgin until he was working in Alexandria during the First World War. A casual encounter with a soldier gave him the courage to cautiously approach Mohammed el Adl, a seventeen year old bus conductor who became his first fulfilled love.

During his childhood at home with mother, Forster’s male company was restricted to servants (the gardener boy, for example) and it is hardly surprising that throughout his life he was particularly attracted to working class men.

It was by way of the gay policeman Harry Daley that he met another policeman, Bob Buckingham, who was to become the great love of his life and though Buckingham eventually married, he remained attached to Forster until his death.

Moffat’s immensely readable biography places Forster firmly in a gay milieu in which he formed alliances with working class men and younger writers (Christopher Isherwood, John Lehmann) who nourished him emotionally whilst trying to persuade him to publish Maurice, the Utopian gay novel written in 1916 but not published until after his death (when it somewhat damaged his reputation). A splendid, crisply written biography.

A Sticky End

By James Lear (Cleis Press, £10.99) American Edward ‘Mitch’ Mitchell and English Harry ‘Boy’ Morgan, friends and sometime lovers since university, have been involved in two previous adventures, The Back Passage and The Secret Tunnel, which have pitted them against murderous criminals who would willingly have killed one or other or both of them.

A Sticky End marks the conclusion of this trilogy of homoerotic tales which cunningly pastiche ‘Golden Age’ thrillers (particularly those of Agatha Christie) whilst enlivening them with a generous helping of gay sex. In this archetypal ‘locked room’ mystery, Lear manages to create fully rounded characters, contrive intricate and intriguing situations and sauce the whole with a cornucopia of erotica.

The three Mitch Mitchell thrillers work on two levels – as compelling thrillers which follow the conventions of the genre whilst cleverly subverting them and as satisfyingly one-handed reads.

In a Strange Room

By Damon Galgut (Atlantic Books, £15.99) In a Strange Room comprises of three novellas in which a traveler who bears the same name as the author undertakes three increasingly nightmarish journeys.

In the first, ‘The Follower’, Damon is in Greece, where he meets and engages with Reiner, a slightly sinister, elusive and potently attractive black-clad German. In ‘The Lover’, the second of these inter-related tales, Damon (like Galgut, he is South African) has returned to his homeland. But though home, he is not settled and invited Reiner to join him on a walking holiday. Things do not go well, friendship fatefully sours.

The sense of dislocation which permeates the first two stories is full-blown in the final – and most disturbing of these tales. ‘The Guardian’ is set in Goa and here Damon is acting as guardian to Anna – a lesbian with severe mental health problems who has decided to become straight. It doesn’t take long for Anna to stop taking the medication which keeps her on some kind of even keel and disintegrate into a frighteningly psychotic state. Hopelessly out of his depth and fatally distracted, Damon finds himself in a situation which grows steadily more tense.

Each of these tales, about finding and losing self, is beautifully crafted and the emotional trajectory between ‘The Follower’ and ‘The Guardian’ is such that by the end the reader is left shaken and completely drained. A slim book which has impact far beyond its size.

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beigeupstaged AP Photo/ Seth Wenig

GAVIN CREEL 68| beige | vol3 issue6

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plays and musicals

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Photo: Joan Marcus

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Hair the musical took Broadway by storm in a recent award winning revival. Leading the tribe is Gavin Creel, an extraordinary performer who has won over audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. Douglas Mayo managed to catch up with Gavin between shows.

G

avin Creel may not be a name that you immediately know but there’s no doubt that you’ll remember him once you’ve seen him perform. He is possessed with an incredible stage presence, a knockout voice and personality plus.

This West End season of Hair marks the first time that an entire West End cast has been bought to London, a big risk for producer Cameron Mackintosh, but one which seems to have paid off critically with the show receiving the kind of rave reviews most shows can only dream of.

Creel is on his second visit to the West End. His first being a long stint as Bert in Mackintosh’s production of Mary Poppins. “I love it here. I was here for 19 months with Mary Poppins. The first time I was here I actually really got to live here which was great. I did all the touristy things and then just settled in. This time around I have my dog and I’m enjoying living here. We’re spending time doing pub crawls, enjoying Regents Park and just generally enjoying London.”

Surely an American coming to London to play a Cockney raised some eyebrows – especially given the drubbing that most Brits give Dick Van Dyke’s performance in the original film? “To me Dick Van Dyke was great, his chemistry with Julie Andrews and the sheer physicality of the man is amazing. I had no idea that the accent wasn’t that great.” Onstage physicality is something that Creel relates to “Hair is so brutal on your body, people don’t see it but it’s such a manic two hours that you feel it every night”.

This time around he’s in London playing Claude in Hair. “It took a little while for us to adjust to West End audiences” he points out, “The audiences here listen more. It’s not necessarily their story so we are dealing with people who don’t necessarily get the references. At the beginning there was a reticence to get involved, we thought some of the audiences seemed dead only to have them leap to their feet at the end.” Given the fact that Hair is very much about Vietnam, does the show have relevance to modern audiences in the age of Afghanistan?

“Younger audiences seem to be taking it on as their own story which is great but you know that their parents and grandparents are looking at them and going that’s really cute but that was our story”.

“We’ve done a lot of work with the equality movement in the USA

and it’s kind of woken up the activist in me. Certainly any piece of theatre that can do that is pretty powerful and then to think that we might be inspiring younger audiences to get more involved in the political movement is quite cool. I’m certainly more in tune to politics because of the show. “ Creel came out a while back and has put tremendous effort into pushing for marriage equality. Inspired by the passing of Prop. 8, he co-founded Broadway Impact, a grassroots movement led by the theatre community to promote marriage equality. When asked about how being out has negatively affected his career, he’s fairly casual in his response “Maybe, I don’t know. I don’t know that it hasn’t, for me it’s about following your happiness and being yourself. Marc Platt, one of the producers of Wicked instilled that in me and I’m a firm believer in it. I decided to come out and put aside my fear. I doubted people would stop coming to see me or buying my music because I was homosexual and if they did then they weren’t the sort of people I’d want buying my music anyway. Really as far as acting goes, I doubt the whole equality thing will get any better unless we keep pushing it forward.”

Between show stints Creel is working at a music career which is making people sit up and take notice. He’s been gigging here in London and getting some great notices. “I’ve been mixing together a new EP called Quiet which will be followed by another called Louder.

It’s guitar and voice and very intimate. It’s vulnerable, soul bearing stuff. I love writing and being able to put down what I’m thinking rather than working through a character. It’s very scary but I love it.

I’ll be putting together a tour of colleges and performing arts high schools across the USA after this”.

Creel is happy to throw his hat to the wind and let fate decide where it takes him next. “I’d love to do Poppins on Broadway but the timing hasn’t been right yet, you never know what may come next and that is half the fun. It’s always a challenge.”

Gavin Creel appears nightly as Claude in Hair at London’s Gielgud Theatre. vol3 issue6 | beige | 69

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beigeupstaged Photo: Ralf Brinkhoff

TAP DOGS Novello Theatre If you’re thinking Tap Dogs is all about Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly you’d be very much mistaken. Whilst some of the realness of this tap on stage in Tap Dogs owes something to the manliness of the great Gene Kelly, this is tap mixed with huge doses of pure Testosterone.

Adam Garcia headlines the production this time and together with five of the most amazing tappers you are likely to see on stage they tap out an industrial symphony that is cacophonous to the ears.

Steel, ladders, I beams, nothing is off limits to these guys. Garcia’s style is polished and smooth, a perfect foil to the raucousness of his fellow cast members. It’s a tribute to choreographer Dein Perry that this one act entertainment seems effortless and never allows the audience to drift off for even a minute.

This time round the Tap Dogs consist of Adam Garcia, Douglas Mills, Matt Papa, Donovan Helma, Jesse Rasmussen and Richie Miller. Their stage presence is palpable and their timing impeccable.

Highlight on the night for me included Six Basketballs, a routine which could go wrong in all sorts of ways, Upside Down, which saw one of the troop hoisted upside down to create an industrial take on dancing on the ceiling to great effect; Triggers – a number using mid controlled pads and I Beams.

The trick to Tap Dogs is that is it is huge fun and once engaged the audience tend to think that it’s relatively simple but it’s not. This is skilled and potentially dangerous stuff. Mix in water and sharp metal corners and a wrong step could be perilous.

Perry’s background in industrial steelworks of Australia gives this amazing dance piece real heart. Each of the guys is a readily identifiable caricature working their way through the show to an amazing finale that had the audience on its feet.

Be aware, Tap Dogs is not a show to see with a headache or hangover. Go prepared to be entertained from start to finish.

A must see!!

Women Beware Women Olivier Theatre, National Theatre There might not seem much humour in murder, rape and incest, but Thomas Middleton’s classic 17th-century play comes to life in the hands of director Marianne Elliott who draws out its comic potential. Inspired by the Medicis as well as scandals closer to home, it opens lightly with newlywed Leantio bringing home his young bride Bianca to live with his mother. While he is away on business, the two women are sucked into the corruption of the Duke of Florence’s court, where Bianca is seduced and becomes part of the dark world of deception.

At the heart of the depravity is Livia, a widow who plays people as cunningly as she plays

chess, performed with feline charm by Harriet Walter. She not only helps the duke seduce Bianca but also tricks her own niece, Isabella, into a relationship with an uncle, before she herself seduces the much-younger Leantio, setting in motion the wave of murderous destruction that engulfs the play. Despite the moralising of the title, it is the female characters who provide the most psychological depth. Lauren O’Neil has to portray Bianca’s descent from coy young bride to cunning adulterer, while Vanessa Kirby’s Isabella manages to balance her disgust at incest with a carefree willingness to commit adultery.

Middleton’s language is rich in wit and irony, making the audience delight in the subtly crafted intrigues of the plot. Elliott’s production brings out the amorality of the characters who go out of their way to undermine family values, encouraging us to laugh as we witness a world where corruption and hypocrisy are out of control.

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LET’S GO GREEK Beige pays a visit to The Romanos on the shores of Soth West Greece for a glimpse as how hospitality has been refined and redesigned.

T

he Romanos, a Luxury Collection hotel in the Navario Dunes Development, designed by MKV Design, has opened to widespread acclaim. The Hotel is located in the Messinia region of the Peloponnese, one of the oldest parts of Greece. It is the land where legend and history merge and the sacred art of hospitality is enshrined in the stories of the region. The owner was determined to preserve, celebrate and enhance the beauty of the natural environment.

“However,” MKV tell us, “we believe that leisure travellers do not want to live history, but rather to sense it within a contemporary experience, so working from the architect’s master plan, we have sought to invent the soul of Navarino Dunes in a way that is relevant today.”

The result is an intertwining of the provenance of the region with timeless architectural design and contemporary furniture and fittings not just in The Romanos, but across all the buildings in the resort, creating layers of interlocking experiences that enfold the guest. At the same time, each building has been meticulously planned to ensure maximum delight and comfort for guests and a harmonious relationship with the exterior environment.

The entrance lobby of The Romanos is monumental – a modern interpretation of an ancient Greek temple that plays with scale and materials to frame the view towards the

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beigeproperty Ionian Sea for guests as they arrive as well as to act as an orientation device as they go on to explore the site. Its direct references come from the nearby Palace of Nestor, the king who embodied the spirit of true hospitality in the Odyssey. The lobby is furnished with luxurious high-backed chairs and chaise-longue, the exquisite flooring replicates the mosaics of Nestor’s Palace and the neutral envelope of stone and traditionally exposed timber roof achieves a classic and dramatic structure. On each side, doubleheight bronze fretwork gates give onto the two wings of the low-rise hotel that curves around the coastline below.

The lounge bar extends from one side of the Lobby. Here, sculptural, classical Greek lines are combined with chic furniture pieces and graceful free-standing lamps, and natural local materials, such as timber, leather, bronze and stone, reiterate the commitment to sustainability.

On the sea-facing side, the Lounge Bar begins outside with a sunken terrace surrounded by one of the many small canals that traverse the site. A glazed colonnade flows alongside where a remarkable collection of 18th Century engravings tells the story of the great sea battle in Navarino Bay. The main space is situated behind this – an area of striking volume where the stone structure soars up to an exposed timber roof with an intimate “library” area at one end around an open fire and a turquoise glass mosaic bar at the other. During the day, beams of sunlight from small windows at the top of this structure criss-cross the room; at night, the bar shimmers in the lighting. A raised area with a lowered ceiling creates the next set with tables for board games and billiards, and finally another terrace affords views over the cluster of stone and timber buildings that form the village centre.

MKV Design is a London-based interior design practice that specialises in the luxury international hotel and resort sector. For more information visit www.mkvdesign.com.

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CAFÉ-LICIOUS

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If your Starbucks compulsion is sending you to the poor house, it might be time to invest in becoming a barista in your own home.

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6 1.J9 One Touch RRP £1395.00. www.juradealers.co.uk; 2. IMPRESSA Z7 RRP £1950.00 (aluminium), £2195.00 (chrome). www.juradealers. co.uk; 3. Krups Compact Espresseria EA8080 RRP £579.99. www. krups.co.uk ; 4.Nescafé Dolce Gusto by Krups RRP £129.99. www. krups.co.uk; 5. Lavazza A Modo Mio Premium Espresso Coffee Maker RRP £169. www.johnlewis.com; 6.DeLonghi Icona Espresso Coffee Machine. RRP £149. www.johnlewis.com

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BUNGALOWS happy homes or developers dreams

A

Martin Roberts, TV property expert, author and presenter of ‘Homes under the Hammer’ offers advice and guidance on your property concerns.

To find out more about Martin Roberts and for property advice visit www. martinroberts.co.uk

ccording to research by the Halifax a few years ago, the happiest type of home in Britain is the bungalow, which is rated by its occupants as an average of 8.15 out of 10 on a ‘happiness’ scale. Not only that, but this choice of dwelling continues to out-perform houses and flats in the property market – so they are good for investors and developers too.

WHAT IS A BUNGALOW? In the UK, the definition of a Bungalow is a single story building although in the US and Canada, the word Bungalow can refer to other types of housing.

Bungalows became popular between the Wars, a very large number were built, particularly in coastal resorts. Many villages and seaside resorts have large estates of bungalows, usually occupied by retired people. The typical 1930’s bungalow is square in plan, with 1960’s ones more likely to be oblong. Nearly all are brick built.

ADVANTAGES OF BUNGALOWS The most obvious advantage of bungalows is that they are very convenient for the homeowner in that all living areas are on a single story and there are no stairs. Bungalows are therefore well suited to those who are mobility impaired, e.g. the elderly or those in wheelchairs. They also tend to have good driveways and large gardens.

Bungalows generally offer more privacy than two-story houses.

With bungalows, strategically planted trees and shrubs are usually sufficient to block the view of neighbours, whereas, with two-story houses, the extra height requires much taller trees to accomplish the same, which may not be practical.

As far as developing is concerned, bungalows are easily modified and extended. They also hold their value well. Often they are detached properties in sizeable plots which could be knocked down and replaced with two storey building(s).

The other important consideration affecting the relative attractiveness of bungalows is the changing demographic of our population. Whilst the stock of bungalows has remained more or less constant over past 10 years (approximately 1.2m), the number of people aged 70 or over in the UK has risen and this group is also expected to see further growth in coming years. Where bungalows remain popular with this group, demand will undoubtedly exceed supply.

On the downside, bungalows are more expensive to construct than two story houses because a larger foundation and roof area is required for the same living area. Hence many house-builders don’t construct them - or at best will build only a small number within a project. The larger foundation will often translate into larger plot size requirements, which is why bungalows are typically fully detached from other houses and do not share a common foundation or party wall.

WHEN IS A BUNGALOW NOT A BUNGALOW? When it is a dormer bungalow i.e. the loft space is used as part of the living accommodation and dormer windows are put into the roof to bring in light.

CONVERTING A STANDARD BUNGALOW INTO A DORMER Dormer conversions almost always require planning permission since it structurally and visually alters the property. If you were considering doing this, you will also need to comply with building regulations.

TO CONVERT OR NOT? Clearly, converting a standard bungalow to a dormer is going to be costly - depending on the extent to which you will be extending the accommodation, so if investment is your aim, you will need to weigh up the costs of conversion against the eventual resale value of the property. If you own a small bungalow in a popular or traditionally ‘expensive’ area, then the cost could be well justified. According to the Nationwide, detached bungalows can fetch up to 20% more than

a semi-detached house in the same area.

To some buyers one of the major attractions of a bungalow is the opportunity they offer for extending your home, creating both space and profits. But if you do go up into the loft, you may lose some of the appeal of the single storey.

MARTIN’S PROPERTY CLINIC: TREE PRESERVATION ORDERS Jamie Yates asks: “I have recently inherited my late mother’s house which has a large tree in the front garden. I’ve been told that this has a Tree Preservation Order attached to it. What does this mean and can I have the tree cut back at all since it overshadows much of the property? ” Local Councils have a legal duty to protect trees and in doing so have rights to place Tree Preservation Orders (TPOs) in order to: • Protect trees which are particularly attractive, even if there is no direct threat to them.

• Protect important trees or groups of trees which are in danger of being cut down.

• Protect woodland by replanting areas of trees that have been cut down legally.

Tree preservation orders keep and protect woodland, trees and groups of trees which add to the character and appearance of an area. They also protect the structure and variety of woodland, especially where they offer protection to natural wildlife habitats.

WHAT ARE THE PROCEDURES? Firstly, councils make a tree preservation order which takes effect immediately. This means they can protect trees which may be under threat. They then tell the owners, occupiers of the land, and any other people who may have an interest, that there is a tree preservation order - sometimes it is announced in the local newspapers.

When a tree preservation order has been made, interested people or the landowner or a developer, may object, write to the council to support the order, or simply give their views.

WHAT IF YOU OBJECT? If you disagree with the tree preservation order, you must object in writing within 28 days of being notified. You can also ask for a hearing before the Planning Appeals Commission.

All objections and other letters that have been received by the Council are then considered, on the basis of this they will confirm, withdraw or amend the TPO CAN PROTECTED TREES EVER BE CUT DOWN? Contrary to common belief, there are times when trees that are protected by a tree preservation order may be cut down i.e. if the trees are dead, dying or dangerous or need to be managed to remove a nuisance or threat to life or property. If you have a tree on your land that is protected, you can ask for the Council’s written permission to cut them down or prune them.

If you cut down a protected tree without permission you are committing a serious offence. Work which is carried out without the formal consent of the Council is illegal and the Council may prosecute offenders and fines of up to £20,000 for each tree may be imposed by the Magistrates Court. If proceedings are instituted in the Crown Court fines are unlimited. There is a duty to replace any tree removed without permission.

You can find out more about Tree Preservation Orders, the Law and Good Practice by visiting www.communities.gov.uk If you have a problem or confusion from the property world, email your questions to askmartin@martinroberts.co.uk. Individual questions may not be answered personally, but could appear in this column

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OUT AND ABOUT WITH

FAY PRESTO Antony Strutt caught up with Fay Presto to get a peek behind the curtain and tells us what really goes on in the magical world of showbiz.

Fay Presto - real name Letitia Winter - is probably the country’s foremost female magician. She is a member of the Inner Magic Circle, has had appearances on TV here and in the States and has performed for celebrities such as Madonna, Elton John, Jude Law, Sting and many others, including, on several occasions, the Royal Family. Beige recently went to Langan’s Brasserie in Piccadilly, one of the restaurants in which Fay has a residency, to watch her work her magic from table to table. Later I was lucky enough to catch up with Fay at London’s prestigious Soho House.

“My Job is all about people.” Fay tells me. “I was a disaster at school, I’ve got a terrible memory, they decided the only thing I was good for was working as a lab assistant so when I left school I spent my days washing test-tubes. I gave that up and went to work in my Dad’s shop, he was a tailor, but I had not talent for that either. I decided to have another go at education and went back to Tech – I wanted to be a vet, but I wasn’t bright enough. But I was president of the student union and I was brilliant at it. I spent one night standing on the steps of Endsleigh Street (the Student Union headquarters) shoulder to shoulder with Jack Straw, keeping out some radical students from Oxford University.”

After College she started work as a motorcycle messenger in London. “The only asset I had was a 1967 Lambretta which just about worked so I got a job dispatching… which gave me nerves of steel – it was the most dangerous job in the world, we used to lose about 2 riders a year.”

How did Fay go from motorbikes to magic? “I felt unemployable... I thought ‘I’ll try show business! That seems to be a profession for people that aren’t exactly mainstream.’ As it turns out it couldn’t have been further from the truth. Show business is more reactionary than any other industry... The Magic Circle sets itself up as being the arbiters of all that is right and proper in British magic – if that’s the case you can’t be a men only club – as they were at the time. I was amongst the people who felt they should change, I was one of the first [women] to join and I was one of the first [women] to join The Magic Inner Circle.”

Are there other female magicians out there? Would we have heard of them? “There are some excellent female magicians, like Romany, she lives in Brighton and is camp as a row of tents and there’s Mandy Munon, she’s a comedian who does magic (whereas I’m a magician who makes people laugh)... The 3 of us did a three-hander in Blackpool last Feb and it was the straightest thing in the show... There are half a dozen [female magicians] that you would employ.

The problem with The Magic Circle is all they want to do is teach people to be brilliant at magic; they don’t seem to want to teach people how to be better entertainers.

That’s why they don’t rate me, I’m a crap magician but I’m quite a good entertainer.”

In 1998 Fay was voted party entertainer of the year by Tatler Magazine, however Fay is being modest when she says she’s not a good magician – Channel 4 voted her ‘bottle through the table’ trick the 37th greatest magic trick of all time.

“I must get a sweatshirt with 37 on it...” She jokes, obviously having been quoted that fact a hundred times. “The stock of magic in this country is very low at the moment, which is sad because it can be quite entertaining. Derron Brown is brilliant but he doesn’t come across as a magician because then people wouldn’t watch him. He’s very intelligent.”

Why don’t people want to watch magicians? “Americans buy into magic a lot easier than the British do because magicians put themselves on a pedestal. We don’t like pedestals, because the only way to have a conversation with somebody on a pedestal in this country, is to drag them down to your level. Because they only way to get on a

pedestal with our history is to be born there... We find pedestals oppressive.

Americans know that even if you were born in a shack in the forest you can become president so they find pedestals inspirational.”

So what does Fay do in her spare time? “I lie on a polar bear skin rug and eat chocolates(!) Am I only working when I’m performing? Of course not, this morning I was reupholstering a prop, then this afternoon I’ve been doing this interview, then I’m dashing off to the Magic Circle to set up for the talk I’m giving later this evening.

Tomorrow morning I’ll make a start on the paperwork. It’s nearly a 24/7 deal... Show business is tough, really, really tough, it’s really hard to make a living from it as a success. For every Ricky Gervais there are hundreds and hundreds of really good standup comedians who never make it.

The nuts and bolts of it are quite difficult but no one talks about it because you have to be glamorous. It’s like finding out how a trick is done, if you start looking in the corners and finding out just what is involved the magic goes and the twinkle goes and the sparkle goes. You don’t want know how hard those boy and girl dancers have to work in order to be able to work for 2 hours on stage. Look at the hours those dancers do, look at the rates of pay they get, dancing their little hearts out for nothing and that’s the West End, those are the ones that make it! What about the ones who don’t? Doing the Summer Season at Skegness!”

So if show business is so hard, why does she do it? “I love doing Barcode in Archer Street, to do a show for a gay/straight friendly audience, it’s brilliant, but for that I get £40. I’ve got to do a lot of those before I’m making any money.

I hate changing in toilets. I was told when you get into show business you get a mirror with lights round it and your name on the door. Well I’ve managed that now - the act will henceforth be known as disabled/baby change.

I don’t ever want to stop working, I love being in front of an audience… but if you like your job you have to pay for it apparently.”

Fay also does a lot of work for charity and is an ambassador for Action for Children.

“They’re a lovely organisation. They used to run children’s homes but now they do a lot of work with getting kids back into the community and getting over problems that they’re going to have by being fostered and those that have been in trouble with society and educating mothers that need help bringing up their children and run support centres. They exist to help children achieve their full potential. That’s very dear to me, I’m not sure I was ever allowed to reach my full potential.”

When she’s not performing, repairing props or helping charities what does Fay like to do?

“I ride a scooter covered in rhinestones, it’s the quickest thing to get around London.

I’ve still got my 1967 Lambretta and it’s all sparkling and it’s been lovingly restored. I’m a bit of a petrol head, I like cars, I can’t help it. I’ve got a 1973 Triumph Herald, I love it to bits. I’ve got a Daihatsu Midget. It’s the smallest van you can get and I’ve been driving it around London for 10 years now, it’s the only one you’ll ever see. It cuts though traffic like you wouldn’t believe – but Top Gear has yet to do a piece on it!”

For more on Fay Presto, including clips of her magic tricks and details of her residencies visit www.faypresto.com

vol2 issue6 | beige | 79

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Leigh House Bradford-on-Avon near Bath

“Never knowing what you’re going to find and not holding to expectations, it was a delight to discover . . . exactly what we needed.”

Call Alan or Peter on 01225-867835 Website: www.leigh-house.com

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FORTIFY MY LOVE

F

or many years, sherry has struggled to reposition itself in the UK as a fashionable drink for a younger generation accustomed to seeing it brought out every Christmas for their aged relatives. Now, a greater interest in authentic Spanish cuisine has re-established its credentials as an exciting fortified wine. “Sherry is cool again, and we’ve noticed a huge increase in interest,” says Richard Bigg, founder of Spanish restaurant Camino in King’s Cross, London.

Sherry has been imported to Britain since the 12th century but has been around in Spain for longer, produced in the Jerez region. It is made by fortifying wine with brandy and then adding a yeast called flor to add flavour. The different styles are affected by the different grapes, ageing, and how the flor is used.

A new generation is starting to rediscover sherry, from drinking it with food to mixing it in cocktails, reports Mark Ludmon

Because of the renewed interest in the drink, Richard Bigg has opened Bar Pepito, the capital’s first dedicated sherry bar next to Camino, in association with Gonzalaz Byass’s number-one fino Tio Pepe. Richard has selected a variety of sherries from dry finos and manzanillas through to sweet Pedro Ximénez and lesser-known styles such as Palo Cortado and Moscatel.

To help customers explore the category, the menu includes sherry flights, while tapas-style dishes can be matched with different styles.

An Enomatic machine – invented to preserve uncorked bottles of wine – means eight sherries can be sipped by the glass, dispelling the myth that it can be left gathering dust in a drinks cabinet once opened.

Bigg is also offering one seasonal sherry-based cocktail, reflecting how mixologists are starting to experiment with the fortified wine in a way that has not been done for many years. While connoissuers may turn their noses up at the idea, sherry was once one of the staple ingredients in the early days of cocktails. The classic 1862 book How To Mix Drinks by US bartender Jerry Thomas featured the Sherry Cobbler, made with sherry, a spoonful of sugar and two or three slices of orange, garnished with seasonal berries. Writer Dave Wondrich, who charts the history of cocktails as a “mixographer”, points out that, in the 19th century, only pale or brown sherries were available, and that a dry, pale kind, such as a fino or amontillado, works best.

At Spanish restaurant Fino in London’s West End, owners Sam and Eddie Hart have produced an extensive sherry list, encouraging

people to buy it by the bottle with food. They also offer interesting sherry cocktails such as the Barcelona, made with amontillado sherry, Grand Marnier, orange juice and Peychaud’s Bitters, and the refreshing Fino Cocktail, mixing manzanilla, lemon, mint and lemonade.

Today, sherry and sherry-based cocktails are becoming a bigger part of the training given to bartenders. Patsy Christie goes round the UK as part of the team at Mixxit, the training company set up by drinks giant Maxxium which distributes spirits such as Courvoisier and Stolichnaya. She says that more recipes are being created for one of their brands, Harvey’s Bristol Cream. “It’s been going on for a while, especially for the past few months, in the on-trade where people are starting to have a new appreciation for sherry.”

The Mixxit team’s recipe for making a Sherry Cobbler involves adding orange, pineapple, gomme syrup and triple sec to Harvey’s.

Last year, the brand promoted long drinks mixing sherry with lemonade, ice and fruit as a way of attracting new consumers, although this will be familiar to anyone who has been served sherry and lemonade in Spain as a traditional Rebujito. Patsy believes all this activity means that we will be drinking more sherry this year. “It’s not just in the cocktails bars – the mainstream is gravitating towards sherry too,” she says. “Sherry is going to have its day again.”

KNOW YOUR SHERRIES Amontillado: normally dry, a darker style than fino but lighter than oloroso Fino: the driest and palest style of sherry Manzanilla: a particularly light style of fino sherry Moscatel: a grape producing sweeter wines used for sherry Oloroso: a darker, richer, more aged style, more alcoholic and normally dry Palo Cortado: a darker variety of sherry, close to oloroso Palomino: the most common grape used for dry sherries

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