Wednesday 24 November 2010

A Burst of Song!


Here's a quick reminder about the Pink Singers' New Year concert. It is called 'A Burst of Song' and we've been working hard to craft the show. This time round we are mixing things up with classical and pop/jazz mixed together, we'll be dancing like Tina Turner and doing the hygeinic form of scatting. What's not to like? Get your tickets on the website.

Time: 7.30pm
Date: 8 January 2011
Venue: Cadogan Hall, 5 Sloane Terrace, London SW1X 9DQ


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How Low Can Your Logo?


Sorry for the relative dormancy, but the Pink Insider has been really busy with other Pinkie buisness. This season in particular has been very stressful, but thankfully things appear to be settling down. I am trying to avoid being overdramatic about it, but after the tsunami of the start of the season we are settling into calmer waters now.

Anyway, this doesn't mean I don't do random websurfing and my current hilarious website of the day goes to How Low Can Your Logo. Have a look at the design brief, then look at this logo (and its comments) to truly appreciare how wonderful it really is!

Saturday 6 November 2010

Soul Wind by Andrew Swain

The Pinkies are singing this song as our joint number with Manchester Lesbian & Gay Chorus and Gay Abandon. I always like to know a little about the song, and Michael was wondering what the tempo of the song is supposed to be. We ran through it for the first time on Thursday and it sounds a bit of a dirge. So I googled its writer Andrew Swain.

Not very helpful as that appears to be a common name. What I did eventually find, after some sleuthing is a choir in London who have sung it before. They have two links to music here and here. It includes a rather wavery SATB version here.

The only other version I could find was on a CD by a Canberra women's choir call the Cyrenes.

The picture is of the image search I did. Apparently it is Megaman Soul - Wind version. Huh?

Friday 1 October 2010

It Gets Better

This brought a tear to my eye today. It is a video basically telling young LGBT people that however bad it may seem in school, it does get better. Why the message? Well this project is the brainchild of Dan Savage, and he puts it thusly:

Billy Lucas was just 15 when he hanged himself in a barn on his grandmother's property. He reportedly endured intense bullying at the hands of his classmates—classmates who called him a fag and told him to kill himself. His mother found his body.

Nine out of 10 gay teenagers experience bullying and harassment at school, and gay teens are four times likelier to attempt suicide. Many LGBT kids who do kill themselves live in rural areas, exurbs, and suburban areas, places with no gay organizations or services for queer kids.

"My heart breaks for the pain and torment you went through, Billy Lucas," a reader wrote after I posted about Billy Lucas to my blog. "I wish I could have told you that things get better."

I had the same reaction: I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better.

But gay adults aren't allowed to talk to these kids. Schools and churches don't bring us in to talk to teenagers who are being bullied. Many of these kids have homophobic parents who believe that they can prevent their gay children from growing up to be gay—or from ever coming out—by depriving them of information, resources, and positive role models.

Why are we waiting for permission to talk to these kids? We have the ability to talk directly to them right now. We don't have to wait for permission to let them know that it gets better. We can reach these kids.

So here's what you can do, GBVWS: Make a video. Tell them it gets better.

I've launched a channel on YouTube—www ­.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject—to host these videos. My normally camera-shy husband and I already posted one. We both went to Christian schools and we were both bullied—he had it a lot worse than I did—and we are living proof that it gets better. We don't dwell too much on the past. Instead, we talk mostly about all the meaningful things in our lives now—our families, our friends (gay and straight), the places we've gone and things we've experienced—that we would've missed out on if we'd killed ourselves then.

"You gotta give 'em hope," Harvey Milk said.

Today we have the power to give these kids hope. We have the tools to reach out to them and tell our stories and let them know that it does get better. Online support groups are great, GLSEN does amazing work, the Trevor Project is invaluable. But many LGBT youth can't picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can't imagine a future for themselves. So let's show them what our lives are like, let's show them what the future may hold in store for them.

The video my husband and I made is up now—all by itself. I'd like to add submissions from other gay and lesbian adults—singles and couples, with kids or without, established in careers or just starting out, urban and rural, of all races and religious backgrounds. (Go to www.youtube.com/itgetsbetterproject to find instructions for submitting your video.) If you're gay or lesbian or bi or trans and you've ever read about a kid like Billy Lucas and thought, "Fuck, I wish I could've told him that it gets better," this is your chance. We can't help Billy, but there are lots of other Billys out there—other despairing LGBT kids who are being bullied and harassed, kids who don't think they have a future—and we can help them.

They need to know that it gets better. Submit a video. Give them hope.


Many more videos can be found on the It Gets Better project YouTube channel.

Edit: And you just gotta check out the Pink Singers' own It Gets Better video!

Monday 27 September 2010

Pinkies' Repertoire Winter 2010


For Nathalina.

And So It Goes
There are two common arrangements, we are doing the slightly less popular Kirby Shaw version. Bob Chilcott's has the tenor solo singing "And ev'ry time I've held a rose". This is sung SATB in the Kirby Shaw version.


Cantique de Jean Racine Op. 11
Gabriel Fauré, orchestration by John Rutter
I am presuming we are singing this in French.


Come, Sing and Be Joyful
Sorry, this is the only video I could find on YouTube.


Flight of the Bumble Bee
Who suggested this one? By heart?


Härlig är Jorden
Sorry, there doesn't seem to be a version of Lindberg's arrangement of this song. Here's another acapella arrangement.


I Got Rhythm
This is the Mark Hayes arrangement. There are a couple on YouTube - this one is actually better than the other.


Like A Prayer
The other song from Glee which we're doing.


Lullaby of Birdland
Paris Rutherford's arrangements. Has female and male solos, and improv scatting.


Lux Aurumque
Last year's virtual choir piece by Eric Whitacre.


And if you haven't seen Whitacre's own instructional video have a look here:


Of course, if you are interested in joining in this year's Virtual Choir, then check it out here!

Proud Mary
Skip the preamble and fast forward to 1:40 in the video.

Wednesday 21 July 2010

Friendship In A Big City

I just read a rather intriguing article in the Guardian today about the possibility of 'renting a friend'. Yes, you can look at it and roll your eyes at the commoditisation of our social lives, and in this world where everyone appears to have a few hundred Facebook 'friends' you have to wonder why this is even necessary.

The reality though, is that even (or perhaps especially) in big cities such as London, it is possible to be very lonely indeed. Even if you have the odd mate who lives in London, breaking out of the circle of work colleagues is hard, and making friends who you can hang out with because you enjoy their company is a mammoth task. The Pink Insider has been in London now for 8 years, and the first two or three were spent in the company of old college mates.

Now, of course, I look at my friends in London and see that they neatly partition into people from school, people from work, former neighbours (a rarity I can tell you!), acquaintances of acquaintences (who are now my friends) and, of course, Pinkies.



There are many advantages to joining a social group, but particularly one like the Pink Singers, because everyone out of necessity has to work together. This means that you already share something in common such as the love of singing, but your experiences also develop together, which to me is a prerequisite for any meaningful relationship. Picking up someone in a pub can lead to a long-term friendship but, for me at least, is a rather difficult way of going about it.

Reading the article, the writer rents his friend for £40 an hour. In comparison, membership of the Pink Singers is a complete bargain!

Saturday 17 July 2010

What More Can I Say?

I'm afraid the Pink Insider is even busier now that we are in the summer break than ever before, so things are going to be a bit quiet on this front for a while. Until the winter season begins again, however, I leave you with this wonderful little song by Simon W, accompanied by Ben L on piano. Both Simon and Ben are in the second tenors, and Simon's other half is a first tenor. I know I am biased, but the Pinkies really do put on a good show!

Sunday 4 July 2010

Pride In Yourself, Proud To Be

There are few things which tire me out as much as a full day of Pride: that is, marching the long two-hour stretch from Baker Street to Whitehall, followed by waiting around to perform on stage. Yet I do it year in year out, even if this year I found it so tiring that after dinner in Chinatown, this Pink Insider wanted nothing more than to conga-line his way through the throngs of Soho in order to get home. Note to self: do not wear flip flops as there is a distinct risk of being stabbed by broken glass from below and a spikey stilletto from above.

So, why do I keep doing it? Well this quote from a commentor (Joanne in Twickenham) in the Metro newspaper really struck a chord with me:

The reason Pride - which is a celebration of all human sexualities [...] - includes a march as well as the rally is because Pride began as a protest march against intolerance and injustice. Nobody marched for any special rights or privileges. The Gay Rights movement worked towards equality, to bring their rights and their place in society into line with the straight majority.

We're almost there and getting closer every day. The freedoms that I enjoy today were won through blood, legal oppression and police brutality. I honour that struggle every year at Pride, while acknowledging that every human is born able to grow into someone to be proud of.


Hooray to Pride, and to many more to come!

Saturday 26 June 2010

Test Post Using Desktop Software

This is a test post using Windows Live Writer Beta. Checking for display errors and design consistency.

Test of image alignment.

PSLogo-G-T-S-Pink-NoFly-White


Test of video alignment.

Wednesday 23 June 2010

Pride London 2010, Pinkies, GLF

One of the big problems facing Pride nowadays is that there is a tension between those who see the parade and festival as a celebration, those who see it is a marketing ploy and those who want to use it as a platform for social change. I have no problems with celebration, but the chasing of the pink pound really does grate.

Pride to me is about not having to hide who we are, which as this year has shown, is not something you can do is just any country, nor even sometimes in this one. That we have any kind of security at all now is thanks in no small part to the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) which was formed after the Stonewall Riots in New York in 1969. The first GLF UK protest march in 1971 became the Pride parade we know of today. The Pink Singers were formed in 1983 to add music to the protest and have been marching and singing at every one ever since. To read what Lou T, Kate N and Philip R have to say about the significance of Pride London and the Pinkies, have a look at the article on the Pinkies' website.

Edit: And as if by psychic magic, Paul Burston writes a wonderful piece on his blog about why Pride London is so important.

Tuesday 22 June 2010

Time To Say Goodbye


Phew! What a season it has been. Our first concert at Cadogan Hall, an amazingly supportive audience and so much Pinkie love. Here's a video to tide you over till I catch my breath and write something more substantial.

Saturday 19 June 2010

A Little Light Music - Tonight!

The concert has finally arrived and kicks off at 7.30pm at Cadogan Hall. On-line sales are now shut, but you can still get your ticket by phone (box office phone line 020 7730 4500 message code L305) or you could try your luck on the door.


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In the buildup to the concert, do stay tuned to the Pink Singers' Facebook and Twitter pages as they will be updated all day today. After the concert, keep a watch on the website and our YouTube channel what's happening next. And of course keep your eyes on this page because the Pink Insider will be giving their view on what is going to be our biggest and baddest concert yet!

See you this evening.

Wednesday 16 June 2010

Gleeful Show On Saturday!

Whatever you feel about Glee (and my own views are mixed - I find it a bit overwrought dramatically and overengineered vocally) those kids really are very talented. So it was with a tinge of sadness that I watched the last episode of the first season yesterday. The kids from New Directions made it to regionals, performed "Don't Stop Believing" and came in second behind the rather scary Vocal Adrenaline. On the way, they learned that it was not about the winning, it was about the getting there. Indeed.

With the Pink Singers' concert coming up this Saturday (tickets here), it naturally got me thinking about the kind of choir we are. When the Pink Singers first began, judging by the archived photos and videos, we were much more of a "cabaret" choir with shows which focused on soloists with choral backing and occasional choral numbers. There was simple choreography, and we'd put on gigs at the London Lighthouse to raise funds for the AIDS charity.

When Mladen came along, with his classical musical training, the choir changed again, this time focusing on the vocal quality. We became nore of a "proper" choir, with more challenging pieces. As we became more confident from that perspective, however, the chorerography started slipping in again, to the point where we now have a choreography team; the second half of the concert, which has traditionally been lighter entertainment, is almost entirely choreographed or staged.

We're not quite a show choir a la Glee yet though, nor do I think should we be. The main appeal to me of the Pinkies, and to the audience as well I believe, is that we are extremely diverse musically. There aren't that many concerts you can go to where the choir sings both Vivaldi's Gloria and ABBA's Does Your Mother Know. That is exactly what is promised on Saturday. So see you there!

Tuesday 15 June 2010

Life Could Be A Dream!


...particularly of you come to the Pink Singers summer 2010 concert extravaganza! Get your tickets here - they're going fast! Here are some photos of us in rehearsal last Sunday to whet your appetite. Album 1 and Album 2.

Monday 14 June 2010

Flashmobbing Pinkie-style

It is now under a week to the big concert. The choreography is being polished, the final flourishes on the words are being put together, all we need now are bums on seats. That's where you come in! Do make sure you get your ticket for Saturday's performance at Cadogan Hall. And bring a friend or three while you're at it!

We've been doing our own bit to spread the word, and led by the intrepid Jerome some of the Pinkies decided to brave the stares and mobile phone cameras and walk down Old Compton Street singing songs and handing out flyers. Not being that much of a diva I am always slightly self-conscious when it comes to drawing any kind of attention to myself, but once we started doing "our thing" it was clear that the whole event was going to be amazingly fun. Crowds started gathering and we had applause and cheers after every song, and even the odd smile from the scene queens in Rupert Street!

Playing It Straight

If there is one adjective which really annoys me, it is the term "straight-acting". To me it carries so much internalized homophobia and self-loathing that anyone who uses it on themselves immediately creates a negative impression. While I do understand that society sets sexuality up as a straight/gay binary, this is completely presumptious. Just because one does not have a penchant for footy team shirts or walks with a certain swishiness does not make one homosexual.

So it was with a mix of annoyance and curiousness that this weekend the Pink insider watched Playing it Straight on 4oD. For those of you who have not seen it before, it is a twist on the traditional dating programme where one girl is sent on a series of dates to find the man of her dreams amongst a bevy of 10 eligble bachelors. In this particular case the twist is that half of them are gay. If she picks a straight man, they get £50,000 each. If she picks a gay man she gets nothing, while he gets the entire £100,000 prize money.

For a good critique on this programme, and on the whole heteronormative dating show genre, do take a look at this rather marvellous All Business article on the contruction of reality dating show heterosexuality. The Pink Insider was most annoyed that the contest required the gay contestants to "go back into the closet", reinforcing the "otherness" of being gay. Yes, the alleged aim of the show, i.e. the breaking down of stereotypes, was noble, but when the gay chap who eventually won it proudly declared that he was not a poof, a little bit of me died inside. Why does anyone need to expurgate these so-called "feminine" characteristics to feel validated as a gay man?

Anyway, I am glad that the two contestants for whom I was rooting - the charming and well-spoken Alex and the exuberant and comic Jonny - both turned out to be homosexual. It had nothing to do with a gaydar, these two were, for me, the most balanced individuals on the show, who also just happened to be gay.

Saturday 12 June 2010

The Advantages Of Twitter

Courtesy of @brettshane I was presented with this rather lovely photo of rugby players Gareth Thomas and Nick Youngquest today. Gareth Thomas is quite the celebrity at the moment, and has quite unconsciously taken on the role as unoffical spokesperson for LGBT sport. Nick Youngquest is an Australian who is straight, but knows his fan base very well. In any case, I would never have heard of the latter were it not for the wonders of twitter. It turns out that he caused a bit of a furore for the following photo which appeared as the June page of the Naked Rugby League Calendar 2007-2008. The version here is SFW, click on it for a slightly more NSFW version!

Team Pinkies At The Pride Run 2010

Yay! In what has become a bit of a tradition, the Pink Singers are fielding a team for the Pride Run. This is organized by the London Frontrunners, and is always a fun day, with a run in the late morning, a picnic in the afternoon, and a party after that! At the same time we will be raising funds for the London Lesbian & Gay Switchboard, so it really is all good. If you are Pink Singer, join the Facebook group and register now - places go very quickly.

Compulsory World Cup 2010 Post

My interest in the football is, at best, marginal, but once every four years the World Cup swings round and everyone goes into this weird state of soccer fixation. It is almost impossible to not be caught up in the action, particularly when there is so much to ogle at. Annie Leibovitz does a great photoshoot over at Vanity Fair. There's even a 'making of' video over there, but here are a few choice shots. Think I'll be keeping my eye on Brazil and the rather talented Ricardo Izecson Dos Santos Leite (a.k.a. Kaká)...

Naturally, if you are sick to death of football (and if you are, I pity the next month for you...) then may I also suggest a welcome distraction on the Saturday 19th of June? Come to the Pink Singers' concert! Get your tickets here.

Tuesday 8 June 2010

Pink Insider Goes Facebook!

I feel a need to explain why the Pink Insider now has a public Facebook page. Until recently there hasn't really been any need for one, but now that Facebook allows a limited amount of coding on their pages (much like MySpace did back in the day) the Pink Insider has decided to take it for a spin. As you can see the blog feed automatically gets posted to the Facebook page, and I am also embedding videos from the Pink Insider YouTube channel onto the page directly too. Everything is a bit of a testbed at the moment. Do check the Facebook page as I try out some cool stuff there. And remember you can still follow the Pink Insider on twitter, by email updates and by RSS.

Monday 7 June 2010

Sounding Good And Ready To Rumble!

The Pinkies ran through our entire season's repertoire and the concert yesterday. It was the first time we had properly sung through everything, and worked in the choreography and entrances and exits, and the first real chance for us to see how the whole concert comes together. It feels like ages, but it was really just in February that we started putting the pieces together, and even technically challenging pieces like Eric Whitacre's With A Lily In Your Hand are very close to performance standard. We have just two weeks to polish things up a bit, but otherwise, we are in a pretty comfortable position as things go, and will be ready for the summer gig.

Yesterday was also the AGM, an opportunity for the choir to look back on the events of the last year, and vote in the new committee. It is with a great deal of sadness that we lose Mark as our chair. Mark really has been instrumental in taking the choir in new directions. Our choir has benefitted in terms of organizational structure and better planning, and has more people involved in many more ways than ever before. Yesterday's rehearsal reinforced that level of teamwork we all feel. Our new chair is the eminently capable Max who will undoubtedly take us to new heights!

Now and then I have a tiny complaint, and yesterday's was the coffee left behind in the studio after rehearsal. Drinks are VERBOTEN, and more so if you expect someone to clean up after you!

Sunday 6 June 2010

Just Two Weeks To Go!

Do you have your ticket to A Little Light Music yet? If not you'd better get one now - tickets are going, going, gone! The URL is http://www.pinksingers.co.uk/tickets so head on over there now!

Since you are reading this on-line, you probably won't need this, but the Pink Insider has been looking at making real world items "clickable" too. There are basically two different types of patterns you can use for this: Microsoft Tag (above) and QR Codes (below). You may have noticed in the column to your right that these colourful or black and white squares have appeared. Basically, these are bar codes which can be printed out onto real world objects. If you see these patterns around you can actually visit the URL they link to super easily.

All you need is a phone with a camera and a web browser (most phones nowadays), then download the software to read the code (via http://gettag.mobi on your phone for Microsoft Tag, or http://reader.kayway.com on your desktop for QR Codes, or check your device's app store), snap a picture, and you're off!

Sunday 30 May 2010

Europeans Have No Taste

Yes, I realise that That Sounds Good To Me was an extremely derivative piece of work, but it had a decent melody and was so anodyne as to be widely accepted, and Josh perfomed it commendably, so I really don't understand how, at the end of a rather long evening, the song ended up last, behind corkers like the ones from Belarus and Russia as it really wasn't that bad, and at least made no references to "god of mercy" or other deities, so should have done better, and if it had, would not have made me as upset about the total lack of taste in the European continent (although I will add that I thought Lena was an okay winner, conrgats!).

Wednesday 26 May 2010

Eurovision 2010: My Predictions

Well, the first semifinals are over and here are my predictions so far...

Number 1
The Paulo Nutini/ Jason Mraz soundalike Tom Dice from Belgium. Sweet introspective song with a great chorus.

Number 2
Iceland's Hera Björk who has a song which is entirely different from the Belgian entry, but still amazing.

Number 3
Not strictly speaking in the semifinals as Norway won it last year and is automatically in the finals. This year they are represented by the stupendously talented Didrik Solli-Tangen from Norway. Quite a traditional (i.e. dull) song, but with a big ending, and he really is very easy on the eyes which helps!

Tuesday 18 May 2010

In The Pink(ies) on Vimeo


Have you checked out the In The Pink(ies) vimeo channel yet? It is a companion to the YouTube channel, but when I have high definition videos, that's where they tend to go. I've created a little credits video for it which I'll be tacking on to the end of my videos in the future.

Pinkies' Summer Concert 2010 Trailer


I love this video - it encapsulates all the things I love about the Pink Singers: the singing, the family, the fun, the pride, the travelling, the meeting new people and making new friends. Come to our next concert and experience it for yourself - details on our website! Check out the ad in Gay Times below too...

Breaking The Mold

I think it goes without saying that as a choir with the LGBT tag line we are indubitably proud of our lesbian, gay, bi and trans credentials. The dilemma is knowing how far our identity should be labelled as such when we are equally proud of our musical ability. When I was in college one of the freshers would introduce himself as, "My name is X and I am gay." Good on him, but at the same time the reality is that people do, inevitably, pigeonhole you which then means you are judged based on different criteria. The Pink Singers name does not lead to immediate conclusions about who we are necessarily, and I am much more an advocate of demonstrating how good you are before springing any categorization on outsiders.

So it was with our gig at the 7th Annual London Sangerstevne. I'm not sure how we were invited to the event, but it was a gathering of small, community choirs from around the U.K. and Europe. These types of festival are incredibly fun and the lack of a competitive element keeps things light and friendly. It helped that the whole event was organized in a laid back manner. "The Pink Singers" appeared in the programme without our tag-line: we opened with Gloria and Locus Iste, and I think we made a great initial impression with both. We then went on to sing April Is In My Mistress Face and our version of Sh-Boom. Part of the choreography in the latter involves Tom D and Chris Chi doing a sexy little dance duet, which is of course, a dead giveaway. Then Philip R gave a little introduction to us (and to flog our fab concert which is just a month away - get your tickets now by the way).

Interestingly, sitting in the audience there was a little tittering, partly because we were the only LGBT choir there, but this was then followed by incredible support, and by the time we came to the end of our performance of Does Your Mother Know the applause was thunderous. I still find the irony of "Does your mother know that you're out?" delicious! One guy was even waving his hoodie in the air, he was so enthusiastic. I do think it is events like this which help break down stereotypes.

Saturday 15 May 2010

Pink Singers News - On Your Phone!

It appears the Pink Singers are entering the mobile digital age. With all the possible sources of news coming out of the Pinkies' website, twitter and the Facebook fan page, haven't you often wished for a one stop hub, preferably on your phone, which would gather and present all that information to you? Well, the good news is that now you can... if you have a Nokia phone that is. Head on over to the Ovi Store for the Pink Singers news app. Loads of phone models are supported, including the Nokia 5230, 5235, 5530, 5800, N97 and N97 mini, X6 and the upcoming N8. Stay in the loop! Click on the pictures in this post to get a zoomed in look of what's available!

Tuesday 4 May 2010

A Virtual Choir

I have suggested the Pinkies sing Lux Aurumque after hearing the St. Michael's Singers perform this in Coventry Cathedral one Easter, but the Pinkies have never done it, in part because it doesn't quite fit in with our no-sheet-music style. Had I known about the choir project, however, I would have jumped at the opportunity to do it on-line, as these people have done. Eric Whitacre, in what is a stroke of genius, has arranged for a variety of individuals from around the world to record their lines and compiled them all into one super virtual choir. There was an incentive: these people were all auditioning for a choral scholarship via YouTube. The individual audition tracks are here. The (somewhat engineered) product is above. Wonderful!

The next project is another of his famous songs: Sleep. Stay tuned because the Pink Insider will definitely be taking part!

Thursday 29 April 2010

Pink Singers Folder Icon

Do you ever look at your file explorer and wish you had a special folder icon for all your Pink Singers stuff? No? Well I do and it bugged me enough to do something about it! For your pleasure I present the Pink Singers folder icon suitable for use in Vista or Windows 7. The Pink Insider made one for XP a while back and it should be available somewhere still... As for OSX or Linux, would anyone like to buy me a new computer?

Tuesday 20 April 2010

Mack Het Mes

Normally I amalgamate these videos with the main post about the concert, but the "Glee"-fulness of our performance of Mack The Knife in the Hague - even if we're not a show choir - deserves an entry all its own!

Monday 19 April 2010

An Ad Appears

Another brief one! If you look in this month's Gay Times (May 2010, now rebranded a much more magazine-rack-friendly "GT magazine") on page 94 you will see an ad for the Pinkies' summer concert 2010, A Little Light Music. Have I said how much we need your help with this project? Of course I have - get your tickets ASAP, pretty please!

Wither Various Voices 2013?

Just a quick "update" to let you know that Legato meets in the Hague early next month. On the agenda: a decision about where Various Voices 2013 will be. I am rooting for the Netherlands, partly because the last three were in Berlin, Paris and London, and it is time for Amsterdam to host one - although perhaps one of the Nordic countries could host it, and partly because the Pinkies really loved being in Den Haag this time round. We're waiting with bated breath and "VV" can't come soon enough!

Sangerstev... what?

Why it's a "Sangerstevne" of course! The Pink Singers are going all Scandinavian choral festival and performing at the Sangerstevne in Ealing. It will be at St. Matthew's church, and no, I don't know what to expect either as it is our first time there. Looks like it will be huge fun though, and there are some amazing choirs on the list. I see Chantage has performed there previously... But then again, it is non-competitive, and for the audience, entirely free too. So even more reason to head west.

There And Back Again

...or how even a volcano can't thwart the Pink Singers!

It was the first concert of the season, and an overseas concert to boot. The Pinkies were invited to perform with the ever-amazing Mannenkoorts at their annual concert in Den Haag, the Netherlands, and naturally we were excited. Mannenkoorts is easily one of my favourite LGBT choirs. Actually, they transcend the LGBT choir label and are easily one of my favourite choirs full stop. They have a very slick sound and their peformance, including their choreography, is always flawless. The Pink Singers are really good too of course, but there was some trepidation as this concert was also seeing the trial of five of the new songs this season, two of which included choreography.

Over the last few weeks we've been polishing the dance moves, which in Pinkie parlance, means we've been simplifying the actions so that they were achievable in the time allowed. I am sure this frustrates our choreographers so end, but needs must, and the more complicated manoeuvres will undoubtedly be reintroduced later on for the summer concert itself. Anyway, thanks to the marvels of the internet, the Pink Insider, who has been in New York, missed most of the Den Haag rehearsals, but was quite thankful for the editing of the choreography for this concert.

It was with some excitement, therefore, that this Pinkie flew back from JFK to Heathrow, but an hour out from the airport, the captain of the plane made an announcement on the tannoy that, owing to a volcanic eruption, we would be diverting and landing in Paris instead. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Paris, but after ten days away I was really looking forward to returning to good ol' Blighty. Instead, I found myself with a few hundred bewildered passengers in Charles De Gaulle. Because it was so early on in the catastrophe, no-one really had any clue what was going on. I decided I'd take my chances, bite the bullet knowing that I'd have to pony up more cash, and buy a train ticket straight to the Hague.

I was grubby and smelly, not to mention somewhat hungry and dehydrated, and while I felt sorry for myself, on the balance of things, I was actually pretty lucky. By some quirk of fate the Pink Insider had decided to make the crossing by ferry, and so my transportation links, apart from this first leg, were not disrupted. Several of the other Pinkies, however, were still stuck in London, or already in the Netherlands, wondering how to get back. In true Pinkie spirit, and led by the indomitable Tanya, together with the driving skills of Mark W and Jenny Co, a little convoy crossed over to Dunkirk and made the 12 hour journey up to Holland. Through a variety of trains, boats and cars then, the majority of the Pinkies made it to our performance venue, and in fact we were only missing four people, due in part to illness.

So, how did the gig go? Well, we were all incredibly tired after the trip across, and our rehearsal was quite painful. We kept going out of tune, the blending was bad, we seemed to be racing through the songs and the choreography was messy. Part of it was due to the auditorium, which was a converted swimming pool and was therefore quite acoustically challenging. Still, we were running on a bit of a high, having already survived one challenge and looking forward to the next.

Mannenkoorts opened and closed the show, sandwiching the Pink Singers, and we had a chance to sit in the audience to watch them perform. As always, they were absolutely stunnning with a great blending of sound, some outstanding voices, and a great stage presence. I must confess to being a secret fan of Eric, the countertenor in Mannenkoorts, whose facial expressions were hilarious, and whose dulcet falsetto has a beautiful ring. In a way, that was probably good for us, because it made us all the more aware of just how good our own performance had to be.

And of course we pulled it out of the bag. The funny thing is that no matter how bad the rehearsal, we do seem to come together in the end. And, despite a rather tentative start, it was a really fun performance. It was telling that all the new songs were sung the best we have ever done them, which bodes well for our summer concert which is still quite a way away. Even the choreography, which tends to flummox us, came off pretty decently too. The audience, while seeming a little cool, eventually warmed up to us, and by the time we got to the end of the set, the stamping on the floor in appreciation threatened to sink us into the swimming pool below!

After that it was time for a much-deserved three or four glasses of beer and a chance to chat with our very friendly hosts and their friends. We are hoping to see Mannenkoorts as our gusts in the very near future, so do watch this space.

Yesterday was filled with the journey back: tram, train, ferry, bus and tube. I cannot tell you how glad I was to see my bed at long last!

Wednesday 14 April 2010

We Have Lift Off!

Although the Pink Insider is wending his long way to the Hague this weekend for the Pink Singers' concert with Mannenkoorts, things are heating up on other Pinkies' fronts. As I have said before, the summer concert "A Little Light Music" is the real biggie this season. We are performing solo (no guest choir) and also in Cadogan Hall which is twice the size of our normal venue, so my nails are well and truly chewed down.

We really need your support! The publicity machinery is winding up, and today sees the release of the concert poster, to augment the box office. What are you waiting for? See you at the summer concert.

Tuesday 6 April 2010

On Drowning

I watched two films in quick succession last night: A Single Man and Twilight: New Moon. Before you ask, yes I realize that these films cater to very different audiences, but I do these comparisons so you don't have to! They actually share much in common: thematically, both look at the subject of lost love, and interestingly, both prominently feature the motif of drowning.

Tom Ford's directorial debut, based on Christopher Isherwood's book and aimed as it is, to a more adult audience, is a beauty in restraint. The eponymous main character played by Colin Firth only voices over at the start and at the end, and even then more to provide a structural symmetry to the film than to elaborate, so you are left to experience the ravages of his loss, the struggles with containment of his emotion under a sedate demeanour, and his subsequent recovery and salvation, all obliquely through observation. The drowning imagery appears interspersed throughout the film and draws upon his helpless stuggles, despair and sense of morbidity. It was so moving the Pink Insider teared up at least twice.

In contrast, New Moon, based on Stephanie Meyer's vampire book and therefore aimed at peri-pubescents, follows Bella's own experience of a lost love, only instead of dying, her partner talks about it for about half an hour before just moving somewhere else. This of course, causes the heroine a considerable amount of pain and angst which she reminds you of incessantly by screaming at night and, lest you missed that she was upset, goes on and on about it in her non-stop voice overs. So when she decides to jump off the side of a cliff into the cold seas below, you almost wish she would drown, if only to stop all her inane chatter.

I know which film I prefer.

Monday 5 April 2010

The Evolution Of Design

If you've been paying attention to In The Pink(ies) you will notice that there have been a few design tweaks going on across all the sites. The new Pink Insider twitter page gave us the opportunity to make things a little more consistent across the main blog and the YouTube and Vimeo channels. If you visit on a daily basis, you will see the tweaks happening live. Some of these are very minor, while others are quite radical, but overall, if you are only seeing the end product it is hard to see how the design evolves.

In many ways, though, it is the evolution which is much more interesting, particularly if it gives you a chance to see what might have been. Recently, for instance, there was a wonderful article on how the design of the La Cage Aux Folles poster for the Broadway revival has changed. This week I was watching The Art Of The Steal, a tremendous film on the Barnes Foundation. Regardless of the merits of the film, however, what really caught my eye was the film poster, a marvellous blend of turquoise, strong shapes, typography in relief and highlight colours.

But the design was not always this way. Indeed, because the film actually came from Frank Abagnale's book, there are a lot of designs kicking about. All try to focus on slightly different elements of the story, in an attempt to cater to a different market. Take a look and see how much difference choice of colours, typography and layout can make!

Sunday 4 April 2010

Doctor... Who?

Sorry, couldn't help feeling a little distracted after last night's Doctor Who. Yes, Matt Smith, as the 11th Doctor, and Karen Gillan, as the new sidekick Amelia "Amy" Pond, are actually really good, and the story was exciting, and the CGI could still be improved, and the smugness of the Doctor was annoying as always, and it looks like the new series will be full of mysteries to be leisurely unravelled (witness the prominent logo for MΨTH on the laptop)...

...but who could concentrate when the gorgeous Tom Hopper was on screen? Here's hoping the character Jeff has a "meatier" role in future episodes...

Edit: Added more gratuitous nudity... but for a good cause!

And the outcome of this photoshoot is here. I've not displayed it as it is marginally NSFW.

Friday 2 April 2010

I Give A Damn, Do You?

The big news today appears to be Anna Paquin coming out as bisexual. I love her in True Blood, but not being a particularly obsessive person, have never really thought about what she is like in real life. It turns out that things aren't really so different as she is actually in a relationship with the actor who plays Bill the vampire. Anyway, that's by-the-bye.

Ms. Paquin's closet busting move was in aid of Give A Damn, an on-line campaign to promote LGBT rights, with a focus on the law - employment protection and marriage. However much people may or may not doubt the efficacy of these efforts, for those of us who are out or even coming out, it is reassuring to see statements of support by famous people, both straight and gay, trying to fight injustice.

Here's the main promo video. This Pink Insider totally loves Jason Mraz! Check out more on their YouTube channel.

Thursday 1 April 2010

Never Say Never Again

Uh. Okay. This is a bit embarassing. You know how yesterday I stated that:

...this is one blog which is not likely to go all twitter any time soon!


Well, not more than 24 hours later and I have entered into Sean Connery territory and discovered that twitter is actually a pretty good way of syndicating content. And you really don't have to know how to use RSS either. I guess it's just another way of distributing information.

So, yes, it is with a rather red face that I hereby announce that the Pink Insider now has a twitter feed, even if it is simply a reflection of the blog posts here in In The Pink(ies). Who knows? I may even set up a Facebook group at some stage!