We take a look at why – if you haven’t already – you should consider coming to see us in concert on Saturday!
We are ridiculously good looking.
2. We promote equality and diversity. The Pinkies have marched in London Pride 33 years in a row. Read our latest post here.
We do acrobatics a-la Dirty Dancing.
You get to listen to one of Philip Rescola’s amazing intro speeches. (He’s been practising.)
We have mastered the craft of choreography.
No, seriously…
Better than a West End chorus.
We take ourselves really, very seriously. Take our current Chair for example:
At the end of the day, we are just bloody good singers.
So when are we next performing? Funny you should ask – it’s this Saturday!! Come see us perform By Special Arrangement with special guests the Baberfellas and Gin & Harmonics. Saturday 9 January 2016 7pm, Cadogan Hall, Sloane Square. Tickets are from £10-40 and are selling out fast. get yours here!
In the lead up to our summer concert, ‘Key Changes’, alto Cilla drops a few hints about what songs you can expect from our set list on Saturday… The Pink Singers official theme for our summer concert on 11th July is something we’re calling ‘Key Changes, Songs that Shaped the World’. Our themes are a way of trying to organize ourselves and give a vision to what we’re doing and every so often we go for high principles lest we forget that singing in a LGBT choir is, broadly speaking, a political act. It’s not an overtly political act any more and it seems most of our choir members spend their lives in tolerant urban milieus, however the Pinkies did start out with a stronger political agenda at a time when we couldn’t imagine how the human rights argument for same sex marriage would gain such traction (see Pink Singers ‘Singing the Changes’ exhibition info). Overt political protest songs seem to be out of fashion as what we are pleased to call ‘politics’ has become more complex and multilayered. Our upcoming concert reflects this change.
I was thinking of saying the politics that shape the world and the songs that go along with it are more subtle but I can’t. Or at least I can’t say it’s universally subtle. We’re singing ‘Happy’ from a cartoon that features minions (though nobody is going to dress up as a minion, which didn’t occur to me until just now (it is very likely a good thing though)). The ever lovely tenor Simon Harrison is giving a knock out performance that might not be best described by the word ‘subtle’ – but it’s political in the Aristotelian sense (here’s my nod to Greece) which means we’re broadening out from party politics and issues and looking at songs that, when they came out, were challenging for their time and now, in some quarters, are still challenging. In our current atomised world identifying what is truly anti-establishment isn’t easy, it all depends on context.
We’ve come up with a good mix though: we have songs that question assumptions about gender identity, racial barriers and feminism. There’s a good mix of straightforward protest songs, we have Billy Bragg and the Suffragettes which I’ve now realized sounds like the name of a new band. A good name too, if I do say so myself. And we’re singing a wonderful arrangement by Pinkie bass Chris Chambers of Nirvana’s ‘Smells like Teen Spirit’. As a native of the States, I tend to respond to people who criticize American culture as being overly optimistic and cheerful by telling them to have a listen to Nirvana’s wildly popular and influential song. It goes a next step beyond complaining about the government. It’s saying we’re so powerless and isolated there is no point in even trying to change the world to make it better. It’s the best angry existential protest song ever. I think we’re either in support of, or maybe we’re totally against someone named Bolero or maybe we’re against doing a Bolero I’m not clear but we feel passionate whatever the cause is. As Pinkies we’re not all gloom and doom and we balance this with a bit of fun so, ‘clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth’.
We’re relying on arrangements from choir members which is wonderful because we seem to keep growing new members (plus our lovely conductor) who arrange for us. And we have a wide variety of soloists stepping up to take a turn in the spot light. Who knows what shape the world is getting to be, I think it started out wonky and its probably getting wonkier (I don’t care I like this new word and I’m using it) but one’s thing’s for sure, we’re evolving in to a pretty diverse bunch of creative people.
With just five days to go until the next Pinkie concert, soprano Charly takes us on her journey of choral and choreography cramming and the preparation every Pinkie goes through before the big day… “Digga digga dig ah da da…..” … as I’m sitting on the train on my way home. “Bow, bow, bow” … as I walk past a crowd at a bus stop. “entertaaaaain us!” … whilst I’m scanning my organic baby leaf spinach at the checkout till. Leading up to a pinkie concert, funny looks on public transport or walking down the aisle in the supermarket are not the only things a pinkie will experience whilst prepping for this weekend’s Key Changes concert. There is the late night lyric cramming and choreography practice, last minute trips to the shops to get that perfect outfit, hair cuts, leg waxing (and that’s just the boys), flapjack making, spray tans, shoe polishing, nose hair plucking and a sudden panic and desperate hunt for the iconic pinkie rose.
Can you guess which number we’re rehearsing here?
This is now my seventh season in the pinkies and each concert seems to get more and more exciting. Even writing this now with a few days to go I’m getting butterflies about the big day; I’m literally counting down the hours. Despite this, I am certainly no seasoned pro and I still get ridiculously nervous and excited. Performing on stage, as a Pink Singer, is really quite something; it’s such a fantastic feeling. Getting to that point when all the hard work, sweat and tears of the last five months suddenly all comes together; the notes are hit, the pitch is right, we snap those moves all at the same time. I feel so proud of being a pinkie and so proud of my fellow choral chums who have become my surrogate family these last three years. I also absolutely love performing. I remember when I left secondary school I was destined to be the new Emma Thompson with my A-Level Theatre Studies in my hand (well, that’s what it said in my sixth form leavers’ yearbook) but since school I did no acting and actually very little singing. So, getting to perform with the Pink Singers means my dreams are finally coming true and it involves three of my favourite things – singing, dancing and acting. This season, I have really enjoyed hearing the stories behind some of the music we are singing. The theme of this summer concert is Key Changes – Songs That Shaped The World and there have been some excellent songs chosen by members of the choir, which highlight some of the interesting events throughout our history. During rehearsals, some pinkies have been giving us a low down on the research they have been carrying out about the songs. I’ve been left with a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye or for others a feeling of overwhelming pride hearing about the struggles people have had to face in past generations and how they fought for their rights. Music carries a lot of history and I’ve certainly learnt a lot this season through our rep choice. The song I am mostly looking forward to performing is Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ‘Relax’; the arrangement by our very talented Chris Chambers is absolutely brilliant and the choreography is awesome…if I do say so myself. We have already performed it in Mallorca and Brighton this year and it’s gone down a storm. It’s going to be aca-mazing with the whole choir performing it. Right, I’d better get back to practising. Hopefully I’ve managed to whet you appetite so hopefully see you there, I’ll be the one hamming it up. Now where is that pink rose…
Tenor Pete’s enlightening look at why – if you haven’t already – you should consider coming to see us in concert next week!
We are ridiculously good looking.
2. We promote equality and diversity. The Pinkies have marched in London Pride 33 years in a row. Read our latest post here.
We do acrobatics a-la Dirty Dancing.
You get to listen to one of Philip Rescola’s amazing intro speeches. (He’s been practising.)
We have mastered the craft of choreography.
No, seriously…
Better than a West End chorus.
We take ourselves really, very seriously. Take our current Chair for example:
At the end of the day, we are just bloody good singers.
So when are we next performing? Funny you should ask – it’s next Saturday!! Come see us perform Key Changes: Songs that Shaped the World with special guests Hinsegin Korinn. Sat July 11 2015, 7:30pm, St John’s, Smith Square, Westminster. Tickets are from £10-32 and are selling out fast. get yours here!
Newbie soprano Louise reflects on her first concert as a Pink Singer at Notes from a Small Island last Saturday at Hackney Empire.
I have performed in smaller, more informal concerts before, and as a teacher every day is a performance for me, but nothing compares to standing under those bright and burning lights in front of over 600 people at the beautiful Hackney Empire. This was something very special.
Louise with Charly in rehearsal
I had felt anxious in the weeks running up to the concert, spending every spare moment listening to tracks, learning words and attempting to multi-task with the addition of choreography. But after a gruelling (and sweltering) technical rehearsal, 7pm somehow crept up on me and I can honestly say I was excited as the performance started. My concert cherry was about to pop as they say.
But would I go to death and go to slaughter? Would I panic part way through? It helped not being able to see anyone in the audience. In fact it required a leap of faith to even believe there was anyone out there until the first burst of rapturous applause after Under Pressure. Pressure off. I subsequently enjoyed every second of the entire concert, including our most challenging piece Peter Grimes. (I should add here that there was a 14 year old in the audience who loved it too but wondered why on earth we were singing so aggressively about peas and rice. Hmmm.)
Pink rose (Photograph by Suzanne Mitchell Photography)
The various emails and text messages I have received since the concert from friends and family put words to feelings much more succinctly than I can at the moment. I truly cannot find the words that adequately encapsulate what it meant to me. They tell me the Pink Singers are a choir to be proud of. They describe the performance as SENSATIONAL. They say we demonstrate diversity, humour and passion. They say that they feel that whenever we sing it feels like EVERY person they fix on is totally committed to singing, and to them individually. All true.
Pinkies during our tech rehearsal at Hackney Empire (Photograph by Suzanne Mitchell)
I feel both empowered and humbled by my first Pinkie concert. What an amazing thing to be part of! I am, alas, experiencing the PPBs – the Post Pinkie Blues. What am I going to do on my Sundays now? Everything now seems an insubstantial pageant in comparison. Although I have filled my summer with plans already, I will be counting down the weeks until the next season starts. And you really should come to our next concert. You may even be kissed on the nose by a gay…
