marc almond - Beige Magazine

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COVER 

Photography: Claire Lawrie 

Model: Marc Almond 

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WWW.BEIGEUK.COM 49 BEIGE

“A sizzling mash-up of Paris Is 

Burning, Rent and Dreamgirls” 

Frameline 

ON DVD NOW 

CONTENTS 

MARC ALMOND 06 

HOMOTOPIA 09 

JUSTIN DAVID: HIGH DRAMA 10 

THE BETTE BOURNE IDENTITY 13 

SADIE LEE: A PORTRAIT OF A PORTRAIT ARTIST 16 

PAUL HUNTLY: WIGS MAY FLY 20 

THE 56TH BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 23 

ROBIN DUTT: AT HOME WITH A DANDY 24 

SUE TILLY: TROJAN 27 

BODYBOUND 32 

UNTIL FOREVER COMES 34 

LEE PATON: THE ANIMAL INSIDE 44 

WHITAKER MALEM: THE LEATHER BOYS 47 

JAY BARRY MATTHEWS: CAUGHT ON CAMERA 52 

STEVIE BOI: FEARLESS 54 

STYLE STREET 56 

TEL AVIV 58 

VACACIÓN VALENCIA 62 

QUEENS IN HISTORY: SYLVESTER 66 

DIGGING DUGGIE 70 

THE AMAZING ARI 74 

SOLID ID 76 

DAVID MCALMONT APPLIES HIS MUSICAL MAKE UP 78 

BOOKS 81 

JAKE ARNOTT 82 

BEIGE RECOMMENDS...THEATRE 84 

PAUL BAKER: STAR OF TABOO 86 

BILLY RAY MARTIN: ARTIST SPOTLIGHT 88 

MUSIC 89 

NASHVILLE: ROBERT ALTMAN 1975 90 

LAWRENCE ANYWAYS 92 

DVD 93 

DESIRED 94 

48HRS IN MAUI WITH KRISTINE KILTY 96 

BEIGE RAGE: DOES IT GET BETTER? 98 


MARC ALMOND 

I’m sitting in a top floor, 

white conservatory room 

overlooking central 

London. The space belongs 

to a mutual friend and 

will remain top secret. 

Why the secrecy? 

Well, this quiet sunny room contains 

one of the rarest artefacts from 

British 20th century pop music 

history: the original illuminated K 

WEST sign which once famously hung 

in Heddon St, directly above David 

Bowie’s “screwed down hairdo” on the 

cover of his legendary Ziggy Stardust 

album. This afternoon it shines down 

on another influential writer and 

performer, Marc Almond, a star every 

bit as iconic as Ziggy’s surviving street 

sign, but far more illuminating. 

I have been fortunate to see Marc 

perform twice recently. First, when he 

celebrated his 55th birthday at The 

Shepherd’s Bush Empire, taking us 

on a personal musical journey before 

launching into an energetic, floor 

shaking Northern Soul finale. Then 

a month later, by startling contrast, 

at the Royal Festival Hall, where he 

enthralled the entire audience with 

a staggering orchestral performance 

of his seminal Marc and the Mambas 

album, the epic Torment and Toreros. 

Today he is relaxing and in a reflective 

mood. I wondered if there had been 

any highlights during his incredible 

career. “That’s really hard to say, 

there are so many,” he answers, 

sipping a cup of green tea. “The fact 

I’m still here is remarkable! My initial 

success in the 80s was of course a 

highlight, but I don’t dwell on that 

time too much because although it was 

fantastic it was also a double edged 

sword. I really wasn’t prepared for 

success. Soft Cell were formed when 

I was studying performance art at 

college. We never intended going into 

pop music, we were an experimental 

electronic underground band, so being 

thrust into the limelight on Top of The 

Pops was scary.” 

BY MARTIN GREEN 

WWW.BEIGEUK.COM 07 BEIGE 

PHOTOGRAPHY: CLAIRE LAWRIE GROOMING: GOZRA LOZANO 

Marc admits that he struggled with 

self confidence back then. “I had a 

terrible stammer, ADHD and some 

learning difficulties, which didn’t 

help my social skills, so when success 

happened I couldn’t connect with 

people in the mainstream world. 

Something really magical and 

fantastic happened to me then and I 

wish I could have appreciated it more. 

Another highlight from that period 

was meeting Andy Warhol, Klaus 

Nomi and all the artists who were 

hanging out in New York. The edgy 

downtown scene there was incredible 

in the early 80s. It was a vibrantly 

dark time.” 

Marc is incredibly resilient. The 

‘Boy Who Came Back’ grew up in 

Southport, experiencing a tough, 

abusive life with an alcoholic father 

and persistent school bullying. “My 

early education was a survival course. 

I was ideal bullying material being 

intelligent, creative and artistic. At 

the same time home life was difficult. 

My drunken father would come to my 

class and, in front of everyone, ask the 

teacher if I was a homosexual. It was 

humiliating. To fight back I became 

disruptive, that way people would 

think I was brave. At the same time 

I was forming obsessive friendships 

with boys, but I wasn’t being very 

subtle about it. My overt flirtations 

would often attract the willing and the 

curious.” 

The early 1970s was an exceptional 

period of gay liberation and glam 

revolution. T- Rex and Slade excited 

the young dude but David Bowie 

really blew his mind. “No other artist 

sent me on so many musical journeys 

of discovery. He was my education. 

I learnt about Jacques Brel, Lou 

Reed, and Jean Genet. I could escape 

from my grim surroundings into his 

inspiring universe. In those days of 

pre-internet, I’d travel to Liverpool 

to seek out books by Genet and 

Burroughs and records by Iggy Pop 

and Jobriath, all because Bowie liked 

them. I also went to see his mentor, 

the choreographer, Lindsay Kemp 

perform, which was amazing. Bowie 

created life long passions in me.”

Another musical passion from this 

period was also being nurtured. “I 

started to go to gay clubs at that time 

with my hairdresser friend Philip. We 

went on a bus to Preston and hung out 

with an assortment of rough rent boys 

from Leeds and moustached clones 

smelling of Eau Sauvage. Those eye 

opening nights were some of the best 

I ever had, as for the first time in my 

life I could express myself and enjoy 

dancing to early Disco and discovering 

Northern Soul. I always felt those 

records with their dark lyrics were 

like torch songs set to a dance beat. I 

love the whole concept of contrasting 

emotions; dancing while crying.” 

A perfect example of a tortured 

Northern Soul song is Tainted Love by 

Gloria Jones which Soft Cell reworked 

in their own distinctive style. “Electro 

bands were very cold at that time. 

We were all making industrial sound 

tracks about city life. As collaborator 

Dave Ball and myself were such avid 

soul fans, we decided to cover some 

personal favourites to put in the set. 

Our interpretation of Tainted Love is 

similar to Ruth Swann’s version rather 

than the original.” Their famous cover 

catapulted them into the mainstream. 

I remember seeing Soft Cell in the 

early 80s, and interestingly, not many 

thought Marc was gay. Although his 

performance was flamboyant and 

outrageous, his iconic existential 

black Bohemian look obscured his 

gayness. He wasn’t hiding, but being 

neither a clone nor a New Romantic, 

he was fascinatingly difficult to 

categorise. “I’ve always been myself. I 

had a really straight audience at first, 

which was very strange and scary. 

It felt like I was still being stared at 

in the playground so I formed Marc 

and the Mambas as a way of moving 

from pop music and challenging my 

audience. Are you with me or against 

me? Some fans departed, but many 

stayed, including a lot of straight 

ones, surprisingly unfazed by how 

homoerotic and subversive my lyrics 

can be.” 

In August Marc performed the second 

Marc and the Mambas album Torment 

and Toreros in its entirety as part 

of the Meltdown festival. “Curator 

Antony Hegarty asked me to do the 

show as my very dark album had 

been a tremendous influence on him. 

I was daunted. I hadn’t performed the 

material for almost 30 years, but as I 

love and admire him I agreed. Antony 

is important to me. A few years ago, 

shortly after my terrible accident 

when I came off the motorbike, he 

asked me to join him in concert. It 

was impossible. I was still recovering, 

but being so belligerently determined 

not to be put down I went on stage in 

considerable pain and sang with him. 

That was a turning point. It was like 

overcoming adversity and getting 

back on that bike!” 

Not only has Marc written a vast 

repertoire of cleverly cinematic, 

darkly romantic and deeply honest 

songs, he has also inspired his fans to 

adore and explore the work of other 

artists, enthusing about Scott Walker, 

Jaques Brel, Baby Dee, Little Annie, 

Jobriath and Patrick Wolf. Recently 

he took his audience on another 

musical journey when he performed 

the award winning opera Ten Plagues. 

“Dramatist Mark Ravenhill wrote 

this song-cycle piece especially for 

me. It’s one man’s journey through 

the great plague of 1655, emotionally 

representing what people go through 

during epidemic panics. It’s a daunting 

new world for me, but I love challenges 

and it has reconnected me with my 

early passion for theatre. My life 

has gone full circle.” After receiving 

triumphant reviews in Edinburgh 

the work will come to London next 

year as it opens the newly restored 

Wilton’s Music Hall. This wonderful 

venue is the oldest surviving example 

of a music hall in the world and Marc 

has been a committed ambassador and 

fund raiser. 

Marc Almond, like Wilton’s Music 

Hall, Lindsay Kemp and Ziggy’s K 

WEST sign is a cherished English 

survivor. He has awe inspiring 

resilience, overcoming homophobic 

bullying, music industry restraints 

and a near fatal motorbike crash. 

His iconic image is as strong as ever, 

as is an artistic integrity that has 

endured throughout his constantly 

creative career. “When I left school 

my headmaster said I would only 

find a job working in a supermarket. 

It was my determination and desire for 

adventures that has kept me moving 

forward. I won’t be put down!” 

And thankfully he hasn’t. The pop 

troubadour has entertained and 

challenged us for over 30 years and 

I really can’t imagine asking Marc 

Almond to price check my Aubergines 

in Tesco Express. 

www.marcalmond.co.uk 

I have been fortunate to 

work with trailblazing arts 

festival Homotopia, one of 

the UK’s most successful 

LGBT arts initiatives, since 

its inception. 

I caught up with exuberant 

creator and director Gary 

Everett to examine the 

festival’s history and 

discover what he now has 

in store for us. 

James Lawler: Can you tell me a 

about the organisation? 

Gary Evertett: Homotopia is a 

Liverpool-based arts and social justice 

organisation which aims to inspire and 

unite communities. Every November 

we present an annual festival of local, 

national and international LGBT 

arts and culture, featuring an eclectic 

programme including theatrical world 

premieres, contemporary dance, visual 

art, debate, community participation, 

heritage and film. Homotopia was 

launched in 2004, the same year 

Liverpool was awarded European 

Capital of Culture, growing from a 

10 day festival into an organisation 

producing year round events. We also 

commission new and provocative work 

from artists who identify as queer 

or LGBT. Since 2009, we have also 

developed a burgeoning international 

strand working in Turkey, Poland, and 

Sweden, most notably curating the 

year long exhibition of Tom of Finland 

in Turku, which attracted 90,000 

visitors and was particularly special as 

it was the artist’s birthplace. 

JL: Where did the idea of Homotopia 

originate? 

GE: I thought it was important to 

develop an arts project that could 

explore, celebrate and reflect the gay 

experience with honesty and maturity. 

Liverpool was at a turning point and 

there was a feeling of renewal in 

the city, so I was keen to make the 

project home-grown. Also, its fair to 

say there’s also a sprinkling of energy 

from a very little known Liverpool 

queer art scene in the 90s and, as a 

young actor, I became inspired by 

the radical art-dragsters Brenda aka 

Brian King, Chloe Poems and the 

anarchy of Hollywood TNT and The 

Beige Experience. 

HOMOTOPIA 

BY JAMES LAWLER 

JL: Can you tell me some of your 

most memorable highlights from 

previous festivals? 

GE: There has been so many! Sadie 

Lee’s portraits of Holly Woodlawn 

and Laurie Lipton’s Extraordinary 

Drawings were wonderful exhibitions. 

Our large scale performance parties 

The Grand Vogue Ball with Duckie 

and the inaugural Alternative Miss 

Liverpool were fabulous! We have been 

very privileged to host two discussion 

shows, An Audience with Armistead 

Maupin and An Audience with April 

Ashley, which were both absorbing, 

informative and inspirational. Last 

year we staged The Savage Style, 

exhibiting costumes from Lily’s 

wardrobe at the Walker Art Gallery. 

It was tremendously popular and, as 

with all our events, reached a diversely 

wide audience. 

JL: What can we expect from this 

year’s festival? 

GE: This year’s theme is Traditional 

Family Values and we have a packed 

programme of 35 events including 

art exhibitions by Duggie Fields and 

Andrew Logan running in conjuncton 

with The Liverpool Biennial. We are 

staging new plays A Right Pair starring 

Bette Bourne, Council House Movie 

Star with Gale Force and Epstein 

about the Beatles manager. We are 

also presenting a new documentary 

Call Me Kuchu, Opera North’s 

production of The Girl I Left Behind 

Me and Scottie Road, The Musical, a 

work in progress by Keddy Sutton and 

Gill Hardie with a “hard faced lesbian 

bent.” 

JL: What are your future plans for 

the festival? 

GE: As we are fast approaching our 

10th anniversary, which is remarkable 

in the current climate, we are 

developing, producing and making new 

work, including a second Alternative 

Miss Liverpool. We have also secured 

a major award from the Heritage 

Lottery Fund to develop a two year 

project on the life of trans pioneer 

April Ashley. Opening at the Museum 

of Liverpool next October, this feels 

very special and we are all thrilled to 

be bringing April’s incredible story 

back to her birthplace. 

Homotopia Festival 

1-30 November 

www.homotopia.net 


PHOTOGRAPHY: REBECCA THOMAS

JUSTIN DAVID: HIGH DRAMA 

Justin David is a man of many talents – 

writer, photographer and visual artist, 

his work focuses on the creative outsiders 

who make London the edgy, sometimes 

dangerous, but always haunting city of 

both dreams and nightmares. 

A graduate of Goldsmith College’s MA in Creative and 

Life Writing, David’s first book The Pharmacist centres 

on pleasure seekers looking for love in all the wrong places 

in Shoreditch. He has recently completed his second novel 

Feral, also set in East London. 

Alex Hopkins: Can you tell us about how you began your 

photography work? 

Justin David: When I was a kid, my Dad gave me his 

camera and I was forever taking photographs. Then I did 

photography as part of my first degree. I hated where I was 

living so ran away to London most weekends and stayed 

with my friend David Cabaret in his warehouse in Dalston. 

He was a costume maker and we’d spend hours getting 

dressed up and putting on make-up, creating a ‘look’, 

ready to go out. But going out was just an after thought. 

WWW.BEIGEUK.COM 

BY ALEX HOPKINS 

The main event was the getting ready and taking photos 

of each other. I liked the idea of becoming someone else in 

front of the mirror. I guess that’s where it all stems from. 

Recently Nathan Evans asked me to do some publicity 

shots for his show I Love You But We Only Have Fourteen 

Minutes to Save The Earth. David Hoyle’s picture came 

first. I decided on a version of William Holman Hunt’s 

The Light of the World, with David as a kind of modern day 

Jesus, arrived to enlighten all who’ve been brainwashed 

by the capitalist system. I’ve done a day job for years now. 

The daily treadmill can make you feel trapped. 

Being around these people makes me feel more alive. 

AH: How would you describe your photographic style(s) 

and how have these changed over time? 

JD: In a nutshell it’s high drama, story-telling, saturated 

colour. It’s all about the atmosphere. I’m not a high-concept 

artist. Sure, there’s poetry and symbolism in there, but the 

pictures aren’t meant to be a crossword puzzle. One of my 

greatest influences is the playwright and film-maker Philip 

Ridley. He said that the meaning is in the feeling of his 

work and I think that’s true of my work.

I see myself as an artist working with 

photography. I’m not a technician 

and it’s not an exact science for me. 

There’s a lot of twiddling knobs and 

buttons and play-acting. I treat the 

images like paintings. 

My process is constantly developing. 

I used to be a bit more ad-hoc. I’d 

click away and try things out and 

sometimes great things would come 

out of accidents, but now I put a lot 

more time into the planning stages 

and working with the model. Often I’ll 

do quite careful drawings prior to the 

shoot so I know exactly the look that 

I’m looking for. 


AH: The city features prominently 

in your photography - how do you try 

and capture this? 

JD: London is my film set. It’s not 

just a backdrop, but a character in my 

work. There’s a picture of Jonathan 

Kemp, the writer, in the collection. 

When he agreed to pose I said I 

wanted to put him in an environment 

that might look like a cruising ground, 

lonely, mysterious and slightly 

dangerous. He suggested Abney Park 

in Stoke Newington. We got there just 

before it got dark and Jonathan really 

got into the session. He just felt his 

way in between the gravestones and 

interacted with his surroundings. 

AH: What sort of things do you look 

for in a subject and try to bring out in 

your portrait work? 

JD: I used to make compositions 

with friends or sometimes I’d even 

put myself in the shot. Now I’m more 

interested in working with other 

creative people who bring something of 

what they do to the work. I’ve always 

been fascinated by foxes and love their 

wild energy. Juwon Ogungbe, the 

operatic singer and composer, was very 

wild. He just hammered out music on 

the piano while I moved around him 

getting the shots. 

I have a number of other artists lined 

up to be photographed. I’m very 

excited that Penny Arcade has agreed 

to take part in the next project. 

AH: Tell us about your writing - 

where is this at currently and what 

future plans do you have? 

JD: I’ve just finished a new novel, 

which I’m completely in love with and 

I’m just about to send to my agent. 

It’s called Feral and is about a little 

boy called Idris who believes he is a 

princess and likes playing around in 

the dressing up box. He’s being raised 

by a terminally ill foster-carer and 

is being groomed by one of the local 

gangs to do their errands. 

AH: How does your writing feed into 

your photographic/art work and vice 

versa? 

JD: The book is set in Dalston which 

is very much a character in the story. 

I can’t really separate the two things. 

Sometimes little stories come out of 

the pictures and sometimes really 

indelible pictures come out of the 

writing and I find myself needing 

to recreate them visually. It’s great 

having different media to express 

myself through. I think I’d feel a bit 

restricted if I couldn’t do both. 

NIGHT WORK 

5 September – 30 November 

Jacksons Lane 

269a Archway Road 

London N6 5AA 

www.justindavid.co.uk 

THE BETTE 

BOURNE IDENTITY 


PHOTOGRAPHY: REBECCA THOMAS

At the top of a quiet grassy knoll on 

Hampstead Heath stands a bench 

dedicated to the memory of Henry 

Losner - called ‘goldfish’ because of its 

close proximity to the men’s swimming 

pond. During the long summer days 

Henry’s unassuming bench is transformed 

into a seat of theatrical learning as an 

assortment of veteran showbiz stalwarts 

swap salacious stories, witty anecdotes 

and long forgotten jokes. 

Gender illusionist, Earl Grey, is Camp Commandant of 

the Bench Brigade and among those found sitting on 

wet towels in Earl’s court are La Cage Aux Folles dancer 

Andy Norman, octogenarian opera singer Gordon Honey, 

impresarios Chris Jordan and Alan Ramshaw and one of 

the country’s leading Pantomime Dames, Peter John. 

Several show business legends sporadically make guest 

appearances, injecting an extra shot of chutzpah into the 

proceedings. A shining figure among these luminaries is the 

actor Bette Bourne, who is still as sharp as a stiletto and as 

rebellious as a reprobate. 

As the sun beats down, Bette and his long-term partner, 

Paul Shaw, arrive just in time for an impromptu matinée 

performance from the bench and decide, after a refreshing 

plunge in the water, to seek respite from the heat under 

the shade of a nearby maple. I join them on their picnic 

blanket. 

“I’ve been coming here for many years, my dear, I love it,” 

Bette reminisces. “As a youngster I used to go cruising on 

the Heath as it was highly productive, then I found my way 

to the men’s pond. In the 1970s there used to be a great 

raft in the middle of the water where all the queens would 

gather. They’d sunbathe on it, jam packed together, and 

dish all the latest dirt. That’s how we found out what was 

going on in our world,” he sighs reflectively. “Ahhh...life on 

the raft.” 

Peter Bourne started performing in 1943, at the age of 

four, with Madame Behenna and her Dancing Children, 

encouraged by his mother who was a great influence on 

his life. After attending the Central School of Speech and 

Drama he appeared in many stage productions and cult 

television shows including The Saint, The Avengers and 

The Prisoner. But by 1970 he had undergone a dramatic 

transformation. Discovering the political power of drag, he 

was christened Bette by his entourage, retired from acting 

and became heavily involved with the Gay Liberation Front, 

spending his time debating, protesting and being arrested. 

I love Bette’s stories from this pioneering period, 

particularly when he was living in a west London drag 

commune. “I lived in a small, disused film studio at the 

bottom of a garden in Notting Hill with 12 other queens. 

We found the building, climbed over the wall in our heels, 

got inside and took it over. There was a loo, a kitchen, an 

office, a bedroom, and most importantly, a makeup room. 

We spent hours and hours in there talking, getting stoned, 

polishing our nails and trying out new drag looks. It was 

wonderful.” 

As the pair dry off and tuck into their picnic, I ask how 

they met. “Notting Hill in 1976 was when I first saw Paul 

bouncing along a little wall near Powis Square,” Bette 

recounts, spreading some vegetarian paté on to a slice of 

pitta bread. “He was absolutely gorgeous, but really moody. 

I thought who is this sulky little queen? Then we got to 

know each other and became friends. Shortly after, I was 

looking for a tenant and he was looking for a place to stay, 

so he moved in to the back room. One thing led to another 

and we were soon interfering with each other... which was 

very nice.” 

At the same time Bette founded the avant garde radical drag 

troupe Bloolips, initiating the start of another unpredictable 

adventure. “I recruited some friends to come and join the 

group and we’d rehearse in the empty squat directly above 

my flat. Once, after we had spent all day tap dancing, 

devoted member Diva Dan and I went back downstairs into 

my bedroom only to find the room filled with dust and my 

bed completely covered by an enormous piece of plaster. We 

looked up to see a huge hole in the ceiling. All that rotten 

old plaster had come crashing down after being dislodged 

by our tap dancing.” Bette then starts singing, ruffling his 

wet curls and tapping his bare feet. “We’re in the money.... 

boom crash, we’re in the money... boom crash.” 

It wasn’t long before Bette asked his boyfriend to join the 

troupe. “Paul was originally a stage designer who’d never 

acted before, but I said ‘do you wanna be in a show?’ and 

he said ‘alright’ and joined the company. Luckily for me the 

only direction I have ever had to give him is ‘speak up a bit!’ 

as he’s a natural performer and a wonderful comic.” 

For 25 years Bloolips enjoyed major cult success throughout 

England and Europe, but it was in New York that they 

achieved their greatest accolades. It was also there that they 

encountered the legendary Quentin Crisp, who appeared 

one night after a show proclaiming “Thaaaaat... waas a wild 

sceeene” in his famously elongated tone. When asked if he 

would be free to meet again Quentin replied “I’m the most 

available perrson in the worrrld.” Bette frequented the great 

man’s eccentric apartment many times, where they would 

drink brandy poured from a large souvenir bottle tucked 

away under a dusty old chair. “We’d sit sipping and talking 

for hours. As he was born in 1908 and came out in the 1920s, 

he had an incredible story to tell, no one experienced that 

kind of life. He was fascinating. I’d put the penny in and off 

he’d go. I wanted to hear everything!” They soon became 

life-long friends. A thorough understanding of Quentin 

Crisp’s history, perspective and personality enabled Bette 

to pull off a miraculous portrayal of the stately homosexual 

during his final years in Tim Fountain’s outstanding play 

Resident Alien. 

In 2001 Bloolips was disbanded. The surviving members 

pursued solo careers, Paul continued writing and 

performing with Neil Bartlett’s company Gloria, while 

Bette appeared in a large variety of both fringe and West 

End productions including Theatre of Blood at the National 

and Much Ado About Nothing with the Royal Shakespeare 

Company. They both continued to be actively involved with 

politics, supporting gay rights and campaigning against 

ongoing injustices. 

This year the couple are reunited on 

stage in their new show A Right Pair. 

“It’s a story with songs about two 

older gay men who have been together 

for 37 years and how their relationship 

has developed. It’s an uncommon 

subject matter for a gay play as 

most are written from a younger 

perspective because many are nervous 

about being labelled ‘Older Gay Men’. 

It doesn’t bother us; time has passed, 

but although we are getting older we 

still enjoy life and always make an 

effort to see and do things. Last night 

for instance, we went to see David 

Hoyle at the RVT. He was wonderful. 

His talent is way above anyone else on 

that scene. I’m still reticent to appear 

with him there though; I’m not sure 

we would work well together in such 

a confined space. Our ball gowns are 

too big!” 

Bette and Paul decide to go for another 

swim while I stay behind and look 

after their belongings. Before they go 

I ask them how they’ve managed to 

maintain their relationship for so long. 

“We take everything a day at a time. 

We make each other laugh and we 

really like each other. Our relationship 

never started with sex, it started out 

as a friendship.” Before disappearing 

in to the cool water, Bette poignantly 

adds: “When you come home and put 

the key in the door you should always 

hope he’s in. When you hope he’s out, 

you’ve got a problem! I’ve never hoped 

that Paul was out.” 

Bette Bourne continues to be an 

exuberantly youthful, inspirational 

force of uncompromising individuality 

and political dedication. His 

relationship with Paul is a wonderful 

example of love, honesty and 

incredible devotion. Now, with them 

gone, and the Bench Brigade napping, 

the grassy knoll is quiet once more. 

As I lay out on my towel, I wonder 

whether the late Henry Losner ever 

predicted that his memorial bench 

would become a camp cultural centre 

during these summer months. Would 

he be turning in his watery grave or 

would he be performing sensational 

synchronised swimming routines with 

the other dearly departed dippers in 

that big bathing pond in the sky? 

I hope it’s the latter. 

www.bettebournemovie.com 


SADIE LEE: A PORTRAIT OF A PORTRAIT ARTIST 

Sadie Lee: 

artist, ace-face, parent 

and pop tart. This arty 

all-rounder can be seen 

giving a show, fronting 

her rock combo Spinster 

or giving a talk as she 

hosts her quarterly Queer 

Perspectives event at the 

National Portrait Gallery. 

In her own words she’s just 

“a general show off.” 


BY JAMES LAWLER 

I meet Sadie at her Wood Green 

studio. She’s sporting her trademark 

‘shag’ hairdo, electric blue drainpipe 

jeans and winkle picker Chelsea boots. 

A card carrying member of the Joan 

Jett set. 

James Lawler: Sadie, tell me about 

the artist as a young woman and how 

your love affair with London started 

Sadie Lee: I moved from ‘Up North’ 

to Surrey at 14, complete with comedy 

Northern vowels, which meant I got 

the shit kicked out of me at school. 

This sealed my fate as a professional 

outsider, destined to become weird for 

a living. It was only a matter of time 

before I had the desire to escape the 

suburbs and head to swinging London. 

I started going out and drinking pints 

of cider at the Bell in Kings Cross, 

using money from my shifts at a 

greasy spoon café to fund my ‘lifestyle’ 

and arriving home on the milk train 

wearing last night’s smeared mascara 

and smelling of poppers. 

JL: How important is image to you - 

both on a personal level and in your 

portrait work? 

SL: As a teenager I was into Northern 

Soul, but when I moved ‘down 

south’ no one else had that ‘look’. 

I experimented with other teen 

looks, which were mostly manifested 

through hair styles, something 

that’s still an important part of my 

identity. I’ve always been quite old 

fashioned, constantly referring back 

to the 1970s. I think I made it to ‘79 

frozen in Amber or Hai Karate and 

never moved on. My portraits are 

coming from the same place; they’re 

completely stage managed and very 

theatrical, presenting a version of the 

sitter through some kind of artifice 

or props, be it tattoos or makeup or 

costumes... 

JL: How does music play such an 

important part in your life and art? 

SL: I find listening to music a very 

emotional experience and always have 

it playing while I work, where it often

acts as a soundtrack to the image I’m 

making. I’d put tapes together for 

friends, and they’d do the same for me, 

making it a way of connecting with 

others while working in isolation. This 

cemented my relationship with other 

creative friends like Joe Pop, Matthew 

Stradling and Jonathan Kemp who I 

DJ with. I suppose combining music 

and art peaked with the series of 

portraits I created of Warhol Superstar 

Holly Woodlawn, which used the line 

‘And Then He Was a She’ from Lou 

Reed’s Walk On The Wild Side as the 

exhibition title. Again, more recently, 

the Bowie inspired Pin Ups exhibition 

commissioned for Homotopia (LGBT 

arts festival) alongside Matthew 

Stradling used the seminal album title 

as a crux for creating our own iconic 

pin-ups. 

JL: Tell me about your current work. 

SL: I’m working on a portrait for a 

Pride show at Clifford Chance Tower 

curated by Michael Petry, which 

has a sports theme to tie in with the 

Olympics. I’ve chosen to paint a runner 

from the 1930s called Stella Walsh, or 

‘Stella the Fella’ as she was known 

due to her androgynous appearance 

(curly bobbed hair and a broken nose 

making her look like one of the New 

York Dolls in running shorts). 

The rumours about her were finally 

cleared up when she died in 1980 and 

the post mortem revealed she was 

actually intersex, having both male 

and female genitalia, making her ideal 

subject material for my own take on 

sport and sexuality. 

JL: What does the future hold? 

SL: I’m carrying on with the Pin 

Ups portraits as that exhibition will 

be going over to Berlin in the next 

couple of years and will hopefully 

tour to some other places as well. I’ll 

continue working at the National 

Portrait Gallery, giving talks such as 

the Queer Perspectives nights where 

I invite guests (David McAlmont, 

Neil Bartlett, Ali Smith, Emmanuel 

Cooper) to look at the collection 

with a ‘gay eye’. This is always an 

entertaining and informative evening. 

Plus there’s my DJing and gigs with 

Spinster. But now I’m a mother I 

have to prioritise my commitments. 

Hopefully I’ll sell a painting, enabling 

me to buy a VW Passat for my family; 

it’s what happens when you go from 

screaming round town to being a 

family girl. 

www.sadielee.f9.co.uk 


‘GLEAMING STAGE-CRAFT, FULL-THROTTLE HEARTACHE AND BEGUILING SPECIAL EFFECTS 

★★★★ 

SUNDAY EXPRESS 

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★★★★ 

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PICCADILLY THEATRE | 0844 871 7618 

GHOSTTHEMUSICAL.COM | | TICKETS FROM £25

PAUL 

HUNTLEY 

WIGS MIGHT FLY 

B Y M A R T IIN N G R E E N 

PHOTOGRAPHY: CLAIRE LAWRIE 


I arrive at a smart Little 

Venice mansion block with 

artist David Parsons to 

meet his old friend, the 

Tony award winning wig 

designer Paul Huntley. 

After a brief introduction, 

the three of us head 

towards Paul’s flat. We 

squeeze ourselves into the 

tiny lift, which promptly 

breaks down, claiming to 

be over loaded. 

In the next five minutes buttons 

are frantically pushed and alarms 

rung as desperate pleas for help go 

unheard, before we eventually make 

our escape as Huntley gently pushes 

the lift door open. Back in the corridor 

Parsons exclaims: “That’s a relief, I 

felt like Olivia de Havilland in Lady 

in a Cage,” prompting Huntley to 

burst out laughing. This pair’s long 

lasting friendship is founded on 

a great passion and knowledge of 

film and theatre, the two industries 

Huntley has been an intrinsic part of 

for over 60 years. I’m about to gain an 

invaluable insight into both. 

Sitting in Huntley’s elegant lounge 

sipping tea, he reflects on his incredible 

life as a wig designer. 

“I first met Joan Crawford in the late 

1960s at the Dorchester hotel, where 

she was staying while making a terrible 

film called Trog. I was summoned 

to her suite and sat there nervously, 

expecting a very tall, intimidating 

woman to make a grand entrance, 

when suddenly the bedroom door flew 

open and a little creature appeared. I 

thought, ‘Oh my God, she’s tiny!’ With 

her little face she completely took me 

by surprise. Nevertheless, I was still 

totally in awe of her. She was so sweet 

and charming and being allowed to 

touch her head for the design was an 

absolute honour.” 

I immediately want to know if Huntley 

ever worked with Joan’s adversary, 

Bette Davis. “Many times, dear. I first 

met Miss Davis when she was working 

on a British horror film called The 

Nanny, in which she drowned a poor 

little boy in a bath tub! Bette arrived 

at the studio in a Rolls Royce for her 

fitting and then surprised everyone by 

announcing: ‘I don’t like having wigs 

made for me, I prefer ones that other 

people have already worn. They have a 

life!’ The great actress then proceeded 

to rummage through a large box of 

used hair pieces. After some time 

searching she proclaimed ‘That’s 

it!’ pulling out an old wig from the 

container. We dressed it and that was 

the one she wore in the film.” 

Paul Huntley was born and raised in 

Woolwich during the 1930s. Growing 

up with a film loving mother and 

surrounded by movie magazines, 

he soon became fascinated with the 

illusion of cinematic transformation 

and this led to an apprenticeship with 

theatrical specialists Wig Creations. 

The world-renowned company was 

set up by Stanley Hall, who Paul 

insists was the greatest influence 

on his professional life. “The first 

week I worked on Cinderella at 

the Palladium. We had to make a 

staggering 250 powdered wigs for 

that show, all painted with gold leaf. 

That was my start - in at the deep end. 

Stanley said I could do it and I did!” 

By the mid 1950s, with his natural flair 

and an instinct for design, Huntley 

was running the organisation. “I very 

quickly went from being an awe struck 

kid to putting pin curls on Vivien 

Leigh, meeting my favourite actress 

Margaret Lockwood and measuring 

up Mae West’s head as she reclined on 

her Dorchester Hotel bed, draped with 

purple satin sheets and lit by four lilac 

spotlights.” 

During 1960s Huntley started 

working with the legendary Marlene 

Dietrich. “She was a wonderfully kind 

woman who had always worn wigs and 

appreciated our work. She was a total 

product and she created that product. 

The hair style was her own idea; it 

swooped over to one side forming a 

soft bob. We made about 30 wigs for 

her concert tour. She’d travel the 

world with them packed into a large 

carpetbag, all lined up like penguins. 

Then when one got a little worn out, 

she’d squash it into a brown envelope, 

hand write ‘Dietrich’ across the back 

and post it off to us for re-dressing. I 

wish I’d kept all those envelopes.” 

Throughout this period Huntley 

worked on many popular movies, 

including Cleopatra with Elizabeth 

Taylor, Doctor Zhivago with Julie 

Christie and scores of Hammer 

horrors. These included the Dracula 

series in which he created both 

Christopher Lee’s wicked widow’s 

peak and the hair raising bouffants of 

his vivacious victims. 

“There were more hairpieces on the 

heads of those girls than in any other 

film. Curls were all teased up with 

big falls tumbling down to hide their 

nudity. The producers wanted lots of 

long, luscious hair for those poor girls 

to be fucked in!” 

In 1971, after much persuasion from 

Elizabeth Taylor and director Mike 

Nichols, Huntley decided to start 

a new life with his partner in New 

York. His first jobs were on Broadway 

creating wigs for the Tony award 

winning productions of A Little Night 

Music and Uncle Vanya. He never 

returned to work in the UK. 

“I love and miss England terribly 

and am intending to move back in 

a couple of years when it’s time to 

retire. But if I’d stayed in London, I’d 

never have enjoyed the same critical 

and commercial success. The creative 

arts are not considered serious work 

in England - they are seen as fun and 

not valued as a job. Hairdressers, 

costumiers, make-up artists and 

other creative people are paid a 

pittance, whereas in America, the 

entertainment industry is seen as very 

important and completely unionised, 

so the workforce are paid properly. 

However, as much as I love working 

in the States, I’ve refused to be totally 

Americanised and have determinedly 

kept my English accent.” 

Huntley has spent the past 40 years 

designing wigs for a vast array of 

Broadway productions, including 

Amadeus, Cats, Gypsy, Grey Gardens, 

Anything Goes and Hairspray for 

which he won a Tony Award. As I 

recently saw the West End transfer of 

Master Class, starring Tyne Daly as 

Maria Callas, I’m intrigued to know 

how he created her striking look and 

prevented it from being a draggy 

caricature. 

“I wanted to create a softer more 

realistic style for the show. Callas 

had two looks, a severe Kabuki like 

chignon worn when she performed on 

stage, and a casual ponytail worn in 

real life. I decided, as it was a student 

master class, that she needed to appear 

in the more casual style. Also, most 

people think of her as having black 

hair, but she didn’t. Although she 

photographed very dark, her hair was 

in fact a reddish brown, so I created 

a wig in that colour. This combination 

gave the character a softer and more 

subtle look. We turned Miss Tyne Daly, 

the tiny silver haired Irish sweetie 

into a grand Greek operatic diva.” 

WWW.BEIGEUK.COM 21 21 BEIGE

Huntley has worked with an incredible 

number of stars, including Carol 

Channing, Dusty Springfield, Peggy 

Lee, Angela Lansbury, Catherine Zeta 

Jones, Claudette Colbert, Jennifer 

Lopez, Glenn Close and Barbara 

Streisand who kindly cooked him 

scrambled eggs. I ask him if he has 

a final anecdote about one of the 

greatest stars, Bette Davis. 

“I worked on her last movie The 

Whales of August, in which she 

appeared with the beautiful silent 

movie star Lillian Gish, who she 

detested and was constantly horrible 

to. Poor Lillian was 91 years old and 

allergic to cigarette smoke, so Bette 

would sneak into her dressing room 

and puff away just to annoy her. It was 

terribly tense! In the film they played 

devoted siblings and there was an 

intimate and touching moment when 

Lillian takes her sister’s hair down 

to gently brush it. As the ancient and 

terribly frail Miss Gish carefully took 

hold of Miss Davis’ hair, the 76 year 

old Bette bellowed ‘don’t you pull my 

fucking wig off!’” 

Paul Huntley is a show business 

legend. Charming, witty and hugely 

knowledgeable, he’s designed and 

created some of the most iconic 

theatrical and cinematic hair styles 

of the past 50 years. His collection 

of signed publicity stills alone is 

a fantastic historical record of his 

achievements. As we say goodbye, 

he hands me an envelope containing 

some of these photographs. 

“You can use them for your magazine, 

dear,” he says as I leave the flat, before 

calling out in his elegantly English 

and totally Un-Americanised accent: 

“Oh, remember dear, don’t take the 

elevator......sorry......I mean lift!” 

THE 56TH BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 

The London Film Festival, 

now in its staggeringly 

successful 56th year, 

returns to present the 

best of new British and 

international films. Last 

year’s line-up included 

the Anthony Hopkins film 

360, David Cronenberg’s 

A Dangerous Method and 

Michael Fassbender’s 

penis in Shame, with the 

incredible We Need To Talk 

About Kevin 

going on to garner the 

award for best film. 

In partnership with American Express 

and Disney, and in a first for the 

festival, the opening night screening 

and red carpet event will go live from 

the Odeon Leicester Square to the BFI 

Imax and 30 screens across the UK. 

This year’s opening film, Tim Burton’s 

Frankenweenie is a heartwarming 

tale about a boy and his dog. After 

unexpectedly losing his beloved 

dog Sparky, young Victor harnesses 

the power of science to bring his 

best friend back to life, with just a 

few minor adjustments. He tries to 

hide his home-sewn creation, but 

when Sparky gets out Victor’s fellow 

students, teachers and the entire town 

all learn that getting a new “leash on 

life” can be monstrous. 

A visually stunning black and white, 

animated film in 3D, Frankenweenie’s 

voice cast includes Catherine O’Hara, 

Martin Short, Martin Landau, Charlie 

Tahan, Atticus Shaffer, Robert 

Capron, Conchata Ferrell and Winona 

Ryder. 

The festival will also host The Art of 

Frankenweenie Exhibition from 17-21 

October. 

“Funny, dark and whimsical, this 

gloriously crafted stop-motion 3D 

animation from Tim Burton – the 

reigning prince of outsiders – playfully 

turns the Frankenstein story on its 

bolted-on head,” says Clare Stewart, 

BFI Head of Exhibition. 

“Frankenweenie is a perfect choice of 

opener – it’s a film that revels in the 

magic of movies from one of cinema’s 

great visionaries. Tim Burton has 

chosen London as his home city 

and hundreds of talented British 

craftspeople have contributed to this 

BY BARRYJOHNSTON 

production. To host the European 

Premiere, to present The Art of 

Frankenweenie Exhibition and to 

take our Opening Night out to 30 

screens means we are making the 

Festival even more accessible for film 

fans across the UK.” 

In addition, Clare Stewart is boosting 

this years competition by introducing 

seven new categories to its programme 

in order to reach new audiences. Since 

it was introduced three years ago, 

the BFI Award ceremony has grown 

considerably in stature, being publicly 

supported and personally attended by 

many leading figures from the world of 

film. These luminaries have included 

Martin Scorsese, Ridley Scott, Danny 

Boyle, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes 

and Michael Fassbender. 

The BFI’s choice of judges has been 

an exciting, diverse and incisive group 

of creatives and performers and has 

included Anjelica Huston, Gabriel 

Byrne, Michael Winterbottom, Kevin 

Macdonald, Charlotte Rampling, Nick 

Broomfield and Jarvis Cocker. 

Unfortunately, as we go to print, the 

remaining films selected for screening 

at this flagship event remain a closely 

guarded secret, but the organisation 

have generously allowed us to preview 

one film which they feel may be of 

interest to Beige readers, Keep The 

Lights On. 

Directed by Ira Sachs and set in New 

York during 1997, the film chronicles 

the emotionally charged journey of 

two men through love, friendship 

and addiction. The protagonists are 

a documentary filmmaker and a 

handsome, closeted lawyer who after 

an initial sexual encounter start to 

develop a serious relationship and 

build a home together, but continue 

to battle with their addictions. 

Harrowing, visceral and romantic, the 

film has been heralded as an honest, 

dark and fearless portrayal of the 

nature of relationships in our times. 

We eagerly await its UK premier 

during the BFI event. The movie has 

already achieved great attention at 

both the Sundance and Berlin Film 

Festivals, being cited as “the most 

heart breaking gay love story since 

Brokeback Mountain”. 

The 56th BFI London Film Festival in 

partnership with American Express 

runs from 10 October - 21 October. 

bfi.org.uk/lff 


ROBIN 

DUTT 

AT HOME 

WITH 

A DANDY 

B Y D E A N B R I G H T 

PHOTOGRAPHY: JOHN STEWARDSON 

Journalist, stylist, curator, Dean Bright: You’ve been described an exclusively male preserve, but 

man about town and a 

Dandy in our modern 

world. Robin Dutt always 

dresses with what can only 

be described as flair, never 

knowingly under dressed. 

as one of the last living Dandies, what 

is your own definition of Dandyism? 

Robin Dutt: I have always said 

Dandyism is a lesson one cannot 

learn, it simply chooses you. All the 

observation and replication in the 

world does not a Dandy make. Having 

said all that, it is often a stark 

if I had to choose someone, it could 

only be the Marchesa Casati: wild, 

independent, beyond reason and 

doomed, those qualities alone allow 

her to qualify. I met Neil (Bunny) 

Roger through the late Sir Hardy 

Amies. He was at that time a living, 

shining example of a Dandy in the 

and lonely place where one moves Edwardian style. There he sat in the 

The Dandy Dutt has enjoyed a rich from shadow to shadow without Savile Row salon, resplendent in coal 

and varied career to date, curating really knowing why, but somehow black frock coat, grey waistcoat, arctic 

ground breaking art shows, appearing understanding, if that is not too stiff collared shirt and ice blue silken 

on TV as a style commentator, writing impossible to imagine. 

cravat surmounted by an enormous 

for newspapers and magazines, 

diamond. 

interviewing scores of people famous DB: Who are your heros of Dandyism 

and infamous, such as Jean Paul and why? 

DB: You organise the Arts and Style 

Gaultier, Maggie Hambling, Vivienne RD: Beau Brummell to me will always societies at Home House. What does 

Westwood and Siouxie Sioux to name be the ultimate dandy, the Father of this entail? 

drop just a few. 

Dandyism and the codifier of the law RD: They may take the form of talks, 

when it comes to all things sartorial. demonstrations, visits to galleries and 

Currently he is amusing himself as Oscar Wilde whose Dorian Gray the like. I have also recently started 

creator and organiser of the Style searingly exposes the archness and the Supper Talks which are themed in 

and Arts society, Poetry Salon, and vanity of a dandy, which can be traits, terms of colour, music and other details 

incredibly, Instructor of Fencing at the but those which are used more as and where people are encouraged to 

sumptuous Home House London, the defense than means of attack. I also dress to match the mood. Past talks 

private membership club in Portland am indebted to J.K.Huysmans who have been, the Marquis de Sade, Jack 

Square. Beige takes a peep inside the did so much in his ground-breaking the Ripper and Marie Antoinette - who 

mind of a contemporary dandy. novel A Rebours (Against Nature) for I chose because Home House housed 

introducing the tangible strangeness the French government in exile 

of his central character, a desperate during the French revolution. People 

Dandy figure who is understood by were encouraged to dress up in silks 

real Dandies all over the world. When and velvets and an eighteenth century 


it comes to females, Dandyism is really inspired supper was served with 

91 BEIGE 


Fete Gallant music as an appropriate backdrop. Typically 

50 or so turn up, some making great efforts with their 

costumes. Any excuse, I suppose! Some may be surprised 

to hear that the Poetry Salon is hugely popular and has 

hosted some very special talent. It attracts all kinds of 

people, those who simply want to be entertained and some 

who are keen to read if at first a mite reticent. 

DB: Fencing at Home House? Sounds dangerous? 

RD: Our Fencing Salle meets weekly and has proved a hit, 

pardon the pun. Once I staged a fencing demonstration 

with candles and set to music – everything from the sounds 

that might have been heard in the 1770s to Lady Gaga! You 

can imagine the difference in the strokes from a violin 

sonata to Bad Romance. 

DB: What was it like to meet Gilbert and George whilst 

writing your book about them? 

RD: They were great fun, very genial and hospitable. Their 

whole existence seems one of performance, but not in a selfconscious 

way. It is totally natural. I do admire the stridency 

and consistency of their work and the fact that they have 

been pioneers and are unafraid to be so without the irony 

or the showmanship of many contemporary artists. 

DB: Is contemporary art important to you or are you more 

of a traditionalist? 

RD: All art that I admire is important to me and, of course, 

this can involve contemporary art. I adore drawings, 

particularly those of Ingres and Odilon Redon. The paintings 

of Otto Dix are beautifully haunting to me and Grayson 

Perry, whom I’ve known since his Sardine Cinemas at the 

James Birch Gallery, is sublime. It is figurative rather than 

abstract art I like and I learnt to like this even more whilst 

posing for a number of portraits. 

DB: You have interviewed many famous people, who stands 

out as particularly exciting? 

RD: Paco Rabane for his groundbreaking genius and 

preoccupation with mysticism. Pierre Cardin for such a 

panoply of space age designs and ideas. Christine Keeler’s 

fragility and for being the centre of a very public scandal. 

Cynthia Payne who insists one says “Sex” and not “Cheese” 

when being photographed. Perhaps most of all, Quentin 

Crisp, whose resolute strength of character changed society 

forever. He had so many bon mots which masked salient 

and eternal truths. 

DB: Whose style do you admire amongst todays generation? 

RD: I like the style of Tom and Serge from Kasabian. I find 

their stripped down, streamlined look very youthful, spare 

and elegant. Duggie Fields has consistently impressed with 

his sense of vintage cut and always white footwear as if he 

may be walking on light. 

DB: Do you have a large archive of clothing and accessories 

to create your look? 

RD: I have always held that the most important piece in 

a gentleman’s wardrobe is the coat. Preferably jet black, 

fitted at the waist, perhaps skirted in a few examples. 

A redingote is ideal. Plain or textured, lapels are a key 

feature. I like them when they are either ultra narrow as in 

the case of Raf Simons or over wide like so many mid 1970s 

examples. I can NEVER have enough black coats. 

DB: Why is style important to you? 

RD: Style is vital to me, not to be noticed but to be a 

constant dynamo and reminder of the past. Clothes can and 

do connect us to a past, whether experienced or especially 

felt and imagined, or wished for. The Regency style is 

unsurpassable, or a close second would be early Edwardian. 

DB: Do you ever dress down? What is the most “casual” 

look you have ever sported, or that you are willing to admit 

to? 

RD: Dressing down is something I leave to the experts. The 

closest I’ve come, I seem to recall, was a matching cashmere 

jogging set in royal purple by Richard James. Even then 

it was a suit! 

DB: Does Dandyism require hours of planning and 

wardrobe titivating or is it all in the mind? 

RD: It takes me all of five minutes to dress in the morning 

as I have already been through the dressing room in my 

mind whilst partially awake and selecting everything. Then 

upon rising I do exactly as I have arranged and leave the 

house. A mirror is a most formidable enemy. It has a sort 

of magnetism which can be time defeating, a glance – and 

I’m gone 

Gilbert & George: Obsessions and Compulsions by Robin 

Dutt, published by Phillip Wilson, www philip-wilson.co.uk 

Home House 

20 Portman Square 

London W1H 6LW 

Telephone: 020 7670 2000 

www.homehouse.co.uk 

“Dressing 

down is 

something I 

leave to the 

experts.” 

TROJAN 

BY SUE TILLEY 


IMAGE: HARTNETT / PYMCA

“I feel that you’re the only 

person that I can converse 

with about this. I know we 

spoke about Trojan before, 

but what I would like to 

make clear is that I’m 

not just a fan of Trojan’s 

art and his style, I’m also 

attracted to him and have 

strong feelings for him. 

Obviously this brings up 

pragmatic issues because 

he died and I never 

knew him. 

I was born in 1989 whereas 

his death was in 1986. As I 

was searching the web for 

disturbing art web sites I 

came across Leigh Bowery, 

and then soon Trojan. 

Automatically I liked what 

I saw: a good looking boy 

who wasn’t masculine or 

skinny, but was average 

in his physique; he didn’t 

represent the stereotype 

poofy gay. From what I 

could gather he was shy, 

creative, an instigator and 

something of a bad arse. 

I fell for Trojan - the first 

ever time I was emotionally 

attracted to the same sex, 

but I will never be able to 

have my way with him for 

obvious reasons, though 

I have had dreams about 

Trojan.” 

A message to 

Sue Tilley on Facebook 

from Ashley Siebert, 2011 

Trojan was born Gary 

Barnes in 1966 in New 

Addington near Croydon, 

the youngest of three boys. 

He was beautiful looking 

with thick brown hair and 

huge brown eyes. He was 

always different, living 

life by his own rules, much 

to the distress of his mum 

and dad. He never liked 

authority. Mischief was 

second nature to him. He 

wanted to move to London 

and before he was really 

old enough he did, meeting 

a whole gang of likeminded 

boys and a group 

of young gay men. 

Strangely, his first relationship in 

London was with a girl, the very 

glamorous and charismatic Scarlett 

Bordello. They dated for a while 

until the relationship ended with 

her hitting him over the head with a 

frying pan. She showed Trojan that 

it was possible to reinvent yourself. 

IMAGE:SHEILA ROCK 

Originally from Croydon, Bordello 

had come to London and opened the 

underground nightclub Cha Chas, 

which nestled behind Heaven. This 

is where I first met Leigh and Trojan. 

They were dropping bits of burning 

paper off the balcony hoping to scorch 

someone’s outfit. I was immediately 

taken with Leigh and we became great 

friends and as a result I spent a lot of 

time with Trojan. Although I’m not 

sure that Trojan really “got me”, as I 

was probably a bit too normal for him, 

we still got on well and shared a lot of 

experiences. 

One of our funniest times was a trip to 

The Isle of Wight with Leigh’s sister, 

when we went to the very eccentric 

theme park, Blackgang Chine. We’d 

just got out of the maze when Trojan 

spotted an old school friend. He was so 

mortified that he might see him there 

that we both hid inside a glass fibre 

toadstool, giggling uncontrollably 

until the friend had disappeared into 

the distance. 

Leigh and Trojan met on the club 

scene and moved into a variety 

of properties together, upgrading 

from one council flat to the next by 

pretending to have various illnesses 

or inventing harassment by putting 

burning rags through their own front 

door. They dressed in the way of their 

contemporaries until Leigh unveiled 

his début ‘Pakis in Outer Space’ look 

on Trojan. Their blue and red painted 

faces, multi coloured, multi sleeved 

outfits and glam rock platform boots 

lifted them way above the fashion pack 

and ensured plenty of public and press 

attention wherever they went. It was 

during this time that Trojan invented 

his ‘Picasso’ face with wonky lips and 

an extra nose drawn on. The Observer 

printed a photograph of Trojan’s look 

in their end-of-year issue; the caption 

showed their uncertainty: “Was this 

The Face of ‘84?” 

Leigh loved Trojan for his good looks 

and his fearlessness. I remember 

walking to Heaven with the pair of 

them and Trojan kicking a tramp. 

Leigh was too well brought up to do 

something like that, but Trojan just 

went ahead without thinking about it; 

like the time he threw the cat off the 

balcony or sliced his own ear in half. 

Leigh knew that this was wrong, but 

somehow Trojan didn’t. He did what 

he wanted and while he gloated at 

his own bravado Leigh sobbed in his 

bedroom with the door firmly closed. 

Looking at the pair of them one 

would imagine that Leigh was the 

most powerful in the relationship; he 

was older, brighter and was always 

leading the way. But Trojan held 

the trump card - he knew that Leigh 

fancied him, but these feelings were 

not reciprocated. As Leigh mocked 

him for being common or not knowing 

who some famous artist was, Trojan 

would shut him up by simply calling 

him “doughnut”. 

One morning, a delighted Leigh called 

to tell me they had finally “done it”! 

He admitted the seduction had been 

under the influence of LSD, but it 

had been great. To ensure that Trojan 

would carry on a sexual affair with 

him, Leigh continued to ply him with 

acid as Trojan loved nothing more 

than being off his head. Soon the lure 

of LSD waned and within a couple of 

weeks Trojan moved back to his own 

room and Leigh was left bereft. This, 

however, didn’t stop him from trying 

to encourage and improve his friend, 

as he felt Trojan hadn’t been properly 

educated. He made him read books 

and then quizzed him on what he 

had learnt from them. But mainly he 

encouraged him to paint. 


IMAGES: SHEILA ROCK

Trojan described his work as being 

about “ fights and fucks in nightclubs.” 

He was a prodigious, but very poor 

artist. He couldn’t afford canvases, so 

just painted on anything he found in 

the street. Most of his paintings were 

done on bits of old hardboard, bed 

sheets or some tatty plywood found in 

a skip. Although he sometimes used 

make up, nail varnish or glue, he still 

wanted to use paint, so Trojan took to 

prostitution to buy his materials. He 

didn’t mind the sex, but really enjoyed 

meeting the bizarre people he came 

across. His favourite was a man he 

christened Plum Knob. This punter 

felt that he was rather lacking in the 

length department so had fashioned 

an oval piece of wood, which he painted 

maroon, then tied it to his own penis 

with ribbons. As a special treat for his 

customers, Trojan became Sandra, 

a very sulky young lady who liked to 

answer back his gentleman callers. 

Leigh would often ring me up with 

his ear next to Trojan’s bedroom door 

reporting back on all the action 

happening inside. 

As Trojan matured he realised that 

he wanted to be his own person. He’d 

stopped wearing the clothes Leigh 

made for him and invented his own 

looks. He’d begun to find some success 

as a painter, selling and exhibiting, 

and knew the next step was to get his 

own flat. At the same time he found 

his first proper boyfriend. John 

Maybury was seven years older and 

already a successful film maker 

and artist. He was ready for a new 

relationship having just gone through 

a torturous break up with Bodymap’s 

David Holah. 

Although John had dabbled in drugs 

he was shocked at Trojan’s knowledge 

and use of them. When he first went 

round to his flat Maybury reported: 

“Trojan opened his magic box which 

was full of pills, silver foil, wraps and 

syringes. I had never seen so many 

drugs and within a few minutes 

Trojan was injecting heroin into my 

arm for the first time.” 

Leigh saw less of Trojan now, but 

became very concerned about his drug 

taking and used to invite him and 

John to stay at his flat so he could 

keep an eye on them. He kept Trojan’s 

room the same in the hope that one 

day he would return for good. 

John and Trojan had been going out 

for almost a year when I got a phone 

call from a frantic Leigh: “Will you 

phone the police for me, Lee Sheldrick 

has just called me to say that Trojan 

is dead and I can’t believe him.” 

Unfortunately the police confirmed 

that it was true. Trojan had been 

found dead of an accidental overdose 

on the floor of John’s flat, a meat pie 

was still cooking in the oven. He was 

just 20. 

Trojan’s death caused ripples of shock 

throughout the London club scene. 

It was dreadful to lose someone so 

talented, so beautiful, so special, but 

Trojan wouldn’t have been surprised 

himself, as he always said he would die 

young. 

Trojan I miss you, but I’m sure that you 

will be whizzing around somewhere 

with all the people we knew who died 

before their time, enjoying themselves 

to the max. 

Trojan, Works on Paper 

ICA 

9 October - 18 November 

www.ica.org.uk 

IMAGES COURTESY OF THE ICA AND JOHN MAYBURY 


The place that the 

menswear label 

Bodybound calls home, 

a bohemian haven of 

peace just around the 

corner from the buzzing 

West End, is the sort of 

setting that you’d expect 

extraordinary things to 

happen. The spacious 

lounge I’m asked to make 

myself comfortable in is 

filled with a mix of artistic 

prints, framed newspaper 

articles, oh-so-comfy 

seating furniture and 

flowers. Lots of flowers. 

“One of our housemates had a party,” 

Kim Choong-Wilkins, one of the two 

creative minds behind Bodybound tells 

me by way of explanation, gesturing 

towards the flowers. “We’re not those 

guys who are like ‘Oh, we love flowers,’ 

and need to have them everywhere.” 

As I try to imagine what a party at 

this place looks like (and how to get 

an invitation) my eyes are drawn to a 

knitted shoulder piece in the corner 

that I’d quite happily kill for. “It was 

meant to be in my graduate show,” 

adds Choong-Wilkins, “but somehow 

it didn’t work.” 

After completing his BA at Central 

Saint Martins in 2005, Choong-Wilkins 

worked for Alexander McQueen, 

before enrolling for an MA course 

in menswear at the Royal College of 

Art. The aforementioned graduate 

collection he presented in 2009 would 

later lend its name, Bodybound, to the 

brand. His partner, Pliny Champion, 

made the jump from environmental 

science to fashion by starting off in 

photography and later teaming up 

with Choong-Wilkins. 

“I worked as a designer for other 

people for quite a long time. After that 

there were all these opportunities to 

basically start my own label,” explains 

Choong-Wilkins. 

“It just so happened that an 

opportunity to reshow my graduate 

collection came about. We took that 

chance and made other pieces that 

complimented it. It evolved from 

there.” 

The pair have a strong philosophy: 

they won’t allow fads or temporary 

trends to distort their message. 

BODYBOUND 

BY ARNDT STOBBA 

“There are definitely ideas that we 

want to keep developing and there 

are also those that we will keep going 

back to. We like to tell a different story 

every season, but ultimately it comes 

back to what we like to do,” explains 

Champion. 

The name Bodybound refers to the 

idea that we’re all subject to universal 

laws that we’re forced to obey, gravity 

in particular, which always keeps us 

on the ground. 

“Gravity is a great sort of leveller, 

everyone has to obey gravity. I quite 

like the idea that we have these 

amazing aspirations, but also there is 

the reality of it to contend with,” says 

Choong-Wilkins. 

“We’re all earthly-bound and in terms 

of how we design the collection we will 

always reference the body in some 

way. We have two arms and two legs. 

We are all generally bound by these 

proportions. It’s very interesting to 

try and evolve from that position 

and whenever we get lost in these 

conceptualised ideas and make these 

crazy things somehow it always has to 

come back to the body. 

“I think it’s also very important to 

us that we do fashion, we don’t do 

theatre. What we make, however 

dramatic it is, remains in the context 

of fashion. Reality is our strength; we 

could go to fantastical extremes, but 

actually the skill of the designer is to 

make something that exists in reality, 

something that is plausible.” 

Bodybound like to stick to reality in 

their lives as well as in their designs. 

Walking down red carpets, selling 

their personalities and becoming 

bigger than their work is not an option 

for the pair. They simply want to be 

recognised for their work and what 

they express through the garments. 

“I think it’s also why we chose a 

constructed name, not the names of 

two people. The most important thing 

for us is that we’re not important,” 

insists Choong-Wilkins. “The 

collection is what it’s about. Our 

message is in our work, the cleverness 

is in our work, not in our minds, or in 

what we say or what we do or what we 

look like.” 

The young designers prefer not to 

place their creations on celebrities 

simply to gain popularity and want to 

avoid their work becoming associated 

with a certain face or lifestyle. 

“We want people to fall in love with the 

collection. We don’t want you to wear 

it unless you really love it, because 

we love it,” adds Choong-Wilkins. 

“The collection is the strongest thing, 

it’s our message and we want it to 

speak to people without any other 

preconceptions.” 

Each Bodybound collection is the 

result of an impressive amount 

of work, not just in terms of 

construction, but also research. 

Every season Choong-Wilkins and 

Champion hunt for inspiration, ideas 

and knowledge. Champion cites radio 

as a major inspiration, particularly 

documentaries and factual stories, 

but also visits to museums. 

“Thinking is the most important 

thing for our brand. We make 

something that’s very visual, that’s 

very real, but it’s always born very 

much in thought or in feeling. A lot of 

what we start with could often have 

come from a phrase or from a piece 

of music or literature, but the next 

stage, arguably the most important 

stage, is the research and we do a 

hell of a lot of research. It’s more 

often than not visual. We paste a 

thousand images all over the walls 

of our studio, from ceiling to floor. 

Then comes the editing process, 

followed by construction.” 

The creative duo is now 

planning to expand their 

accessory range and to further 

explore their own ideas and 

visions in menswear. The two 

designers try to bring across 

a clear and valuable message, 

yet welcome everyone who will 

add their own personality to the 

brand’s appearance by wearing 

the pieces. After all, if everyone 

would wear Bodybound and 

wear it in the same way, it would 

very much defeat the creations’ 

purposes. 

“We’re interested in social 

commentary, the social alternative, 

I suppose,” muses Choong-Wilkins. 

So, for example, the last collection is 

called Dystopia and we were looking 

at Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, 

Tron and John Wyndham. We’re really 

interested in the idea of mediocrity 

being the most pernicious thing that 

outlasts any other human vice in our 

future. In fact, mediocrity is the great 

vice of human civilisation.” 

www.bodybound.net 

PHOTOGRAPHY: JOSEPH SINCLAIR 

STYLING: CALLUM VINCENT 

MODELS: HARRY @ ELITE AND LIAM @ MODELS 1 

CLOTHES:BODYBOUND 


UNTIL FOREVER COMES 

PHOTOGRAPHY: CECILIE HARRIS 

STYLING: KRISTINE KILTY 

GROOMING: ELIZABETH RITA 

SPONSORED BY DERMALOGICA SKINCARE AND MAC MAKE UP 

FASHION ASSISTANT: ARNDT STOBBA 

PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT: DIANA CHIRE 

MODELS: MAX WALLIS (MODELS1) & OMAR (STRIKE) 

WITH SPECIAL THANKS TO JELENA CURCIC AT FLYING FISH THEATRIKS 

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LEE PATON: THE ANIMAL INSIDE 

Breathing life from the darkly named 

‘House of Black’, a fashion design space 

come-production studio-come taxidermy 

classroom is the artistic hub from 

which you’ll find Lee Paton creating his 

strikingly luxurious Victorian inspired yet 

modern fashion collections. 

Fashion and taxidermy may be an unexpected combination, 

but it’s one that Lee has woven together to produce 

something that has a quintessentially English look and feel 

about it. Using locally sourced materials and components 

wherever possible and produced with the help of local 

talent, the result is a harmonious mixture of styles, textures 

and colours - a look that is sought after by celebrity clients 

including Patrick Wolf, Gwyneth Paltrow and Paloma 

Faith. Lady Gaga has also joined the waiting list to wear a 

Lee Paton bespoke creation and has her eyes firmly fixed on 

a pair of embelished heels which Lee Lagerfeld is wearing 

in the images to your right. 

Born in Portsmouth, Lee Paton grew up in the sleepy 

Lake District where he attended a small local school. 

Making the bold move to London to pursue a course in 

criminology & forensics he soon changed path upon 

receiving a place at the prestigious London College of 

Fashion. Here his love of Victorian design and a strong 

family heritage brand identity led to an extension of his 

graduate collection which caught the attention of the 

fashion scene and was sponsored by Henrick’s Gin. Lee was 

also fortunate to receive further bespoke training on Savile 

Row with one of the last hunting wear tailors in the world. 


BY BARRY JOHNSTON 


MODELS: LEE LAGERFELD AND SIMON WEBB 

It was during this period that Lee’s interest in the specialised 

field of Taxidermy developed. He was professionally trained 

in the handywork in a 14th century castle in Scotland, 

which led to the birth of the London Taxidermy Academy 

for which he now also teaches. 

Lee made waves in the creative industry which led to 

collaborations with the likes of Pinups Magazine for 

which a special limited edition hardback was created in his 

honour; Hendricks Gin for a cheeky cocktail called Paton’s 

Punch, as well as the design of the their bartenders’ outfits. 

He went on to create five limited edition covers for the 

striking bottles of Crystal Head Vodka and a fashion-meetstaxidermy 

centrepiece which was hung behind the bar at 

Hix’s exquisite Tramshed, alongside Damien Hirst’s ‘Cock 

and Bull’. 

As Lee and his team settle into their gorgeous new multifunctional 

studio they continue to build and define the brand 

name and increase their online presence. He is currently 

creating a predominantly women’s wear collection, a 

smaller tailored capsular collection for the male market, 

more bespoke designs and accessible mens accessory pieces. 

The day after I met with Lee he was filming a segment 

on taxidermy with an Austrialian TV channel, bizarrely 

for a breakfast TV show. This young designer is certainly 

garnering interest from all corners and keeping himself 

very busy.

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WHITAKER MALEM: THE LEATHER BOYS 

Designers Patrick ‘Paddy’ 

Whitaker and Keir Malem 

have produced imaginative 

and beautifully hand 

crafted leather creations 

in the areas of Fashion, 

Art and Costume for over 

twenty five years, but have 

largely remained a highly 

regarded secret. 

The couple have been together since 

Paddy’s final year at St Martin’s School 

of Art in 1987. They live and work in 

a studio tucked away in De Beauvoir, 

a quiet leafy enclave in East London. 

We sit in their colourful Pop Art filled 

lounge on a white u-shaped 1970s 

leather sofa, eating Keir’s home-made 

flapjacks and sipping Paddy’s homefizzed 

sodastream spritzers. They are 

creative in both their professional and 

domestic lives. 

I ask why they chose to work 

predominantly with leather. Paddy, 

characteristically, is the first to reply. 

“I studied footwear design in my early 

years at college and learnt how to work 

with cow hide and various leathers. 

We like its sexiness, versatility and 


miraculous sculptural quality.” 

Keir, who has sat quietly by Paddy’s 

side contemplatively adds: “Although 

it is a bi-product, it’s still the skin of 

a creature, and we feel strongly that it 

should be treated preciously and used 

in a highly valued way.” 

Whitaker Malem’s designs are unique, 

idiosyncratic and timeless, but were 

not always well received when first 

seen. “In the beginning our work 

was deemed to be deeply un-hip, out 

of synch with the late 80s fashion 

world of street led, oversized tailoring, 

printed jersey fabrics and crumpled 

linens,” recalls Paddy. “Our designs, 

were the polar opposite: sculptural, 

fitted and futuristic. Artistically my 

first influence was Barbarella, so 

not only did our work have a then 

unfashionable cinematic sci-fi style, 

but we were the only British designers 

producing individual pieces, as 

opposed to wholesale ranges. We were 

seen as the outsider odd couple.” 

They produced seasonal collections 

for 10 years, selling in a few selected 

stores, but when their distinctive 

sculptural pieces began to appear 

in magazines they started to gain 

a strong interest among other 

creatives. For instance, when a gold 

leaf moulded leather bustier was 

famously photographed for Vogue by 

Herb Ritts, it brought them to the 

attention of young rising fashion star, 

Alexander McQueen. Having just been 

appointed chief designer at Givenchy, 

he approached them to produce two 

catwalk pieces for his début couture 

show. 

Keir fondly remembers the experience. 

“McQueen was fascinating. He was 

sweet, not long out of college and very 

trusting. We suggested some ideas, he 

made some modifications, we created 

the pieces and presented them to 

him the day before the show. It was 

very straightforward. He loved our 

work and we found him delightful.” 

The show was a tremendous success 

with their gold piece famously 

photographed on Naomi Campbell by 

Pierre and Giles. This adulation led 

to on-going collaborations with other 

fashion designers including Hussain 

Chalayan and Giles Deacon. 

Another press piece was spotted by 

Oscar winning film designer Lindy 

Hemming while working on the Bond 

movie Die Another Day. She asked the 

duo if they’d create a knife belt to be 

worn by Halle Berry as she emerges 

from the ocean and a fencing 

47 BEIGE

Beige are delighted and 

privileged to have Whitaker 

Malem design and produce specific 

clothing for WARRIORS, their 

art directed collaboration with 

photographer Gozra Lozano. 

MODELS 

LUANA LEAO (PREMIER) 

REGGIE RAYNER 

ORESTIS PAPAPETROU 

MATTEO BROWN 

MAKE UP AND HAIR 

BOE WRIGHT 

BODY PAINTING 

DOMINIC C SKINNER 

ASSISTANT 

VICTORIA DIVINE

costume for a cameo performance by 

Madonna. It was a treat, especially 

for Paddy, a life-long James Bond fan. 

“We recently saw our pieces displayed 

at the Barbican’s excellent Designing 

Bond exhibition. It was an honour 

as the film was very important for 

us. Madonna was great to work with, 

humorous and good fun. We had a few 

costume fittings with her and hung 

out together on set. She nicknamed us 

‘ flick and flack’.” 

The success of the film combined 

with overwhelming press attention 

for their pieces propelled the duo into 

a new career as specialist costume 

developers. They worked on fantasy 

epics such as Ereagon, Troy and Aeon 

Flux, before taking on the mammoth 

task of developing one of the most 

iconic costumes in recent cinema 

history, Batman’s suit for The Dark 

Knight. 

Paddy describes how intense the film 

work can be. “The ‘Bat-suit’ took over 

eight months to develop. We produced 

24 of them, working extensively with 

designer Lindy Hemming, director 

Chris Nolan and actor Christian Bale. 

It was extremely technical. Every 

stitch was examined and discussed. 

As we’re known for being able to 

produce designs which closely follow 

the contours of the body we were 

enlisted to create a costume that 

fitted perfectly and functioned fully 

during the film’s many elaborate 

stunt scenes. Our skills were required 

once again for the recent development 

of Captain America’s suit which we 

made for Marvel studios. This career 

has been a complete contrast to our 

fashion show work.” 

I ask Keir how different these areas 

are to work in. “Movie costumes are 

products of a long design development 

process with a team, produced to 

withstand being worn on set for 10 

hours a day. Catwalk pieces are the 

opposite. They’re created in a very 

short, intense period to one designer’s 

vision and shown for 10 minutes. So 

‘of the moment’ they can almost be 

disposable.” 

For many years the pair also 

collaborated with visual artists. 

“Keir and I are lucky to have a close 

personal working relationship with 

the legendary pop artist Allen Jones. 

We restored his valuable iconic female 

furniture sculptures and developed 

new pieces. He pays incredible 

attention to detail in both concept 

and finish, ultimately aiming to create 

artwork which will last beyond our 


PHOTOGRAPHY: WHITAKER MALEM 

lifetimes. We also have the pleasure 

of working with artist Andrew Logan, 

co-creating his Alternative Miss 

World host/hostess outfits alongside 

Zandra Rhodes. This is great fun as it 

combines all three areas of our work: 

Art, Fashion and Costume.” 

The couple have just finished creating 

futuristic and primitive pieces with 

friend and champion designer Kym 

Barrett for the forthcoming movie 

Cloud Atlas. This epic production sees 

them reunited with the creators of The 

Matrix Trilogy, siblings Andy and Lana 

Wachowski. “We love working with 

them and admire their work, especially 

their movie, V for Vendetta,” Paddy 

enthuses. “They’re true visionary 

mavericks; unbelievably imaginative, 

original, supportive, democratic and 

open to creative suggestions and, 

like many of our other friends and 

collaborators, are genuine outsiders. 

Lana was actually born Larry, and is 

Transgender. She is the most fabulous 

person - brave, sweet and vibrant. We 

both absolutely adore her.” 

Paddy and Keir are defiant outsiders. 

They maintain a strong independence, 

choosing to work in a variety of creative 

fields. Determined individuality can 

often be the outcome of bullying. 

Both experienced this at school, as 

did many gay men of their generation, 

including Marc Almond, who recently 

told me: “To the bullied, success is the 

greatest form of revenge.” If that’s 

true then Whitaker Malem’s resilient, 

hard-working integrity in both their 

professional and personal lives is a 

triumphant example. I wonder if the 

vile homophobic bullies who tried to 

ruin their formative years are now the 

same middle-aged men who excitedly 

take their kids to see The Dark Knight 

and Captain America. 

www.whitakermalem.co.uk 

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JAY BARRY MATTHEWS: CAUGHT ON CAMERA 


Jay Barry Matthews is a conceptual artist 

living and working in London. 

He was educated in Contemporary Art/ 

Critical Theory, Fashion and Textiles 

and has worked extensively across all 

of these disciplines with the addition of 

costume and print. He’s had numerous 

solo exhibitions across Europe and in 

his native Australia as well as designing 

costumes for major films, theatrical 

works and concert tours. 

Alex Hopkins: How did your career start? 

Jay Barry Mathews: Pursuing a creative career has 

always been my goal in life. I’ve never wanted to do 

anything else. I guess the only thing I want to do is 

everything: photography, costume, fashion, illustration, 

painting, sculpture, music and more. I try to do as much as 

I can, but people really want you to specialise. I say bring 

back the Renaissance man. 

It’s been, and continues to be, hard work and sacrifice that 

gets me anywhere. I’ve been lucky enough to have the 

support from some of my friends including Isaac Lummis, 

Marcus Keating, Micka Agosta and Kerry West who are all 

brilliant designers and artists. All the best jobs I’ve ever 

had have come through my friends, but sometimes it’s just 

their faith in me that gets me to do my best. 

AH: How do you use yourself to explore themes and other 

people in your work? 

JBM: I started using myself in my work because I was 

always too shy to ask anyone else. It’s an element that I 

constantly struggle with because ego is a negative concept 

in my family and Australia where I am from. I admire so 

many self-portrait or self-reflexive artists, but have never 

felt comfortable with this for myself. I guess when it comes 

down to it no matter what you make it comes from you, so 

it’s your opinion, ego and impression anyway so best I get 

over it. 

AH: Would you describe your work as being “political”? If 

so, how? 

JBM: Everything you do is political from what you eat each 

day to where you live, how you spend your money, what 

you say, who you love, what you create and what you wear, 

even if it’s from a big chain store. Every choice you make 

has an impact on the world and is a political statement. 

I try to be aware of my choices and their impact on the 

world. My work is very political and I use it to communicate 

my opinions and questions about the state of the world, 

culture, human relations, economics etc. If I choose to be 

blind to those things I am still contributing to the world, 

so why not make informed choices and make a difference? 

I make things to communicate with the world not just to fill 

it with more shit. 


AH: What process do you work through when designing a 

costume? 

JBM: My favorite way to work is to just start making 

things; no drawing, no pattern, just straight in there. I’m 

really directed by my materials and that’s why I’m still a 

maker and not just a designer. It’s the physicality that gets 

me excited. I have ideas all day long so to see them come to 

fruition through craftwork is very satisfying. Of course I 

can’t work like that all the time because people want to see 

drawings and references, but I’m lucky to get a free rein 

sometimes. 

AH: You have worked on a large number of music videos. 

What are the unique things about working in this medium? 

JBM: I think the thing that stands out the most about 

music videos is the speed - you have to work really fast. You 

design, source and make everything in no time, then smash 

it all together and style the shit out of it! They never give 

you much time. I don’t understand why. I mean they know 

the song is coming! 

AH: You co-curated the Solo exhibition in November 2011 

in Berlin. What was this like? 

JBM: It was hard core! I was invited to do a solo exhibition 

of my work at an artist run space in Berlin by a fantastic 

artist/curator called Zoe Keogh. My art practice at the time 

was very self-reflexive, so I wanted to open up the idea. I 

invited 10 other artists to respond to my work or use me 

somehow. It’s a series of exhibitions I plan to do based on 

individuals I find who are willing to submit to the process. 

It’s really quite daunting having people invade your life like 

that and put it on display. 

AH: You have worked on some prominent films including 

designing and making masks for Batman. How do you 

ensure your creations work with and enhance a particular 

character’s identity? 

JBM: With film it’s always a balance between many 

people’s ideas and opinions on how a character should be, 

so it’s all about human relations. I love the collaborative 

process and am not scared to alter my ideas and incorporate 

others with them. If I want to be in total control I make 

things for my own collections. 

AH: What is coming up next for you? 

JBM: I am working on a beautiful macramé piece for 

Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty, which comes out this 

December. I love the costume designer and the company, so 

it’s a pleasure to be working with them again. 

Then I have so many of my own ideas bursting out of 

my head. I have to give them some attention before they 

consume me! I have some fantastic materials lying around 

that are dying to be made into exciting new artworks and 

costumes. I can’t wait to get started but first, I’m off to the 

beach in Sardinia! Ciao. 

www.jaybarrymatthews.com 

PHOTOGRAPHY: JAY BARRY MATTHEWS MODEL: ANDREA CARRUCCIU 

JAY BARRY MATTHEWS

PHOTOGRAPHY: ADRIAN LOURIE ASSISTANT; FANNAR SVEINN GUDMUNDSSON 

STEVIE BOI:FEARLESS 

You may not yet recognise 

the name or the face, but 

you’re going to be hearing 

a lot more from Stevie Boi. 

This young American is the 

designer behind some of 

the most striking head and 

eyewear pieces currently 

making the rounds in the 

music industry and gracing 

fashion runways around 

the world. 

Born in Georgia, Steven Strawder 

moved around a lot as a child meaning 

that he was exposed to a wide range of 

cultures. After a brief stint of studying 

Criminal Justice and working for 

the government he ditched his 9 to 

5 treadmill to follow his passions of 

music and fashion and pursue a career 

in the creative industry. He tried his 

hand at modelling, but soon realised 

that he preferred to be behind the 

camera, creating the looks and art 

directing the shoots himself. In 2007 

he designed his first clothing line, 

Toxic, and it was around the same 

time that his focus was drawn to 

accessories, eyewear in particular. 

After honing his artistic skills he first 

grabbed the attention of the media in 

2009 when America’s Next Top Model 

Cycle 3 winner, Eva Marcille, was 

spotted wearing his fabricated glasses 

(fabricated in the sense that the lenses 

were covered in fabric). In the three 

short years that have followed Boi has 

established the SBshades brand and 

garnered enthusiastic endorsement 

from some of the biggest names in 

the industry. No mean feat. Fabrics 

soon developed into studs, spikes and 

practically anything else you could 

possibly imagine being used in his 

insane creations. When Lady Gaga, 

Britney or Rihanna need the perfect 

headpiece or shades for a new music 

video or tour it’s Boi they turn to. 

Boi now lives in Baltimore where he 

grafts away on his signature pieces as 

he conjures up exciting new designs. 

He’s released an incredible 13 

collections in just three years. After 

spending an afternoon with Boi while 

shooting him for Beige it was clear 


that this 23 year old means business. 

Immaculately presented and perfectly 

poised, he arrived dressed all in 

black and sporting a pair of his latest 

oversized yet minimal shades. Midway 

through the shoot we sat down over 

chinese noodles to find out more about 

what makes him tick… 

When asked where he draws 

inspiration from when designing a 

new collection, Boi confessed that 

there are many situations and objects 

that inspire him. The design process 

is primarily freestyle and although he 

designs specifically for certain clients, 

most of the collection is formed on 

the basis of what is cutting edge and 

exciting at that point in time. 

He enjoys nothing more than sitting 

in his studio with a large glass of wine 

and thrashing out ideas until they 

work. Each piece is then lovingly hand 

made. He recalls how his mother came 

back from a work-related trip to Iran 

with various bits and pieces she picked 

up along the way. The treasure box 

she presented him with contained the 

perfect elements to adorn his designs 

and proved that inspiration can come 

from a variety of often unexpected 

sources. It was a memory that would 

stick with him as he went on to use art 

to break all boundaries. 

Choosing to live in Baltimore instead 

of fashion capital New York City is a 

conscious decision for Stevie. While 

he can see the benefits of being in the 

thick of things he finds the pace of life 

and ability to work to his own routine 

much healthier than being drawn into 

the bright lights of the Big Apple. He’s 

an avid social media user and with his 

brand having a strong online presence 

he could really work from anywhere in 

the world. As we chat he tweets away, 

keeping in touch with his followers 

as he updates them on what he’s up 

to and, most importantly in this ever 

changing industry, keeps his finger 

firmly on the pulse. 

Stevie Boi has already made his mark 

on the fashion community and with 

a new collection, 54, being launched 

during September’s New York Fashion 

week it’s clear that this is one young 

designer to watch. 

www.stevieboi.com 


PHOTOGRAPHY: KIM MNGUNI 


TEL AVIV 


Perched on the sun drenched Israeli 

Mediterranean coastline in central-west 

Israel, Tel Aviv Jaffa is the largest city of 

the Tel Aviv Metropolitan area and the 

second most populated city of Israel. 

Derived from the Hebrew words Aviv for ‘spring’, 

symbolising renewal, and Tel which is a man-made mound 

accumulating layers of civilisation, this is a very fitting title 

for a city that was founded by the Jewish as a new garden 

city and built out of the sand dunes on the outskirts of the 

ancient port city of Jaffa roughly 100 years ago. The growth 

of this new city quickly outgrew that of Jaffa and this led 

to the merging of the two into a single city identity in 1950. 

A majestic clock tower stands proudly at the entrance to 

Jaffa, with the nearby Great Mosque flanked by a quaint flea 

market selling a variety of bric-a-brac. The authentic Arab 

food stands fill the air with a heavenly mix of local cuisine 

and the picturesque old harbour is a stone’s throw away via 

the old cobbled lanes. A suspended Jaffa orange tree pays 

tribute to the locally grown produce - it’s from here that it 

was first produced and exported. The city of Jaffa was first 

mentioned in letters dating back to 1470BC and theories 

vary as to the origin of its name - Jafo in Hebrew. Some 

believe it stems from yafah or yofi, Hebrew for ‘beautiful’ 

or ‘beauty’. Tradition suggests that Japheth, son of Noah, 

founded the city. Jaffa’s ruling hand has changed countless 

times since then, further strengthening its tie to the ‘Tel’ 

in Tel Aviv. As the Jews fled Europe during World War two, 

many settled in Tel Aviv, bringing with them many German 

Jewish architects who had trained at the prestigious 

Bauhaus Modernist School of Architecture. 

This Bauhaus style of architectural design had a huge 

influence over the style of building as Tel Aviv began to 

swell under the influx of its new residents. At its peak 

the city had over 4000 buildings of Bauhaus design, the 

highest concentration of buildings of this type in the world, 

resulting in it being named the White City and listed as a 

World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1996 for its treasure of 

modern architecture. Sadly, many of the stunning structures 

from this period fell into neglect, almost to the point 

of ruin, but fortunately, as can be witnessed today those 

remaining are either in the process of being restored or are 

demarcated for preservation. The Bauhaus Museum was 

opened in 2008 and is a shining tribute to this architectural 

phenomenon. A stroll along the Rothschild Boulevard, one 

of the most beautiful in the city, offers a great vantage point 

to admire the local building designs and conveniently also 

offers access to most of the neighbourhood’s gay scene. One 

of the things that struck me the most was the harmonious 

marrying of the old with the new - old dilapidated buildings 

neighbour new builds and somehow manage to look planned 

that way. 

An abundance of street art adorns the walls throughout 

this enchanting city - some of the best I have ever seen, it 

enhances both the habited and uninhabited buildings which 

it decorates. Guided tours of the street art scene are even 

available and had I the time on this visit I would definitely 

have been the first in line. 

Tel Aviv enjoys a Mediterranean climate, boasting more 

than 300 days of sunshine a year and with summer 

temperatures that have reached a recorded high of 46.5`C 

or 115`F, it’s no wonder that it’s hot on the radar of beach 

holiday destinations. The miles of glistening golden sands 

hug the inviting Mediterranean waters, further adding to 


the draw of this number one LGBT destination of 2012 and 

the gay capital of the Middle East - a city which encourages 

people to love and feel and express themselves freely 

without the need to justify themselves or fear intimidation. 

It’s also a city where same sex marriage is recognised and 

where the annual Gay Pride parade is ranked amongst the 

top in the world and draws crowds in excess of 100 000 

revellers who descend upon the city to enjoy its hedonistic, 

open mindedness and liberal way of life. Pride 2013 is due 

to take place 7 June 2013. 

Hilton Beach wears the crown of the gay beach where 

swimsuits are the order of the day and there is no shortage of 

bronzed bodies. A white washed beach bar and restaurant is 

mere steps away and DJs drop the beats right on the beach, 

working the sun worshipers up into a frenzy for the night 

life waiting in store for later in the evening. Tel Aviv has 

a diverse and vibrant bar and club scene with a multitude 

of choices on offer to cater for all tastes and persuasions. 

From rooftop bars and pop-up penthouse clubs for the 

‘see and be seen’ trendy crowd, to smokey crowded bear 

bars like Beef and the longstanding camp-tastic Evita Bar, 

where Eurovision and drag reign supreme, or Sexy Shop, a 

sex shop cum cruisy dark room, there really is no shortage 

of options for a wild night out. Attracting top international 

DJs and live music acts the Tel Avivian scene is a force to be 

reckoned with. Telavivgayvibe.atraf.com is a one stop shop 

for info on what’s hot and happening in this city that never 

sleeps. 

Presenting a smorgasbord of culture and creativity, there 

is a vibe about this city that as a first time visitor may take 

you by surprise, but explains why many visitors choose this 

destination time and time again. A culinary superpower, the 

authentic local cuisines are mouth-watering and regional 

staples like humus, labane, shishkabab, tahina, pita and 

falafel are a must try and are best enjoyed from a hidden yet 

welcoming local cafe, some of which are so discreet that if 

you blink you may miss them. The ever increasing mixture 

of different traits of Mediterranean cuisines provide the 

opportunity to find something that suits all tastes and 

budgets. Hacarmel Market is a sensory overload with 

sights, smells and sounds pouring from the market traders 

who beckon passers-by with spices, incenses, savoury and 

sweet baked goods, exotic fruits, vegetables and local sweets 

and chocolates galore. The adjoining Nachalat Benjamin 

comes to life on a Tuesday and Friday, with a festival of 

arts and crafts and quirky street performers - look out for 

the fisherman fishing into a manhole cover and the fairy 

perched on a giant toadstool, bizarre! With its cosmopolitan 

café culture it’s easy to pick one of the countless coffee 

shops which line the streets and enjoy a refreshing iced 

coffee while you watch the world pass by. Be sure to head 

over to Shenkin Street, Tel Aviv’s answer to any of the rest 

of the world’s gay orientated streets. 

If the non-stop revelry has left you in need of some 

cultural enlightenment, then look no further than the 

country’s three largest museums. Among these are the 

highly recommended Tel Aviv Museum of Art, a definite 

for any lover of art of any medium or period (the design of 

the museum is spectacular); The Eretz Israel Museum is 

well known for its vast collection of Israeli archeology and 

historical exhibits; The Suzanne Dallal Center for modern 

and classical art is home to the world renowned BatSheva 

Dance Company, as is the Tel Aviv Performing Arts Centre, 

home to the Israeli Opera, where Placido Domingo was 

once house tenor. The Tel Aviv Cinematheque screens art 

house movies and premieres along with Israeli films. It 

plays host to a variety of film festivals 

throughout the year, including TLV 

Fest, the annual LGBT Film Festival 

(due to take place again 8-15 June 

2013). 

Well connected by a comprehensive 

public transport network, the historic 

city of Jerusalem is just one hour 

away. Make it your priority to visit the 

King David hotel. A coffee (or drink) in 

the lounge or out on the deck may be 

well deserved before you explore the 

hidden treasures of one of the oldest 

cities it the world. Entering into the 

Old City through one of the various 

Gates, the maze of passages intertwine 

as the four quarters each present 

their own cultural characteristics and 

influences. The Western Wall is a sight 

to behold. 

The unique healing and relaxing 

powers of the Dead Sea, the lowest 

place on earth, are only a further half 

hour past Jerusalem, with various 

tours available to the many resorts 

and its coastline. The experience 

of floating in the salt and nutrient 

rich waters, or pasting yourself in 

the mineral rich mud found on the 

sea bed is a truly unforgettable 

and revitalising experience. The 

surrounding landscape looks Martian 

as it engulfs the huge expanse of water 

as Jordan lays watching from the 

other side. 

Tel Aviv is without a doubt one of 

those destinations which you could 

visit time and time again. With so 

many facets to its composition and 

fantastic travel opportunities right on 

the doorstep, the options in the ‘Old 

New Land’ are endless. 

For further information on Israel, 

please visit www.thinkisrael.com or 

Tel: 0207 299 1100. 

El Al offer flights from London Luton 

to Tel Aviv from £399.00 per person 

or from London Heathrow to Tel Aviv 

from £426.00 per person. To book tel: 

0207 121 1400 visit www.elal.uk or 

contact your local travel agent. Allow 

for extra time at check-in as security 

is stringent. 

telavivgayvibe.atraf.com 


VACACIÓN 

VALENCIA 


Port cities have a certain vibe about 

them. Whether it’s the rich history that 

comes with war and the buzz of trade, or 

the idea of lusty sailors lurking in dark 

alley ways, there’s something rather illicit 

and enticing about stepping behind those 

ancient city walls. The sun-drenched 

Mediterranean city of Valencia is no 

exception as Alex Hopkins finds out. 

Founded as a Roman colony in 138BC and celebrated for its 

subtropical climate, eclectic architecture and lush orange 

trees, Valencia only started to become a tourist destination 

in the 1990s and even now its narrow, twisting streets are 

blissfully free from the hordes of visitors who descend upon 

the more popular Madrid and Barcelona every summer. 

Despite being Spain’s third-largest city, it has a more 

intimate, laid-back feel than its famous neighbours and 

offers a relaxing, yet far from dull alternative to these 24 

hour party cities - both of which are easily accessible via 

journeys on high-speed train through Spain’s sprawling, 

rustic countryside. 

The city’s chequered past is evident in the diverse buildings 

that line the cobbled, medieval streets and elegant plazas of 

the Old City, which is just a 20 minute drive from Valencia 

Mamises Airport. Barrio del Carmen forms the oldest part 

of the city and is home to a rich array of museums, galleries, 

stylish boutiques and the late fifteen century Lonja de la 

Seda (the silk exchange), with its exuberant gargoyles 

of women of ill-repute bearing their oversized assets. 

It’s the perfect place to stroll through labyrinthine streets 

and soak up the bohemian, trendy vibe before stopping at 

one of the many cafés which serve the cloudy-milky drink 

Horchata (made form Tigernuts, water and sugar), which 

was originated in Valenica. 

The city’s centre point is the Turia Riverbed Gardens. This 

nine kilometre stretch of green belt really encapsulates 

the cosy charm of Valencia and was created in 1975 after 

a major flood. City developers initially considered turning 

the derelict land into a freeway, but fortunately plumped 

for this beautiful, landscaped open space, which is always 

brimming with people and a variety of colourful festivals. 

It’s now home to a vibrant mixture of culture, leisure and 

nature and offers the ideal spot to unwind and people 

watch. Unsurprisingly, like many city parks at night, it’s 

also a popular backdrop for furtive assignations. 

The jewel in the crown of the park is the City of Arts and 

Sciences. Designed by Santiago Calatrava, this vast, white 

and chrome complex is home to an IMAX cinema, opera 

house and science museum and provides a startlingly 

futuristic antidote to the Old City’s intoxicating Moorish 

architecture. Surrounded by glistening pools of water, it 

was inaugurated in 1998 and cost an estimated 1.3 billion 

Euros. As you take in its seductive curves from the terrace 

of the bar outside El Museu de les Ciencies Principe Felipe, 

you’re likely to understand why Spain is on the brink of 

bankruptcy, but gazing at this building’s cool beauty could 

be forgiven for thinking it was all worth it. 


Valencia’s gay scene is smaller than both Barcelona and 

Madrid, but is growing quickly. Most of the bars and clubs 

are located in El Carmen, where you’ll find venues that 

cater to every taste. Because Valencians tend to be more 

liberal in their attitude to homosexuality than in Barcelona 

and Madrid, you’ll also find many mixed venues in the 

area’s quaint, hidden streets. There’s a proliferation of 

rainbow stickers outside shops, cafés and bars and you can 

be sure of a warm reception where ever you end up. 

As with every major Spanish city, your nocturnal exploits 

don’t really get going until after midnight and it’s best to 

arrive at clubs at around 2am. There’s a wide variety of 

eateries serving every conceivable type of cuisine, but for 

traditional fare you can’t beat La Lola Restaurant. Tucked 

away on a narrow street off Plaza de la Reina, this is one 

of the most imaginative restaurants in the city, serving an 

eclectic menu of local Mediterranean dishes in modern, 

chic surroundings. Cap your evening off by watching one of 

their passionate flamenco displays as you brace yourself for 

the attractions yet to come. 

Just a short stroll away on Conde de Almodovar is one of 

Valencia’s most magical bars, Café de las Horas. Adorned 

with baroque ornaments and pictures, this mixed bar 

caters to everyone from business men to artists and is an 

awe-inspiring setting in which to sip an Agua de Valencia 

(a cocktail made from Cava, orange juice, vodka and gin). 

Charming owner, Marc, will happily entertain you with 

tales of all the city has to offer, while the beautiful bar staff 

top up your glasses with those generous Spanish measures. 

Deseo54 is the city’s biggest gay club and is located just 

beyond the Turia gardens. Spread over two floors, it’s 

open Thursday to Saturday from 1am and plays a mixture 

of music with regular concept parties. For dinner and 

cabaret choose the Dietrich show bar or for a younger, more 

alternative crowd wander down to Piccadilly, which offers 

electro and pop and rock amid a sumptuous backdrop of 

gilded mirrors and velvet drapes. 

A trip to the quiet, but idyllic village of Albufera, a 40 

minute bus ride from the city centre, is the perfect way to 

recover from the next day’s hangover. The area is home to a 

nature reserve which includes one of the largest freshwater 

lagoons in Spain. It’s also the birth place of Paella and there 

are some excellent restaurants in which to savour the dish 

before taking a soothing boat trip across the lake. Valencia’s 

gay beach, Playa de Pinedo, is just a short stroll away and is 

a popular cruising spot. 

With its mesmerising architecture, sun soaked beaches and 

vibrant, yet chilled gay scene it’s a wonder that Valencia 

has been one of Spain’s best kept secrets for so long. This is 

a city that effortlessly blends its diverse history and culture 

with fine dining, leisure and partying. It has everything 

the gay traveller needs and more, but its strength is 

that it packages this in a refreshingly welcoming and 

unpretentious way. Valencia truly is the city to watch. 

www.turisvalencia.es 

www.spain.info 


On stage there was no 

doubt that Sylvester James 

(1947-88), the queen of 

disco, was a star. 

In the late 1970s he often 

appeared in a glittery 

caftan with a gardenia in 

his hair, wearing lots of 

jewellery, singing gospelinfused 

disco, soul and 

blues in his 

falsetto voice. 

QUEENS IN HISTORY: SYLVESTER 

BY STEPHEN BROGAN 

His backing singers were the soprano 

Martha Walsh and the alto Izora 

Rhodes, also known as the Two Tons 

of Fun, who would go on to become 

The Weather Girls. These three black 

Americans were a vocal powerhouse 

and their shows were electrifying. 

When singing a fast song, Sylvester 

would disco-dance and shimmy, hitting 

all the high notes as the Two Tons let 

rip into a crescendo, the three of them 

having a riot on stage. 

After this frenzy would come a slower 

song that was so emotional it moved the 

singers and the audience to tears. This 

was showbiz of course, and it worked 

because, just like stars such as Bette 

Midler and Patti LaBelle, Sylvester 

made each song a performance, 

putting his life experiences into the 

delivery of the lyrics in a way that his 

audiences found irresistible. 

The secret to this communion was 

that Sylvester adhered to the old 

school values of stagecraft. He and the 

Two Tons worked hard, rehearsing 

endlessly to get each song just right. 

On the day of the show they would 

arrive at the venue during the 

‘You are a star that’s 

shining, so brightly 

… you are a star, 

everybody is one, you 

are a star, and you 

only happen once.’ 

afternoon for sound checks, after 

which they spent the rest of the day 

backstage, eating, singing, getting 

the feel of the place, smoking weed, 

finishing costumes and conserving 

energy. 

Friends were banned because no one 

was allowed to encroach on the singers 

before a performance in case they 

talked about their problems or other 

issues that might lessen the focus 

necessary for a highly energised show. 

This discipline, together with 

Sylvester’s charisma and his vocal 

and musical talents, helps to explain 

how he became a cult star during 

the 1970s, before crossing over to 

the wider world with his big hit, ‘You 

Make Me Feel Mighty Real’ of 1978. 

‘Do Ya Wanna Funk’ of 1982 was his 

other enormous success. No matter 

how often we hear these two songs 

they remain incredible, and yet there 

is far more to Sylvester than just this 

pair of sensational dance records. 

Sylvester’s whole life revolved around 

singing, music, dancing and dressing 

up, irrespective of whether or not he 

became famous. He was born into 

a poor family in Los Angeles whose 

social and cultural centre was the 

Pentecostal church. It was here that 

as a child Sylvester shone as a gospel 

singing star and a talented pianist. 

In addition to this, at home he 

became obsessed with blues and jazz, 

especially Billie Holiday. 

Despite his outstanding musical 

talents, the teenage Sylvester was 

ostracised from the church due to 

his flamboyant homosexuality. This 

reveals the hypocrisy of some of the 

men who attended the church because 

Sylvester had been having sex with 

them from the tender age of eleven. 

Unlike these men, Sylvester could 

not conceal his identity: physically he 

was androgynous; he made no secret 

of his homosexuality and his taste 

for women’s clothes, and he sang in 

a beautiful falsetto voice. No wonder 

Sylvester left his local community to 

live within the downtown Los Angeles’ 

drag scene before moving on again to 

San Francisco in 1970, attracted by 

both its hippy counterculture and its 

toleration of homosexuality. 

Sylvester soon became involved with 

the Cockettes, the San Francisco 

troupe of psychedelic, antiestablishment 

male and female drag 

queens. Fayette Hauser was a key 

member of the Cockettes as well 

as a costumier, photographer and 

party girl, and she lived with 

Sylvester in the early 1970s – can 

you imagine! She tells me it was 

heaven: Sylvester’s days were 

spent cooking soul food, singing 

and playing the piano, while at 

night they dressed up and partied. 

It was not all hedonism, however, 

because Sylvester was determined 

to succeed as a singer. He hooked up 

with pianist Peter Mintun: the two of 

them would get jobs at various piano 

bars, and the Billie Holiday obsessed 

Sylvester would arrive in drags as his 

favourite chanteuse and sing all her 

songs. 

To complete the fantasy Fayette 

and the Cockettes would all appear 

in 1930s drags as well, so that 

the audience complemented the 

performance. Sylvester soon began 

to open for the Cockette’s shows with 

his newly formed Sylvester and the 

Hot Band. Fayette remembers the 

band’s shows as being very polished 

in contrast to the Cockette’s raucous 

ones which she describes as being 

rather more ‘fluid’. 

Sylvester and the Hot Band recorded 

two greatly under-rated albums. 

Their first self-titled album from 

1973 (on which the Pointer Sisters 

sang backing vocals) was followed the 

next year by ‘Bazaar’. Both feature 

original songs and cover versions, 

the sound being an unprocessed mix 

of blues, soul, funk and rock, with 

some of the songs also having a whiff 

of the show tune. These albums were 

not critically acclaimed. The rock 

critic Robert Christgau, whose work 

is characterised by its superiority, 

was dismissive about them, saying 

that Bazaar’s ‘overall message is 

confused’. He could not be more 

wrong. Both albums are vital and 

life-affirming, not least because they 

represent the exhilarating downtown 

San Francisco scene. 

Neither album was meant to be 

slickly produced. It is their rawness 

that makes them compelling, while 

the songs tell us about Sylvester’s 

priorities, tastes and dreams. Hearing 

his versions of ‘Southern Man’, 

‘God Bless the Child’, and ‘She’ is a 

wonderful experience. 

Despite releasing two albums and 

touring clubs Sylvester lived hand-tomouth 

at this time. A proper deal with 

a record company eluded him as the 

music industry people were wary of his 

flamboyance. There were precedents 

for a feminine or outrageously dressed 

black man having a successful musical 

career, the most obvious ones being 

Little Richard and George Clinton; but 

these men said that their femininity 

was a way of attracting women, in 

contrast to Sylvester who could never 

be presented in this manner. 

Life was so hard that Sylvester 

considered quitting music to become 

either a hairdresser or a mortuary 

technician; but then thankfully in 


1977 he was at last signed by Fantasy 

Records as the executives realised that 

Sylvester had new potential now that 

the disco era had arrived. 

Disco originated as an underground 

dance movement in the early 1970s 

in clubs that were frequented 

predominantly by black people and 

homosexuals; by 1977 it was a huge 

overground sensation. Although 

Sylvester was initially ambivalent 

about disco, as Fayette Hauser recalls 

he was keen to have his finger on 

the pulse of new musical trends. 

He quickly converted to disco when 

he met the composer and producer 

extraordinaire Patrick Cowley (1950- 

82) and the Motown producer Harvey 

Fuqua (1929-2010). 

Things then changed quickly. Within 

two years Sylvester had become one 

of the biggest stars of disco, regularly 

touring Europe and America. Between 

1977 and his death in 1988 he released 

ten albums and had twenty singles in 

prominent places in the American 

Dance Chart. 

He is responsible for some of the finest 

disco, soul and gospel-influenced 

music of the era, much of written 

and produced by Cowley and Fuqua. 

Sylvester covered Ashford and 

Simpson’s ‘Over and Over’ in 1977, his 

funky rendition becoming the version 

of the song as the original recording 

artists were happy to acknowledge. 

But his big break came the next year 

with the pounding ‘Dance: Disco 

Heat’, a song that reached number 

one in the US Dance Chart. ‘You Make 

Me Feel Mighty Real’ was Sylvester’s 

first Cowley production and it topped 

the same chart the following year but 

stayed there longer, and it reached 

number eight in Britain. 

But then in 1979 disco suffered a 

major backlash in the form of the 

‘Disco Sucks’ campaign. This was 

engineered by the heterosexual white 

men of the music industry who were 

angry that they no longer dominated 

the charts, something that damaged 

their egos and their bank balances. 

They had been marginalised by disco, 

which was predominantly black and 

gay: nothing like a taste of your own 

medicine, eh? 

Although on the surface this 

campaign was successful and resulted 

in disco becoming unfashionable, in 

reality disco remained alive and vital, 

especially in the gay and black clubs, 

even if it was re-named ‘dance music’ 

by the record companies. 

This is proved by the fact that Sylvester 

continued to release very successful 

‘dance music’ and tour despite the 

anti-disco lobby. In 1979 he released 

‘I Who have Nothing’, ‘Body Strong’ 

and ‘Stars’ – some of the lyrics from 

which are to be found at the beginning 

of this essay. 

In 1980 he released ‘You Are My 

Friend’ and ‘I Need You’, while ‘Tell 

Me’ came out in 1982 along with his 

huge hit ‘Do Ya Wanna Funk’. If these 

songs are unknown to you, gentle 

reader, then I urge you to listen to 

them on You Tube because they are 

all unsurpassed. And while you’re at 

it, please listen to ‘I Need Somebody 

To Love Tonight’, from his fifth album 

‘Stars’ (1979), which in my humble 

opinion is the best disco record ever 

made! 

Moving into the mid-1980s, ‘Living 

For the City’ and ‘Someone Like You’ 

remind us that Sylvester continued 

to release beautiful, funky songs and 

to be commercially successful: both 

of these songs topped the American 

Dance Chart. 

Sylvester’s biographer Joshua Gamson 

suggests in his well researched book 

that the singer’s career had three 

stages: the early years on the San 

Francisco scene, the period of high 

fame during the disco years, and then 

the 1980s, when he was less illustrious 

and became once again a figure on the 

west coast scene. 

There is no doubt that Sylvester’s 

career had a high point during the late 

1970s but Gamson’s interpretation is 

too simplistic for two reasons. First, 

it does not do justice to Sylvester’s 

music from the 1980s. Secondly, 

Sylvester never left the San Francisco 

scene during the disco years – he lived 

in the city and its gay nightlife was 

his ‘home’. In this respect Sylvester 

was similar to Debbie Harry who 

still remained part of the downtown 

Manhattan scene when not touring 

with Blondie during the band’s hey 

day. 

As Sylvester’s core audience was 

composed largely of homosexuals and 

liberals, his flamboyant appearance 

was usually well received by them. Yet 

some white, middle class homosexuals 

were uncomfortable with camp, 

arguing it was a negative stereotype 

(that they themselves could also be 

seen as a negative stereotype because 

they were prejudiced against camp, 

they privileged the appearance of 

traditional butch masculinity and they 

aped middle-of-the-road heterosexist 

norms did not occur to them). 

Connected to this, the record company 

was anxious that the potential for 

widening Sylvester’s audience, and 

hence increasing sales, was not 

stymied by the singer’s outrageous 

appearance. The result was that the 

executives tried periodically to tone 

down Sylvester’s image. Consequently 

in some of his publicity shots he is 

dressed up in finery and make up, 

but in others he is attired in more 

conventional men’s clothes. 

Although this could cause tension 

because Sylvester had strong views 

on how he should look, he did not 

categorise himself as a drag queen 

because even though from time to 

time he dressed in full drags, he was 

also comfortable appearing in men’s 

clothes and demi-drags. He summed 

up his love of dressing up and his 

refusal to be categorised on the Joan 

Rivers Show, first broadcast on New 

Year’s Eve 1986 and now available to 

watch on YouTube. Wearing a huge 

orange wig and a black suit with big 

shoulder pads, he oozed charisma and 

chatted about his love of diamonds and 

fur coats. Joan Rivers asked him what 

his family said when he told them that 

he wanted to be a drag queen. “I’m not 

a drag queen”, he explained pithily, 

“I’m Sylvester!” 

On the same show he thanked 

Joan Rivers and her other guest, 

the actor Charles Nelson Reilly, for 

their pioneering work in 1981 with 

him at an early AIDS benefit. By 

the mid-1980s the world in which 

Sylvester lived was decimated by the 

AIDS holocaust. He had lost many 

friends and acquaintances, including 

Patrick Cowley, and he was under no 

illusion as to his own fate. Sylvester 

played numerous AIDS benefits and 

discussed the disease in the media 

on many occasions, and in doing so 

he acquired a political role. As an 

out black queen he had always had a 

political dimension of course, but this 

became far more prominent with his 

charity work. 

Sylvester became sick with AIDS in 

1987. The next year he attended the 

San Francisco Gay Freedom Day 

Parade: the photograph of him there 

is of a shrunken figure in a wheelchair. 

It is a tragic image that can still make 

me cry and it makes a stark contrast 

to the photograph of Sylvester at the 

parade five years earlier, in which he 

is larger than life, singing on a float, 

microphone in hand. 

Perhaps Sylvester’s last year was made 

more bearable by his Christian faith, 

which he had never lost. Indeed, when 

he and his band performed really well 

and the audience went wild he would 

laugh, “We had church tonight!”, an 

allusion to the ecstasy experienced in 

the Pentecostal congregation when 

someone felt the spirit. Sylvester’s 

faith meant that he declined to take 

AZT, the toxic AIDS medication, 

believing that his fate was in God’s 

hands. Towards the end he was visited 

by one of his heroines, Patti LaBelle, 

and he was cared for by his close 

friends and his mother. Although he 

declined physically, Sylvester’s sharp 

wit remained with him: when he 

heard that rumours were circulating 

that he was already dead, he phoned 

up a reporter and told them, “Until I 

call you up and tell you I’m dead, don’t 

believe it.” 

Sylvester was a star who shined 

brightly. He only happened once. 

He was a radical and a visionary in 

terms of queerness, music and race. 

When Fantasy Records released a 

twelve inch disco mix of ‘Dance: Disco 

Heat’ without his consent he was 

livid, not least because someone else 

was credited with the concept of the 

record. 

“No one conceptualises me”, he 

exclaimed, “I am the concept!” Amen, 

sister. 

Further reading 

Joshua Gamson, The Fabulous 

Sylvester: The Legend, The Music, 

The Seventies in San Francisco (2005). 

Surprisingly, Sylvester is the subject 

of just this one biography. It is well 

researched but sadly it is not a joy to 

read as its structure is so fragmented. 

The June issue of Daeida Magazine is 

devoted to Martha Wash who discuses 

Sylvester warmly. 

The only documentary on Sylvester 

is ‘Unsung Sylvester’ available to 

watch on YouTube. It is accurate 

and enjoyable, but unfortunately it is 

only thirty minutes long. The official 

Sylvester website says a documentary 

is in progress on the star entitled 

‘Mighty Real’, although progress 

appears to have halted. 

www.officialsylvester.com 

www.daeida.com 


PHOTOGRAPHY: CLAIRE LOWRIE ASSISTANT: KIM MNGUNI 

I’ve been seeing Duggie Fields around 

town for a long time now. 

Since the post-punk days of Blitz, 

Heaven, Legends and the Embassy club, 

our orbits have intersected at openings or 

social events in those café society places 

frequented by arty-party people. 

Over the years my own look has gone 

through permutations and variations, but 

Duggie Fields has remained permanently 

and precisely the same! 

The artist, with his 50s kiss-curl hair, graphically accented 

eyebrows and dandy-pimped suits is his own living logo. 

He’s as instantly recognisable as his art – figurative, postmodern 

paintings peopled by retro-graphic female fashion 

plates and physique pictorial-esque male nudes. 

Always slightly outside of the art establishment, Duggie 

and his works present a perpetually chic façade. Intrigued 

to find out what lies behind this apparent zen-stasis, I made 

my way to meet him at the west London mansion flat he 

once shared with Pink Floyd’s Syd Barrett, whose old room 

he now uses as a painting studio. 

Duggie, nattily dressed in tweed trousers and waistcoat, 

greets me with a non-committal handshake and then 

disappears to make us a pot of some kind of exotic tea, giving 

me the chance to take in his very “Fieldsian” environment. 

Every wall and surface fizzes with eye popping colour and 

detail, a riot of art, decor and objet. In the middle of this a 

large computer system softly pings with e-mails as we sip 

tea and talk. 

Being a devotee of artifice and sporting a made-up name 

myself, I’d assumed that with his country-boy background, 

Duggie’s name was the art equivalent of a stage name, a 

Larry Parnes-esque riff on digging fields to compliment an 

artfully contrived image, but this apparently is not the case. 

Trademark: Is your name made up? 

Duggie Fields: No, it’s a variation on my real name – 

Douglas Fields. I thought Duggie sounded friendlier, and 

as my art school days were in the 1960s, one had all those 

connotations of that 60s thing, “dig it”, “dug it” etc. It was 

quite common to change your name back then. My look 

wasn’t planned either; it just seemed to evolve naturally at 

about the same time as the name. 

TM: Your look fits perfectly with the look of your artwork. 

DF: Again, that wasn’t planned. I’d got a job in a record 

shop in Hampstead and started mixing with a hipper group 

of people - mostly straight guys who back combed their hair 

and wore eye shadow and pan-stick, so I started wearing 

make-up too. 

DIGGING DUGGIE 

BY TRADEMARK© 

TM: Mods? 

DF: No, these were slightly bohemian art school modernists, 

the much hipper fore-runners to the mods who were looked 

down on as being rather “mass market.” 

TM: Many of the great artists of the post war years: 

Dali, Bacon, Warhol, Hockney etc. were gay or bi-sexual 

and had very strong individual images in contrast to 

today’s overwhelmingly heterosexual artists with their 

anonymously scruffy looks. Why do you think this is and 

why are there no gay art stars these days? Is there a subtle 

homophobia at work in today’s art establishment? 

DF: I don’t know about any sexual agenda, but I do think 

that the art establishment is predominantly run by very 

un-visual people who are quite puritanical and wish to be 

seen as cerebral and concept driven. The visual world and 

especially the world of fashion frightens them. 

TM: Ironic, as the art establishment are the most fashion 

driven people imaginable. 

DF: Yes, but they don’t really like sex; there’s a lack of 

depiction of the body in contemporary art and it’s curious 

how representational art is, on the whole, avoided. 



TM: Your visual style is very 

consistent. Was it always this way 

or did you have formative phases in 

different styles? 

DF: I did a lot of experimenting 

early on. I was influenced by Jackson 

Pollock and started pouring paint and 

letting the wind blow it into random 

patterns. Then later, at art school, 

I started making these geometric/ 

constructivist pictures, made up 

entirely of lines and grids which 

started to suggest shapes and figures 

to me. Then one day, I took a Donald 

Duck tie pin I was wearing and 

stuck it to the middle of the painting 

which instantly transformed it into 

a completely figurative work and I 

realised I’d found my direction. 

TM: You’ve stuck to it in that there 

seems to be very little difference 

between your old work and the new. 

DF: I’m constantly re-visiting and 

recycling elements from my old work. 

Using the computer, I can perfect my 

images more easily than when I used 

to trace everything by hand and so, if 

I draw the same image 30 years later, 

it’s the same image but the context 

has changed and I don’t have the 

same feeling that made me do it in the 

first place. 

TM: Like a songwriter performing an 

old song in a new arrangement? 

DF: Possibly, yes, that’s an interesting 

analogy. 

TM: The men in your paintings have 

a “physique pictorial” look about 

them. Are your figures based on 

magazine pictures? 

DF: Frequently. In the past I based my 

figures on pictures from magazines. 

They used to come mainly from period 

fashion magazines for the women, 

and yes, from physique magazines for 

the male figures, but also from many 

other sources: comics, teach yourself 

to draw books etc. or just made-up 

bodies from imagination. Less so 

today - often now from the internet 

or the digital photographs I take with 

my phone. 

TM: Do you ever use live models? 

DF: Occasionally I use people I know 

as models, usually friends, but never 

paid professionals. They have to be 

people I have a connection with, 

sometimes as portraits, other times 

for position and form only. 

TM: The artist Luciana Martinez, 

who was a super-glamorous face 

about town, features prominently in 

your portraiture? 

DF: Luciana is the person I’ve painted 

most, at first as an indirect influence 

on figures and then since her death, 

in some very specific portraits. We’d 

been friends for over 30 years and she 

was one of those beings who help you 

become yourself just through knowing 

them. 

TM: I believe you’ll be exhibiting in 

my old home town as part of the upcoming 

Liverpool Biennale. What will 

you be showing? 

DF: The show “WELCOME TO MY 

WORLD” will feature past works 

reinterpreted through new media, 

along with more recent works 

including paintings, prints, digital 

pieces, Perspex cut-outs, photography 

and a site-specific wall installation. 

TM: And after that? 

DF: Who knows? I don’t like to have 

a specific career plan. I like to have 

my creative freedom, to be able to just 

close my door and carry on working, 

or equally, not working, and part of 

that is freedom from public response. 

I don’t need the emotional pat-on-the 

back from having my work continually 

“out there.” You have to have an ego 

and believe that you’re good, but too 

many people telling you you’re good 

is not good. Keeping one’s balance in 

life is important on every level, like a 

tightrope walker. 

TM: You seem to have got the 

balance pretty good. 

DF: I’m still on the tightrope. 

WELCOME TO MY WORLD 

An exhibition of work 

by Duggie Fields 

14 September - 15 October 

The Gallery Liverpool 

41 Stanhope Street 

Liverpool L1 5RE 

www.thegalleryliverpool.co.uk

THE 

AMAZING 

ARI 

HIGH FLYING 

ADORED 


Arian Levanael, 

the Amazing Ari, is a 

multi-talented aerial artist 

who has gained respect 

and admiration around 

the world for his hypnotic 

and death defying aerial 

shows. Continually 

pushing the boundaries of 

performance, he leaves his 

audiences spellbound using 

physical skill, costume, 

light and sound to create 

his high-flying acts. 

Ari’s performance skills range from 

traditional to radical, from aerial 

circus arts, aerial silk, Spanish web, 

static trapeze and aerial ring to 

harness work, fire and pole dance. 

He continues to explore new methods 

of performance while keeping aerial 

work respected as a world wide 

performance art. This has led to 

guest spots at the Sydney Mardi Gras, 

London’s Erotica Showcase and as far 

afield as the grand opening of the Four 

Seasons hotel in Hong Kong. 

Martin Green: Why did you become 

an aeralist? 

Ari Levanael: I started 

performing in the early 90s, doing 

club shows, cabaret and parties. 

I would perform fire dancing, pole work 

and bizarre ritual type shows before 

deciding to try aerial. I instantly loved 

it and with my gymnastic and martial 

arts background I took to it like a 

duck to water. Back in 2000, when I 

started performing, there weren’t 

many aerialists around, unlike today. I 

watched early Cirque du Soleil videos, 

but I wanted to develop my own style 

and as I didn’t have anyone to coach 

me it just flowed naturally. Ten years 

later I’m still evolving and learning. 

MG: How did you first start training 

and how did this develop into a 

career? 

AL: I started aerial training in Sydney 

at The Lab. It was in an amazing 

old train shed that was eventually 

redeveloped. I then moved on to 

teaching and training at another great 

space called Aerialize, and although I 

live in the UK, I still teach and train 

there when I’m back in Australia. In 

the early days I trained four or five 

times a week, venturing into the space 

whenever I wanted. It was really my 

sanctuary back then and in some 

ways still is; I find my focus when 

I’m training and experimenting with 

new sequences and techniques. It’s 

like an escape from the craziness of 

the city and forces me to channel my 

energy and emotion. It’s very holistic, 

stretching the body, focusing the mind 

and working the muscles. It gets the 

endorphins going and the adrenalin 

flowing. I still love it just as much as 

when I first started. 

MG: You’ve also performed 

internationally. Tell me about your 

most thrilling and memorable 

performances? 

AL: The Sydney Opera House invited 

me to appear at their Late Night 

Lounge Cabaret in 2010 which was 

definitely a highlight, and performing 

routines for The Wella International 

Trend Vision Awards in Germany 

was an amazing experience. Being 

broadcast live on seven channels for 

the Zain Football League launch and 

performing for the Royal family in 

Saudi Arabia was also wonderful. I’ve 

also performed for the past three years 

at Sydney Mardi Gras. 

MG: What advice can you give to 

anyone who’s thinking of becoming 

an aerial performer or taking it up as 

a hobby? 

AL: Find a place where you can train 

and a good teacher to show you some 

moves. First start stretching! It’s a 

great way to get fit and flexible. There 

are loads of great new performers out 

there and it’s exciting to see the art 

form develop. Everyone has their own 

unique way of expressing themselves 

within aerial performance. You can find 

what your strengths are and build on 

them, whether it’s extreme flexibility, 

strength, or dancing between moves. 

Just be safe in whatever you do and 

enjoy. 

MG: What are your plans for the 

future? 

AL: Keep performing, travelling and 

teaching my classes. I’m working 

on a few new shows and I’m also 

experimenting with music ideas. 

I’ve got gigs at the London Tattoo 

Convention and Café de Paris, then 

I’m going back to Australia for a few 

months. I tend to go where the wind 

takes me and enjoy the journey. It’s all 

part of the excitement. 

www.amazingari.com 


PHOTOGRAPHY: CLAIRE LAWRIE

PHOTOGRAPHY: GARY MOORE 

EelkeVan-Bles is 

a gentleman. He’s 

distinguished, smart and 

handsome. He’s creative, 

inventive and dependable. 

These adjectives can 

also be used to describe 

the qualities of his many 

products. 

Van-Bles grew up in Amsterdam 

before moving to London as a student. 

In 1997 he successfully opened his 

first shop Solid Wood in Clerkenwell, 

specialising in beautifully bespoke 

flooring using rare and unusual 

finishes. This proved enormously 

popular with the rich and famous and 

led to a client base that’s included 

Madonna, Elton John, Rupert Everett 


SOLID ID 


and Tony Blair. He now owns three 

successful stores and has recently 

ventured into art, interiors and 

design, the outcome of which can be 

seen in his latest venture, Solid ID 

which opened in Fulham earlier this 

year. 

Martin Green: Why have you 

ventured into the world of interior 

accessories and furniture? 

Eelke Van-Bles: After 20 years of 

being ‘Mr Floor’ I felt it was time 

to follow my passion for the home. 

My house has been featured in many 

magazines and books and after every 

publication I had inquiries about the 

interior style and items I have, so I felt 

the time was right to take the chance 

with this new venture. 

MG: Why did you choose to open 

your new shop in Fulham and how 

different is Solid ID to the other 

interior design shops in the area? 

EVB: I live in Spitafields, which is 

very different from west London. 

My work seems to be more appreciated 

in the west and I felt that taking an 

eccentric East End approach and 

placing it directly in the middle of 

Chelsea would give us more edge and 

a chance to be noticed, which seems to 

have worked. It’s certainly created a 

following in the short period of time 

that we’ve been open. 

MG: Can you tell me about the 

furniture you create yourself? 

EVB: My father was a metal worker 

and as a kid I always played in his 

workshop. Then during my university 

years, I’d keep myself sane by working 

with my hands. I’ve always made stuff 

such as art, furniture and lighting and 

I still I find creating pieces inspiring 

and therapeutic. Some of my recent 

creations are available in Solid ID. 

MG: Where do you find your 

merchandise? 

EVB: I travel a lot and go to the 

international fairs and buy for the 

company, but also work very closely 

with small scale manufacturers, 

artists and designers. Among our 

most attention grabbing designs are 

The Anchor, Star and Heart light 

sculptures, which have been made 

from fairground bulbs by a friend who 

used to work in Blackpool and who 

now creates his own line of lighting. 

Another artist, Bill from Battersea, 

creates paint effects on wood, reworking 

large, wall mounted letters 

which are also proving to be popular. 

We stock artist produced wallpapers, 

cushions and objects, alongside 

unique numbered bags created by 

an Amsterdam couple using vintage 

army materials. We’ve also been 

selling decorated, hand blown glass 

jars. I buy these from a glass factory 

in Hungary and get them painted with 

incongruous pop words like ‘wow’, 

‘chillax’, ‘kinky’ and ‘horny’. 

Eelke Van Bles has created an 

eclectically exciting, expertly crafted 

and constantly changing collection for 

his new store which certainly gives 

the traditional west a taste of the 

eccentric east. 

www.solidid.co.uk 

PHOTOGRAPHY: GARY MOORE

PHOTOGRAPHY: JAMES M BARRETT 

DAVID 

MCALMONT 

APPLIES HIS 

MUSICAL MAKE UP 

B Y T R I S P E N N A 

It is with quiet apprehension that I wait 

to meet David McAlmont – that guy with 

the amazing voice who first made records 

with The Thieves in the early ‘90s and 

then went on to enthral us with his work 

with Bernard Butler, David Arnold 

and Michael Nyman. I’d researched 

him, but still couldn’t pinpoint where that 

unique talent had come from. 

I was about to find out. 

Tris Penna: Tell me about the music that was playing in 

your home as you were growing up. 

David McAlmont: My mother was a strong single parent 

and dominated the music in the house. She liked what she 

liked: Nat ‘King’ Cole, Perry Como, Tony Bennett and 

Dionne Warwick. She didn’t have any of the divas that 

I’ve come to love such as Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald. 

She’d buy the occasional pop single like Gladys Knight’s 

Midnight Train To Georgia, which my elder sister would 

entertain us by lip-synching to. I listened to Nat ‘King’ Cole 

and Perry Como who I still love a lot. People groan when 

you say you like Perry Como because there’s a hip safety 

net that people have when it comes to vintage music. It’s 

‘safe’ to like Aretha, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra and Tony 

Bennett, but people get really nervous if an artist lacks a 

real ‘edge’. There certainly wasn’t an edge to Perry Como! 

TP: I think Nat ‘King’ Cole is one of the greatest vocalists 

ever, putting Sinatra in the shade in my opinion… 

DM: Nat’s phrasing is exquisite, whereas Frank, who I like, 

kind of bends the song to his will. Listening to Tony Bennett 

I really learnt about ‘the hurt in the voice’. Apparently all 

those crooners were listening to Caruso as well as to Louis 

Armstrong and mixing those two up! When you see Tony 

now, he still does extraordinary operatic improvisations. 

TP: I met Robert Plant a couple of years ago and given 

what you’ve just said would you believe we talked about the 

great love he had for Mario Lanza?! 

Your mother’s taste dominated your musical landscape, but 

what was the first record you bought? 

DM: This is really strange, but I didn’t buy a record until I 

was in my twenties! I listened to the radio and my mother 

bought the music. We moved to third world Guyana in 

1978 and it was a real culture shock. I was 11- a typical 

British kid who loved sweets, comics, TV, Swapshop and 

Radio One. In Guyana there was none of that. I went into 

the church from 13 to 20 and it wasn’t until I started work 

that I bought my first album, which was Stevie Wonder’s In 

Square Circle, the one with Overjoyed and Part Time Lover. 

TP: Who has been your all time musical hero? 

DM: Completely, and without equal, Prince. I always say that 

Prince got me through High School. I was an effeminate kid 

in a South American school and was subjected to absolutely 

merciless homophobic bullying. I didn’t get beaten up, but 

verbal abuse was constant. ‘England anti-man’ is what 

they used to call me. When Prince appeared I remember 

it vividly. Was he black or white? Was he really on stage 

in just pants, boots and nothing else? I was aware of him 

long before I ever heard his music. That aural event took 

place when I first heard the intro to Let’s Go Crazy: ‘Dearly 

beloved we are gathered here today….’ I was thunderstruck 

and from then became a complete devotee. Upon returning 

to the UK when I was 21 years old, I went straight to Our 

Price and bought Parade, Purple Rain, Around The World 

In A Day and Sign of the Times. I was completely obsessed 

with his identity and individuality. 

TP: Is there a record with which you associate falling in 

love? 

DM: It’s very interesting that you ask that question as I’ve 

just celebrated 10 years with my partner. We met in 2002, 

the year I wrote Falling. It was quite prophetic. I didn’t 

realise it at the time, but I was falling in love with the love 

of my life. One of my favourite romantic records has always 

been I Only Have Eyes for You by Art Garfunkle. I was 

struck by this extraordinary, fuzzy haired man who made 

that soft sensual sound. A fiery angel. It’s mind-blowingly 

beautiful. 

TP: Do you have a favourite Dance Record? 

DM: That’s an easy answer! Hideaway by De’Lacy. I adore 

that record! Fabulous from1995 on De-Construction. I was 

still drinking then and was always asking the DJ in the 

Black Cap to play the De’Lacy song! 

TP: Have you any musical guilty pleasures? 

DM: Well I suppose because I was living in Guyana and 

we didn’t have that political judgement about music, 

Phil Collins’s Against All Odds. I think it’s a God-like 

composition. He sings it beautifully and I adore it. But if I 

admit this in the wrong place it’s like ‘What!! Phil Collins!!?’ 

But I think Against All Odds is a sensational record. 

TP: Which performances do you think are the 

greatest you’ve seen? 

DM: That has to be the sensational Duke Ellington tribute 

medley by Aretha Franklin, Sarah Vaughan, Peggy Lee 

and Roberta Flack from the American 1973 TV special. 

Also Mahalia Jackson Live at the Newport Jazz Festival. 

Extraordinary. That face, that emotion, that power. She’s 

one of the all-time great artists. You can now see them on 

YouTube. 


TP: Do you have a personal favourite of your 

own recordings? 

DM: Well for quite a few years it was A Little Communication; 

it’s a really romantic album. I know people will be saying 

it should be one with Bernard Butler, which I love, but the 

most special for me now is The Glare which I made with 

Michael Nyman. Working with him was a dream come true. 

He allowed me to cherry-pick his compositions and write 

lyrics to them, which was very exciting. I brought my pop 

sensibility to that album and I felt the combination worked. 

TP: So who turns you on today? 

DM: That’s been unanswerable for years! I try to think 

of contemporary artists that I like and God, it’s difficult. 

I adored Amy Winehouse’s, Back to Black, particularly the 

song Tears Dry On Their Own. I thought she was one of the 

last female ‘greats’ to come out of the UK and would have 

been located in the same pantheon as Dusty Springfield. 

TP: I think the biggest regret for us is that Amy clearly 

had a lot more music to make and would’ve made even 

better records had she lived… 

DM: That’s the tragedy. All through the illness and chaos 

and carnage I was praying she would get it together and 

make another great record. I don’t really know what’s going 

on musically right now. I think you get traumatised by the 

corporate music industry to an extent and your thinking 

gets affected by it, so I’ve sort of tuned out. But one of the 

songs I’ve enjoyed most recently is Born To Die by Lana Del 

Rey. An extraordinary confection. It’s a beautiful conceit, a 

fabulous record. 

TP: Thank you David. I think we’ve gone some way to 

unravelling your musical DNA… 

DM: It’s been really interesting. I thought not being in 

the UK between 1978 and 1987 was a handicap, but I now 

see it as a blessing. If I’d been here I wonder where my 

musical loyalties would lie. Living in Guyana softened my 

attitude. I don’t think I would’ve been able to create the 

same melodies without having lived in a South American 

backwater listening to Phil Collins and Whitney Houston. 

Since returning I’ve listened to The Specials and The Cure 

and learnt about The Cocteau Twins, but I knew nothing 

of them in my formative years. My partner, Kenny, has very 

credible tastes; when I play him some records he says “oh, 

you’re not listening to that thing are you?” And I reply 

“But I like it! I don’t care if it’s any good or not. I like it!” 

David McAlmont will be performing at London’s 

Hippodrome Casino, 25-28 September 

www.hippodromecasino.com/live-at 

www.finger-snap.com 

Set in the 1950s, Bethan Roberts’ evocative tale of 

Brighton’s sexual underground focuses on the love 

triangle between teacher Marion, her policeman 

husband Tom and Tom’s lover, the cultured Patrick. 

Against a backdrop of vehement prejudice and anti-gay 

legislation, Tom is forced into a marriage with Marion, 

but continues his affair with Patrick. Fifty years later 

Patrick is living in Marion and Tom’s house, paralysed 

from a stroke, as Marion takes the opportunity to finally 

tell their stories. 

The book is divided into two first person accounts – 

Marion’s and also Patrick’s (from his diary). Roberts 

inhabits both the characters seamlessly, laying bare the 

intolerance of the past and the thwarted desires that 

shape this narrative of betrayal. 

The novel’s strength is its humanity. It would have been 

easy to cast Marion as the villain of the piece, as the 

woman who stands in between the two male lovers, but 

instead Roberts presents us with a non-judgemental 

character who is, in many way, ahead of her time. 

If Marion’s actions are at times questionable and even 

repellent, they are explained in the context of her 

own emotional needs. Her beautifully rendered voice 

oscillates between tenderness and bitter anger as she 

grapples to understand the torturous situation the 

threesome have been plunged into. 

Lesser female writers may have struggled to convincingly 

inhabit the voice of a gay man, but Roberts’s voice never 

wavers as she unsparingly documents Patrick’s inner 

torment. Her prose is sparse and sharp as she details 

her love rival’s conflicting emotions and the brutality of 

a bygone era’s social and sexual tapestry. 

This subtle novel serves as a timely reminder on how 

far we have come as a community, but also a stark 

warning on what happens when we allow our feelings 

to be subjugated. It’s unflinchingly honest depiction of 

a hidden and often cruel history. 

THE HOUSE OF RUMOUR 

by Jake Arnott 

Sceptre 

Secret histories fascinate Jake Arnott. Yet if his hit 

trilogy of books based on the criminal and sexual 

underworld of the 1960s have so far defined him, his 

latest novel The House of Rumour is certainly his most 

ambitious to date. 

Unlike his previous work, this book has no conventional 

plot. It’s structured around 22 interlinked stories 

modelled on the Tarot’s Grand Arcana. Across each of 

these discordant fragments characters appear, interact 

and then disappear only to be recycled in subsequent 

sections. 

Arnott introduces us to familiar figures from 

history including James Bond creator Ian Fleming, 

Occultist Aleister Crowley, Nazi Rudolph Hess and 

scientology founder, the sinister L Ron Hubbard. 

BOOKS 


M Y 

POLICEMAN 

by Bethan Roberts 

Vintage 

FASHION 

RESOURCE BOOK 

by Robert Leach 

Thames and Hudson 

Original Blitz Kid and highly 

regarded fashion expert and tutor 

Robert Leach has seen the way 

styles can move from the street to 

catwalk and back again. This book 

shows where designers’ ideas come 

from while demonstrating the 

lengthy research processes used 

to underpin the work of individual 

icons like Dior, Chanel, Jean Paul 

Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood and 

Alexander McQueen. It also looks at 

the important influence of vintage 

and retro, the use of fashion and 

textile archives and the influence 

of art movements such as op art 

and surrealism on style trends. 

Put together in a highly visual 

and informative manner, the 

book incisively allows the observer 

to look beyond the surface of 

clothing and style to form a deeper 

understanding of where our diverse 

appearances appear from. 

The book opens with Fleming investigating Hess’s flight to 

Scotland during World War II. We’re then presented with an 

ambitious group of science fiction writers in 1940’s California. 

As their stories twist and turn, Arnott revels in defying his 

readers’ expectations, playing with history and constantly 

blurring the lines between fantasy and reality. 

At times the book resembles a labyrinth and after reading 

the first third you’re likely to give up trying to isolate any 

one narrative strand. The enjoyment comes from simply 

surrendering to Arnott’s deliciously playful style as the always 

deeply drawn characters float in and out of time, space and 

different genres. 

All of literature’s key themes are here – death, religion, 

human aspiration and desire. But by presenting them in 

no discernible order Arnott seems to be commenting on the 

infinite possibilities that life can hold. It’s a bold project, but an 

infinitely engaging one as he alternately focuses in and glosses 

over the often unexplainable nature of human experience. 


JAKE ARNOTT 


Jake Arnott is the bestselling author 

of novels The Long Firm and He Kills 

Coppers, both of which were dramatised 

for television. His sixth novel The House 

of Rumour was published this year and is 

arguably his most ambitious to date. 

Alex Hopkins: What was your inspiration for The House 

of Rumour? 

Jake Arnott: I wanted to fail on a bigger scale! That’s the 

opportunity that’s sometimes given to a writer. Some of 

the ideas came from my last book, The Devil’s Paintbrush. 

I had these strange, different stories that I thought could 

somehow be connected and also this idea of a sort of 

pastiche of a Bond novel with Ian Fleming as a character. 

This obviously got extended out much more than I thought 

it would. 

AH: The world of Science Fiction plays a big part in this 

story. Did you know much about it before you started 

writing? 

JA: I grew up in the 60s and 70s and science fiction was 

my gateway drug to literature. I’m really interested in 

genres as long as you can escape from them. For quite some 

time I struggled to make sure people didn’t call me a crime 

novelist because I never set out to be one. I tend to be more 

promiscuous in what I want to do 

AH: The House of Rumour is a real departure from 

“crime fiction”. Was this deliberate? 

JA: All the books have been departures I suppose. 

They’re all broadly speaking historical novels, but I don’t 

particularly want to give people what they want. Obviously 

there’s something to be said for that, but I think literature 

should always be about pushing the form. 

AH: Why did you begin your career writing about crime? 

JA: In many ways it was like a blow of luck. I said early on 

that it was going to be a trilogy of books and I wanted to 

finish them all once I was in that world. The idea for The 

Long Firm came to me quite quickly and I largely wrote it 

because Ronnie Kray had just died and I thought someone 

else would write the story if I didn’t. All of the books written 

about him rarely touched upon his homosexuality, which he 

was very open about, so I thought this was a fascinating 

way in. I spent about four years producing this body of work 

and wanted it to be a secret history of different subcultures. 

History can be told in so many different ways, but the thing 

that perplexes me about a lot of historical fiction is that it 

seems to just want to retell the official record. I have very 

little interest in that because the whole point is that you 

can go to places a historian can’t; you can go inside people’s 

heads and that really fascinates me. 

AH: How does the theme of 

sexuality come into your work? 

JA: I wouldn’t deny it’s an aspect of my writing, 

but it would probably be more accurate to describe me 

as a queer writer rather than a gay one. When I was 

growing up there were a lot more gay men who went 

to the library than the gym; there was a time when 

being gay almost meant that you would be bookish. 

I think because gay men don’t have to go to the library 

anymore to define these things, and because life is 

often more open, some of the cultural aspects of gay 

identity have declined. Books like Alan Hollinghurst’s 

The Swimming Pool Library encapsulated an era and 

then you have people like Burroughs and Baldwin who 

were writing from a slight angle to the world – it’s 

definitely a great advantage. 

AH: There’s a mixture of gritty glamour and danger in 

your work. Did you deliberately cultivate this? 

JA: No, it’s always been there and I’m a sucker for this 

sort of cheap utopia. I suppose that’s what popular culture 

should be – it’s not legitimate theatre, but a kind of tacky 

show business. There’s a certain element of that in my 

family – my grandparents worked in music hall. I think a 

lot of people who end up in crime should really have gone to 

drama school actually; they’re the type of queens who often 

need a lot of attention and they have that intelligence, but 

very little patience. In some respects I’m like that; I didn’t 

go through as much of education as I should have and got 

in trouble at school. I was kind of led astray. 

AH: You had lots of other jobs before becoming a writer. 

Did you always want to write? 

JA: I always thought it was something I should do at 

some point, but put it on the back burner for a long time. 

I tried acting, but didn’t have the patience or diligence 

and realised quite soon that I couldn’t really act. I could 

perform and show off, but was too self-conscious. My hope 

is that bad actors make very good writers. 

AH: You use a lot of multiple narratives in your work. 

Why is this? 

JA: I think some of it has to do with my short attention 

span. If I was slightly more meditative I might be able 

to slowly build it rather than suddenly jumping in and 

showing off again. I find writing in the first person easier, 

but it took me seven years before I could think about doing 

that. The danger is that using different voices can appear 

pretentious and too playful, but then I think that’s part of 

what the writer always wants to do – play games. In The 

House of Rumour I wanted the reader to get lost, but not so 

lost that they didn’t come out the other end. 

AH: What has writing this latest novel taught you and 

where do you go from here? 

JA: I’ve got an idea for the theatre, a non-fiction book and 

also a very hazy idea for a novel, but am just kicking these 

around really. I’m never sure what I learn from book to 

book, you just have to do it all over again! 

www.jakearnott.com 


PHOTOGRAPHY: CLAIRE LAWRIE

PAUL BAKER: STAR OF TABOO 


PHOTOGRAPHY: GOZRA LOZANO 

Playing an icon is a daunting task, 

especially when that person is still 

alive to judge your performance and 

particularly when that figure comes with 

as formidable a reputation as Philip 

Sallon, doyen of the 1980s New Romantics 

club scene featured in the Boy George 

musical Taboo. 

Actor Paul Baker originated the Sallon role in the 2002 

production of the hit show and is now preparing to don 

Sallon’s outlandish costumes once more for a revival at 

Brixton Club House this September. He’s excited, but 

unfazed by the challenge, as well he might me – Baker won 

the industry’s ultimate accolade, the Olivier, for the part 

in 2003. 

“Playing Philip was like putting on an old pair of gloves,” 

says Baker who has also starred in such shows as Chicago 

and Starlight Express. “I didn’t have to force it, it just came 

naturally. When I first did the show I didn’t know what 

to expect and met Philip very briefly – they said I needed 

to spend a day with him, but I managed half an hour,” he 

laughs. 

Along with Boy George, Steve Strange, singer Marilyn 

and Leigh Bowery, Sallon embodied the decadence and 

excesses of the 1980s, which were exuberantly played out 

at Bowery’s now-legendary London club Taboo. But how 

did Baker get under the skin of this outwardly intimidating 

man who was so infamous for his scathing one-liners? 

“People see him out in town today, dragging some twink 

around Heaven, and they only hear the barbed comments, 

but there’s so much more to him,” muses Baker. “One of 

the interesting things when I played him last time was 

that a lot of people said that I made him nice and there’s 

obviously a part of him that is. I wanted to approach him 

from a more human level, otherwise he’d just become a 

caricature.” 

Sallon’s vulnerability was highlighted last April when he 

was viciously beaten and left unconscious in Piccadilly in a 

homophobic attack. I’m interested to know how Baker may 

draw upon this to reinterpret the role. 

“Interestingly, one of the major moments in the show is 

when I sing Petrified when Philip is attacked. That’s so 

relevant now in light of what happened to him recently, and 

I think it’s going to take things to another level. I’m really 

not sure how I will approach the part at this point because 

apart from me it’s a totally new cast. I’m just looking 

forward to going into that rehearsal room and seeing what 

ideas they have.” 

When Baker first starred in the show he was sharing a 

dressing room with 12 other actors, including Matt Lucas 

who played the Leigh Bowery role. 

“It really was a rollercoaster – all these guys putting on 

these crazy costumes, playing these crazy characters. So 

many personalities; it was truly volcanic at times,” confides 

Baker. “I remember Philip walked in during the interval 

of my first preview. He was terrible and had no regard for 

the protocol of theatre. He said: ‘You’re making me like an 

Essex hairdresser.’ George was livid with him and I asked 

Philip to leave, but I think later on he was secretly pleased 

with the way I played him.” 

Lesser performers may have experienced enormous selfdoubt, 

but Baker remained determined to play the part 

his way. Did he ever feel that Philip’s larger than life 

personality was taking him over? 

“No, I had to separate myself. Philip is really the puppet 

master; he literally guides everyone through the musical. 

He’s the audience’s link to the show, he’s in the show and 

he also guides all the characters through it, which is very 

true of him in some ways. George will probably say that’s 

manipulative,” Baker laughs, “but from my perspective 

I had to keep myself away from the other characters and 

from the audience so I could cast my spell over the piece. It 

was difficult sometimes because you could detach yourself 

from everybody and feel less integrated to the piece, but it 

was necessary to me at the time and also helped preserve 

my sanity!” 

There’s certainly something enticingly mad about the 

eclectic array of characters who dominated Bowery’s 

explosive club, but how does Baker think that this relates 

to London’s current gay scene? 

“I don’t go out as much as I used to,” he admits “and without 

being critical, the idea of spending an hour waiting to be 

served at the bar in The Shadow Lounge doesn’t appeal, 

but I do pop down to Trannyshack occasionally. I think it’s 

hilarious and a lot of those people are very Tabooy. You get 

the absolutely gorgeous trannies or the car crashes, but 

they’re all really sweet.” 

The central character in the Taboo story is Billy, an aspiring 

photographer who runs away to London and is taken under 

the wing by the more experienced Sallon, who introduces 

him to a host of other characters who change his life. In 

many ways it’s a poignant examination of mentorship in 

the gay community. 

“These days it seems like there are a lot of young gay men 

out there who are awfully judgemental about age. I never 

remember being like that,” ponders Baker. “I always had a 

lot of older gay friends who were like mentors to me and I 

know quite a few younger guys that treat me in the same 

way. 

“I’ve been single for a while now and in my mind would like 

to meet someone of similar age, but it feels like a lot of gay 

men who get to their mid-thirties and onwards, and who are 

not in a long-term relationship, can’t be bothered. There’s 

no stigma about being single anymore, but strangely I also 

find that it’s often younger gay men who are attracted to 

me now too.” 

Baker pauses as a cheeky smile creeps across his face. 

“I can’t imagine anyone would find the character of Philip 

in the show particularly sexy, but there you go… Oh George 

will love that,” he winks. 

www.taboothemusical.co.uk 



BEIGE RECOMMENDS... THEATRE 

Carousel 

Barbican 

15 August - 15 September 

Idina Menzel 

Apollo Theatre 

8 October 

One year after her incredible performance at the Royal Albert Hall, Tony Awardwinner 

Idina Menzel will be appearing in London as part of her solo concert tour 

for only seven performances. She will be performing a selection from both her 

musical theatre and popular music repertoire, with the backing of a 25 piece 

orchestra. In addition, she will be singing some of her own original songs for the 

first time in the UK. Miss Menzel is best known to British theatre audiences for 

playing Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked, famously singing the 

gay-reoke favourite Defying Gravity. After originating the role on Broadway, she 

earned numerous nominations and awards including a Tony for Best Actress. 

She has appeared in many other productions, but most recently has become 

famous to wider television audiences for her role as the singing teacher Shelby 

Corcoran in Glee. This strictly limited run will sell quickly so my advice to any 

theatre loving friends of Dorothy is pick up your broomsticks and chase after 

those magic tickets as they will certainly be flying out of the box office booths 

like a swarm of winged monkeys. 

www.apollotheatrelondon.co.uk 

Stephen Sondheim famously said that Richard Rodgers’s 

and Oscar Hammerstein’s ground breaking 1945 work 

Oklahoma is about a “picnic”, whereas Carousel is about 

“life and death”. Voted best musical of the 20th century 

by Time Magazine, the show features some of the most 

intoxicating music ever written for the stage, including 

the irrepressible You’ll Never Walk Alone, the exquisitely 

romantic If I Loved You and the darkly progressive 

Soliloquy. This startling new production by Opera North 

has been earning rave reviews and is expertly directed by Jo 

Davies, with striking set and costume designs by Anthony 

Ward and imaginative choreography by Kim Brandstrup 

and Kay Shepherd. By maintaining the composer’s original 

vision, but incorporating the strength of operatic muscle, 

this revival is once again thrilling audiences, proving that 

this classic show is as potent and emotional as ever. 

Roger Rees - What You Will 

Apollo Theatre 

18 September - 6 October 

Tony Award winning performer 

Roger Rees is bringing his successful 

one-man show to the West End. The 

production is a personal journey into 

the world of William Shakespeare, 

interweaving the actor’s own 

amusing anecdotes with perceptive 

observations about the many 

mishaps, heartbreaks and triumphs 

that Rees and every other actor has 

to deal with when grappling with the 

Bard of Avon. Roger Rees famously 

earned his Tony for playing the title 

role in The Life and Adventures of 

Nicholas Nickleby and has appeared 

in a vast number of plays, musicals, 

television productions and movies. He 

is also very out, openly talking about 

his life in America with his long-term 

partner, writer and producer Rick 

Elise. The roguishly charming Rees is 

an erudite, mischievous and insightful 

performer, who’s well worth seeing 

during one of his infrequent visits to 

the UK. 

Miss Hope Springs Sunday Soiree 

Crazy Coqs, Brasserie Zedel 

Every Sunday until 23 September 

One of Beige’s favourite lounge performers, Miss Hope Springs, launches 

another musical missile directly at the heart of glamour rationed Piccadilly. 

Her loyal troop of camp followers have started to amass every Sunday at Miss 

Hope’s headquarters, The Crazy Coqs Cabaret room in the beautiful Brasserie 

Zedel. This exquisitely restored Art Deco wonder is the perfect encampment for 

an evening of smart, witty entertainment, featuring Miss Hope’s sophisticated 

self-penned songs, piquant piano playing and scandalous showbiz stories. 

Think Blossom Dearie for starters, Burt Bacharach for mains and Peggy Lee 

for pudding. In addition, well drilled dance duo The Crazy Coquettes appear 

weekly, choreographed by Miss Hope’s long suffering manager Ty Jeffries. If the 

success of recent nights is a barometer, then this show is guaranteed to raise a 

laugh, an eyebrow and even the temperature of the coolest Homopolitan. Book a 

table, and maybe dinner as our Miss Hope springs back into action, brightening 

up London’s gloomy Sundays. 

www.brasseriezedel.com 

M.M.D. Gala Concert 

Novello Theatre 

14 October 

The Mercury Musical Developments 

organisation is dedicated to the 

support of new lyric, score and libretto 

writing, becoming an intrinsic part of 

contemporary British musical theatre. 

In celebration of their considerable 

achievements, they will be hosting 

a Gala Concert in which various 

theatrical luminaries will introduce 

songs from the many past, present 

and future shows by MMD members. 

Sandy Wilson’s The Boyfriend, Don 

Black and John Barry’s Billy, Tim 

Minchin’s Matilda, Stiles’s and 

Drewe’s Soapdish and Willy Russell’s 

Our Day Out are among the very finest 

musicals featured, demonstrating the 

skill, wit and brevity of British writing 

talent. The company have gathered 

together an exciting collection of West 

End stars including Janie Dee, Sally 

Anne Triplett, Kerry Ellis, Paul Kaye, 

David Bedella, Haydn Gwynne and 

Jenna Russell to perform at the show 

which promises to be an entertaining 

and enlightening event. 


Charley’s Aunt 

Menier Chocolate Factory 

20 September - 10 November 

While James Corden is receiving plaudits across the pond 

following his Tony award win, former comedy partner, 

the quieter and subtler Matthew Horne returns to the 

stage to star in a revival of Brandon Thomas’s famous 

farce Charley’s Aunt. The 1892 play tells the story of two 

friends awaiting the arrival of Aunt Dona Lucia who is 

desperately needed as a chaperone. Comedic cross-dressing 

complications arise as Charley’s aunt gets delayed and Lord 

Fancourt Babberley gets blackmailed into posing as the 

missing woman. Matthew Horne was last seen on the West 

End stage in another camp classic Joe Orton’s Entertaining 

Mr Sloane, during which he famously collapsed due to 

exhaustion. Now, spruced up, pepped up and dragged up, he 

follows a notable list of comic actors who have played this 

iconic part including Frankie Howerd, Leslie Philips, Sir 

John Mills, Arthur Askey and Tom Courtenay. This latest 

version is directed by Ian Talbot, who was responsible for 

the hugely enjoyable Menier production of The Invisible 

Man back in 2009, so hopes are as high as a female 

impersonator’s falsetto voice. 

www.barbican.org.uk 

www.apollotheatrelondon.co.uk 

www.novellotheatrelondon.net 

www.menierchocolatefactory.com 


ARTIST 

SPOTLIGHT 

Billie Ray Martin 

Five Takes 

(A Song about Andy) 

9/10 

Billie Ray Martin AKA 

The Queen of Electronic 

Soul is back with a new 

collaborative project 

where she blurs the lines 

between music, film, 

fashion and art. 

Inspired by Andy Warhol’s Screen 

Tests, the album features five 

variations of the song On Borrowed 

Time, which deals with Warhol’s 

fictional confession in which he 

reflects on his existence and a life he 

always experienced as less than real. 

Martin collaborated with the Londonbased 

menswear designer Felipe Rojas 

Llanos, who provided the outfits from 

his AW11 collection, which perfectly 

compliments the singer’s androgynous 

and otherworldly image. Berlin porn 

director Joern Hartmann provides 

the visual slant on the five versions of 

the song, while Colin Waterson acts as 

producer and mixer. 

On a whole, the visuals take on a 

haunting and spectral presence, 

bringing to mind such diverse 

influences as Pierrot, Rudi Gernreich, 

the silent movie era and Warhol 

himself. The musical pieces range 

from dubby cinematic soundscapes 

to almost choral sweeps, minimal 

glitchiness and ambient, Aphex Twinlike 

sumptuousness. 

BILLIE RAY MARTIN 

BY JON PLEASED 

Never an artist to stand still, Martin 

once again provides a thought 

provoking, deeply sensitive and 

beautiful work that pushes the 

boundaries of what we have come 

to know as Pop Music. It’s a very 

welcome return and worth tracking 

down if you’re a fan of electronic 

music and stunning visuals. 

We caught up with Billie Ray Martin 

to find out what gave her the idea for 

the project and what we can expect 

next... 

For me this is the first project I’ve 

done in my entire working life where 

everything is perfect. Firstly, the 

unrehearsed nature of Five Takes 

means that they end up on the 

recording unedited. I’d never sung 

the song before and didn’t know what 

would happen. Secondly, Waterson 

was incredible – he took these vocals 

and a bit of a brief from me and just 

followed his inner guidance, coming 

back with something I consider a gift; 

five perfectly crafted pieces of music. 

It was the first time in my life I 

didn’t comment or ask for changes. 

Next came Joern Hartmann, who 

always surpasses himself in some way. 

Coming from the porn background, 

but also from a commercial music 

video background, he has to drop all 

pre-formulated ideas and follow our 

vision. We develop all ideas together 

in a somewhat funny, but ultimately 

rewarding process. I tell him what I 

envision, he does something different, 

I go back to him and give more 

guidance and he goes back to the task 

and surpasses everything I expected. 

I also felt that the freedom of not being 

signed to someone else’s label for the 

first time really showed its advantages 

– I was able to assemble such a great 

team around me. 

Mastering engineer Steve Honest at 

Rock of London should be mentioned 

too for his patience and skill. 

Right now, I’m making sure that this 

momentum doesn’t slip away and 

carrying the positive feelings into the 

future of this project. Manufacturing 

and promotion was a challenge, 

particularly where one is faced with 

a less creative and positive attitude. 

It can be such a challenge that I almost 

lost the feeling for it all, but all seems 

well at the moment. Having said all 

this, writing a song about one of my 

greatest inspirations in life, Andy 

Warhol, is a reward in itself. I wanted 

to reflect on his Catholicism and the 

things he’d really reflect upon during 

his weekly visits to his local church. 

Andy was a deep individual who 

kept his true feelings to himself, but 

having read just about every book and 

watched every film about him I felt 

I knew a little more about what 

moved him. 

Colin and I have written some other 

songs and one of them will be the next 

single; it’s a duet with Aerea Negrot 

and the song is called Off the Rails. 

www.billyraymartin.com 

Hot Chip 

In Our Heads 

Domino 

10/10 

Hot Chip present us with In Our 

Heads, their fifth full length LP and 

arguably their most accomplished. 

Where in the past you could find 

yourself loving half and skipping half 

of one of their LP’s, this is a joy from 

start to finish with no fillers. 

Opener Motion Sickness lays down 

the gauntlet and rivals anything off 

the first (and best) Underworld LP 

Dubnobasswithmyheadman. From 

there on in we are treated to pop 

perfection in How Do You Do and 

Don’t Deny Your Heart, the latter 

recalling Heaven 17 at their peak. 

Thankfully, the band has replaced 

their former dabblings in R ‘n’ B with 

funk and delectable pop hooks. 

Clearly, the band’s side projects have 

added a much needed focus and 

resulted in a playful, euphoric, yet 

still deep LP. Standout tracks Flutes 

and Let Me Be Him play to their 

strengths and are geared directly to 

the dance floor, without having to 

resort to Guetta/Harris style pap. The 

vocals are outstanding throughout 

and at times bring to mind shades of 

Peter Gabriel and The Beta Band. 

An unmissable LP. 

Pet Shop Boys 

Elysium 

EMI / Parlophone 

7/10 

MUSIC 

BY JON PLEASED 

Pet Shop Boys are back with a new LP produced in Los Angeles by Andrew 

Dawson and the boys themselves. After the crash, bang, wallop of their last LP 

Yes, produced by Xenomania, they’ve opted this time for a more subdued and 

subtle affair. A more organic, sonic palette creates smoother results and tracks 

that on a first listen seem a bit empty soon stretch out and grow upon further 

hearing. 

Highlights are opener Leaving, which sounds like a smooth drive along a sundrenched 

promenade and Face Like That, the most upbeat track, that harks back 

to previous songs Love Comes Quickly and Domino Dancing, but with a modern 

twist. Breathing Space is a gorgeous ballad which reaches for the sky without 

dragging the kitchen sink with it - thanks to the minimal and uncluttered 

arrangement and production. 

Your Early Stuff and Ego Music should have been kept for B-sides as they veer 

rather too far towards the gimmicky, while Hold On and Give It a Go sound 

like a mini musical and recall the group’s cover of Noel Coward’s Sail Away. 

The latter two are possibly influenced by their recent forays into theatrical and 

opera productions. 

Requiem in Denim and Leopardskin is a classic PSB disco-tinged, nostalgic slice 

of joy that’s crying out for some great dance floor remixes. Its lyrical references 

to “Ossie’s last collection” and “Biba’s closing sale” amongst a host of others are 

reminders of what made/makes the boys so great....Tears on the dance-floor?... 

Bring it on! 

Keane 

Strangeland 

Universal 

7/10 

Keane are back with their fourth 

studio LP which contains what may 

be some of their best songs yet. While 

they may never be the coolest band, 

who cares when the song writing is 

this good? 

You Are Young and Neon River give 

U2 and Coldplay a run for their 

money, while Beatle-esque shades on 

Watch How You Go and The Starting 

Line show a growing maturity. They 

are fast turning into the UK’s answer 

to A-Ha who also never lost sight of 

the magic of a decent tune. Ballads 

Black Rain and Sea Fog manage to be 

moving and beautiful without a hint of 

schmaltz or grandiosity. 

Standout tracks are Sovereign Light 

Cafe, with its nostalgic, tear-jerking 

street march and Silenced By The 

Night, a gargantuan festival anthem 

in the making. The combination of 

Tom Chaplin’s powerful vocals and 

Tim Rice - Oxley’s mega hooks and 

sky-bound melodies have always been 

the band’s strength and has rewarded 

them with a long-lasting career. 

A less cluttered and more subtle 

approach have steered Keane in a 

positive direction which cleverly sees 

their music maturing in tandem with 

their fans; a trick that not many 

artists manage and seem wary of 

doing. Judging by this LP Keane will 

be around for a while longer yet. 

www.deezer.com/en/music/home 


Robert Altman’s Nashville 

is an incomparable slice 

of 70s American life told 

in the documentary style 

that the director was 

later to become so widely 

recognised for. 

NASHVILLE: ROBERT ALTMAN 1975 

BY MIKE NICHOLLS 

It’s an interweaving, overlapping tale 

of the lives of 24 different characters 

across five days, shot on location in the 

country music capital, Nashville. Part 

musical, part character study, part 

satire, it’s a blistering comment on a 

pivotal moment in America’s history. 

It’s also one of the best American 

comedies of its time. 

A precursor of the contemporary 

obsession with celebrity by nearly 

four decades, the film follows various 

musicians, politicians, managers, 

wannabes and hangers-on as they 

move through their days. Crucially, 

each character exhibits varying 

degrees of self-obsession as a shallow, 

self-serving, politically expedient 

society is gradually revealed in 

unsparing detail. 

The action is set around a music 

festival, appropriated by campaigning 

Republican Hal Philip Walker, a 

mystery man who never appears in the 

film, yet whose ubiquitous presence 

provides the backdrop against which 

the characters’ desires and deceits are 

exposed. 

There’s no conventional plot and the 

film is more a series of vignettes. Much 

of the dialogue is improvised by the 

cast, with overlapping conversations 

drawing our attention to different 

stories within each scene. 

Impressionistic glimpses into the 

characters’ lives give the film a sense 

of verisimilitude, as though it were 

an observation documentary or an 

intimate portrait where, as in real life, 

not everything is explained. There’s 

no single star or protagonist, but by 

focusing on the relationships between 

characters, Altman seamlessly reveals 

the bigger picture and a narrative of 

sorts emerges. 

Haven Hamilton (Henry Gibson) is 

a sparkly jumpsuit wearing veteran 

singer who harbours political 

ambitions; Tom Frank (Keith 

Carradine) is one member of a folk 

trio who is attempting to go it alone 

and John Triplette (Michael Murphy) 

is Hal’s smooth-talking, duplicitous 

fixer. But, as usual with Altman, 

it’s the women who are the most 

absorbing characters. 

Opal, a naive, star-struck, smallminded 

English journalist, who claims 

she is from the BBC, is played by 

Geraldine Chaplin with delicious selfdelusion. 

She gets the film’s best lines 

as she spouts the most atrocious, inane 

comments about almost everything 

she sees. 

These characters are introduced 

during a big pile up on a highway. 

Caught up in the traffic jam, Tom 

signs autographs from his car while 

Opal complains bitterly that her 

cameraman isn’t with her to capture 

the moment. 

Barbara Jean, played by real life 

singer Ronee Blakley, is the fragile, 

mentally unstable country star who 

flies into town to be met by a crowd 

of fans, having just recovered from a 

mysterious accident involving a burn 

to her hand. As she greets the adoring 

crowd she suffers a “collapse” and is 

taken to hospital where she remains 

for much of the film. 

Her release, however, is premature and 

her subsequent performance at the 

Oprey Belle a disaster as her mental 

state deteriorates live on stage and she 

starts babbling incoherently about her 

childhood, complete with ludicrous 

chicken impressions. Dragged off 

stage by her manipulative husband/ 

manager Barnett, she mutters: “I ain’t 

done…,” before waving at the booing, 

heckling crowd, smiling and shouting, 

“Thank you, bye, thank you.” 

The skill of Altman and his cast 

means that however self-absorbed and 

shallow the characters may appear, 

we always end up having immense 

sympathy for them. And while many 

moments are outright hilarious, they 

are also simultaneously extremely sad. 

Sueleen Gaye (Gwen Welles) believes 

she has a great voice and will 

someday be a big star like Barbara 

Jean. Unfortunately, she is tone 

deaf. Completely oblivious to her 

shortcomings as a vocalist, she’s 

booked for a fundraising show for 

Hal Walker. In what promises to 

be a spectacular performance, she 

descends on a platform, her desirable 

figure gradually revealed as she 

coquettishly holds a mask on a stick, 

concealing her eyes. Finally lowered 

to the ground, she smiles and removes 

the mask, revealing her attractive face 

to an enthusiastic, cheering, all male 

audience. 

So far so good, but some things are 

best left hidden, and as she starts to 

sing in her flat, vapid voice, she misses 

her cue, falters and the crowd begin to 

jeer. Her voice wavering with emotion, 

she glances around nervously before 

running from the stage to calls of “Get 

‘em off”. Persuaded back to perform 

a strip-tease on the promise that she 

can sing with Barbara Jean at the 

Pantheon, she proceeds to enact one 

of the most inept, self-conscious strips 

ever seen on film. But Altman sees 

it from her side, empathising with 

her and injecting even the smallest 

moments with pathos as she pulls 

the padding from her bra and trips 

pathetically on her dress, her hopes of 

stardom vanishing. 


FILM 

Other highlights are Karen Black as 

self-absorbed singer Connie White, 

who smiles sweetly at anyone who 

catches her eye, the smile dropping 

once she no longer has them in her 

gaze. Julie Christie makes a cameo 

appearance as herself on a press trip, 

and is introduced to a group at the 

table. “You’re English, I can tell”, is 

Connie’s only comment, otherwise 

disinterested in this woman brought 

before her. When told that Christie is 

an Academy Award winning actress 

she bursts out laughing: “Oh come on 

Haven, she can’t even comb her hair”. 

Meanwhile, spaghetti thin Shelley 

Duval looks utterly incredible in full 

on iconic 70s hot pants, knee socks 

platform shoes and Afro wig. She’s in 

town to visit her sick aunt, but never 

makes it as she is constantly distracted 

by young men. 

Lily Tomlin is a great mother to her 

deaf and dumb kids, but Altman 

subtly shows us that she’s stuck in 

a desperately unhappy marriage. 

Knowing this, we completely 

sympathise with her when she sleeps 

with handsome singer Tom, only to be 

terribly let down by him in the end. 

There’s a brilliant scene where Tom 

dedicates a song “To someone who 

might be here tonight” and each of 

the assembled women in the audience 

believe the song is meant for them, 

when in reality, the only person Tom 

genuinely loves is himself. 

The Nashville community hated the 

film when it was released, possibly 

because their own vanity prevented 

them from seeing what is essentially a 

sympathetic portrait. A similar thing 

happened with the fashion set when 

Altman made Pret-a-Porter, with 

designers and models criticising the 

film for being fake. Perhaps it takes an 

outsider to reveal what is really going 

on in these worlds. 

The film’s political points remain 

unclear, as does the reason for its 

violent climax. While the Republicans 

are depicted as smarmy, self-serving 

opportunists, Altman avoids making 

an overt moral judgement on their 

behaviour. It’s the minutiae of life, the 

fragility of human emotions and the 

vanity, pride and ambition that can 

bring out the worst in us all that really 

interests him. Nashville’s triumph 

is that it shows us these people’s 

humanity, despite their failings. 

Altman loves his characters and so 

do we.

A chance meeting between Laurence 

and Fred leads them into a passionate 

relationship. Their chemistry is evident 

in their shared, playful sense of humour, 

matched by their steadfast support of 

each other’s career paths. They are 

clearly good for each other until Laurence 

decides he wants a radical change 

- to be woman. What happens next? 

Laurence faces the reality of evolving 

into his suppressed alter ego while Fred 

deals with the new light shed on their 

relationship. 

Written and directed by Xavier Dolan who is just 23, this 

film is an incredible coup at such a young age. It’s already 

film number three for the openly gay French Canadian, 

but given that Dolan is a former child star with years of 

industry experience perhaps that’s not surprising. 

While Dolan describes his first film J’ai Tué Ma Mère as 

semi-autobiographical, this offering is “an homage to the 

ultimate love story: ambitious, impossible, the love we want 

to be sensational and boundless, the love that we don’t dare 

hope for, the love that cinema, books and art provide.” After 

seeing the film you can totally understand his vision. The 

character of Laurence (Melvil Poupaud) wants acceptance 

for himself regardless of his appearance and desires and 

believes he has found his other half in Fred, whose love is 

unconditional. 

Laurence is a literature teacher who is naïve about what 

lies ahead. He looks at his transformation in very black and 

white terms - one day he is a man and the next a woman. 

He doesn’t think of himself as needing to pass by imitating 

women and wearing wigs. Instead, he wants his own natural 

tresses and opts for the bold approach to wear make-up and 

female clothes with his cropped hair. 

Fred (Suzanne Clement), mean while, faces a life shattering 

reality check when everything that she thought and felt 

about her lover has to be re-evaluated. Her emotions erupt 

to the surface as she tries to understand herself. 

It’s hard to compare Poupard’s and Clement’s performances, 

but Clement’s emotional fragility paid off in the form of the 

best actress award in the Un Certain Regard section at this 

year’s Cannes Film Festival. Her own transformation from 

girl into woman almost parallels Laurence’s and makes her 

unrecognisable from the character we first meet. 

The film’s running time of two hours 39 minutes is an 

issue, but in retrospect you’d have a hard time editing any 

scenes out as they all fit into the intricate puzzle. Without 

all the parts of the story to explore you would be robbed of 

the whole picture and miss out on this independent gem. 

Laurence Anyways is at the 56th BFI London Film Festival 

in partnership with American Express 10 - 21 October. 

It opens at UK cinemas in winter 2012. 

www.bfi.org.uk/56th-bfi-london-film-festival 

LAURENCE ANYWAYS 

BY JAIME GOMES 

THE ARRIVAL OF 

WANG 

8 October 

Having worked in television and music 

video production, particularly for 

Italian rap artists, Marco and Antonio 

Manetti turn their hands once more to 

film making with their fifth cinematic 

offering, The Arrival of Wang. 

Actress Francesca Cuttica is Gaia, a 

translator who is offered a can’t miss 

opportunity to make a lot of money 

from an unexpected job. You can’t help 

but feel that imminent disaster is on 

the horizon as Gaia puts her life in the 

hands of a secretive client. 

Cuttica’s performance bridges 

naïveté, curiosity and rebellion as she 

struggles to grasp the demands of her 

antagonist, compellingly played by 

Ennio Fantastichini. 

The movie is subtitled in English 

and features an intriguing plot, witty 

banter and a liberal dose of humour 

that draws you into the mystery. 

The limited settings and less than 

impressive special effects add a 

charming simplicity, although at times 

can make it feel a little like a 1980’s 

episode of Tales of the Unexpected. 

DVD 

BY JAIME GOMES 

BEAUTY 8 October 

From the winner of the Queer Palm at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, Director 

Oliver Hermanus’ Beauty captures gritty, suburban South Africa in the small 

city of Bloemfontein. 

Deon Lotz (François) is a middle aged Afrikaner with a wife and two grown 

daughters. On the surface he has it all, but underneath lurks a soul in turmoil 

seeking secret meetings in secluded locales with other married white men. 

Lotz’s portrayal of a character losing control is both formidable and unnerving. 

You empathise with him while also recoiling in horror as his infatuation with his 

nephew Christian (Charlie Keegan) takes him over the edge. 

The use of both English and Afrikaans adds to the overriding feeling of confusion 

and discord. Where the film falls short is in long visual pauses on detail without 

dialogue. The powerful message about repression and helplessness, however, is 

impossible to ignore. 

HIT SO HARD: 

The Life & Near Death Story 

of Patty Schemel 

12 November 

Have you ever heard of Patty Schemel? 

Most of us would not recognize her 

name unless you’re an aficionado 

of the grunge music scene of 1990s 

Seattle. Schemel is most famous for 

being the drummer of the alternative 

rock band The Hole until 1998. Hit So 

Hard is a documentary that follows 

the highs and lows of her rigorous life. 

Her pre-Nirvana friendship with Kurt 

Cobain and Courtney Love comes 

under the spotlight, but at times 

overpowers the narrative considering 

the focus of the documentary is not 

the overdosed rocker and his addicted 

wife. It does, however, help to put the 

troubled drummer’s rise to fame into 

perspective. 

Quotations from contributors 

intersect the documentary and sit 

comfortably alongside home movies 

and theories about the reasons for 

Schemel’s struggles. Entertainingly, 

these even become as far fetched as 

to cite the orbital rotation of Saturn 

around Earth as the catalyst for her 

low periods. 

Patty Schemel’s survival can be seen 

as both a warning about excess and 

a testament to living life to the max. 

She clearly enjoyed the limelight and 

in some ways seems to be seeking to 

recapture it with her frankness about 

her descent into alcohol, heroin abuse 

and homelessness. It’s a far cry from 

rubbing elbows with the crème of the 

grunge crop. 

www.peccapics.com 


DESIRED 

BY ANDREA WEBSTER 

Decanter light in polished gold 

Each light is made from a lead crystal 

drinks decanter sourced from antique 

markets. Lee Broom, the hot designer 

behind the personal shopping room 

at Topman, created this version of his 

famous Decanter light. Hang together 

in groups for maximum effect. 

£495 www.leebroom.com 

American Brutalist wall 

sculpture 

Adorn your walls with gleaming, 

vintage metal wall art. This 1960’s 

wall sculpture with flamed brass fins 

adds a dash of spiky metallic cool to 

any wall. 

£295 www.toothandclawonline.com 

Coffee tables 

Shiny but chic – these fabulous metalclad 

Kier Townsend coffee tables are 

made from folded, burnished metal 

strips, adding a subtle shimmer to 

your living room. 

£1,900 www.kiertownsend.com 

Cushions 

Go for soft metal rather than 

hard metal 

Silver Devore Cowhide cushion. 

£69 www.dwell.co.uk 

A gorgeous Bohemian mish-mash 

for a darker take on metal. 

Blue Shimmer cushion 

£39 www.dwell.co.uk 

German Modernist coffee set 

Hot Metal! This Modernist copper, 

teak and glass coffee set picks up 

perfectly on the copper trend. 

£60 www.toothandclawonline.com 


DESIRED 

Vintage polished steel wardrobe 

Carry the metallic theme through to 

the bedroom – a more sophisticated 

take on the industrial look. 

£695 www.theoldcinema.co.uk 

The “Mama” stainless steel 

vase/pitcher 

Design queen Ilse Crawford and 

Georg Jensen use a sensual metallic 

palette, elevating everyday dualpurpose 

objects into precious 

collectable pieces. 

£245 www.georgjensen.com 

Georgian Mirror cufflinks 

Hotel Zulu combine sterling silver 

with haematite centre stones. 

Inspired by 18th Century mirrors 

£300 www.wolfandbadger.com 

Spitfire Chair 

distressed leather, hand studded 

detailing and airplane inspired 

metal frame. A retro design with a 

comfortable seat and metal swivel 

base 

£825 www.afternoah.com 

95 BEIGE

48HRS IN MAUI WITH KRISTINE KILTY 

Kristine Kilty, freelance creative director and fashion stylist retreats to the beautiful Hawaiian island of Maui 

with Krystal Taylor for a well deserved break of pampering and partying 

After 36 hours of travelling we touched down in 

Maui. The first thing I could see was gorgeous blue 

sky, sunshine and palm trees blowing gently in the 

wind. Definitely a great start to the holiday! 

We got ‘leid’ on arrival at the luxurious Four 

Seasons Resort in Wailea and to make things 

even more fabulous we got a gorgeous glass of 

champagne! 

One of the best things about Maui is its fantastic 

fresh produce. Even the simplest dishes taste 

fantastic. Every single meal was exquisite. 

Maui is home of the infamous Hawaiian shirt. 

I always wondered if Hawaiian people actually 

wear such wonderful colourful, bold prints. 

I wasn’t disappointed; even the public toilet 

signs are clad in traditional floral shirts. 

10 minutes to change and we headed out to the 

golden sandy beach to make sure every last drop 

of sun was soaked up. Within a couple of hours 

we felt like we’d been on the island for days. Total 

Bliss!. 

Sipping cocktails and watching spectacular and 

dramatic sunsets is definitely a “must do” in Maui. 

Within the space of an hour you can see so many 

incredible colours and shapes in the sky. 

Truly magical. 

48HRS IN MAUI WITH KRISTINE KILTY 

We headed out for a “Luau”. The Hula dancers 

looked amazing in their grass skirts and shiny 

coconut bras... sadly my camera ran out of battery 

before the performances began. I’m gutted! 

Breakfast was followed by a trip to the plush 

Four Seasons Spa to try their signature Lomi 

Mohala massage. I felt like I was walking on air 

afterwards. 

We happened to be on the island at the best time 

of year to see whales. Although we saw a lot, 

capturing them on camera was not so easy... 

they are just too fast! 

After partying Maui style I thought I’d treat 

myself to a healthy detox day. What better way 

to start off than with a delicious tropical fruit 

breakfast. 

A pool that plays relaxing music under water, a 

pool side bar, hot sexy guys bringing cocktails/sun 

cream/ipods/Kindles and treats of all varieties. 

Need I say more?! 

Maui is beautiful from the water. We got a sneaky 

peak at the neighbouring islands. They all look so 

beautiful. I can’t wait to return to explore more of 

them in the future. 



PHOTOGRAPHY: JOHN STEWARDSON 

BEIGE RAGE: DOES IT GET BETTER? 

This summer thousands 

of students will have left 

schools as they make their 

way into the adult world. 

A significant percentage 

of these young people 

will be gay. 

With the abolition of section 28 

and a sustained campaign to tackle 

homophobia in UK schools, their 

experiences are likely to have been 

very different from a previous 

generation. The continued momentum 

of the global It Gets Better campaign 

has made great strides in reaching out 

to the estimated two thirds of gay and 

lesbian youths whose lives are made a 

misery by bullying. There’s no doubt 

about it – schools are much more gay 

friendly than they ever used to be. 

This is not to say that there’s still not 

work to do and only by consistently 

challenging prejudice can we change 

deep seated attitudes and stereotypes. 

But as these young gay people move 

out into the wider world, the gay 

community also has a responsibility 

to step up and prove to them that the 

levels of victimisation and alienation 

that they’ve encountered so far in 

their lives are over. 

Sadly, looking around the current 

gay scene, it is often difficult to say 

affirmatively that this is the case. 

We need to ask ourselves if what we 

can offer as a community is enough to 

empower what are often quite damaged 

individuals who are grappling with a 

legacy of low self-esteem and feelings 

of worthlessness. 

Too often our scene offers exactly 

the same as it did 17 years ago. 

We’re inundated with sexual imagery 

to the extent that it often seems that 

being gay is little more than an endless 

orgy, devoid of any consequences. 

Two images from this summer 

come to mind – two images that are 

intricately linked with young people 

and the aspirations that often seem to 

be force fed to them by the commercial 

gay scene. 


The first is a tableau of five musclebound 

gay men who stood in a clear, 

plastic box called the “Vending Men 

Machine” in the middle of Soho this 

jubilee weekend. Passing punters 

were invited to select men from the 

box to win various prizes. Was this 

harmless fun or a blatant display of 

the body fascism that increasingly 

demands that we conform to a two 

dimensional, unachievable form of 

“perfection”? 

Perhaps the real question here is how 

might a young person, coming out 

on the scene for the first time, feel 

encountering this? The message seems 

loud and clear – if you don’t have the 

washboard abs and bulging biceps 

you’re not going to belong to this new 

world that you’ve been thrust into. 

The second image is more sinister: the 

steroid raddled body of dead porn star 

Erik Rhodes, his face creased with 

self-loathing and despair after a short 

life-time pumping his body full of 

drugs to fulfil the onscreen fantasies 

of thousands of nameless strangers. 

Rhodes’ struggle was a very public one. 

He documented his increased isolation 

in searing detail on his blog while the 

industry that grabbed him when he 

was barely a child looked on and did 

nothing as he slowly unravelled. 

Yes, this is fortunately an extreme 

example, but for every Rhodes there 

are hundreds of young gay men in 

London who, week in week out, 

are throwing themselves into the 

same self-destructive oblivion as 

they desperately seek some way of 

belonging. The increase in HIV rates 

and admissions to St. Thomas’s 

hospital don’t lie. 

Every individual is responsible for 

their behaviour, but blame also lies 

at the feet of the community (or lack 

of) that has consistently failed them. 

We have a duty to young gay people 

to show them that life really does get 

better. 

This means offering them guidance 

and care, rather than simply leaving 

them by the wayside as we exploit 

them and take their money. It means 

providing other social and cultural 

outlets that foster different ways of 

relating to and understanding one 

another. It’s time to get our house in 

order and give young gay people the 

culture and future that they deserve. 


55 BEIGE

marc almond - Beige Magazine

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