“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”
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About the Pink Singers logo
The 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
“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”
LGBT History Month
LGBT History Month takes place every February. Established in 2005 in the UK, it provides an opportunity for everyone to learn about the history of LGBT people — and for LGBT people to celebrate and promote our visible presence. Being ‘pink’ is still hard for many people today…
People sent to the European death camps in the 1930s and 40s had a symbol on their prison clothes showing why they were there; a pink triangle signified ‘gay’. It was adopted as a symbol of gay pride in the 1970s. In Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Yemen and parts of Nigeria and Somalia, male-to-male relationships can still end in execution by the state. In Iran, the death sentence applies to female-to-female relationships too.*
In England, men having consensual sex with men in private faced prison until 1967. Prison remained a threat until 1994 if one partner was under 21 and until 2000 if one was under 18. The age of consent is now 16 for all. Same-sex relationships are still illegal in 76 countries. Imprisonment is used in a majority of these countries, many with sentences of 10 or more years. Only male-to-male relationships are banned in some of these countries.*
Back in 2005, we performed in Lewisham to launch a photographic exhibition charting Pride events as part of LGBT History Month. It was a special evening as recent British LGBT history had not really been taken seriously until that time; before it had been only Radclyffe Hall, Oscar Wilde and Noel Coward!
We’ve been participating in LGBT History Month ever since. We are proud to be pink!
For more information, go to www.lgbthistorymonth.org.uk
*Source: State-Sponsored Homophobia published in 2010 by ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association)
Timeline datestamp: 04 February 2005
Festival 2000
Festival 2000 brought 140 performing groups and more than 5,000 singers to San Jose for the largest gay and lesbian choral event in history July 22-29.
You can find out more about GALA Choruses on their website, but here’s Martin to take us through the events of GALA 2000 – it might help to know that ‘Philip’ is a longtime Pinkie and Martin’s other half!
Saturday 22 July 2000
Philip was recovering from a bad cold and had hardly any voice (a pleasure for me and the rest of the choir). The opening ceremony at 8pm was great fun, with about 6000 choristers and their camels (the people who get involved with the choir without singing – like me). They are called camels because they end up carrying all the singers’ baggage when they are rehearsing! Kate Clinton was hilarious as keynote speaker and Harvey Fierstein was an excellent presenter.
Sunday 23 July 2000
The day of the Pinkies first concert and my first tour of duty on the choir’s merchandising stall. This was next to the Melo’Men from Paris. They had draped the European flag between the stalls thus reuniting the old enemies France and England as only dykes and queens can.
Monday 24 July 2000
This was the day of the Pinkies’ trip to Monterey and Carmel. They hired two camper vans (well, they were camper after we got in), and we crossed the mountains to the coast where we visited the Monterey aquarium. The display of sealife was interestingly set out, especially the jellyfish. The way they kept moving aimlessly but somehow reached their destination was an allegory for the Pink Singers. An evening meal in Carmel involved a lot of walking around in growing gloom and fog, until we eventually went back to the first restaurant we had seen. 8,000 miles to California and we ate in an “English pub”; but the food was good.
Tuesday 25 July 2000
The Pinkies were singing at the Expo at 5:30, so I looked after the stall while they were on. I could hear some of their act from the stall, and they seemed to be well-received. They were asked to do an encore, as if they wouldn’t anyway. Philip went with Paolo to see the No-Talent Show. This is a performance of non-choir-type things by members of the choirs. Philip said I missed a treat: the Ethels were very funny – six Ethel Mermans, and a silent Ethel as signer (Kevin).
Wednesday 26 July 2000
Portland Gay Men’s Chorus upset all my prejudices about commissioned pieces with stirring and effective songs about coming out in the words of Portland’s young gay women and men. People have been coming up to Philip and saying how great his jokes were. Philip is attempting to look modest and unconcerned but he doesn’t fool me.
Thursday 27 July 2000
The Pinkies were still rehearsing when the Expo closed for a couple of hours, so I went to the London Gay Men’s Chorus tea party in the park – the Boston choir didn’t throw it in the fountain, so I guess that problem is sorted.
Friday 28 July 2000
After lunch we saw the Men’s Chorus from Tulsa. One of their members had flirted with Philip on the Pinkies stall (to his undisguised delight) and had been to every one of the Pink Singers performances so we had to support them. We went on the last ride up the View Tower at sunset – it was spectacular. They had closed all the gentle rides and all that were left were the check-your-brain-at-the door stuff, so we ate fairground schlockfood instead. The park, to quote Glenn, was neither “Great” nor “America”, but it passed an evening.
Martin Edwardes
FOPS (Friend of Pink Singers)
Timeline datestamp: 22 July 2000