QueerSighted

Bruno Tonioli teaches the stars

Anthony Van Hoe — 2009-07-02T13:29:00+00:00

Filed under: Celebrity, Gossip, Humor, News, Television, Misc./Other, International, London, New York

News - Out magazine has joined forces with the vivacious Bruno Tonioli, judge of ABC's Dancing with the Stars and BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, to launch an original series entitled "Show and Tell". The 10 new webisodes will premiere on Out.com beginning July 6th.

Celebrities confirmed to participate in the original online series include actress and performer Candis Cayne (Dirty Sexy Money), Broadway star Marissa Jaret Winokur (Hairspray, Oxygen's Dance Your Ass Off), actor and activist Chad Allen (here! Networks' The Donald Strachey Mysteries), actor Robert Gant (Queer as Folk), and New York nightlife staple Lady Bunny.

Featuring an array of favorite dances, each of these webisodes offers viewers a chance to learn expert dancing tips from Tonioli while watching a celebrity give it a whirl. Highlights include Cayne's rousing Rumba, Winokur's winning Waltz and the ever-so-entertaining Bunny lending her signature flair to the Cha Cha. The gentlemen also get in on the action as Allen does a foxy Foxtrot and Gant gets swinging to a classic favorite, the Jive.

Filmed at Balliamos Dance Studio in West Hollywood, "Show and Tell" also features clips from the hit series Dancing with the Stars. In addition, viewers can join in the fun and vote for who they ideally would like to see on the show.

"What a pleasure to team with Out.com from "Show and Tell!" Getting to see the delicious Candis Cayne, the delectable Marrisa Jaret Winokur, and the divine Lady Bunny dance was a thrill. You won't be disappointed!," says Tonioli.

Remember to put on your dancing shoes and tune in to out.com/showandtell from July 6th!

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Videowatch - Britney Spears - Radar

Anthony Van Hoe — 2009-07-02T07:10:00+00:00

Filed under: Celebrity, Gossip, Music, News, Video, YouTube, International, Going out, New York, Videowatch

Videowatch - Although she is currently travelling the world with her Circus tour, Britney Spears still found some time to finish a video for the fourth single from her Circus album, Radar.

The video for Radar was shot on May 27 and 28, 2009 at a resort near Santa Barbara, California, and was directed by Dave Meyers who also worked with Britney on the videos for Lucky and Boys.

Radar is scheduled for digital release in the UK on the 10th of August.

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Current TV goes a bit gay

Anthony Van Hoe — 2009-07-01T12:26:00+00:00

Filed under: Celebrity, Coming Out, Gay Rights, Gossip, News, Television, Video, YouTube, Homophobia, Misc./Other, International, London

Media - Now that we have more or less equal civil rights, how have attitudes towards homosexuality changed? Cameras follow British Current TV host Graeme Smith as he confronts his past, examines events in his own life and looks at choices and compromises we have to consider when coming to terms with our sexuality. Along the way, his mum offers her own candid perspective as do some of the Britain's foremost experts in sexuality and civil rights activists. This Is Gonna Sound A Bit Gay is a documentary which celebrates sexual identity and provides an insight into gay rights in 21st Century Britain.

QS: What was the idea behind the documentary?
Graeme Smith (GS): We take a look at whether or not a person is defined by their sexuality. In a world were many gay people in the media conform to various stereotypes, we look at why people conform to these. We wanted to celebrate and look into gay identity. Why do we have a gay identity? Has it been useful?
We spent the best part of 6 months working on this. But most of our filming was done in April.

QS: How was it to work with your mum?
GS: It was great actually. Once you've gone over all this stuff on TV - its all kind of totally done an dusted. She was happy to do it provided we didnt create some camp entertainment show out of it. I was never going to allow that to happen. But it was great to get the sort of perspective and real life story that you dont see very often.

QS: Have attitudes towards homosexuality changed in 21st century Britain according to you?
GS: Attitudes have changed a great deal. But we need to bare in mind that there are still people out there with abhorrent views on many things. I get used to nobody caring and then accidentally tread on some awful homophobia. My mum was telling me about someone she knows, who had no idea she had a gay son, talking about "one of them queers". This was just a few months back. We think these viewpoints are dead, but they arent yet.

QS: Did you come across any challenges while making the documentary?
GS: Actually no. Everybody involved was incredibly helpful as they thought we had a good story to tell.

Check out the highly entertaining short film The History of Homosexuality, which will kick-start Current TV's This Is Gonna Sound A Bit Gay documentary:

This Is Gonna Sound A Bit Gay starts Thursday, 2nd July, 10pm on Current TV in the UK on channels Sky 183 and Virgin 155.

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Videowatch - Cassidy Haley - Whiskey in Churches

Anthony Van Hoe — 2009-06-29T11:32:00+00:00

Filed under: Celebrity, Gossip, Music, News, Video, YouTube, Youth, International, Going out, New York, Videowatch

Videowatch - According to Cassidy's MySpace he sounds like a drugged out Justin Timberlake lost in the back streets of Berlin on acid after being kidnapped by a pack of raving mad drag queens. Do we need to say more?

The music video for his first single, Whiskey in Churches, is the result of the collaboration between L.A. based trans artist Krista Benson and Cassidy Haley. The video was entirely shot on a 9 foot by 12 foot green screen backdrop in Benson's studio over the course of 4 shooting days spread apart over a couple months.

"The timeframe was spread out because Cassidy plays all the characters in the music video, so he would grow his facial hair out and change his look for each shoot", explains Krista Benson," All the backgrounds in the video were created from still photographs that I took and then reworked in photoshop to create original and interesting environments for the video story to unfold".

Multi-talented Cassidy Haley is not only a singer and performer, he is also a gifted fashion designer with SkinGraft designs, and he is wearing all original SkinGraft clothing in the video.

Check out Whiskey in Churches, Cassidy Haley's first single of his upcoming EP

Find out more on Cassidy here!

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R.I.P Michael, Yasmine and Farrah

Anthony Van Hoe — 2009-06-25T21:08:00+00:00

Filed under: Celebrity, Gossip, Movies, Music, News, International, Lesbian, New York

News - A sad day in entertainment history with the deaths of King of Pop Michael Jackson, Belgian lesbian singer Yasmine and Charlie's Angel Farrah Fawcett, R.I.P. .

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Beth Ditto is star of the night

Anthony Van Hoe — 2009-06-25T07:09:00+00:00

Filed under: Celebrity, Events, Gossip, Music, News, Photography, Video, YouTube, Youth, International, Lesbian, Going out, London, New York

News - Gossip singer Beth Ditto was truly the star of the night at the launch party for the band's 4th studio album Music For Men at a secret location in East London.

Beth and her co-band members Bruce Paine and Hannah Blilie celebrated the launch of their new album Music For Men in Dalston Superstore, a venue in East London. Guestlist included fashion designers Gareth Pugh, Louise Gray and Henry Holland, Drag performance artist Vaginal Davis, Cody Crithceloe (SSION) and Blitz Kid Princess Julia.

Beth Ditto looked every inch the star she is, looking fierce in a short, tight black dress.

Music For Men Launch Party

Singer Beth Ditto arrives at the secret location in East London.

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Beth Ditto and Cody Crithceloe (SSION).

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Bruce Paine hits the decks.

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A packed Dalston Superstore for the launch of Music For Men.

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Beth Ditto and Cody Crithceloe (SSION).

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Beth and Vaginal Davis.

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Check out the video for current single Heavy Cross:

Music for Men is out now!

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Pink Paper closes print edition

Anthony Van Hoe — 2009-06-25T06:12:00+00:00

Filed under: Celebrity, Gay Pride, News, International, London

News - Another victim of the economic downturn. British publisher MPG, publisher of GT (Gay Times) and DIVA magazines, decided to suspend the fortnightly print and distribution for its free LGBT newspaper Pink Paper with effect from the end of this month. Cause of this is the current economic climate for newspaper advertising.

Tris Reid-Smith Pink Paper Editor, commented: "We proudly boast the biggest readership of the free gay press for the newspaper and it is very sad that we aren't able to continue in our print format for the time being. However, I hope our readers will stick with us, visit the website often and sign up to our weekly email newsletter, Pink Paper Xtra. In return we promise to deliver the country's premier news and features website for gay, lesbian and bisexual people."

Kim Watson, MPG Media Director, added: "The decision to suspend fortnightly print and distribution of Pink Paper has been one of the toughest we have had to make in a long, time but in order to ensure that we can continue providing a service to the LGBT community in future we have taken the decision now, rather than when the situation has worsened to a point that we would need to cease Pink Paper all together. We are looking forward to increasing delivery of our weekly newsletter and ensuring that our website continues to grow in its visitors and interaction. We are also glad to announce that all existing staff will remain with the company to work on Pink Paper online and our other titles."

Pink Paper was launched as a weekly LGBT newspaper in 1987 and was acquired by MPG in 2005 after it had gone out of print as a magazine. MPG re-launched it as a fortnightly newspaper. The main focus will now be on www.pinkpaper.com, the paper's website, which reaches an average of 33,000 unique visitors per month and Pink Paper Xtra the paper's weekly newsletter which is e-mailed weekly to more than 5000 recipients, a list which is set to treble in the next year as more site visitors sign-up for the newsletter.

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Diesel needs you!

Anthony Van Hoe — 2009-06-23T11:36:00+00:00

Filed under: Events, Fashion, Gay Pride, Gossip, News, Misc./Other, Youth, International, Going out

Going out - Living in San Francisco or planning on travelling to the city for this year's edition of San Francisco Pride? Diesel needs you!

This year marks the 39th anniversary of the San Francisco Pride Celebration and Diesel is pulling out all the stops once again by creating a Diesel float to sizzle at the Pride parade. This year's float will feature Diesel intimates from the fall-winter 2009 collection, worn by special guest models in various "settings" including steamy shower stalls, a men's locker room, and a boxing ring. At the same time store display windows at the new Diesel Market Street store, located along the Parade route, will feature a special Pride-inspired design.

Think you have what it takes to model the Diesel intimates collection? Now is your chance to find out! Diesel is hosting a pre-Pride Cocktails & Casting event this Thursday, June 25th at the Diesel Castro Store (details below). Guests will have the opportunity to "try out" for a spot on the Diesel float where they will model Diesel intimates and swimwear during the parade. There will be an airbrush artist on hand to personalize Diesel intimates - which will be given as a gift with purchase during the Cocktails & Casting event.

The Pride parade kicks off on Sunday, June 28th, at 10:30 a.m. at Market St. & Beale and ends at Market & 8th St. in Downtown San Francisco. The Parade and Diesel float viewing is free and open to all.

WHAT: CASTING & COCKTAILS
Special Pre-Pride event and open model-casting for the Diesel Float

WHEN: THURSDAY, JUNE 25th 2009
5 - 9pm

WHERE: DIESEL CASTRO STORE
400 Castro Street

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Videowatch - Pink - Funhouse

Anthony Van Hoe — 2009-06-23T09:23:00+00:00

Filed under: Celebrity, Gossip, Music, News, Video, YouTube, International, Going out, New York, Videowatch

Videowatch - Pink is currently breaking tour attendance records in Australia with her Funhouse tour but still found time to record the video for her new single Funhouse. Check it out after the jump.

An infectious pop-rock track with a classic fists-in-the-air chorus, Funhouse is certain to become the fourth hit single from Pink's massive album of the same name, which is fast approaching a million sales in the UK.

The song was co-written by Pink with Tony Kanal of No Doubt - who also appears in the video directed by longtime Pink collaborator Dave Meyers (So What, Stupid Girls) - and his writing partner Jimmy Harry, the same team who wrote Pink's hit single Sober.

Pink - Funhouse:

Funhouse will be released in the UK 3rd August 2009

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Freeland have everything Under Control on new album

David Lathwell — 2009-06-23T06:50:00+00:00

Filed under: Celebrity, Gossip, Music, News, Video, YouTube, International, Going out, London

Review - Following up the 2003 conceptual debut Now & Them, which featured the club hit We want your soul, Freeland are back with their second album.

Cope is filled with paranoiac, satirical wordplay and skewed political commentary that complements the futuristic yet dissident sonics. Featuring an all-star list of guest contributors: Joey Santiago (The Pixies), Brody Dalle & Tony Bevilacqua (Spinnerette), Jerry Casale (DEVO), Twiggy Ramirez (Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails), Tommy Lee (Mötley Crüe), drummer Hayden Scott (Pop Levi) and US vocalist/bassist Kurt Baumann.

Do You opens the album, with electro break beat grooves, minimal repetitive lyrics, Do You, Do You, Do You, Do You think you could stay and sounding reminiscent of Leftfield. New vocalist Kurt Baumann launches into a more heavy drum and guitar based industrial sound on the first single, Under Control. The band explore a more darker sound on Strange things and continue to experiment on the electro-trance-funk track Bring It.

Under Control:

Whilst most of the album is filled with breathtaking uptempo tracks, Freeland aren't afraid of mixing in a few more mid-tempo tracks, including Mancry - well placed almost halfway through the album to break the pace with an atmospheric instrumental anthem featuring Tommy Lee on percussion; mixing into the psychedelic Borderline co-written and vocalled by Brody Dalle of Spinnerette and The Distillers.

Rock On is a harsh cover of a 1974 David Essex track, whilst New York band Soundpool guest vocal on the ambient rock-out Silent Speaking. Best Fish Tacos in Ensenda wins the award for random song title, which features electro beats and 80's synth.

Gerald V. Casale AKA Jerry Cascale, a founder member/vocalist of the new-wave band Devo, and video director (Devo, Foo Fighters, Silverchair, Soundgarden) guest vocals on the album's stand-out track Only a fool (can die). Strangely sounding like the Chemical Brothers/Flaming Lips track Golden Path meets Human League singer Philip Oakey. The album closes with the dark electro track Morning Sun, and the more dreamy Wish I was here is the perfect end to a DJ set.

Do You:

Co-produced by DJ Adam Freeland (remixes include Kelis, Orbital, Pink, The Orb, and the Grammy nominated Sarah Vaughan track Fever), Alex Greggs (Lilly Allen, Justin Timberlake, Beck, Duran Duran, Pink, Michael Jackson, Lady Gaga) and Alex Metric (Ladyhawke, Hard-Fi, Alphabeat, Reverend & The Makers). Cope manages to push the boundaries of the dance genre, encompassing varying styles of electro, rock, trance, punk, psychedelica; whilst at the same time creating well-written and sometimes meaningful lyrics, which is not expected of most dance acts. Billboard have said that this album "proves once and for all that the genre - when done right with a little bit of good, old-fashioned creativity - can be quite an artistic expression."

The album has also been recorded with the band's live performance in mind. "I always saw Cope as a band album more than just another DJ slapping together a bunch of random club grooves. I wanted to create songs I could play live, not just spin," says founding member and producer Adam Freeland. "The new songs combine electronic grooves with shoegaze guitars, real drums, and songwriting, so they begged to be performed live."

"I've always mixed rock into my sets anyway, so having a band is just a natural progression from that," adds Adam, "Freeland has all the hard-hitting grooves of my DJ sets, but played live they're even more raw, personal and in your face. This is the sound I've always heard in my head, so now I want to hear it as loud as possible!"

Cope is out now.

Catch Freeland live on tour:

June 24 - 9.30pm Cargo, London
June 25 - Midnight - White Rabbit, Plymouth
June 26 - 9.50pm - East Dance Village - Glastonbury Festival, UK
June 27 - Midnight - Arcadia @ Trash City - Glastonbury Festival, UK
June 30 - 10.00pm - Canada Day @ the Drink (DJ SHOW), Toronto, Canada
July 2 - 10.00pm - Sonar (DJ SHOW), Quebec, Canada
July 3 - 10.00pm - Webster Hall (DJ SHOW), New York, US

More on Freeland:

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/adamfreelandmusic
Official: www.freeland.fm

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2010 US Census to include married gay couples

David Lathwell — 2009-06-22T05:55:00+00:00

Filed under: Coming Out, Dating, Family, Gay Rights, News, Weddings, New York

News - The 2010 US Census will now include married gay couples. The Census Bureau have announced that married gay and lesbian couples would be counted in the 2010 national tally, previously barred in several states by the 1996 law DOMA, which defines marriage as a heterosexual union for federal agencies.

"They will be counted, and they ought to report the way they see themselves," says Steve Jots, spokesman for the Census Bureau. "In the normal process of reports coming out after the census of 2010, I think the country will have a good data set on which to discuss this phenomenon that is evolving in this country."

"This is about folks' identity," Jost added. "We are experienced in dealing with changing social phenomena and how to measure and report it, and we want to get it right."

In recent months, President Obama has come under intense pressure from gay rights activists who want the president to live up to the promises that he made to the GLBT community during his presidential campaign, including repealing DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act).

"The president and the administration are committed to a fair and accurate count of all Americans," White House Spokesman Robert Gibbs said. "We're in the midst of determining the best way to ensure that gay and lesbian couples are accurately counted."

"The census, I like to say, is on its face about numbers. But what the census is really about is telling the story of our country," said Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, whose group has been among those lobbying the White House. "Many people, including people in the administration, are realizing just how important it is to make sure that (lesbian and gay) Americans are not rendered invisible."

It is the second victory for married gay couples against DOMA in recent weeks. The State Department also announced that they will now allow gay and lesbian couple's to use their partner's surname when applying for a passport. In a letter dated June 15, the Justice Department notified a gay rights group that they were suing the federal government for benefits denied to married gay and lesbian couples.

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Sigur Ros remixes Depeche Mode

Anthony Van Hoe — 2009-06-17T10:38:00+00:00

Filed under: Celebrity, Gossip, Music, News, International, Going out, London

Music - It might not look like a match made in heaven but this actually works. For the release of Peace, the second single from Sounds of the Universe, Dave Gahan asked Sigur Ros frontman Thor "Jonsi" Birgisson to remix one of his songs.

Gahan, who is a massive Sigur Ros fan, asked Birgisson to remix Come Back. Come Back is one of the three compositions by Dave Gahan on the latest Depeche Mode album Sound of the Universe.

Check the remix out here!

The Come Back remix is only available as a b-side on the vinyl for Peace, which is out now.

Jonsi and his partner Alex will release an album of their own on July 20th. The album will be released under the name Jonsi & Alex and will be entitled Riceboy Sleeps.

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Videowatch - Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll

Anthony Van Hoe — 2009-06-16T07:38:00+00:00

Filed under: Celebrity, Gossip, Music, News, Video, YouTube, International, Going out, London, Videowatch

Videowatch - No it's not a return of Michael Jackson's Thriller but the cover of Heads Will Roll, the new single of New York City-based alternative rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Heads Will Roll is the second single from their It's Blitz album and will get it's UK release on 29th June.

Heads Will Roll is singer Zero's murderous sister - she will lure you on to the dancefloor, seduce you, then chop off your head! The single will be released on vinyl, CD and download, with a remix by Passion Pit.

The Heads Will Roll video was filmed in London and directed by Richard Ayoade (star of the IT Crowd, director of "Arctic Monkeys at the Apollo" DVD). Part Michael Jackson's Thriller, part American Werewolf in London, it's a b-movie inspired classic.

Check out the video:

Last weekend the band played the Bonnaroo Festival in the States but you can find Karen O, Brian Chase and Nick Zinner at the following UK festivals over the coming months:

June 28th - Glastonbury Festival
July 10th - T in The Park, Kinross, Scotland
July 11th - Oxegen Festival Punchestown, Dublin
August 29th - Leeds Festival
August 30th - Reading Festival

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Jack Mackenroth for NO H8

Anthony Van Hoe — 2009-06-15T12:12:00+00:00

Filed under: Celebrity, Coming Out, Fashion, Gay Pride, Gay Rights, Gossip, HIV/AIDS, News, Photography, Television, International, New York

News - With the support against proposition 8 growing stronger each day, award-winning fashion designer and Project Runway star Jack Mackenroth found the time more than right to take place in front of Adam Bouska's camera to take part in his famed "NO H8" campaign.

It's a silent photographic protest created in direct response to California's passage of Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage throughout the state.

Jack took some time out while he was in Los Angeles filming a new, design-based TV pilot. He is currently also training for the Outgames 2009, scheduled to take place in Copenhagen in August.

Follow the latest news on Jack Mackenroth here.

Find out more about Adam Bouska's NoH8 pictures here.

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Greetings from Zurich

QBoy — 2009-06-15T07:48:00+00:00

Filed under: Bloggers, Celebrity, Events, Gay Pride, Gay Rights, Gossip, Music, News, Homophobia, International, Lesbian, Going out, London, New York, QBoy

QBoy - After meeting up with the girls from Scream Club in Berlin, our favourite rapper headed south to perform at this year's edition of EuroPride in Zurich, Switzerland. Did he get lucky and what were those three monks doing on the gayest plane on earth?

I arrived in Zurich the day before my performance at this year's EuroPride Festival and it's wonderfully sunny and warm. I was met by a lovely young gentleman whom I met last time I was in Switzerland, then performing at a club in Bern, who took me to my hotel to get checked in.

Unfortunately some of the hotel staff were neither friendly nor helpful and some had more attitude than a busload of chavs. My first encounter was at check-in when I had to get into an argument with the man at reception about the fact that I don't own a credit card to give him "in case I use the mini-bar". I even explicitly said that I do not wish to consume any of the mini-bar items and that it's not a great idea to treat customers as if they are lying criminals when they first arrive at the premises. An element of trust was a miss so I suggested he removed the contents of the fridge if he was that concerned. Nevertheless, I went to my room, where I found a member of staff locking the mini-bar fridge. I was not impressed.

I messaged Richard Newman (of Big Brother and Gaydar Radio fame) as he instructed me to do so, but did not receive a sign of life so I decided to go for a walk into town. The walk was a lot further than I anticipated however as it was sunny I didn't mind basking in the sunlight as I wandered around.

Once I returned to the hotel, after having picked up a few bits in a supermarket, I asked someone at the reception to open the mini-bar and remove the drinks as first suggested so that I could use it. Again, I was met with a wall of unhelpfulness. This time a woman, possibly a senior member of staff, was going out of her way to be as mean and unhelpful as possible. Personally, I am a very kind person, I try to give and share and help wherever I can and hope that people do the same in return. Unfortunately, life isn't like that and when I come up against mean people, it really winds me up. After some arguing, I got the fridge opened and thought "Really? Did it need to be that hard? These people are in the wrong job".

I went for a quick dip in the hotel pool and went to my room where I watched the 37 channels in German and CNN, the one channel in English. I took in all the news and shows, which seemed to be repeated all weekend, and drifted off to what had happened the night before. It was Thursday night in Vauxhall, London, and my friend Michael had bought me a ticket to see David Hoyle's 'Dave's Drop-In Centre' show.

David is indescribable. If I said "modern day Jesus, avant-garde, drag comedy genius" aside from inadvertently rhyming, I still wouldn't be close to what he delivers in his shows. I was blown away by him, his ideologies and delivery and the sense that when you're at his shows, you share something with the other people who have also come to see him - you belong, which in this world is a rare feeling. He shares the same beliefs as me, the same ideas that I try to plant in my lyrics, but I feel he succeeds in delivery different to I and it's a marvel to watch and be part of. Happy I have a great role model to follow now, I couldn't stop reeling over the brilliance of that night as CNN peddled fear unsuccessfully tried to overshadow the hope and truth of David's message.

The next day was rather long and boring - I wasn't performing until 10.30pm that night and I knew it was about to rain and a big storm was on it's way - thanks to my CNN viewing - so stayed in the hotel while the truck loads of homos all went into town to join the parade - and inevitably get rained on. My, how it did rain. Around 4.30pm, suddenly it hailed huge pellets of ice, and then came sheets of rain, flooding the square outside the hotel rapidly as thunderstorms raced across the sky, lit up by electric lightening strikes. This was a big storm. Fortunately, it didn't last that long, and as quickly as it had arrived; it exited, with rain being reminiscently left behind.

I am not only now bored but getting cabin fever and the staff have obviously put me in a bad mood so by the time I am picked up to go on stage I am not my normal bundle of joy. As I arrive at the Newcomers Stage, where I had been booked to perform, I was dazzled by the brilliant performance by Namusoke (www.myspace.com/namusoke) a reggae/pop/rap act who had a brilliant energy and delivered positive messages in her slick songs - although the stage was small and the rain was still coming down, she had drawn quite a crowd - mostly lesbians with umbrellas dancing around drunk. A crowd nevertheless.

I then met one of the organisers and was taken to the DJ stage around the corner to meet Skin, from Skunk Anansie. Unfortunately I didn't trouble her for a photo as she was mid-set but I did get to briefly say hi and of course, slip her a copy of my new album. She was playing a good set and the crowd gathered around the DJ stage were 'well up for it'.

Now it was time for me to perform and I returned to the stage, which was now quiet, awaiting me to liven it up. I did a quick sound check and plunged straight into my set. I already had a small gathering of people who I presume were there for me specifically from the promotion I had been doing on facebook and myspace, which was nice to see, but by the end of my 30 minute set I had gathered a much larger crowd and they seemed to be really enjoying it. It's difficult performing English rap in non-English countries, especially when people are not familiar with the material anyway, but they went with the vibe and were a cool responsive bunch. I made sure to deliver my speech about unity and acceptance before starting my hippyesque song 'Yellow Flower', mentioning that just as Pride is for us today, D-Day Remembrance and Tiananmen Square, also relevant events that weekend, were about the same thing - freedom - and we are not separate from that.

After I got off stage, I sold and signed a few CD's and then was given free tickets to some gay club that night. Meanwhile another friend of mine was trying to get me to go to a different gay club. Personally I was in the mood for neither. I didn't want to party, I only had 2 more days in London left before I left for the States and needed to be on top form to get everything done. I didn't want to drink - I don't really like alcohol and it is rare for me to get drunk. What I wanted was to have a joint, chill out and eat all that chocolate in my hotel room fridge! I fought for the freedom of that fridge and damn it, I was going to use it! But where was I going to get something to smoke now?

I presumed it a lost cause and my instinct told me to go home. But my mind kept telling me "You should be open to possibility - go - seek experience. You never know what you might find." I gave in to my mind and went to the first gay bar to meet my friend just to find he wasn't there. Perhaps I should just go home now - get the tram, call it a night - the streets were by now littered with drunk gay men and as sober as I was, I was getting more and more agitated around the intoxication.

I walked across town to the second club and soon found myself in a heaving mass of male bodies, sweaty, hot, tribal music, lines of people queuing to use the cubicles but not to use the toilet - nope, not for me tonight - and promptly left. My patience was running thin as I received a text from my friend who was now at the original first club I went to. So I walked all the way back to meet him - but really was not in the mood by the time I got there so told him thanks but no thanks, I am getting the tram home. I went to the tram stop and realized that I had missed the last tram by 2 minutes. Now bordering annoyed, next stop - pissed off. I grabbed a cab, begrudgingly as Zurich is very expensive and I was not feeling flush at all, and headed back to the hotel.

As I got out the cab, the big square plaza opposite the hotel, no longer flooded by rain but by darkness, had a small gathering of boys in the middle of it. "Hmm, I wonder..." I said to myself as I walked in their direction. As I got closer, I saw there were 5 young men, early 20's, white, obviously local and obviously straight, and drunk - definitely not the sort of people I would normally walk up to in a dark square in a strange town, but I was going with my gut instinct as I had ignored it all night. One lad looked at me. "Excuse me - you speak English?" I asked, "I am only looking to get something to smoke".

The young man smiled at me and said, "You should talk to my friend here" . As I peered over I saw this newly lit joint being dragged on by one of the 5 young men. Unfortunately he had no weed left to give but was more than happy to share the joint with me.

So here I was trying to make polite conversation with these young men, very quickly getting stoned - this was strong stuff. Fortunately for me, these young lads were friendly, warm and welcoming and all spoke English and as the conversation flowed, they asked me why I was in Zurich. I told them I was a rapper, there to perform at EuroPride, and Instantly one of the lads started beatboxing encouraging me to rap over the top. Normally this is not my style but I was now stoned and thought "why the hell not?".

After giving them 16 bars they were thoroughly impressed and I was equally as stoned and elated at this stage from this meeting and proceeded to entertain them with jokes and witty remarks, took a few photos and ended on "I think my time here is done". I thanked them individually for what they each brought to that magical moment, handing them a CD each out of my bag and saying "It's great to give because you never know what the universe might give back." As I walked away they were excitedly shouting and laughing at each other about what had just happened and I was grinning to myself about how wonderful that 20 minutes was - mixing with people whom I might not normally mix with, approaching strangers in a strange place with nothing but hope and getting exactly what you are after, feeling the kindness and support and niceness of these guys - it was all a surprise, a wonderful surprise and put me on a high better than the weed did alone. I got into my room, put the TV on and watched the end of The Matrix: Revolutions in German... and still enjoyed it!

The next day I returned home on the gayest plane ever - it was painted like a giant Kinder Egg toy and had two skipping men with a heard of goats leading the scene - gay gay gay!!! Seated on the plane I noticed three monks, looking like extras for the new Avatar movie and somewhat odd amongst all the 'gays' with hangovers from last nights partying.

Once I got home (which was quick due to the wonder of London City Airport) I started to prepare for my upcoming USA tour - first stop NYC - I'm coming back, kids!

You can check out QBoy's latest music video Coming Out 2 Play here: www.youtube.com/qboymusic and his new album tracks on www.myspace.com/qboymusic

Check out what happened when QBoy descended on Berlin here!

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They came from downunder

Anthony Van Hoe — 2009-06-11T09:53:00+00:00

Filed under: Celebrity, Gossip, Movies, News, Photography, Video, YouTube, Sports, International

DVD - Move over David Beckham, step aside Cristiano Ronaldo. Here come the real Gods of Football and they come from downunder.

The nude rugby player calendar is becoming an annual tradition in Australia, but this is the first time a video crew has been granted access to the production. The Gods of Football DVD follows these Hollywood-handsome players to beautiful Australian locations for their male model makeovers and photo shoots with top Australian fashion photographer Pedro Virgil.