Innholdsfortegnelse for November/December 2022 i Attitude Magazine

Sam Wong PHOTOGRAPHER What award would you most like to win? It would have to be photography-related — it’s what I spend the majority of my life doing. That would be pretty cool. What award would you actually win? A binge-watching award. If I’m loving a TV series, I always finish it within 24-48 hours. I can’t help myself. What’s your favourite awards ceremony performance? Definitely The Weeknd’s 2021 Super Bowl performance. I’ve always been a big fan of his music, concerts and videos. The fact he’s able to bring the same creativity and energy across all platforms is pretty amazing. Shenell Kennedy PHOTOGRAPHER What award would you most like to win? I’d most like to win the award for best photographer/creative director. I’ve been shooting for five years now,…

What can fans expect from a Bianca Del Rio show? The unexpected. Because I drink. What do you want on your gravestone? I don’t want to be buried; I want to be burned and scattered in the gutter. Who’s the hottest trade in Drag Race herstory? Who cares? I don’t watch the show. Your weirdest interaction with a fan? This moment. How would you describe your style? Queen Elizabeth: find a look that works and do it in every colour, then they can find you in a crowd. Anna Wintour, hello?! What are you wearing today? The lowest of the low: a onesie and a wig! How would you describe RuPaul? Lovely. I have to say that. “RuPaul is amazing. Without RuPaul, I’d have nothing. ‘Sissy That Walk’ is available…

I am thrilled that Virgin Atlantic is here once again, partnering with Attitude magazine for their fantastic awards event. As we celebrate 50 years of Pride in the UK, I’d like to firstly honour our founder, Sir Richard Branson, and his work with the community. Not many people know that back in the 60s, when he was just 16, Richard set up a Student Advisory Centre which helped young people get the professional help they needed. He quickly found that a lot of gay people were coming to the centre, and it was important to Richard that they were able to accept and embrace themselves and, in turn, for others to accept and embrace them, too. He has been speaking up for LGBTQ+ rights ever since. At Virgin Atlantic we…

London is silent apart from elongated loops of sombre chapel bells chiming outside the window. It’s 5am and many are only just waking up to a new dawn. Thundering drums are pounding poetically in my head after I witnessed the entire dress rehearsal for what will be one of the most attended funerals in history on my way home. Her Majesty has left the proverbial building. The queen is gone. Inside my flat, my screen illuminates as a call comes in from across town. Flanked by DJ decks, a complex array of fancy studio kit, and wearing her trademark, thick-rimmed square glasses and shaven head, Skin, the first Black lady of the Britrock movement, is very much alive. With a 1979 photo of Grace Jones crawling across the roof of…

As Beyoncé’s Progress pride-referencing ‘Cozy’, a standout track from her latest album, Renaissance, fills the air, stage and screen star Layton Williams is striking pose after pose, throwing shapes with his body that defy comprehension. The thundering beat reverberates through the photographer’s studio in the former Whitechapel Bell Foundry — you can almost hear Big Ben clang in time with the music. The song’s description of dramatic highs and lows seem tailor-made for Layton’s showbiz story and potent brand of unapologetic confidence. Although meeting him today, it’s difficult to believe he’s ever been anything less than upbeat. He’s smiley, bouncy and generous with his energy: as his self-assuredness spreads around the room, this writer starts to doubt his own dull-AF sartorial selections in favour of gluing gems to his face…

It was 10, 10, 10, 10s across the board when BBC bosses announced that Great British Bake Off favourite John Whaite would partner Johannes Radebe in Strictly Come Dancing last year. Making TV history as the UK show’s first male partnership, it marked a much-needed (or, ahem, kneaded) shift in the narrative. For all its razzle-dazzle and camp-as-tits concoction of confetti, glitter and Craig Revel Horwood’s drawn-out “Dahlings”, up until this point the series had never really taken its — apologies in advance — cha-cha-chances to truly shine a spotlight on LGBTQ+ folk. Sure, boxer Nicola Adams blazed the trail when she formed one half of Strictly’s cherry-popping same-sex couplings in 2020. However, the casting didn’t land the knockout blow for representation it should have when, no fault of Nicola’s,…

It was around the late 90s when I first met Tony Marnoch, aka DJ Fat Tony. Don’t expect me to pinpoint an exact date; all I know is that I was clubbing in my mid to late teens using a fake ID to get into Trade, which at the time was the only place open in London after hours. The infamous weekly night took over Turnmills, a long-since closed subterranean venue in Farringdon, opening its doors every Sunday morning from 4:30 am. Barely out of the closet to myself let alone the wider world, on reflection I was probably too young and naive to be navigating what was without doubt one of the UK’s most hedonistic — and now legendary — queer clubs. A genuinely mixed bag of LGBTQ+ people…

It’s a blazingly hot day in the middle of a UK heatwave when I sit down to talk to KFC’s Neil Piper. In the friendly preamble to our conversation, we discuss the heat and I’m amazed to hear that KFC’s sales suffer in this weather because “people don’t buy fried chicken, they barbecue”. After joining KFC at 25 as an area coach, Neil has risen through the ranks and now seeks to inspire others as an openly LGBTQ+ leader in an international corporation. Here, we discuss leadership styles, diversity and his favourite KFC dish. Have you always been a people person? I think so, yes. I’ve worked in operations, which, in essence, is people. I’ve worked in the people and culture function, which, of course, is people. Now I’m in…

WINTER WONDERLAND For more than 40 years, Colorado has been welcoming the LGBTQ+ community for its annual Aspen Gay Ski Week. From 15 January 2023, skiers and snowboarders can enjoy the ‘mountain du jour’ including Aspen, Buttermilk, Highlands and Snowmass. But it is not all about hitting the slopes, snow bunnies can join the winter festivities at the event’s popular Pool Party, Downhill Costume Contest and Top of the Mountain Party. Even if you are a ski virgin, there is plenty to keep you busy including daily après-ski, hiking, shopping and restaurants galore. And if that wasn’t enough, there is a benefit for AspenOUT, the local LGBTQ+ charity, hosted by Sibling Rivalry’s Bob the Drag Queen and Monét X Change. gayskiweek.com WORLDPRIDE HEADS DOWN UNDER For the first time in…

Temptation Every Thursday, 9pm-2am Zodiac, 119 Hampstead Rd, London NW1 3EE There isn’t a dry eye in the basement of Euston’s Zodiac bar when vocal powerhouse Farrah Mills delivers a genuinely moving rendition of Adele’s 2021 comeback hit ‘Easy on Me’. It is a sudden gear change for Thursday-night party Temptation, which has until this point been dominated by a series of sizzling dance performances by an array of scantily clad (and inconceivably agile) beauties — it’s not billed as ‘London’s Hottest Transgender party for Transwomen and their admirers’ for nothing! When Attitude first arrives, before Temptation’s 9pm kick-off time, there are decidedly different scenes on Zodiac’s ground-floor bar: namely, three rounds of Bingo Bonza with charming host Brenda LaCreme, who’s decked out in sky-high ruby red slippers The Wizard…

Human kindness overflows in this true story about a group of airline passengers whose plane was forced to land in the tiny town of Gander, Newfoundland, (population 10,000) when flights were grounded after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Entering its last stretch in the West End, Come From Away is a heartwarming musical that will make you laugh, cry and marvel at how people are at their best when faced with the worst. Doubling Gander’s population, the displaced travellers are a diverse assortment of humanity — including the first female American Airlines captain, a British businessman who finds romance in the arms of a Houston native, and a gay couple named Kevin and Kevin (“It was cute at first”), who arrive fearing small-town prejudice only to be welcomed with open arms.…

A Visible Man Edward Enninful/Bloomsbury The memoir from Edward Enninful OBE, the ground-breaking, new-generation editor-in-chief of British Vogue is open-hearted and arrestingly detailed. Written to inspire others to dream big, work hard and draw strength from their own individuality, A Visible Man is the captivating story of how a shy young boy from Ghana conquered and redefined the exclusive realm of fashion. The book opens with Edward recalling his early childhood home on a military base in Ghana’s capital Accra which overlooked the firing squads where enemies of the state would be executed while he played with his young siblings. It was observing his mother’s dressmaking business that led to him falling in love with tailoring and the art of dressing women. Then, in the 80s, Edward and his family…

Californian brand Rufskin are celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. Over two decades, founders Douglas Coats and Hubert Pouches have created a much-loved, unapologetically gay fashion label with denim at its heart. The pair are constantly creating new styles in the timeless fabric while reinventing their much-loved classics, giving us everything from flares to pieces with Tom of Finland vibes. Also part of their range is swimwear, underwear and sportswear that really stand out for their cut and quality. Here’s to another 20 years! rufskin.com STOCKISTS A Alexander McQueen alexandermcqueen.com Ashai from Informale informale.com.au B Balmain balmain.com Burberry burberry.com C Canali canali.com Church’s church-footwear.com Chusette chusette.com Coach coach.com F Falke falke.com G GCDS gcds.com Giuseppe Zanotti giuseppezanotti.com Graham Cruz Studio grahamcruz.com H Helen Anthony helenanthony.co.uk I Informale informale.com.au K Kaushik…

It’s that time of year when the Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards 2022 powered by Jaguar returns to sprinkle some much-needed stardust on a world that seems to delight in existing only in shades of grey. Although the UK’s default setting over the past few years has been very much switched to ‘crisis mode’, many of us have been determined not to let the questionable decisions made by politicians define us. Instead, we move forward, living as our most authentic selves. It’s this spirit of defiance that has been the backbone of LGBTQ+ resilience since we were first pushed to the fringes of society. Whether that meant gay men meeting in illegal underground bars in 19th-century England or a young trans kid determined to live true to their identity in a…

My boyfriend James (yes, we have the same name) and I just celebrated three years together, but because we lived together in lockdown it feels like ten. And because we’re gay, we’re about to toast our 50th anniversary. He’s started to joke about marriage now, too, and I know I should be excited, but as I’ve become more comfortable with my queerness, I’ve felt increasingly uncomfortable about the idea. Why do I need a big wedding to normalise my relationship? And why should I have to? I don’t want to be normal. It doesn’t help that the last same-sex marriage I attended got really awkward when the officiant forgot it was a gay wedding. Halfway through announcing, “You may now kiss the bride,” he panicked and freestyled: “You may now…

1st Courtney Act Aesthetics-wise, I’d have to go with Courtney. She’s the glamour puss. But all three have gorgeous makeup: they know their faces and what works for them. They have a softer approach and can get ready in 20 minutes. 2nd Adore Delano Courtney and Adore are neck and neck. They’re both pretty, which is why they never thought I would win! They don’t require much makeup — they’re cute with small features. I wear big lashes to balance out my nose. That’s how bad it is. 3rd Pearl Not my favourite. Her aesthetic’s amazing, but we did meet-and-greets at an event and she looked at me — she was exhausted — and said: “Too much energy.” I went: “You fucking sleepy bitch!”…

One New Year’s Eve in the late 00s, Glyn Fussell and Amy Zing (“a baby gay and girl best mates always trying to make the other laugh,” recalls Amy) staged a Studio 54-themed bash at their house. Except nobody came. “We got there — well, I say we got there; we walked into the living room from our rooms…” laughs Glyn. Adds Amy with a giggle: “We were like, ‘What time is everyone coming?!’ We forgot to invite anyone!” Despite the lack of guests, the party exuded all the confetti-cannon camp that would later mark the pair’s mammoth club-night-turned-cultural-movement, Sink The Pink. Think crazy costumes, pure pop playlists and a smorgasbord of unforgettable performances. Or in this case, “Glyn in the corner on a chair putting on a show,” remembers…

“I was waiting for the dissent of people, being like, ‘Fuck this show, what a load of gay crap’” Jack Rooke is bursting with excitement during his Attitude Award shoot. We’re celebrating the hit Channel 4 show Big Boys, which is also remarkably his first outing as a TV writer. “Attitude was one of the only gay magazines to get behind the show,” he says. You’re welcome, Jack. Five years in the making, the coming-of-age sitcom Big Boys finally aired on Channel 4 in May this year. The series follows writer Jack Rooke’s namesake ‘Jack’ arriving for his first year at university, having delayed enrolment following the sudden loss of his dad the year before. The story echoes much of Rooke’s real-life experiences, having battled depression after his father Laurie…

“I’m definitely emotionally available now. I’m a lot more open to being vulnerable, letting people in” If there was ever a poster girl for the positive side of social media, it has to be Cat Burns. TikTok played an essential role in the 22-year-old south London singer’s rise to fame when, two years after its initial release, her track ‘Go’ reached number two on the UK singles charts this summer, selling more than 600,000 copies. (“No, I haven’t heard from Mr Styles,” she laughs as she names the pop star who kept her off the number-one spot. “I’ll be awaiting my call!”) Not only that, but social media’s mysterious, unknowable algorithms also had a very personal impact on Cat: they helped her to come out. “It was the beginning of…

There’s a leaked Spice Girls song from the 1999 Forever sessions (sans Ginger Spice Geri Horner) believed to be called ‘Give You What You Want (If It’s Lovin’ On Your Mind)’ — a track that’s similar in sound, as well as absurd punctuation, to Britney Spears’ ‘(You Drive Me) Crazy’. “Which one?” enquires Melanie C. “How does it go?” With the humbling realisation that I possibly know the Spice Girls oeuvre better than they do, I launch into the intro. Thankfully, Melanie’s face lights up with recognition: “That is a good song!” There’s little more satisfying than a member of your favourite pop group indulging you on a trip down memory lane. What about ‘W.O.M.A.N.’, performed live in 1999 — will it ever get a digital release? I ask. “Biff…

And the category was… summer chic at the sixth annual Attitude Pride Awards, in association with Magnum, where Heartstopper’s Yasmin Finney was undoubtedly dly the belle of the ball (the event took place just days before her 19th birthday!) and both the sun and the stars came out to play. After a glitzy cocktail reception — not just Prosecco, but M&S Prosecco — as the clock struck noon (it’s never er too early for a glass of something nice), Yaz took her seat next to Attitude Editor-in-Chief Cliff Joannou in the sumptuous us ballroom at London’s Langham hotel for a delicious, Michel Roux Jr-inspired, three-course lunch, along with several hundred of the LGBTQ+ community’s great and good from the UK and beyond. Magnum’s Victoria Shimwell, representing our debuting headline sponsor,…

In the summer of 1979, a young Tom Robinson took to the stage at a London theatre for the Secret Policeman’s Ball, a benefit gig in support of Amnesty International. Despite homosexuality having been partially decriminalised 12 years prior, the human rights organisation had yet to recognise it as a civil liberty, so, armed with just his guitar and microphone, Robinson sang ‘Glad to Be Gay’. The venomous slice of folk-punk took aim at police brutality and the lack of legal protections for the LGBTQ+ community. “The buggers are legal now, what more are they after?” he sang, ironically. The historical importance of this song, and this performance, still resonates more than 40 years on. Although initially omitted from the UK release of the Tom Robinson Band’s 1978 debut album,…

Touring the UK and Ireland after a summer season at London’s Eventim Apollo, Sister Act is hilarious, uplifting, soulful and full of heart, taking the 1991 film starring Whoopi Goldberg and turning it into a discofied extravaganza that even boasts the eye-popping sight of singing nuns dancing around in the colours of the rainbow flag. Patina Miller was great when the show first played the West End in 2009, and Beverley Knight blew the roof off the Apollo for its latest run. Now taking the lead role on the tour as singer Deloris Van Cartier — who is forced to hide out in a convent after seeing her gangster boyfriend commit cold-blooded murder — Sandra Marvin is equally sensational. Along with an astonishing voice, Marvin has a fantastic flair for…

A Thirsty Evil Gore Vidal/Abacus First published 1956 Literature fans may already be familiar with the name of the great American polymath and political thinker, Gore Vidal. Most will have heard of his seminal queer work, The City and the Pillar (1948), as well as his brilliant satire, Myra Breckinridge (1968), but we are perhaps less well acquainted with the seductively entitled A Thirsty Evil. This book contains seven short stories, each a work of subtle, unsettling, masterful prowess, with three of them exploring explicitly gay themes. ‘Three Stratagems’ explores an encounter from two perspectives — that of a gay gigolo on the prowl for rich, older, impressionable prey, and then through the eyes of his elderly, widowed target, George Royal. ‘The Zenner Trophy’ is a delightfully understated tale set…

What’s the biggest difference between interviewing someone famous, like Will Smith, and an icon, like Kim Woodburn? I’m not sure who I’d rather! Will was a joy — lovely, fun. Kim’s a joy — lovely, fun, but f***ing scary! Although it’s fun when she tells you off. You’ll get more straight-talking answers out of Kim. She’s probably much less media-trained! We want Kim for this page. 5/5 Who are you most blessed to have met: Kim Woodburn, Julie Goodyear or Tiffany Pollard? You f***ing love Kim, don’t you?! They’re all queens. Tiffany was a whippersnapper of a great housemate [on Celebrity Big Brother]. But it’s got to be Julie. I grew up watching her as Bet on Coronation Street five nights a week at my house. For that “David’s dead?!” moment,…

ONE LAST TIME Next year marks 75 years of Jaguar sports cars and, with it, the final year of combustion-engined production before the Coventry marque goes all-electric in 2025. In celebration comes the special edition F-Type 75, a last-of-the-line coupé or convertible with 5-litre V8s in 450PS or 575PS states of tune. Unique interior and exterior design elements, rich specifications and a new paint option of Giola Green metallic make this last petrol-powered Jaguar sports car stand out from the crowd. Available to order now, deliveries start from January. jaguar.co.uk WE ARE FAMILY Ever since they created their ‘Dad’ sweater, Ron Dorff have always given a nod to the daddy, so it made perfect sense for the Swedish-French brand to collaborate with Uncoupled star Neil Patrick Harris on an exclusive…

Matt Horwood, communications director This feels like a provocative question, as many might see it as pitting our right to privacy against protecting the wellbeing of our youth — but I don’t think those things are mutually exclusive. Let’s think about queer young people, for example. Recently, Rishi Sunak implied that as prime minister, he would have stripped back sex and relationship education. Both his and the now Prime Minister Liz Truss’s latest attacks on various human rights legislation have worried many that a resurgence of Section 28 could be in our not-so-distant futures. If our schools can’t provide an informative and safe space for queer youth to discuss or learn about sex, where do these kids turn? Speaking from experience (as a gay person who used to be young),…

PRINT Don’t miss an issue of the brilliant, new-look Attitude magazine. Our exclusive print subscription offer sees our luxe format mailed directly to your door six times a year and saves you almost 15% on the published cover price. ONE YEAR, 6 ISSUES £36 HALF-YEAR, 3 ISSUES £18 ATTITUDE.IMBMSUBSCRIPTIONS.COM *SUBSCRIBE ONLINE, OR BY CALLING 01293 312244 MONDAY-FRIDAY, 9AM-5PM. ENQUIRIES TO ATTITUDE@SUBSCRIPTIONHELPLINE.CO.UK DIGITAL Have Attitude at your fingertips 24/7, wherever you go, when you subscribe to our digital edition, in slick mobile-friendly format or configured to best suit your tablet, laptop or PC. Don’t miss anything! One year, six issues £24.99 ATTITUDE.IMBMSUBSCRIPTIONS.COM *INDIVIDUAL PRINT ISSUE PUBLISHED PRICE £6.95, PRINT SUBSCRIPTION £36 ANNUALLY (OR £18 HALF-YEARLY) SAVES ALMOST 15% ON PUBLISHED PRICE, DIGITAL £24.99 ANNUALLY SAVES MORE THAN 40% ON PUBLISHED PRICE.…

Order in the court! With his unique personal brand — funny but straightforward; warm but no-nonsense — Robert Rinder has, since 2014, amassed legions of fans as the face and sound legal brain of ITV’s Judge Rinder. (On which he delivers verdicts with all the scathing wit of a Drag Race judge; the library is officially open when he’s around!) He’s long been one of the most famous gay male faces on TV, but in the intervening eight years, the criminal barrister’s media career has grown in exciting new directions. His TV credits, for starters, are now long and varied, and often transcend the courtroom: he’s a familiar face in the primetime light entertainment space, for example, finishing fifth on the 2016 series of Strictly Come Dancing, and appearing on…

Jade Thirlwall “I walked into Sink The Pink for the first time and was like, ‘What is this magical wonderland?’ I loved it and I’ve been back so many times since. One of my favourite Little Mix memories is performing at Sink The Pink during the Get Weird era; it was such an amazing night. Sink The Pink changed the face of LGBTQ+ events in London and has paved the way for so many more inclusive nights across the UK.” Bimini “When I started going to Sink The Pink, that’s when I was like, ‘These are my people that I love and want to be around.’ I always honour Sink The Pink as one of my biggest influences. They gave me a massive platform. It really cemented me as an…

Seeing Pete Burns on V Graham Norton was a formative moment for a teenage The Vivienne, arguably the most high-profile UK drag talent of her generation. “I was like, ‘Who the fuck is that?’ I’d never seen anything like it,” she remembers of catching sight of the late Burns for the first time in 2003. “‘You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)’ had just been rereleased,” recalls Viv of Dead or Alive, whose songs returned to pop culture consciousness with a bang after their frontman’s unforgettable turn on Celebrity Big Brother in 2006. Attitude is catching up with Viv over coffee at London’s plush, stylish White City House; the former BBC Television Centre building seems an appropriate place to reminisce about 00s TV. (The Viv laughs as she reveals how…

“I always wanted Heartstopper to be full of joy and love, but in a way that feels real and tangible”—Alice As a UK author of Young Adult fiction, I thought it was game over. Every major book-to-screen smash hit from Love, Simon, to Twilight, to The Hate U Give were quintessentially American. Was it time to throw in the towel? Then, from the humblest of beginnings, came a new teen juggernaut precisely no one saw coming. And it was British. Welcome, Heartstopper. The Netflix series and winner of this year’s Attitude TV Award is technically the prequel to author Alice Oseman’s debut novel, Solitaire. There, we are introduced to Tori Spring (portrayed on screen by Jenny Walser) and her younger brother, Charlie (Joe Locke), who is going through a mental health…

On the fly Jeremy Scott’s Resort 2023 collection is an ode to travel that transcends mere geography, harking back to an era when escaping the everyday was the epitome of glamour. Scott has time-travelled to various decades: rock’n’roll, Steve McQueen leather jackets take us back to the 60s, while shell tracksuit separates in bright bursts of colour recall the raw energy of the 80s. The range is elevated by exquisite detailing that includes hand-drawn prints on luggage as well as clothing, and mirrored sequins and stars that glitter like those in the night sky. From suiting, to sandals, sarongs and swim briefs, wherever your destination, you can rely on Moschino to infuse some flair and fun into the proceedings. moschino.com…