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LGBT History Month 2006: Southwark

They say that small is beautiful. This certainly holds true for the Pinkies’ second outing to support LGBT history month in Southwark in February 2006.

Although a multitude of other commitments stopped a large number of Pinkies attending (and probably because it was a Friday night), the five die-hard singers, including only one boy – me, how did you guess?- had a whale of a time. With my dreams of being in Steps briefly ressurrected, albeit with four girls instead of the usual three, we rehearsed an impromptu version of Tragedy, replete with choreography. Needless to say, we decided to bin the prospective number. No matter how gay Steps actually were, it was deemed somewhat inappropriate to sing Tragedy as an uplifting LGBT history belter.

So on we went with trepidation, a most portable keyboard, and a distinct lack of basses. The good thing about being the only boy, and having a voice akin to the Titanic’s final horn blast, was that there was no mistaking who was singing! A festival of solos! Our rendition of Sheer Madness was sheerly fabulous, and They Don’t Know obviously became They Don’t Know Just How Very Fierce We Are.

Applause, nods from the tasty totty, and the music falling off the stand during a crucial modulation were moments of note. And then we went down the pub and gossipped til closing.

Aah, how very… Pinkies!
Roll on next year!

by Jonathon
Tenor

Continue reading “LGBT History Month 2006: Southwark”

Tales of the Pinkie – Hsien

The Pinkies at GALA 2004“GALA in Montreal in the summer of 2004 was a big event for me. It was the first time that I was heading overseas with the Pink Singers and also the first time I had ever been to a choir festival, let alone a gay one. Even more importantly, it was the first time that Simon and I were going away on holiday together since we had started dating, so there was quite a bit of excitement to the whole trip.
Due to really bad co-ordination on our parts, however, Simon and I ended up flying to Canada separately. He went there directly, while I made a detour via New York in the company of Stephan from the basses. Stephan and I checked into a tiny little hotel room just north of Washington Square with a view of a brick wall and no natural light. But at least it was cheap! Most of our time there was spent shopping and eating, with the odd foray into Chelsea of course. Another friend of mine was in New York at the same time and, on the recommendation of a native he had picked up, we went to a very down-to-earth Venezuelan restaurant in the East Village. It pays to get to know the locals – I now visit religiously whenever I am in Manhattan. Continue reading “Tales of the Pinkie – Hsien”

About the Pink Singers logo

PSLogo-G-T-S-Pink-NoFly-WhiteThe Pink Singers logo is actually the latest in a long list of designs we have used over the years. The logo you see here has itself undergone at least three major revisions. It was created by Dragan Lonchar, and we adopted it in October 2002. One of our basses, Dragan had this to say about how he was inspired:

The design has “a deeper meaning – Yin-Yang, duality of life, polarities in nature, notes and shapes creating a ‘P’ and ‘S’. We are a ‘choir of a kind’ uniting the ‘impossible’ – fags and dykes, with occasional female members who sing tenor and male members who sing alto, all being butch and camp at the same time – we all fit like a hand in a glove. Therefore the Yin-Yang inspiration – this symbol represents two sides of everything that belong together, just like the Pinkies. Only the Yin-Yang dots turned to musical notes because we use ’em!

Tales of the Pinkie – Richard Seymour

Pinkies in Seattle“I joined the Pink Singers in 1988, walking into the rehearsal ‘dungeon’ that was the basement of the London Lesbian & Gay Centre, in Farringdon. I was young and a bit nervous at first, but soon found a place in the tenor section and started to sing my heart out for the next seven years.
The first big event for me was a Christmas concert in Stratford. Why? Well it was my first concert and someone had suggested I sing a solo – Getting to be a Habit With Me from 42nd Street. I can still remember the words. I can’t remember who suggested I do it, so I can’t ‘thank’ them for the experience.
In Miami, disaster was averted when our accompanist, Brian, lost one of the pieces of music and had to run back to the dressing room. Philip Rescorla (our resident continuity announcer) was only vaguely aware of the problem and carried on making jokes. As he returned to his position next to me, I whispered, “Just in time” as Brian scampered back with the lost music. Continue reading “Tales of the Pinkie – Richard Seymour”