Bridge Over Troubled Water

I can't believe that we are finally doing a gospel song in the choir, and a doozy we've picked too: an arrangement of Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water. Interestingly, at the start of the sheet music is a recommendation to see Luther Vandross and Jennifer Holliday singing the song for "stylistic authenticity". Well, thanks to the magic of YouTube there is a video of the pair singing it, ironically with Paul Simon, and totally stomping the composer vocally in the process.
Watching the video and listening to Jennifer Holiday's vocal pyrotechnics, I am not sure we can be that authentic, but we sure can try!

New Eclectic Season

The Pink Singers season has started again, and none too soon I might add. It was with a bit of a hop, skip and a jump that I went to rehearsal, running into Ali, Gill and Kate O on the way (the last actually missing gay Sunday at the zoo!) and it was like the first day of school all over again, but with classmates you actually like. Of course there were many new members too, some of whom looked shell shocked even before we started rehearsing! Now that we have auditions, I imagine that it is quite stressful, but I think we did our best to make them feel welcome. Fingers crossed for them. We have 4 slots in the tenors this season, but there are about twice as many would-be Pinkies for our voice part, so there has to be some selection process.

As usual, the first rehearsal is also when we get a peek at the repertoire for this season. It is typically diverse, and we sang two songs yesterday: Rutter's For The Beauty Of The Earth which is is typical saccharine sweet loveliness, and Brecht's Mack The Knife. I think we did a fairly creditable job all considered, and the latter inspired the album art for this season's rehearsal tracks. My Pink Bits is actually open for business, but I won't be posting access until the foruth week when the choir has settled down. In the interim, get in touch if you want to take a peek!

Welcome back everyone!

Pink Singers Twitter Design

If you've never been to the Pink Singers twitter page, or even if you have but your monitor is less than 1024 pixels wide, you have probably missed the slightly updated image which sits behind our tweets. It is a pic of us performing at Various Voices in May this year, with the updated logo. I thought I'd post it here in all it's glory so you can get an idea of what it looks like. If you are going to visit our twitter page, why not follow us while you're there?

Out Of Africa

It is a shame that I learnt of these rather gorgeous posters for the South African LGFF only through the report that they are being torn down in the streets of Cape Town. I'm doing my bit to virtually post them, but mainly because I really like the designs and want to share them!

Over The Rainbow

Here's a bit of morning happiness courtesy of the ever brilliant Mandy Patinkin. I love this version because the song itself is wonderful as it is, needing no embellishment, and Mandy's crystal voice is a perfect fit.

When all the world is a hopeless jumble,
And the raindrops tumble all around,
Heaven opens a magic lane.

When all the clouds darken up the skyway,
There's a rainbow highway to be found,
Leading from your windowpane,
To a place behind the sun,
Just a step beyond the rain.

Somewhere, over the rainbow,
Way up high,
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.

Somewhere, over the rainbow,
Skies are blue,
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.

Some day I'll wish upon a star,
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
Away above the chimney tops that's where you'll find me!

Somewhere, over the rainbow blue birds fly,
Birds fly over the rainbow,
Why then, oh why, can't I?

Someday I wish upon a star,
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
Away above the chimney tops that's where you'll find me!

Somewhere over the rainbow blue birds fly,
Birds fly over the rainbow,
Why then, oh why, can't I?

If happy little blue birds fly,
Beyond the rainbow,
Why, oh why, can't I?

Pink Singers Winter Season 2009 Next Sunday!

Just a quick reminder to one and all that the Pinkies' winter season will be starting in just over a week's time, on Sunday the 20th of September. I've just received word that one of our friends, Bernard, from Malta Gay Rights Movement will be coming to visit, and we have the usual bunch of newbies giving us a try too, so there's lots to look forward to. I've only heard rumours on the grapevine about this season's repertoire, but needless to say it is entirely new, and Michael De's arrangement of Wind Beneath My Wings is definitely in there. As for events, we are taking part in a competition in Manchester and our winter concert is some time in January, so not before the 25th of December as it was last Christmas (sorry, had to fit the Wham! reference in because of the gratuitous and not-at-all-gay photo above).

On a personal note:

I've got my sisters by my side,
I've got my sisters' love and pride,
And in my sisters' eyes I recognise,
The star I want to be.

And with my sisters standing strong,
I'm on the stage where I belong,
And nothing's ever gonna change the fact:
I'm part of one terrific sister act.

I really, really miss the choir now. Desperately need my Pink Singers fix ASAP!

2010 California Protection Of Marriage Act

In the wake of the farce that was the passing of Proposition 8 in California, one John Marcotte is taking the logic of 'protection of marriage' to its logical conclusion and asking that divorce be banned. He has set up a website called Rescue Marriage which makes for an amusing read. There is also an interview with him on Cockeyed.com. It is full of wodnerful quotes like:

People who supported Prop 8 weren't trying to take rights away from gays, they just wanted to protect traditional marriage. That's why I'm confident that they will support this initiative, even though this time it will be their rights that are diminished. To not support it would be hypocritical.

Britain Apologises To Alan Turing

There are some tragedies which are just too appalling to even think about. One of those is that of Alan Turing, the brilliant mathematician who cracked the Germans' engima code in World War II, helping to change the course of the war. In 'gratitude', he was arrested in 1952 for gross indecency (read 'being gay') and then chemically castrated. Two years later he committed suicide. Thankfully most of society has left that kind of bigotry behind, but it is important to recognise that a grave injustice was done, and apologise for it, if only to prevent such prejudice from ever rearing its ugly head again.

This is why it is so important that Gordon Brown issued an official apology to Alan Turing, and to the thousands of LGBT men and women who suffered at the hands of Britain Victorian laws. Bravo. And about time too.