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25th Anniversary Concert

‘In the Pink(ies)‘ is a blog on the life and times of a Pink Singer, known only as the ‘Pink Insider’. They give us the inside scoop on our 25th Anniversary Concert.

Well it is now the day after the day after, but I am still riding high after our 25th anniversary concert. The past few months have been long and arduous, but it all paid off in the end – what an amazing concert we gave!

We gathered backstage as Mark Bunyan introduced the Pink Singers. Unfortunately, we couldn’t hear anything of what he said, but in his ten minute preamble he gave a little bit of the history of the Pink Singers, and apparently led the audience in song with I Am A Homosexual, the first song the choir ever sang at that Pride twenty-five years ago. I think it must have been quite a surprise then when we got onto stage and opened with Locus Iste!

I am always nervous on stage, and more so when I know I have to make an announcement or sing a solo piece. That said, from the moment we finished singing the Bruckner Motet, I knew that this was going to be an amazing concert. We have never sung that piece better, and there was a wonderful union of voices. It certainly set the tone for what was to follow. The final piece of the first half was Ave Maria, one of the songs we performed at the IndigO2 a couple of weeks ago, with Gari Glaysher returning his visit.

By the time we got to the second half things were much more relaxed and I think the whole choir really got into the performance aspect. America certainly gave us a chance to interact with each other, and a friend who came for the first time remarked how much it looked like we were having a good time as part of a team. I couldn’t agree more.

Of course, the lynch pin in all of this is our wonderful musical director Mladen. it is impossible to emphasize how important an MD is in tying together the various sections and music, and Mladen does it all with panache. Even if you have only been in the choir for one season, Mladen’s directions are like an open book: one gesture and you know when to really go for it, when to slow down, when to hush your voice, when to stop. The Pink Singers would definitely not be at the standard we are without him.

There are times when Mladen has to step aside, and that was certainly the case for the choreography-rich Forever Motown. And what a way to end the concert! The audience was clapping and singing along and we were having a whale of a time. This was followed by a standing ovation from the wonderful and enthusiastic crowd. I almost didn’t want it to end.

But end it eventually did, and I have to say that I was running on empty by the end of it. To me, it was the best concert I have ever been priveleged to have participated in, and an example of how far we have come. This season the choir has been pushed harder vocally than ever before and it was very rewarding to see it all come to fruition. At the same time it was so much fun and I’ve made many new friends this year.

We have just one more gig in Brighton in a fortnight and then it is the end of the summer season. Summer 2008 will definitely go down in my memory as one of my best ever Pink Singers experiences. Pinkies rock!

The original blog post can be found here.

Timeline datestamp: 12 July 2008

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

Gimme Gimme Gimme

Andy joined the Pinkies in 1996 and became one of our talented composers and arrangers. Let’s go back to the turn of the millennium…

It was the time of pre-millennial fever and everyone was either planning the biggest party in history, or stocking up on tinned food, ready for the Y2K bug. How appropriate then, that the Pink Singers should receive an invitation from the makers of BBC2’s ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’, asking us to appear as special guests for their special millennium episode. How could we say no?

Of course, it wasn’t as straightforward as that. As so often happens, we were only contacted a few days before the TV shoot, and the choir would be required for half a day. Most Pinkies couldn’t make it, as they weren’t able to arrange the time off work. In fact, it looked as if we wouldn’t be able to take part, and a golden opportunity would be missed. A compromise was reached – the TV company would hire extras to make up the numbers. That’s right, we had wannabe Pink Singers in our midst!

I was lucky enough to be able to arrange time off work, so I met up with my fellow Pinkies – all six of us – at the TV studio on the day of filming. I’d never seen a TV programme being recorded before, and the first thing that struck me was how small the set was. The second surprise was seeing how short the lead actors were, so maybe television screens just magnify everything.

For those who haven’t seen ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’, the show is about a gay man sharing a flat with a straight woman; neither of them can get a man. Kathy Burke and James Dreyfuss played the lead roles, both of whom are heroes of mine. We sat in the audience seats watching them rehearse, which gave us a sneak preview of the show. In between scenes, Kathy would chat to anyone who was around – I remember her talking about having some building work done to her house. Apparently she would take the builders to the pub to keep them sweet.

Our job was to appear right at the end of the show, singing the song Tomorrow from the musical ‘Annie’. Of course, none of us had ever sung it before. Fortunately we only had to sing a few lines. We had a chance for a quick run through of the words, and then we had to go on the set to work out how we would enter, where we would stand and so on. Then we rehearsed the scene with the leads a couple of times – we were awful! We kept forgetting words, losing time, and everyone seemed quite intimidated by being on the set. The producer was looking quite worried, and kept telling us not to be so timid.

After that, we had a few hours to wait before the show was filmed. We were kitted out with clothes from the costume department, and then we just had to hang around, grabbing a bite to eat as the audience arrived. Other programmes were being recorded that night – we saw Boy George, who had just been interviewed for a chat show. He was most intrigued when we told him who we were!

Tension mounted as we were gathered backstage for our big moment. We had to be extremely quiet hiding behind the set, as our appearance was to be a huge surprise for the audience. Time seemed to drag, as the crew fiddled around with lighting and microphones for the scene. We all knew that we had to get it right first time, because glitter, balloons and streamers were going drop all over the set, and they wouldn’t have time to clean it all up for another take.

We were on! I was the first on to the stage, and I ran out, waving my arms around and trying to look as bold and confident as possible. We sang at the tops of our voices, with a conductor hidden behind the camera to keep us in time. Glitter flew in all directions, and the audience gasped and laughed as we burst onto the set. And we were wonderful, even if I do say so myself. The crowd loved us, and we spent ages basking in the applause. The producer was exuberant, saying how we had been “infused with the spirit of theatre”!

And then it was all over. We were invited to the after-show party, which was nice, so we browsed the buffet and chatted with the stars. Then we had to wait, excruciatingly, for weeks before we could see the final product. What did I make of it? Well, I thought that I looked like a chipmunk in a pink smock, but I was really proud of our appearance. The episode was repeated a few times on the BBC, and then endlessly on cable stations, so there were plenty of chances to see it. I have friends who still have it recorded on video for posterity! I’ll never forget that day, and it has gone down as a classic moment in Pink Singers history. Here’s looking forward to our next TV appearance!

Timeline datestamp: 29 December 1999

Happy Together

1998 was a special year for the choir with their first visits to Paris and Dublin, as well as appearing in Stonewall’s Equality Show at the Royal Albert Hall and at the Hackney Empire with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Choir, making their first visit to London. It was also our 15th Anniversary, which we celebrated with a special concert “Happy Together” at The Royal Academy of Music. It went something like this…

Janet: Hallo and welcome! We are the Pink Singers, London’s lesbian and gay community choir and this is “Happy Together”, our fifteenth anniversary concert. Philip: That’s right, we’ve been going almost as long as the Allied Carpets’ sale! Now, I should explain that some of us are lesbians, some of us are gay men. Janet: And the rest help out when we are busy. Philip: You see, even the jokes are 15 years old (pause) at least.

Philip: Now, let’s look at our audience. Aren’t they lovely? Janet: Yes, Madame Tussaud’s must be empty tonight! Philip: There’s a man here with jump leads around his neck. I hope he doesn’t start anything. Janet: Talking of which we had better get on. Now the first half of our show is the educational section. Philip: We want you to leave tonight saying “Well that certainly taught me a lesson!”.

Philip: They say that it’s best to quit when you’re ahead but as we can’t stay all night we’re going to finish now. Janet: Yes, we’ve got another show to do. Philip: In February. Have you enjoyed our 15th anniversary concert? Janet: It’s been great. Here’s to the next!

Janet: What do you hope to be doing in 15 year’s time? Philip: Oh, I’ll still be celebrating my 21st birthday. That’s in cat years. And you? Janet: I hope to be celebrating freedom and equality for all of us. Philip: What a lovely thought to end on. We’ll all be happy together. Janet: Here’s wishing everyone a happy Christmas and a wonderful new year.

Timeline datestamp: 19 December 1998

New MD – Mladen Stankovic

A Serbian music teacher, Mladen Stankovic had previously conducted the Yugoslav National Opera and the Sarajevo Symphony Orchestra. He is the longest-serving Musical Director to date, staying with the choir for 13 years.

Under Mladen’s direction, the Pink Singers developed enormously. The size of the choir doubled within this period to around 80 singers, requiring us to seek out larger rehearsal space to accommodate us all. As a result of this growth and a more rigorous audition process, the standard of our singing and performances improved considerably. We moved concert venues several times as our audiences grew (including the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music) before we settled on our now familiar home of Cadogan Hall.

Mladen consistently programmed classical music and established the balance of classical and popular music that we have today. It was also during this period that we produced our first ever CDs – Hand in Hand and Pink Singers Live which are still selling strong and available to buy today.

Many people in the choir remain today who have fond memories of Mladen’s time with us. Everyone no doubt has a favourite memory from his 13 years as Musical Director, although perhaps the best evidence of his achievements is the second place the Pink Singers achieved in the Manchester Amateur Choral Competition in 2009.

Timeline datestamp: 18 May 1996

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