February 19, 2014

Over At The Frankenstein Place. The perils of Facebook “which character are you?” quizzes. Polari Safari by David Shenton.

Photography of Jamie Stewart.

Xiu Xiu, frontman Jamie Stewart has contributed a selection of his never seen before photography to Polari Magazine for LGBT History Month.

Angel Guts: Red Classroom.

Xiu Xiu’s frontman Jamie Stewart about his relationship to music, being a queer artist and how he sees the future of the band.

“I always felt pretty unwaveringly and confidently bisexual. Fortunately I grew up in a big city so there wasn’t a cultural bias towards me, to a degree.”

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Grace Jones’ 1981 album Nightclubbing was a defining moment in the history of pop music. John Preston celebrates the passion, fire and pure subversion that is Grace.

” She is the explosion. Give Jones an electric fan or a spinning chair, an Issey Miyake cape and a pair of cymbals, and you’ll feel as though you’re witnessing other worldly, artistic genius.”

Tales of the City.

Armistead Maupin talks about The Days of Anna Madrigal, the last Tales of the City novel, his Republican beginnings and his plans for life after Tales.

“Anna Madrigal is a good person by the time we meet her at the beginning of Tales, and I had to go back and find out what it was that created this person, that created the possibility of this person. And darkness was required.”

Art 4 Botttoms!

Dame Effie Sprinkle IV watches Querelle on iTunes and is thankful that gay films no longer have to be incomprehensible ‘art’ films.

“If you were gay in the 1980s, you couldn’t help but become an intellectual by default due to the fact that in order to see a man’s bottom onscreen you had to watch a lot of foreign films with no plot and lots of subtitles that were shown on Channel 4 in the early hours of the morning.”

[rating=4]
Released January 1996
Pansy Division’s Valentine’s Day takes a humorous stab at love, lust, and loneliness, backed with their signature brand of poppy punk rock.

“Soaked in Pansy Division’s signature sauce of pop-flavored power chord punk rock, backed with Ginoli’s snarky humor, the title cut tells the story of what should really be called ‘Single Awareness Day’.”

February 14, 2014

Tough Love on Valentine’s Day, with the help of Catherine Cookson. Polari Safari by David Shenton.

[rating=5]
Released February 10, 2014
Lisa Stansfield’s Seven is an album of beautifully written songs that hark back to her hallmark ’90s soul sound, while remaining fresh and genuine.

“This album is a diverse collection of stories that unfold in varying styles while remaining true to the sonic blueprint of big, bold soul with the discerning, gorgeous Stansfield vocal.”

[rating=5]
Released April, 1991
Ripe, the one and only album by Banderas, was one of best queer albums of the 1990s. Beautifully composed, profoundly perceptive and deeply affecting.

“Strong melodies are a characteristic of all the songs. When coupled with the keenly perceptive lyrics the tracks are highly memorable. Musically, the album keeps the listener engaged, shifting its colours and tones effortlessly from danceable pop songs to heartfelt ballads.”