03_2014

2014 SEX SURVEY

OUR EXPLOSIVE LOOK

AT MODERN GAY SEX

KINGSLAND

ROAD

X FACTOR’S

FINEST ARE

READY TO

BUST OUT

Cleo Rocos

/

Tom Rob Smith

/

Angela Lansbury

/

Lord Chris Smith

/

Pete Wentz

MARCH 2014 UK £4.30 THE ORIGINAL GA Y MAGAZINE

EXCLUSIVE

RuPaul on Gaga,

Piggy and the

shade of it all

30

_{albums that}

shaped gay

_music

30

YEARS OF GAYTIMES

QUICHE!

Ja’mie King’s

first ever gay

press interview

ETERNAL!

The Big Reunion

girls speak

exclusively to GT

Sex

addiction

Is getting

laid too

much

ruining

your life?

---Sex

selfies

Where

do your

nudes

really

end up?

@SCIMX SCI-MX sci-mx.co.uk

the

series

.

Using the latest scientific

advances in supplementation,

the

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The series includes a best-selling

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Editor DARREN SCOTT Assistant Editor LEE DALLOWAY Staff Writer RYAN BUTCHER

Editorial Assistant BENJAMIN BUTTERWORTH Design & Art Direction MARK KING Style and Grooming LLOYD-SCOTT TYLER Music BOB HENDERSON

Editor-at-large JOHN MARRS

Columnists PJ BRENNAN, BENJAMIN COHEN, THE

GUYLINER, EDD KIMBER, ALAN ROSENTHAL, PAUL THORN, MICHELLE VISAGE, MIKEY WALSH

Contributors JOE MCCORMICK, MATT PEAKE,

LUKE SMITH, TIM MITCHELL, MIKE HIRD, MILO WAKELIN, JUSTIN MYERS, TOM JONES, PERRY JUBY, DANIEL RIDING, MARK SINGLETON, CHRIS HITCHINGS, FRAZER LOUGH, PIERS ALLARDYCE, PETER TATCHELL, DAN TICKNER, DAVID ROBINSON, THE RANGDO

Pug-at-large TOBY

Thanks to DANIEL HINCHCLIFFE (Soundcheck

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Production & Distribution Manager

ALEXANDER SMITH

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The mention or appearance or likeness of any person or organisation in articles or advertising in GAY TIMES is not to be taken as any indication of the sexual, social or political orientation of such persons or organisations. “Little Miss Kylie ¶WKLQNVVKH·VWRRJRRGIRURXU%XON\.QLWVLVVXH· 0LQRJXH«µ 1R UHVSRQVLELOLW\ can be assumed for any unsolicited materials, and submission is construed as permission to publish without further correspondence and the fee payable

start your engines

[03/14]

[40]

[70]

GT430

MAR 2014

Let’s talk about sex, baby. Let’s talk about you and me. Well, let’s not as we’ll be here all day and there’s a magazine to be read. But while I’ve got you, we can certainly talk about sex. More importantly, how people get sex these days. How sex is consumed, if you will. If you’re my sort of age (mid 30s, thanks, we’ll leave it at that) or older, you’ll probably agree that everything’s changed. Sex is, let’s be honest, easy to get. It might not be with the person you want, but it’s there. And that’s reflected in the biggest ever sex survey that we’ve done. It makes for fascinating reading.

If you’re younger than me, this sexual playing field may be all you’ve ever known – it may be that you can’t imagine life without an app that can hook you up immediately. I find it fascinating hearing straight people talking about Tinder as though it’s some kind of sexual liberation, when gay people have had their version for years (happy fifth birthday, Grindr!)

I also find the way gay men respond to ‘dating’ apps fascinating. “I’ve deleted Grindr and Scruff!” people will declare on Twitter. No-one cares. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with using these apps, as long as you’re playing safe and not cheating on anyone. It’s just what people DO these days. Stop giving a damn about what anyone else may think. It doesn’t make you ‘better’ or ‘worse’ for not having them, just get on with it. Unless, of course, you’re one of those awful people that goes onto these apps to be rude to people, screenshot conversations and post them online with some kind of ‘superiority’. Be nice, we’re all there for the same reason. Talk about sex, baby. Q Darren Scott @darren_scott

Cover image by Joe McCormick Grooming by Evan Huang

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

fi rst

06 Fitty at the front 14 Mikey Walsh 22-D·PLH.LQJ 24 Michelle Visage 26 Sweetie, darling?

news

28 Homophobia in football 30 News debate

32 30 Things: Gay albums 35 Benjamin Cohen 36 Heroes: Chris Smith

features

40.LQJVODQG5RDG 545X3DXO 58 2014 GT Sex Survey 66 Sex addiction 706H[VHOÀHV 74 Sex homewreckers

entertainment

78 Eternal 84 Fall Out Boy 907RP5RE6PLWK 94 Screen 97 Geek

98 Games and Tech

style

100 London Collections: Men 106 Home style

real life

1095HDGHU·VOLYHV 110 The Guyliner 1133-%UHQQDQ 116 Uganda 122(GG.LPEHU 123$ODQ5RVHQWKDO 124 Fitness 127 HIV

travel

129 Letter from... 130.H\:HVW

[

contents

]

gaytimes.co.uk



5

NEX

T ISSUE

ON SA

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19 M

ARC

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[84]

[54]

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[90]

The Book of More Men What’s better than the first issue of

glossy photo-mag Menenti? Why, issue two of course!

Menenti – produced by our very own brilliant and handsome Joe

McCormick – is fit to bursting with sexy men wearing not very

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first

]



7

No more bowls

It’s almost up there with

shouting “tickets, money, passport!” as you

leave the house (ask an older gay) – that

age-old question of “where are my bloody keys?”

Of course, now there’s an app for that, with

Elgato’s Smart Key sending an alert to your

iPhone to let you know you’ve left them behind.

It even plays a sound to help you find them.

Pegasus

does Daley

One of our favourite street artists, the London-based Pegasus, has been hard at work adorning numerous landmarks around the capital with his awesome paintings. This one, on infamous South London homo watering hole Royal Vauxhall Tavern, has to be one of our favourites. Tom Daley starkers except for a message of hope and a rainbow love heart painted on the door of a gay pub? Not queer at all, dear. Q

facebook.com/pegasusstreetart, @pegasustreet

We’re loving these

new Maurice Lacroix watches, and we’re loving even more that they’re modelled by the current 100m freestyle world champion James Magnussen. Yum! What do you mean you can barely see the watch? Er... check the website for more beautiful designs. Q mauricelacroix.com

splash!

[03/14]

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first

]

LAC

ROI

X,

SWE

ETIE

bonjour, yanis

[03/14]

[

first

]

,I\RXKDYHQ·WFDXJKW3DULVLDQ

choreographer and YouTube sensation <DQLV0DUVKDOO\HW\RX·UHPLVVLQJD WUHDW+H·VDOUHDG\ZRZLQJWKHLQWHUQHW ZLWKKLVIDEXOLFLRXVKLJKHQHUJ\URXWLQHV to Beyoncé·V*URZQ:RPDQ3LQN·V 6OXW/LNH<RXDQG%ULWQH\·V:RUN%LWFK 0DQ\RIWKHYLGHRVDUHVHWLQKLVEHORYHG 3DULVDQGIHDWXUH<DQLVOHDGLQJDWURXSH RIVPRNLQ·KRWVKDSHWKURZHUVDJDLQVWD EDFNGURSRI)UHQFKODQGPDUNV,I<DQLV ZDVQDWLYH$PHULFDQKLVQDPHZRXOG FHUWDLQO\EH'DQFHV:LWK+HHOVDVKH UDUHO\VWUXWVKLVVWXIIOHVVWKDQVL[LQFKHV IURPWKHÁRRU ´,ZDVREVHVVHGZLWKP\PRWKHU·V KHHOVZKHQ,ZDVDNLGµVD\VWKHVXSHU FXWH<DQLV´6KHKDVOLNHSDLUV ,·PJHWWLQJWKHUHWRR,MXVWORYHWKHP DQGWKH\PDNHP\OHJVDQGDVVORRN EHWWHUµ7KHUHDUHIHZRQ7HDP*7WKDW FDQHYHQVWDJJHUDVKRUWGLVWDQFHLQ VHQVLEOHKHHOV\HVRIFRXUVHZH·YH WULHGOHWDORQHSHUIRUPDGDQFHURXWLQH WR/DG\*DJDLQWKHP´,WWDNHVDORW RIFRQWURODQGEDODQFHEXW,ORYHWKH IHHOLQJµUHPDUNV<DQLVZLWKLQIHFWLRXV HQWKXVLDVP´,·PDGLIIHUHQWSHUVRQRQFH ,KDYHP\KHHOVRQ,·PWKDWELWFKµ $WKHMRLQHGWKHFDVWRIKXJHO\ VXFFHVVIXO)UHQFKPXVLFDO/H5RL6ROHLO WKH\RXQJHVWRIWKHWURXSH%HIRUHKH ZDVKH·GFRPSOHWHGDZRUOGWRXURI /HV'L[&RPPDQGHPHQWVDQGVSHQWD \HDUDW1<&·V%URDGZD\'DQFH&HQWUH +LVMDZGURSSLQJFKRUHRJUDSK\PD\ EHZLQQLQJKLPIDQVWKHZRUOGRYHUEXW ZKLFKDUWLVWVGRHVKHIDQJLUORYHU"´'HI 0DGRQQDEXWP\DOOWLPHIDYRXULWHLV %DUEUD6WUHLVDQG,NQRZ\RXSUREDEO\ GLGQ·WH[SHFWWKDWµKHVD\VZLWKDJLJJOH %XWZKHQDVNHGZKRKHZRXOGPRVWOLNH WRFKRUHRJUDSKIRUKHVLPSO\VFUHDPV ´%H\RQFpµDERXWÀYHWLPHV%LHQV€U 8QEHOLHYDEO\<DQLV·HODERUDWHURXWLQHV RQO\WDNHKLPDURXQGRQHWRWZRKRXUVWR FUHDWHEXWLIKHKDGXQOLPLWHGWLPHDQG EXGJHWWRFUHDWHKLVGUHDPYLGHRZKDW ZRXOGLWLQYROYH"´,WZRXOGSUREDEO\EH H[WUHPHO\JD\µKHEHDPVH[FLWHGO\´,W ZRXOGIHDWXUHDORWRI\RXQJJD\VIURP DOODURXQGWKHZRUOG2KDQG-HDQ3DXO

After 41 years and 31 million sales,

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is STILL Elton John’s finest album to date. Now, it’s getting the ultimate reissue makeover – like a bit of slap on before a night on the town. Out on 24 March, the new deluxe version comes with a documentary, live concert album and a bonus disc of cover versions from some of our favourite artists – from John Grant and Emeli Sandé through to Fall Out Boy (but more on them and Elton later in the mag). There’s also a 100-page illustrated hardback book packed with rare photos and interviews, including this snap we managed to get our paws on just for you. It’s not hard to see how he became one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, sparkling platform boots and all. Oh, and of course, singles like Bennie and the Jets and Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting. Everybody sing with us now... “Saturday, Saturday... Saturday...” Qeltonjohn.com

7 O’CLOCK

AND WE

WANNA

ROCK

follow the yellow brick road

[03/14]

SPEED

DATE

20-30 March

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Straight from the 86WKHKRWWHVW female rapper on WKHVFHQHDQG VHOIODEHOOHG SDQVH[XDO$QJHO +D]HPDNHVDQ appearance at /RQGRQ·V+HDYHQ IROORZLQJWKH UHOHDVHRIKHUGHEXW DOEXP'LUW\*ROG VHHWLFNHWVFRPQ From 16 March ,WPD\EHWRRODWH WR$SRORJL]HEXWLW LVQ·WWRRODWHWRVHH 2QH5HSXEOLF·V8. WRXUFRPPHQFLQJ 16 March 2014. The ER\VZLOOEHFDOOLQJ LQDW/RQGRQ·V 5RXQGKRXVHDQG WKH5R\DO$OEHUW +DOODPRQJRWKHUV RQHUHSXEOLFFRP HYHQWVQ

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Open letter to David Beckham

Please keep releasing Bodywear pieces for H&M. But only if you keep making the adverts where you’re caught outside in your pants. Oh, and maybe do a jock in the next line. Lots of love, Team GT.Q

7KH6SULQJ'DYLG%HFNKDP%RG\ZHDU&ROOHFWLRQLVDYDLODEOHLQVHOHFW+ 0VWRUHVDQGRQOLQHDWKPFRPQRZ

[

first

]



13

It was a late

November morning when I got the call. The call that would put a definite end to the best years of my life.

My best friend Leigh had been taken on a date to a London nightclub. Only the guy who took him had very different plans of how their night was going to turn out.

Within an hour of them meeting, he poisoned Leigh’s drink with a lethal amount of liquid ecstasy while he went to the bathroom.

In the early morning Leigh was discovered, and his mum called me from the hospital.

I was unaware that within a few hours, I’d be told that I had to say my final goodbyes to him before they switched off his life support.

Leigh was 24.

I could go on about the pain of losing the greatest friend I ever had. I could go on too about how we all approach the pain of loss in so many different ways.

But that’s another story; a long and very tragic, macabre mess.

cases, funeral arrangements and trips to police stations, I came to understand how the struggle of finding the right thing to say can make people disappear from your life altogether. Friends of Leigh’s and mine, both mutual and not, had vanished off the radar, fading into empty answering machine messages and unanswered texts.

The days and weeks passed in an ugly flash, and after an eternity of calls, tears, legal battles, revelations and family concerns, there was nothing left but the rubble and ashes of a life lost and a pool of unanswered questions. We were forced to let go while a guilty man walked free, and Leigh was put down as just another statistic in a gay clubbing and drugs ‘mistake’.

With nothing left to do, I thought it over in my mind until my heart burst.

Then, I closed every blind and curled up on my couch, where I planned to stay for good. A yellow case on the shelf almost lit up in front of me; a box of DVDs that

I remembered sitting with my mum and sister watching this show when I was a little kid. I’d never quite got the humour of it; four old ladies living in Miami, each one with their own different quirks. There was Sophia, a matriarchal biddy with a story for everything, and her razor sharp daughter Dorothy, with a voice like a sack of bricks. Rose was the loveable simpleton, and Blanche, well, she was the whore.

I dragged myself over to the DVD player and put it on. I had no idea what to do with myself, or how I was going to ever get by without him in my life. As the weeks went on, these four women, lifted me from the very ground I had sunk into. I found myself laughing with them, crying with them, and feeling every bit of their frustration and pain, throwing my arms up in joy with every success they made and lesson they learned.

As the last moments of the last episode played before my eyes, I wept all over again; for the great ladies that had become my surrogate family. And for Leigh, and the part of our lives we could never get back, or relive ever again.

My soul mate, my saviour and the greatest friend I ever had was gone. And from here on in, there was only me left to be able to retell all the crazy and wonderful things we did and shared together over the years.

I went in to the Apple store and bought my first-ever laptop… on finance, of course.

And that night, I started to write what was to become my first book.

And of course, I dedicated it to Leigh. I still think of him, every single day.

And I’ll always have those Golden Girls he sent to take care of me.

A guilty

man

walked

free, and

Leigh was

put down

as just

another

statistic

in a gay

clubbing

and drugs

mistake

THE CONTINUING

ADVENTURES

OF GYPSY BOY

column

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Or call 0844 856 0637 always quoting GT30. Or fi ll in the form below & send to:

I’m assuming you’ve heard about Up? You mean WKDWNLGVÀOPWKDWPDGH\RXFU\"No! And I didn’t cry, I was just caught up in the drama... It’s a new piece of technology that helps you live a healthier lifestyle. 7KLVLVQ·WOLNHWKHWLPH\RXERXJKWWKDW 3RZHU3ODWH\RXQHYHUXVHLVLW"No, this is much more chic. It tracks your movement, your sleep patterns, what you eat and drink... 6RXQGVOLNHP\ PRWKHU,PXVWPRYHRXWVKH·VGULYLQJPHPHQWDOListen, you could do with this. It advises you on life changes based on the info you input and how to live healthier. 'RHVLWPHDVXUHKRZPDQ\JODVVHVRIZLQH,·YHKDG"I don’t think it’s

7KDQN*RGWKDW·VDELWWRRPXFKUHDOLW\IRUP\OLNLQJIt’s important

If you believe what’s coming

out of Russia these days, you’d think gays have no business hitting the slopes. But just ask the thousands of people who attend the European Gay Ski Week every year, and they’ll each tell you they know their way around a pole or two (steady now). Now in its sixth year, the EGSW is making its return to Alpe d’Huez – that’s in France – from 22 March until 29 March. Guests come from all over the world in all shapes, sizes and ages, from the most novice skiers and snowboarders right through to seasoned experts. But even if you wouldn’t dream of sliding down a mountain with a couple of planks strapped to your feet, there’s still plenty to do, with some of the biggest gay club brands, DJs and performers from across Europe and beyond. And that’s before we’ve even started on the pool parties and cabaret line-up. Prices start from £295 per person for seven nights, including shared accommodation, lift pass and event pass. An offer so good, not even Putin could pass it up. We’ll see you there. Q

HXURSHDQJD\VNLZHHNQHW

goin’ up, up, up

[03/14]

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first

]

[trendsetter ]

IMAGES &+5,6*($5 <

AIN’T NO

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ENOUGH

Info & tickets:

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DJ Line up

PAGANO | HILDEGARD

STEVEN REDANT

PHIL ROMANO | DjCK

LEOMEO | OLIVER M.

RONY GOLDING

DANIEL WHITE

MARINGO

DJUMELLA

SWEDISH DYKE VIBES

and more

the party, sports

&

entertainment festival

Center Parcs Bispinger Heide, germany

between hamburg and hanover

Him in the Pinny

An all-male

production of Gilbert and

Sullivan’s classic HMS Pinafore

runs at the Hackney Empire in

London until 23 February and

then sets off for an eight-week tour

around the UK. Hot man-shaped

thespians and a classic Gilbert

Spring is just about on the horizon and, to celebrate, artists from all over the world have teamed up to create a dynamic new shoe collection. The project is called BucketFeet. And no, we don’t get the name either. But what we do know is that it’s made up of diverse designs ranging from slip-on options in neon-soaked geometric prints to demure lace-up shoes in monochromatic hues. All proceeds go directly to the artists themselves, which can only be a good thing, and the collection is available in Schuh now. Qschuh.co.uk

SHOE

IN

step to it

[03/14]

From being a gay

icon to why her

role in Blithe Spirit

is her best yet, we

caught up with

Jessica Fletcher

herself, aka Dame

Angela Lansbury,

at the Gielgud

Theatre. Her role

as Madame Arcati

will mark 40 years

since she last

performed on a

British stage

ANGELA

LANSBURY

THE DAME

OF MAME

You’ve done Blithe Spirit on Broadway, what is it that made you want to do it again – and in London?

I think it’s one of the best parts I’ve ever had in the theatre. Honestly, that’s really the prime reason that I’m here. It’s an extraordinary character and I adore playing it. What better place to do it but London? The place of its origin, and mine.

What is it you like so much about Madame Arcati? She

embodies all the qualities I used to fool around with as a child. When I was about

seven, me and my sister used to do a sort of seance at Christmas. So I’ve played this part for a long time.

Do you think Murder She Wrote will be a driving force for people coming to see Blithe Spirit?

Unquestionably. A great proportion of the youngsters who came to see the play in New York came to see me because they knew me as Jessica Fletcher, so it was a bit of a shocker for them.

What do you expect and hope for this production? I

would love it to be a smash

hit, that’s what I want. We have a wonderful group of producers and if we can’t pull this off then I don’t belong in this business.

And finally, what do you think makes you a gay icon? Mame, a part that I

played. She was every gay persons idea of glamour and her attitudes coincided with every young mans ideals of beauty and glory. It was lovely and I’m very proud that I’m a gay icon. Q

Blithe Spirit is at the Gielgud Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, until 7 June, blithespiritlondon.com

[

first

]

Sunday afternoons may no longer be

dedicated to recording the Top 40

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This uniquely kitsch gift idea can

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retro cheese (if that’s what you’re

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Homo hip-hop has been making waves in the mainstream press of late, thanks to artists like Zebra Katz, Angel Haze and Mykki Blanco. Now, added to that list are Chicago duo Freaky Boiz, whose unapologetically frank and queer-leaning lyrics are getting them some attention in cyberspace. Prince Charming and Terrance Terrll told us: “We personally believe there’s homophobia in hip-hop because gays are ‘asking’ for acceptance in hip-hop, which is what makes us different. We’re not asking for acceptance – we’re taking it! Everyone wants to know if the world is ready for gay artists. If we leave it up to the world, they would never be ready. You have to take your spot in history!” Quite. Catch their previous single Bounce online, and then check out their latest tune Watch This, which is out now. Q@TheFreakyboiz -HIIUH\6DQNHU·V LQIDPRXV:KLWH 3DUW\WXUQV WKLV$SULOLQ 3DOP6SULQJV California. More WKDQ PHQIURPDFURVV WKHJOREHFRPH WRJHWKHUWRHQMR\ FXWWLQJHGJH DXGLRYLVXDOV WKHIUHVKHVW'-V DQGDVXSHUVWDU KHDGOLQHU:KLWH 3DUW\LVWKH ELJJHVWJD\GDQFH PXVLFIHVWLYDOLQ WKHZRUOGDQGWKLV \HDUDLPVWREH ELJJHUWKDQHYHU 7DOHQWFRPHVLQ WKHIRUPRI'-V $OH[$FRVWD 7RQ\0RUDQDQG &KULV&R[DPRQJ RWKHUV,WDOVR PDUNVWKHGHEXW RI'-SURGXFHUV 'DQQ\9HUGHDQG 6WHYHQ5HGDQW ZRUNLQJWRJHWKHU DVDGXRXQGHU WKHQDPH%HQW &ROOHFWLYH,W DOOWDNHVSODFH DORQJVLGHGD\ ORQJSRROSDUWLHV VHWDJDLQVW DVFRUFKLQJ GHVHUWEDFNGURS -HIIUH\VDQNHUFRP

dance and sing

retro giftage

[03/14]

[

first

]

Ja’mie

_King

You love your GBF Cody. Now that young gay men have more freedom to express themselves, do you feel there’s still more work to be done? I reckon get

a new flag. The rainbow thing is really dumb. And young gay guys need to get better at sport. They’re really uncoordinated.

What do you think of gay guys, as opposed to gay girls? Gay

guys – funny, cool, some are hot but their voices get really annoying. Gay girls – smell, weird, always check me out in changing rooms, usually ugs.

How many girls have you pashed? Not full pashed, just partly pashed. OK. I’m NOT a lesbian,

but… I accidentally pashed my bestie Madison at a sleepover once. I was having a dream about a hot guy and I didn’t have my “lesbian prevention guard” – a pillow – between us. It was disgusting.

For the uninitiated, explain “quiche” and where it came from? I made it up. It means

rootable. Like, hot to the point that guys wanna root you. Like, for example I’m quiche. But you can say it to mean, like, extremely good. “I just did the quichest self portrait in art” or something.

What are your thoughts on men dressing up as women? It’s

disgusting. I reckon if you’re a man, act like one. I don’t mind Sarah Jessica Parker. That’s a guy right?

What advice would you give Gay

Times readers if they receive a dick pic? Save it straight to your

dick pic album, obvs. I’ve got mine separated into black, white and Asian albums because I get sent heaps. Obvs delete if it’s a gross one. If it’s a really quiche one, use it as your lockscreen pic.

Any advice on how to make small things look bigger? You know, even if it was caused by an eating disorder... Are you trying to say

that my tits are small? Because they totes are. I’m legit sui – suicidal – about it, so don’t make jokes.

Mitchell, Kwami, Lauren. Snog, marry or kill? Snog Kwami – too

poor to marry, and black guys lips are really fleshy and amazing. Marry Mitchell – rich, quiche and his dick pics are incredible. Kill Lauren. For obvs reasons.

How can we send better Snapchats? I only ever send one

second tit shots. That way you can’t screenshot and it’s not long enough to tell how small my tits are, but enough time to get guys aroused.

You have a strong rivalry with The Boarders, the girls who board at your school. What can they do to make you change your mind on them? Lose weight, brush their hair

for once, use deodorant, and stop fisting other girls in the dorms.

What advice would you give to poor people? Get some money and

stop going on about being poor. And if you’re hot and homeless, try to use your hotness to your

She’s our favourite schoolgirl in,

like, ever, and Ja’mie King has

granted her first ever gay press

interview to Gay Times because

we’re way quiche. She’s 17, she’s

from Sydney, Australia and her new

series, Ja’mie: Private School Girl

– on BBC Three now – documents

her final year at school...



23 gaytimes.co.uk IM A G E S J O H N TSI A VI S

[first]

Question

Which Disney villain would you be and why? From @J_T1988 Answer Joe my darling, ,·GEH6QRZ :KLWH·V4XHHQIRU PXOWLSOHUHDVRQV )LUVWRIIVKH·V JRWWKHEHVW H\HEURZVRQWKH IDFHRIWKH(DUWK 7KHQWKHUH·V WKDWIDFHVKH·V DOZD\VVHUYLQJ IDFH*UDFH-RQHV VW\OHZLWKD KRRGVQDWFKLQJ HYHU\WKLQJEDFN 6KH·VJRWDJD\ WKHPLUURUZKR·V DOZD\VWHOOLQJ KHUKRZJRUJH VKHLVEXWPRVW LPSRUWDQWO\VKH·V WKHIDLUHVWLQWKH ODQGVRZHKDYH WKDWLQFRPPRQ no? xxx Q

advantage. Hang around private school gates after school hours. I’d definitely chuck a few coins at a young hot homeless guy if he grabbed my eye.

Any plans to come and visit your gay fans in Britain? OMFG I defs

want too. I’ve got a fake ID so I could get into clubs and stuff. But gay guys can get a bit rapey, so I’d want to bring my GBF Cody to look after me just in case. And so he can pick up.

You’re a bit of a gay icon – why do you think this is? I think gays

tend to like girls with balls. Like girls that are tough and stand up for themselves and who are not, like, full sluts, but are sort of semi-slutty. And I tick all those boxes.

Who would play you in the movie of your life? Miranda

Kerr has already said she’s keen if there’s ever a telemovie about me – probs will be. But I’ve got a better body and she looks a bit alieny, so I’m not into it. Q

-D·PLH3ULYDWH6FKRRO*LUOLVRQ%%& 7KUHH7KXUVGD\VDWSP$QVZHUVE\ FUHDWRUDQGZULWHU#FKULVOLOOH\

the bitch is back

[03/14]

[

first

]

Well hello my beauties! I trust

you kept yourselves busy while I so desperately missed you from over here across the pond? Good. Well, we’re back together and I’m fresh off another successful Battle of The Seasons Tour with a hot mix of the Queens from seasons one to five. The live shows just keep getting bigger and better – much like my tits! It’s like each and every performer challenges themselves to go in harder and stronger than their last show. That and the fact that I’m singing on these tours and they want to somehow try and outdo me, which never happens. I’ll never grow tired of watching my babies go out there and do what they do because I know there are no other shows out there with as much heart and soul as ours. And now for the really fucking exciting bit...

I got word and cannot wait to

None of what we do would be possible without our fans from all over the world and ESPECIALLY my UK Glitterazzi! I will forever be grateful for all of the love and support you give to me and, once I land on your shores, I will be werking overtime to give some of that love back to you. TELL YOUR CLUBS! I’m working on some of my fave musical theatre numbers to entertain-t you with. And when I get there? Just you try and stop me from letting you hear my regional accents and buying all of your nommy UK candies and cookies. Oh, sorry, ‘sweeties and biscuits!’ Do you see? I. AM. SO. BRITISH. Go on, ask me anything...

With that, it’s time for me to take my leave. I love you all. And for those of you who didn’t get a Valentine’s this year, consider this your belated love note. Until next month, you all know what to do. Come visit me at michellevisage.com and get at me on Twitter:

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MAKE THE

She considered

Kenny Everett and

Freddie Mercury

to be close friends,

she won our hearts

on Celebrity Big

Brother and she

could teach a

class on how to

be the world’s

most fabulous fag

magnet. Ladies and

gentlequeens, the

sublime Cleo Rocos

*bows down*

WORDS LEE DALLOWAY IMAGES LIAM LESLIE

Sweetie,

You look amazing! What’s the secret to eternal youth? Tequila!

Honestly, you know when you drink wines or bad spirits, they make your face clank down around your ankles the next day! I also love being happy. Not stupidly happy, I just think if something bad has happened I just edit it out.

What was your first experience of this business we call show? I

suppose it was working with Kenny Everett from a young age on his show. It was so throbbingly popular. There was no rehearsal, it was completely natural; life was work. It wasn’t, “oh we’re going to work now.” It meant putting on a costume and a bit more makeup but they were one and the same with Kenny. He was just a lovely, unassuming, but, at the same time, really colourful and divine man.

If you were an animal, what would you be? I’m a Leo, but I do actually

feel a real affinity with lions. They’re gold and no-one really messes with them. They’re really quite divine.

Who’s the most famous person in your phone book? Well it depends

who you’d tell! I’ve got Emma Bunton, Robbie Williams, Joan Collins… I adore Joan, she’s a proper icon. She’s ageless too. You go out and it’s one in the morning and she’s not ready for bed. She knows absolutely everything there is to know and anything that’s going on. She’s more than up to date.

Celebrity Big Brother… would you ever do it again? They’d have to pay

me an awful lot of money [laughs]. No, I wouldn’t do it again. I came from a time when not just anyone could be on television. You had to have an equity card, you had to earn it. Now it’s a different matter. I thought, “oh a house full of showbiz people – or whatever you want to call them – there’ll be a certain amount of discipline and entertainment. We’ll all bring outfits and obviously we’ll have fabulous tales to tell each other. How difficult will that be?” Well, what you don’t see is the wind ups that go on between the production and certain people

in the house. They need to agitate people and you don’t always see that. Sometimes certain people in the house would go to the Big Brother room and push the button and they’d be left waiting for hours or even days, and other people would go in and press the button and be let in immediately and get what they want. That would put in a bit of friction and the general public would never see it. Oh, and the hideous lighting!

What’s the campest thing you’ve ever done? Being born! [Laughs]. And what’s the wildest party you’ve ever been to? Going to Mexico

last year. The big breakthrough we had was [Cleo’s brand of tequila] AquaRiva going into Virgin clubhouses. We launched with an inaugural flight to Mexico, so Derren Brown, Keith Lemon, Richard Arnold, Richard Branson and I were in the clubhouse at seven in the morning and they’re serving a variety of AquaRiva cocktails. We had two gorgeous bartenders serving us the whole flight, and when we got off at Mexico, there was another party there ‘til 2am! We partied for three days in the end; what a shriek!

What scares you? Plastic shoes

[laughs].

What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever read about yourself? Oh God, I can’t

tell you that! Because I actually sued and won [laughs].

We have to ask about you, Freddie Mercury and Kenny Everett taking Princess Diana to [South London gay pub] the Royal Vauxhall Tavern... Oh, it was just one of those

times when you look back and think, “how fabulous”. Princess Diana used to love Kenny’s show and they knew each other. Every few months we’d all get together and swap palace gossip for showbiz gossip. She always wanted to know who was really gay, what was going on, are they really having an affair. It was pre-Heat magazine days and we used to fill her in on everything. One particular day, we were meeting at the Bombay Brasserie to chat over peach bellinis,

Diana’s recommendation, and she would usually go back to the Palace. But Kenny lived on the way to hers and one day she just came back with us. We all got in, kicked off our shoes and danced barefoot to the Gypsy Kings. Kenny and Freddie had become friends over the years and, that night, Freddie, Kenny and I were going out to the Vauxhall Tavern. The reason being, if I went, Freddie wouldn’t bring his security man and I could basically pimp for him! He would say, “I like the look of him over there” and they’d stand in the shadows as I go over and do introductions. So, Kenny phoned Freddie and said, “Darling, Di’s here, you’ve got to come over immediately!” Freddie came over and we all drank champagne while watching The Golden Girls. Diana then said, “where are you going tonight?” and it all started there. I had a camouflage jacket that I’d brought over for Kenny, which Diana put on and tucked her hair under a cap. She looked sensational and suddenly said “I’m coming too!” Kenny said: “You can’t come, it’s a big, hairy gay man’s bar and sometimes there are fights outside. I can just see the headlines now, ‘Future Queen of England Dies in Gay Bar Brawl!’ And it’ll all be my fault!” [Laughs]. To this day, I can see Freddie standing in the doorway, leaning slightly and saying “oh, let the girl have some fun!” Kenny was a nervous wreck about it all in the back of the cab on the way to the Vauxhall Tavern. So we all sidled up to the pub, nudging each other like school kids. People were coming up and saying hello because everyone recognised Kenny and Freddie. But no one recognised Diana with her collar up and wearing aviators; she looked like a beautiful male model. The next day, she sent the clothes back in a car to Kenny’s house with a note saying, “so fabulous, we must do it again soon”.

Best. Story. Ever. Q

&KHFNRXW&OHR·V$TXD5LYDWHTXLODDWDTXDULYD FRXN+HUERRN7KH3RZHURI3RVLWLYH 'ULQNLQJLVRXWQRZ#FOHRURFRV



27 JD\WLPHVFRXN

[first]

WHEN GERMAN FOOTBALLER

Thomas Hitzlsperger came out last month, he was greeted by a rousing chorus of support: David Cameron, Angela Merkel and Gary Lineker were just three of those ready to congratulate the retired Premier League star.

No doubt they were as surprised by the news as the rest of us – there having been a 24 year interval since the last top flight footballer came out. It was 1990 when Justin Fashanu revealed he was gay in a front page exclusive with The Sun. The story was a tabloid’s dream, dominating news and gossip agendas for weeks.

to the US. Sadly, Fashanu’s story ended with suicide in 1998.

Thomas Hitzlsperger has come out to a very different backdrop. Gay people are far more prevalent in popular culture than in 1990, and many of the myths about a “homosexual lifestyle” have been dispelled. But 24 years later, the news of a gay footballer still made The Sun’s front page. And when Leeds United player Robbie Rogers revealed he was gay in 2011, he, like Fashanu, emigrated to the US, over concern to the reaction.

The German ace first considered coming out in 2011, while still

his career. Six years ago, the 31-year-old Bavarian split from his childhood sweetheart, who he had been due to marry. “Where I come from, in rural Bavaria, homosexuality is considered ‘un-normal’”, he told The Guardian.

“[But] the important thing for me is to show that being homosexual and a professional footballer player is something that is normal. The perceived contradiction between playing football, the man’s game, and being homosexual is nonsense.”

Research for Stonewall’s Kick It Out campaign found that seven in ten football fans have heard homophobic abuse at matches,

analysis

FORMER ASTON VILLA

FOOTBALLER

THOMAS

HITZLSPERGER

HAS REVEALED

HE IS A GAY MAN – BECOMING

ONLY THE SECOND PREMIER

LEAGUE PLAYER TO DO SO. THE

GERMAN MIDFIELDER FELT HE

HAD TO WAIT UNTIL RETIRING

FROM THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

TO GO PUBLIC ABOUT HIS

SEXUALITY. NOW GT ASKS: WHY,

IN 2014, IS FOOTBALL STILL SO

DOGGED BY HOMOPHOBIA?

WORDS BENJAMIN BUTTERWORTH IMAGE DAVID DAVIES / PA

LEFT THOMAS PLAYING

FOR ASTON VILLA FOOTBALL CLUB

enough to stamp out homophobic abuse at matches.

Ed Connell is campaigns officer for the Gay Football Supporters Network (GFSN) and former manager of gay-friendly football team, London Titans. “There is definitely a problem with homophobia in football, that’s clear,” he told GT.

“The GFSN was started as a way for gay football supporters to make contact with each other, in the days before the internet. Now we campaign to tackle homophobia, and we organise what we think is the only gay national football league in the world.”

The league includes some 20 “gay-friendly” teams. Most of the players are openly gay, but the teams also include a handful of straight friends and family. On top of their own gay league, they compete in the mainstream

Sunday league championships. “We have suffered from actual homophobia last season, in the Sunday league,” says Ed.

“There were a couple of games when things got pretty unpleasant on the sidelines. We had players spat at, people coming up into players’ faces and being threatening. It was really unpleasant at times; there was some real homophobia. But the bulk of teams out there are not a problem, you don’t get that kind of thing. It’s just been one or two teams where it’s become an issue.”

Politicians, commentators and fellow footballers responded supportively to the German player’s news within hours. Meanwhile FIFA, the international governing body for football, took more than a day to comment. When they did, they managed a somewhat non-specific statement of fewer than 100 words. And in the same

week Hitzlsperger came out, a member of the UK Football Association’s inclusion advisory board had to resign – for calling homosexuality “detestable”.

Ed Connell says the footballing world has a long way to go: “If you’d asked me 18 months ago if the FA’s actions were good enough, I would’ve been critical. It took them 20 years in trying to eradicate racism, and homophobia just hasn’t been up there. But now it seems they’ve got the message.

“The FA are taking steps to make things better. The football world seems more receptive to the LGBT community now, and they’re putting more money into the issue – but it’s early days. We need to see if they’re true to their word.”

Hitzlsperger said he has been encouraged by the response to his news, and the response for the likes of Robbie Rogers and Anton Hysén coming out. He’s under no illusion that attitudes in football will change overnight, though. “It’s good to know, not just for me but for others who are still playing now, that those at the top have no problem, that they support you. When the chancellor comes out in your favour, you know that it’s safe being homosexual in this country, that you won’t be discriminated.”

Football has a long way to go in tackling the homophobia rooted in its culture. But it’s clear that for the issue to be resolved, the likes of FIFA and the FA need to get to grips with this thorny issue in the same way they have racism. It’s highly unlikely all of the world’s footballers are 100% straight. But the media speculation over who may or may not be gay isn’t the real issue – their private lives are entitled to be just that. The issue is football’s culture of homophobia that continues. GT says it’s time to kick it out. Q

[

news

]



29

I discovered football as a kid, becoming entranced

by the Italia 90 tournament and the England v West Germany semi-final. That night in Turin showed football at its best – operatic and dramatic in equal measure. By the end of the decade though, the uglier aspects of the game were all too apparent. Within a year of each other, Justin Fashanu took his own life and Robbie Fowler publicly taunted Graeme Le Saux over his sexuality.

Football dragged its knuckles into the 21st century, while the wider sporting world chipped away at its resistance, with Gareth Thomas (rugby), Steven Davies (cricket) and Tom Daley (diving) all coming out.

Now football’s own journey towards a top-flight player coming out – started by Fashanu in 1990 but hugely derailed – is back on track. With Anton Hysén (the Brit abroad), Robbie Rogers (the foreign signing) and Thomas Hitzlsperger (the retired pro) all speaking out, what we have is a series of perfectly timed steps towards a domestic breakthrough.

Football has lived inside its own head for so long. It’s lost itself to unfounded fears and myths. The players? The two Robbies’ (Savage and Fowler) recent apology for homophobia on BBC’s Football Focus suggests that isn’t a problem. The fans? Lets not underestimate the football fans sense of both humour and justice – an ex-player would be taunted before an out footballer.

The authorities are the final piece of the jigsaw, yet their inactivity has only been broken by spectacular misfires on the subject. Besides, self-policing has always been a more effective weapon in tackling prejudice.

We live in an increasingly fluid society. Boxes and labels belong to yesterday. Yet the right for people to be open about their sexuality cannot be confused, nor the speed at which that happens abated. For football it’s not if, it’s when. It’s not three or four

There are currently 5,000 professional footballers

in the UK. By statistical averages, there must be around 500 players who are gay or bisexual. Why do they feel unable to come out? What does this say about the state of football?

To its credit, the FA is doing some good work: homophobic abuse is against ground regulations, clubs are signed up to ensure equality and a toolkit on how to tackle homophobia was sent to the 92 Premier League and Football League clubs.

But these initiatives are below the radar. They are not reaching most players and fans; certainly not the homophobic minority who need them most. The average person in the street is unaware they exist.

To vanquish homophobia, the FA needs to up its game, with high-profile campaigns that reach a mass football audience. This could include securing the agreement of clubs to include anti-homophobia messages on tickets, in match programmes and on stadium screens at half-time – thereby ensuring that the FA’s commitment gets high-profile visibility and impacts public attitudes.

Another idea is for the FA to fund a MTV-style video challenging homophobia. Featuring top footballers speaking out against homophobia (such as Beckham, Ronaldo and Ferdinand), inter-cut with spectacular goal-scoring images and soundtracked by a big-name pop singer to give it mass appeal.

Such a video would be a world first and have a massive UK and global impact. Its launch would get international news coverage, as well as being featured on sport, music and youth TV programmes worldwide.

It could reach a global audience of up to a billion people, helping to challenge homophobia among football fans and the wider public.

Within the UK, the FA could promote the video to

SAFE

Dan Tickner

Dan is an esteemed sports writer and editor of his own gay sports blog, tackle.com. He tweets @dantickner.

SCARED

Peter Tatchell

Peter is a human rights activist, renowned journalist, and director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation. He tweets @PeterTatchell.

V

[

debate

]

[news]

SAFE OR SCARED

These days it seems a

new sportsman comes

out on a weekly basis.

But still, football is

dogged by rampant

homophobia. Should gay

and bisexual players feel

comfortable to pursue

the beautiful game, or is

the pitch still an unsafe

place to be out?

[01]

Mixing drag performance art with painful tales of androgyny and gender dysphoria, Anthony and the Johnsons’ I Am a Bird Now is truly one of a kind.

[02]

Le Tigre’s debut has been preaching queer activism in gay discos for 15 years. Just one of the countless reasons we love the 90s.

[03]

Smuggling gay innuendo onto daytime radio and pissing off the Beeb – what’s not to love about Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Welcome to the Pleasuredome?

[04]

Classic pop aside, Madge’s Like A Prayer included an insert to promote safe sex and educate on the AIDS epidemic, which was ravaging the gay community at the time.

[05]

Peaches’ rockier third album Fatherfucker makes our list, if only for the defiant call of “I don’t have to make a choice, I like girls and I like boys.” Well, quite.

[06]

Even before that touching Grammys gesture, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were piping up in support of gay marriage and taking a much-needed swipe at hip-hop homophobia with 2012’s The Heist.

[07]

Queer 70s NYC was brought into the 21st century with Scissor Sisters’ self-titled effort. But it wasn’t just party tunes – Return to Oz warned of the very real dangers of crystal meth abuse.

[08]

“Have you ever tried it that way?” Suede asked on their debut, inadvertently soundtracking countless teen’s self-questioning of their own sexualities...

[09]

...and then Bloc Party did it

In 30 years of GT, we’ve

pumped countless gay

anthems through our

stereo. Caught up in the

glamour and glitz of the

Brits, we’ve compiled

our list of albums every

gay man should own

WORDS RYAN BUTCHER

30

_THINGS

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis

please don’t stop the music

IM A G E JOHN KEA T L EY

[10]

Frank Ocean became the most high-profile rapper to ever open up about his sexuality in 2012, and he did it through the sublime Channel Orange.

[11]

It’s not just It’s A Sin that makes Pet Shop Boys’ Actually a gay must-have. It Couldn’t Happen Here is a heartbreaking ode to one of Neil Tennant’s friends, who died after AIDS complications.

[12]

Gossip wrote Standing in the Way of Control to defy those against gay marriage. They ruled the indie queen scene with the belting album of the same name.

[13]

The ever-androgynous Prince gave us gender-bending, sex-soaked laments of unrequited love with 1984’s Purple Rain.

[14]

Soft Cell not only became techno pioneers with Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, they gave us an important snapshot of the last days of a pre-AIDS world.

[15]

Love her or hate her, Lady Gaga is one of the most outspoken activists for LGBT rights. And it all started with The Fame; an undeniably brilliant pop record.

[16]

Without question, Bronksi Beat saved lives and changed minds with The Age of Consent, the first overtly-political gay album.

[17]

A transexual rock and roller looking for acceptance and love; we reckon most can relate to the cast recording of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

[18]

Sylvester defied every social convention just so he could teach the world to dance with You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real), taken from his 1978 booty-shaker Step II.

[19]

Untouchable when it comes to same-sex love songs, Patrick Wolf was thrust into the limelight with The Magic Position. He swears the title track isn’t about sex. If only we could believe him.

[20]

Equal parts avant-garde debauchery and commercial pop, Rufus Wainwright became one of the most important gay artists of our generation with Poses.

[21]

Against Me! defied the heteronormative punk rock scene with Transgender Dysphoria Blues, a powerful telling of singer Laura Jane Grace’s journey to becoming a transgender woman.

[22]

From I Am Hated For Loving to Speedway, Morrissey’s Vauxhall and I summed up frustration over sexuality like no other in the 90s, with a few playful nods to his own preferences along the way.

[23]

Kate Bush created a vibrant, colourful and imaginative world with 1985’s Hounds of Love; a place where the oppressed could escape. No wonder she has such an unrivalled gay fan base.

[24]

As well as helping them to conquer the US, Culture Club’s Colour By Numbers taught a generation that gender is not just as simple as “boy” and “girl”...

[25]

...while Boy George opened up about his sexuality like never before on Cheapness and Beauty, mixing glam rock bangers with chilling ballads.

[26]

Patti Smith fought tooth and nail with label bosses to keep her moustache on the cover of 1975’s Horses. It’s why she’s still an LGBT icon nearly 40 years later.

[27]

Erasure’s The Innocents is an album full of subliminal messages in favour of LGBT rights. Chains of Love, for example, alluded to the band’s desire for the wider acceptance of gay couples.

[28]

Cyndi Lauper exploded in a sea of colour and catchy 80s pop with She’s So Unusual. It was Gaga, before Gaga, with ongoing LGBT charity work to match.

[29]

Made up of androgynous, off-beat disco, Grace Jones brought gay to the world’s stage with 1981’s Nightclubbing.

[30]

No list would be complete without the much-missed Freddie Mercury. Not only an inspiration to millions, but he wrote a timeless ode to devotion, regardless of gender, in Somebody to Love, from Queen’s A Day at the Races. Q

30

YEARS OF GAYTIMES

[

news

]



33 gaytimes.co.uk

GT VAULT

21 YEARS AGO Issue 174, 1993

Pint-sized disco diva Lulu was back screaming for independence on the cover. “I want my independence, I want

my freedom, right now”. Alright love, we heard ya! We also looked at the difference between Brit and American pick-up lines. “Wanna fuck?” ...I mean, “D’yer come ‘ere often?”

31 YEARS AGO

Issue 15, 1983

A younger and hunkier Matthew Modine graced the cover of our 80s baby sister Gay News for the critically acclaimed movie Streamers. Keeping it classy (as if), we

explored promiscuous Piccadilly rent boys and randy Russian gays.

10 YEARS AGO

Issue 306, 2004

Shopping and fucking – we welcomed gay life on the internet in style by exploring what men were doing most while surfing the web. From weekends away to sex on the

beach; we gays took to the internet like a duck to water. Some things never change, eh?

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column

Over 25 years,

Stonewall has achieved more than anyone could have hoped for. Thanks to its work, we live in a fairer, more equal society. However, as a charity, Stonewall faces justifiable criticisms for some of its actions and policies, and I believe that the departure of its chief executive Ben Summerskill will provide an opportunity for change.

If you were to look at Stonewall’s self-congratulatory advertisements after Parliament made same-sex marriage legal, you would have been forgiven for thinking that the change in the law was all Stonewall’s idea. You would be wrong though. In 2009, Summerskill told PinkNews ‘there are quite a lot of gay and lesbian people who wouldn’t want marriage’. Even when we commissioned a poll that showed 98% support for equal marriage rights and secured the support of Nick Clegg, David Cameron and later Ed Miliband to change the law, Summerskill said that he would not be ‘jumped into’ declaring a position.

Then, following criticism from founders Sir Ian McKellen and Michael Cashman MEP, Summerskill went on to claim that ‘Stonewall has never pretended to be a democratic member organisation. We have never said we speak for all lesbian, gay and bisexual people’. The problem is that, to many, Stonewall speaks for all gay people, regardless of the democratic deficit in its structure. It needs to take account of what the community actually thinks, wants and needs if it is to be fit for purpose in a post equal marriage Britain.

So, to help those who are taking over, here are four ideas that I hope Stonewall takes

up:-Become an LGBT organisation. It’s

odd that in Scotland, where Stonewall has a different boss, the charity fights for trans rights too. In England and Wales, Stonewall limits itself to LGB issues. Perhaps it’s coincidence, but trans campaigners say Scotland’s equal marriage bill is fairer to trans people than the law passed in England and Wales. Equally when Stonewall works with English schools on homophobic bullying, it ignores what happens to trans children.

Work with others. Stonewall

needs to accept that it does not have all the answers and should work with others to achieve shared aims. When we launched the Out4Marriage social media campaign for equal marriage, supported by politicians and celebrities like Hugh Grant and Sir Richard Branson, Stonewall refused to participate or help us resource it. More than a year later, just before the final vote, Stonewall launched a replica campaign that was little more than a damp squib. Equally, when the Kaleidoscope Trust was launched to fight for LGBT equality overseas, rather than partnering, Stonewall changed its charitable purpose to include overseas campaigns and compete for the same donations.

Focus on Northern Ireland.

Stonewall positions itself as the UK’s gay charity but it does not campaign for same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland. It’s odd that the charity has started to campaign for international issues before ensuring equality across our own country. The Northern Ireland community, currently fighting for gay adoption and to repeal the gay blood ban, without Stonewall’s help, could really benefit from the resources of a charity with a £4m annual budget and around £3m in its bank reserves.

Realise that many LGBT people work for small businesses. 14.4

million people in the UK work for small and medium sized businesses, yet Stonewall seems preoccupied with major corporates and glitzy champagne receptions for company leaders. A new focus should be given to improve and support LGBT equality within businesses of all sizes, perhaps through training and support programmes for SMEs, funded by the multi-billion pound companies that are members of Stonewall’s Diversity Champions scheme. Doing so

could improve life for millions of people. Q

Stonewall

needs

to take

account of

what we

actually

think, want

and need

if it is to

be fit for

purpose

in a post

equal

marriage

Britain

@benjamincohen

PUBLISHER

OF PINKNEWS

[

benjamin cohen

]

[news]

CHRIS

SMITH

HEROES



37

gaytimes.co.uk

30 years after he

came out, GT talks

to Britain’s first

openly gay and

HIV-positive Member of

Parliament

TODAY, OPENLY GAY MPS ARE

nothing unusual. There are currently about 30 of them – 6% – meaning you’re as likely to find a gay man in the Commons as you are in the general population. But three decades ago Westminster was a very different place – there were no openly gay parliamentarians, and there never had been. A poll in 1984 found that more than half the population didn’t believe it was “acceptable” for a gay person to hold public office.

That was when Chris Smith decided to change things. Elected in 1983 as a fresh faced 32-year-old, he’d made it into Westminster by a wafer thin majority of 363 votes. But as he began his political career, he found colleagues believed to be gay facing constant intrusion by tabloids, desperate to out an MP.

“I’d seen some of my

parliamentary colleagues being hounded by the press, being followed everywhere, having their dustbins ransacked,” he tells GT, “and I knew the only way to remove that sort of press harassment was to remove the story – by being open and upfront and honest about it. The one big question was how and when and where to do it.”

It was after one year in Parliament that the opportunity to become Britain’s first openly gay MP was to present itself. Invited to speak to a pro-equality

rally in Rugby, he finally knew the time had come. “I remember walking into the room where the meeting was. It was about ten minutes before I was due to speak, and I remember thinking at that moment, ‘now is the time to do it’.”

The newly elected MP found himself in front of an audience of more than a thousand other LGBT people, Labour Party members and trade unionists. “It was a spur of the moment decision that I took literally as I was walking into the room”, he recalls. “For the next ten minutes before I got up to speak I was absolutely terrified. This was something no one had ever done before.”

As the preceding speaker wrapped up, Smith walked to the microphone, every part of him terrified. “I can remember it vividly. I stood up, and I began my speech: ‘My name is Chris Smith, I am the Labour MP for Islington South and Finsbury, and I’m gay.’”

In that one sentence, he did what no Member of Parliament had ever done before, risking his own career and reputation to make a point: sexual orientation has no bearing on a person’s ability to do a job. “The entire room got up and gave me a standing ovation – the only standing ovation in my life I’ve had one minute into a speech. That was that, the die was cast.”

The news was covered extensively in Gay Times at the time, while mainstream tabloids ran a host of nasty stories in an attempt to undermine him. But that didn’t bother the groundbreaker. “I began to get letters from all over the country. I was getting letters – quite a lot of letters – saying ‘well

done’, ‘congratulations’. There were a lot that meant the most to me, saying ‘thank you, this has made it easier for me’.”

Although many men wrote to him to say thank you, the reality for Chris Smith was that he was still alone in parliament. It was to be another 13 years and three general elections before another openly gay person was elected. “It felt a bit lonely at times. But I had a lot of support from fellow MPs, both straight and gay. I remember one wonderful moment standing in the queue for a cup of tea at the Members’ tea room, and Edwina Currie came marching up to me, and in a very loud voice that resounded around the whole room, she went: ‘Chris! I hear you’ve come out? Well done!’”

When Tony Blair became Prime Minister, in 1997, he made the north London MP the country’s first openly gay Secretary of State – putting him in a prominent position to reform anti-gay laws.

“I can remember having a number of conversations with him [Tony Blair]. He was in absolutely no doubt that it [gay rights] was the right thing to do. His cautiousness was ‘should we be doing it now, Chris?’ I hope I, and others, like Michael Cashman and Waheed Ali, collectively persuaded him that we should.”

But becoming Britain’s first openly gay parliamentarian wasn’t to be his toughest challenge. In 2005, in a front page exclusive with The Times, he became the first MP to publicly acknowledge that he was HIV-positive.

“I was even more nervous than

LEFT LORD SMITH

PHOTOGRAPHED WITH LORD ALLI FOR GT BY PIERS ALLARDYCE IN 2006