free counter statistics


Home	Sitemap	Tickets	Mailing List	Guestbook	Press	Join Us	Search:

Pink Singers Home

Summer and Winter
Season 2007

LGBT History Month

by Charlie
Bass
February 2008

Pinkies Play Islington Town Hall for LGBT Month

13 Pinkies - including newbies like myself - turned out for a 'command performance' at Islington Town Hall's opening event for LGBT History Month, 1 Feb 2008.

It was a great privilege to 'play Islington' as the borough has always been at the centre of London’s LGBT history - from the first gay rights demonstration by Stonewall and the first 'out' Mayor (Robert Crossman) to groundbreaking community organisations like the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard and London Friend.

Islington also boasts the largest number of same sex cohabiting couples in London. Ahhhh!

After a careful warm-up with our maestro Michael - we entered the rather grand, oak-panelled and red-carpeted venue to the rousing applause of some 60 plus assembled guests.

A hush descended as Michael struck up the opening chords of Come What May on the electric keyboard. The well-polished harmonies really kicked in at the end of the song and we were rewarded with tumultuous applause from an enthusiastic crowd - including Out Lesbian Deputy Council Leader, Lucy Watt.

An impassioned rendition of "Hymne a l'Amour" followed, with the choir coping admirably with some tongue-twisting French lyrics.

Then is was 'Heads down on four!' for the Abba Medley - accompanied by the paired pelvic thrusting provided by Susan and Mark. The song was a suitably camp finish to a memorable evening.

Thanks must go to Michael for accompanying us so beautifully, Phillip for his amusing announcements and Lynne for organising the booking and the last rehearsal for this season.

Winter Concert: Amour and More

by Hsien
Tenor
January 2008

A special dash of ooh-la-la

All you need for a magical night out is three ingredients: dazzling singing, a supportive audience and a special dash of ooh-la-la. Apologies to our French guests for that dreadful reference, but their presence really made Amour And More, our winter concert one of the most memorable ever!

Perhaps it was because we recently performed with them in Paris, and were therefore already good friends; perhaps it was because Equivox have a really laid-back musical style and therefore complement the Pinkies really well. Either way, our Parisian counterparts set the tone for a really enjoyable performance.

It all began the day before when they arrived en masse via Eurostar into St .Pancras. Lynne had her Various Voices placard from 2004 with her and, short of bursting into song, we couldn’t have been more obvious. Mind you, Equivox – all sixty odd of them – were hard to miss too. Babette, their zany chef de choer, simultaneously bouncy from arriving in London, and slightly panicky in asking for directions to West Hampstead, managed to leave her luggage behind in the arrival hall!

Simon and I were had a couple of members from Equivox as guests. One of them, Sebastian, had hosted us previously when we were in Paris, so it was a great opportunity to thank him for his hospitality. We had such a great time in France it was with more than a little anxiety that we welcomed them into our tiny flat.

Indeed, we had a number of activities in store for our guests, but since they arrived quite late into London, and the concert was just the next day, it was difficult to plan anything particularly thrilling. The next day we all went for lunch at a local southern Indian restaurant – hey, I had to give them a taste of Britain’s favourite food!

There was just enough time for a quick rest before nipping down to the Royal Academy of Music for our warm ups. The excitement was palpable, and I think you could especially feel it emanating off the many newbies we had this season. They really put a lot of effort in: Amy looked a treat in her dress and stillettoes, and right up to getting on stage - and even after - Ben was fussing about his pink accessory! If you look closely in the photos you can see who the new members are because their shirts tend to be “blacker”!

By the time the doors opened the foyer was totally packed with people. Some resting Pinkies were working the crowd, and I saw Keri and gang hawking our CDs to great success. Then the even better news came – we were entirely sold out! I can’t remember this ever happening before, so it was quite a momentous occasion.

Peering down from the balcony it was great seeing all the familiar faces in the swollen audience, and what an enthusiastic bunch they were too. When Equivox came on the applause was rapturous, and when they performed the crowd went wild. Babette’s background is in street theatre, and it really shows in their stage presence. This year, their theme was of a beach party, and there were choir members dressed in swimming costumes, scuba gear, hula skirts and farmer’s tans.

In many ways, Equivox is a complement to the Pink Singers – their singing approach is more casual than ours, and they are very dynamic when they perform. The two songs which stood out for me was their opening number Aline, and a beautiful medley of European pop songs called Amore. By the time their set was done, the atmosphere in the auditorium was relaxed which helped to set the stage for our half.

This year there were a few changes to the way the songs were performed. Instead of Philip R and perhaps a few extra presenters, more Pinkies were involved, and we had small introductions by yours truly, as well as Philip G, Susan, Joey, Lynne and Andrew F. It was wonderful seeing how different people approached the task, and I really loved Joey’s camping it up in his spiel about the musical numbers. Zane, our sign language interpreter, also got in on the action and donned pink satin gloves for his bit.

And what a performance it was too! All the anxiety over Dies Irae proved to be groundless as we gave it the best shot we have ever done. It was a thunderous opening number and one the audience really seemed to love. Even Come What May, which at the start of the season sounded more like nails being dragged across a blackboard, sounded simply heavenly, and I saw a number of people in the audience breaking down in tears as we reached the crescendo. Finally, I want to congratulate the sopranos and altos on their wonderful performance of Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend. They didn’t have a huge amount of time to prepare it, but were slick and sexy anyway!

All too soon we found ourselves joined on stage by Equivox, singing the joint song finale Fields of Gold. I have always loved this particular arrangement, and with our numbers doubled by the French choir the sound was wonderfully rich and emotive. It is surprising how exhausting performing can be, and I always feel a little light-headed afterwards – a combination of adrenaline and needing to pee I suspect.

Once we got off the stage it was a mad rush to get changed into civilian gear, and then to the bar where I met up with a bunch of my friends who came down to see Simon and I. Some of them were here for the first time, and they were very impressed indeed, so much so that a couple of them expressed interest in hiring us for future events! It looks like 2008 is off to a good start for the Pink Singers.

Concerts in Paris

by Jenny
Soprano
December 2007

Like a family?

‘Your choir is like ours’, smiled Aline, my host for the weekend, having met Cilla, Jo, a particularly exuberant Johnathon and I at Gare du Nord. ‘Everyone seems really friendly and welcoming’. ‘Like a family?’ I suggested. We both laughed. What a wonderful weekend followed! Equivox were the most charming of hosts, everyone enjoyed themselves and, I must say, it was one of my favourite foreign trips with the Pink Singers so far.

The dismal weather, which continued all weekend, precluded any proper sightseeing, so we headed back to Aline’s cosy flat, where she made tea and my gift of all-butter highland shortbread biscuits went down a treat – ‘now we can have tea and biscuits, just like in England!’ she laughed. Aline’s English was rather more polished than my rusty degree-level French but, with her encouragement – and Johnathon’s – we took it in turns throughout the weekend to talk in both languages.

Tea was soon followed by a memorably delicious dinner with fellow Pinkies at ‘Le Coude Fou’, a traditional French wine bar/restaurant in the Marais. By the time we got to the Open Café to meet the others I was starting to wilt a little and only managed one drink before calling it a night.

I awoke the next morning to noises from the kitchen and the smell of something delicious and savoury wafting under the bedroom door…Aline was preparing a savoury ‘cake’ for the pre-concert brunch and this was the first of several home-cooked treats over the course of the weekend – I can still taste the quiche she prepared for the brunch on Sunday, which was rapidly devoured as soon as it arrived.

‘C’est le troisième, c’est chic!’, I was told as we entered the very grand and ornate town hall in the 3rd arrondissement, where the two concerts were to be held. We warmed up in a side room, then squeezed onto the tiny stage for the rehearsal. The few hours before the first concert flew by, as they usually do when you’re so focussed on the music, Mladen’s conducting, remembering words in Latin, French and English (and trying to talk in all three), devouring savoury ‘cake’ and swigging Normandy cider!

Equivox were highly entertaining and gave a quite compelling performance. Babette, their vivacious and theatrical ‘chef de choeur’ is not so much a conductor as an artistic inspiration. She really engages each and every singer with infectious enthusiasm, demanding passion in every song. Very French! The outfits are quite a hoot too, this year’s theme being ‘beach party’.

Our own performances went down very well with the audience, who particularly loved the French pieces. It was really heartening to see people in the front few rows fondly singing the words to ‘Hymne à l’amour’ – the French still have a great affection for Edith Piaf. Aline congratulated us backstage after the first concert, saying she’d been very moved – ‘Now I can really understand the great English choral tradition!’, she enthused.

For me, one of the highlights of the weekend was our joint performance, with Equivox, of ‘Let the sunshine in’, complete with extended chorus and grinning, arm-swaying audience participation, presided over by Babette in her absolute element. It’s one of those great moments when the song leaves the stage with you and echoes through the corridors and in your head for days afterwards. What a fabulous end to the show!

World aids day 2007

by Ben
Bass
November 2007

Raising funds for Positive Rainbow

I've only very recently become a Pinkie, and was keen to get a performance under my belt before we all dash off on the Eurostar to Paris. So I eagerly signed up to the World Aids Day evening concert last week on Wednesday 28th November. Being a true South East Londoner I rarely go further North than Kings Cross, and so I was very pleased to arrive at Tottenham Hale Tube to find the lovely Lynne who could guide us all on our way to the venue. When we arrived I was pleased to see lots of other new pinkies, who like me were looking slightly pale and nervous.

The performance was in the White Hart pub and was part of an evening to raise funds for Positive Rainbow, a Haringey support network for gay and bisexual men living with HIV. A really important cause, and one that is well worth new pinkies losing their nerves for.

Off we went into the highly salubrious pub kitchen for our rehearsal, and to don our Pinkies T-shirts. I have of course, spent every waking moment learning my music but was a bit concerned about singing without it in front of the public for the first time -especially as this was supposed to be a 'small group' concert. It turned out though that the basses came out in force; and as we are obviously the strongest and best section of the choir I felt quite safe..

We took our position in front of the stage after a charming drag act had thoroughly humiliated a poor defenceless teenager, and I was very much hoping our audience were looking forward to something a little more relaxing, a little more cultured. After our marvellous introduction and a quick tune up, we sang our Abba Medley, Come What may and You'll Never Walk Alone. All three went well, and by the end of our set I was starting to feel a bit more confident about actually allowing any sound to come out of my mouth. You'll never walk alone is a good spirit-rousing tune and really helps me to find my feet when performing. For me, I think that was the best of our 3 songs and the audience really seemed to enjoy it.

It was all over too quickly for my liking.. Before I knew what had happened we were trooping back into the kitchen and then back out again for a much needed drink. My fellow new members had all had a good experience too, and we all shared collective relief at having finally graduated to fully fledged performing pinkies - phew!

After a few drinks I decided to wander home. On my way back I had a few minutes to reflect on the evening and realised that I had really enjoyed myself. I was nervous about joining the choir for a couple of reasons but strangely, performing wasn't really one of them. I was more nervous about entering a social group and not knowing anyone. But, I felt entirely comfortable during the course of the evening and felt like I had some good friends around me. I'm really looking forward to getting to Paris and repeating the whole experience with all my new friends and our continental counterparts, Equivox..

Pink! its the colour of the season.

by Mikki
Alto
September 2007

Pink really was the colour of the season.

Far too early one Friday morning, I found myself in Heathrow airport about to get on a plane for the first time in a decade. I was alternating between nervousness and excitement. Just as I was starting to panic, Lynne and Michael arrived and we checked in and got through security in record time. I really enjoyed the flight. I love looking out of the window at the clouds below.
At Helsinki airport we were met by a group from Out'n Loud, including my host for the weekend, Mathias. We got our weekend travel cards from Mikko and then Mathias drove Lynne and I back to his flat.

We had been there only a few minutes when Mladen and Paul, who were also staying with Mathias, returned from their day of sight seeing and suggested that we go out for dinner. We got on the bus and went to a great Italian restaurant in Helsinki Centre.

We’d heard that a lot of the Pinkies were going to a nearby karaoke bar so we decided to join them. The bar was full of Pinkies and Out’n Loud choir members, all of whom were singing their hearts out. I was really tired so I didn't stay long but before I left, I joined in with all the other Pinkies there singing Angels.

The next day, I had a quiet morning dozing on Mathias’s very comfortable sofa before going off to the rehearsal. The rehearsal was made far more interesting because at least half the choir had colds. So all through the rehearsal, throat sweets, paracetemol and cough medicine were being passed around. There was a great piece of music on the wall which made me laugh. If you didn’t get a look at it there then here are some links. It's definitely worth a look.

FaeriesAire and DeathWaltz

FaeriesAire and DeathWaltz 2

We moved into the actual hall which had amazing acoustics, and the Helsinki choir joined us to practice the joint song. After all the panicking we’d been doing to try and learn the words, it turned out that they didn’t know them either! We left them rehearsing on stage and went off to find lunch.

After lunch we went to try and find our dressing room. It was somewhere in the deepest darkest basement, but it did really have a mirror with light bulbs all the way round it! Having got ready we hurried to the balcony so we could watch the Out’n Loud choir’s performance. They were really good, though I wished I could understand the words.

And then it was time for us to perform. I think we were brilliant, though the great acoustics in the hall probably helped. The Abba encore got a few laughs and I could see that the audience were enjoying it. The joint song went well too.

Then it was off to one of the strangest parties I think I’ve ever been to (and I’ve been to some really weird parties!). The bar area downstairs was huge, which was great. There were sofas and quieter areas as well as the dance floor and bar. And of course there was the sauna. Don’t you always find saunas in nightclubs?

It was very interesting, listening to past Eurovision hits, watching sweaty gay men wearing nothing but towels on the dance floor. I’m sure if I was a gay man I would have really enjoyed it, but as a lesbian it was an amusing but slightly disturbing experience.
Lynne, Mathias and I got home at about 3am and considered locking Mladen and Paul, who had gone home earlier, in their room so they couldn’t wake us up too early in the morning. Unfortunately we decided against it and so far too early Sunday morning, we were woken up by Mladen and Paul who had decided we were going out to breakfast.

We went to a little café which claimed to serve English breakfasts. I don’t think they quite understood how unhealthy English breakfasts are supposed to be though, as they seemed to contain rather a lot of fruit as well as the traditional bacon and eggs.
Then Mathias kindly took Lynne and I sight seeing around the city. We went to the Lutheran Church at the top of a huge flight of stairs, the Church in the Rock, the market by the harbour and the view of Helsinki from the top of the tower. At every stop we bumped into more Pinkies who were also cramming in some sight seeing before travelling home.
There were quite a lot of us pinkies on the flight home. I was shattered and I think I slept most of the way. Having to get on the tube after an amazing weekend like that was a bit of a let down but it was good to get home.
I had an amazing time on my first Pinkie trip aboard and am really looking forward to Paris. Thanks guys for making the weekend so special.

A Little Of What You Fancy

by Ben
Tenor
June 2007

Something Fishy or a Diva from the Deep Sea?

16th June 2007 saw the advent of our Summer concert at the RAM.

It started off with the Deep C Divas, the lesbian acappella group from Yorkshire. Deep C Divas was formed in 1999 and had performed at Parisian bandstands and the Sydney Opera House. Their repertoire includes everything from traditional folk songs to Chaka Khan (mystical, new age-y?). The set was supposed to be the combination of personal and political, serious and silly, funky and feminist, romantic and raunchy - good lines for a dating website profile! They performed six songs which were Falling, Simple Love, Only One Way, When I Held Your Hand, I Hope and My Girl.

Then we had our gorgeous Something Fishy. The four members were: Eliza Marz (vocals), Lara Montage (vocals), Vinnie Los Campos (vocals/guitar) and 'Funky'Fingers Findlay (vocals/keyboard). Guess who they really are? This sexy, sassy, witty combination transported you through time and delivered kitsch melodies and downright dirty disco (Eurotrash?). All the music was arranged by Something Fishy and tonight we were treated to songs like Something Fishy, Angela ( I didn't know there was a Lesbian bar in Walthamstow!), Japanese Girl/Boy (missed that one 'cos we were backstage already!) and Only You (by the most wonderful Alison Moyet).

Before the end of the first half, the audience had a quick glimpse of great things to come when the Pinkies paired up with Paleday's Anthony Stubbs to sing a moving song in memory of Anthony's dad who died of Alzheimer's disease. A catchy tune: Look up at the Stars with lots of tears of joy.

The second half kicked off with a colourful piece by John Rutter. It was a compilation of different songs which stimulated all your senses. It had the smell of the Fancy Bred (Bread!), a erotic garden full of sweet cherries ( I keep having this mental picture of sitting in the garden... where is the garden? ), the naughty urchins popping up here and there, the creepy animals going ting ting ting and tweak tweak tweak, and finally end with a silly riddle. Yes, cherries again! A highly technical piece and our accompanist Michael also had a chance to display his virtuosity on the piano.

Then we had Bruckner's Motets: Afferentur Regi and Tantum Ergo. Followed by Karl Jenkins' In Paradisum from his Requiem. Beautiful harmony and top notes for our sopranos and altos who sang the middle part with angelic voices. The audience was in heaven.

Our beloved music arranger, Andy Mitchinson, provided us with two songs to sing. They were Kate Bush's This Woman's Work and Blur's Girls and Boys. Apparently, This Woman's Work is about pregnancy and Girls and Boys... the national gay and lesbian anthem! In between, we had Linda Perry's Beautiful. That was a song for our altos to shine and they shone indeed. We are all beautiful no matter what they say. Lots of hmmm... and oooh... from the tenors and basses.

The big finale of the Summer concert of course was Big Band Bash, the jazziest tunes you can get from the great composers like Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Benny Goodman. My favourite one of course is (I Love You) for Sentimental Reasons and It Don't Mean A Thing. I just realised from reading the score the latter was from "Sophisticated Ladies". Doesn't that mean the Pinkies?

Our encore piece was Love Song for a Vampire by Annie Lennox, once again arranged by our beloved Andy, specially for basses, of course.

Lastly, big thank you to Mladen, Michael, Lynne, Zane (our sign interpretor) and everybody who contributed to the concert in various ways. Love you all.

Clap, clap, clap...

For more photos

Blow Out Bands Night!

by Maia
Soprano
June 2007

It was an event that took the D out of "fundraising" and put the F back into "fabulous". Yes, I am referring to the divine Blowout Bands Night, at the Black Cap Pub organised by the altos/tenors.

We were ushered through and our hands were stamped with an ink so powerful, that I still have a souvenir of last Saturday evening on my hand - a moving reminder of the fabulous evening that followed.

The first band was the rocking Nelson Romeu with its talented lead singer Jackie. The band's intense and innovative rhythms got the evening off to a rollicking good start.

The next act was the brilliant Thankyou Driver, who ventured across the river from the depths of South London to give us a sublime set consisting of music that was a fusion of folk, jazz, rock, and a little something extra. The songs (with the exception of one cover) were all composed by the highly talented singers and instrumentalists Cilla and Lucy.

Up next was the flamboyantly talented Paleday who provided us with such groovy tunes that almost the entire population of the pub emptied out onto the dance floor. However there was also room for a moment of seriousness with Anthony's touching ballad Look Up At The Stars.

And then of course we were treated to the fabulous Something Fishy! The combined talents of its members (Tanya, Gill, Johnathon and Carol) are unending and their costumes are sublime. The group sang numbers which are on their way to becoming legendary namely Accident and Angela. Also of note was their moving cover of the Yazoo classic Only You with the beautifully fused harmonies of Tanya, Gill, and Carol and Johnathon's meticulous vocal instrumentation.

The sound of all the bands was crystal clear thanks to the brilliant sound engineering of Bookie.

It was an evening to remember and sheer proof that the alto/tenor sections are funraisers of the highest calibre.

For more photos

South Side Story: A Southwark Hunt

by Philip Gatter
Bass
May 2007

On 19 May a group of Pinkies and their friends gathered outside Southwark Cathedral. Were we going to bash the bishop? No (Southwark Cathedral is known as being gay friendly), but following the popularity of Kay's Big Pink Hunt last year the basses had decided to have a treasure hunt for their fundraiser. The setting would be the Thames path heading westwards, more or less (less in the case of some teams; see below).

As the last hopefuls dashed into the crowds at Borough Market (hee hee) Mark and I sauntered off to get a picnic and wend our way gently to the finishing point. On our way we rang 'The Fluffs', the first team to leave, to see how far they had got. We needn't have worried, they were going mental in the Tate Modern. A potentially very competitive team, one 'Fluff' made the mistake of accusing us of giving misleading information. They were the first team to drop out, needing to go and get changed for Glyndebourne (darlings)!

One other team were to drop out: 'Doctors and the Medic'. Oh dear, they'd given up the will to live. Perhaps not surprisingly, the first to the finish, outside the Museum of Garden History (no, we'd never heard of it either), were 'Kay's Big Posse.' They scored 22 out of 24 and got an extra three points for being the quickest team, in a breathtaking 2 hours and 38 minutes, making them the clear winners. Unfortunately one of the clues had disappeared between our setting the questions and the day of the hunt. This led to a lot of aimless wandering around, and long finishing times. One team was more aimless than others, and deserves a special mention. In last place came 'The Prince Carols'. They scored 6 out of 24 and had 3 marks deducted for making three phone calls when they were helplessly lost. They even lost 'Prince Carol' who went off to watch the footy. Their first call was from Trafalgar Square. Were they on the right track? No. They then caught a taxi to another wrong place. Finally they walked right past the end point without seeing us and ended up at St Thomas' Hospital (though not in A&E). I think a fairy must have made Mark and me invisible, though only to one team.

The winners walked off with £40 of theatre tokens, bottles of booze, a flash disk and lots of books (the latter thanks to Andy Mitchinson's kind donation). 'The Prince Carols' got an unauthorised biography of Britney. All in all we made (need to check takings with Annie) for the choir, and all of us had a bit of fun, one way or another.

A Weekend In The Country

by Fran
Soprano
April 2007

Friday evening saw eleven Pinkies heading towards Streatley Youth Hostel, a spacious old house near the Thames on the Berkshire - Oxfordshire border. The little country towns of Streatley and Goring face each other across the river, nestled in a valley set among the gentle Chiltern hills. This year we were catered for by friendly hostel staff, and Friday's veggie dinner option was so good that Mel had it again for breakfast. Maya kept us entertained at dinner with "strange but true" animal stories and Liang and Hsien finally arrived later in the evening, thanks to the assistance of the AA.

On Saturday we awoke to clear weather. After a cooked breakfast, including some slightly strange scrambled egg, most of us set off on a five mile walk along the river, led by Michael with the map, who warned us about all but one of the hills beforehand. Liang managed to keep his shoes in pristine condition while Fran sank up to her ankles in river mud, having decided to investigate the bulrushes. Annie looked all set for the Arctic with a Siberian style cap.

Vicky and Keri joined us later in the Greyhound Pub at Whitchurch, Vicky needing time to recover from a bad cold. Food and service were excellent, and it was warm enough to eat at least one course al fresco. We gladly accepted the offer of lifts back to the hostel from Liang, and people rested, read the papers and played cards until dinner, which was delayed so we could indulge in the good old tradition of watching Dr Who on Saturday evening (but without anyone hiding behind the sofa! Liang then initiated some of us into the mysteries of Mah Jong, while others played cards, to a background of non-stop karaoke.

The highlight of the evening was Liang's presentation of a card and flowers to Lynne and Annie, with the announcement that the Pink Singers had collectively chosen to sing for free at their civil partnership reception, in recognition of all the work that Lynne and Annie have done for the choir.

No hangovers on Sunday morning! Most people opted for fried eggs instead of the suspicious scrambled ones, apart from those brave souls who had kippers. We had a group photo in the garden before getting ready to leave the hostel mid-morning. Lynne and Annie, Fran and Hester set off along the Thameside path towards the village of North Stoke. Weather was warm and sunny and we watched swans taking off and landing majestically along the river. Spring flowers and blossom were out and it was one of those calm, sunny mornings that make you feel vibrant with life. We were disappointed to find that the only restaurant in North Stoke was fully booked for lunch, and no taxis would be available for at least half an hour. We took a short cut back by road to the pub at South Stoke, and recharged our batteries with a quality Sunday roast, before returning to the hostel and Streatley station. A satisfying end to a relaxing weekend with friends. Let's do it again next year!

For more photos

Capital Quiz (Part 2)

by Johnathon
Tenor
January 2007

Hello ladies and gents,

Well, after a valiant fight, and a rather absurd amount of adrenaline, we the Pink Singers 2, ended up thoroughly trounced by the opposition at the Black Cap last night (Monday 26th February 2007). The pain! The sorrow!

I have to say, I am most disappointed. Not one question about Girls Aloud for the WHOLE contest! Like, what is that about?

The questions were devilishly difficult, but we did our utmost to answer them. Correctly.

Top marks and ultimate brownie points go to Emelda, who managed to score a whopping EIGHT POINTS on Northern Ireland! Tanya and I sat mouths agape. Next year we will return armed with more inane knowledge! Yes!

On a really quite mad note, I ended up chatting to someone in French at the bar who it turned out was German, and who it turned out was someone I knew when I lived in Toulouse, France a whole 5 years ago. Before LDN. Before the Pinkies! When I used to sing in an accappella choir with an anaesthetist and tuning fork, and we would belt out 15th century French drinking songs to unsuspecting passers-by of a Saturday morn.

Hmmm, I much prefer the Dukes Hall and (shock!) even the Fancies, compared to that.

Again, well done Emelda, you are a total star.

Out In Time

by Gill
Alto
with nearly 100% paraphrasing by Hsien!
February 2007

On the evening of the 12th of February 2007, the small group was priveleged to perform at the launch of Out In Time , a gay and lesbian history of the East End, at the Docklands Musuem in Canary Wharf.

The place itself was a converted warehouse with lofty ceilings, so there was some concern about how the acoustics would work, especially since the audience seemed to be doing the networking thing. There was some initial anxiety too about getting us all there in time, but the last few of our group showed up in the nick of time and we trooped on stage.

After a brief introduction, the dozen or so of us launched into our usual mix of jazz and pop numbers. We opened with Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy which is always a winner, and performed a version of Ain't Misbehavin' which those of us there will remember for a long time. Then there was the crowd-pleasing Madness medley. Many people stopped to sing along which is always a confidence boost! We performed a half hour set to appreciative applause.

After that there was time to have a glass of wine and wander around the exhibition. The East End certainly is rich in gay cultural history, and we were pleased to be a part of this celebration of London's gay roots.

Mark chastely Hollywood-kissed me, which was one the the highlights of the evening!

For more photos

Capital Quiz (Part 1)

by Michael
Small group MD
January 2007

On Monday 15th January, three pinkies; Johnathan, Philip and Michael, took part in the first preliminary round of the Capital Quiz.

Capital Quiz is a well established annual event involving teams from all over London. The teams are varied: Football supporters, Metropolitan Community Church, mates who go to the pub, ...and The Pink Singers. The quiz is organised jointly by London Monday Group ( no, not the Monday Club! ) and Homo Promos; the brainchild of the amazing Peter Scott-Presland: writer, impresario, theatre director, performer, ( Michael was his pianist at a Pirate Jenny gig last year ), and he is the person who sets and asks the questions.

The hosts are The Black Cap pub in Camden. They supply the venue, the sandwiches and, most importantly, the prize money. The event also raises hundreds of pounds for the wonderful Food Chain.

So, how did Pink Singers Team 1 get on? We didn't come last, but neither were we in the top two teams going forward to the quarter-finals. But we did enjoy the event. In each round we got enough questions correct so as not to feel stupid ( 100% in the last round ), and the whole event was very relaxed and friendly. Congratulations to London Monday Group, Homo Promos and The Black Cap.

Pink Singers Team 2 will be in the hot seat on Monday 5th February. We all wish them luck. Let's go along and support them. Observers can make up a 'scratch' team and do the quiz along with the official teams. Come along. It's great fun. You get to drink beer and look like a smart-arse. Perfect!

Winter Season 2006

Still Misbehavin'

by James M
Tenor
December 2006

Hsien sat down with James to have a chat about James' experience of Still Misbehavin', our winter concert 2006 and his debut with the Pink Singers.

Hsien: I'm Hsien, the webmaster.
James: And I'm James, I was a new member last season.
H: Absolutely, we're doing this because James is going to give us his report on what his first choir concert was like.
J: And it was brilliant! I really, really loved it. I was a lot more nervous than I expected.
H: I think that most people have nervous jitters coming up to the concert. I remember my own first concert four years ago - it was terrifying.
J: Yes, terrifying but really exciting at the same time. Having everyone dress up in black and their bit of pink, all that added an extra element. And having friends and all sorts of important people come see the gig, I found that quite exciting.
H: Did you have a lot of people come along?
J: I had about ten people come, a mixture of friends and from work, and it was good, it went down really well with them.
H: They enjoyed it did they?
J: They thought it was a lot more professional - that's what they said - than they had expected, and lots of good comments about how really people like the fact that we have a big range of stuff. There was the camp 'Wash That Guy (sic) Right Outa My Hair' and the folksongs mixed. People really liked that.
H: Excellent. Any particular song that you really liked?
J: I must be one of the few people in the choir who actually really liked 'Early One Morning'.
H: Yeah, I absolutely hated it, but there you go!
J: So that was one of my favourites and I really loved 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy'
H: Yeah, I liked that one too.
J: I don't think there were any I didn't like. I actually quite liked the 'Birdie Birdie' song (Brahms Love Song Waltzes Op. 52 song 6) as well.
H: That's when the tenors got to shine, you know.
J: Yeah, I don't know whether we did or not!
H: Well, I hope so!
J: I think I have got to work on my moves.
H: The worst thing is being caught on video putting your hand up at the wrong time. I am totally guilty of that.
J: I'm sure I probably did as well. Am I going forward or not? But I'm going to work on it.
H: Anyway, fantastic to see you back this season. And, new members are welcome. We need more new tenors, more new basses, so if people are interested, then please let Ed know. Fantastic, thank you very much.

Carolling At Waterloo

by Michael
Small group MD
December 2006

On Wednesday 6th December 2006 a small group of Pinkies sang carols at Waterloo station in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care. The idea was: We sing; they shake buckets; money falls into buckets.

Concert dress was Pink Singers short sleeved t-shirts, but on arrival, and after a quick assessment of the ambient temperature, this was changed to pullovers, overcoats, scarves and woolly hats. We sang unaccompanied, in full harmony, a 20 minute set. Then we had a short break and repeated the set.

We sang Coventry Carol (original tune and harmonisation of 1591 - you can't get much further from Madonna than this!), While Shepherds Watched, Good King Wenceslas (with counter-melody from Mikki), Ding Dong! Merrily on High, and Once in Royal David's City (with descant from Claire. Then it was Tanya's idea to do a quick burst of We Wish You A Merry Xmas for the collectors. People stopped to listen and the money did indeed drop into the buckets. Only one more thing to do: Drink the mulled wine brought by Lynne.

We had support from Kay (cheerleader and photographer) and Warren (flyers for the Royal Academy concert). Liang and Phillip R had managed to get out of work to attend. Jo was a rock in the alotos - apparently, the alto parts of carols are hard wired from youth. Mark had written out all the words next to the music so he did'nt loose his place (like I did).

Thanks to everyone who took part, and thanks to Marie Curie Cancer Care for inviting us. It was a good gig.

For more photos

Pinkies At The Home Office

by Cilla
Alto
December 2006

I was most excited when I heard the pinkies needed some more altos to sing in Admiralty Arch before Christmas this year. I thought, "Gosh, its not just something to drive under, you can go inside, who knew?" I looked up some history on the Arch, apparently it was originally commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of his mother, Queen Victoria. Its there to divide the hectic traffic of Trafalgar Square from the mall. Oh and apparently it has nothing whatsoever to do with the navy.

It also doesn't have an obvious front door. This I learned when I starting walking around the arch looking for a door in. I considered it was a Harry Potter, Kings Cross platform 8 1/2 type deal and thought it might be interesting to try and run at an arch and see if I was magically transported inside. I found an open door with a security guard instead and introduced myself "Hi I'm with the Pink Singers, we're doing a concert here tonight?" Two delightful women from the civil service (who turned out later to be audience members) were with me. The security guard said he hadn't heard anything about a concert, didn't have a clue were we were to go and said the office buildings in the arch were closed for the evening. One of the nice audience members persisted in questioning him until he phoned somebody and found out were were to go to the door across the arch. Excuse me for not knowing where the doors to the arch thing are, sheesh.

We dodged the taxis (eeek don't ever do that, walk around the arch on foot, it's really dangerous) and found the other door. These security guards were expecting us and were very friendly and gave us badges and everything.

Our audience were lesbian and gay civil servants and were very warm and enthusiastic about our performance. Michael and Lynn managed to whip us into shape and we sang from our winter repertoire and added some Christmas carols. We even got and encore and delighted the audience with the dancing rendition of the Madonna Medley.

We joined the audience members for nibbles and wine after wards and a good time was had by all. I'm sure we did Queen Victoria proud.

World AIDS Day

by Tanya
Soprano
November 2006

The Pinkies Small Group raise the rafters at Wood Green library!

Wednesday 29th November saw the Pink Singers Small Group Perform at Wood Green Library for Positive Rainbow's annual World Aids Day event.

Led by Michael Derrick, the group began with an upbeat version of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy followed by the smooth jazz standard Ain't Misbehavin'. Phillip Rescorla MC'd the event in his own inimitable style making the audience giggle and groan with his witty one liners. With only eleven voices our version of Brahm's Waltzes was performed as the composer had intended, for an ensemble group. Johnathon, usually a tenor, worked really hard to relearn all the numbers as a bass and sang a beautiful solo in Love Song for a Vampire, which went down very well with the audience. Sheer Madness had heads nodding and feet tapping along with the creative medley arranged by Andy from the bass section. A beautiful, intimate version of Robbie William's Angels finished the show and left the audience calling for more.

Whilst chatting to the audience after the show I was very pleased to hear lots of positive comments and promises of ticket sales for our next concert! The organisers were delighted and we hope to be back again next year.

I would like to thank Michael and all the Small Group performers for giving up their valuable time to make events like this possible. Small Group performances help us become more and more visible. Well done all!

Battle Of The Brains

by Carol
Tenor
November 2006

With the promise of star prizes, a jolly good sing-song and assorted beverages of the alcoholic variety, plus the opportunity to engage our brains in something a little more taxing than 'Deal or No Deal' we all arrived excitedly and full of expectation at the Black Cap with a £5 note burning a hole in our little sweaty hands for the Soprano Section's fundraiser.

Emelda was quiz mistress for the evening and, heckling aside, held court fantastically. Needless to say, no encouragement was needed to steer clear of winning the wooden spoon, and by half-time there were only 3 points separating the first three teams. Everyone fought a valiant fight through a selection of questions ranging from the original presenter of Family Fortunes# to naming the 5 four lettered elements on the Periodic table*. As a result, it ended with two teams drawing for second place, whilst the winners received a fine selection of vino, much to the detriment of the rest of us.

It was at this point that we chose to unshackle ourselves from the burden of thinking and really let fly by revving up the karaoke machine. Being the singing fashionistas of the LGBT world, there's no stopping a Pinky from grabbing the mike and unleashing our talents to the world (although I believe the 'good girls' amongst us went home at this point)! As you can imagine, there was much dance floor gyration, refilling of pint glasses and heterosexual belly biting (he was lifting his shirt up - what else was he expecting to happen in a gay bar!) as we bopped our way through Mac The Knife, Shout, Chain Reaction, Suspicious Minds and many other assorted camp classics.

A glorious night was had by all, and I'll be surprised if anyone can remember half of what actually went on! But who would have thought that such a sweet, demure, and ladylike section such as the Sopranos could hold a night of unadulterated, dark and shameless fun?

#Bob Monkhouse
*Gold, Iron, Lead, Neon, Zinc

On The (Windsor) Fringe

by Johnathon
Tenor
September 2006

What a start to the new season! 8.30 a.m. on a Saturday morning is not normally my idea of 'the best time to get up' but for a change, I was quite happy to. We were going to visit the Queen in Windsor! Off I toddled armed with a surprisingly clear head, sheet music and a wealth of Enya on my headphones to soothe me into the day. The fun started early, bumping into Carol on the bus on the way to Waterloo, and doing what the Pinkies do best – chatting with a hint of the gossip.

Windsor's fringe festival had invited us to participate in some street singing and to woo the ears of passers-by. And woo we did. Eventually.

After a train-ride full of sunshine and lovely lake views (it was just like Sweden all over again!), we arrived. Shock no. 1: we were singing about a mile from the station. Shock no. 2: Michael's keyboard weighed about 5 tonnes. Shock no. 3: I agreed to carry it. Upon arrival, we were rather bemused to find that the generator we needed to power the mother of all keyboards made a noise akin to a speedboat, and refused to give us any power. Much umm-ing and aah-ing ensued. Quick-thinking Tanya saved the day with a trip to the hardware shop and on we went.

Bemused shoppers stopped to listen in the sun, curious toddlers were agog at Michael's digital dexterity, and we the Pink were happy to be back singing. A quick set and a romp through Bond was just what we needed to work up an appetite. Off to the tapas bar, where lunch was consumed in record time, and back for a repeat performance, where we bumped into ex-Pinkie Ben about to leave for Oz. Fair dinkum (and the best of luck to you).

As ever, once we had finished, it was destination: pub. With the keyboard. And raucous laughter and singing. Then the train: ditto. Then (surprise!) another pub in Waterloo. Aah, I knew there was something missing from my life. I didn't know it was 6 pints of lager, but you live and learn. Roll on next year. And I promise I'll have learned all the words by then.

For more photos

Select An Event Here

Winter Season 2007

LGBT Month Islington 2008
Winter concert: Amour and more
Concerts in Paris
World Aids day
Helsinki: Pink! Its the colour of the season

Summer Season 2007

Summer Concert 2007: A Little Of What You Fancy
Blowout Bands Night!
South Side Story: A Southwark Hunt
A Weekend In The Country
Capital Quiz Part 2
Out In Time
Capital Quiz Part 1

Winter Season 2006

Winter Concert 2006: Still Misbehavin'
Carolling At Waterloo
Pinkies At The Home Office
World AIDS Day
Battle Of The Brains
On The (Windsor) Fringe

Click on

at any time
to return to this menu.

For the past events archive

Our On-line Photo Album

Photos from these and other events are available in our on-line photo album!

Find Out More

Our Poster Showcase

To see the posters we used to promote some of these events

Our Repertoire

We sing everything from pop to jazz to classical choral works, taking on the odd gay anthem along the way. Have a look at the diversity of our current and past seasons' repertoire.

Event Updates

Never miss another Pinkie event again.

Alternatively, you might like to subscribe to our RSS feed.

Find Out More

.

.