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& AWARD-WINNING
GAY MAGAZINE { JUSTIN TRUDEAU
PHOTOGRAPHED FOR ATTITUDE
BY CHRISTOPHER WAHL } ATTITUDE.CO.UK
JANUARY 2018 £4.95
@ attitudemag

{ WORLD FOCUS }
MAX
RUSSIA EMERSON
SPECIAL REPORT The Instagram
The invisible epidemic poster boy gets
hitting gay men active in LA

MASHROU' LEILA

9 771353 187052
The queer alt-rockers
from the Middle East

NAKHANE
Challenging the
myths about
being African

13
and gay

LET’S GET
POLITICAL
The drag
queens making
a statement
on stage

{ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW }

CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER

JUSTIN
TRUDEAU “The LGBT community has
become emblematic of the
fight for human rights”
 harrogate’s Finest
Award-Winning Gin
6OLQJVE\<RUNVKLUH5KXEDUE*LQLVPDGHZLWKWKHˋQHVW<RUNVKLUH
rhubarb, locally-sourced botanicals, Harrogate aquifer water and
pure single grain spirit. Visit us for a unique gin experience at
Spirit of Harrogate – the home of Slingsby Gin.

www.wslingsby.co.uk

facebook.com/slingsbysocial @slingsbysocial
 JANUARY 2018
ATTITUDE.CO.UK

p76

p50
F E AT U R E S
p22 p60

50 PRIME TIME
In a world-exclusive interview, Canadian
premier Justin Trudeau explains why he
supports LGBT+ issues and reveals his
hopes for the future
60 RUBBING SALT INTO THE WOUND
South African musician and actor
Nakhane tells us about the backlash he's
facing over his latest role
66 RUSSIAN ROULETTE
Russia is facing some of the world's
highest rates of new HIV infections. Matt
4RZ_ecRgV]de`>`dT`he`Í_U`fehYj
72 ALTERNATIVE ENDINGS
REGULARS Hamed Sinno, the frontman of
Lebanonese alt-rockers Mashrou' Leila,
9 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF'S LETTER wants the world to change
10 THE WORD ON THE STREET 76 DRAG GRACE
146 BIG IN A WIG Vizin Four drag queens from around the globe
p112 tell us how they see the world — and
how they want to be seen by it
A LIST

14 AGENDA Things we like this month AC T I V E

15 A STAR Terrell Carter
18 THE RULES World domination 112 FEATURE Max Emerson
19 Q&A Robert Hastie 117 ACTIVATE Fitness news
21 CLIFF JOANNOU Exit strategies 118 FOCUS Fitness tips from Matt Lister
22 SHOW GIRLS The West End's 121 REAL BODIES
leading ladies unite
27 LEO RICHARDSON Slave 4 Britney
28 ALL HIS OWN WORK Songwriter T R AV E L
to the stars, Leland, releases his
debut track 24 FEATURE Toronto
32 A GAY'S WHO'S WHO Dr Who's top 27 JUST THE TICKET Travel news
queer moments 130 FEATURE Quebec
34 DANNY LEE WYNTER 3feeVcÎjVWWVTe
36 FATHER FIGURE Ricky Tomlinson
39 BIG ISSUE Alcohol free LIFE
40 MUSIC
41 FILMS 134 REAL LIFE
42 PAUL FLYNN Family logistics 137 MAN OF THE MONTH
44 BOOKS 138 NO PLACE LIKE HOME
45 CULTURE CLUB Pierre et Gilles 139 JOY RIDE
47 BIG GAY FOLLOWING Bananarama 140 A PROBLEM SHARED
143 BUDDY BRILLIANT
144 TABLE FOR TWO
STYLE 145 STEPPING OUT

86 TREND Hot on the High Street

92 CRUSH Reasons to be GLAAD
p28
94 FASHION Layer upon layer

JANUARY 2018 5
EDITOR IN CHIEF MATT CAIN matt.cain@attitude.co.uk
EDITOR CLIFF JOANNOU cliff.joannou@attitude.co.uk
MEET THE TEAM
DEPUTY EDITOR ADAM DUXBURY adam.duxbury@attitude.co.uk ¤WHAT THREE LAWS WOULD YOU MAKE
ASSISTANT EDITOR TIM HEAP tim.heap@attitude.co.uk IF YOU RULED THE WORLD
CHIEF SUB EDITOR HUGH SOHN hugh.sohn@attitude.co.uk

EDITOR AT LARGE MATTHEW TODD matthew.todd@attitude.co.uk

SPORTS EDITOR MARK MCADAM mark.mcadam@attitude.co.uk
TRAVEL EDITOR/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER MARKUS BIDAUX
markus.bidaux@attitude.co.uk

ART DIRECTOR GARY SIMONS gary.simons@attitude.co.uk

DESIGNER LUCY TAYLOR lucy.taylor@attitude.co.uk HUGH SOHN,
CHIEF SUB EDITOR
FASHION AND GROOMING DIRECTOR JOSEPH KOCHARIAN 1) Tom Daley would not
joseph.kocharian@attitude.co.uk be allowed to wear any
JUNIOR FASHION EDITOR NICK BYAM nick.byam@attitude.co.uk clothing in public. 2) Any
time Tom Holland steps out
WEB EDITOR JOSHUA HAIGH joshua.haigh@attitude.co.uk
the door, he must be naked.
WEB EDITOR WILL STROUDE will.stroude@attitude.co.uk
3) And, oddly, Michael Cera.
FREELANCE WEB REPORTER FABIO CRISPIM
Perv? Me? Bloody cheek...
HEAD OF PARTNERSHIPS MIKE BUCKLEY mike.buckley@attitude.co.uk
CLIFF JOANNOU, EDITOR
COMMERCIAL MANAGER ANDY GODDARD 1) Mariah would have to
andy.goddard@attitude.co.uk 020 3598 6741
stop chasing celebrity and
ACCOUNT MANAGER JOANNA HILL
go back to making decent
joanna.hill@attitude.co.uk 01342 872041
music. 2) It’s not allowed
ACCOUNT MANAGER SEAN LINEKER
to rain when I go outside.
sean.lineker@attitude.co.uk 020 3598 6743
DIGITAL ACCOUNT MANAGER
Umbrellas are so annoying.
HYWEL KENNEDY hywel.kennedy@attitude.co.uk 020 3598 6744 3) Carbs and cheese wouldn’t
make you fat. Basically, pizza
INTERNS ROBIN MILLS // GEORGE DOUGLAS-DAVIES //IFAN LLEWELYN would be super-healthy.
As would those hot melted
cheese croissants from Pret.
4) I’d change laws whenever
it suited my maniacal desires,
starting with the one telling
MANAGING DIRECTOR DARREN STYLES
me to only cite three laws
COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR CRAIG LEWIS
NEXT ISSUE
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR NIGEL RUSSELL LEE DALLOWAY,
EVENTS MANAGER LESLEY HARRIS AVAILABLE
WRITER/JOURNALIST
PRODUCTION EXECUTIVE TOM DOYLE 4 JANUARY
1) That you have to have half
a brain/be an actual human
ATTITUDE MAGAZINE 33 Pear Tree Street,
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London EC1V 3AG attitude@attitude.co.uk
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6 JANUARY 2018
 A LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Welcome to the latest issue of Attitude. It’s one which places a
greater focus than usual on issues affecting LGBT+ life around
the world. And it’s led by our editor Cliff Joannou’s fascinating
interview with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

We’ve stopped short of creating a strict “world” theme

for the issue, mainly because the world is such a big
place and the issues affecting LGBT+ people are so varied
that we could never do this justice. I also don’t want the
challenges faced by LGBT+ people in different parts of
the world to be ghettoised in one single issue of Attitude.
Many of the subjects explored you’ll have seen discussed
in previous issues — and we’ll return to some of them in
the future.
That being said, grouping so many features with an
international outlook together in one issue does offer a
different perspective on the gay experience — and one
which sends out a clear message.
In his interview, South African singer and actor Nakhane
complains about feeling patronised by Westerners who
look down on African culture as less civilised and write
off the entire continent as homophobic. A few pages later,
Hamed Sinno, the lead singer of Lebanese group Mashrou’
Leila, echoes this sentiment, complaining about the lack
of nuance Westerners often display when approaching the
subject of gay life in the Arab world or the possibility of a
relationship with someone of his culture.
It has left me thinking that it’s great for us to draw
attention to the struggles of LGBT+ people around the
world, but this shouldn’t allow us to think that everything
is OK here in the UK. I’m sure I don’t need to remind
you of how much work needs to be done to increase
acceptance of gay people in certain social milieus around
our country — and how equality legislation in Northern
Ireland needs to catch up with the rest of the UK. But over
the course of the past month I’ve been much more struck
by the discrimination and hatred that continues to be
directed at our trans brothers and sisters. And this often
happens in plain sight.
In the run-up to this year’s Trans Day of Remembrance
there was an outpouring of bigotry in the tabloid press
and on social media that I know has left many of my
trans friends upset and angry. As a cisgendered man, I’m
well aware of my privilege and don’t want to patronise
anyone by preaching about a subject outside my own
experience. But at times like this, as gay, bisexual and
queer men, we need to send out a clear message that we
stand very much alongside the “T” under the umbrella
of LGBT+.
So, if you see anyone hassling trans people, either in
every-day life or on social media, please let that person
know that this is not acceptable.
Share posts and tweets from trans people whose views
you agree with. And if you ever speak to anyone who
tries to incite panic about rising gender-clinic referrals,
or trans rights endangering cisgendered women, or the
perils posed by trans women using female toilets, quietly
and calmly tell them that their views are unfounded.
If you don’t feel qualified to explain why, direct them to
the work of journalists such as Paris Lees, Shon Faye and
our own Juno Dawson.
Remember that much of the persecution currently
being suffered by trans people in the UK is not dissimilar
to the persecution gay men suffered for so long. And
trans rights are human rights.
In the meantime, enjoy this issue of the magazine.

MATT CAIN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Journalist of the Year, Diversity in Media Awards
@AttitudeMag @MattCainWriter

JANUARY 2018 9
MICHAEL GALLAGHER: The world needs more inclusion. I’m a seven-foot PEPPER BAKEWELL:
Trust, compassion,
monster in five-inch heels, dancing and throwing myself onto couches, but
working for the greater
tonight everyone has accepted me good, sponge cake that
tastes as good as the icing
looks, and opportunities
to be on the dancefloor
with amazing people!

Other than
love, what

the
does the world
need more of?

word
on the
JAY JAY REVLON:
street
We need more safe,
non-judgemental WHERE: THE COSMOPOLITAN BALL BY
social spaces for NORTHERN CITY WAACKERS, GLASGOW
adults and youths
AS TOLD TO / PHOTOGRAPHY: NATALIE MCKENZIE

10 JANUARY 2018
 the word on the street

NISHA CHAND: Empathy —

understanding of each
other to eliminate racism,
sexism and sectarianism

D’RELLE KHAN: Honest

interactions, honest
communication and being
honest to ourselves

MISS ANNABEL SINGS: Freedom to be whoever, however,

wherever you want to be. Channel the power of positive expression
NAGATO KAZE: Less
fear of diversity, more
acceptance of differences

JANUARY 2018 11
 { F I L M // T V // M U S I C // O P I N I O N // N E W S // P E R F O R M A N C E // B O O K S // B OY S }

JAN
2018
RAUL ROMO

HE’S WRITTEN SONGS FOR THE LIKES OF SELENA GOMEZ AND

TROYE SIVAN, BUT NOW LELAND IS STRIKING OUT ON HIS OWN p28

JANUARY 2018 13
 AGENDA
{ FA S H I O N }

AUTOGRAPH HUNTER

David Gandy and Autograph

have held all the aces in
the sleepwear pack for a
long time now (it totally
helps that Gandy squeezes
in his muscley bod into
the range every season).
Now, for David Gandy for
Autograph Autumn-Winter,
he’s lounging around in a
cabin, in bed, and with a dog
(pass the fan), all the while
wearing the latest collection,
which includes soft-to-the-
touch sleepwear in fabrics
such as cashmere and velour.
They come in mauve and

3 PANTOS
TO JINGLE
grey, as well as some subtle
stripes and geometric prints.
Understated and beautiful,
just like the man himself.

THOSE marksandspencer.com

BELLS
Get ready to be Goosed
1 //
(above) at this year’s
panto at London’s Royal Vauxhall
Tavern. How will Fairy Lamé be
able to help mother save the
Goose Tavern from the scheming
Kelly-Anne Con-Witch? It’s sure
to be the gayest panto you’ve
ever seen, and that’s saying
something. Runs until 4 January.

genda
vauxhalltavern.com

Everyone knows the most

2 //
important item in your
make-up bag is a good night’s
sleep, and no one knows it better
T H E T H I N G S W E LOV E T H I S M O N T H
than Sleeping Beauty. The First
Lady of Scottish pantomime,
Elaine C Smith, takes to the stage
as The Fairy in this timeless { T H E AT R E }

production at King’s Theatre

Glasgow. Runs until 7 January. STRANGER THING
atgtickets.com/shows/sleeping-
beauty/kings-theatre Moving to the big city is a daunting
thing, especially at 16. Tommy
One of the best-loved Murphy’s Strangers in Between tells the
3 // pantos, Cinderella is a story of young Shane as he flees his
must-see in the holiday season. rural home and heads to the bright
Hollyoaks heart-throb Duncan lights of Sydney’s Kings Cross, where
James takes to the stage of he attempts to establish an urban
the Liverpool Empire as the family for himself. This dark comedy
handsome Prince Charming. The explores how important friendships
show runs between 16 December truly are when one is coming of age,
and 7 January. especially as a gay kid in modern
atgtickets.com/shows/cinderella/ Australia.
liverpool-empire The play runs at Trafalgar Studios 2
ANDREAS GR EGER

from 10 January until 3 February.

atgtickets.com/venues/trafalgar-studios

14 JANUARY 2018
 ONE TO WATCH

TERRELL CARTER
With season four of smash TV show
Empire well under way, we can’t keep
our eyes off newest series regular
Terrell Carter. He first showed up
on the hit drama as a guest character
in season three, playing gay love
interest Warren, and has been bumped
up to a cast regular for the current run,
which premiered in September. The 6ft
5in demigod, originally from Buffalo,
New York, blasted on to American
prime-time TV back in September 2011
when he made judge Paula Abdul blush
with his silky velvet tones on the US
version of The X Factor. However, he had
already had some success, appearing in
Diary of a Mad Black Woman in 2005,
and, although his singing career was
abruptly cut short, he went on to
play policeman Kevin Campbell
in Netflix’s Shooter. Now it
looks as if Carter is building
an empire of his own.
ERIC HOBBS

JANUARY 2018 15
 AGENDA

FA S H I O N }

N BED WITH TOM

ncy cuddling up with a

niformed daddy? Well, now
ou can, thanks to Finnish
ome-textile manufacturer
nlayson.
They have collaborated with Tom of F
elp you feel liberated, even with your homeware.
ami Vulli has taken infamous ToF characters to the
rban club scene and added loud graffiti to duvet covers,
llowcases, totes and cushion covers.

nlaysonshop.com
moffinlandstore.com

{ PERFORMANCE }

PUSH THE ENVELOPE

Step aside Kardashian baby, it’s time for our North

West to shine. HOME Manchester’s PUSH 2018
festival is a celebration of the region’s foremost
creative talents across a two-week smorgasbord of
performances, events,
works-in-progress and
exhibitions. Launching on
12 January at the Granada
Foundation Galleries, it
opens with a preview
of Jez Dolan’s latest
exhibition, Anders als die
Andern (Different from the
Others) an exploration
and its

h-2018

K WOULD HAVE IT
{ T H E AT R E }
y getting the recognition she
EPIC PROPORTIONS hton Museum & Art Gallery
he first major exhibition
Ever wondered what it was like to be queer ba k of the artist and pioneer
in 1680? Or what it’s going to be like in 2223 dity. Barber-cut short hair, men’s tailoring
on the moon? Well, you’re about to find out as h demeanour made her controversial in the
Coase presents a swirling constellation of quee e 20th century. Gluck: Art & Identity will
stories across the ages. Callisto: A Queer Epic ret ely seen paintings, alongside press-cuttings,
to its spiritual home at the Arcola Theatre, wh nd clothing left by girlfriends. Gluckily, it runs
enjoyed a sell-out run last year. ch, so you’ve got lots of time to see it during a
The show runs until 23 December. n’s possibly better-known attractions...

arcolatheatre.com ms.org.uk

16 JANUARY 2018
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Proud to be a member of the Berkeley Group of companies
 THE RULES

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iii DOWNLOAD
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{ Q & A }
ROBERT
HASTIE
THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE
CRUCIBLE THEATRE IN SHEFFIELD
EXPLAINS WHY IT REMAINS
IMPORTANT TO STAGE CLASSICS
SUCH AS THE WIZARD OF OZ
AS TOLD TO: ADAM DUXBURY
The Wizard Of Oz has been tackled
so many times, why did you want to
stage a new production now?
It’s a big, colourful story about
friendship, bravery and self-discovery,
told with great songs and a huge
generosity of spirit. That’s perfect for
this time of year.
What were your reference points for
this version and what have you done
differently?
The challenge has been how to meet
an audience’s expectations of a story
we all know, and then surpass them.
I’ve been guided a lot by the original L
Frank Baum novels, and in particular
what he wrote in an introduction:
“Perhaps some of the big, grown-up
people will poke fun at us — at you for
reading these nonsense tales and at me
for writing them. Never mind. Many
of the big folk are still children. We
cannot measure a child by a standard
of size or age.”
A lot of your other work has been on
more serious plays such as Henry V
and Julius Caesar; was it refreshing to
take on a children’s classic?
The principles are the same, and you
ask the same questions — is the story
clear? What do the characters want and
MAIN: RICHARD DAVENPORT
how do they work to achieve it? You
just add dogs and witches and lots of
dazzling dance sequences.
Of course, The Wizard of Oz is much
loved by the LGBT+ community;
it gave us the phrase “friend of
Dorothy” and the gay icon Judy
Garland. As a gay director did you
find any ways to slip in the odd
reference to that legacy?
To be honest, it doesn’t need much
help from me! But there is a bit of
cheekiness I’m taking a lot of guilty
pleasure in. Our actress playing the
Wicked Witch can do a brilliant Judy
Garland impersonation (she just played
Little Voice on stage, doing a whole
host of diva impressions). I love giving
the witch just a flavour of Carnegie
Hall-era, vodka-swilling Judy.
Did the story have any personal
connection for you?
I remember being fascinated as a kid
by the concept in the
film whereby the actors
playing the farmhands
in Kansas become the
Scarecrow, Tin Man and
Cowardly Lion in Oz. I
think that act of make-
believe was influential in
setting me on the road to
doing theatre for a living.
Plus, I’m pretty sure I had
a crush on the Tin Man.
You brought Of Kith and
Kin, a gay drama, to
Sheffield Theatres. Do
you have plans for more
LGBT+ productions?
Of Kith and Kin was
INTERVIEW
about a subject very close to my heart.
It’s also a great play by a great writer
[Chris Thompson]. It’s certainly my
plan to make sure there’s a diverse and
representative range of stories
“It’s vital for produced on our stages.
young people In this production, Dorothy
to see others is played by a black actress,
The Cursed Child cast a black
like themselves woman as Hermione, and
on the stage” Hamilton — well-known for its
diverse casting — looks set to
take the West End by storm.
But some people still seem to get
hung up on colour-blind casting, why
do you think that is?
OZ-SOME: Gabrielle
Brooks wil be playing
In one sense, casting Gabrielle Brooks
Dorothy as Dorothy was a “colour-blind”
decision, in that she’s extraordinarily
talented and the standout actor from
everyone we auditioned. But I’m not
sure it’s right to pretend we don’t see
people’s ethnicity on stage — every
actor brings themselves to the part
they’re playing, it couldn’t be
otherwise. For young people of every
ethnic background and gender to be
able to go to the theatre and see others
like themselves on the stage is vitally
important, particularly in the case of
shows with the huge popular appeal of
The Wizard of Oz.
The Wizard of Oz runs at the Crucible
Theatre, Sheffield, until 20 January.
sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
JANUARY 2018 19
020 7087 7760 | THEATRE ROYAL DRURY LANE | 42ndStreetMusical.co.uk
 OPINION
21 DECEMBER
The shortest day
of the year, which
means it’s the
longest night. The
best date in the
calendar after every
weekend, bank
holiday and our
UP
birthday
 
I LOVE MY JOB. But During awkward silences hum
CUFFING
hobnobbing with Jus along to Beyoncé. It’ll empower
SEASON
Bag a man, at Canada Pride. you. If someone asks what you
quick! It’s party There are parts of t said, reply you didn’t hear
and present that are decidedly un anything and walk away,
season and not the Working late hours t serving side-eye. Better
time to be single check invoices after to leave an element of
— you’ve got the `WÍTVYRdV^aeZVUR] mystique than reveal
whole of next year fails to excite me no weakness.
for crying into your
matter how much If you’re a ravenous
Cheetos
tequila I drink. bitch like me, you’d
OUTDOOR ICE Then, as December have spotted which
SKATING hits, the list of door the canapés
It’s totally worth networking events, emerge from. My inner
the soggy bum. launches and client Greek woman can’t relax
Get inspired by dinners that crop up until I know where my next
Margot Robbie as somewhat daunting. meal is coming from. With luck,
the craziest bitch in so much Cliff to go a ZeÄd^`cVeYR_R]ZXYe]jÍ_XVcVU
figure skating in
To maintain my san buffet of Iceland cast-offs. There’s
I, Tonya
mastered the art of g always conversation to be had
also known as fuckin with people loitering for food.
starts when you Some of my
arrive. Turn up most beautiful

{ U P & D OW N }
WHAT WE’RE ROCKING
AND BLOCKING
30 minutes after
the invited time
so you don’t walk CLIFF friendships
have started
over chicken

JOANNOU
into an empty on a stick. (NB:
c``^EYVÍcde strategically
[`S+Í_UeYV positioning
facilities, where's yourself by the
the bar? canapés allows
WOOLY JUMPERS  Spot the host, The art of an elegant exit you to feign
Men in novelty catch their eye, surprise when
Christmas jumpers; a _`UR_UÎRdYR they are served
bigger turn-off than smile that says: “I’m so happy to be so you don’t look like you are blatantly
accidentally swiping here!” Chances are it’s a work situation hRZeZ_XW`c^Z_ZÍdYR_UTYZad
right on your brother
for them, too, and they’d much rather Finally, exit. You have two options.
 
be anywhere else, not talking to that If you like the host, say goodbye
EASTENDERS
Why do people stay annoying person from that stupid blog and you’re sorry to leave. Have an
in Albert Square for they don’t remember the name of. excuse: your cat has cancer. They
Christmas? Locals Before the host has a chance to can’t compete with that, and it’s
die! Sharon, get the approach you, glide over to the bar more acceptable to identify your
first flight out now!
“TELL THEM
like Rihanna on a cloud of Mary-Jane non-existent cat as terminally ill than
  and gracefully lift a glass of whatever YOUR NON- family members. You only have four
CHRISTMAS cheap plonk they’re offering, turn to EXISTENT CAT grandparents and you killed them off
MARKETS
A Bavarian
the crowd and sweep the room with HAS CANCER. at previous events. But nobody knows
a glance. Who are the three most THEY CAN'T how many cats you have.
Christmas? So
last year. Let’s important people here? If you aren’t that close to the host,
COMPETE
get back to a Don’t know anyone? Do not look at this is your chance to ghost. They’ve
good old British your phone! You don’t want to give WITH THAT" seen you at least once, so slip out
Christmas. An away how you’re socially inept. Talk to discretely. Don’t say goodbye. They
DOWN Iceland turkey crown, a stranger; you never know, they might won’t know what time you left, why
and cheap crackers be remotely interesting. Opt for the highlight an early exit?
    most extravagantly dressed person and I’ve applied the above at work events,
2 JANUARY 2018
T`^a]Z^V_eeYVZc`feÍe friends' birthdays, and funerals and I
Time to go back
Conversation: expect to discuss haven’t been rumbled to date.
to work. And it’s
a whole year until Trump, Brexit and the obvious ?`S`UjYRdÍXfcVU`fejVeeYRe:Ä^
Christmas... 2018, you question: “what do you do?” Feel free a sociopath.
better be a banger, to forego employment small talk and
'cos 2017 sucked answer with sexual positions. @Cliff Joannou

JANUARY 2018 21
WORDS: ADAM DUXBURY

WEST END The West End’s Leading Ladies —

GIRLS BEVERLEY KNIGHT, AMBER RILEY

and CASSIDY JANSON — are going
to take the Christmas charts by storm
with their new album of show tunes
 INTERVIEW

AFTER EARNING RAVE REVIEWS

in the West End for her role as Rachel
Marron in The Bodyguard (originally
played on film by Whitney Houston),
it was probably inevitable that
Beverley Knight would be asked to
capitalise on the show’s success by
releasing an album of show tunes.
“But Bev Does West End didn’t really
do anything for me as an artist,” she
laughs, as I sit down to chat about
the album with her and the rest of
the trio, made up of Amber Riley
(Glee, Dreamgirls) and Cassidy Janson
(Beautiful: The Carole King Musical).
Beverley, who’s also known as
“Britain’s Queen of Soul,” is a three-
time Mobo Award-winning recording
artist with platinum and gold-selling
albums under her belt. And with roles
in Memphis: The Musical, Cats and the
aforementioned The Bodyguard, she’s
also been burning up the West End for
the past four years.
She admits she had a hunch that
someone would eventually ask her
to do an album like this, but it was
her idea to take it to the next level
and form a supergroup of musical
theatre’s leading ladies. It was after
seeing Cassidy as Carole King in
Beautiful, and then watching Amber
Riley promoting Dreamgirls on The SOUL STAR: Beverley
Knight took on Whitney
Graham Norton Show, that she knew Houston’s famous role
she had her dream team. in The Bodyguard
“So I went back to the label and I
said ‘Well I’ll see your idea, but how
about I raise you a CJ and an Amber?’” “We know musical theatre can have that cheese
she says with a smile. factor with people just breaking into song, so we
All that was left to do was get them
on board with her vision. I ask Amber, didn’t want any songs on there that could be
who’s just finished the role of Effie construed as that”
White in Dreamgirls, which she has
been playing in the West End for the
past year, what she thought when she had recently wrapped an acclaimed do you decide what to include on
was asked to join. two-year stint playing Carole King an album of show tunes when you
“Initially, I was like ‘do I really want in Beautiful, the Olivier, Tony and have all of musical theatre to choose
to be in a singing group?’” she admits, Grammy award-winning musical from? They began by batting around
letting rip with an infectious laugh. based on the singer’s life. ideas in meetings with people from
And having risen to fame playing “I remember running for the bus the label until they had a shortlist of
Mercedes on the TV show Glee, where and my agent was calling and we were 40 songs which they then needed to
she spent much of her screen time sort of handling something else at whittle down to the 14 that made the
singing in groups, any hesitations the time and she’s going, ‘You’re not final cut.
were understandable. “I did have that gonna believe this. Do you want to do “All three of us were very on the
group dynamic on the show [Glee], an album with Beverley Knight and same page — more soulful musical
although there were 17 of us. But [for Amber Riley?’” she explains. “I was like theatre and nothing too classical,”
Leading Ladies] I was like: ‘Ah it’s just ‘What? Are you joking? Yes, Yes!’ explains Cassidy.
us three, I’ll have two sisters,’ and I “Normally in this profession you’re “Nothing that makes people go ‘Oh,
felt homesick. So, considering all that auditioning and everything’s on the for God’s sake’,” adds Beverley, rolling
it actually was an immediate yes,” whim of somebody else’s decision, so her eyes. “We know musical theatre
she adds. to just have a straight offer was very can have that cheese factor with
And when Cassidy got the call there nice,” she adds. people just breaking into song, so we
wasn’t even the slightest hint of So the girls got into the studio and didn’t want any songs on there that
hesitation. The West End favourite began to record. But how on Earth could be construed as that.” ›

JANUARY 2018 23
 INTERVIEW
The final selection includes hits from each
of the leading ladies’ own shows. There’s One
Night Only from Dreamgirls, I’m Every Woman
from The Bodyguard, and Will You Still Love
Me Tomorrow from Beautiful, but there’s also
some unexpected choices such as Raise The
Roof from The Wild Party, a production from
2000 set during the Roaring Twenties, and
Wind Beneath My Wings from Beaches (the
little-seen stage version rather than the film,
we’re guessing!)
“We ticked all the boxes I think,” says
Cassidy. “We’ve got solos, ensemble, three-
parts, harmonies.” And though there are
plenty of standout solos, it’s the way that
each of these gifted singers’ voices come
together that really make this album special.
And nowhere does this sound better than on
Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?.
“I think what’s unique is that it’s not
about the individuals. I think our harmonies
and the fact that when we sing we sound
so different individually, but when we sing
together it sounds like one voice, is what
makes the album absolutely magical,”
says Amber.
Explaining how they made things work
on the tracks, Cassidy says, “My speaking
voice gives a lot away for where my voice
sits, which is soprano.” Then Beverley
adds, “We just found instantly that I went
HOT PUPPET:
Cassidy Janson
once played a
puppet even
sluttier than
Miss Piggy
24 JANUARY 2018
“I think the fact that
when we sing we
sound so different
individually, but
when we sing
together it sounds
like one voice, is
what makes the
album absolutely
magical”
on top, just instinct, Amber
went underneath and we just
kept singing until we finished
the song. We were like ‘Erm,
we’re done!’”
“It was the creepiest and
the most magical thing that’s
happened in the studio,” adds
Amber. And that approach
ended up setting the tone for
the rest of the album, helped DREAM VOICE:
by some very slick production Amber Riley’s
breakout role
from Grammy-winning was Mercedes
producer Brian Rawling, who’s in Glee
previously worked with Cher,
Tina Turner and Lionel Richie.
The trio certainly harmonise like a dream, I was doing a good job in the show until she
but I’m dying to know who they’d pick if they said so,” she says.
decided to expand their roster. But for Cassidy, there are two moments
“Shirley Bassey,” pipes up Beverley, without vying for the top spot. There’s the time
missing a beat, and the rest seem to agree. Carole King herself came to see Beautiful on a
“Or we’d get a guy, that’d be hilarious. I could surprise visit, giving her the seal of approval,
get Killian Donnelly [Beverley’s co-star in before the pair went on to duet at British
Memphis],” she adds. Summertime Hyde Park in 2016. And then
In terms of musical theatre, the album has there’s her time playing Kate Monster –
definitely come at an interesting time in all one of the puppets in the comedy musical
three of the stars’ careers: Beverley has put Avenue Q.
theatre to one side and last year released a “I think the best note I ever had [from a
new album, Cassidy recently ended her run director] in my whole career was during
in Beautiful, and when I speak to Amber she’s the song You Can Be As Loud As The Hell You
entering the final weeks in Dreamgirls. So I Want (When You’re Making Love) and I had to
end our chat by asking for a career highlight give head in the middle of the song. I had
from each of them. to go like this,” Cassidy explains, her head
For Beverley, the answer is simple; “Mine’s bobbing. “Then the director said, ‘That was
Prince, obviously. Onstage with Prince, that’s really, really great and everything was right,
all I can say.” but you need to give head much slower!’”
Amber settles on the time Jennifer Holiday Unfortunately, that song didn’t make the
came backstage to see her after watching her cut for the Leading Ladies’ debut, but with
in a performance of Dreamgirls. “She had so Songs From The Stage set to be a Christmas
many amazing things to say about the show, smash, and rumours of a tour on the horizon,
so many amazing things to say to me. I felt there’s always album number two…
like I was in The Twilight Zone. This might
sound crazy, but I honestly didn’t know if Songs From The Stage is out now
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THIS MONTH, WE’VE
BEEN DROOLING OVER
HUNKY BRAZILIAN MEDIC
RODRIGO SABARENSE,
AND WE SUDDENLY FEEL
ALL SORTS OF ILLNESSES
COMING ON
We doubt Rodrigo ever has a
shortage of willing hands to
help rub suncream on to those
hard-to-reach areas
No blow-job jokes please, but
he’s certainly put the wind in
our sails
The doctor will see you now…
and we’re hoping he asks us to
remove all our clothing
@rodsapo
LEO IN
LA LA LAND
Britney hits LEO
RICHARDSON o
more time — and
as if he’s 16 again
I WILL NEVER FORGET be
16, and a music video comi
on in the college canteen. A
American schoolgirl breakin
into dance in a school hallw
It’s a bit like how I remem
where I was when I found ou
Princess Diana had died, or
9/11 was unfolding. I can ev
remember what I was weari
I first saw Britney Spears’ Ba
More Time video. For the rec
was a beige adidas tracksuit
Ever since then I have bee
loyal, hard-core Britney fan,
has fought for her at every s
I am also famed for my Britn
impression. If you are someo
I love enough, you will recei
an audio message of me sing
“Happy Birthday” in her voi
your special day. I will also s
non-Britney song for you in
style, if I’m drunk enough.
That video appealed to m
because it was about breaki
out of the drudgery of the
classroom into music and
dance. To me that’s what
Britney represented: a regul
girl who broke free of the
norm. It was everything I
dreamed of for myself.
However, in recent years I
started to wonder if she isn’
her old self. I don’t expect
her to always be I’m a Slave
4 U Britney, but I felt her
choreography had begun to
look a little lazy.
OPINION
One of the many benefits of my
move to LA is that I’m now closer to
her at any given moment, and so, as a
Christmas gift, my boyfriend surprised
me with a trip to see one of her final
shows in Las Vegas (the Benidorm
of America). I freaked out with
excitement. But also, I admit, I was a
us. What if she had lost it?
worried about the fact she
ng to sing live. If you’re
out that, you’re missing the
erious fans know Britney
n the studio and if you want
o sing live, you’re not going
she does best: dance.
t to the big night and all my
ll away. From the moment
ey stepped out, she didn’t
p for almost two hours.
nd she was mesmerising.
She looked as if she was
having fun, nailed her
dance moves and put on a
fucking SHOW, delivering
hit after hit to remind us
why she is where she is
nd why we love her. My
EKY, A LITTLE
WING, A LITTLE
SHY, BRITNEY IS
E SMALL-TOWN
L WHO GOT OUT”
riend turned to me at the
and admitted he’d had no
how incredible she is.
d there was something
— the tune that played just
she came out was a Justin
rlake song, which told me
not an unforgiving bitch.
16 again that night. I
bered why I first fell in love
er. She still has that charm.
y, a little knowing, a little
she’s that small-town girl
ot out but you get a sense
ever forgotten where she
rom. She’s been through
che and embarrassment but
picks herself back up. Gay
an empathise with that.
ppen to think she’s the next
resident America deserves.
But that’s another story. 
@leo_richardson
JANUARY 2018 27
SOUTHERN
COMFORT
LELAND has written some of
your fave RuPaul’s Drag Race
songs, and worked on Troye
Sivan’s beautiful debut Blue
Neighbourhood and Selena
Gomez’s Fetish. Attitude meets
him in LA as he releases his
debut solo single, Mattress
WORDS: CLIFF JOANNOU
PHOTOGRAPHY: RAUL ROMO
“IT’S A CUTE LITTLE ARTSY TOWN ON
THE BEACH,” says singer and songwriter
Leland, aka Brett McLaughlin, of his
picturesque, yet subdued, hometown of
Ocean Springs, Mississippi. “When you think
‘beach’, you think ‘beautiful’ and ‘lovely’ and,
yes, there are parts of it that are, but also the
water is not clean. No one really swims in
the water.”
Conservative, religious Mississippi is
well known for being steeped in tradition
and having a less-than-welcoming attitude
towards LGBT+ people. Strangely, being
sent to Christian private school Belmont
University in Nashville by his mother
provided a 17-year-old Leland with a lucky
escape. “I immediately could tell it was
the gayest place I’d ever been,” he tells me
as we talk on the balcony of his home in
Los Angeles, a recent purchase with the
well-earned royalties from the music he’s
written. “I thought, ‘fantastic!’ Belmont
ended up being a gay Mecca, because it is
like a homing beacon for every gay boy in the
South. I had the best time.”
He met his first boyfriend at Belmont,
discovered the music of Prince and started
going to concerts. Now 30, Leland looks back
and recalls how he never harboured any
guilt about being gay, it was more a case of
“figuring out what to call it, what it was, and
what it meant”.
While his family accept his sexuality now,
he’s fully aware that had he come out as a
teenager he probably would have been sent
to a conversion therapy camp. His parents
had a hard time accepting the news when he
revealed it to them on Christmas Eve eight
years ago. Over time, their opinion started to
change. When they accompanied Leland to
the ASCAP awards, at which he performed his
hit Hide Away, they met other gay men. “That
really opened their eyes and normalised it,”
he muses. “Now my mum asks, ‘How is your
friend? How is his boyfriend? And how is
everyone doing?’ It’s in a really good place.”
Still, being open about your private life
among friends and family is one thing,
being open about your identity to the world
is entirely different. Leland says he wasn’t
comfortable talking about his sexuality at the
start of his career and couldn’t sing about
boys, or put male pronouns into his music. “I
was like ‘I’ll just write for other people’, until
those doors open and maybe they will, maybe
they won’t,” he reflects.
Leland started writing music for friends at
college, which led to him being introduced
to a song-writing manager who had a
relationship with Jon Platt, president of
Warner-Chappell Publishing, who was vice-
president of EMI at the time. On the basis of
three country songs he’d recorded, Leland
was offered a publishing deal. He dropped
everything and moved to LA.
Yet it would be four years before he would
have his first hit. In that time Leland worked
in all manner of jobs, from helping with the
catering at Kim Kardashian’s wedding to
singing in a covers band earning $50 for a
three-hour set, and being an assistant for
Bring It On screenwriter Jessica Bendinger,
who let him clean her garage for six months
just so he could afford to go on living in LA.
He took every song writing opportunity that
came his way, writing for lesser-known artists
such as Jessica Mauboy from Australia’s X
Factor to teaching voice lessons. But Leland’s
first breakthrough happened with Daya’s hit
Hide Away. However, his career would really
take off after meeting YouTuber-turned-
singer Troye Sivan. “The guy that I was dating ›
 INTERVIEW

“I was like: I’ll just

write for other
people until those
doors open and
maybe they will,
maybe they won’t”

JANUARY 2018 29
 INTERVIEW
brought Troye to my show and we clicked
and became friends. This was before he had
signed his record deal or anything.”
The “guy” Leland was dating is none other
than Tyler Oakley, the most popular gay
YouTuber on the planet. “He is the best,
he’s still one of my best friends and biggest
supporters, and I’m one of his biggest
supporters. Troye and I brought in Allie X
to the first session. We did Youth together. It
was really special.
“Troye is amazing, he’s so sweet. I loved
writing for gay artists because at that point
I was still nowhere near being comfortable
being a gay artist myself. Looking at this boy
who is eight years younger than me and is so
confident in who he is, who has such a great
support system, I was ready to fully invest
everything into it.”
The partnership was a success. Troye’s Blue
Neighbourhood was an international hit that
went in at number seven on the Billboard
charts, receiving critical acclaim. Leland
contributed to five of the album’s 10 tracks.
It opened the door to other opportunities,
most recently the hypnotic Selena Gomez
track Fetish.
“I love Selena, I love everything she’s done,
I want to be a part of her legacy of music,
and her evolution,” Leland gushes about
the former Disney star who has become the
dark darling of pop and delivered a string of
credible pop smashes. “I feel like whatever’s
next for her is going to be really exciting, so
with Jonas Jeberg, Gino and our friend Chloe
Angelides we wrote idea after idea for Selena
and we delivered Fetish, which was originally
called If I Were
You, to Interscope
Records. It was
“To go from catering
about 13 months in Kim Kardashian’s wedding, to
between us giving impersonating her on Drag Race,
them the song and it to getting her stamp of approval,
actually coming out.
“That is, in my that was a full-circle moment”
opinion, the best
possible home for it because she’s the
coolest. I love what she stands for, and I
love who she is and the type of music she’s
making. I know that The Weeknd loved the
song and that helped a lot with it getting
recorded, and coming out. He was a big
champion.”
From Fetish to his own sleeper hit Mattress,
Leland’s success has culminated in a
phenomenal year for the up-and-coming
artist. With little promotion, his debut single
has had three million streams on Spotify, and
more than one million on iTunes.
The sexually charged song carries a rather
personal message, although Leland won’t
reveal who inspired it. “It’s about someone
who was close to me.
“You go out with your friends and you
meet people and you go home with different
people and you’re like, I’d rather be going
30 JANUARY 2018
home with the
person I came
with.”
As for being an
openly gay artist,
Leland is ready
to embrace his
identity. “I don’t
see it as an issue, I see it as an asset. I feel
fearless and I feel as if I can accomplish
anything. I feel like being gay is not an
obstacle that is on my radar whatsoever.”
In terms of the future, Leland has been
working with Troye Sivan on his hugely
anticipated second album. While everything
is still very hush-hush about its release,
Leland reveals they’ve been working on
new music since January. “Troye is in the
best place he’s ever been, and musically
he’s pushing himself. We’re writing about
chapter two of his life and it’s really exciting.
It’s writing with your best friend, who you
respect as an artist. I have to pinch myself
sometimes and remember this guy is so
important to music and is making music that
affects so many people.”
Leland praises Troye as an incredible
songwriter. “He will bring titles, he will
bring stories, we will bring melodies and
everything. It’s truly collaborative; he’s been
spearheading this project from the very
beginning.”
But there’s another feather in Leland’s cap:
he’s been part of the team that put together
some of the most memorable songs from
RuPaul’s Drag Race.
He’s currently working on his fifth season,
having worked on seasons eight, nine and 10
as well as on two seasons of All Stars.
“I’m obsessed with what it stands for and
how it’s bigger than ever,” he enthuses
“Imagine being 10 seasons in and only just
now having the show being the biggest that
it’s ever been! That’s so rare, and for Ru to be
in his prime right now.”
It was Lucian Piane who introduced Leland
to the show’s producers. “I think the first song
I worked on was called Bad Girls of HERstory.
As you know, Lucian is going through a very
tough time right now. I picked up where he
left off when he stepped down from Drag
Race. He was like, ‘If you wanna do this, it’s
yours’. I wanted his blessing, obviously. He’s
done such an amazing job.”
Alongside collaborator Freddy Scott and
executive producer Scott Campbell, he
created such TV moments as Kardashian: The
Musical. “To go from catering Kim’s wedding,
to impersonating her on Drag Race, to getting
her stamp of approval, that was a complete
full-circle moment.
“You can watch me on the E Special catering
her wedding, then you can watch me on Drag
Race being the voice of Kourtney and writing
all the parts for her.”
It’s been a crazy road for Leland. In the past
10 years, he’s gone from being a closeted
boy in Mississippi to writing songs for one
of the most important LGBT+ artists of a
generation, as well as working on the biggest,
gayest TV show on ever.
It’s a wild world out there, and Leland is
happy to be writing the soundtrack for it.
Mattress is Leland’s break-out single. @leland
 “Discovering the right programme of food,
lifestyle and supplements for my individual needs,
got me back on track.”
QUEER
(TIME AND)
SPACE As Dr Who, a show renowned for pushing the boundaries of
and sexual diversity, prepares for the Time Lord’s regeneratio
into a woman, Attitude looks at some of its queerest momen
WORDS: DAVID CROSS
S
ince 2005 the fight for LGBT+ equality
has had an unlikely champion. This
is no Lycra-wearing Avenger or
lightsabre-wielding Jedi knight, this is a hero
whose weapons are intelligence, kindness
and neat one-liners that would give RuPaul a
run for her money.
Doctor Who has always been on the side
of tolerance and understanding, with The
Doctor fighting for the ordinary person
throughout the show’s (on-off-back-on-
again) 54-year history.
“In 900 years of time and space, I’ve never
met anyone who wasn’t important,” said
Matt Smith’s 11th Doctor, but the original
run of the series — between 1963 and 1989
— largely ignored LGBT+ characters. That
changed when the show returned 12 years
ago under the care of Russell T Davies, the
man responsible for Queer as Folk.
New Who was a hit straightaway, due
largely to the strength of the writing, an
amazing cast and impressive production
values. And a vital and clever element was
setting it firmly in the real world. He may
be a Time Lord from Gallifrey but the ninth
Doctor’s companion Rose, and her family,
lived on a housing estate in London.
That realistic and honest approach is also
true of the way the show now handles LGBT+
characters. We have seen them in stable
relationships as well as flirting and being
sexual. There has been no watering down.
It would have been easy to stick Kylie in a
Christmas special to “please the gays” and
BBC / SHUTTERSTOCK
leave it at that, but what we’ve been given
is a whole universe of LGBT+ folk, including
32 JANUARY 2018
some of the show’s most popular cha
— such as Jack Harkness (right), Mad
Vastra and Jenny, and Bill Potts. Whe
the characters have been recurring o
offs, their sexuality or gender has be
treated as just another aspect of thei
personalities. Sometimes it has drive
the story but it has never been “a thi
The attitude has always been of
acceptance (making us all want to go
a gay gypsy bar mitzvah for the disab
while eating fish fingers and custard
In the most recent series, when Bill
asks Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor if
he’s realised that she likes girls, his
answer is: “yes, of course,” delivered
a way that makes it clear that it is of
importance to their relationship.
Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgen
people (and aliens) have often taken
centre stage, but their storylines hav
never been preachy or sensationalist
Millions of kids have grown up
watching a world where being queer
no big deal.
Earlier this year it was revealed tha
the 13th Doctor would be female,
with Jodie Whittaker in the role.
Although The Doctor is not trans as
we understand it, this new story arc
places the subject of gender at the
heart (or should that be two hearts?)
mainstream TV.
So what better time to look at som
of the greatst LGBT+ characters and
moments that have helped define
Dotor Who?
 TV

MAY AND ALICE THE FAT ONE AND

CASSINI THE THIN ONE 
In Gridlock, we Series six’s A Good Man
ICKEY SMITH AND JAKE SIMMONDS meet May and Goes to War features
It was a great moment when Mickey, Rose’s ex, found out, Alice, two ladies a married gay couple
in Rise of the Cybermen, that his now-deceased alternative- of a certain age serving in the angelic
world self, Ricky, was dating the rather dishy Jake, played who are the first marines together.
by former CBBC presenter Andrew Hayden Smith. married gay They call themselves
couple to appear the Fat One and the
in Doctor Who. Thin One.

APTAIN JACK HARKNESS

he first time we meet the dashing Captain
ck, a Time Agent from the 51st Century,
e slaps a WWII army officer on the bum
nd says: “You’ve got a great bottom, too.”
ck fancies pretty much anyone, from
hristopher Eccleston’s ninth and David
ennant’s 10th Doctor, to Sarah Jane Smith,
Mickey and any number of alien creatures.
His is unashamedly flirty and there’s a joy
n everything he does. In The End of Time we
ee the Doctor setting him up with Russell
ovey’s Midshipman Alonso in a bar, while
n spin-off Torchwood we watch him fall in
ve with Ianto Jones. He is a brilliant, flawed
nd believable character beloved of kids and
adults alike.
And one quote sums him up better than
any other: “Three Doctors? I can’t begin to
tell you what I’m thinking right now.”
BILL POTTS
Bill, beautifully played by Pearl Mackie, was
the first openly gay full-time companion
in the history of the show. Her time with
the 12th Doctor has been a fantastic
example of how LGBT+ characters can and
should work in prime-time drama, using
humour and pathos. We saw Bill dating, not
successfully thanks to her life in the Tardis,
and we saw her and heard her discuss the
Time Lord’s attitude towards gender and
sexuality. It was made crystal clear that
Bill was gay but this was handled with a
beautiful lightness of touch.

MISSY
It’s been no secret tha
Time Lords can
regenerate into wome
ALIENABLE RIGHTS: as well as men. And
Madame Vastra with Missy, played
Jenny and Sontaran
nurse Strax brilliantly by Michelle
Gomez (above with
MADAME VASTRA AND JENNY Peter Capaldi),
Created by Steven Moffat, Madame Vastra turned out to be
s a Silurian: a reptile from Earth’s distant none other than the
past. She lives in Victorian London with Doctor’s arch-enemy
her wife/loving servant, a human named The Master. Not
Jenny. Early on it’s made obvious — thanks strictly an LGBT+
to a fairly explicit joke character, she
“I’M about her extremely nevertheless pushed
A LIZARD long reptile tongue — the boundaries of
WOMAN FROM exactly what Jenny gender and cleverly
HE DAWN OF likes so much about paved the way for the
TIME… AND her mistress. arrival of 13th Doctor
THIS IS MY
WIFE” Whittaker (right).

JANUARY 2018 33
 OPINION
DANNY LEE
WYNTER
I vote for Butterfly, which stings like a bee
TWENTY YEARS AGO Mariah Carey
released her sixth studio album,
Butterfly, and this mixed-race R’n’B-
loving Essex gay boy lost his freekin’
mind. Such was my desire to possess
this record that I placed a pre-order
at Barkingside Our Price. Going to
collect it, I took my Sony Discman for
the ceremonial bus journey home so I
could fully process all the ways my life
was about to change.
Mariah didn’t disappoint.
Opening with Honey, a dance anthem
about sexual co-dependency, she sang
about wanting to taste a lover’s spooge.
This from a woman who two years
before had been consigned to
ballroom dresses and mawkish
songs about heroes.
Suddenly, here she was
playing up to the narrative
of being the princess held
captive in music exec Tommy
Mottola’s ivory tower.
Shedding her marriage and
the roll necks, Mariah’s
transition occurred just as I
was stuck in my own cocoon of
suburban hell.
Wings spread and denim jeans
gone, a hip-hop loving sexual
being now emerged sampling
Mobb Deep’s Shook Ones and
simultaneously giving zero fucks in
all her accompanying videos.
But why did Mariah strike a
chord with so many younger gays,
particularly those like myself from
the black, Asian and mixed-race
community? It was more than her
voice or the pretty songs about
unrequited love. Subconsciously,
we identified with the theme of
finally daring to be ourselves.
Here was a mixed-race singer-
songwriter primarily packaged
and sold to white America as a
pop singer. The professional risk
of alienating her middle-of-
the-road audience by singing
34 JANUARY 2018
“MARIAH’S TRANSITION
OCCURRED AS I WAS
STUCK IN A COCOON OF
SUBURBAN HELL”
hip-hop songs with Bone Thugs-N-
Harmony and Mase was, in many
ways, Mariah’s own coming out.
My friend and I used to walk home
from school listening to Butterfly,
sharing earphones and singing Fourth
of July as we passed the big houses
our friends lived in, while journeying
back to the council estates where we
were raised.
I hadn’t realised the parallels.
My friend and I were both mixed-
race kids from broken homes who
worshipped this woman who’d had
the same experiences.
For the first time in her career,
Mariah got personal — and it
resonated with us.
One of her songs, Outside, directly
addressed being biracial in a country
steeped in racism. Another, Breakdown
(my favourite MC song), explored
being haunted by someone you’ve
dated who unexpectedly calls it off.
The obsessive in me identified.
The woman who wrote Butterfly
is now a far cry from the cartoon
reality TV Christmas novelty act who’s
become the purveyor of half-arsed
performances. She’s moved farther
and farther away from the statement
of intent this record set out, briefly
equaling its sublimeness with 2005’s
The Emancipation of Mimi, but in the
proceeding 12 years never again
coming close.
Mariah’s magnificence is all
contained on Butterfly. That alone
serves as a get-out-of-jail-free card for
eternal greatness. Twenty years on,
that’s what I choose to tell myself.
@dannyleewynter
TV PICKS
LET’S FACE IT, SOME CHRISTMAS
TV CAN BE REET NAFF: THE SAME
FILMS AND SITCOMS REPEATED
EACH YEAR — GROUNDHOG DAY
WITH A RIBBON ON TOP. WE’VE
SIFTED THROUGH THE JUNK TO
FIND SHOWS THAT DESERVE YOUR
ATTENTION THIS YEAR…
Landing on
Netflix in
December,
Claire Foy (left)
is back as The
Queen in The
Crown. We hear
the show has
even received
Her Majesty’s seal of approval.
Staying on the subject of royalty,
Camilla hosts a tea party as part of
BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing
Christmas Special (Christmas Day),
which sees the return of past
contestants, including Girls Aloud’s
Kimberley Walsh and newly out
former athlete Colin Jackson.
And while Ryan Murphy’s busy
working on the Feud
anthology, focusing on
Charles and Diana’s
relationship, the first
season (right), about
Bette Davis and Joan
Crawford’s legendary
rivalry, finally finds a
home on BBC2.
From rivalry to friendship, as we
welcome back French and Saunders
for a one-off special on Christmas
Day. We’re promised a slapstick
makeover of The Handmaid’s Tale.
Meanwhile, after a 12-year absence,
look out for three new episodes of
the deliciously dark League of
Gentlemen (below) on BBC2 in the
week leading up to Christmas.
Elsewhere, well Channel 4 to be
precise, there
will be light
and fluffy
creations
with two
Christmas-
themed Great
British Bake
Off specials,
featuring returning contestants.
If all that’s not enough for you, get
merry with Alan Carr, who’ll be
making sure his Chatty Man guests
WORDS: GEORGE DOUGLAS-DAVIES
are kept in high spirits with copious
glugs of eggnog from his infamous
drinks trolley.
Bottoms up, everyone.
 D OW N LOA D T H E

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In episode 12, editor-in-chief Matt Cain
chats to Olympic diver Tom Daley and his
husband, Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin
Lance Black. The two men discuss growing
up gay in their different worlds, coming out
to their families and how they first met and
fell in love. They also reveal details about
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 INTERVIEW
ROYLE
ASSENT
Veteran star RICKY TOMLINSON
jumped at the chance to appear in
a tender coming-out drama
WORDS: SIMON BUTTON
STARRING IN an LGBT-themed
project is a first for Ricky Tomlinson,
but it’s not because of any prior
reluctance on his part. “It’s just that a
story like this has never come my way
before,” says the actor best known for
playing sofa-hogging dad Jim in The
Royle Family.
But when it came to casting the role
of a Scouse father in his Liverpool-
set short film, Tellin’ Dad, actor/
director/writer Carl Loughlin had
only one person in mind. “Ricky
was the obvious choice as he is an
outstanding Liverpool acting legend,”
the filmmaker explains. “He was my
first choice to play my dad and I was
thrilled when he agreed.”
With LGBT+ friends in and out of the
business, [spoler alert] Tomlinson was
delighted to see a script in which a
young man’s fear of coming out to his
father proves to be unfounded.
“Thank God people’s attitudes and
opinions are changing,” says 78-year-
old Ricky, hoping that the film’s
upbeat ending reflects a new reality.
“Maybe they’re not changing quickly
enough but they are changing and
36 JANUARY 2018
quite right too. Why should you be
stigmatised because of how you are or
what you are or what your sexuality is?
That’s just so archaic.”
A plasterer by trade before he won
the role of Bobby Grant on Brookside
in the Eighties, then appearing in
Cracker alongside Robbie Coltrane,
before joining Caroline Aherne’s hit
sitcom, Ricky now describes himself
as a jobbing actor who will consider
“People’s attitudes and
opinions are changing.
Why should you be
stigmatised because
of your sexuality? That
is just so archaic”
TOP OF THE POPS:
Filming for Tellin’ Dad
any role unless it clashes with his
principles.
And he was more than happy to do
his bit for Carl and his crew, saying:
“They were local lads, they didn’t
have any money and I think those
of us who have had a bit of luck in
the business have a duty to help out
others by giving something back.”
Loughlin says the plot — one part
of Boys On Film 17 short films — is
the opposite of his own story. His dad
disowned him so he put a reverse spin
on it to show that, although scary,
coming out can turn out to be so
much better than expected.
Ricky gets why there’s still reluctance
to come out. “If you’ve got a dad who
is a bit old-fashioned I can understand
why some lads, or young girls, would
be a little bit scared to say ‘Look, I’m
different from my mates’.
“I sympathise with them, but all that
sort of stuff is dying out now and no
one gives a stuff what you are as long
as you’re a decent person,” he says.
And he’d certainly have no problems
if any of his children or grandchildren
came out.
“It wouldn’t bother me. I wouldn’t
care if they had three heads as long as
they were happy,” he laughs.
Boys On Film 17 is out on DVD and
VOD on 11 December. peccapics.com
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GOING
WITHOUT
ALCOHOL
MAKES FOR
A SOBERING
THOUGHT
After a year of abstention, PATRICK CASH believes his new-found
happiness means he can drink again without any of the old fear
I’M GOING TO HAVE A DRINK
this Christmas.
This time last year, I came
around in the early hours
of the morning on Waterloo
Bridge. I can’t be precise about
the time because my phone
was missing. The lower-left side of my
jaw ached, as if I’d been punched and
when I tried to catch a bus home, I
discovered I had no wallet.
My last memory was of being in a
Soho bar.
At 29, this was not my first blackout.
Over the previous decade, I’d been
mugged four times: at 23, I came
around after a staff party with no bank
card; I was hospitalised in Paris at the
age of 25, after getting drunk on rhum
ambré on the streets of Le Marais; and
at 27, I woke up on a Southwark bench
with a man roughly shaking me. He
held my iPhone in front of my face,
before running away with it.
I repeated one phrase to myself, as I
walked the three miles to my Peckham
home, shoulders huddled
against the November cold:
“I’ve got to stop drinking.”
In order to stop, I wrote a
Facebook post. I asked my
friends to support me in
finding a new freedom.
Alcohol had been an instrument
of bonding in my past, but I’d
abused the substance until
it became a trap. No longer
was my pint a companion to
conversation, but the overriding
objective was to race to the
bottom of my glass, so I could
get another drink. Then another.
Hundreds of people commented and
messaged with support — an alarming
number of people even messaged
to state how they were (secretly)
struggling with drinking, too.
With my friends’ backing, I’m writing
this article having spent a year sober. It
has returned lucidity to my thoughts,
I’ve found the relationship I wanted,
and I haven’t been mugged once.
THE BIG ISSUE
But there has been cons. The gay
scene, revolving around drink’s
seductive pleasures and promised
escapes, has been a difficult beast to
navigate. Given I’d stopped just before
Christmas, the festive parties were
difficult. At one event, a guy made
a joke about me having a “drinking
problem” to a group of people, as he
waved his champagne in my face.
Everyone else in the group was polite
enough not to laugh. But I felt deeply
singled-out, isolated — as if I didn’t
belong. My self-worth was not yet
strong enough to disentwine from my
drinking identity.
So I made my excuses and left. Not
only was that guy not worth my time,
a situation in which I felt bad was the
path to alcohol’s comfort blanket.
However, being sober wasn’t enough:
I needed to examine why I’d drink
to switch myself off. A huge part of
that question was answered by my
boyfriend. By a happy twist of fate, we
met as I stopped drinking. He was also
taking a break from alcohol. It’s not
a fairy-tale relationship, as fairy-tales
certainly weren’t written for gay men,
but we have a deep intimacy.
I’ve yearned for intimacy for years.
But through the miasma of my
drinking fog, I either wasn’t clear-
sighted enough to see it or sabotaged
its shoots. To fill the void loneliness
caused in my life, I first had to cut
out the drug I was using to soothe the
loneliness. And now with Harry, I’ve
been able to extricate the deep-
“A SITUATION WHERE rooted thorns caused by a belief
that my sexuality was wrong.
I FELT BAD WAS So, why drink again? I don’t
THE PATH TO want to belittle recovery
ALCOHOL’S COMFORT journeys, or the seriousness of
BLANKET” alcoholism. But the bonding
qualities of alcohol, for better
or worse, have forged truth in my
friendships and hold together many
social situations.
I want to step back into its pool with
happiness on my side, clarity of
thought and an understanding of how
drink can take away as easily as it can
give.
@paddycash
JANUARY 2018 39
 MUSIC

“IT’S BEAUTIFUL
TO HEAR TAYLOR
OPEN UP LIKE ALBUM REVIEWS
THIS. IT GIVES
ME FEELS...” WORDS: ADAM DUXBURY

BJÖRK
Utopia

¤Hot on the
heels of Björk’s
“break-up” album, Vulnicura,
comes her “Tinder album”—
tracks about romance, the
thrill of technology and, erm,
animal noises. Sadly, this
album provokes irritation,
mainly thanks to thin lyrical
subject matter delivered in
REIGN Björk’s overwrought wail and
what sounds like a disconnect
IN SPAIN between the fiddly beats
and Icelandic wind
pipes. Out Now 2/5
WITH SEEMINGLY EVERYONE OPTING TO SING IN SPANISH, SENOR
JAMES BARR IS ONCE AGAIN WITHOUT A SPECIAL HOMBRE
PALOMA FAITH
The Architect
JUSTIN BIEBER, LITTLE MIX and attack. Dirty Sexy Money is Guetta’s
now Demi Lovato have obviously best production in years. ¤With three
all downloaded Duolingo this year We all know that Little Mix don’t double-
because the ¿hablas español? hype is need a man but their latest bop, Dear platinum albums under
real! Demi’s new tune with Despacito Lover, is that booty-text we’ve all her belt, Paloma Faith has
star Luis Fonsi Echame, La Culpa, sent to our ex and I’m obsessed. The nothing to prove. But the
translates as “blame me” and it production is so lit it sounds like Major idea of the kooky retro-soul
basically feels like Tortilla Tuesday, Lazer. This has to be a single. I need underdog persists. Sonically
extra onions. Hey, I’m always here a video so I can complete my fire Jesy we’re on familiar ground, but
for Demi but does mama realise it’s Nelson drag look for New Year’s Eve. by ditching songs about love
December and we want turkey? Yes it’s happening. in favour of socio-political
I stopped writing about my dating Taylor Swift has released the most bangers — yes: Brexit, climate
life here because my copy deadline romantic song of the year, and if, like change and toxic masculinity
meant that I was single again by the me, you imagine relationships to be — she sounds like an artist
time we’d gone to print. But despite about finding a significant other to who’s fully unfurled
yet another break-up and Matt Terry’s help you tidy the house the next day, her wings. Out Now 4/5
new song The Thing About Love telling SINGLED OUT: this is one. New Year’s Day also speaks
Main picture, Matt
it how it is: “you don’t always get it Terry, top, Demi from that place of fear that your
back” (thanks Matt), I’m remembering Lovato, and above, partner may leave you: “Don’t read MARK FEEHILY
David Guetta Christmas
how great it is to be single. If you’re the last page.” It’s so beautiful to hear
the same, Charli XCX’s new song with Taylor opening up like this, it gives me
David Guetta and French Montana feels I haven’t felt since Robyn’s With ¤Make the
is THE tune to get drunk and make Every Heartbeat. Yuletide gay!
bad life choices to. The guys officially N.E.R.D. and Rihanna got me like The blue-eyed one from
launched it at the MTV EMAs last HOT right now. Lemon is Pharrell Westlife is taking a leaf out of
month, seamlessly blending Charli’s Williams’s first new music with his another blue-eyed crooner’s
pure pop energy with an EDM brap band since 2010 and is a career- song book (Frank Sinatra)
defining moment for Rihanna — girl by releasing an album of
can spit. Christmas songs. And these
PSST! The old-skool electro-hip-hop vibe tracks are a lovely showcase
feels like the R&B room at G-A-Y. for Mark’s voice. His version
. This month, try to hold back those of Joni Mitchell’s River is
tears to Calum Scott’s You Are The gorgeous. It’s not going to set
Beyonce’s confirmed as Nala in the
Reason, ho-ho-ho with Sia’s your Christmas tree on fire,
live-action remake of The Lion King. New
Underneath The Christmas Lights, and but it should go down a treat
songs, surely! Elton John’s teased his
enjoy reliving 2017 anthem New Rules with Auntie Jean.
involvement saying: “Yes, I think so.” Can
with the insane Eighties’ remix on
Out now 3/5
you feel the formation tonight!
YouTube.

40 JANUARY 2018

THE DISASTER ARTIST
James Franco, Dave Franco,
Josh Hutcherson, Zac Efron
¤If you’re one of those who’s into
cult classic The Room — Tommy
Wiseau’s mind-bendingly bad
2003 film that has become a
unique kind of cinematic hit —
you can’t afford to miss James
Franco’s broad, brash, slightly glib
drama about how it came to be. If
not, it’s somewhat less essential,
although Franco’s performance
as Wiseau himself is something
to behold, and his chemistry with
little brother Dave, as Wiseau’s
love-hate collaborator Greg
Sestero, gives it some
soul. Out now 3/5
ALSO THIS MONTH
BRIGSBY BEAR
Kyle Mooney, Greg Kinnear
¤A whimsical ode to amateur
filmmaking, this stars Saturday
Night Live oddball Mooney
as a sheltered soul forced to
find his own view on the world
when his favourite TV show
comes to a bizarre end. It walks
a fine line between twee and
disturbing, but the emotional
payoff works. Look out for
Mark Hamill, who must have
taken time off from some other
movie out about now.
8 December 3/5
THE DINNER
Richard Gere, Steve Coogan,
Laura Linney, Charlie Plummer
¤With a classy cast, this
muddled, claustrophobic
adaptation of Herman Koch’s
international bestseller — in
which a Washington politico
and his brother clash over their
children’s misdeeds — really
should have turned out better.
As it is, some furious class satire
can’t overcome a distraction-
riddled structure and a tacked-
on American historical
allegory. 8 December 2/5
FILMS
P O K E R FA C T
,
Pro player Scott
Blumenstein won
the World Series
of Poker in July,
picking up
a cheque
for £6.2m
A WINNING HAND
JESSICA CHASTAIN PROVES TO BE A BIG DEAL IN AARON
SORKIN’S TRUE-STORY, HIGH-STAKES POKER DRAMA
WORDS: GUY LODGE
FILM MOLLY’S GAME
OF THE Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Justin Kirk
MONTH
¤ OK, we haven’t been able to get our hands on The Last Jedi yet, but there’s a
different kind of star wars going on in Aaron (The West Wing) Sorkin’s mile-a-
minute directorial debut. In their banter-filled scenes together, Jessica Chastain
and Idris Elba give off force fields of charisma and do friendly battle for the upper
hand, with Sorkin’s breathless verbal barbs as their weapons. The film belongs
to Chastain, though. As Molly Bloom, a real-life Olympic-class-skier-turned-
Hollywood-poker-madam, she’s a crackling, hard-as-nails delight. Her rise-and-fall
story, related largely in flashback to her lawyer (Elba), is ideally suited to Sorkin’s
obsession with power and personality. Although not his deepest work,
watching the quick minds in motion is hugely entertaining. Out now 4/5
STRONGER
Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany,
Miranda Richardson
¤Appearing in the likes of Nightcrawler,
Southpaw and Nocturnal Animals, it
seems Jake Gyllenhaal has been angling
hard for his first Best Actor Oscar
nomination. And he might just get one
for this stout-hearted biopic of 2013
Boston Marathon bombing survivor
Jeff Bauman. But to describe Stronger
simply as awards bait would be unfairly
cynical: there’s a deep, pure current of
human feeling running through David
Gordon Green’s film that separates it
from the subgenre of maudlin disability
weepies. For one thing, it’s less a story of one man’s survival after losing his legs than it is a study of
relationships for ever altered by trauma. As Bauman, Gyllenhaal is on fine form, physically committed
and surprisingly restrained, but the relatively unknown Tatiana Maslany, as his girlfriend-
turned-carer Erin, is at least his equal. 8 December 4/5
JANUARY 2018 41
 OPINION
PAUL FLYNN
Figuring out your families may take more than a little logic
FOR MY 18TH BIRTHDAY, I received
the first three volumes of Armistead
Maupin’s Tales of the City from a
boyfriend. It was definitely the
highlight of a rocky 12 months.
The books opened up Maupin’s
fantastical San Francisco, a rainbow
world of drama, heartache and
satisfying personal development,
as told through the eyes and ears
of charming local gay hero Michael
Tolliver and his chums.
In 1989, the Tales of the City tomes
were peerless gateways into living a
full gay life. They made it look like a
happy place. This was a radical idea,
given that Maupin began writing them
in the early 1970s. The stories were
not just comfort blankets. They came
equipped with actual tools, such as
Michael’s beautiful coming out letter
to his curtain-twitching, religious,
right-wing mother. They turned
Maupin into a generational hero
overnight. He remains one.
Almost 30 years later and
the author is promoting his
memoir, Logical Family. The
titular idea is one associated
with Michael in Tales, one he
became the figurehead for. In
his new home, Michael finds
happiness not by gaining the
acceptance of his birth family
but by fashioning a new one.
They are cultured, drug-literate,
tasteful, sexy and drawn from
right across the LGBT+ spectrum
of life and beyond. At the time,
reading about the possibility of
new friends passing on the wisdom
your biological family couldn’t felt
so refreshing.
At 18, I left home. On the doorstep,
my mum said: “You’ll spend half
your life running away from the
person you are and the other half
running back.” She knows me better
than anyone. A family relationship
is built on strange, specific
glue. There’s no logic to
it. But there is romance,
defiance, jealousy, rage,
tenderness, protection and a unique
42 JANUARY 2018
“JUST BECAUSE I’M GAY DOESN’T MEAN
I DON’T LOOK, ACT AND SOUND THE
SAME WAY MY FOLKS DID AT THIS AGE”
form of intimacy, of a sort that cannot
be replicated elsewhere. It involves the
scratchy narcissism of accepting the
person you are bound to become.
In 2017, I’m not sure rejecting one
family to create another is the correct
societal compunction to encourage
new generations. The thought of
kids seeking new families because of
political affiliations that might change
in their old age feels like burning —
rather than building — bridges.
I began Logical Family with the antsy
feeling of a 16-year-old gay lad in a
Brexit household reading it the
wrong way and deciding he
wanted to start again. The
thought of chucking away all
that nurturing and taking
refuge in a few friendly
sorts he’d met in gay bars
started to chafe. Why not
equip yourself for a life in
which everyone doesn’t
agree about everything? Why
not have both? Just because
I’m gay doesn’t mean I don’t
look, act and sound exactly
as my folks did at this age. My
sexuality doesn’t prevent me from
being every bit as resentful and
generous, open-hearted and cruel
as theirs does for them.
When you’re middle-aged,
the cracked mirror of familial
recognition is comforting, helpful
even, in a way you never imagine it
might be as a young man, in a way
books cannot reveal.
Because it is Armistead Maupin,
inevitably Logical Family turns into a
complex beast. He learns to love his
biological family too, despite their
flaws. He got both.
Of all that I learned from the great
sage since first devouring him, this
rawer, less comfortable truth may
yet turn out to be more useful than
his brilliant earlier stories.
POP PREDICTIONS FOR 2018
Nadine Coyle will go to work
in her spiritual home, Tesco…
Rihanna will launch a line of
spliff snacks, FentyMunchies…
Cheryl will add to her collection
of surnames by marrying.
Again… Britney Spears will do
the bare minimum and still be
queen of our hearts... Beyoncé
will release an album of her
reading the telephone book
backwards and you will love
it… Lana Del Rey will release a
Christmas single “Blood looks
better spilled on Snow”… The
Saturdays will stop kidding
themselves and get back
WORDS DOM TOP
together… The Spice Girls
WILL NEVER, EVER GET BACK
TOGETHER SO GIVE IT UP!
UNEXPECTED
CRUSH OF THE
MONTH
NICK JAKOBY
Out just before Christmas,
the $90m sci-fi movie Bright
is Netflix’s most expensive
feature film to date, imagining
an alternate present-day world
inhabited by humans and
mythical creatures. Big budget
or not, all we care about is The
Great Gatsby star Joel Edgerton
donning Avatar-style blue face
to play non-human police officer
Nick Jakoby. Not only is the film
star looking rough and ready
in his make-up, he’s also in full
police uniform. Arrest us officer,
we’ve been very naughty…
WORDS: ROBIN MILLS
 national
student
pride
9-11
feb
2018
london
friday: opening drinks & club night at g-a-y with £2.50 drinks
saturday daytime festival: attitude debate on homelessness, trans panel, celebrity interviews, live music &
bar,the UK’s largest LGBT+ careers fair & Blind Date
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sunday: london tour daytime only: FREE
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 BOOKS

A CHIP OFF THE CLOSE TO HOME

Cara Hunter/Viking
¤ The eagerly anticipated abduction-intrigue
OLD BLOC and debut novel from one of our most
talented thriller writers, Close to Home is the
Ícde Z_ R dT`cTYZ_X _Vh TcZ^V dVcZVd WVRefcZ_X
A STUDIED LOOK AT THE HISTORICAL ROOTS AND detective Adam Fawley. One night, eight-year-
POLITICAL USE OF HOMOPHOBIA IN MODERN-DAY RUSSIA old Daisy Mason disappears from a family
party. Everyone in the quiet suburban street
WORDS: ULI LENART denies seeing, or knowing anything about, the
crime. But DI Fawley knows that nine times
out of 10, the culprit turns out to be someone
BOOK RUSSIAN the victim knows. That means someone
OF THE HOMOPHOBIA: FROM is lying. And time is running out for little
MONTH
STALIN TO SOCHI Daisy. This is one of the most credible and
Dan Healey/Bloomsbury convincing thrillers we’ve read this year, and
Academic includes some incredible twists. It’s gripping
¤ Thinking of stuff. The follow-up book, In the Dark, is due
homophobia simply out in July next year. 14 December
as an irrational hatred of queer people
can prevent us getting to grips with
the often painfully logical historical,
cultural and political factors underlying GEORGE: A MEMORY OF GEORGE MICHAEL
it. It can also blind us as to why nations, Sean Smith/HarperCollins
often in extremely calculated ways, ¤ This is the latest book to be published
manipulate it for their own domestic in the wake of George Michael’s death on
and international ends. This detailed, Christmas Day 2016. Slightly over-labouring
scholarly book explores modern Russian the distinction between George’s private
homophobia, making the point that its and public life, celebrity biographer Sean
roots are to be found in the 1930s in the Smith retraces the steps of a young Georgios
laws of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. With Panayiotou on the streets of North London,
expert insight, Dan Healey, a professor talking to various people who knew the
of modern Russian history at Oxford, Wham! star over the years. Smith reveals
uses nine case histories to reveal the the complex relationship George had with
origins and evolution of homophobic his high-achieving Greek-Cypriot father, the
attitudes in Russia. The book explores unconditional love of his mother, his teenage
the roots of homophobia in the gulag, relationships with girls and his — ultimately
the rise of a visible queer presence in ecRXZT À Ícde ecfV ]`gV RWWRZc EYV S``\
Soviet cities after Stalin, and the political contains some good anecdotes and insights,
battles since 1991 over whether queer but lacks passion. It probably isn’t going to
Russians should be valued as citizens. A give fans many new insights, they’d learn
thorough, impeccably researched portrait more just by listening to some of George’s
of persecution. 14 December best-loved lyrics. Out now

ALSO THIS MONTH

A MARVELLOUS PARTY POCKET RUPAUL WISDOM

Ian Elmslie/Ignite Books
¤ This memoir from one half of the award-
winning cabaret duo Katrina and the Boy
documents Ian Elmslie’s experiences in the
world of 1970’s and 1980’s popular music
and theatre. It’s also a love letter to some of
his heroes in gay culture. A candid account
of one man’s journey from family home to
the heart of the gay cabaret scene, and the
wonderful characters he meets along the way.
Funny, camp and heartfelt. Out now
Hardie Grant Books
¤ This miniature book of Ru’s greatest lines.
contains “If you can’t love yourself, how in
the hell you gonna love somebody else?” and
“We all came into the world naked. The rest
is all drag,” as well as “I can barely speak
6_X]ZdY Sfe :Ä^ ÎfV_e Z_ eYc`hZ_X dYRUVÂ
Also out is The Essential Fan Guide to RuPaul’s
Drag Race: an updated edition which covers
the queens who have appeared in seasons one
to nine and on All Stars. Out now

All LGBT+ titles available from Gay’s the Word bookshop, 66 Marchmont St, London WC1N 1AB. gaystheword.co.uk

44 JANUARY 2018
 JOIN THE CLUB

culture club
Artists PIERRE ET GILLES swept to fame with real-life airbrushing

IF YOU AREN’T AWARE of French OV E R

art duo Pierre et Gilles, I can’t even
deal with you, to be honest. (But TO YO U . . .
let’s assume you’ve been in a Kimmy
Schmidt bunker or something.) If you Your thoughts on
Pierre et Gilles
don’t know their names, I can almost
guarantee you know their work. Ahhh Pierre et
Madonna, Naomi Campbell, Kylie, Jean Gilles. They did
Paul Gaultier and Tilda Swinton are wonders for my
among the pair’s most famous muses. understanding
In 1974, painter Gilles Blanchard of my sexuality,
moved to Paris with dreams of making thanks to Kylie.
I was obsessed
it on the art scene. Quite by chance,
with this image as
at a Kenzo launch party, he met
a teenager.
photographer Pierre Commoy and @medievaljenga
the two quickly became lovers. After
moving into shared studio space, they I love their
began to evolve their sexual union work. Anything
into a creative one. They would print homoerotic. The
Pierre’s photos on to canvas and then colours remind
Gilles would proceed to meticulously me of old-school
Caribbean
paint over the top of the image, giving
photography and
a hyper-real, flawless finish. A decade
home decor.
or so ahead of digital retouching, @CampbellX
Pierre et Gilles had stumbled upon
real-life airbrushing. Love their work
The couple achieved their and although it’s
breakthrough moment with images for hard to pick a
French magazine Façade. Their earliest favourite, mine
celebrity muses included Iggy Pop might be Le
Purgatoire, an
and Andy Warhol, but a collaboration
image combining
with pop star Marc Almond in the late
the pageantry
Eighties was to endure. Almond went and high drama of
on to model for the artists a number Catholicism and
of times. its most borderline
Now well-established, Pierre at Gilles pagan with the
captured Madonna, Kylie and Marilyn shabby camp
Manson in the Nineties. glamour of a Maria
Aside from the dreamlike, gauzy self-censor a particularly provocative Montez B-movie
“THE PAIR HAVE ALWAYS picture.
quality of their subjects, Pierre et billboard featuring three male nudes:
Gilles are as recognisable for their
HAD A REFINED EYE @AmeliaMangan
one white, one black, one brown.
intricate framing devices. Often, the FOR THE MALE BODY” The image was designed to represent
human subjects are positioned in a the diversity of modern France, but GET
sumptuous window of flowers, coral, gay coffee table, and it’s not just Kylie. was met with widespread outrage in I N V O LV E D
vines or doves (Tilda). The result is The pair have always had a refined eye Austria. The final portrait had all three
wildly romantic, camp and theatrical, for — not to mention great taste in — men’s bits covered with ribbons. Boo, Next month,
clearly inspiring Baz Luhrmann in his the male body. Sometimes male nudes Vienna, boo! we revisit Ian
McKellen in Gods
Romeo + Juliet days. are depicted in religious iconography Still working together, and still very
and Monsters.
And yes, this being Attitude — Saint Sebastian and Ganymede — much in love, Pierre et Gilles’s most
Tweet your
magazine, it would be remiss of me and sometimes it’s just a hot gardener, recent major collection — Héros
SHUTTERSTOCK

thoughts
not to mention nudity. There is a errr, watering the flowers. — celebrated the notion of heroism in @junodawson
reason Pierre et Gilles decorate many a But in 2012, the pair decided to a variety of (very handsome) works.

JANUARY 2018 45
 SAVE £ 26
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 Bananarama
FORGET ANY FEMALE-FRONTED POP DELICIOUSNESS
YOU’VE ENJOYED IN THE LAST 30 YEARS, THE ULTIMATE
GIRL GROUP ARE BACK. AND THEY’RE STILL FIERCE AF!

{ B I G G AY F O L L O W I N G }

WORDS: LEE DALLOWAY

FORMED IN 1981, Sara Dallin,

Siobhan Fahey and Keren Woodward
stormed into the UK top 10 in 1982
with It Ain’t What You Do (It’s The
Way That You Do It) and would score
eight top 10 hits before Siobhan’s
departure in 1988. The last time they
shared the stage together proved to
be an amazing performance that same
year at the Brit Awards, featuring
scores of oiled-up, scantily-clad
muscled backing dancers.
The girls continued to have further
success with Siobhan’s replacement,
their friend Jacqui O’Sullivan, from
1988 to 1991. But Jacqui couldn’t
shake off the “new girl” tag even
after three years, and Keren and Sara
continued as a duo from 1992, most
recently rebounding into the top 20
in 2005 with pop stompers Move in
My Direction and Look on the Floor.
With 10 studio albums and 43
singles under their belts, Bananarama
have thoroughly earned their place
in the Guinness Book of Records as the
all-female group with the most chart
entries in the world.
While they’re not planning any new
material for their upcoming tour as It’s awesome to see you guys back. Why now?
a threesome, we have been promised Keren: It was the right time to do something amazing.
a breath-taking reunion with a set Sara: We’ve seen Siobhan over the past few years and we always talked about doing
list including all our favourite tracks. something, maybe a Christmas show, but then it became something more.
Better refresh yourselves on those Siobhan: When I got the call, it was absolutely the last thing on my mind. I mean, it
dance routines, boys. was 29 years ago when I left the band. I knew they were doing their thing and I was
doing my life over in Los Angeles.
When they asked, my heart went “ping”, and I knew I wanted to do it. It’s
unfinished business. Whenever we’re together, there’s this incredible chemistry
and friendship, and in Bananarama we’ve created this amazing... ›

JANUARY 2018 47
 Keren: Monster!
Siobhan: Body of work [laughs].
Sara: And the three of us have never
toured together. We did a world tour
after Siobhan left, but we never got the
chance to when she was with us.
Siobhan: The record company kept
distracting us with interviews and
nonsense. Touring is why we started
a group in the first place. Getting out
there and performing.
Keren: A lot of stuff happened to me
personally recently [Keren has split
with her partner of 25 years, Andrew
Ridgeley from Wham!] and it just makes
you realise life’s too short.
Everyone is so excited, the response
you’ve had must have felt wonderful.
Sara: The response from the fans, the
media, has been fantastic.
Siobhan: I think everyone can feel
our happiness.
Sara: It makes it more stressful, though.
Keren: I’m now feeling the pressure to
make it amazing.
Siobhan: We never got any props or love we should have listened a little [laughs]
from the media, now we do.
“I FOUND THE SEXISM OF STOCK and our career could have gone a
When you guys first found fame, AITKEN WATERMAN VERY DIFFICULT slightly different way, but we wouldn’t
it must have been a whirlwind to TO HANDLE. I COULDN’T BE IN THE have been true to ourselves.
perform, record, do interviews, be STUDIO AT THE SAME TIME AS PETE Keren and Sara, you are childhood
creative and maintain a friendship. WATERMAN. I REMEMBER MATT friends, and you met Siobhan in
Siobhan: But it felt so seamless, it was college. The way you all got together,
just a part of our lives at the start.
AITKEN PRESSING THE TALKBACK happened to know a lot of musicians
Sara: It was very natural. We did it all BUTTON GOING ‘KEREN, I CAN SEE and just kind of fell into being
ourselves, we chose producers who YOUR TITS WOBBLE!’” recording artists sounds so organic.
we thought would understand us, and Like, it doesn’t happen like that now.
this worked for a good period of time. Siobhan: No, it’s not organic anymore,
Then inevitably, people want to make Sara: No, that was the Italian! which is so sad. I think it’s because
different music, grow a little bit and you [They all laugh] they decimated the art schools, and
just go your own way. Keren: It’s a thrill to hear your record. most people who were creative and
Siobhan: For the first year or two we Siobhan: It was mind-blowing. I still get interesting formed their bands there.
lived together, so we didn’t have to a bit of a kick when I hear Cruel Summer Keren: We used to make our own
arrange to meet up, everything was fun. in the supermarket. clothes, hum tunes and put them on to
Sara: And we had control of absolutely Keren: Do you still practice the moves? a tape recorder. I think our first song
everything we did, it was just an Siobhan: I will from now on, with was called Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares.
extension of our friendship. It was never my shopping. [Check it out on YouTube, kids] I can’t
a question of someone saying, “Girls, Your early days were very much imagine Little Mix going on TV in
you must do this, do that.” I think even unpolished and looked like you were homemade clothes.
the record company were amused at making it up as you went along. Was Sara: I think it’s much easier to be in a
how this “novelty act” kept going on to it impossible for management or band now. So many people have access
bigger and better things. They didn’t publicists to manoeuvre you to where to it through social media.
know why it worked, but it did. you needed to be? Keren: We pretended the whole time!
Do you remember how you felt when Keren: I think back then people didn’t Siobhan: We just found each other. The
you saw your first record [Aie a Mwana have management who made them do sum of the parts is so much greater. All
in 1981] pressed or heard it played on things; it just wasn’t as manufactured our insecurities blended into…
the radio? as it is now. Sara: One big super-insecurity.
Sara: It was played by John Peel on Siobhan: We didn’t have management [They all laugh]
BILL ZYGMANT\SHUTTERSTOCK

Radio 1. half the time! You always came across as very

GIRL BANANA
Siobhan: On my birthday. We asked Sara: It was a case of: “Girls, I think you POWER: Spiky hair, confident.
them to turn up the radio at this should do this.” “No, I don’t want to.” polka dots and Keren: I think we became confident.
metallic eyeshadow,
vegetarian café near our flat. End of story. [Laughs] helped make the girls
Sara: I think we were quite a daunting
Keren: The one we did a runner from? Keren: I do sometimes think, maybe New Wave style icons prospect the three of us together,

48 JANUARY 2018

eventually. People thought we were
going to be silly and not very bright, but
we were a force to be reckoned with
because we had an intellect. We said
how we wanted things done, and there
are men around who are afraid of that.
They term you as “difficult”.
Siobhan: No one knew what to make
of us.
After your first couple of hits with Fun
Boy Three, suddenly you were not just
the coolest thing in music but also
style icons.
Keren: Which is remarkable in
hindsight. [Laughs]
Siobhan: I cannot believe we were
considered “style icons”. I look back at
the photos and think. “How?”
[They all laugh]
You’re all mothers to grown-up
children now. What do they think of
you guys going out and performing?
Keren: My son’s always loved it. His
friends say, “Don’t you find it a bit
weird that’s your mum dancing on
stage?” and he’s like, “No.” He’s so used
to it.
Siobhan: My youngest one is coming to
join us on the road. He’s my gay son so
he’s going to love it.
Siobhan, what was the point when you
said you have to go? When you just
couldn’t do it anymore?
Siobhan: Our first discussion of me
leaving was on the eve of recording
Wow! I guess our relationship was
breaking down as friends. I was in an
odd place emotionally, feeling a bit
lost. I was obsessed with The Smiths
at the time, and our move towards
ultra-pop wasn’t what I wanted to do.
I thought, “how did we get from our
BGF
{ THE CREDENTIALS }
early stuff to here?” I found the sexism
of Stock Aitken Waterman very difficult
to handle. I couldn’t be in the studio
at the same time as Pete [Waterman]. I
remember Matt [Aitken] pressing the
talkback button going, “Keren, I can see
your tits wobble!” But I didn’t want to
leave my sisters in the lurch, so I made
the album with them.
I’m very glad I stayed, as Wow! is a
really great pop record.
Sara: You met Dave [Stewart of The
Eurythmics] then, too.
Siobhan: Yes, everything in my life SHOW STEALERS:
Performing on stage
was changing. at the Brit Awards,
Keren: I think that naturally happens. in 1988
We changed, too. After we did Wow! we
recorded Pop Life with Youth, which was
much less poppy. Date formed: other artists who just accepted songs,
Sara: We started with I Heard A Rumour, 1981. performed them and left.
and Stock Aitken Waterman’s sound Place of formation: Sara: We co-wrote.
got more and more poppy, and for all of London. Siobhan: I think we also inspired them
us, towards the end, we thought: that’s Best known for: and helped refined their sound. Venus
Being one of the
probably enough. was the prototype for their sound.
biggest all-girl pop
Keren: It was nice to experiment with We went to them because we loved
bands in the world
different types of music. That’s part of for more than 20 Dead or Alive’s You Spin Me Round. It
being an artist and all wanting to do years. was never just them being producers
something different. We didn’t want to Least known for: and us being singers, it was a different
do the same stuff all the time. I think Being backing relationship and was more of a
the turning point was listening to the singers for The challenge to them.
radio and thinking, “Oh, they’re playing Jam and Iggy Pop. Sara: Wow! was full of brilliant,
our song,” but it was actually someone BGF status: Their unapologetic pop songs
“take-no-shit”
else’s. Keren: For me, that was what I always
attitude made
You want an album to be personal to wanted to do. We were definitely more
them popular
you and made for you. And the fact that with gay fans in confident as performers. I loved that
you see that sound is on every other the 1980s, as did album. It was a joy for me
record was irritating. their muscled male Siobhan: Me too. Nathan Jones was one
Pete Waterman has termed you all dancers. They’ve of my favourite Supremes songs of all
“difficult”. also supported time, and I bailed before I got to sing
Keren: Good! LGBT+ causes over it [live].
Sara: But he loved working with us. the decades. Some would say the ultimate
Keren: Difficult compared to the Bananarama dance routine, too…
Siobhan: Yeah, and I’ve had to learn
it! [Laughs] It’s very difficult. It’s very
involved and it’s not a natural dance
routine at all.
Sara: We saw it in the gay clubs back
then, and that was our interpretation
of it.
What was it like singing those songs
together again for the first time in
three decades?
Keren: It’s been really exciting and very
emotional. There’s a couple of songs
that moved us to tears.
Siobhan: We’ve had lumps in throat and
unable to sing on some of the songs.
Sara: It just feels wonderful. Exactly like
it always was.
Bananarama’s Greatest Hits Collection
is out now
JANUARY 2018 49

WORLD EXCLUSIVE
LEADING
THE WAY CANADA MADE HISTORY LAST MONTH WHEN IT ISSUED A FORMAL
APOLOGY TO ITS LGBT+ COMMUNITY FOR PAST PERSECUTIONS. IN A
WORLD EXCLUSIVE, ATTITUDE EDITOR CLIFF JOANNOU MEETS THE
COUNTRY’S PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU AT MONTREAL PRIDE
I t’s August in Montreal and it’s a wonderful 26C
as the LGBT+ population gears up for a monumental Pride
event. Montreal’s citizens are flocking outdoors, and the
bars and restaurants extend out into the streets as the
city embraces the sunshine. The main gay thoroughfare,
Rue Sainte-Catherine, is closed to traffic. Rainbow baubles
festoon the lampposts overhead.
The event, the first to be designated Canada Pride, is
taking place in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s hometown,
which is also marking its 375th birthday. In addition, the
country is commemorating the 150th anniversary since
confederation and Canada as we know it today was founded.
There’s a lot for Canucks to celebrate in 2017.
That’s not to say life in the world’s second largest country
is perfect. As with most nations around the globe, Canada
has its fair share of internal issues, but by comparison and
for a country often highly rated for its quality of life, it’s
a relative utopia. It certainly isn’t having to deal with the
level of crisis enveloping Europe as it struggles to maintain
a fragile unity, the chaos engulfing the government of
the USA, or the ongoing troubles in the Middle East and
Zimbabwe.
Where strong and stable in the UK means weak and
wobbly, Canada projects a confident and progressive
image. Central to Canada’s positive PR is Justin Trudeau:
an intellectual, charismatic politician who has seized
JUSTIN TRUDEAU
EXCLUSIVELY PHOTOGRAPHED FOR
ATTITUDE BY CHRISTOPHER WAHL
the world’s attention. And let’s be honest, it would be
disingenuous not to suggest that his handsome looks aren’t
what first attracted the media’s gaze.
But what has held Attitude’s interest beyond that is his
steadfast belief in equality, and the fact that he is arguably
the world’s most pro-LGBT+ political leader.
Ahead of Attitude’s exclusive interview and
photoshoot with the prime minister, I am invited to
join him walking the route of the inaugural Canada
Pride. On the morning of Pride, I arrive for a press
conference at the Queen Elizabeth hotel.
Given that one of the G8 leaders is in the house, there’s
a strange serenity in the air. I walk casually into the lobby
and ask for directions to the conference room where our
meeting is taking place. I make my way to the first floor
to find our photographer setting up, in the company of a
few suited security men, to whom I am introduced. Their
demeanour is amiable, the atmosphere relaxed. I wonder
whether this would be the case with Trudeau’s peers. I
highly doubt it. Outside the window the crowds gather,
lining the street in anticipation of the parade.
The day before, I received the news that the Irish
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is in Montreal for meetings with
Trudeau and will be joining the entourage on the parade
route with his partner, Matthew. It’s the first time a foreign ›
JANUARY 2018 51

head of government has marched in a Canadian Pride event.
Trudeau, meanwhile, has been a familiar face at Prides for a
number of years.
The PM’s press team arrives to greet me and we discuss
the day’s events. They seem unnervingly relaxed and loose
about the schedule. I feel as if something will go wrong at
any minute and months of planning will be for nothing.
There are several news outlets here, too, but Attitude is
the only media granted one-to-one access for an exclusive
interview and photoshoot.
Minutes later, the press conference with Trudeau and
Varadkar begins. They exchange pleasantries and share
ambitions to build on the close ties between their nations
— all the usual political formalities you would expect from
two heads of state. When the press conference wraps up,
the entourage leaves the hotel for the next stop a couple
of blocks away; a second press conference, this time with
invited guests from the LGBT+ community.
Outside, people cheer and wave flags. Adults of all ages
and backgrounds and face-painted children gather three or
four deep waiting for Trudeau to join in the fun. When he
arrives alongside Varadkar, the cameras start clicking and
the parade begins its slow stroll along the street to the claps
and whoops of the crowd.
Unlike previous years, Trudeau hovers around the middle
of the parade route, flanked by his team and others from the
LGBT+ community as well as Pride organisers.
Occasionally, he breaks away from the centre (pun
intended) and throws himself into the crowd, enjoying
enthusiastic selfies and hugs. I don’t know any other country
in the world where the leader joins a Pride parade — and not
just for a token annual visit. While most politicians might
tick the box and participate the year before or after an
election, Trudeau returns repeatedly.
PACKING A PUNCH: Trudeau took
on Conservative MP Patrick Brazeau
in a boxing match in March 2012.
Although he won, he came in for
quite a lot of criticism
SHUTTERSTOCK
52 JANUARY 2018
“
OUTSIDE, PEOPLE
CHEER AND WAVE
FLAGS. ADULTS
OF ALL AGES AND
CHILDREN WITH PAINTED
FACES GATHER THREE OR FOUR
DEEP, WAITING FOR TRUDEAU
TO JOIN IN THE FUN
I sense an authenticity behind his desire to spend his
Sunday among the gays.
Following the parade, back at the hotel security is again
strangely relaxed. His team inform me that the prime
minister will be ready for the interview bang on schedule.
Right on cue, Trudeau strolls into the foyer, smiles broadly,
shakes my hand and thanks me for coming to Montreal to
meet him. Then we sit down for our interview, along with
his team who listen intently.
“The first times I would walk one side, then the other
side, shaking hands, taking pictures, actually connecting
with people in a real way,” he tells me when asked if his
experience of Pride has changed since he first took office.
“It’s frustrating for me to be stuck in the middle, but people
are really happy to see me. And I’m happy to see them.”
We talk about how surprised I am by the
apparent low level of security, how the crowd
isn’t separated from the parade by barriers, as it
is at Pride in London. “It’s pretty good. It’s a good
balance,” he agrees. “It’s my hometown. I’ve been
coming to this parade for 10 years, since I began
as a politician, so it’s nice to still be coming back
every year as prime minister,” adds Trudeau, who
turns 46 on Christmas Day.
While there’s little doubt he believes in the
message behind Pride, there’s also a little piece of
Trudeau that loves being one of the focal points
of the parade. But his attendance in no way
overtakes the festivities; when his entourage has
passed, the crowds stay to watch the drag queens,
bikers, topless boys, political walking groups
and commercial floats that make up most Pride
events. The presence of the PM does, however,
deliver a strong message that his government
values diversity and inclusion.
Yet, it’s clear that Trudeau is also a bit of a
showman; you don’t see Angela Merkel arriving to
work on Halloween in full Clark Kent/Superman
fancy dress.

FLAG BEARER: Trudeau
greets the crowds with
Ireland’s first openly
gay Taoiseach Leo
Varadkar at this year’s
Montreal Pride
And where Vladimir Putin asserts an outdated idea of
masculinity by posing topless on horseback, Trudeau relays
a more modern perspective of maleness by performing yoga
poses over desks at meetings.
That said, he’s not shy about making overt displays of
maleness. In a 2012 boxing match, a year before he was
elected to the leadership of the Liberal Party, Trudeau
famously beat rival Conservative politician Patrick Brazeau,
who was the favourite to win the bout.
It was a situation that won Trudeau headlines at the
time, but came back to haunt him earlier this year. He was
accused of “using indigenous people as political props” on
social media, following a clumsy statement in a Rolling Stone
magazine cover story in which he stated, “I wanted someone
who would be a good foil, and we stumbled upon the
scrappy tough-guy senator from an indigenous community.
He [fitted] the bill and it was a very nice counterpoint. I saw
it as the right kind of narrative, the right story to tell.”
It wasn’t the best choice of words and is a perfect example
of the rough edges that still exist around Trudeau’s polished
exterior.
Beyond his visage and vigour, he often deploys a quick wit
that Theresa May can only dream of.
Earlier this year, a journalist attempted to bait him by
asking for an explanation of quantum computing, fully
expecting him to pass.
Instead, the Canadian prime minister delivered a succinct
JUSTIN TRUDEAU
breakdown on the benefits of quantum technology that
drew applause from the crowd.
It’s two years since the Liberal Party won an
overwhelming majority and took leadership of the
Canadian parliament — after almost a decade of
Conservative governance. Inevitably, the goodwill towards
any political party that has enjoyed such success begins to
wane. Accountability and action take centre stage, people
start to demand results. Meanwhile, sights are also set on
the next election.
“A good start, but still more work ahead of me than behind
me,” replies Trudeau when I ask him to assess his first two
years as his country’s leader. “There are a lot of things we’ve
done that I’m really proud of, a lot of things that we’re
working hard on that are gonna get done soon, and a whole
bunch of things that I really hope we’re going to get to in the
coming years.
“But we’re going to need another mandate to do that.”
He cites the economic success story that Canada has
become and the drive towards creating a more diverse and
equal society as the achievements of which he’s most proud.
Moreover, Trudeau recognises that when people feel secure
economically, they also feel happier in their communities.
“This idea of inclusive growth, growth for the middle class,
tempers so much of the anxiety that’s out there in the world
that’s getting bounced up in populism, in Brexit and things ›
JANUARY 2018 53
54 JANUARY 2018

“
THE POLITICS OF
FEAR AND DIVISION
DON’T WORK. WE
FOCUSED ON
BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER
like that which are expressions of pulling
away or closing off.”
He continues: “If you allay people’s
anxieties and fears about their own
economic future, about their jobs and
about their kids’ futures, it’s easier to
build a cohesive, inclusive and positive
society. The politics of fear and division
don’t work that well. So, bringing people
together around a growing economy was
HERO: Trudeau in his
the big thing we’ve been focused on.” Superman outfit for
At a time when division is rife among Halloween
too many countries in the West — from
the UK to the USA, and from France to Spain and Germany
— Trudeau tells me that his second goal was to “elevate the
awareness” of the pride Canadians have in their country.
“We should be confident that we’re one of the places
to have figured out that diversity is a source of strength.
We have a positive role to play in the world, we can make
positive choices that people can look at,” he asserts.
He’s also keen to highlight that this national spirit isn’t
something new; he simply pushed a message that had been
muted for too long back into the public sphere.
“There’s a national consciousness out there that I was
able to tap into. People say to me, ‘Oh, you changed Canada
in the past couple of years’. I didn’t change anything.
Canadians didn’t change when the government changed,
Canadians are what they are. I’m just very glad to be able to
elevate what we saw outside [at Pride], what we’re seeing
on the world stage, this positive view of engagement in a
compassionate and open way.”
However, leadership brings its own challenges. With a
schedule that frequently takes Trudeau across the country,
and working extremely long hours, he says it’s important
that he’s also there for his family.
Another key priority, he says, is “staying connected” and
“not being too much in a bubble where you have everyone
filtering what Canadians are feeling through to me, instead
JUSTIN TRUDEAU
of me being able to get out there.” Last winter, Trudeau
embarked on a tour which saw him visiting small towns,
taking over community halls and gyms and answering
questions from local residents.
“Staying connected with people, whether it’s trying to do it
in a parade, or a street corner, or a shop or wherever, that’s
the really big challenge for me. I’ve always been able to do
that but it’s slightly harder when you get the motorcade and
the bubble that surrounds a prime minister.”
As a way of staying connected to communities, Trudeau
created a number of advisory groups and positions,
including appointing MP Randy Boissonnault as Canada’s
first special adviser to the prime minister on LGBTQ2
issues (“2” representing the two-spirited First Nation or
indigenous people that fulfil a “third” gender role).
One of the greatest challenges facing a new PM is having
to deal with the realities of the job in office versus promises
made in the election campaign. His environmental policies
were scrutinised this year when he failed to challenge the
controversial Keystone XL pipeline
extension across Canada, while others
have criticised his reversal on a promise
to introduce proportional representation
at the next election — a policy that
many believe has been dropped because
it would effectively cost him seats in
parliament, where the Liberals currently
enjoy a huge majority.
It’s one thing to champion a liberal
and progressive ideology when you’re an
opposition party and you don’t have to
keep the country running smoothly. It’s
another thing entirely to deliver those
ideals when you’re suddenly responsible for one component
of a globalised capitalist system. “Again, I give a lot of credit
to the citizens, to Canadians,” he says assuredly. “A great
example is economy versus environment. You don’t say, ‘We
have to protect the environment’, and forget the economy.
Or you don’t say, ‘Oh no, we’ve got to build the economy’,
and forget the environment.
“You have to fit them together in reasonable ways. That
means figuring out the right path forward.”
Trudeau points out that the same challenges present
themselves when it comes to legislation around equality
issues. “On poverty, or activism, or marginalised groups,
you have to figure out how to move things forward in a
meaningful and incremental way, that leaves a bunch of
people impatient, but is done in the right way so a future
government isn’t going to be able to turn the clock back.”
It’s a sad truth that while there has been real progress in
equality across the world, you only have to see the reversal
of LGBT+ rights in Russia and the re-criminalisation of
homosexuality in India to see how easy it is for freedoms
to be taken away. In the USA, Trump is slowly unpicking
Obama’s legacy, putting equal rights at risk.
Trudeau reiterates his belief that legislation needs to
be watertight before it’s passed. “Real change to society
is incremental. That means we have to do a lot of things ›
JANUARY 2018 55
 “
STAND UP AGAINST
BULLIES, STAND
UP FOR PEOPLE
IN DIFFICULT
SITUATIONS. IF THERE’S
WEAKNESS SOMEWHERE,
ADD YOUR STRENGTH TO
BALANCE THE SCALES
meaningfully and we always have to be pushing further, but
I think there’s an understanding that, unfortunately, some of
these things take time if they’re going to last and if they’re
going to have the right benefits.”
I ask whether the long game of politics, which can make
progress so painfully slow, has sapped his passion for the
job. He pauses, then says assuredly that it hasn’t and that
the job remains a “total passion” for him. “I love what I’m
doing. The reflection around the position is really important
to me because I look at the crowds, I look at the security,
everything that happens around the prime minister and it’s
obvious they’re not there for me as a person; they’re there
for the position, the respect of the position.
“Remembering that I am in a position to serve Canadians
and having all that around me being a reminder and
helping me focus on that is a good thing. It’s a passion, it’s a
vocation, it’s a job, but it’s also a responsibility.”
In 1967, proposing legislation to decriminalise
homosexuality, Canada’s attorney general said:
“There’s no place for the State in the bedrooms of
the nation.” Same-sex consenting sexual
activity became legal in 1969 and a
year later the nation’s chief law officer
became the country’s 15th prime
minister. His name was Pierre Trudeau
and it’s a fair bet that he imagined his
children might follow his footsteps into
public office. It’s much less likely,
however, he ever envisaged that some
five decades later, his youngest son
would be marking the final year of his
first term as prime minister at the same
time as Canada’s gay community
celebrates the golden anniversary of TRU CALLING:
that ground-breaking legislation. Attitude editor
Last month, Trudeau’s government Cliff Joannou
with Justin Trudeau
made history with a formal apology and
56 JANUARY 2018
offered redress for those people in the military and public
service who lost their jobs under the old laws.
The government will also issue pardons for those
wishing to have their convictions expunged. It’s the most
comprehensive apology a national government has made
for the historical persecution of sexual minorities anywhere
in the world. “I am proud to continue to fight for human
rights, as my father did,” Trudeau says.
From Pierre Trudeau’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms
in 1982 to the passage of the more recent Civil Marriage
Act, Justin Trudeau underscores that the fight to end
discrimination is not over, adding that “a lot of hard work
remains”.
Policy can be changed over night, but society often moves
at a slower pace. The government “acknowledging and
apologising” for the role played by legislation, programmes
and policies in the historical discrimination faced by
LGBTQ2 Canadians is an immense driver for that social
change. “We believe it’s essential to make amends for past
wrongs, not to simply gloss over them,” adds Trudeau.
“The apology is an important step in the right direction.
Our government believes in equality and equal treatment
for all Canadians and we’re proud to take concrete action to
make that a reality.”
Following its own apology made in November, Scotland is
set to issue pardons this month. Meanwhile, the government
still flounders on the subject of an official apology in
England and Wales.
Correcting years of injustice for the LGBT+ community,
such as tackling issues around trans equality and the
unequal age of consent, were priorities for Trudeau’s
administration. He says his dedication to fighting for
fairness in society was one of the greatest things that his
father, who died 17 years ago, taught him.
“I grew up with my father impressing upon us the
importance of standing up for people’s rights, in every
situation. That’s why he brought in the Charter of Rights
and Freedoms. It was always the default for us.
“You stand up against bullies, you stand up for people who
are in difficult situations. One of our informal family mottos
is to always provide counterweights: if there’s weakness
somewhere go and add your strength
to balance the scales. That was always
a general theme for me.”
By his late teens, Trudeau embraced
activism when he became a volunteer
at the McGill University sexual assault
centre run by the student society.
“The institution didn’t want to
recognise there might be a problem
around sexual assault. But it was
the student society running it and it
exposed me to all sorts of activism,
these huge intersectionalities —
although we didn’t know what to call it
then — with different activist groups:
the women’s union, the LGBT alliance,
the sexual assault centre.

TALKING THE TALK, WALKING THE WALK: from left, Trudeau with openly gay MP Randy Boissonnault, Barack Obama, and France’s Emmanuel Macron
“That was when I became truly aware of the real
challenges that different identities had with discrimination
and unfairness, and I understood my own privilege of how
I was raised, but also the privilege that went with being
raised in my family. It opened my eyes to the struggle that
is still going on.”
Canada has become a beacon of progress in a Western
world that is currently undergoing a major identity crisis.
The optimistic outlook with which many of us welcomed
in the 21st century has become a grubby window through
which we slowly observe a discontented world.
New Labour’s promise of a reinvigorated discourse for a
new kind of politics delivered us the Iraq war, the shadow
of which we live in today. The financial crash of 2008 has
seen the gap between rich and poor widen, while Europe
has painfully navigated crisis after crisis — from the near-
collapse of Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain, to Brexit.
Further wars in Libya and Syria have forced millions to
flee their homes, fuelling populist discontent. Meanwhile,
the so-called leader of the free world, Donald Trump,
remorselessly feeds fear and intolerance.
With every advancement of LGBT+ rights we celebrate —
the introduction of same-sex marriage in Germany, Taiwan
and Ireland, and Australia’s “Yes” vote on the same subject
— we witness a step back elsewhere as the community finds
itself hunted down in Chechnya and Egypt.
Meanwhile, the rights of trans people are under attack in
the USA. Amid all this turmoil, Canada seems an isolated
haven of liberalism.
At last year’s la Francophonie, the international
organisation of French-speaking nations, Trudeau openly
promoted the importance of women’s and LGBT+ rights.
“That’s enough. There is no excuse for such practices, for
such violations of their fundamental rights,” he told a room
of representatives from 80 governments.
He went on to say: “Because we’re all family here, let’s tell
each other the truth. We owe them the same respect, the
same rights and the same dignity as all other members of
our society.”
While Trudeau’s words drew applause, he says the
speeches are always hard to deliver at a gathering in which
a considerable number of nations have extremely retrograde
and damaging policies aimed at the LGBT+ community.
“I’ll say it and I’ll stand up for it and be very blunt about
it. But inevitably, maybe not from the leaders — maybe
from some leaders — but staffers and people around will say,
‘Thank you for standing up, thank you for adding that voice
because it’s something that [people] need to hear’.”
Despite the challenges of winning over hearts and minds
on queer issues, Trudeau is hopeful that change will come
JUSTIN TRUDEAU
— if slowly. “The leaders are beginning to understand that
the world is moving in that direction and we haven’t made
it a direct condition of trade or aid or anything like that, but
it’s starting to be a real pressure that you cannot continue to
criminalise LGBT+ [people].”
Canada is also a progressive voice in the Commonwealth,
which depressingly features more anti-queer nations than
la Francophonie. Trudeau acknowledges there are huge
challenges ahead in regard to encouraging these countries to
begin to value all their citizens, regardless of sexuality. One
solution he highlights is Canada’s aim to create an equality
group at the Commonwealth, to push the issue from within.
While it’s easy for these nations to gather in a grand
hall and applaud each other’s calls for a better future, the
conversations behind closed doors are where real opinions
are shared.
“I remember an African leader said to me: ‘Justin, you
spoke very well, but on the gays I just can’t go where you
are’,” Trudeau confides when I ask how his comments are
received in private.
“But,” he adds, “there was a recognition. [People are] blunt
about it. They blame all sorts of things: society not being
ready, or the Church; being a very conservative society —
with a small ‘c’ — or having very traditional values.
“I think sometimes it takes friends, or allies, or partners,
like another country leader, to say: ‘Give your people more
credit than you have, and maybe the religious leaders don’t
have the kind of impact that you think they have’.
“You need to give people a friendly nudge to move forward
in the right direction, and I’m very glad to do it. But, yes, I’ve
had some very candid conversations with leaders about the
fact that they need to go there.”
A potential problem with the growing value placed on
sexual and gender equality in Canada, Europe and Australia
is how it is increasingly regarded as a creation of the West,
resulting in anti-LGBT+ countries in Africa, Eastern Europe
and the Middle East becoming more determined to protect
their “traditional” way of life.
“There will always be small groups of people who have
power, whether it’s religious groups, or political groups, who
will protect that status quo and will resist change as it gets
closer to them,” Trudeau goes on. “But I trust people, I trust
citizens, and I know that the direction that we need to move
is in respectful ways, in meaningful ways [and] is something
that we need to keep pushing.”
One of the most violent instances of anti-queer activity
came earlier this year when the horrific stories about the
torture and detention of gay men started emerging from
Chechnya. Assisted by LGBT+ charity Rainbow Railroad, the
Canadian government quietly accepted more than 30 gay ›
JANUARY 2018 57
WAVE OF SUPPORT:
Justin Trudeau
still thinks it’s vital
to march in Pride
parades
men and women fleeing the conservative Muslim region
that is a federal subject of Russia. Tanya Lokshina, Russian
programme director for New York-based Human Rights
Watch, told one of Canada’s national newspapers, The
Globe and Mail: “The Canadian government deserves much
praise for showing such openness and goodwill to provide
sanctuary for these people. They did the right thing.”
As Canada’s 2015 election approached, Trudeau
seemed to invigorate national politics, his
youthfulness and charm enthusing the population in
much the same way that Tony Blair and Barack Obama did
during their initial campaigns. But it wasn’t until Trudeau
won the election that the world’s media took notice of the
new poster boy of international politics.
It’s fair to say that despite its G8 status, most people
would be hard-pressed to name any notable Canadian prime
minister before Justin Trudeau, with the possible exception
of his father. Again, it would be true to say a lot of the
attention zeroed in on Trudeau’s dashing looks, such is the
power of image in the age of social media.
Does Trudeau ever think that this attention becomes
an obstacle to his message? He pauses before he answers.
Admittedly, it’s a loaded question. “First of all, I am happy in
a parade full of people, that’s not an image, that’s me. This
is who I am. I like people. I’m someone who is comfortable
in the social media world, all these things.
58 JANUARY 2018
“What actually helps is that I’m comfortable in my own
skin and that shines through. Even when I fall out of a kayak
and I’m embarrassed, it ends up [with] people thinking, ‘Oh
that’s just who he is, he’s out there being active’.
“There’s no contradiction between someone who likes to
get outdoors, likes to goof around with friends, and be a real
person, and the hard work we do on policy, doing things
right,” he explains.
Trudeau is clearly aware of the focus that is placed on
his image. His response to this at the election was to put
forward a platform that he believes connected with what
Canadians wanted, earning their trust through policy.
“If people get too fixated on image then they’re not
capturing the rest, and quite frankly, I give Canadians a lot
more credit than some of my political opponents do.”
He continues: “Canadians understand the difference
between what we do substantively and what ends up being
image, and the fact that they’re linked around an authentic
person is part of what helps. You can’t have image without
substance for long; people figure that out.”
As the honeymoon period of his first term ends and the
lead up to the next election begins, Trudeau’s policies and
actions are starting to fall under increasing scrutiny from
voters and his nation’s media. It is in the polling booths
where his ability to do the job will ultimately be judged.
In the days before meeting Trudeau, I spoke to people in
the LGBT+ community to hear how they see their prime

minister. The majority praise Trudeau’s work and ethics.
Eleazar, a waiter in his twenties who works in a cute French
bistro on Rue Saint-Paul, has a unique memory of meeting
the PM. “He came into our canteen at McGill University the
day after he won the election and asked if he could sit with
my friends and me,” Eleazar recalls.
“Everybody was a little awe-struck, but we spoke for almost
an hour. He asked what our concerns and priorities were. I
found it quite impressive that he took the time out to meet
students and get their opinions when he could have been
doing a hundred other things.”
Stephen, a young gay-venue manager from Toronto, is
more critical, telling me: “It’s easy to be a great leader when
the economy is doing well. He’s broken a few promises.”
Helen Kennedy, the executive director of LGBT+ rights
charity Egale, praises the positive actions that Trudeau has
already made but raises concerns for LGBT+ equality on a
more practical level.
With 23 per cent of young homeless people in Toronto
identifying as queer, there is a clear issue regarding
access to support for people who have to come out in
less-accepting families, and those with mental health
issues. Plus, the disparity of inclusive sex and relationship
education in schools still leaves the relationships of LGBT+
people invisible in the school system.
Helen appeals to Trudeau to meet her team. “I always say
if you’re not invited to dinner, you’re on the menu,” she says
with a grin.
Meanwhile, Christian Tanguay, the executive director
at Montreal’s LGBTQ+ Community Centre, says his main
concern is the decreasing number of safe spaces available to
young LGBT+ people, citing rising rents and gentrification as
the principal factors that force centres that receive little or
no government assistance to close.
He is also concerned for the many queer refugees who find
sanctuary in Canada, many of whom suffer post-traumatic
BUDDING POLITICIAN:
A nine-year-old Justin
Trudeau, with his father
Pierre, meets Margaret
SHUTTERSTOCK
Thatcher in Downing
Street in 1980
JUSTIN TRUDEAU
“
THE MORE WE
ARE EXPOSED TO
STORIES THAT
REVEAL OUR OWN
BIASES, THE BETTER WE WILL
BE AT STANDING UP FOR
OTHER PEOPLE’S RIGHTS
stress disorder as a result of the difficulties they have had
to face, and find little support following their arrival in a
challenging new society.
The LGBT+ community in Canada still has many
mountains to climb and the recent changes to legislation are
just the beginning of that journey.
As Trudeau himself states, his ongoing support at Pride is
indicative of the many battles still to be won.
As my time with the PM draws to an close, one of my
parting questions is what he feels straight people can learn
from the queer community.
“Oh God!” he exclaims. “We all have so many identities,
privileges and challenges. Just learn from anyone who is
different to you, understanding their challenges.
“The LGBT+ community has become emblematic of the
fight for human rights. The fact that so many people have
gone for so long feeling that they had to be ashamed, or
hide something about their core identity to fit into society is
a lesson for everyone to push against.
“Every time someone says to me, ‘Why do you still feel
it’s important to walk Prides?’ [I say] it’s because there’s
so much more to do, and the more that we are exposed to
stories that reveal our own biases, the privileges we take for
granted, that other people don’t have, the better we’ll be at
standing up for other people’s rights and opportunities.”
In a world dishearteningly lacking in progressive and
inspiring political leadership, Trudeau stands apart from
other world leaders. Next year, when he attends the
gathering of Commonwealth nations in the UK, he will
be present as a champion of the international LGBT+
community, a man unashamed to be seen walking side-
by-side with his LGBT+ Canadians at Pride, or working to
challenge the oppression of our brothers and sisters who
suffer in Africa, the Caribbean, Asia and Eastern Europe.
In a world that seems fraught with fear and division, in
Justin Trudeau we can be assured of one ally who’s
determined to fight our corner.
JANUARY 2018 59
 Healing the wound
SOUTH AFRICAN MUSICIAN AND ACTOR NAKHANE DOESN’T SHY
AWAY FROM ATTENTION, BE IT GOOD OR BAD. HAVING BURST
OUT OF THE CLOSET AND ON TO THE MUSIC SCENE IN 2013,
HE’S NOW COURTING CONTROVERSY WITH NEW FILM
7+(¢:281' — A GAY LOVE STORY SET WITHIN
AN ANCIENT AFRICAN RITE OF PASSAGE
WORDS: TIM HEAP // PHOTOGRAPHY: FRANCISCO GOMEZ DE VILLABOA // FASHION: CARLOS MANGUBAT
inger-songwriter, actor and all-round
good egg, Nakhane has a simple
request for us all. “A little bit of
empathy is all I want from the world,”
he says softly, talking about the death
threats he’s become accustomed
to receiving this year. “It seems to be lacking at
the moment.”
Having spent the last couple of hours posing
for photos, Nakhane opts to sit on the studio
floor for our interview. He’s perfectly content,
almost zen-like, while I’m uncomfortably shifting
around every few minutes with legs splayed. We
have cups of coffee in hand and his Mancunian
boyfriend, Chris, is close by. Over the four
years they’ve been together, Chris, who lives
with Nakhane in Johannesburg and works as a
producer for MTV, has become used to occupying
himself while Nakhane promotes his music
and other projects, quoting Oscar Wilde, James
Baldwin, Zadie Smith and other luminaries as
he goes.
Early 2018 is looking to be a busy time for
the 29-year-old South African. His second
album, teased by four-track EP Clairvoyant this
September, is due in February, four years since
his debut Brave Confusion introduced Nakhane
as an experimental, openly-gay, Christian
musician. Since then, he’s left the Church and
the new album has been written mainly about
that experience, and his reconnection with the
traditional spirituality of the Xhosa people — a
Bantu-ethnic group comprising about eight
million South Africans.
On the film front, Nakhane’s lead role in
controversial independent South African film
The Wound has put him (along with the film’s
other cast and creatives) in the spotlight since it
premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.
60 JANUARY 2018
Now put forward for consideration for the 2018
Academy Awards’ Best Foreign Language Film
category, it focuses on a closeted relationship
between Nakhane’s character, Xolani, and
married man, Vija, set during a Xhosa initiation
ritual (ulwaluko) whereby Xhosa adolescents
are circumcised as part of a rite of passage into
manhood.
The backlash against the film comes both from
the fact that it explores homosexuality in the
Xhosa community — something that is largely
unspoken of — and because it depicts elements
of the initiation ritual, a rite of passage that’s
traditionally kept secret and considered sacred
amongst Xhosa men. But that’s only one part
of it, as Nakhane explains to Attitude ahead of
The Wound’s UK release…
The idea for your involvement in The Wound
was for you to do some of the music. How did
that evolve into you playing the lead role?
In late 2013, after I’d released my first album,
John Trengove, the film’s director, called me
and said that he really liked my music and he
explained about the film and asked if I wanted to
meet to discuss possibly making the music for it.
We met for coffee and then a few weeks later he
said, “Can you act?” I’d done a little bit of acting,
but I never really thought I’d do it professionally,
because friends of mine who were actors told
me about how gruelling the auditions are, and
I didn’t want to put myself through that. But
John said, “Well, try it, and if you’re not good, we
won’t cast you.” And I’m very competitive.
Did he ask you that because of your demeanour
and your own experience of the ritual?
Yeah, I think so. When we met for the first
time, he saw how I speak and who I am, and
that inspired him to think that maybe I could ›
 NAKHANE

Nakhane wears blazer

and trousers by Gucci,
t-shirt by Martin
Asbjørn, earring and
ring by Ekria

JANUARY 2018 61
be the character he was looking for.
He sent me the script and I really
loved it, so I prepared for the role in a
two-pronged way. One was a classical
way of acting, where you put on the
clothes and you behave like the person,
and the other part was more method
acting, where I was accessing things
that I thought I’d never have to access
again — trauma, really — and going
back to hypermasculine spaces that
I never thought I’d want to go back to
again because I knew they’d be painful.
All the cast in The Wound went
through the ritual themselves. What
was your own experience? You were
from the city, so were you seen as
an outsider?
Not necessarily, because my generation
of black South Africans have had to
navigate different spaces more than
any other generation. Most of us are
not exclusively city kids, or township
kids, or suburban kids, or rural kids.
We’ve had to navigate all these spaces
at different times of our lives, and we
know how to put on an identity. I was
born in the rural areas, I grew up in a
mid-sized city, Port Elizabeth, and then
I went to live in Johannesburg. When I
went to initiation, I knew all there was
to know about it because I grew up in a rural area. It wasn’t
a shock, but I was a Christian and I thought that it was
some bohemian practice that went against my beliefs. But
it revealed a lot about myself — I realised how arrogant and
judgmental I was.
How long is the entire process, and how old were you?
It’s a month. I was 20. I realised how much I’d learnt from
it; I was humbled by it. Every culture has its problems, but
I do feel like we demonise it a little bit in Western culture,
because Western culture sees it as mutilation. It doesn’t
understand that these men get some sort of power from it.
All boys are groomed to look forward to it because after it
you have a place in society, as a man.
If, for whatever reason, boys don’t go through the ritual,
are they looked down on?
You’re not a man. Full stop. If you’re not a man, you’re
a boy, and boys are not looked at in a very good light in
our culture. That’s why you have to go through the rite of
passage in order for you to be taken seriously. advocate for
choice, but I also understand that in certain communities,
making a choice not to do something can be detrimental to
you. So as much as I’m pro-choice, I also understand why
people don’t even think about it as a choice, because if they
don’t go through it, they’re ostracised.
You’ve spoken about your initiation before, how there
were passes made at you by caregivers and initiates, and at
that point you were trying to repress your homosexuality.
Was that because of your religion or your culture?
Mostly because of religion. I thought that it was going to be
the safest space! I thought, “OK, alright God, you’ve allowed
this to happen, at least I know that I won’t get tempted
because everyone here is obviously
straight, and I’m trying to be straight.”
I never thought in a million years that
someone would make a pass at me.
Which was why it was annoying when
straight men were saying that it didn’t
happen. That’s when I put up my hand
and said, “How do you refute my own
personal story?” It’s a complicated
position to be in, to love your culture
so much and see the good that it
brings to the world, but also be one of
its critics.
They’re not mutually exclusive…
Exactly. This film is quite local in
its setting and its context, but it’s
universal in the issues that it deals
with. Where do you go in the world
where there isn’t homophobia or
patriarchy? I’ve been doing a lot of
interviews with European publications,
and they ask, “Do you think this film
will open the minds of South Africans
against homophobia?” I say, “Well,
that would be great, but how are you
guys dealing with it where you come
from?” You know? There seems to be
a certain, “Ah, Africa!” mentality. But
homophobia is a worldwide problem.
We [South Africans] haven’t had
a mass-shooting in a gay club. No
one’s done that yet. I’m sure there’ve
been murders, but massacre, in a
“developed” country? It’s interesting to
me how people see it. ›

ABOVE: Nakhane wears trousers and loafers by Gucci, sweater

by Arela, beret by Sonia Rykiel, ring and hoop earring by Ekria,
necklace Nakhane’s own (worn throughout)
RIGHT: Nakhane wears coat by Brooks Brothers, shirt by
The Cooper Collection, hoop earring by Ekria, cross earring
Nakhane’s own (worn throughout)

62 JANUARY 2018
 NAKHANE

Nakhane wears blazer

and trousers by Maison
Mihara Yasuhiro,
earring and ring
by Ekria

“I was a Christian and I

thought that initiation was
some bohemian practice that
went against my beliefs. But
it revealed a lot about myself —
I realised how arrogant and
judgmental I was”

JANUARY 2018 63
NAKHANE
You must face these stereotypes
and those perspectives all the time.
As an educated man with a lot of
experience of Western culture, how
do you keep your cool?
Oh, you have to learn to pick your
battles. Some people really don’t
know, and I’m not going to be angry at
someone who really doesn’t know. But
some people are wilful assholes. To be
on the defensive all the time is not
good for your mental health.
Is it frustrating to you that
international press or audiences
watch The Wound and pick up on this
idea that the practice is barbaric,
rather than seeing the film as a tale
of toxic masculinity and a love story?
It is incredibly frustrating, especially in
the age of information where you have
“It’s a complicated
position to be in, to love
your culture so much
and see the good that it
brings to the world, but
also be one of its critics”
a computer in your pocket. You have no excuse to not know
things any more. But, having said that, one has to be careful
not to sound self-righteous as well, because we’re all fucked
up and we all have our bullshit. South Africans and Africans
are not lesser human beings because of their practices.
A lot of the problems that Africans have are because of
colonialism. A big part of the homophobia that we have
nowadays is based on the fact that we were taught how to
be homophobic, because we had the Bible shoved down our
throats. So it’s hilarious to
me that the people who
Nakhane wears shoved the Bible down our
t-shirt by Les
Basics, coat and throats are the ones who
jeans by Weekday, are going, “Oh, but guys!
loafers by GH
Bass, earring and Get your shit together!”
ring by Ekria Has the backlash from
the Xhosa community
surprised you at all?
The extremity has
surprised me. Its existence?
No, I knew it would
happen, I knew what I was
getting myself into. But I
didn’t know it was going to
be as extreme as that.
You mean the death
threats…
Oh yeah. Those have made
me tenacious as well, but
not only me, but feminist
black women, queer black
people, they’ve been really
supportive of the film and
squashing the patriarchy,
so for every “I hope you
die” text, there’s someone
out there going, “I’m so
fucking proud of you.”
And that’s something
that people don’t want to
write about, because it
doesn’t sell newspapers
or magazines.
Coming onto your music,
you’ve finished the
second album. What’s
the evolution been from
Brave Confusion?
The new album’s coming
out in February, and I’ve
spent about four years
writing these songs with
GROOMING: Ben Christopher, who’s
Alex Fairbairn worked with Bat For
Lashes, Françoise Hardy, Imogen
Heap… Sonically, it’s a little bit more
electronic than my older stuff. The
songs are better written, there’s better
singing, more vocals, better lyrics.
It’s just better. Some of the songs on
Brave Confusion were written and then
I recorded them straightaway, whereas
on this new record I was flipping them
round and round to make sure that
they were as well written as possible.
There’s a certain power that I’m
dealing with.
In terms of your lyricism?
Lyricism, representation, imagery. I’m
no longer the kid who’s scared of being
found out anymore. I’m going to live
my life the way I want to live it.
What’s the focus of it?
It’s mostly about being an apostate and
leaving the church, or being thrown
out or whatever. I was thrown out after
I’d left. When the pastor called me
to say, “We have to excommunicate
you,” I’d already left. It didn’t hurt as
much as I thought it was going to, but
when you believe in something for 25
years and then suddenly go, “I don’t
believe in it anymore”, there’s a void.
Everything about my life revolved
around Christianity. When I was sick,
I’d pray. When I was happy, I’d pray.
When I was hungry, I’d pray. And
then suddenly, that thing isn’t there
anymore. What do you fill it with? Now
I just practice Xhosa spirituality.
How did you find your musicality?
My family was musical. My mum and
her sisters all sang in choirs; they were
all classically trained opera singers.
I grew up around choirs and singing
was always a big thing in my house; my
mum and I used to harmonise all the
time and we still have competitions
about who sings the best! She sends
me voice notes singing my songs
saying, “Redo it!” I knew I wanted to
be a musician from the time that I
understood that I was in the world.
Musicality by osmosis.
Completely. There’s never been a
moment where I didn’t know what
I was going to do. Ever. And when the
time came for me to leave high school,
my dad was like, “Maybe you should
get something to fall back on,” I was
like, “Why?! This is all I’ll ever do.” And
it is.
The Wound opens in cinemas in April
2018, through Peccadillo Pictures
peccapics.com
Nakhane’s latest EP Clairvoyant is out
now on digital
@nakhaneofficial
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66 JANUARY 2018

red
alert
HIV RATES ARE FALLING IN THE WEST BUT IN
RUSSIA THEY’RE SOARING. GAY MEN ARE AMONG
THE WORST HIT AND THOUGHT TO BE IN
THE MIDST OF AN INVISIBLE EPIDEMIC.
MATT CAIN TRAVELS TO MOSCOW WHERE
HE MEETS HIV ACTIVISTS AND VISITS THE
GAY SCENE TO FIND OUT WHY
PHOTOGRAPHY: IRINA MININA
don’t really believe
condoms can
i
protect you from
HIV.” These are the
words of Vladislav
Ivanov, a 34-year-
old hotel worker
from Rostov-on-Don, who now lives
in Moscow. He’s one of an estimated
1.5 million people in Russia living
with HIV.
Like many others, he isn’t receiving
any treatment and as such is at risk of
passing on the virus. But this doesn’t
seem to worry him. “I don’t wear
condoms, because I don’t like them,”
he says. “Most people I know think
condoms can’t protect you from HIV.
People in Russia think of them only in
terms of contraception.”
Vladislav’s story is chilling. Diagnosed
HIV positive in March, he tells me he
was quite calm when he heard the
news — until then he wasn’t even
convinced HIV existed. Because of this,
he had unprotected sex with a man
who had told him he was HIV positive.
“I didn’t worry about it because I’d
seen a TV programme about those
who deny the existence of HIV. There
was a woman whose daughter died
and this woman was insisting it
doesn’t exist and her daughter died of
something else.”
Vladislav tells me that since his
diagnosis he’s spent time researching
the virus and now feels “in a state of
confusion”. One thing he is sure of is
the need to hide his HIV status from
RUSSIA
society; when a previous employer
found out, he lost his job. Wary of this
happening again, he’s given me a false
name and won’t be photographed.
His story reflects a bigger picture
that’s causing serious concern for
those working in the HIV sector
around the globe. According to the
World Health Organisation (WHO) and
the United Nations programme on HIV/
Aids (UNAIDS), more than 103,000
new cases were reported in Russia in
2016, an increase of more than five
per cent on the previous year, and
it’s estimated that there are currently
another 500,000 undiagnosed cases.
Eastern Europe and Central Asia
are the only regions in the world
where HIV infections are rising, with
Russia accounting for eight out of
every 10 new infections. According
to the estimates of HIV support group
Phoenix Plus, 20 per cent of gay men
in Russia are HIV positive, and by 2020
this will increase to 30 per cent.
To understand why, I have to
understand what life is like for gay
men in Russia.
AS MY PLANE prepares to land in
Moscow, I look down on to the country
and its dark, foreboding landscape.
I’ve heard terrible stories about the
persecution gay people endure here,
and how President Putin and other
prominent politicians are stirring up
homophobia to suit their political
agenda. I feel a shiver of fear.
When I arrive in central Moscow, ›
JANUARY 2018 67
I discover that it’s a surprisingly
beautiful, clean and well-maintained
city. At first it seems as if I’m walking
around any other modern capital.
Except here I feel unsafe. In this
über-macho society, men swagger
around showing off their shaved heads,
muscles and tattoos. A sense of threat
hangs in the air. I find myself trying to
act more straight and lower my voice.
On my first night I log on to Grindr
and find a higher than usual number
of anonymous profiles and several
men ask me for money in return
for sex. But the biggest difference
I notice is in the HIV status
box. Only one man discloses his
positive status — everyone else
claims to be negative or doesn’t
IN THIS MACHO
answer the question. This stands SOCIETY, THE
in stark contrast to the West,
where stigma is fading and people
MEN SWAGGER SIGN OF THE
TIMES: Above, Maya
know how to protect themselves. AROUND AND Demidova, who works
for Phoenix Plus. Left.
The picture hinted at here is A SENSE OF some shops declare
“No faggots allowed”
very different.
THREAT HANGS and, below left, one of
those brave enough to
THE NEXT MORNING I’m joined IN THE AIR. I be out in Russia, social
worker Alexander
in my hotel by a group of LGBT+
activists. Evgeny Pisemskiy is the
FEEL UNSAFE Zhelezkin

director of programmes
at Phoenix Plus, an HIV
charity that operates
out of six cities and
is the only Russian
organisation to focus
specifically on the
needs of MSM (men
who have sex with
men). Maya Demidova
is a transgender woman
who’s worked for the
organisation for three
months as a co-ordinator
for the Moscow region.
And Yury Maximov is the
financial manager of the support group
Resource LGBTQIA but for the next few
days he is acting as my interpreter.
Together we set off for the Moscow
LGBT+ Centre, where the activists
are going to introduce me to some
people whose stories might help me
understand why HIV is such a problem
among gay men in Russia.
On the Metro, we stand out from
everyone around us and often attract
stares. Sometimes these are curious,
sometimes they carry a whiff of
disapproval, sometimes even disgust.
Maya tells me that once she was
beaten up on a gay boy or a rainbow you will become
train carriage gay.”
during rush hour Although Alexander says he’s often
by a man who’d verbally insulted on account of his
spotted she sexuality, he hasn’t encountered any
was trans. physical violence, but adds that this
I try not to might be because he doesn’t use hook-
worry, but can’t up apps. Several of his friends who do
help feeling afraid so haven’t been so lucky.
when we leave the “A lot of my friends have been
Metro and pass a beaten up and experienced violence or
bakery which has blackmail. They go to meet someone
a sign saying “no and walk into a trap. I know one rich
faggots allowed” in the window. Evgeny tells me that there guy who’s about 40 and last time he
are several of these around the city. went to a hook-up in an apartment
We make our way to the LGBT+ Centre, which is, in effect, there was a mob of 10 people with
just one room in an unmarked residential block, located in dogs who started screaming and being
an inconspicuous suburb. I’m told its existence is known violent. He had to give them 50,000
only to those who need it. rubles [about £650] to get out.”
One of these is Alexander Zhelezkin, a 30-year-old I notice how calm he is and ask
social worker from a small village in the Urals. He looks how he can recount such horrors
dangerously thin, but is charming and has sparkling eyes. He so casually. “Because it’s every day,”
tells me he’s been openly gay for five years. he reveals. “I see this and think, ‘Oh
I asked what reactions he had when he came out. “Some another one!’ It’s usual for me.”
people disowned me, some said they hated me,” he Alexander is HIV negative but
comments, “but mostly they said, ‘You’ve chosen a hard is currently taking post-exposure
life.’ My mum said that. She hopes I’ll change and become prophylaxis (PEP), a course of HIV
‘normal’ and live a regular life. People here think if you see a prevention drugs taken for 30 days

68 JANUARY 2018

after exposure to risk.“I always try to
use condoms but sometimes I make
mistakes,” he says, going on to explain
that there’s very little information
about these drugs in Russia — and even
less access to them. He’s worked out
that PEP is similar to the antiretroviral
therapy prescribed to those with HIV,
so buys his from a pharmacy. “You’re
supposed to have a prescription, but I
just go and ask for HIV medication and
I take the pills.”
PEP is just one of the several tools
currently being used to combat HIV
around the world. But perhaps the
most effective weapon is antiretroviral
treatments given to those who’ve been
diagnosed positive; in most cases,
this diminishes their viral load to
undetectable levels, which means it’s
impossible for them to pass on the
virus. But for this to happen, they have
to be tested. And that’s the crux of the
problem in Russia.
I meet Alexander Shumilov, from
HIV support group La Sky. He tells me
that gay men in Russia are reluctant
to get tested, not only because of the
ignorance and misinformation about
the virus, but also because of the
stigma around it. Coupled with the
culture of homophobia, this acts as a
powerful deterrent.
“When a man goes to a clinic to get
tested and is diagnosed HIV positive,”
Alexander says, “the first person he
sees is an epidemiologist who asks
him how he contracted the virus.”
If he admits to having had sex with
a man, his case is registered under
something known as “Code 103”. This
information is accessible by the police
and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to official
statistics, only two per cent of people with HIV in Russia are
registered under Code 103. But if we compare these figures
with others recorded around the world, the suggestion is
that people aren’t being honest. “When the doctor asks who
infected them, I’d say 90 per cent of MSM lie and say they
were infected by a woman because of the shame around
being gay,” Alexander says.
This only helps to perpetuate the problem, he adds. If the
government can say so few people affected by HIV are MSM,
they can get away with doing nothing to help them. This
might explain why it has recently started an HIV awareness
campaign that makes no mention of gay men.
In the meantime, gay men with HIV continue to go
undiagnosed and untreated. I’m told stories of people falling
ill in a way that no longer happens in the West. Figures from
WHO and UNAIDS show that between January and June
2017, 14,631 Aids-related deaths were recorded — a rise of
13.5 per cent on the previous six-month period.
My interpreter Yury tells me about Valya, a man he knew
who died after developing full-blown Aids in March. He
says Valya didn’t believe HIV existed so wouldn’t get tested,
even though his friends recognised the signs. At first this
made Yury sad, but that quickly turned to anger. “In the
end, I felt hopeless because I could do nothing to change his
situation,” Yury adds.
THAT EVENING the
activists offer to take me
out on the gay scene. IN CENTRAL
I’m nervous because STATION I
everyone has told me
WATCH MEN
DANCING AND
EVEN KISSING
BUT I’ VE NO
IDEA HOW MUCH
DANGER I AM IN
RUSSIAN
REVOLUTION: Matt,
Alexander Shumilov
from support group La
Sky and Yury Maximov
of Resource LGBTQIA
RUSSIA
there’s no such thing as a safe space
for gay people in Russia.
I’ve been told stories about people
being attacked, robbed or blackmailed
as they leave gay bars and clubs, and
have even heard about grenades being
thrown through the window of a club
in St Petersburg. But as so few of those
affected are willing to go to the police
there are no official statistics to reflect
the problem — and no way of knowing
just how widespread it is.
Maya, the transgender co-ordinator
working for Phoenix Plus, tells me that
a few months ago she was violently
raped by a stranger she met in a club
who she believes spiked her drink. I
ask if she reported the incident to the
police and she scoffs.
“If I went to the police station they’d
laugh in my face and they wouldn’t
do anything. Once I was arrested and
spent a few hours in a police station
and I heard so many insulting things
about transgender people while I was
there. The police hate
people like me. They
think that if I’ve been
raped it’s my fault.”
Her story preys on
my mind as I visit the
stylish Mono Bar and
the busy Central Station
club. Inside, I discover
they look like any
European gay venues.
But the difference is
they’re hidden away
like a dirty secret. Their
exteriors aren’t draped
with rainbow flags and
to enter you have to
pass through heavy,
unmarked doors and submit yourself
to a thorough airport-style security
check. It’s difficult to relax. In Central
Station I watch a drag show and see
men dancing and even kissing in what
seems like a care-free, uninhibited way.
But I can’t forget the stories I’ve heard.
I’ve no idea how much danger I’m in
but I don’t stay out late.
THE NEXT DAY I sit down for an in-
depth chat with Evgeny Pisemskiy, the
director of programmes for Phoenix
Plus. He’s 40 years old, tall with long
hair and has piercing blue eyes. We
chat in private in my hotel room.
Evgeny was diagnosed HIV positive ›
JANUARY 2018 69
18 years ago, at a time when he was
still trying to suppress his sexuality as
a gay man. The diagnosis prompted
what he describes as a huge crisis but
he somehow found the strength to
begin attending an HIV support group,
where he met other gay men, including
George, who’s now his partner. This
allowed him to begin to express and
explore his sexuality. “After I found
support, I decided it was important for
me to support others,” he says.
In 2006, he set up Phoenix Plus,
which helps gay and bisexual men
who are HIV positive by organising
peer-to-peer support, producing and
distributing leaflets with information
about antiretroviral therapy, and
running the oldest website in Russia
devoted to HIV. The organisation is
supported by the Elton John Aids
Foundation (EJAF), which not only
provides funding but expertise gleaned
from years working with other similar
groups around the world.
As Evgeny explains, EJAF can’t have
any direct presence in Russia. “Any
work the Foundation did directly
would be interpreted as trying to
demolish and destroy our institutions.
In Russia, being gay and HIV are seen
as Western imports and diseases. The
risk of being blamed for bringing in a
FIGHT: Evgeny
Pisemskiy who is one
of the people leading
the battle against
ignorance over HIV
70 JANUARY 2018
foreign disease is very high.” One of Phoenix Plus’s priorities cubicles where men can have sex. But
is distributing self-testing kits to men who are too nervous there’s one major difference: unlike in
to be tested at a clinic or community centre. If they receive a most Western saunas, condoms and
positive result, the organisation provides support, help and lubricant aren’t handed out on entry.
guidance — and encourages them to access treatment. In fact, I can’t see them anywhere.
I spend a day accompanying the group’s staff as they I accompany Ilya, a 21-year-old
distribute the kits. I go with them to one of the few Phoenix Plus volunteer, as he circulates
pharmacies willing to take part in the programme, where around the bar area engaging men in
interpreter Yury asks for a pack. It all seems very simple — conversation and offering them HIV
and comes with a surprising lack of moral judgment from self-testing kits. He’s adept at winning
the assistant. around the men and breaking through
We move on to a cruising ground for gay men in China their resistance. But I’m still shocked at
Town Park. Here, men sit on benches and pick up other men how many initially refuse to take a test
to take home for anonymous sex. It’s cold and depressing because they don’t believe HIV exists.
and, perhaps unsurprisingly, the men approached don’t Many of them say they’ve watched
want to engage in conversation about testing for HIV. YouTube videos of Russian orthodox
This is a place of deep shame and they don’t appreciate priests calling HIV a conspiracy of
having any attention drawn to them. Instead, we go to Voda, Western drug companies.
a gay sauna where men As Ilya engages them in
can meet for casual patient encouragement,
sexual encounters away I’m struck by his
from the view of the commitment and
general public. Inside, I passion to the cause.
take off my clothes and
I ’M SHOCKED
wrap a towel around my AT HOW MANY TO FIND OUT WHY
waist. As I pad around
in the slippers provided,
MEN REFUSE there’s so much
misunderstanding
I discover Voda is like TO TAKE A around HIV in Russia
any of its Western TEST. PRIESTS I chat to a 29-year-old
counterparts, with a former journalist, Boris
steam room, sauna and
TELL THEM HIV Konakov, who was born
whirlpool spa, as well IS A WESTERN in Tyumen, in Western
as a labyrinth of private CONSPIRACY Siberia. He came out as
gay and HIV positive on
World Aids Day 2016.
Since then, like many of
the gay people I’ve met,
he hasn’t been able to secure work
and has been banished to the fringes
of society. He’s now a full-time activist
and runs an HIV awareness campaign
for gay and bisexual men.
As he shares his story of abuse
and persecution, he’s anxious and
uncomfortable. Tremors in his hands
hint at the horrors he’s lived through.
Boris tells me there’s very little
representation of gay people in Russia’s
mainstream media. And as so few
Russians speak English, and their
language uses a different alphabet,
it’s very difficult for people to access
information from foreign websites.
There used to be one small gay
magazine, called Queer, but that folded
10 years ago. And since then, President
Putin’s anti-gay propaganda law of
2013 has forbidden the Russian media
from doing anything to “promote”
homosexuality.

“If we really want to tackle the HIV
epidemic and educate people about
prevention, we need a number of
friendly journalists to write articles
and get material out there,” says Boris.
“But journalists don’t want — and are
afraid — to write about gay issues.
The problem is that the law is so
vague that you could be accused
of violating it just by giving
information. The law promotes
complete silence on this issue.”
Boris adds, however, that there
have been reports of the anti-gay
purges in Chechnya over the past
year. Maxim Lapunov, one of the
few men to survive the torture and
escape the concentration camps,
held a press conference to draw
attention to his ordeal and this
was covered by some news outlets.
Boris hopes this has “broken the
blockage” and will encourage more
reporting about issues affecting
LGBT+ people. In the meantime,
the HIV epidemic among gay men
remains “invisible”, he explains.
His use of the word reminds me of
something Evgeny said earlier that
day. “From time to time, Phoenix Plus
organises medical seminars for doctors
and nurses and we always ask the same
question: what can we do to halt the
epidemic in Russia? The doctors say we
need drugs, treatment and condoms,
but I say these aren’t the main things.
We can stop the epidemic only when
we eradicate stigma around gay
people.”
In that moment it strikes me just
how simple it is; we already have
the tools to eradicate HIV, but they
amount to nothing in the face of moral
prejudice. If we can end homophobia,
we can put a stop to the spread of HIV
among gay men. And if we can wipe
BACK IN THE
USSR: Matt found
archaic attitudes
in Russia
RUSSIA
WORRIES: Former
journalist Boris
Konakov
SASHA SAYS
SOMETHING I
HAVEN T HEARD
WHILE I VE BEEN
HERE: I AM
PROUD TO BE
GAY. I VE TOLD
EVERYONE
out the stigma around HIV in general,
we’ll have an opportunity to stamp out FROM RUSSIA WITH
the virus once and for all. LOVE: Sasha Pshunetov
and Vlad Kotov look
forward to the day
AS I APPROACH THE END of my trip, I they’ll get married
feel worn down by some of the horrors
I’ve heard and how bleak the situation is. But I try to cling to “Yes,” says Sasha, as Vlad nudges his
some hope. shoulder affectionately. “We dream
I feel encouraged when I meet Sasha Pshunetov and Vlad about this.”
Kotov, a sweet couple who are both just 19. Sasha is from And then Sasha says something I
Vladikavkaz, near Chechnya, while Vlad is from Bryansk, haven’t heard in all the time I’ve been
near Belarus. They were introduced by mutual friends here. “I’m proud that I’m gay. Everyone
at a nightclub in June. While Sasha is HIV positive and knows. I told everyone in my school.
undetectable, Vlad is HIV negative. He tells me that he was My close friends were in shock but
“warned” about Sasha’s status before they met but educated they didn’t turn their backs on me.”
himself about what it meant and wasn’t put off. As he speaks, I catch a glimpse of
In the future, the two young men plan to rent an hope for the future. And this is what I
apartment and move in together. When I ask if they’re in hold on to as I prepare to leave.
love, they laugh bashfully. “We love each other but we are I was terrified of going to Russia
not ‘in love’,” says Sasha. “Being in love is a short-lived but while there I met courageous,
emotion, but to love someone means to go through different inspirational people who’ve been
stages and still feel the same. We’re committed to a long- willing to sacrifice their careers, family
term future together.” relationships and place in society to
I tell them about the period during which I grew up in the fight for what they believe is right.
UK, when there was much misunderstanding and hysteria So, yes, the situation is dire and
around HIV, and explained Clause 28, which wasn’t too requires a major political shift but if
dissimilar from Putin’s anti-gay propaganda law in that it that does happen, things can change.
forbade anyone employed by local authorities from doing And with so much passion being
anything to “promote” homosexuality. channelled into organisations such
I tell them that I never imagined how much things would Phoenix Plus, I can’t see how this can
change in a few decades, that gay men in Britain can now fail to win through in the end.
fully integrate into society and we even have equal marriage.
Their faces brighten and they seem encouraged. I ask if one For more information on the Elton John
day they’d like to get married. Aids Foundation, visit ejaf.org
JANUARY 2018 71
BAND OF
BROTHERS
M
ashrou’ Leila have had an
exhausting few months. In
June, the five-piece Lebanese
alt-rock group were banned from
performing in Jordan, a year after
a previous ban was overturned. In
September, a concert in Cairo turned
sour as the authorities launched a
crackdown on LGBT+ people after
two concert-goers waved rainbow-
emblazoned flags in support of Hamed
Sinno, the band’s gay lead singer.
When I speak to him on the phone,
the group have just come to the end of
a six-week tour in the US and Canada
where they packed concert halls in San
Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia and
72 JANUARY 2018
Montreal, with songs from their third
album, Ibn el Leil (which translates as
Son of the Night). Over the past few
months, the schedule has been packed
and the pressure intense.
“I kind of just woke up right before
your call,” Hamed admits. “I’m so sorry
if I’m ranting and incoherent. I forgot
what I was on about. OK, what were
you asking me? Right, Cairo.”
Cairo. It’s undoubtedly the most
serious subject the band faces at
the moment; their concert at the
Egyptian capital’s Festival City Mall in
September sounded the starting gun
for a programme of police entrapment
of gay people, with at least 60 arrests
logged since then and reports of
victims being subjected to forced anal
examinations — classified as torture by
Human Rights groups.
It sounds horrifying, but 29-year-
old Hamed seems relatively unfazed.
“It was pretty bad. It still is very bad,
it still is something that I’m always
thinking about — I mean we haven’t
had a single show over the past two
months where we haven’t brought that
up on stage, and we’re still trying to do
whatever we can.
“But at the same time it’s just so
profoundly unsurprising. I can’t
pretend to be surprised by the
appearance of heteropatriarchy.”

HAMED SINNO, THE FRONTMAN OF LEBANESE
ALT-ROCKERS MASHROU’ LEILA, TELLS
ATTITUDE ABOUT THE DEPRESSINGLY
REPETITIVE CRACKDOWN ON GAY MEN IN
PARTS OF THE MIDDLE EAST, WHY HE’S NO
MORE IMPORTANT THAN HIS STRAIGHT BAND
MATES, AND ABOUT SOME OF THE IGNORANT
PICK-UP LINES HE’S HAD TO ENDURE
WORDS: JACK MAY
He almost laughs with despair. “It’s
always been there. This is just another
incident where queer brown bodies are
used to justify a government’s agenda.
It’s basic homonationalism.”
AS FOR THE BAND
M E M B E R S themselves, it’s easy to
see why they’ve become something of
a cultural flashpoint. With the backing
of Haig Papazian on the violin, Carl
Gerges on drums, Firas Abu Fakher on
guitar and Ibrahim Badr on bass guitar,
Hamed sings exclusively in Arabic, but
the group’s sound is a kind of indie
rock that doesn’t feel at all unfamiliar
to Western listeners. It has the melodic
MASHROU’ LEILA
“ I C A N ’ T D E A L W I T H G O I N G O N D AT I N G
A P P S A N D S E E I N G P E O P L E TA L K I N G
A B O U T T H E I R R AC I A L P R E F E R E N C E S . I
H AV E N O P AT I E N C E F O T I T A N Y M O R E ”
lines you’d expect from the best bits of
The Killers, the more anthemic parts
of Coldplay, or the rock-facing electro
of groups such as Hurts. But when I ask
Hamed if he’s tempted to experiment
with a more obviously “Middle
Eastern” sound, he quickly dismisses it.
“That’s such a motivated writing of
history, to do away with the things
that we deem ‘inauthentic’, as though
cultural exchange necessarily means
DISMISSIVE: Hamed Sinno colonialism.”
sings exclusively in Arabic
He adds: “I would just like to see a ›
JANUARY 2018 73
MASHROU’ LEILA
world where Arab musicians in general
could be treated as musicians and not
as ‘Arabs’ first and foremost. When I
wake up in the morning I’m thinking
about writing and lyrics and chord
progressions, and that really is my
entry point to the world. That’s what I
want to do: make music.
“I wish people would ask us questions
as though they understood that our
individual experiences could not
possibly reflect an entire region. People
ask us questions such as: ‘What’s it like
being gay in the Arab world?’
“I have no idea how to answer that
because it seems to me to be absurd to
go up to someone in the US and ask:
‘What’s it like being gay in America?’
What state, what class, what ethnicity,
what age, what city even? We just
assume that we can paint over the
Arab world in a broad brush.”
For Hamed, the interest his sexuality
often generates can overshadow the
equally interesting stories that the
other members of the group have
to offer. “I often feel what ends up
happening is that the sensationalism
around my sexuality ends up almost
pushing their equally valuable
narratives out of the picture. The idea
of four, privileged, heterosexual males
having to live through homophobia
because of their politics as allies is
something that’s fascinating to me.
“I find it interesting that people
would stick around for 10 years and
still stand behind me on stage and
agree to this. Who the fuck wants that
shit?”
74 JANUARY 2018
“I’D LIKE TO SEE A WOLD WHERE
A R A B M U S I C I A N S A R E T R E AT E D
AS MUSICIANS, NOT AS ARABS,
FIRST AND FOREMOST”
Hamed even goes as far as to say
that he doesn’t feel he fits within
the LGBT+ community. By his own
description he’s a queer, brown, Arab,
femme, loud, shallow person, and that
poses challenges.
“So often people don’t understand
that our experiences as, say, gay men
are not uniform. The experiences of
a white gay person are so different
to the experiences of a gay person of
colour and so often those differences
are ignored.
“I can’t deal with going on dating
apps and seeing people talk about their
racial preferences. I have no patience
for it any more.
“I don’t know how to say this without
sounding crass,” he continues. “Let’s
just put it this way: every now and
then I find myself in bed with someone
who repeatedly insists on reminding
me of my ethnicity and I find that
fucking strange.”
The prejudice can be absurd, too.
“One person came up to me at Pride
in Toronto last year and called me a
‘terror bear’,” he reveals.
“While trying to start a conversation
with me, he calls me a terror bear!”
Turning to an experience in London,
Hamed adds: “This Israeli guy kept
trying to make out with me and would
keep bringing up the Arab-Israeli
conflict as though he was trying to
solve it through our sex life, which was
also fucking weird.”
RETURNING TO THE BAND’S
music and the question of where they
go next, Hamed says: “I have no idea.
When we wrote the album, we thought
that it would be way too alienating for
anyone to relate to.
“In a lot of ways, it was about my
experience of mourning my father’s
death. And I thought that wouldn’t
resonate with anyone.
“Then I realised I was thinking about
my father and being in clubs all the
time with one song being about toxic
masculinity, another about language
and gender, and one being about the
government raiding gay clubs, and so
on. I didn’t think it would resonate
with anyone, but it did.
“So, I have no idea about how the
next album will function. I know we’re
preoccupied with the current global
situation — and people retiring to
rather tired nationalisms around the
world, be that in the UK or the USA or
the Middle East. I’m sure that stuff will
find its way in there.”
Ibn el Lei is out now
 ...AND ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN
MERELY PLAYERS — UNLESS, THAT
IS, YOU ARE A MAN PORTRAYING A
WOMAN, OR VICE VERSA. THREE DRAG
QUEENS AND A DRAG KING FROM
AROUND THE WORLD TELL US WHAT
THEIR ART MEANS TO THEM
AS TOLD TO: ANTHONY LORENZO
PHOTOGRAPHY: FRANCISCO GOMEZ DE VILLABOA

o some, drag is simply a comedy routine by some

bloke in a bad wig, lip-syncing on the stage of a
gay pub. But even the most basic of drag queen
performances is, at heart, a political statement.
The very act of a man breaking away from
gendered expectations by wearing a dress, wig and
make-up, while parading around to applause from a crowd
of men who love men, can be seen as a revolutionary act of
social and cultural defiance. Even if it only takes place in
your local boozer.
When you factor into the equation the power of a
person’s cultural identity, and the often repressive societies
that we as LGBT+ people grow up in, it can be read as an
even more potent statement on individuality and identity.
As Attitude takes a look at queer culture around the world,
we meet four inspiring artists whose identity and love of
performance combine to create a tour de force of drag. ›

76 JANUARY 2018
 WORLDWIDE DRAG

JANUARY 2018 77
 SHANE, 26, FROM AMERICA

THE ELEMENTS THAT DICTATE HOW I NAVIGATE THE

QUEER WORLD, as everyday me and as a performer, are
the facts that I’m a non-binary gender-fluid
person, and a mixed-race foreigner. These
things impact me most because they’re the BEING ASIAN FROM AN IRISH AND JAPANESE
things that set me apart the most, even within BACKGROUND in California is no big deal. My identity
the queer community: being mixed-race and as a person of colour barely crossed my mind in my
queer and weird — in a good way. youth. But coming out, and trying to navigate the
world of gay dating as an Asian person, was extremely
difficult. This is why the stereotyped ideas that
people have of Asian men are
important for me to explore.
EVEN MY OWN VIEWS TOWARDS ASIAN PEOPLE were People’s racial preferences
shaped by media representation, but I actively work to are not spontaneous. When
re-educate myself and rewire the way I think about race. you observe the multi-layered
The limited selection of Asian characters seen on TV history of the way people of
and in movies paints such a narrow picture of what Asian colour are shown in the media,
people are able to be and to achieve. on the news and on television,
Asian women are seen as either pure, innocent China you will begin to recognise
dolls or as seductive dragon ladies. Asian men might be where people get their
martial artists, but are usually depicted as undesirable, stringent ideas of race from.
socially inept goofballs. And the majority of the time
all Asians are just nerds. As we all constantly consume
inaccurate depictions of people of colour through media
from childhood onwards, we form highly skewed views.
I work really hard to counteract this embedded racism
through my work, hosting queer nights. I place high
importance on making spaces for people of colour,
and other oppressed groups, to represent themselves.
My monthly night, The ShayShay Show, regularly hosts
line-ups made up completely of people of colour, and
the vast variety of talent obliterates the static moulds the
media has made for us.

I’VE BEEN SO LUCKY. My parents clocked-on early

that I was going to become a queer little boy. I don’t
know if they expected me to become a non-binary
gender-fluid drag queen
but luckily they’ve been
behind me all the way. I WANTED TO DO THEATRE IN HIGH
SCHOOL, but it soon dawned on me that
there were never going to be any roles for
someone like me. I did my degree in sociology,
which enabled me to look at society through
a critical lens. I studied gender, ethnicity, and
took classes that dissected popular culture,
music, film and television. It gave me an
anthropological mind-set that totally dictates
the way I think about the world around me —
and the nights I put together.
The thing I most want to get across to
everyone is this: everything you think of as
normal has been made up. All the “natural” or THE ASSUMPTIONS
“automatic” things, such as race and gender, I SEE ABOUT DRAG
have been made up by the society we live in. QUEENS, and even
And the more I travel, the more I realise there the assumptions I
is no normal. had myself before
starting, were that
they were mean. If I can dispel that notion with my
small interactions with people, if people can be
stripped of their stereotypes, it helps them open their
minds to other possibilities.
Maybe if they see their own child leaning towards
queer things, maybe that tiny moment could help a
child have an easier time growing up. ›

78 JANUARY 2018
WORLDWIDE DRAG
JIDE SALAMI, 49, FROM NIGERIA

I WAS ENCOURAGED TO ENTER DRAG IDOL in 2010. I

didn’t do too well but I got a reaction from the audience
I wasn’t expecting. I went away for a year, developed
the act, went back the next year… and won.
When I was a kid in Nigeria, which has conservative
religious-based values, I used to drag up when my
parents were out. One day I was doing it on my front
doorstep, which I called my stage, to make kids laugh
and a relative saw me.
They told my parents that night and my father went
absolutely crazy. The relative who told him had to hold
him back from beating me with a stick. 
They stood there having this conversation, with me
not knowing what they were talking about. My dad
was saying, ”What if he becomes one of those,” but
wouldn’t complete the sentence. And the relative was
saying: “No, he won’t become one of those.”
As a 10 year old who had no notion of gender or
sexuality, I was transfixed by the pantomime that was
going on, even though there was danger attached to it. 
Eventually, my dad got his way and beat the living shit
out of me. I didn’t touch drag for more than 30 years.
I ended up as a Wall Street financier until I realised I
needed to find myself again.
My friends who encouraged me to enter Drag Idol
could obviously see it in
me, but I’d suppressed it
because of that childhood I’M A CROSS-DRESSER. I love changing
trauma. With drag I found the representation of my gender for
myself again. performance and entertainment. I am a
drag queen. That’s something that’s as
intrinsically a part of my DNA as my 10
fingers and two eyes. It is not mocking
women. Nobody decides what their
gender is. You are a manifestation of
a cluster of DNA. I didn’t know what a
drag queen was at 10 in Nigeria. I’m not
trying to take anything away from a cis
woman’s femininity, I’m expressing my
own. Only ignorance leads people to
believe that drag mocks women.
THE HISTORY
OF EVERY
CULTURE on the
planet reveals gender-fluidity and trans people. The fall
into strict binary seems to have followed the advent
of Judeo-Christian/Islamic religions, which interfered
with gender-fluidity as a natural order. It’s never been
the most dominant way to be, but has always been as
important to culture as heteronormativity. Roman, Hindi,
Western, African… we have always been here. I found
myself after 30 years because nature made me this way.
Gender-fluidity is the past, the present, and it will be our
future. What was interrupted was acceptance. 

80 JANUARY 2018
 WORLDWIDE DRAG

GIN, 26, FROM LONDON

I STARTED PERFORMING ABOUT TWO

YEARS AGO. The Glory in London was
having a competition, I needed the money
and I wasn’t doing anything else. I didn’t
win, but I fell in love with the whole process
of becoming someone else. I came up with
Gusher because I wanted to do an Usher
parody and my name’s Gin. Go figure!
Recently, I’ve gone into other characters.
Generally, I do black males: Mario, Usher,
Prince. I try to make sure I only impersonate
black male artists because I’m Mexican,
Jamaican and Bermudian.
I’m my own Bermuda Triangle!
I’ve been reading a lot about Afro-Latinx
lives, and being part of that ethnic minority
group, means there is a natural affinity. I’d
like to
do more
I’VE NEVER MUCH IDENTIFIED Mexican,
WITH MALE OR FEMALE Bermudan
PRONOUNS. Sometimes there and
is a sense of relief when I’m Jamaican
referred to as “they”. There is a artists.
huge weight attached to “she”.
All the things people project
on to you, what they assume
you’re like. So many of the
assumptions that come with
“she’”don’t ring a bell for me,
and I’ve always felt that way.
However, I must also say
that there is a definite sense
of strength I feel in being a MY DRAG EXPLORES MASCULINITY: the way men
woman and, ultimately, it’s are entitled, sure of themselves, cocky. I perform those
important for me to be “she” character traits on stage, and it’s funny because people
and “they” together.  go crazy for it. I had lots of positive feedback from my
Who I am is not constricted first few performances. It’s only recently that people
to one identity. have understood that part of what I do is to critique
masculinity. I want to play on that. There are stereotypes
about black men that also need exploring. I’m not doing
anything special on stage: I’m stripping, but to a body that isn’t
mine. We have to remember it’s all made up. We play into the
constructs all the time. I do it on stage so people see that. ›
 TROY EZRA, 29, FROM OXFORD

I STARTED DANCING WHEN I WAS THREE

YEARS OLD. It was all I wanted to do. I went
to dance school at 16, graduated at 19 and
have worked as a dancer ever since. Music
makes me so happy and I’m happiest when
I’m dancing. I never
knew that it could be a
career, it never actually I’D SAY THAT FREIDA IS 70 PER CENT ME.
crossed my mind. My I’m always gonna be the dancing clown.
dad drummed into me: As Freida, I’ll do and say things I wouldn’t
“Be an electrician, be a usually. If I go to a club as Troy, I’m that
plumber, do something friend who’s for ever single. But Freida, oh
practical.” my goodness.
I’ve tried to incorporate Freida’s
confidence into my every-day life but it
doesn’t feel right. I feel as if part of the
character is the hair, the nails and the cat
eyes.
I SEE MY FAMILY
ALL THE TIME,
we’re really close.
But I found it hard to connect with some of the older
males in my family when I was younger — I didn’t want
them to know I was gay. In fact, I haven’t come out to
my family. They just know. Tits and glitter will do that.
It’s none of your business what people think of you
anyway. I do this for me.

THE NAME CAME TO ME

when I was working the bars
at Block 9 at Glastonbury. I
wanted something that said,
“Hello world, I’m black!”
I entered Jonny Woo’s
Lipsync1000 contest for a
laugh, and ever since it’s
just been going. People say:
“Wow, I didn’t know you
could have a career doing
IT’S ALL VERY
drag.” But my old friends, and
WELL DANCING
my mum, say: “That’s just you,
TO KATY PERRY
with a bit of make-up on.”
and Gaga, but I
don’t relate to it.
For me, it’s about
bashment, garage, Beyoncé.
But don’t get me wrong, I’m a gay
man from an Irish, Dominican and
Jamaican background. I love the
Spice Girls. And Steps!

PEOPLE SEE MY ETHNICITY AND SEE MY NAME

and expect my work to be politial. But my pieces
aren’t directly political. I’m not going to do a piece
about Donald Trump or Theresa May. We want to
be in the same lane as everyone else. [It might not
work] having white queens doing a pop song and
then me coming on to do spoken word about being
black. People need to hear that, of course, but I’m
performing music that I enjo

82 JANUARY 2018
 WORLDWIDE DRAG

JANUARY 2018 83
 JANUARY 2018
WORDS: JOSEPH KOCKARAIN

84 JANUARY 2018
CLEAR VISION
The streetwear resurgence is still going strong in
menswear, with plenty of our best-loved Nineties
and Noughties brands enjoying a revival of epic
proportions. Vision are the latest to indulge our
appetite for vintage sportswear, having created a
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Having emblazoned the brand logo over all
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sleeved polos, cagoules or tracksuits — they’ve and topman.com as well as at
also remained true to their heritage of being Topman stores

a premium sportswear brand from southern

California, while keeping their underground HAIR AND GROOMING: James Oxley using
Bumble & Bumble and Bobbi Brown
skate-scene aesthetic fresh. It’s time to think: MODEL: Phoenix Blu at IMG Models
what would Sporty Spice do? FASHION ASSISTANT: George Douglas-Davies

JANUARY 2018 85
 Joey wears jacket,
£220, by Wood
Wood, polo top,
£20, by ASOS,
t-shirt, £15, by
Topman, cap,
£65, by New Era

TOTA L :
£320

Who said the high street wasn’t

cool? Here are our top picks of
what’s in stores right now
PHOTOGRAPHY: BENJAMIN WHITLEY
FASHION: NICK BYAM
LAYER UP WITH POLO
TOPS OR SHIRTS
UNDERNEATH T-SHIRTS
FOR MORE OF A
PUT-TOGETHER LOOK

Joey wears t-shirt,

£50, by Polari,
shirt, £140, by
Billionaire Boys
Club, trousers,
£145, by
Soulland

TOTA L :
£335

JANUARY 2018 87
 THE LATEST
FRED PERRY
COLLABORATION
IS WITH THAMES
AND FOLLOWS ON
FROM SUMMER’S RAF
SIMONS COLLECTION

Joey wears
sweatshirt,
£85, polo, £70,
trainers, £75, all
by Fred Perry X
Thames, trousers,
£85, by
Fred Perry

TOTA L :
£315

88 JANUARY 2018
 Joey wears
jacket, £269, by
Whistles, shirt,
£60, by Weekday,
polo, £120, by
Wood Wood,
joggers, £25, by
ASOS, trainers,
£140, by Nike
Re@WÍTV

TOTA L :
£614

WEEKDAY IS NEW TO
THE UK HIGH STREET
AND IS UNDER THE
SAME UMBRELLA AS
H&M AND COS
 Joey wears
pullover, £145,
by Carhartt WIP,
rollneck, £75, by
Kappa Kontroll,
trousers, £55,
by Weekday,
trainers, £250, by
Filling Piece

TOTA L :
£525

GROOMING: James Oxley,

using Bumble and bumble
and Bobbi Brown
MODEL: Joey at IMG Models
FASHION ASSISTANT:
George Douglas-Davies

90 JANUARY 2018
Summer has well and truly disappeared in London with everyones winter garments varying in the spectrum
of the ‘Black Pantone’. Imagine yourself half way round the World to Rio’s endless sunshine, suring and
partying with the locals lighting up the streets. Independent Leaders fall 17 collection keeps this spirit alight.
Independent Leaders most commonly known as the ‘Urban Resort Wear’ brand is vamping up it’s edge,
stepping away from it’s usual surf scene and sliding into the skatepark zone, a famous sport recognised in
Brazil. In almost every skate park there is highly vibrant use of colour created by talented street artists. Like
us, they are making a statement. Our personality as a brand, inspires us freely in each item, brightening
the mood while walking the pavements during winter outside of Rio. Be sure to check out our latest
photoshoot, in a heavily graitied skate park based in London with two easy on the eyes models / pro
skaters Christian Arno and Darius Trabalza.
This season due to popular demand we listened to our Leaders and have transformed streetwear staples
into our collection, bringing to you seven striking Sweats. Each unique design takes you back to the
lifestyle that you can’t help but take on board when you are exploring the sights of Ipanema, The Favela’s or
the ever daring Amazon Rainforest.

With much pleasure we are introducing our new must have Bomber Jackets! We currently have three
exclusive eye catching styles, which can be worn tailored to your shape, or for the street wear over sized vibe.
However you want to style your day our versatile jackets will add a burst of colour and keep you on trend.
Winter may be here but our prestigious swimwear range lives on with nine new swim short prints and two
eccentric swim briefs, for jet setters catching that summer somewhere.
Also this winter we are collaborating with London Street Artist “Arthur Rambo” to design one of a kind
skateboards. Sign up to our newsletters online to be kept updated with special oers, including the chance
to win one of these skateboards coming soon!!
www.independent-leaders.com
#SpiritOfRio #FollowTheToucan #BornInBrazil
 STYLE UP YOUR GOOGLE SMARTPHONE
Google are celebrating the release of their new Google Pixel 2 in style by enlisting 10 young
British designers to make beautiful cases for the smartphone. The designers include Ryan
Lo, Charles Jeffrey, Ashley Williams, Sadie Williams, Nicopanda, Bobby Abley, Marques
Almedia, Mimi Wade, Dilara Findikoglu and Art School. The Pixel 2, on sale exclusively
at Selfridges’ accessories hall, comes in two sizes and boasts unlimited cloud storage to
ensure you can take as many high-res selfies as you want. The camera is so good it can
even take razor-sharp pictures in the dark, enabling you to take pretty photos on your oh-
so pretty phone at any time.

Available exclusively at the Selfridges accessories hall

TOUCH IT
Diesel are shaking things up with a line
of touchscreen smartwatches. The Diesel
On Full Guard has seven dial options, each
`W hYZTY TR_ SV ^`UZÍVU e` j`fc YVRceÄd
T`_eV_e EYV dTcVV_ YRd a]V_ej `W Wf_ WVRefcVd
too including visual tricks, such as a cracked
dTcVV_ hYV_ R _`eZÍTReZ`_ Zd cVTVZgVU [fde
e` ^R\V j`fc YVRce Uc`a Z_e` j`fc de`^RTY
hYV_ j`f dVV Ze R_U hVReYVc Í]eVcd eYRe
TYR_XV hZeY eYV T]Z^ReV A`hVcVU Sj 2_Uc`ZU
Your monthly fashion need-to-know HVRc #!š j`f TR_ U`h_]`RU Raad eYc`fXY
8``X]V A]Rj de`cV EYV @_ 7f]] 8fRcU h`c\d
WORDS: JOSEPH KOCHARIAN hZeY S`eY ZAY`_Vd R_U 2_Uc`ZU aY`_Vd

diesel.com

CLEAN SLATE
Everyone hates the term, “new
year, new you” but let’s face
it, you’re going to be at the
gym, doing dry January and
channelling your inner health
guru for a few weeks before
your resolve wears off. If you’re
working on your well-being
and all-round MOT, investing in
some grooming gear that will
last throughout the year might
be a resolution you can stick to.
Cornerstone have a simple
automated system in which
you pick an array of shaving
products that are delivered
directly to you. Starting with
a personalised razor with
your initials, you can tailor the
service to your shaving rituals
and nuances, even adjusting
the frequency of the delivery
depending on how hairy you
like to get. They’re basically
doing all the hard work for you!

cornerstone.co.uk

92 JANUARY 2018
 ASOS AND GLAAD
TEAM UP WITH
TOMMY DORFMAN
ASOS has teamed up with GLAAD and 13
Reasons Why star Tommy Dorfman for a
powerful new collection. With prices starting
from £7, the eight-piece unisex line includes
jersey basics and jewellery with the “&” symbol
that represents GLAAD’s Together Movement,
which takes a stand against the discrimination
faced by communities such as Muslims,
immigrants and LGBT+ people. Teaming up
with global powerhouse ASOS, GLAAD’s simple
and effective message of everyone coming
together deserves to be heard loud and clear.
Our exclusive interview with Tommy, when
we met him at the launch dinner in LA, is
on attitude.co.uk if you want to read more
about the project.

asos.com

JANUARY 2018 93
LAY IT
ON ME
Layer up and keep
adding to leave every
part of you warm
PHOTOGRAPHY: MARK CANT
FASHION: JOSEPH KOCHARIAN
Opposite page: Rafael wears top,
£18.95, at Beyond Retro, denim
jacket, POA, at Rokit Vintage,
necklace, €149, at Chupi, shorts,
£95, by Ron Dorff
This page: Vito wears shirt, £185,
by Burberry at Matches Fashion,
top (worn underneath), £350, by
Balenciaga at Matches Fashion

JANUARY 2018 95
Rafael wears
hooded polo
shirt, £115,
polo top (worn
underneath), £89,
both by Lacoste
Vito wears
jumper, £595,
by Fendi

JANUARY 2018 97
Vito wears leather jacket,
POA, leather trousers,
POA, blazer (worn
underneath), £1,270,
top, £155, shoes, POA,
all by DSquared2
 Rafael wears jacket,
POA, by Bobby Abley

JANUARY 2018 99
Vito wears jacket,
£250, hoodie,
£110, joggers,
£90, all by Diesel
Vito wears coat,
£2,300, trousers,
£495, scarf, £585,
trainers, £535, all
by Balenciaga

JANUARY 2018 101

Rafael wears jacket, POA, teddy
bear harness, POA, trousers,
POA, all by Bobby Abley
102 JANUARY 2018
Rafael wears jacket, £199.95, by
adidas, hooded crop top, €250,
by Astrid Andersen, beanie, £350,
by Vetements at Selfridges, Solo3
wireless headphones, £249.95, by
Beats by Dre at Apple
Rafael wears nylon camo
jacquard parka with
Givenchy embroidered
on hood, POA,
multipocket jacket (worn
underneath), POA, camo
shirt, POA, multipocket
trousers, POA, trainers,
€1,197, all by Givenchy
 Vito wears “I Love
You” beanie, £210,
by Raf Simons at
Selfridges

104 JANUARY 2018

 Rafael wears jacket, £199.95,
dY`ced“$**&S]RT\eVTYÍe
chill shorts (worn underneath)
£29.95, all by adidas, hooded
crop top, €250, by Astrid
Andersen, bumbag, £27, by
Eastpak, black socks, £5 for
aRT\`WÍgVRe>DhYZeVd`T\d
(worn underneath) stylist’s own,
trainers, £670, by Dior Homme,
beanie, £350, by Vetements
ReDV]WcZUXVdD`]`$hZcV]Vdd
headphones (worn around the
neck), £249.95, by Beats
by Dre at Apple
 Rafael wears puffer
jacket, £1,453, by
Moschino, shorts,
£39.99, by adidas

106 JANUARY 2018

Vito wears puffer jacket (worn
off the shoulders), £1,065, by
Moncler at MR PORTER, tracksuit
jacket, £59.95, shorts, £39.99,
eVTYÍedY`cedh`c_f_UVc_VReY
£29.95, all by adidas , “I Love
You” beanie, £210, by Raf Simons
at Selfridges
A adidas adidas.co.uk
Arela arelastudio.com
Asos asos.com
Astrid Andersen astridandersen.com

B Balenciaga balenciaga.com
Balenciaga at Matches Fashion
matchesfashion.com
Balenciaga at Selfridges selfridges.com
Beats by Dre at Apple apple.com
Beyond Retro beyondretro.com
Billionaire Boys Club bbcicecream.eu
Bobby Abley bobbyabley.co.uk
Brooks Brothers brooksbrothers.com
Burberry at Matches Fashion
matchesfashion.com

C Carhartt WIP carhartt-wip.com

Chupi chupi.com
Cornerstone cornerstone.co.uk

D Diesel uk.diesel.com
Dior Homme dior.com
Dsquared2 dsquared2.com

E Eastpak eastpak.com
Ekria ekria.com

F Fendi fendi.com
Filling PiecesÍ]]Z_XaZVTVdT`^
Fred Perry fredperry.com
Fred Perry X Thames fredperry.com

G Givenchy givenchy.com
Gucci gucci.com

K Kappa kappa.com/uk
Kenzo kenzo.com

L Lacoste lacoste.com
Les Basics lesbasics.net

M Maison Mihara Yasuhiro at Harvey

Nichols harveynichols.com
Marks & Spencer marksandspencer.com
Moschino moschino.com
Moncler at MR PORTER mrporter.com
Rafael wears top,
N New Era neweracap.co.uk £150, by Kenzo, long-
?Z\VRe@WÍTV`WÍTVT`f\ sleeved pilot top (worn
underneath), $59, by
P Polari polaripolari.com Rufskin, jeans, £250, by
Diesel, belt, £225, by
R Raf Simons at Selfridges selfridges.com Balenciaga at Selfridges
Rokit Vintage rokit.com
Rufskin rufskin.com

S Sonia Rykiel soniarykiel.com

Soulland soulland.com

T The Cooper Collection thecoopercollection.lc

Topman topman.com MODELS: Rafael Perez at
Next Model Management
V Vision visionstreetwear.com Vito Basso at IMG
Vetements at Selfridges selfridges.com GROOMING: Josh Knight at
Caren, using Bobbi Brown
W Weekday weekday.com and Bumble and bumble
Whistles whistles.com FASHION ASSISTANT:
Wood Wood woodwood.com George Douglas-Davies

108 JANUARY 2018

NEW FOR MEN
YOUR DAILY SKINCARE RITUAL
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WELLMAN.CO.UK

David Gandy

Made in Britain

From Boots, Superdrug, supermarkets, Holland & Barrett, health stores, pharmacies
*UK’s No1 men’s supplement brand. Nielsen GB ScanTrack Total Coverage Unit Sales 52 w/e 17 June 2017.
 Max wears
clothing
and trainers
throughout,
by adidas

MAXI-MMMM
MAX EMERSON
P112

{ E X E R C I S E // N U T R I T I O N // S P O R T S // A D V I C E }
MAGNUS HASTINGS

JANUARY 2018 111

 MAX
FACTOR
WITH A FILM, A BOOK AND
A WEB SERIES ON THE
WAY, THERE’S MORE TO
UNDERWEAR MODEL AND
INSTA-STUD MAX EMERSON
THAN MEETS THE EYE
PHOTOGRAPHY: MAGNUS HASTINGS
STYLING: NICK BYAM
AS TOLD TO: MATT CAIN

Tell us about your fitness routine.
What does it take to get a body
like yours?
Erm, water and sleep! No. Common
sense? I don’t know, there’s not just
one thing, it’s like running a theatre;
there is not one thing you can do that
makes it successful, you have to do
a thousand things, just regularly, to
maintain your shape.
So what are the most “I GUESS PLAYING
important things you do,
out of those thousand?
DUMB COMES
Work out for an hour a NATURALLY TO ME”
day. Eat a salad once a
day. Usually that should cover it. Well,
if you work out a lot then you can eat
all the carbs and crap that you want
because you’re burning it off. I think
a lot of people have a very sedentary
lifestyle, so I’m really lucky that in my
job I’m constantly on the go, walking
non-stop. I think it just comes down
to your everyday habits. When you go
to the gym don’t screw around when
you’re there; actually sweat, push
yourself. Set yourself goals and measure
progress if you can in some capacity.
And what are your fitness goals? Is
it about the way you look, and what
your body looks like in pictures?
At the gym it’s totally the Cindy
Crawford: “just do it for whatever looks
good” thing but for the most part,
it’s more fun to go surfing and hiking
and running and stuff like that. Then
you just kind of notice over time that
you’re getting better at something.
And if you’re not, then you find ways
to improve that. I think the most
important thing is to make sure that
you’re doing everything properly. You
don’t need a trainer to teach you how
to do something, but at least YouTube
the type of lift you’re doing before you
do it, so that you’re not screwing up
your back. Make sure you’re stretching,
getting massaged, doing all that good
stuff, because I think that maintenance
is half the battle.
Has fitness always been part of your
life, were you a sporty kid?
No. I was the lazy one in my family,
both of my brothers were on
competitive soccer teams, I was always
super clumsy. I was terrible at team
sports, I was easily intimidated because
people could just knock me over, so
I played a lot of tennis. When I was
in the closet in high school and I was
having my anxiety attacks, I’d just go
out and run 10 miles until I could
barely walk, then you don’t really have
the energy to be anxious.
Max wears
clothing
and trainers
throughout,
by adidas
You mention anxiety, how does
fitness relate to your mental health?
I realise that everything on Instagram
is kind of make-believe; none of that
really bothers me. But I think I’d have
the reverse of dysmorphia that girls get
where they feel like they’re too big: I
always feel like I’m too small. In the gay
world, everyone’s all muscular. Lucky
for me, I just don’t feel right if I’m not
exercising or eating well. I get grumpy,
I get moody… so more than anything
else I just do it for peace of mind, and
all the rest kind of falls into place.
You say Instagram’s all “make-
believe”, but some social media
influencers have been attacked for
promoting unattainable body images.
Is it harmless?
I think it’s always been around, people
are very quick to blame each other for
anything that’s wrong in their lives,
there’s not a lot of taking responsibility
for feelings. I think it’s just built into
our language too, like, “You broke
my heart! You did this.” Like, no,
everything that happens to you is your
own responsibility. I try not to worry
too much about that stuff, but I make
it very clear that I use Facetune — if
you’re jet-lagged you can blur under
your eyes. I don’t want to sit there ›
JANUARY 2018 113
 “I JUST DON’T FEEL
RIGHT IF I’M NOT
EXERCISING OR
EATING WELL”

114 JANUARY 2018

and take 50 million pictures. But at
the same time, you have to feed the
animals, so to speak; people want to
see perfection, they want to think it’s
here and now, and they don’t want to
think it’s edited, so you kind of have
to play the game in order to get the
following in the first place, so it’s a bit
of a vicious cycle.
You’ve recently produced a film and
you have a book out. Do projects like
this confound people’s expectations?
Do people assume that you’re dumb
because you’re a model, and most
of your presence in the public eye is
about your bod and appearance?
Playing dumb is so much fun though. I
just did a play in Syracuse where I was
a leading man, straight role, intelligent
guy, and I felt like that was more of
a stretch for me to play a normal
masculine human being than anything
I’ve done before. I guess playing dumb
comes naturally to me. I got through
college as a shirtless door guy at
Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister
stores. I always think of these kind of
things as the different parts that you
play, so if one is a stereotype you can
embrace to an extent, it’s up to you
what you do with the platform you get
as a result of that.
You’ve been open about your decision
to go sober. Why did you have to cut
alcohol out of your life?
I didn’t [laughs]. I’m really fortunate in
that I didn’t have to. It just started as
this, “Oh, let’s do this for a month.” So,
I just cut everything out, including sex,
and at the end of the month I realised
that my mood was very stable and I
was working towards having better
sustainable relationships, so I just
decided to stick with it. I was getting
ready to fundraise for my film Hooked,
so I thought it would be a great carrot ›

JANUARY 2018 115

at the end of the stick, to incentivise
myself to be superproductive and
not cut any corners by just cutting all
of it out until I raise the money for
the film. And then I said, “Holy shit,
I have to make a movie,” so I decided
to wait until I had made the film, and
now I still have to fucking sell it! I’ll
have a glass of wine or something
to celebrate.
I understand that you’ve got a new
project coming out next year, Drag
Babies, could you tell me about that? GROOMING:
Michelle Harvey
Oh, it’s so much fun! It’s three
Insta-studs, for lack of a better
description — Johnny Sibilly, Pablo broken down in a really fun way. I director had the lip sync outfit for me
Hernandez and myself — learning the think at first glance, people see drag as which was this sort of horrendous pink
ins and outs of the art of drag from men taking the worst parts of women tennis skirt and tennis jacket and it
drag superstars Peppermint, Chi Chi — a lot of bitchiness and cattiness — just wasn’t working. Chi Chi looked
DeVayne and Miss Sugar Cane. Mac but that’s really what you’re seeing on over at me and was like, “Uh-uh honey,
sent us three Mac artists and it’s a the reality show, that’s what they’re you ain’t going out like that.” She’d be
10-episode web series, not so much a fabricating to give you a story. It’s my drag auntie at this point, so Chi Chi
tutorial, it’s more of an exploration of actually a great community. We each was getting me dressed while
what drag is, piece by piece, whether had drag mothers, and it was treated Peppermint was fixing my hair — it
it’s different parts of the makeup, like a team. My drag mother was Miss takes a village, it’s really sweet!
putting on pads, doing the tucks, Sugar Cane and she was off helping
movement, performance, little things someone with something and the @maxisms

116 JANUARY 2018

MUSIC TO YOUR EARS
Now you can say goodbye to those annoying
wires while listening to your music, thanks to
Snugs True Wireless earphones. Combining
two separate Snugs tip earpieces,
h Jabees earbuds, these
ough and sweat-proof
Bluetooth earphones, wh
£299.95, deliver rich, deep sound and
provide a secure fit as well as comfort when exercising,
commuting or relaxing.

nugs.com

ACTIVATE
THE LATEST TECH, GEAR AND NEWS
WORDS: ROBIN MILLS

REVIEW

MERRELL AVALAUNCH
TOUGH MUDDER
Review by Attitude’s
Adam Duxbury

Whether you’re a Tough

THE BEST BET
Best’s Boot Camp just got, ummm bester, by launching its second site. The
Kensington studio, in West London, offers the same personal approach to group
exercise we’ve come to expect from the boot-camp experts. On top of the full
range of strength equipment, sessions feature Skill Run treadmills, which are
exclusive to Best’s and reach speeds of up to 25kmph and an incline of up to 25
per cent — enough to test even the fittest of runners. For those of you who love
a good ride (steady now), a 45-minute BESTCycle® session is just the ticket. Slip
into the cleated cycling shoes to give you that extra edge for this dynamic class
plus each session features a dedicated weighted track to tone the upper body.
And after triumphing in the class you can unwind in luxury with lavender-
scented ice sweat towels and L’Occitane shower products. Classes from £20.
Mudder virgin or a seasoned
pro, you probably know that
this is one gruelling event
where every little advantage helps. Being in great
shape is a good start but when you’re slogging
your way through 10 miles of mud and scaling killer
obstacles, it’s all about the shoes. I decided to lose
my Tough Mudder cherry recently and bought
a pair of Merrell’s official shoes to help out. The
Avalaunch, costing £109.99, are the latest in the
brand’s line-up to have been designed specifically
to deal with the worst the course can throw at
you. Ventilation, a quick lace-up system and an
integrated EVA foot bed are useful but I found
the bellows tongue, to keep debris out, and the
padded outsole, to deal with rogue rocks, the most
helpful. Even though I’d waded through waist-deep
mud, plunged into icy water and run mile after
mile, my feet still felt fine. As for the rest of me...
com

bestsbootcamp.com

JANUARY 2018 117

THIS MONTH, MATT LISTER. REVEALS SOME OF THE HIDDEN CA
IN THOSE DISHES YOU LOVE AT YOUR FAVOURITE RESTAURA

How many times have you stared at a menu in your favourite

RECIPE FOR thought: “What should I order that’s not going to completely c
DISASTER hour slaving away in the gym?” Maybe we sometimes don’t ev
it at all, and that could be worse.
A restaurant’s main objective (we hope) is to serve amazing tasting food, but th
overly constrained by what can go into that food to make it taste unbelievable.

• A palm-sized piece of meat cooked in a restaurant usually has at least another

calories of fat, absorbed during cooking.
• A cup of pasta or potatoes would range from 180 to 200 calories, but if there’
other source of fat that can easily double.
• Even vegetable dishes can contain large amounts of hidden calories, in the form “IT DOESN’T TAKE
high-fat additions such as butter, oil or cheese. LONG TO RACK UP
• And as for desserts, a good rule of thumb is most contain anywhere from 25 to A FEW THOUSAND
calories per tablespoon.
CALORIES IN JUST
The point I’m trying to make here is that it doesn’t take long before you’ve mad ONE SITTING”
a few choices that can rack up to several thousand calories in just one sitting — a
that’s going to be a bitch to work off again; we’re talking more than an hour’s wo
on the rowing machine. Then there are the times where you think you’re making
decision but you are completely wrong. I have been choosing the teriyaki chicken
Wagamama for years; it’s practically chicken, with rice and raw vegetables. But w
this article I discovered the 16g of sugar swimming in the sauce! After that I look
the other chains where I’d been stuffing my face and found I was wrong quite a f
even get me started on the 800kcal milkshakes at GBK!
Remember, all the nutritional information for each meal or dish is available eit
in the restaurant, so don’t be afraid to ask or check for yourself. Much of your pr
or in the gym comes from your diet, so make good choices if at all possible.

LEE STEGGLES, CO-OWNER

OF CROSSFIT SHAPESMITHS
CLAPHAM JUNCTION
I got involved in CrossFit via a blog I started in 20
which covered topics such as barefoot running. I
had just “retired” after 12 years of boxing as my main sport and the blog got me
hooked on CrossFit. I went from a 70kg boxer to an 85kg CrossFitter, eating cle
and qualifying for various elite European competitions. In April 2016, along with
two friends, Richard Dean and Brett Pateman, I set up CrossFit Shapesmiths. Ou
watchwords were community, coaching and facilities. We recently celebrated
Pride month with our own diversity celebration and can boast coaches who hav
trained everyone from Olympians to office workers, and who have mentored
people through life-changing injuries and illnesses.

crossfitshapesmiths.co.uk

118 JANUARY 2018

#1 CHI N - UPS
GRAB hold of the pull-up bar # 2 D RAG C UR L S
with your palms facing you or
inwards and hang from the bar
with straight arms.

KEEPING your elbows narrow,

pull yourself up until your chin is
above the bar.

SLOWLY release to return to the

hanging start position and repeat.

NO we’re not setting our wigs in curlers here. Grab a

{ M AT T ’ S J A N U A R Y W O R KO U T P L A N } dumbbell in each hand.

A R MS
FROM straight arms, palms facing forward, “drag” them
up your body as high as you can, towards your armpits.

GET A SHOT IN THE ARM KEEPING tension, lower them back down slowly and
repeat.
#3 S KUL L CRU S H E R S

LYING flat on a bench, take a barbell in both hands and hold it with
straight arms above your head.

BENDING only at the elbow, take the weight behind your head until
your elbows pass 90º.

PRESS the barbell back to the start position and repeat.

BONUS
EXERCISES
O N O U R i PA D
VERSION!

JANUARY 2018 119

 WA NT A B I T M OR E

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AWAY FROM WHAT IS TRULY YOU. I’VE ALWAYS BEEN BUT IT’S AT A BREAKING POINT NOW, SO I FEEL LIKE THIS PLACE. I NEED TO TOUCH ON RACE, SEXUALITY, DISCRIMINATION
PRETTY MUCH TRUE TO MYSELF” WINQ.COM WEIGHT HAS BEEN LIFTED” WINQ.COM AND EQUALITY BECAUSE IT’S WHAT I KNOW” WINQ.COM

The new winter issue of Winq showcases our Men of the Year – eight men operating at
the top of their fields and representing the broad spectrum of gay life. The line-up includes
comedian Stephen K Amos, singer Marc Almond, writer Patrick Gale, travel presenter Ian
Daniel, designers Viktor & Rolf, Russian activist Evgeny Pisemskiy and business leader Lord
John Browne. Top of the bill and our Man of the Year is former world champion swimmer
Mark Foster, who chooses our pages for his first magazine interview since coming out.
OUT NOW

C U LT U R E | T R A V E L | L I F E | S T Y L E | B U S I N E S S | W O R L D | H O M E

WIN Q.COM
 HOW DO YOU FEEL
ABOUT YOUR BODY?
I don’t think anyone
likes their body. If you
stare at something long enough,
it gets boring and you start to
see imperfections.
LEWIS OAKLEY, 25,
DIGITAL EXECUTIVE DO YOU FEEL
COMFORTABLE

“I have no idea NAKED?

I love being naked. In
what I weigh — I fact, I think we should all be
can’t be bothered naked more. If London had a
nudist beach, I’d be there all
to step on the time.
the scales”
WHAT MADE YOU
WANT TO DO THIS
SHOOT?
There are virtually no
bisexual men in the media, and
current figures show bisexual
men are prone to higher rates
of depression, anxiety and self-
harm than those of any other
sexuality. If me taking my kit off
shows other struggling young
guys that you can be bisexual,
confident and happy in your
own skin, then it’s worth it.

WOULD YOU BE PUT

OFF BY A PARTNER
WHO HAD A BETTER
BODY THAN YOU?

REAL
No. I’d get to touch it and do
naughty things to it!

B O DI E S
DO YOU THINK THE
GAY COMMUNITY
PUTS PRESSURE
ON GAY GUYS TO
{ O P E N U P A B O U T YO U R B O DY }
“LOOK GOOD”?
I think that’s down to individual
experience. My friends and I
have very different tastes, so I
think there is always going to
be someone for everyone to kiss
at the end of the night. I think
{ HEIGHT } gay and bi guys have more time

5 FT 11 IN // 1.8 M
to think about what attracts
them and get specific about it.
Whether you’re into twinks,
bears, gingers or geeks, even the
hottest guys are going to get
rejected because they just
aren’t someone’s type. You just
have to learn to deal with
rejection and celebrate when
you find the people who do
want to kiss you.
VICTOR HENSEL-COE

IF YOU’D LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR REAL BODIES, EMAIL ADAM.DUXBURY@ATTITUDE.CO.UK

JANUARY 2018 121

 THE ATTITUDE GUIDE TO THE WORLD

sporting
chance
p124

JANUARY 2018 123

 be a good
sport
TORONTO IS FAMOUS FOR ITS SHOPPING AND DIVERSITY BUT, AS THE
SPORTS-AVERSE MARKUS BIDAUX FOUND OUT, IT’S ALSO HOME TO
CANADA’S MOST PASSIONATE SPORTS TEAMS AND FANS
i
tapped my hatchet’s head
against another man’s, as is
tradition before battle. Then
I pivoted and, with a firm two-
handed grip on the handle, I
raised the little axe over my head, the
back of the blade almost touching my
back. I lunged one foot forward, swung
the weapon over my head and released
it. I grinned ear-to-ear as I heard the
sound of a blade sinking into wood and
saw that I’d hit the bullseye.
I was in Toronto, the home of the
124 JANUARY 2018
Backyard Axe Throwing League (BATL).
Since its start in a backyard in 2006,
BATL has grown and now has indoor
locations across Canada and the US,
and has even crossed the Atlantic to
London. It’s a lot like darts, but with a
simpler scoring system – and throwing
a spinning axe through the air provides
much more of a workout.
I was at BATL’s warehouse location
on the outskirts of downtown Toronto
with five other UK journalists. After
our tutorial from the doppelgänger

of Seth Rogen (complete with the
Canadian actor’s distinctive chuckle),
we had a couple of practice rounds,
followed by a knockout competition, in
which I made it to the final — only to
completely lose my lumberjack skills.
I was born and raised in the Canadian
prairies (more than 1,000 miles west
of Toronto), so I’m fully aware of
Canada’s passion for sports — after all
we invented ice hockey, popularised
lacrosse and basketball, and do quite
well in the Olympics.
But growing up, watching or
participating in team sports was never
my thing. I was shy and much more
comfortable around the arts. Although
I’m familiar with the inside of a gym,
it’s been a while since I played any
sport. And even though I didn’t win
the axe-throwing competition, this was
a thrilling start to my sporty trip to
Canada’s largest metropolis.
After my defeat, we took a short
taxi to the Distillery District. The
19th century buildings once housed
a whiskey distillery, but now the
OFF THE
WALL: pedestrian-only cobbled streets are
Toronto’s
home to art galleries, design shops and
LGBT+ sport
fans at Striker microbreweries. We toasted the winner
with a clinking of glasses filled with gin
and tonic mixed at the Spirit of York
Distillery.
This new distillery only opened this
spring and features a 360-degree bar
with botanicals growing above it. The
space is almost a museum; we were
surrounded by walls of glass, which
gave us a glimpse of the distillery
rooms producing the gin and vodka.
Our hosts tried to convince me
that I’d like some of the city’s many
sports bars such as Real Sports, with
its kaleidoscope of screens showing
ARTY BUILDINGS:
Ontario’s capital
is decorated by
dramatic street art
a dozen sports all at once, or the
memorabilia sports bar and restaurant
dedicated to Canada’s best-loved ice
hockey player Wayne Gretzky.
But it wasn’t until I went off on my
own and discovered Toronto’s new
gay sports bar that I found a place
where I wanted to watch men’s diving,
gymnastics and wrestling.
Striker Sports Bar is Toronto’s first
official LGBT+ sports venue, born of
the frustration husbands Oliver and
Vince felt at not being able to watch a
hockey match in Toronto’s gay village.
Their sleek bar has semi-industrial
elements, a glossy black-tiled wall
and big screen TVs dotted around.
The handsome bar staff pull pints in
basketball-style jersey uniforms and
the bar hosts regular events for dozens BATTLE AXE:
Try out a new
of Toronto’s queer sports teams. sport at BATL
If the sight of the Striker’s biceps-
W H E R E T O E AT
BRUNCH
Leña Restaurante
An Art Deco bar surrounded by turquoise leather stools is the focal point of this
downtown restaurant. The menu pays homage to Argentine cuisine and the sun-
drenched venue is perfect for a mid-morning course of grapefruit mimosas.
lenarestaurante.com
LUNCH
Kensington Market
This neighbourhood, a hipster and hippy hangout, is one of the coolest places in
Toronto. There are plenty of independent shops to keep you busy for hours, but
with so many restaurants you’ll be hard pressed to choose where to eat.
kensington-market.ca
DINNER
Nota Bene
This fine dining establishment is bright and decorated with timber beams and
graphic prints. The menu features exciting dishes, such as tree nut and scallion
pesto, pickled beech mushrooms and Nova Scotia lobster salad.
notabenerestaurant.com
›
JANUARY 2018 125
 WOLF
MAN:
Liam Kay,
in white

revealing bartenders and teams of gay

football, basketball and water polo
players doesn’t entice you, then head
to Church Street where most of the
bars are clustered together on.
This area is adorned with rainbow
flags — even zebra crossings and the
Royal Bank of Canada’s façade and logo
are striped in seven shades of Pride.
Toronto claims to be the most
multicultural city in the world — more
so than either New York or London —
and is the focus of Canada’s fashion,
media and business industries. So it
wasn’t too surprising to discover a
vibrant and diverse group of gay men
partying and watching drag shows in
packed bars on a Friday night.
Over the course of several days we
visited the state-of-the-art sports
facilities that were later used for
Prince Harry’s 2017 Invictus Games
and took part in some table sports and
arcade games at the Rec Room bar and
restaurant.
We were also taken to a Blue Jays’
baseball game, where we were
surrounded by some of the most loyal
and passionate fans in the world. Sadly,
I left the game with my distaste for
baseball intact.
That feeling dates back to a co-ed
game I played in my junior year of high
school, when a baseball struck me in
the groin, resulting in half the class
gasping then laughing at me, leaving
ON THE OPEN
MARKET: Enjoy
shopping at
Kensington Market,
above and below.
Left: Signatures at
the InterContinental
MARKUS BIDAUX / TRAVEL TORONTO
me never wanting to see a stitched
white ball again.
My trip involved experiencing
a lot of sports in a short space of
time, but it was broken up with a
tour of Toronto’s street art. While I
hate the tagging that some graffiti
artists do — which, as far as I can
tell, just involves crudely repeating
their moniker over and over again
— I do appreciate the work of skilled
muralists. The tour took in several
city blocks and ended in Graffiti Alley,
where artists are allowed to spray their
“ To r o n t o c l a i m s t o b e
the most multicultural
city in the world —
more so than either
N e w Yo r k o r L o n d o n ”
craft legally. There were some stunning
pieces on show and the work is
constantly evolving as one artist paints
over another, so no two trips there are
likely to be the same.
My final foray into Toronto’s sporting
scene was a trip to Lamport Stadium,
aka The Den, to see the Wolfpack.
Toronto Wolfpack is Canada’s only
professional rugby league team, so
most of their games are played against
British teams such as Newcastle
Thunder, who flew over for the match.
My ex is a manic
football fan, to my
irritation. I never
understood the appeal
of watching overpaid
and this game proved me right.
Most of the crowd seemed to be
discussing the Wolfpack’s new player,
the mammoth Fuifui Moimoi from
Tonga; but it was number five, Liam
Kay, who attracted my attention.
Bearded, and with his hair tied in
a ponytail, fluttering behind him as
he propelled his impressive physique
across the field, he looked like a Game
of Thrones warrior who’d thrown on a
pair of rugby shorts.
The crowd’s enthusiasm was
infectious as the Wolfpack took a
comfortable lead in the first half. They
ended up winning 50–nil. Newcastle
went home with their tails between
their legs and I left having found a new
sporting idol.
The sun was setting as we filtered out
of the stadium. I peered south towards
Toronto’s most iconic landmark, the
CN Tower, which had a golden hue on
it as the summer day turned to night.
I thought to myself that I may not be
remotely sporty, but if ever I did want
to try to fall in love with sport, Toronto
would be the place to do it.
seetorontonow.com
W H E R E T O S TAY
INTERCONTINENTAL TORONTO
I stayed at the InterContinental
Toronto located in trendy Yorkville
neighbourhood, which is full of
excellent restaurants and high-end
shopping. My room was spacious
and classically decorated. My

athletes kick a ball mornings were spent swimming

around and pretend laps in the indoor top-floor pool
that looked out to the CN Tower,
to be hurt to get a
followed by breakfast in the elegant
penalty. I always told Signatures Restaurant.
him rugby is the sport toronto.intercontinental.com
I’d want to watch —

126 JANUARY 2018


ju st the
t i c ke t
AROSA, SWITZERLAND
For more than a decade,
Arosa, in the Swiss Alps, has
welcomed LGBT+ skiers for
Arosa Gay Ski Week. The
locals are so friendly that
they now fly the rainbow
flag in the centre of town
all winter long. The week’s
events include everything
from ice skating, classical
music concerts and gourmet
dinners, to a crazy drag race
competition and parties
such as Frisco Disco, the
White Snowball Party and
the Addicted Pool Party. The
area boasts 222km of ski
runs, with 70 blue runs for
novices and 14 black runs for
adrenaline junkies. And you’ll
need that cool mountain air
on your face after a night of
hard-core partying.
20-27 January
arosa-gayskiweek.com
©MIKE CRANE
EUROPEAN, FRANCE
European Gay Ski Week (EGSW) is the
only international gay ski event hosted by
a different ski resort each year. For EGSW’s
10th anniversary, guests are invited to
the French Alps and the world’s biggest
skiing region, Les Trois Vallées. This year’s
host village, Les Menuires, sits on a sunny
slope at an altitude range of 1,850m.
It offers visitors groups meals and daily
open-air après-ski, featuring live acts and
DJs to get the party started, leading into
evenings of fondue, cabaret and pool
parties. Legendary international club
nights will also be visiting from the UK,
US and Europe. With so much planned,
you’ll be lucky if there’s any time to hit
the slopes.
17-24 March
©EGSW
europeangayskiweek.com
THIS MONTH, WE PREVIEW
SOME OF THE WINTER’S
TOP GAY SKI WEEKS
WORDS: MARKUS BIDAUX
ASPEN, USA
In 1977, Aspen began hosting the world’s first,
and for a long time only, gay ski week. The event
started when skiers and ski clubs from California
and Chicago met on the slopes and partied
afterwards. It’s now one of the highlights of the
international LGBT+ calendar. Group meals,
après-ski socials, film screenings, comedy shows
and mountain-top parties punctuate a week of
skiing and snowboarding. Go and find out why
so many snow bunnies return year after year.
14-21 January
©MATT POWER
gayskiweek.com
WHISTLER PRIDE AND SKI FESTIVAL, CANADA
Snomosexuals worldwide party at the Whistler Pride and Ski
Festival in Canada’s Coast Mountains. An annual snowfall of
33ft leaves plenty of the white stuff along North America’s
longest ski runs, which are also home to inner tube sliding, dog
sledding and snowmobiling, while Whistler Village hosts après-
ski socials and parties for the bear, lesbian and circuit boy
crowds. The festival is part of the area’s Pride celebrations, so
you’ll get an even warmer welcome than Canada is famous for.
21-28 January
gaywhistler.com
JANUARY 2018 127
AT T I T U D E + H E R T Z

a wa l k o n t h e
w i l d s i d e i n Wa l e s
walkers who had descended from
SALLY SHALAM CONTINUES HER
the Pembrokeshire Coast Path inside
TRAVELS AROUND THE UK BY CAR, The Shed, a bright café.
WITH THE HELP OF LEADING CAR The harbour would once have been a
HIRE COMPANY HERTZ. THIS MONTH, busy little place. The curious remains
SHE VISITS PEMBROKESHIRE, HOME of brick hoppers are waterside
TO STUNNING COASTAL WALKS, CUTE evidence of a former industrial life,
used in the early 1900s to store road
HARBOURS AND VILLAGES, AND stone from a local quarry before
AMAZING LOCAL PLACES TO EAT — A loading on to ships. Now there was
GREAT WAY TO BEAT THE WINTER BLUES just the call of gulls and the wind
driving me indoors in search of coffee.
Reluctantly I passed on fish and chips
© KIM LEUENBERGER
along a peaceful lane, passing just
a house or two before reaching the
ruins of the medieval Bishop’s Palace,
enigmatic beneath a heavy sky, and
then the cathedral’s unmistakeable
red stone exterior. This early, and out
of high season, I had the cathedral’s
splendour almost entirely to myself.
Navigating a coastal course by
road to St Davids the previous day
had been easy. The hardest part had
been wrenching myself from the first

a
seal popped its head (clearly the main event – and not just
above the water in cod or haddock, but other seasonal
Porthgain’s harbour, QUAINT COMFORT: catches). I hadn’t eaten breakfast
instantly brightening a Above, Tenby long ago, a hasty bowl of yoghurt and
Harbour, below,
damp morning. Less than Penally Abbey, and
fresh fruit, at my hotel, Penrhiw, just
eight miles from St Davids, I’d turned right, House by Betty outside St Davids, on the westernmost
off the A487 at Croesgoch, and peninsula in Wales. I could
shortly after, reached the village of walk easily from the hotel’s
Porthgain. I stood on the harbour wall, front gates to St Davids
ignoring the drizzle until, eventually, Cathedral, hotel staff said.
© VISIT PEMBROKESHIRE

the wind picked up, sea and sky The rain was holding
© HOUSE BY BETTY

merged in blurry layers of grey, and off first thing, and so I’d
the inquisitive seal disappeared. grabbed the opportunity
I took refuge, then, along with while I could and walked

128 JANUARY 2018


© KIM LEUENBERGER
© VISIT PEMBROKESHIRE
overnight stop just beyond the jollity
of Tenby. Tenby’s ice-cream parlours
and souvenir shops are hemmed by a
centuries-old town wall and a harbour
where multi-coloured townhouses
brought defiant cheer. I’d left on
the A4139 for Penally, turning up
a hill past St Nicholas and St Teilo
Church, and arriving, moments later,
at Penally Abbey, a hotel of magical
seclusion, with a hilltop command
over Carmarthen Bay. Originally part
of the Pilgrims’ Trail to St Davids,
and home to an order of nuns, until
the Dissolution of the Monasteries,
it later became a private residence,
and what a home it must have been.
It is a chocolate box of treats. A Doric
column here, Gothic windows there.
From a flagstoned reception which
oozed antiquity a little bar glinted
through an ogee-arched doorway,
PROMOTION
NATURAL BEAUTY:
Manorbier Beach,
below, Pentre Ifan
burial site, and right,
St Davids Cathedral
© K M LEUENBERGER
I dined that evening at Twr y Felin,
Penrhiw’s nearby sister hotel. I found
a softly lit cocoon of a restaurant,
moodily dark tables, contemporary art
and a meal of piscatorial flavour and
utter finesse lying in wait in this far
flung corner of Britain’s coast.
Back in the driving seat and easing
out of Porthgain, it seemed right
to continue my odyssey by hunting
out the neolithic dolmen, or burial
chamber, of Pentre Ifan, 2017 being
Year of Legends in Wales. I’d stopped
“This early, and out of briefly in Newport for a steaming
high season, I had the bowl of cawl, packed with tender
lamb and vegetables at Blas café,
cathedral’s splendour
before the sat nav delivered me at a
almost entirely to myself”
lay-by with a signpost. A short walk,
then standing stones topped with
a 16ft capstone came into view, a
and the drawing room enticed with a strange and atmospheric spectre amid
fire, piano and coffee table books. In sodden fields.
the bedrooms, restrained elegance. Last stop, Narberth, east of
Modern country house and secret Haverfordwest, for antiques,
domain all rolled into one. homeware at House by Betty and for
From there, I’d stopped at Manorbier Ultracomida. Practically everyone had
whose castle glowered over a sandy told me about this deli, crammed with
cove. I’d pulled up again on the B4319 cured meats, jars of jewel-coloured
at Freshwater West, to take in the preserved vegetables and fresh bread
sweep of beach, where, in season, and, like everywhere else on this trip,
the Café Môr van serves lobster rolls it didn’t disappoint.
from the carpark. Final stop, before
St Davids, had been Solva, with its For more short breaks by car in the UK,
woollen mill, cafés and galleries. see hertz.co.uk/inspiredbritishbreaks
FA C T B O X
Pick up your car from Fishguard
Ferry Terminal, Goodwick, United
Kingdom, SA64 0BU, where Hertz
offer a meet and greet service.
inspired Tel: 01970 623029.
BRITISH Or pick up your car from
BREAKS your local Hertz location. See
hertz.co.uk for more details.
A Mercedes-Benz GLC Class SUV
I N PA R T N E R S H I P W IT H
from the Hertz Prestige Collection
would add sophistication and
© ALEX CATT
style to this short break.
JANUARY 2018 129
 our hearts
will go on
IT’S WHERE CELINE DION CALLS HOME AND
WITH ABUNDANT NATURE JUST HOURS AWAY,
NATHAN SPARLING — AKA NANCY CLENCH —
FINDS MUCH TO FALL IN LOVE WITH
m
ontreal has a smaller
gay scene than some of
the UK’s larger cities
but it sure knows how
to look after it. During
the summer months, Rue Sainte-
Catherine, which hosts the main strip
of bars, clubs and saunas, becomes
pedestrianised. Rainbow bunting lines
130 JANUARY 2018
the streets and most of the shops, bars
and restaurants — including the guilty
pleasure Tim Hortons — are decked
out in rainbow apparel.
Cabaret Mado is almost like a
theatre. It boasts an impressive stage
and a constant flow of performers
impersonating the big divas. As a drag
aficionado, I’m impressed. When I walk
in, Tyra Love is performing as Quebec’s
most famous native, Celine Dion, and I
have to do a double take just to check
that the real Ms Dion hasn’t dropped
in for a visit.
Despite most of the show being in
French, I still manage to understand
the premise of that night’s quiz —
guessing the artist behind the songs
played — and win a random shot.
I have to say, though, the gays of
Montreal need to scrub up on their
Kylie!
The celebration of life I experience
stands in stark contrast to the
inspiration behind the foundation of
the city, some 375 years ago.
Montreal was established to try to
convert native communities to Roman
Catholicism, and one of the first men
known to be prosecuted for that most
heinous of crimes — sodomy — was an
unnamed French drummer, who was
stationed in Montreal to protect the
priests. Legend has it he was given a
choice between death and becoming
GRAY MATTER: Hotel the city’s first executioner. Needless to
William Gray, left,
and, below, Nancy, in say, he opted to live and devote himself
green, at Le Drague to the role of killing others.
in Quebec City.
Main picture: the
The first recorded gay venue in
Montreal skyline Montreal was an “apple and cake
shop” where men met in
1869 to have sex. It’s one
of the lessons I want the
UK to learn from the city’s
history: sex and cake at the
same time can provide the
ultimate orgasm.
It was heartthrob prime
minister Justin Trudeau’s
father Pierre who pushed

through the law which decriminalised
homosexuality in 1969, and, for the
record, I think dad was the better
looking of the two. (But judge for
yourself on p52.)
Montreal had its own Stonewall
moment in 1990, when the gay
community fought back after a police
raid on the Sex Garage loft party. This
wasn’t the first case of police brutality,
and the Montreal community lined the
streets the following day to protest.
The activism ignited bonded
Montreal’s gay population and gave
birth to the city’s thriving scene, as
well as political advancements such as
pension rights and same-sex marriage.
The future remains bright for gay
Montreal: earlier this year, Montreal
Pride hosted the first ever Canada
Pride festival. Modelled on events such
as World Pride, Canada Pride attracted
more than one million visitors to the
city. I can’t think of anything better
than a million gays partying against
the backdrop of Montreal’s skyline.
When I visit, I have the privilege of
staying at the William Gray, a modern
and friendly hotel that nestles among
the charm of the historical buildings of
Old Montréal. Just a stone’s throw from
the gay district, it’s a must for anyone
who enjoys comfort in beautiful
surroundings.
On the Saturday evening, I take a
short boat ride across the St Lawrence
river to witness Piknic Électronik. An
electronic music festival that markets
itself to the responsible music lover,
this kicks off in the afternoon and
there are tunes, food and dancing until
the sun starts to set.
There’s a lot more to see in Montreal
and the best way to go about it is on
“There can’t be
anything better
than a million gays
partying in Montreal”
an electric scooter. These are
available from Dyad Cycles in
the centre of the city, for just
C$65 (£39) a day. With top
speeds of around 60mph, you can
feel the wind in your hair as you drive
down side streets and visit tucked-
away community gardens.
I take my scooter to the top of Mount
Royal, the mountain that gives the city
its name. With stunning views across
Montreal, you’ll appreciate the low
buildings, which distinguishes it from
the likes of Toronto or New York.
Leaving the scooter behind and
SPOUT AND PROUD: jumping on a train, a few hours later
Below, the Fontaine I’m in idyllic Quebec City, the only
de Tourny outside the
parliament building, walled town in North America. It
above, Le Drague, reminds me of my homeland, Scotland.
and top, the majestic
Terrasse Dufferin, all
I sit overlooking the St Lawrence River
in Quebec City in full green sequins and watch the sun
set before I decide
it’s time to check
out the talent.
Return flights to Quebec City aircanada.com
Hilton Quebec City hilton.com
Hotel William Gray hotelwilliamgray.com
Auberge L’Estampilles lestampilles.com
As in Montreal, the gay scene here
isn’t exactly the biggest, and the ratio
of saunas to bars is about 5:1, which is
slightly disconcerting.
Le Drague, the city’s only gay bar,
is quite the hotspot. I walk in to find
a salsa workshop, which seems to
attract an older clientele, but the
venue is quickly transformed into a
bustling cabaret hotspot just in time
for resident queen Stivy — a Gaga
lookalike — to host her weekly bingo.
If bears — I’m talking the animal
variety — are your thing, factor in a
day or two to visit the picturesque
Charlevoix region of Quebec. It’s a
foodie, nature-lovers’ paradise just a
short train journey from Quebec City.
When I visit, I’m led through some
trees to an opening in the forest,
where Denis, a self-proclaimed
bear-whisperer, ushers me up to
a treehouse. I watch as he entices
black bears with all kinds of food
and I get to see them in their natural
habitat. Denis talks to them and tells
me that when he goes on holiday he
has to spend time introducing his
replacement to the bears so they feel
comfortable in the feeder’s presence.
It’s the perfect end to a wonderful
trip that has left me appreciating just
why Celine loves Quebec.
explore-canada.co.uk
T R AV E L I N F O
SHUTTERSTOCK
JANUARY 2018 131
 ALL TICKETS INCLUDE ENTRY TO THE NIGHTCLUB

EVERY FRIDAY EVERY SATURDAY

FROM 6PM FROM 6PM

“Café de Paris can be spoken of in the same breath as

French luminaries Moulin Rouge and Crazy Horse”
+++++

0 2 0 7 73 4 7 7 0 0 c a b a ret @ c a fed ep a ri s. c o m w w w . c a fed ep a ris . c o m

We are changing the

way people see us

Our people set us apart

We do all the legal
stuff we always
did: Business
& Family.
In the heart of the city:
64 Clifton St, EC2A
Andrew Spearman T: 020 7426 0382
$6#DFLW\ODZ¿UPFRP
LGBT Family Law
 Your stories, lives, loves and struggles

S M A L L -T O W N
B OY
p134

man of
the month
p137

no place
like home
p138

joy ride
p139

a problem
shared
p140

buddy
brilliant
p143

table
for two
p144

stepping
out
p145
MARKUS BIDAUX

JANUARY 2018 133

small-town
boy
Growing up in traditional
Indiana as a gay boy with
a lesbian mum wasn’t
easy for Sean Faris,
but he’s now found a
home in London, where
he’s opening doors for
himself and others…
PHOTOGRAPHY: MARKUS BIDAUX
WORDS: TIM HEAP

grew up in Indiana, an incredibly conservative

state — even more so in the Eighties and Nineties
i when I was a kid. My family was always different
because my parents are fairly liberal, and that
sticks out in small traditionalist communities. Despite this,
I wasn’t super-familiar with what ‘being gay’ was, because
there were no examples of it around me.

That changed when I was 11. I’d just

Í_ZdYVU^jÍcdejVRc`W[f_Z`cYZXY
and my mum and my dad sat down
and explained they were divorcing
because my mother was a lesbian.
It was devastating — they weren’t
dVaRcReZ_XSVTRfdVeYVjhVcVÍXYeZ_X
like most people: they were separating
because they both liked chicks. My dad
encouraged my mum to live her life —
he’s an artist and has always been
inclusive towards gay people, despite
coming from a conservative family.
When word got out, the community
was pretty terrible about it. In school,
people would ask me “What does your
mum do?” — obviously, not referring to
her career, but what she did with other
women. I wasn’t out in high school,
but I was ‘gay by association’ because
of my mum. I was told she was going to
Hell, and I was going to Hell, things a
kid shouldn’t even have to entertain.
This was also around the time I
started feeling attracted to guys.

134 JANUARY 2018


Up until that point, I was actually
a pretty big skirt-chaser, but my
hormones kicked in, and the situation
with my own sexuality and my mum’s
became very complex, and I didn’t
know how to handle it. That was
when I started to internalise my
depression and act out against my
mum — I actually begged her to go for
gay conversion therapy after seeing it
on a TV show. I was in an incredibly
dark place, and I entertained lots of
terrible thoughts, probably more times
than I’d like to admit. I only became
comfortable talking about my feelings
a few years ago — I’m 35 now.
Part of the problem was that my
parents didn’t teach my sister and I
how to handle our family’s situation. I
vaguely remember them saying that we
didn’t have to tell people the truth if
we didn’t want to. I was uncomfortable
saying my mum was gay, but I didn’t
relish the alternatives either.
I had a couple of friends, Alex and
Adam, who stayed close, but lost
others. Some of my sister’s friends’
parents were uncomfortable with their
daughters sleeping over at my mum’s,
because she was a lesbian. I remember
one instance where my dad confronted
one mother, saying, “Well, are you
uncomfortable with her sleeping at my
house? I’m just as attracted to women
as she is: what’s different?”
I looked up to my father as a hero,
because even though his heart was
broken for a long time, he never
became a villain towards the LGBT+
community.
During school, I’d spend a lot of time
in the library, and one day discovered
you could do a student exchange and
go to another country. I liked the idea
of going somewhere else where no one
knew anything about me. Somehow,
we found the money and I managed to
go abroad to the West Midlands. A lot
changed during that year, and when I
returned home to start my senior year
of high school, I was ‘the kid who’d
lived in Europe’ rather than ‘the kid
with the gay mum’.
My parents went on to see other
people, and didn’t talk for a long time
because they were still heartbroken.
The only time they really had issues
was after the divorce when my mum
got into a relationship with a woman
named Carol. Now Carol is best
friends with my dad, but at the time he
saw her as trying to push him out of
the picture.
Carol had never really been in the
closet: she was a proud lesbian and
was the assistant director of the Kinsey
Institute at the time. While I was going
through an incredibly hard time with
^jdVifR]ZejYRgZ_XRXRjÍXfcV]Z\V
her in my life helped, especially as my
mum wasn’t able to be as out as Carol
was – this was before Ellen DeGeneres
came out on TV.
After college, I lived in LA for 11
years, and came out to my parents
while I was trying to make a living as
an actor there. Questions from well-
meaning family members were slowly
starting to draw upon whether I was
dating guys and I’d never cracked.
But I’d never correct them either, and
from that they assumed correctly that
I was gay.
I didn’t tell them because I knew the
news would spread quickly. My dad’s
one of those cheerleader types who has
to tell everyone how proud of his kid to experience living there, not just be
he is, but sometimes you don’t want a visitor.
your dad broadcasting that kind of To improve my chances of
immigrating, I decided to do an MBA,
and studied hard for three months
“I S
STARTED TO INTERNALISE MY
to get a really good score on the
DE EPRESSION AND ACT OUT AGAINST MY Graduate Management Admission
MU UM — I ACTUALLY BEGGED HER TO GO Test, which you have to pass to be
FOOR GAY CONVERSION THERAPY” able to apply for an MBA. I secured a
place on a course in London, at the
stuff to everyone, and his side of the same school where I now work as
family is very conservative. But there director of enrolment for an executive
was no ignorance and hate, and when MBA programme. Every day, I talk to
my parents separated, he told them all people who are more brilliant and
that they weren’t to say anything bad accomplished than me, but they’re
about my mother to me and my sister. missing one key piece of the puzzle,
He told our family, “If you act R_U:YV]aeYV^ÍXfcV`fehYReeYRe
differently to them, or show them any is — sometimes it’s an MBA.
less love, then you’ll never see my kids Outside of my studies, I became
again.” involved with the Kings Cross Steelers,
In 2011, I stopped pursuing my eYVÍcdeXRjZ_T]fdZgVcfXSjf_Z`_
dream of becoming an actor and team, because I wanted to have gay
joined an airline, after a friend told friends, but I didn’t want to get them
me they were hiring. Even though I’m by going to clubs or gathering a bunch
incredibly introverted, I moved up of Grindr dates that could become
to a leadership position very quickly, friends. I have a handful of friends
and I realised that I’m good at making in LA, but I never made them as
people feel better and meeting their effortlessly as I’ve done in London.
needs. I also learned that I wanted The people in LA just weren’t my
to move to London, having visited it tribe. When I go back to Indiana, I
during my exchange year. I came to don’t say “I’m going back home”. It
the city for 10 days by myself, and doesn’t feel like home, in the same way
cV_eVURÎReZ_deVRU`WdeRjZ_XReR LA didn’t. But London, while I’ve only
hotel. I cooked meals, and I even made been here two years, feels like home
friends I still talk with now. I wanted to me.
JANUARY 2018 135
 MARK AMES PRESENTS

PATHETIC EARTHLINGS PREPARE FOR 2018

TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE NOW

 s Cinema Paradiso. Exquisite
ime score composed by
heartbreaking dream.
tination?

of olombia. It’s such a sexy,

viv and Manhattan are
me because I work there
where I go for peace.
e at the moment?
my partner, Pedro, for
the most intelligent,
d kind-hearted human
et, and he never ceases
e and surprise me.
you go on a night out?
6RTY^`_eYhV ng days are behind me, so
of you guys, ou y theatre — Sadler’s Wells
find out what y Young Vic are my regular
ollowed by dinner
ktails.
go to Pride?
MITCH SE been to Pride in London
past few years due to
DIRECTOR/CHORE g away, but I try to make
WRIT Aviv Pride, Madrid Pride
w York Pride. I’m still
What’s your YReÎRX
Check emails, do some y on-celebrity has inspired
porridge and a double espre ?
the dog. Shave, shower (sin ans count? My dog,
I scr es me patience, loyalty,
What’s a nacity, forgiveness and
Unpredictable. Fun. Insp re. Taking him for a walk
Hilarious. Emo ng and evening reminds
l the roses” and breathe.
What made you get into gay hero?
I danced for everyone and an, it has to be Oscar
age of two. My weekly s a warrior who fought
performances before m nd wit for the right for
were carefully chore be true to themselves.
high ould you introduce?
What’s the latest b ek! People need to
Homo Deus, by Yuval Noah Ha balance, and job-
genius and his sequel (to Sapie one a chance to earn a
of Humankind) was life-chan to enjoy life.
included in ever ggest achievement?
What music are you listeni an Olivier Award in
Ella Fitzgerald, as research for m TZR]]jRdZehRdeYVÍcde
show The Rat Pack: Live From d. But I’m proudest
opens on 13 December at t d debut at the London
Haymarket (theratpacklivefro continuing to have a
It’s such a blissful experience: or all these years.
when being an entertainer mea ]WÍgVjVRcdWc`^_`h0
I would love to create
eriences for theatre
“MY DOG, ARCH explore telling
Rcd`_eYV
TEACHES ME PATIENC
g my own theatre
LOYALTY, DISCIPLIN
TENACITY, FORGIVENE
AND SO MUCH MOR
LEON CSERNOHLAVEK

IF YOU D LIKE TO BE A PART OF THIS FEATURE, EMAIL TIM.HEAP@ATTITUDE.CO.UK

JANUARY 2018 137

 E
WORDS: ADAM DUXBURY

{ LINCOLNSHIRE }

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If your man is romantic enough to go
down on one knee under the tree this
festive season, the new year may well be
the time for wedding plans. That means
finding the right date, a great venue and,
of course, the perfect florist.
And nobody knows stunning wedding
flowers better than NB Flowers — a
London-based florist whose clients
include Harrods and the Mandarin
Oriental Hyde Park hotel. That’s where
owner Neil Birks married his husband,
AS SWEET AS SCANDI surrounded by plenty of gorgeous
blooms. However, if love hasn’t come
NORDIC STYLE IS PERFECT FOR THE knocking, that’s no reason to deprive
FESTIVE SEASON — AND YOU CAN KEEP
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THE LOOK GOING WELL INTO THE NEW
YEAR WITH THESE ACCESSORIES at home. “Gone are the days of one mass
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says Neil. “Now it’s mixed flowers and
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eclectdesign.com
nbflowers.co.uk

Three tea light

houses, £40,
Leaf garland, £355, coxandcox.co.uk
theshopfloorproject.com

138 JANUARY 2018

J OY R I D E
VAUXHALL ADAM S
IT’S SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED AND PACKS A SURPRISING PERFORMANCE PUNCH
The Adam S is the most powerful version
of Vauxhall’s funkiest super mini,
intended as a lesser-spotted alternative
to the Mini Cooper or Fiat 500 Abarth.
While there are no stripes to
draw unnecessary attention to its
performance credentials, people in the
know will spot the larger alloy wheels
and beefier body styling and have an
inkling.
Those little nods say there’s a punch
within: at the heart of the Adam S lies
a turbo-charged, four-cylinder engine.
Boasting a compact 1.4l, it nonetheless
delivers a zippy 150PS — plenty for
something weighing just 1,178kg — and
provides a decent turn of speed: from
0 to 62mph in 8.5 seconds and on to
130mph.
Power is nothing without control,
though, and uprated sports suspension
comes as standard, as does a full high-
performance braking system.
At a gentle cruise you notice the light
and easy steering, and a ride that still
smothers bumps and potholes, despite
the sporty brief. The excellent Recaro
sports seats are similarly multi-purpose:
not only do they hug you firmly in place,
but they’re also seriously comfortable,
even on longer trips.
Our test car came equipped with
WORDS:
DARREN STYLES
EXTENDED RANGE
The Range Rover has always pushed boundaries
— the first on-off-road luxury SUV, for starters.
But the just-arrived, hand-finished, £168k
SVAutobiography model now sends it into the
limousine class. It’s big, very big, but it is clever.
Think of it as first-class travel, or a starter home.
landrover.co.uk
the excellent IntelliLink infotainment
system. It comes with a USB port,
Bluetooth connectivity and digital
radio, and also allows you to bring the
convenience of smartphone apps to the
high-definition 7in touchscreen. Just
download the compatible apps, plug
your phone in and they’re all there; the PREMIUM BOND
BringGo navigation app is particularly James Bond’s favourite mode of transport has
handy over unfamiliar roads. been given a makeover. The all-new Aston Martin
Press on and the Adam S comes alive. Vantage is a thing of modern beauty. With prices
That 1.4l engine picks up eagerly from starting at about £121k, when it goes on sale in the
second quarter of 2018, it’s about as accessible as
low revs, and whooshes forward on a
a supercar gets.
wave of turbo boost in the mid-range.
astonmartin.co.uk
It’s perfect for hauling out of tight
corners and for overtaking. Quickly, you
learn to keep it in the juicy power band,
flicking through the slick six-speed
manual gearbox, getting into a rhythm.
What’s most impressive is how
confidence-inspiring the Adam S feels.
The car’s short wheelbase makes it so
much fun on twisting roads: it’s
positively agile and hungry for more, as
a result of which, it’s impossible not to
warm to its eager personality.
HORSE POWER
The Design Museum, in London, is hosting a
Vauxhall Adam S // £18,305 // 1.4-litre
fabulous exhibition called Ferrari: Under the Skin
16v four-cylinder turbo // 150PS //
— a celebration of the supercar maker’s 70th
six-speed manual // front-wheel drive // birthday. All manner of the fast and furious are
0-62mph 8.5sec // 130mph // 57.65mpg on view across seven decades of manufacture.
// 139g/km Heaven for lovers of all things horse logo.
designmuseum.org
JANUARY 2018 139
a problem
shared
Got a problem? DR RANJ SINGH
and WAYNE DHESI are here to
offer their advice...
I recently started
a new job where
the office is male-
dominated and has
a macho vibe.
I’m not the most effeminate guy but I’m
definitely not “masc” either. While I haven’t
witnessed any homophobia, it feels like the
sort of place where it could appear. I’ve always
been open about my sexuality and I don’t
want to go back into the closet now. What can
I do?
SCOTT, BIRMINGHAM
¤WAYNE: Starting a new job can be
exciting but if you’re LGBT+, the idea of
meeting new people, with whom you’ll
probably spend a considerable amount
of time, can be nerve-wracking.
Recent research shows that 62 per
cent of graduates go back into the
closet when they enter the job market.
There are many reasons why people
choose to keep their sexuality a secret
when they start a new job and it’s
important that you realise what your
own motives are.
From what you say, you’ve already
made some assumptions about your
new workplace culture and fellow
employees. We make assumptions
based on knowledge we’ve previously
gained, which is a natural thing to do,
but it can sometimes cause us to judge
people and situations unfairly. You’ve
decided that it’s the kind of workplace
140 JANUARY 2018
where it wouldn’t surprise you
but focus on what you know;
WAY N E D H E S I ,
no one has been homophobic!
FOUNDER OF
Judge people on their actual
behaviour.
RUCOMINGOUT
Your fear that colleagues will
treat you differently could pre
you from being open, if you all
to. Whether you like to admit i
a way you’re already back in th
closet at work. The question yo
need to ask is: do you want to
stay there?
Chances are some of your
colleagues are also gay. How
do you know there aren’t
other people in the same
situation as you who are
simply apprehensive about
mentioning their sexuality
in your presence? They may
have made assumptions
about you as you did about
them.
Do you know if your workpla
an LGBT+ staff network? This w
a great way to meet queer colle
and gain the confidence to star
more open at work. If there isn
suggest meeting colleagues for
after work. It’s much easier to
about personal things in an inf
environment when everyone is
relaxed. Coming out doesn’t ha
start with sitting everyone dow
end with you making a huge s
One thing you must rememb
that you are protected if thing
go well. The Equality Act 2010
that LGBT+ people are protecte
from discrimination, harassme
victimisation at work. If you ev
you are being treated unfairly
of your sexuality, report it to H
Hopefully, you’ll never find yo
in that situation and, instead, y
begin to feel comfortable with
new workmates sooner rather
later.
 lost a lot of weight recently and I
n’t know why.
n eating normally and haven’t been doing any extra exercise but I’ve noticed
n dropping a few pounds. I’ve always been pretty slim but now I’m getting really
don’t mind too much, it seems to be giving me a bit more muscle definition, but
ork out why it’s happening. I think people are starting to notice and might be
worried about me, as if I’m anorexic or something. Should I be worried?

M, ABERDEEN

¤RANJ: While weight loss
can sometimes be very
welcome (especially at this
time of year when we tend
to over-indulge), it can be
a sign of a problem. This is
particularly the case when
it’s unintentional. Body
weight will naturally
fluctuate during
the course of
your lifetime.
However, if
DR RANJ SINGH,
you’ve lost
D O C T O R //
TV PRESENTER more than
five per cent
over six to
12 months
without
trying, look into
it. Sometimes we
lose weight because
we’re going through a
particularly stressful time
(such as changes at work or
at home), but this tends to
improve when things settle down.
If the stress is persistent, then
perhaps it’s time to speak to someone
about it. A friend, family member, or
local support or counselling service
may help.
Similarly, people who make a major
change to their diet (going vegetarian
or vegan) may notice the pounds
coming off without realising, but still
need to make sure they’re getting all
the nutrition they need. A chat to a
doctor or dietician could be the key to
sorting this out.
If you’ve got other symptoms, such
as tiredness, a change in bowel habits,
unexplained lumps, or lots of illnesses
and infections, it’s definitely time to
visit your doctor and get checked out.
There could be an underlying medical
reason for your weight loss and
there are a whole range of different
conditions that can do this — ranging
from hormonal problems and gut
disorders to cancer and HIV.
Likewise, if you think you might be
suffering from something such as an
eating disorder, then that’s even more
reason to see someone about it.
Eating disorders are on the rise,
especially in men, and are best dealt
with early, to break the cycle as soon
as possible.
In the meantime, try supplementing
your diet to see if this helps: eating
extra calories (ideally through
healthier foods) and making sure you
have enough vitamins and minerals
would be a good idea.
“IF
F YOU’VE LOST MORE THAN 5%
OFF YOUR BODY WEIGHT IN SIX
TOO 12 MONTHS, LOOK INTO IT”

IF YOU’D LIKE TO SUBMIT A PROBLEM FOR RANJ AND WAYNE TO ANSWER, EMAIL A FEW WORDS TO TIM.HEAP@ATTITUDE.CO.UK

JANUARY 2018 141

 Robin and Callum’s
friendship began when
they donned heels and
sequins for Priscilla:
Queen of the Desert
in the West End. They
cite (an undoubtedly
debaucherous)
“certain weekend in
Amsterdam” as their
C A L L U M , 2 7, relationship’s highlight.
DA N C E R They’ve yet to
have a big fall
ROBIN, 30, out, but let’s see
In a celebration of queer friendship, WEST END
PERFORMER if that changes
we ask best mates some telling questions and after they face
our interrogation!
find out just how well they really know each other
CALLUM ON ROBIN: ROBIN ON CALLUM:

Probably Tina Fey or Céline Dion.
WRONG! Tina Fey is closer than Céline — Robin’s answer
was “a lot of funny actors”
Me.
WRONG! Britney or J-Lo. Callum,
sweetie, you can’t compete
He loves a bit of Calvin Harris.
HALF A POINT! “Probably some awful
dance sh*t,” said Robin
Who’s hottest.
CORRECT! Remember: looks fade, boys
1
Who did he idolise Probably Britney Spears.
growing up? CORRECT! Not so innocent…
2
Who is his favourite J-Lo or Britney.
diva? WRONG! Bow down, bitches… It’s Beyoncé
3
What song does he over- Anything by Britney.
play before a night out? CORRECT! Of course
4
What can you never Which one of us is better looking.
agree on? CORRECT!

I don’t think he embarrasses.
CORRECT! “I don’t have one! I’m perfect,” said Robin.
A perfect oxymoron
Don’t think he has any secrets either.
CORRECT! *snooze*
5
What’s his most Stripping when he’s drunk.
embarrassing habit? WRONG! “Sticking my lips to my gums” — mind the
teeth is all we’ll say
6
What is his secret geeky Watching make-up tutorials. He’s not even a drag queen!
pleasure? WRONG! He says he doesn’t have one (we call bullsh*t)

7
To have his own talk show or comedy sketch show. What’s his greatest
CORRECT! Suitable for a “perfect diva” ambition?
8
When I stick my lips to my gums. What’s his pet peeve?
CORRECT! How. Absolutely. Disgusting
He’s already smashed it — he’s backing danced for Katy
Perry, Taylor Swift etc.
CORRECT! Katy Perry and Taylor Swift?
Me telling him off for this annoying lip thing he does.
WRONG! “When people smack their mouths!”

9
12. At what age did he 18.
WRONG! 11 — an early starter! come out? CORRECT!

10
Savage. Where is he likely to be Go-go dancing at some club.
HALF A POINT! “In a club” on a Saturday night? CORRECT! Shake what your mama gave you, Callum

A TIE! IF THIS WAS UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE,

CALLUM’S SCORE: ROBIN’S SCORE:
WE’D HAVE A SUDDEN-DEATH QUESTION.
6 /10 WE AIN’T, SO WE WON’T 6/10
IF YOU’D LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR BUDDY BRILLIANT, EMAIL TIM.HEAP@ATTITUDE.CO.UK

JANUARY 2018 143

 table
for
two HASSAN,
29, GP
Hassan and
Ciaran dined at
M Victoria Street,
London
What were you looking for on the
blind date?
CIARAN: Just to meet someone
either as friends or more if there was
a connection. I’m sick of apps, so
thought doing this would be fun.
HASSAN: I wanted to experience
something exciting, as I’m new
to London.
HYRe hVcV j`fc Ícde Z^acVddZ`_d0
CIARAN: He seemed nervous, but so
was I.
HASSAN: That he was shy, and I was
worried we would not get along.
H`f]U j`f YRgV dhZaVU ]VWe `c cZXYe0
CIARAN: Left.
HASSAN: Honest answer would be
swipe left; he isn’t the usual type I
would go for, but when meeting face-
to-face, I keep an open mind.
HYRe hRd YZd SVde bfR]Zej0
CIARAN: His sense of humour made
me laugh.
HASSAN: His friendliness; he was very
easy to get along with.
HYRe hVcV j`f ^`de h`ccZVU YV
would notice about you?
CIARAN: I was running late due to
train delays, so I was worried that
would set things off on the wrong foot.
HASSAN: I’ve had issues with guys
judging me on my skin colour and
body shape in the past, so that worry is
“IT TURNED OUT HE IS GOOD FRIENDS WITH AN EX OF
MINE FROM IRELAND, WHICH WAS A SHOCK” — CIARAN
MVICTORIA.CO.UK
AS TOLD TO TIM HEAP
YOUR LUXURY MULTIFACETED VENUE
144 JANUARY 2018
always with me whenever I meet guys
on dates.
9`h hRd eYV T`_gVcdReZ`_ R_U hYRe
did you talk about?
CIARAN: It was good. We talked about
living in London, the dating scene,
our homes (he’s from York, I’m from
Belfast), our jobs and what we liked to
do outside work.
HASSAN: We talked about work, our
hobbies and where we had lived. I
thought York was boring compared
with lots of places he’s lived, such as
Switzerland.
HYRe hRd eYV ^`de Z_eVcVdeZ_X eYZ_X
RS`fe YZ^0
CIARAN: Hassan is a GP and loves to
sing. In fact, he was actively recruiting
new members for his choir later in the
evening which was funny.
HASSAN: I was impressed by the many
places Ciaran had lived since leaving
Northern Ireland.
What do you think he thought of you?
CIARAN: I think he liked me, but I’m
not sure if he fancied me.
HASSAN: I hope he thought I was easy
to get along with, and down to earth.
9`hhRdeYVW``U0
CIARAN: Delicious! I had the steak.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR TABLE FOR TWO, EMAIL TIM.HEAP@ATTITUDE.CO.UK
CIARAN,
32, OFFICE
M A N AG E R
HASSAN: The food was amazing!
Such high-quality produce and great-
tasting drinks.
2_j Rh\hRcU ^`^V_ed0
CIARAN: It turned out he is good
friends with an ex of mine from R AT E
Ireland, which was a shock. This world
is too small. THE
HASSAN: We found out he was the ex D AT E
of one of my good friends. Turns out
HASSAN:
London isn’t such a big place after all.
How did the night end?
CIARAN: We went to Soho for a few
drinks, which was fun.
HASSAN: We ended up going out for
more drinks and dancing. It was nice to
see him relax a bit more.
What would you have changed about
the night?
CIARAN: The whole ex connection. 7 /10
HASSAN: It would have been to have CIARAN:
gone on a date with someone who was
interested in me and vice versa.
D_`X^RccjRg`ZU0
CIARAN: We didn’t snog, and there
were no wedding bells, so I’d have to
say avoid.
HASSAN: Well as friends, I can’t snog, I
can’t marry, so would be avoid. Sorry!
HZ]]j`f^VVeRXRZ_0 7 /10
CIARAN: Yes, I would like to meet as
friends.
HASSAN: We go to the same social
places so I might bump into him.
MATT CHUDLEIGH, 36,
FINANCIAL SYSTEMS
CONSULTANT, ALBERTA,
CANADA
hat was my first gay bar
experience like? Before
w I get to that, I owe
you a bit of context. I’m
obviously not the first person to grow
up confused about his sexuality, but you
need to know what I was thinking in
the run-up to that nerve-wracking night
out to understand how much it meant
to me.
As a young man in the Eighties, I was
always intrigued
by guys, yet that
attraction was never
something that I could
explain. And growing
up in a small town
in rural Canada, it
wasn’t something
that anybody
acknowledged, it was a big-city
problem. There really wasn’t anyone
who I could point to and say, “Oh,
I’m like him.” As far I knew, I was
just like everyone else — albeit with
that odd compulsion towards guys.
But right from the awkward stages
of puberty, I had longed for love. I
wanted people to like me for me, and
not receiving that love and acceptance
made my early adult years a challenge.
I made it to university in the nearest
big city, Calgary, where I continued to
struggle in my quest to find out where I
belonged. For me, the experience wasn’t
the crazy, hedonistic, experimental time
that many people enjoy — I was shy, I
loved animé and I was a total finance
geek who kept himself to himself. When
it came to romance nothing happened,
not even so much as a kiss. So I just
continued to be a confused young adult
with something lurking there in the
back of my mind, but too afraid to do
anything. Then I stumbled into my first
job out of school.
When you’re a young person working
in finance, no amount of hours is
enough — all I seemed to do was work.
All day, every day I was focused on
my job, with just enough time and
energy left over to maintain what little
social network I had. And this went on
for years.
Suddenly, I realised I was 27 and I
wasn’t even sure I was gay. Things had
been building up to breaking point for
a while and I couldn’t take it anymore.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO BE CONSIDERED FOR STEPPING OUT, EMAIL AN OUTLINE OF YOUR STORY TO ADAM.DUXBURY@ATTITUDE.CO.UK
Being alone, not having an emotional
connection or bond with anyone, was
killing me.
In Calgary, there’s a gay bar
called The Backlot. It looks pretty
creepy from the outside. There’s
a dodgy entrance way back from the
street. It was probably built that way for
good reason, as it has been a gay bar for
a very long time.
Having walked past The Backlot
numerous times, I knew what it was
and exactly where it was. Late at night,
I would walk down the street and try
to catch glimpses of people coming in
or out, or even get a peek at what was
behind the door. Curiosity was eating
at me.
THEN: Matt, So one rainy night in May, I worked up
back in the day
when being gay
every ounce of courage I could muster
was a mystery and stood outside that alley. I’ll never
NOW: Matt still forget the feeling of walking down the
visits his first
gay bar alleyway. I was gripped with anxiety,
ATE AT NIGHT, I WOULD WALK
OWN THE STREET AND TRY TO
ATCH A GLIMPSE OF PEOPLE
OMING IN OR OUT OR EVEN GET A
EEK AT WHAT WAS BEHIND THE
OOR. CURIOSITY WAS EATING AT ME”
anticipation and uncertainty. But
with every single step I took towards
that door, my mind was racing with
possibilities — what was waiting for me
on the other side?
With a deep breath, I opened the
pp g door and just like that: nothing! I didn’t
explode into a puff of glitter, and the
bar didn’t descend into sudden silence
as I entered. It was just a bar, like all the
straight bars I’d been to before.
“Oh, hey cutie, you look a little lost.
Let me get you a drink!” someone said.
His voice was camp and welcoming.
It was the owner, Mark Campbell,
who was standing behind the bar. At
that moment, it felt like 15 years of
emotional baggage had just fallen off
my shoulders.
We all remember that I had absolutely no idea what I
exciting, nerve-racking expected. The concept of being gay was
alien to me — I didn’t know anyone
night when we made who was gay, and in Western Canada
our debut on the scene. back then gay life was all pretty hidden
So what was it like for — but with those words Mark took
all that repressed emotion away in an
you, the first time you instant. From then on, Mark and I were
walked through the firm friends.
Although I now live in London, every
door of a gay venue? time I’m back in Calgary, I always stop
in at The Backlot.
JANUARY 2018 145
DRAG & CABARET
BIG IN A WIG
MEET VIZIN — THE ALL-DANCING, ALL-SINGING
NATIVE AMERICAN DRAG-POP SENSATION
PHOTO: SHAUN VADILLA
Who’s your favourite diva?
As a lamb from way back, I would 100
per cent say Mariah Carey.
Describe your drag in five words.
The Mariah Carey of Drag.
What would your best friend say
about you?
What wouldn’t my best friend say
about me?
What would your worst enemy say
about you?
You’re perfect, you’re beautiful, you
look like Linda Evangelista, you’re
a model…
What would your superhero power be?
I would control fire and my name would
be ‘Hot Trade’.
What’s your most underrated quality?
My beauty.
What would be your first act if you
were Queen of the World?
I’d give everyone a Barbie and cover my
castle in Swarovski Crystals.
146 JANUARY 2018
How early is too early for a glass
of wine?
If you haven’t stopped from the night
before, then it’s never too early.
If you could be any celebrity body
part which would you be?
Mariah Carey’s feet. Have you seen
those shoes?
Your dream four dinner party
guests are…
Only four guests? What kind of party
is that?
Who would play you in a film?
Barbie. Seriously, that girl has
everything!
Who would you swap lives with for
a day?
Bitch, I’d be Beyoncé.
Which celebrity were you in a
previous life?
Definitely Marilyn Monroe.
Love is…?
…a bitch to rhyme.
What animal would you come back as
in your next life?
I want to be something someone
cooked up in a lab.
What event in history would you
go back in time to and what would
you do?
I’d go back in time and tell whoever
invented high heels to make sizes
in extra-large heffa, because I have
big feet.
How much is in your bank account
right now?
“I WANT I won’t lie: there’s enough to be
TO BE comfortable and enough to stay
SOMETHING humble.
What’s the most expensive item you’ve
SOMEONE
ever bought?
COOKED UP
I don’t buy expensive things, but I do
IN A LAB”
have expensive tastes.
What’s your party trick?
Bend over and I’ll show you…
Which song would you walk down the
aisle to?
Here For the Party by Gretchen Wilson.
Who’s your celebrity man crush?
Brad Pitt circa Interview with a Vampire.
Who’s your celebrity girl crush?
Brienne of Tarth.
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