Table of contents for August 2017 in Attitude Magazine

GARY SIMONS, ART DIRECTOR Maybe not my greatest adventure, but certainly my newest. I’ve always harboured the romantic idea of riding around Brighton on a scooter as if I was Sting in Quadrophenia. This summer, I bagged myself a pretty little Vespa. My new big adventure is exploring on two wheels, and cruising along the beach in the sunshine! Bellboyyyyyy! TIM HEAP, ASSISTANT EDITOR As a Southern Rail commuter, every train journey on any given day can be an unwanted adventure. On a grander and much less soul-destroying scale, a trip to Bali in 2015 was probably my most significant adventure. It felt as if each car journey, flanked by whole families on single mopeds, could easily be my last. Luckily, relaxing and cooling pool dips were never too far…

{ COMEDY } KATE O’DONNELL In her first Edinburgh show since transitioning 14 years ago (before that she performed as drag queen Angel Valentine), Kate O’Donnell shines a spotlight on the ups and downs of her experience in her own imitable way. Blending song and dance with hilarious anecdotes, Kate challenges the idea that genitals equal gender, and bares all to show that she’s changed. 5-26 August, Summerhall Place kateodonnellpresents.com { STAND-UP } SCOTT AGNEW Scott Agnew made headlines last year when his show, “I’ve Snapped My Banjo String, Let’s Just Talk, featured the revelation that the acclaimed Scottish comedian is HIV-positive. His latest show — provocatively titled Spunk on Our Lady’s Face — picks up from there, pitting his Catholic upbringing against his HIV status…

 THERE COMES A POINT in every homosexual's life when you realise that perhaps, just maybe, you might need to break away from your queer sistas and actually spend some time with your oft-neglected straight friends. Don’t knock it; surely it can only help to broaden your life experience. Here are some warning signs that a spot of cultural integration into heterosexual society might not be such a bad idea… “YOU START TO SHIT GLITTER AND THE UNICORNS STOP RETURNING YOUR CALLS" 1 You can’t make an affirmative point without ending the sentence with “gurl!” 2 You are eternally disappointed that your grandmother doesn’t have Joan Collins’ sass or that your mother is not Naomi Campbell. 3 The first thing you do when you visit your mum is ask for an…

On 13 August, Carol Ann Duffy, Britain’s first out LGBT+ poet laureate, will be performing poetry from across the world. The following day, Edouard Louis presents his novel, The End of Eddy, which highlights the homophobia and poverty he experienced growing up in rural France. Fans of young adult fiction will enjoy hearing Jared Thomas, whose book, Songs That Sound Like Blood, focuses on a gay Aboriginal teenager’s search for a sense of belonging (24 August). There’s also Patrick Ness discussing Release, his most personal novel yet, about the fractured life of a gay American teen (27 August). • This year’s winner of the Green Carnation prize for LGBT+ writing, David France’s How To Survive a Plague, is an expansive and detailed insider’s account of how activists drove scientific research…

THE WALL Aaron Taylor-Johnson, John Cena • You’d expect an Iraq War story starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and John Cena to be a brash affair, but this is a bit of a surprise: a lean, brooding psychological showdown between an Iraqi sniper and two American soldiers in desert purgatory. Shame the script misfires so badly, with clanging clichés such as: “We’re not so different, you and I.” 28 July 3/5 AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER Al Gore • It’s been 11 years since almost-president Al Gore took to cinema screens to warn of the dangers of climate change in an Oscar-winning documentary. Sadly, his warning still hasn’t taken hold. Made long before Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement, this new plea is undeniably well-timed, but that doesn’t excuse…

HOW TO STOP TIME Matt Haig/Canongate • How to Stop Time is the somewhat unconvincing new novel about a secret society of people gifted with extraordinarily long lives from Matt Haig, author of the bestselling memoir Reasons to Stay Alive. Tom Hazard may look like your average 41-year-old history teacher, but due to a rare condition, he was actually born in 1581. But near-immortality has become a lonely burden. People with regular lifespans are known as mayflies but those few individuals who share Tom’s seemingly endless youth are known as albatrosses. The rules are that Tom has to move on every eight years so the people he meets don’t get suspicious, and he can never fall in love. Therein lies the — rather heavy-handed — emotional conflict and a moral…

IF YOU’RE WONDERING whether Davina McCall’s on-screen persona is just an act, it isn’t: she’s just as much of a hoot when the cameras aren’t rolling. Of course, it’s not a surprise, really. Since starting out on MTV Europe 25 years ago, she’s charmed viewers with her sense of fun, her approachability and the way she interacts with people, whether they are celebs or not. If that was at all inauthentic, we’d have heard about it by now. Born in Wimbledon, Davina’s formative years were largely spent living with her grandparents in Surrey after her English father and French mother separated. Often described in her own words as a wild child, she took after her party-loving mother, smoking, drinking, and tearing up the capital’s nightlife, as a teen. Over time,…

 Tom of Finland is celebrated for his distinctive, erotically charged drawings of hyper-masculine, impossibly muscular and well-endowed men — often wearing leather boots or suggestive uniforms. Born in 1920, he lived out his sexual fantasies on paper, creating much of his work in an age when gay sex was still illegal. “PEOPLE WERE ASHAMED THAT TOM WAS FINNISH. I WANTED TO CHANGE THAT ATTITUDE” Well before the internet made porn readily available, these “Masc 4 Masc” images. published in physique magazines from the 1950s onwards, both aroused and influenced gay men’s self-image, fanning the flames of the gay liberation movement. In his native country, Tom’s work now hangs in art galleries, has been featured on Finnish postage stamps, as well as on bed linen, towels, vodka and a coffee brand.…

What have you been up to recently? I’ve had a few shows but mainly I’ve been writing loads of new music, and finishing up some bits that will be ready for release soon. You’re performing at Brighton Pride this year. Are you a Pride virgin? It’s my first Brighton Pride, but I played at Birmingham Pride two years ago and the crowd and atmosphere was fantastic. I loved it so much, it was one of my favourite gigs ever. I hope Brighton will be the same. What do you love about performing for an LGBT+ audience? The LGBT+ community are so much fun and so supportive. Everyone sings along to my music and just dances as if no one is watching. They are probably my favourite audience to perform for.…

“I’VE CARRIED THE DEATH OF THAT OFFICER WITH ME FOR 61 YEARS. HE HAD A CODE TO LIVE BY AND FELT HE HAD BROUGHT DISGRACE TO HIS FAMILY SO SHOT HIMSELF” When Attitude first asked 81-year-old Keith Biddlecombe to accept one of our Pride Awards, he declined — until we explained that we wanted to give it to him on behalf of all those gay men who, like him, were treated as criminals because of their sexuality. Keith’s story, while unique, will be sadly familiar to that of thousands of men arrested under anti-gay laws until homophobic legislation regarding sexual offences was fully repealed in England and Wales in 2003. The number of convictions is thought to be as high as 100,000. Born in February 1936 on the Isle of…

“DO YOUR WORST WORLD, I DON’T CARE. I’M GOING OUT THERE AND LIVING MY LIFE; THIS IS ME” Peppy, bright-eyed and engaging, Natalie Scott is something of a celebrity on the scene in her home city of Glasgow. Head to The Merchant City, where many of Glasgow’s LGBT+ venues are found, and you’ve a fair chance of seeing her working the room or belting out a karaoke tune. She helps to raise money for various charities through raffles and by hosting a popular tombola for the city’s Gay Ball every year. But having been dealt more than her fair share of trauma and bad luck over the years, Natalie’s confidence as a trans woman hasn’t come easily. Recalling her childhood, Natalie says: “I don’t think I was aware I was…

“HE IS THE FIRST AND ONLY MAN I’VE BEEN IN LOVE WITH AND IT WAS INSTANT.WE BECAME BOYFRIENDS AFTER 10 DAYS” From Coronation Street to Mariah Carey, Martyn Hett embraced his passions. A PR manager and former Attitude contributor, who went on to garner a strong digital following with his hilarious and sharply observed tweets, Martyn channelled energy and a love for life into everything he did. He was unashamedly happy with who he was, something that embodies the spirit of LGBT+ pride — and the sentiment behind the Attitude Pride Awards. That makes his death during the terrorist attack at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester all the more tragic. But it felt right that Attitude should ask Martyn’s family to accept a posthumous Pride Award on his behalf…

Being gay or a lesbian in the early Eighties was completely different to today, says Booan Temple. She is one of the team who forced their way into a BBC News studio in 1988 to protest against Clause 28, the anti-gay legislation brought in by Margaret Thatcher to stop all discussion of homosexuality in schools. Across the UK there were high levels of homophobia, reflects Booan. “Seventy-five per cent of the population thought that gay relationships were almost always wrong. “Appearing to be lesbian on the streets made you vulnerable to both verbal and physical attack. There were no safe spaces. Being [LGBT+] was simply a bad thing to be. It wasn’t criminalised but it was seen as a perversion to be hated and despised.” This was highlighted by the…

Lacoste’s history has always been closely interwoven with tennis; founder René Lacoste was a dab hand at the sport and the company sponsor numerous players and tournaments around the world. In May, they announced that their latest ambassador would be 12-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. The Serbian star will be kitted on and off the court, wearing apparel adorned with the iconic crocodile motif (as well as his personal logo). Both Novak, below, and René started their careers hitting a ball against a wall as children, and went on to be greats in the game. So, the collection — which includes polo shirts, shorts, and jackets designed with both sport and elegance in mind — marks a perfect partnership. lacoste.com…

SIXPAD Review by Attitude’s Adam Duxbury It’s difficult not to be sceptical when trying out a device that you strap on to your muscles then lie back and wait for rippling abs and bulging biceps to appear. Developed by a Japanese lifestyle brand, the Sixpad uses 20Hz of EMS (electronic muscle stimulation) to contract your muscles, just like exercising does. There’s an ab-focused bit and twin body devices that work arms, legs and waists. I try the Abs Fit first, attaching six gel pads to the device then slapping it on my stomach. There are 15 degrees of intensity. I opt for level six, thinking that will be ideal to ease me in. After a few warm-up flutters, my muscles are suddenly contracting like crazy and…

JAMES ZAMAN, 39, TENNIS COACH/DJ “I was teased for being overweight until I was 21. It was rather depressing until I started working out. Life changed drastically after that!” { HEIGHT } 170.1 CM { WEIGHT } 74 KG HAVE YOU ALWAYS FELT COMFORTABLE WITH YOUR BODY? No. I was teased for being overweight until I was 21. On the gay scene, at first, I felt as if I didn’t exist and it was rather depressing for a few years until I started working out. Life changed drastically after that! My mum was also overweight and I was told I got her genes. I decided that was not a good enough excuse for me to carry on being negative about my appearance. WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO DO THIS SHOOT?…

“I’VE CLEANED TOILETS AND FILLED SKIPS. NOW ALL I WANT TO DO IS WRITE SCRIPTS. IT’S MY PASSION. BUT I HAVE TO PAY THE BILLS IN THE MEANTIME” NEIL ELY, 34, WRITER/SUPPORTWORKER/LABOURER, BRIGHTON What’s a day like at work? I have three jobs, so it’s busy. I work as a support worker for adults with learning disabilities, which is rewarding but challenging. I also work on a building site as a labourer, which is the opposite, but it pays well. My ultimate goal though — and my real passion — is to write scripts for film and theatre. I’ve had small successes with a short film, Mirrors, which premiered at BFI Flare and was released on Boys On Film 13. I’m currently co-writing an LGBT+ series, Homme Hotel, with my…

“UP UNTIL 2011, GAY MEN IN THE UK WERE BANNED COMPLETELY FROM DONATING BLOOD DUE TO THE INCREASED RISK OF PASSING ON CONDITIONS SUCH AS HIV” After a heavy night out recently, I went home with a guy and we had sex. I can’t remember whether we used a condom and I’m worried I’ve caught something from him, despite not showing any physical symptoms. I’m too scared to get tested and, in truth, always have been. So I haven’t been for a check-up for a few years. But now the anxiety is starting to have an impact on my work, because I can’t stop panicking. ADAM, ROMFORD • WAYNE: Let’s be honest, you already know what I’m going to say: you need to get tested. It might sound like the…

 Which Drag Race queen would you go Down Under with? “I’M CERTAINLY NOT ABOVE PAYING FOR SEX. IT’S ON THE LIST FOR THIS YEAR” Maybe I already have… What do RuPaul and Dame Edna have in common? Great lace fronts. Give us your favourite Australian pick-up line? “I reckon you’d bang like the dunny [toilet] door.” What’s the worst thing you can do as a drag queen? Take off your shoes, or your wig, while lip-syncing for your life on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Shame. What’s the first thing you do in the morning? I try to work out which city I’m in and who is lying next to me. Which cocktail best describes your personality? Pussy Galore. That was a cocktail once, I promise. What’s your biggest vice? Dark chocolate……

A few weeks ago I spent the morning at BBC Broadcasting House, speaking to local radio stations about the anniversary. Berkshire, Teesside, Kent — in interview after interview I found myself having to explain to straight broadcasters why, now that we have equal rights in (most of) the UK, we still need Pride events. I listened as a radio presenter in Bristol asked why homophobes aren’t entitled to their opinion; if I was allowed it say it was OK to be gay why aren’t they allowed to express the opposite? I listened to a man called Roy from Southend who called in to say he thought gay people were an abomination. I looked up on the TV screen on the wall of the studio and saw news stories about the…

1 // Kevin Elyot’s 1980’s play Coming Clean gets its first major London revival. As a gay couple (pictured below) see their relationship break down, the drama examines complex questions about fidelity and love. The play runs between 25 July and 26 August. 2 // There’s a double bill of plays inspired by events in Chechnya. Boris Got Bu**ered tells the story of a conflicted young graduate starting work in Russia’s civil service, while Ramzanland is Freedomland is set in a Chechnyan “camp.” Shows are on 13 and 14 August. 3 // Formed of seven short plays, Outlaws to In-laws takes theatregoers through seven decades of queer history, with contributions from some of the country’s leading gay writers, including Jonathan Harvey. Performances are between 29 August and 23 September. kingsheadtheatre.com…

LATE-NIGHT LIP SERVICE A bearded drag queen standing 7ft tall, Gingzilla hosts this Fringe spectacle, which pits some of the festival’s wildest acts against each other in debauched lip-sync battles, catwalk-offs and more. Various dates, Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre LOOKING FOR JOHN In 1976, Birmingham-born figure skater John Curry was outed by the press 48 hours after winning an Olympic gold medal. Looking for John is the story of writer and performer Tony Timberlake’s quest to remind the world of a forgotten queer hero. 3-27 August, Assembly Hall — Baillie Room KINSEY SICKS: THINGS YOU SHOULDN’T SAY Milking the title of America’s favourite dragapella beautyshop quartet, The Kinsey Sicks return to Edinburgh with a new show that takes aim at Donald Trump, racism, oblong vegetables and extreme macrame. 5-13 August,…

UP OFFICE FANS aka wind machines at work — for that “working 9-5” podium look. They even make Trish in accounts look fierce SHORT SHORTS The upside to summer that gets little appreciation. Hot boys in adidas shorts, toned calves, hairy pins... Get yer legs out for the lads! POOL PARTIES Hot men. Unicorn inflatables. Bulges in swimwear. We're in BALD HEADS So sexy and strokable. Why can't all men be bald? GAY ANIMALS Some animals are gay. Get over it! DOWN FLIP-FLOPS IN THE CITY You’re on the number 45 bus, luv, not Ipanema Beach. And that slapping sound they make is SO FUCKING ANNOYING! COCKTAILS So expensive and they take too long to make. Just give us the alcohol! SEAGULLS Giant birds that exist to terrify humanity. Evil…

 PREPARING FOR HIS ROLE in the premiere of Kevin Elyot’s final play, Adam Garcia is mulling over his career to date and declares: “I’ve played a lot of gay parts, come to think of it, and hopefully I do them justice.” “There’s a thing where I come in from working in the garden on a hot day, so I could be dirty, sweaty and topless. That’s just to get bums on seats” Not that Adam, who was Emun Elliott’s on-screen boyfriend in Threesome and Daniel Evans’ on-stage lover in Where Do We Live, is revealing if the dual characters he’s playing in Twilight Song are gay, straight or somewhere in between. “Sex to them is a tool,” he teases, reluctant to give away the play’s secrets. “Kevin is such a…

 I’M NOT SURE when and where it was that I alighted upon Ricky Martin’s Instagram account but since finding it, the portal has haunted me like some ghostly foreshadow of the life I will never live. Ricky’s account is basically a child’s fantasia of everything most gay men don’t turn out to be. “RICKY MARTIN MIGHT BE A NEW TOTEM BY WHICH ALL GAY MASCULINITY NEEDS TO GAUGE ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD” It is #goals incarnate and all it means to be hot, contented, talented, fulfilled, successful and loved. I think Ricky Martin might be turning into the gay David Beckham; a new totem by which all gay masculinity now needs to gauge its contribution to the world. I am obsessed. Ricky, you will remember, was the singer propelled…

 IT’S DIFFICULT TO SAY WHY some things are adopted by the LGBT+ community. There’s nothing inherently queer about Barbra Streisand, Xanadu or, erm… The Babadook and yet they’ve all attained icon status. Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, which celebrates its 20th birthday this year, is one such phenomenon. “THE QUEER APPEAL LIES IN THE TRIUMPH OF THE LEAD CHARACTERS. THEY REALISE THAT THEIR HIGH SCHOOL TORMENTORS ARE SMALL-TOWN NOTHINGS” Sure, it’s a hugely quotable movie. Who among us hasn’t asked for a “business woman special” or claimed to have invented the humble Post-It note? Have you and a friend ever screamed: “I’m the Mary” at one another? And as if you haven’t performed an interpretive dance to Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time (brilliantly, licensing this song cost one-twentieth of…

Gavan Hennigan is telling me what it’s like to row solo across the Atlantic Ocean. “Night time can be particularly hard, especially when there’s no moon,” he says in his soft Irish accent. “It gets very dark and the energy out there is insane because there’s nobody around. It’s tough. At one stage the closest people to me were on the International Space Station orbiting overhead.” Over the past 10 years, 36-year-old Gavan has climbed high-altitude peaks in the Himalayas, mountaineered in the Antarctic, and is one of only a handful of people to have crossed frozen Lake Baikal in Siberia on foot. There isn’t a continent on the planet where he hasn’t undertaken an extreme adventure. He’s like a gay Bear Grylls — only hotter. But it’s the solo…

THE PARADE It’s not Pride without a parade, and Brighton is renowned for having one of the best in the UK. Sponsored by Gatwick Airport, it will set off at 11am on Saturday 5 August and is free to watch as the floats, performers and volunteers make their way from Hove Lawns, down the seafront and through the streets before ending up at Preston Park, the heart of the Pride Festival. THE PLEASURE GARDENS The Pride Pleasure Gardens debuted last year and are back by popular demand. The Old Steine and Victoria Gardens are getting a makeover for Pride, providing music and entertainment all weekend long from Sink The Pink, among many others, see below. VICTORIA GARDENS On Friday 4 August, Victoria Gardens will host Pride Unplugged, an acoustic set…

Like many of you, I’ve seen the stats and I’ve known for some time that gay men are disproportionately affected by depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. I know we’re much more likely than straight people to experience bullying at school and in the workplace, and verbal or violent abuse. But it’s only while working at Attitude that the human impact of all this has dawned on me — as I’ve met so many of our readers and writers and heard their stories first hand. That’s why it’s brilliant to be able to introduce the return of the Attitude Pride Awards in association with our new sponsor, Sky. Because most of this year’s LGBT+ winners have gone through awful experiences but have come out the other side and done valuable work…

“YOU’D HEAR THE PREACHER IN CHURCH TELLING YOU THAT YOU WERE POSSESSED BY WITCHCRAFT, EVIL SPIRITS; THAT YOU’D NEED TO HAVE AN EXORCISM” You can’t be a heterosexual one day and a lesbian the next, just as you can’t change your race.” So said barrister Andrew Bird — on behalf of then Home Secretary Theresa May — to Aderonke Apata in 2015. It was Aderonke’s third unsuccessful attempt to be granted asylum, denied once more because the court believed she was lying about her sexuality. In court papers, the future Prime Minister even branded the claim a “publicity stunt.” Aderonke has spent 13 years since arriving in the UK in legal limbo, trying to prove her sexuality to secure her safety. She was born in Nigeria, which she still regards…

“THEY’D BEEN GIVEN THE SAME SPIEL BY DOCTORS AS GAY MEN HAD BEEN: GET MARRIED, THAT’LL CURE YOU. ALL THAT NONSENSE” When Bernard and Terry Reed’s trans daughter started attending a gender clinic in the late 1980s, the world was a very different place for LGBT+ people. Assigned male at birth, their daughter suffered horrible abuse in her macho work environment. She was 20 when she started going to the clinic and eventually told her mum, but by this time she’d been struggling with her identity in silence for years and was now battling torment at work, too. “With the wisdom of hindsight, you see signs that were there but you didn’t actually read them at the time,” admits Terry. “Seeing your own child go through the kind of torture…

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 After being caught up in the tragedy at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester back in May, I struggled to get myself back up and running. But I’ve used my sport to help me deal with depression in the past, and, fortunately, remembered how helpful exercise can be for mental health — there’s a reason doctors recommend it to patients suffering from depression. In some cases, it can be just as effective as taking anti-depressants. Here are a few reasons why. “SOMETIMES EXERCISE CAN BE AS EFFECTIVE AS ANTI-DEPRESSANTS” Self-confidence It hard to forget that when we exercise, we start to feel better about the way we look. Studies have repeatedly shown that just one moderate workout can boost self-esteem. If you can’t love yourself… Endorphins Exercise releases endorphins which…

“WE KEPT SPIRITS UP BY CARRYING ON RUNNING AROUND WITH TEA, COFFEE AND VODKA — UNTIL I REALISED I’D MISSED MY LAST TRAIN HOME” JAKE BASFORD, 27, SOCIAL MEDIA AND COMMS MANAGER, ESSEX  at school, I walked in one day to find out everyone knew I was gay. All thanks to a so-called friend taking issue with me dating her ex and making sure the girl with the biggest mouth knew. When I moved schools for sixth form I found a tribe where being gay was a non-issue and grew more comfortable in my skin. Growing up in rural Essex, I didn’t have much in the way of a connection to the LGBT+ scene. My first attempt to go out “on the scene was intended to be more of a…

We have our toes in a twist for Bradford-born dancer Brandon Lawrence. Trained at the Nydza School of Dance, in Shipley, West Yorkshire, and the Royal Ballet School (where he danced in La Valse and Giselle), he joined Birmingham Royal Ballet in 2011. Since then his career has bounded higher and higher. He was promoted to first artist in 2014, and soloist in 2016. He’s set to electrify the stage in the company’s version of Aladdin and the intriguing Penguin Café triple bill, both of which tour the UK between September and November. brb.org.uk {EXHIBITION} QUEER SPACE AT DALSTON SUPERSTORE GALLERY Running until mid-September, Dalston Superstore Gallery’s latest exhibition draws from national archives and personal collections to explore queer culture and identity from the past century. Held to mark the…

 This is your first time performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. What can people expect? “By the time I was called up on stage, everyone had either left or was half asleep” It’s basically a chance for me to show off, have some fun and politely ask that people respect a queer person’s right to own their identity and not get pigeonholed. How do you describe your style of comedy? Funny, obviously. Silly, smart, dirty, chic and depraved, all at once. How competitive is it at the festival? We’re all best friends who support each other every step of the way. *sips tea and looks to the side* Do you remember your first ever stand-up gig? I wish I didn’t remember it. I was 24 and flailing in the job…

Sasha Velour is the drag alter ego of Alexandra “Sasha” Steinberg from Brooklyn, New York, named after Russian revolutionary and feminist Alexandra Kollontai. Sasha decided to go bald after her now deceased mother started losing her hair as a side effect of cancer treatment. Sasha won two challenges during her run on Drag Race; both were shared wins with Shea Couleé. She joins a select group of queens who made it to the finale of Drag Race without ever being in the bottom two, which includes other drag race winners Violet Chachki, Bianca Del Rio and Tyra Sanchez. She hosts and produces a monthly drag show called Nightgowns and runs Velour: The Drag Magazine. Congratulations on your win. Was the taping of the show what you expected? In some ways,…

 “EMULATE ALL THE SHIT my mother hated, I can’t help but demonstrate my Freudian fate,” sang Amy Winehouse, fearing she was destined to replicate her adulterous father’s behaviour. “AFFAIRS ARE MINEFIELDS FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR AFFECTION WHEREVER THEY CAN FIND IT. MY ENCOUNTER CAME AND WENT LIKE A BRITISH SUMMER” My own father had an affair while my mum was pregnant with me. It went on for years and is something I’ve never been able to let go of. Not only was it her he was betraying, but also the idea of us, the family that was about to begin. My dad’s behaviour informed some of my early attitudes towards men: the double life, the lack of owning up to his actions, the weekend father: there one minute, gone the…

TRUDEAUFILES Justin has been busy recently, celebrating #Canada150. He joined the likes of Nelly Furtado and Shania Twain for WE Day, welcomed William and Kate on their royal tour, and even met Prince Charles, but we like to think that his most recent highlight was looking pretty in pink at Toronto Pride. (He would have looked better in a leather harness, though). BILL SKARSGÅRD When your brother is 6ft 4in Norse sex god Alexander Skarsgård, it can be hard to get noticed. Maybe that’s why it’s taken us so long to realise what a fine (and sexy) actor this young Swede is. It could also be because he previously starred in Hemlock Grove and it was sh*t. But the world is about to know his name when he stars as…

DECLAN MCKENNA What Do You Think About The Car? • Don’t try to define him by his sexuality, and don’t compare him to Jake Bugg. Instead just soak up the magnificence of one of the best debut albums in years. Sounding way more assured than his 18 years, Declan sings songs about everything from corruption in FIFA (Brazil) to the struggle faced by trans teens (Paracetamol). And he captures the hopes and fears of modern youth better than the likes of Bieber ever could. Humongous and Isombard are also stunning. Out now 4/5 HAIM Something to Tell You • Californian sister act Haim’s second album suffers from being that little bit too sleek, polished, and fine-tuned. It’s as if they wanted to please everyone by sacrificing creativity at the altar…

BOOK OF THE MONTH NOT GUILTY: QUEER STORIES FROM A CENTURY OF DISCRIMINATION Sue Elliott and Steve Humphries/Biteback • Not Guilty is a powerful new history of the long, often fraught, road to equality and is nothing short of essential reading for every gay and bi man in the UK today. Only 50 years ago, sex between men was a crime. The Sexual Offences Act 1967 partly changed that, but it was just the beginning of the long fight for equality in the eyes of the law, in society, and in millions of private lives. Personalising the political, this excellent new history book accompanies a Channel 4 documentary revealing that story through the lives of gay men who witnessed those battles first-hand and were affected every day. From a right-wing…

I identified with both Heather Mooney and Toby Walters in equal measures. @Darren McMahon As i run a nightclub named after the movie, I guess I have to! Janeane Garofalo’s side-eye beer drool in the reunion is cinema gold. @Bright Light x2 Heather Mooney 4 ever. Ladyfair cigarettes: twice the taste in half the time for the gal on the go. @eleanor_wood We may be biased, but we love it... especially the musical. @romymichelesing GET INVOLVED Next month: We check into Hotel LaChapelle to discuss the work of snapper David LaChapelle. Tweet your thoughts @junodawson…

 When Against the Law was announced earlier this year, it came mere weeks after thousands of gay and bisexual men, convicted of sex crimes under antiquated anti-gay laws, were given posthumous pardons by the UK government. Some of those men are featured in this BBC programme, which blends real-life accounts of gay life before decriminalisation with a dramatised account of the 1954 trial of Tory politician Lord Montagu for gay sex offences. As the BBC marks 50 years since partial decriminalisation in the UK and Wales, this touching but stark show — the centrepiece of the ongoing Gay Britannia series — is a reminder of just how far LGBT+ equality has come. “I WAS PLAYING SOMEONE FROM A DIFFERENT CLASS BACKGROUND, SOMEONE MORE INTELLIGENT AND OF A DIFFERENT SEXUALITY. IT…

What are you up to? Lots of exciting stuff. Playing festivals and I’m about to release my new song Unpredictable which will complete my EP, named after my own record label Eko. I also closed Pete Tong’s orchestra classics show at Common People festival, singing You Got the Love, which was a highlight of the year! Is this your first Brighton Pride? First time, yeah! I’ve done Birmingham Pride a couple times which was amazing. What’s the best thing about performing for a LGBT+ audience? The vibe is one of the best, everyone is celebrating who they are and everyone is so accepting of everyone else and up for a party. Who’s your ultimate diva? Beyoncé. And the biggest Pride anthem is? Born this Way, by Lady Gaga. What can…

“I’VE SAID ‘LGBT’ TO NURSES, AND SOME OF THEM HAVEN’T HAD A CLUE WHAT THAT STANDS FOR — THEY THINK IT’S SOME KIND OF SANDWICH YOU CAN GET AT PRET” Little more than a year ago, Dean Eastmond was like many other queer university students around the country; enjoying life in the company of friends from across the rainbow spectrum. Then, in June 2016 — the same week as the Pulse nightclub shooting — he was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. “I felt a pain in my chest in January of last year,” says Dean. “By May, there was a lump the size of a grapefruit. “I thought it was a bump from partying too hard on a night out, or a broken rib. But I…

“EVER SINCEI WAS 10 AND LIVED IN AN AREA WHERE THE BNP HAD THEIR HEADQUARTERS, I’VE HAD TO ENDURE RACISM” In 2005, Lady Phyll (aka Phyll Opoku-Gyimah) took the experience she’d garnered in the civil service and combined it with her passion for black and LGBT+ rights, to co-found UK Black Pride. Back then, a few buses took people to the event. These days, the UK’s only event dedicated to celebrating LGBT+ people of colour attracts crowds in the thousands and organises networking and social events through the year. Growing up in a Ghanaian household with strict Christian parents, Phyll was expected to settle down with a husband and start a family. “It filled me with dread,” she says. “It was hard because you are constantly wearing a mask but…

IT CAN BE DRESSED UP WITH A SUIT, TAILORED SHORTS, OR, DRESSED DOWN, WITH A PAIR OF JOGGING BOTTOMS ALMOST EVERY BRAND HAS A VERSION OF A WHITE SHIRT, SO LOOK AROUND FOR THE RIGHT STYLE AND FIT FINISH THE LOOK…

“HALFWAY THROUGH THE SHOW, MY DUNGAREES ARE RIPPED OFF TO REVEAL A PAIR OF GOLD HOT PANTS. THAT’S ENOUGH TO SCARE ANYONE TO THE GYM” When did you first become interested in fitness? I’ve been going to the gym for a while now, probably five years, but I never took it too seriously until about a year ago. I was appearing in Footloose in front of a thousand people every night and halfway through the show I Need a Hero comes on. I’m wearing a pair of dungarees which are ripped off me to reveal a pair of gold hot pants underneath. That’s enough to scare anyone to the gym. So, what’s a typical day in your fitness routine like? I try to go to the gym every day. With…

#1 SINGLE LEG DEADLIFT THIS is great for working out uneven hamstrings, but be sensible with the weight to begin with. Start with your weight in the heel of your front foot, back foot just supporting and balancing. KEEPING a slight bend in your front leg and with your back flat, look forward and lower bar down from your hip, to your shin. You should feel the muscles working down the back of your front leg. SLOWLY stand back up, squeezing your bum and take care to keep your balance. #2 THRUSTERS WITH a dumbbell in each hand, rest them in a comfortable position on your shoulders for you to press them later. Stand with your feet just wider than shoulder-width apart, toes slightly pointed outwards. SQUAT down so your…