Wednesday 30 November 2011
Attitude Magazine - March 2003
[Source]
Jeremy Sheffield Interview with David Spedding.
It's the first day of the Chinese New Year and Soho is not so much buzzing as banging (very loudly) with activity. And on this busiest of days, I'm walking the full length of Old Compton Street with Holby City's Jeremy Sheffield, hoping for a couple of jealous glances, or at the very least, a spot of 'being-pointed-at' action from the crowds. Disappointingly, all attention is focused on the dancing dragons, and not one double-take is thrown Sheffield's way. Which would be odd even if the man were totally unknown (sorry, but when the gayest street in the country can ignore 6'3" of extremely fit handsomeness, there's something not quite right), but when you consider that he's also a regular fixture on the nation's small-screen, well, maybe it just comes down to the fact that Jeremy Sheffield is just crap at being a celebrity. "Oh I am," he grins. "Not one person recognised me?" he checks with mock-indignation. "How dare they! I'm going to have to start wearing medical uniform when I go out."
Indeed, it's in his blue scrubs mode that Sheffield becomes immediately recognisable as Dr Alex Adams, perma-stubbled hospital heart-throb (or, for non-UK readers, 'that bloke from Nathalie Imbruglia's video for "Torn"), but equally notable, he's the only openly gay actor who constantly gets cast in straight roles and who - despite that openness - still attracts adoring female fans. This month, Sheffield returns to Holby City after a six-month hiatus, although uniform-fetishists will have to make the most of the early episodes for their scrubs fix, as he explained to Attitude.
Last time we saw you in Holby, Alex had slunk off in disgrace after impregnating one of the junior staff…
Ah yes. It was a good storyline, that. Nice one to play. It felt like a relatively realistic moral dilemma, with my character feeling that it really wasn't right to have that child in that situation. And it's a struggle that many men must go through, although one which isn't publicised or acknowledged. Obviously what the woman goes through is horrific, but I hadn't seen much about what the man goes through, which must be bloody hard.
So what have the writers got planned for your return?
Hmm. There's something quite big lined up, which I'd really like to talk about but infuriatingly I can't. But for the immediate future, I come back. In a helicopter, no less, bearing a heart and lungs for an organ transplant operation. It's all very James Bond. Oh and Alex ends up applying for a consultancy position as well, so I get to wear some sharp suits now, which is fantastic.
Not a fan of scrubs then?
Ah, you get a bit fed up with them. And before you ask, no, they never worked for me in any kind of role-play scenario.
So what have you been up to in your time off from the show?
I took six months out with no work planned, and I actually ended up working the whole time, except for four weeks. I did a short film called The Confidence Trick, an episode of Linda Green, and an episode of something called Grease Monkeys which is going to launch quite soon on BBC3 - that's a potentially amazing series, very sharp, dark, weird. Plus I got to play something very different - a vicious, very slick, yuppy bare-knuckle fighter who's a racist and a bigot but covers it up with charm.
Sounds fun - who did you base him on?
Absolutely nobody I know [grins]. Oh and I did this thing called Hearts Of Gold for the BBC…
Erk. That immediately sounds like Nick Berry/Chunky-knit-sweater territory.
I know - I'm not too sure about the title myself… But the show's fantastic - a big costume drama set in 1930s Wales. It's going to look fantastic - amazing, fuck-off costumes, and great cars. I play a doctor again, upper-middle class, goes to work at his fathers practice in Pontypridd after qualifying in London. It's all about love across social boundaries, really - Romeo and Juliet reworked.
And you would be the Romeo, presumably…
Um, yes.
Isn't this the kind of thing that showbusiness says is impossible, though? Gay actors playing convincing straight leads?
Absolutely. And I think that makes a mockery of all the phobias people have about being openly gay in this profession, it really does. Whenever we watch a film or TV, we have to suspend our disbelief. We know that George Clooney is not a paediatrician, or a surgeon, we also know that he's not in love with Julianna Margolies. And it's exactly the same suspension of disbelief when it comes to talking about someone's sexuality. Tom Hanks played a gay man years ago in Philadelphia, and everyone accepted that. It seems so obvious to me - it absolutely drives me insane.
You've done the casting rounds in LA as well - are things any better there?
I found that LA and Hollywood were particularly homophobic. It's a high-risk industry with big budgets at stake, and there's a fear - underlined by homophobia - of testing that theory. And I'm presuming that it's the money people who aren't prepared to take that risk, simply because it hasn't been done before.
Which seems odd, given how many gay men work in the industry, on either side of the camera lens…
Exactly. The really depressing thing that happens in LA is that the most homophobic people, the ones most frightened of casting openly gay actors, are actually gay themselves. And that, to me, is really twisted. I've always wondered eactly what's behind that. Oh I don't know… there may be perfectly sound business reasons for it, but I don't think so - it's all down to homophobia. Maybe there's an element of 'representation', but that whole thing does seem somewhat regressive. We should really be over that by now.
Did you like LA? Or just smirk at the silliness of it all.
LA's OK. It's strange. There's some very good things about it, and some that are not so good. And sadly, the bad stuff outweighs the good. It's very dark, very segregated and as a result has very little energy. London has much more rubbing of shoulders between communities, and that's because everyone has to use public transport. It's sort of a forced integration, but it's a good one. It's healthy. I like living in a place where you have different races, different sexualities, different ages, different creeds, different everything. LA always feels as though it's been evacuated - there's no one on the streets.
Apart from being openly gay, you've also made no secret of the fact that you're a middle-class Essex boy. Now that isbrave…
Well I did make a vague attempt at rebellion. But yes, I do have that strong middle-class ethic, based on a pretty strict upbringing, actually. Me and my brother were probably the best-behaved children you could ever meet, and my instinct was pretty much to be conformist. And most kids rebel against that in their early teens - I waited till I was in my early-20s. I think it was kind of leading up to me coming out at 26, but yes, I was replacing blazers and stripey shirts with ripped jeans and so on. But while part of it was dictated by what I thought artists should look like, there was also an element of trying to find out who I was, as opposed to what people expected me to be. The problem was, I conformed quite easily. I found it easy to have a girlfriend, dress nicely, do the dinner-party thing, all of which is fine, of course, but which just wasn't me. It was more of a struggle for identity than a rebellion, I think.
Did you win the struggle?
Well, I'm comfortable with who I am these days, yes. The funny thing is, most people have a really hard time working out where I come from. Usually the first choice is Australian, then South African, then Canadian, then American.
Because of appearance or the way you speak?
I'm not sure, but it's been going on for years. I think it's because I don't have a regional accent, so I can't be placed anywhere in the UK. I used to have a much more plummy voice - prep-school, royal ballet school - and I was self-conscious about that, so I tried to lose the accent. And while a working-class British accent can be incredibly sexy, there's nothing very attractive about an upper-middle-class one - that's the least sexy thing in the world. Plus, I was involved with someone in the States, so there was a trans-Atlantic thing going on there… And I think part of it's about trying to fit in with the people around you, but there's a more pretentious side to it, which is all about aspiration. You know, trying to be something you're not because you think it's in some way desirable. The way you'd like to be seen.
Are you still single?
[nods]
I'm sorry but you'll have to account for that.
It's hardly original, whether you're straight or gay, but I tend to be attracted to the ones who are unavailable. Either emotionally unavailable, or with someone else. And you're not going to have a relationship if that's the case. I have an ongoing… sort of a relationship with someone in Milan. It's been two and a half years now, but he's not really my partner. It's down to my issues, my fears, my insecurities. I don't know. I would like one. I just don't know how to have one, to tell the truth.
Well you had a three year relationship with an American guy, so you must have some idea how it works…
Ah yes, Jody. But that was a long long time ago - how sad is that?
Well it begs the question was that relationship so good that no one's measured up since, or did it end so badly that you're not prepared to put yourself through that again?
Oh it didn't end acrimoniously at all. Jody still lives in my flat in Miami. I don't know - I think a lot of it is the fear of getting hurt, however stupid that may sound. I think I would rather be alone than be with someone just for the sake of being with someone. I need to get enough strength to have a relationship, and I'm just not there yet.
Does your fan-mail bring you offers?
There have been a few photos sent. Some of which have been very sweet, some very weird. Almost all of them from women. Eighty per cent of my fanmail is from women. And it's back to that suspension of disbelief thing - people know when they write to Tom Cruise that they're not going to end up going on a date with him, and it's the same with me.
Has anything grubby ever arrived in the post?
Not that I can think of - I did have one very weird one from an American living in a farmhouse in Lincolnshire somewhere. He wrote like a surfer dude, all 'Yo man, wassup', and said he thought the stuff I did was really cool, and that he'd done a little modelling himself and was looking to get into acting. And he listed the stuff he'd done before, and it was all major gay porn. Big Dick something, Ten Inch Sam, and so on.
Takes all sorts… speaking of, there's a certain camp value to be had from the fact that you've worked with Melissa Gilbert (who played Laura in Little House On The Prairie).
[laughs] Yep, I have bonked Laura Engels. I got on really well with Melissa, actually - she's a great laugh. I remember us talking about how awful it would be if porn was all done in a middle-class accent. You know, like Joan Collins in The Bitch gasping [adopts Stately home, High-Tea accent] "Oh, that is sooo hot". And it just doesn't work. It needs to be [adopts dimestore-hooker-on-heat American accent] "HAHT". There's something more casual, more relaxed and less uptight about the American accent.
You're a veteran of commercials from your pre-Holby days…
[winces] Commercials are so absurd - I've done about 50 of them, and you get cast to do completely stupid things. But that's good training for an actor in itself - you get used to humiliating yourself in front of a camera. You end up miming eating a bar of chocolate, miming pushing a car… I actually had to mime juggling saucepans at one point, and you can only ask yourself "Why?"
All part of the career trajectory surely. An entertainer has to look after his profile, after all…
[snorts] Profile? Basically I have no profile whatsoever in the US, and only a little bit of one over here. The only thing that anyone in America would recognise me from would be the Nathalie Imbruglia video. And I do have a manager over there, but working there would really be like starting all over again.
But that's where playing the fame game comes into it, surely. Attending the premieres, being seen at the opening of an envelope, the whole Minnie Driver thing…
Oh sure, I know that's a whole industry in itself, but you choose just how deeply you want to be involved in it. For example, I've very deliberately not ever done an interview with a daily tabloid. When I went into Holby I hired a publicist, mainly because I wanted to be out. I wanted to know which papers to deal with, how it should be done and all that. I've become a bit more savvy now. I always get the feeling that if you start using the tabloids to get your name out there, it always seems to flip around and get used back on you.
Have you been on the receiving end of that kind of treatment yet?
Not really, and let's face it, I don't have to go through what the people you see in the tabs go through - there aren't any photographers on my doorstep. I really loathe that kind of thing. Although, funnily enough I got a phonecall from my agent in Summer last year saying that because of the Attitude cover for the 100th issue, two of the tabloids were planning on running a piece about how Holby's Jeremy Sheffield had outed himself. And this was about two and a half years after I'd joined the show as an openly gay man!
Good of them to keep up with the rest of the world…
Well yes - you'd think that a national publication would actually do some research, wouldn't you? Actually, I was angry and annoyed, because I thought it had always been completely clear, and I worried they were going to make some huge sensationalist story out of a non-event. Which is neither good for me, nor for the gay community as a whole. But anyway, they ran their little articles, and nothing else was ever said about it - none of the readers cared, which is fantastic, and just shows what a non-story it was in the first place. It actually made me feel that society might have progressed a little - to a point where people really don't care.
Or maybe they still don't quite recognise who Jeremy Sheffield - 'Crap Celebrity' - is?
[grins] More than likely…
Oh nonsense. I for one am going to be telling anyone who'll listen that I've just spent the afternoon with Jeremy Sheffield.
Well you'll be hearing the reply "Jeremy WHO?" all afternoon as well, I bet…
It's the first day of the Chinese New Year and Soho is not so much buzzing as banging (very loudly) with activity. And on this busiest of days, I'm walking the full length of Old Compton Street with Holby City's Jeremy Sheffield, hoping for a couple of jealous glances, or at the very least, a spot of 'being-pointed-at' action from the crowds. Disappointingly, all attention is focused on the dancing dragons, and not one double-take is thrown Sheffield's way. Which would be odd even if the man were totally unknown (sorry, but when the gayest street in the country can ignore 6'3" of extremely fit handsomeness, there's something not quite right), but when you consider that he's also a regular fixture on the nation's small-screen, well, maybe it just comes down to the fact that Jeremy Sheffield is just crap at being a celebrity. "Oh I am," he grins. "Not one person recognised me?" he checks with mock-indignation. "How dare they! I'm going to have to start wearing medical uniform when I go out."
Indeed, it's in his blue scrubs mode that Sheffield becomes immediately recognisable as Dr Alex Adams, perma-stubbled hospital heart-throb (or, for non-UK readers, 'that bloke from Nathalie Imbruglia's video for "Torn"), but equally notable, he's the only openly gay actor who constantly gets cast in straight roles and who - despite that openness - still attracts adoring female fans. This month, Sheffield returns to Holby City after a six-month hiatus, although uniform-fetishists will have to make the most of the early episodes for their scrubs fix, as he explained to Attitude.
Last time we saw you in Holby, Alex had slunk off in disgrace after impregnating one of the junior staff…
Ah yes. It was a good storyline, that. Nice one to play. It felt like a relatively realistic moral dilemma, with my character feeling that it really wasn't right to have that child in that situation. And it's a struggle that many men must go through, although one which isn't publicised or acknowledged. Obviously what the woman goes through is horrific, but I hadn't seen much about what the man goes through, which must be bloody hard.
So what have the writers got planned for your return?
Hmm. There's something quite big lined up, which I'd really like to talk about but infuriatingly I can't. But for the immediate future, I come back. In a helicopter, no less, bearing a heart and lungs for an organ transplant operation. It's all very James Bond. Oh and Alex ends up applying for a consultancy position as well, so I get to wear some sharp suits now, which is fantastic.
Not a fan of scrubs then?
Ah, you get a bit fed up with them. And before you ask, no, they never worked for me in any kind of role-play scenario.
So what have you been up to in your time off from the show?
I took six months out with no work planned, and I actually ended up working the whole time, except for four weeks. I did a short film called The Confidence Trick, an episode of Linda Green, and an episode of something called Grease Monkeys which is going to launch quite soon on BBC3 - that's a potentially amazing series, very sharp, dark, weird. Plus I got to play something very different - a vicious, very slick, yuppy bare-knuckle fighter who's a racist and a bigot but covers it up with charm.
Sounds fun - who did you base him on?
Absolutely nobody I know [grins]. Oh and I did this thing called Hearts Of Gold for the BBC…
Erk. That immediately sounds like Nick Berry/Chunky-knit-sweater territory.
I know - I'm not too sure about the title myself… But the show's fantastic - a big costume drama set in 1930s Wales. It's going to look fantastic - amazing, fuck-off costumes, and great cars. I play a doctor again, upper-middle class, goes to work at his fathers practice in Pontypridd after qualifying in London. It's all about love across social boundaries, really - Romeo and Juliet reworked.
And you would be the Romeo, presumably…
Um, yes.
Isn't this the kind of thing that showbusiness says is impossible, though? Gay actors playing convincing straight leads?
Absolutely. And I think that makes a mockery of all the phobias people have about being openly gay in this profession, it really does. Whenever we watch a film or TV, we have to suspend our disbelief. We know that George Clooney is not a paediatrician, or a surgeon, we also know that he's not in love with Julianna Margolies. And it's exactly the same suspension of disbelief when it comes to talking about someone's sexuality. Tom Hanks played a gay man years ago in Philadelphia, and everyone accepted that. It seems so obvious to me - it absolutely drives me insane.
You've done the casting rounds in LA as well - are things any better there?
I found that LA and Hollywood were particularly homophobic. It's a high-risk industry with big budgets at stake, and there's a fear - underlined by homophobia - of testing that theory. And I'm presuming that it's the money people who aren't prepared to take that risk, simply because it hasn't been done before.
Which seems odd, given how many gay men work in the industry, on either side of the camera lens…
Exactly. The really depressing thing that happens in LA is that the most homophobic people, the ones most frightened of casting openly gay actors, are actually gay themselves. And that, to me, is really twisted. I've always wondered eactly what's behind that. Oh I don't know… there may be perfectly sound business reasons for it, but I don't think so - it's all down to homophobia. Maybe there's an element of 'representation', but that whole thing does seem somewhat regressive. We should really be over that by now.
Did you like LA? Or just smirk at the silliness of it all.
LA's OK. It's strange. There's some very good things about it, and some that are not so good. And sadly, the bad stuff outweighs the good. It's very dark, very segregated and as a result has very little energy. London has much more rubbing of shoulders between communities, and that's because everyone has to use public transport. It's sort of a forced integration, but it's a good one. It's healthy. I like living in a place where you have different races, different sexualities, different ages, different creeds, different everything. LA always feels as though it's been evacuated - there's no one on the streets.
Apart from being openly gay, you've also made no secret of the fact that you're a middle-class Essex boy. Now that isbrave…
Well I did make a vague attempt at rebellion. But yes, I do have that strong middle-class ethic, based on a pretty strict upbringing, actually. Me and my brother were probably the best-behaved children you could ever meet, and my instinct was pretty much to be conformist. And most kids rebel against that in their early teens - I waited till I was in my early-20s. I think it was kind of leading up to me coming out at 26, but yes, I was replacing blazers and stripey shirts with ripped jeans and so on. But while part of it was dictated by what I thought artists should look like, there was also an element of trying to find out who I was, as opposed to what people expected me to be. The problem was, I conformed quite easily. I found it easy to have a girlfriend, dress nicely, do the dinner-party thing, all of which is fine, of course, but which just wasn't me. It was more of a struggle for identity than a rebellion, I think.
Did you win the struggle?
Well, I'm comfortable with who I am these days, yes. The funny thing is, most people have a really hard time working out where I come from. Usually the first choice is Australian, then South African, then Canadian, then American.
Because of appearance or the way you speak?
I'm not sure, but it's been going on for years. I think it's because I don't have a regional accent, so I can't be placed anywhere in the UK. I used to have a much more plummy voice - prep-school, royal ballet school - and I was self-conscious about that, so I tried to lose the accent. And while a working-class British accent can be incredibly sexy, there's nothing very attractive about an upper-middle-class one - that's the least sexy thing in the world. Plus, I was involved with someone in the States, so there was a trans-Atlantic thing going on there… And I think part of it's about trying to fit in with the people around you, but there's a more pretentious side to it, which is all about aspiration. You know, trying to be something you're not because you think it's in some way desirable. The way you'd like to be seen.
Are you still single?
[nods]
I'm sorry but you'll have to account for that.
It's hardly original, whether you're straight or gay, but I tend to be attracted to the ones who are unavailable. Either emotionally unavailable, or with someone else. And you're not going to have a relationship if that's the case. I have an ongoing… sort of a relationship with someone in Milan. It's been two and a half years now, but he's not really my partner. It's down to my issues, my fears, my insecurities. I don't know. I would like one. I just don't know how to have one, to tell the truth.
Well you had a three year relationship with an American guy, so you must have some idea how it works…
Ah yes, Jody. But that was a long long time ago - how sad is that?
Well it begs the question was that relationship so good that no one's measured up since, or did it end so badly that you're not prepared to put yourself through that again?
Oh it didn't end acrimoniously at all. Jody still lives in my flat in Miami. I don't know - I think a lot of it is the fear of getting hurt, however stupid that may sound. I think I would rather be alone than be with someone just for the sake of being with someone. I need to get enough strength to have a relationship, and I'm just not there yet.
Does your fan-mail bring you offers?
There have been a few photos sent. Some of which have been very sweet, some very weird. Almost all of them from women. Eighty per cent of my fanmail is from women. And it's back to that suspension of disbelief thing - people know when they write to Tom Cruise that they're not going to end up going on a date with him, and it's the same with me.
Has anything grubby ever arrived in the post?
Not that I can think of - I did have one very weird one from an American living in a farmhouse in Lincolnshire somewhere. He wrote like a surfer dude, all 'Yo man, wassup', and said he thought the stuff I did was really cool, and that he'd done a little modelling himself and was looking to get into acting. And he listed the stuff he'd done before, and it was all major gay porn. Big Dick something, Ten Inch Sam, and so on.
Takes all sorts… speaking of, there's a certain camp value to be had from the fact that you've worked with Melissa Gilbert (who played Laura in Little House On The Prairie).
[laughs] Yep, I have bonked Laura Engels. I got on really well with Melissa, actually - she's a great laugh. I remember us talking about how awful it would be if porn was all done in a middle-class accent. You know, like Joan Collins in The Bitch gasping [adopts Stately home, High-Tea accent] "Oh, that is sooo hot". And it just doesn't work. It needs to be [adopts dimestore-hooker-on-heat American accent] "HAHT". There's something more casual, more relaxed and less uptight about the American accent.
You're a veteran of commercials from your pre-Holby days…
[winces] Commercials are so absurd - I've done about 50 of them, and you get cast to do completely stupid things. But that's good training for an actor in itself - you get used to humiliating yourself in front of a camera. You end up miming eating a bar of chocolate, miming pushing a car… I actually had to mime juggling saucepans at one point, and you can only ask yourself "Why?"
All part of the career trajectory surely. An entertainer has to look after his profile, after all…
[snorts] Profile? Basically I have no profile whatsoever in the US, and only a little bit of one over here. The only thing that anyone in America would recognise me from would be the Nathalie Imbruglia video. And I do have a manager over there, but working there would really be like starting all over again.
But that's where playing the fame game comes into it, surely. Attending the premieres, being seen at the opening of an envelope, the whole Minnie Driver thing…
Oh sure, I know that's a whole industry in itself, but you choose just how deeply you want to be involved in it. For example, I've very deliberately not ever done an interview with a daily tabloid. When I went into Holby I hired a publicist, mainly because I wanted to be out. I wanted to know which papers to deal with, how it should be done and all that. I've become a bit more savvy now. I always get the feeling that if you start using the tabloids to get your name out there, it always seems to flip around and get used back on you.
Have you been on the receiving end of that kind of treatment yet?
Not really, and let's face it, I don't have to go through what the people you see in the tabs go through - there aren't any photographers on my doorstep. I really loathe that kind of thing. Although, funnily enough I got a phonecall from my agent in Summer last year saying that because of the Attitude cover for the 100th issue, two of the tabloids were planning on running a piece about how Holby's Jeremy Sheffield had outed himself. And this was about two and a half years after I'd joined the show as an openly gay man!
Good of them to keep up with the rest of the world…
Well yes - you'd think that a national publication would actually do some research, wouldn't you? Actually, I was angry and annoyed, because I thought it had always been completely clear, and I worried they were going to make some huge sensationalist story out of a non-event. Which is neither good for me, nor for the gay community as a whole. But anyway, they ran their little articles, and nothing else was ever said about it - none of the readers cared, which is fantastic, and just shows what a non-story it was in the first place. It actually made me feel that society might have progressed a little - to a point where people really don't care.
Or maybe they still don't quite recognise who Jeremy Sheffield - 'Crap Celebrity' - is?
[grins] More than likely…
Oh nonsense. I for one am going to be telling anyone who'll listen that I've just spent the afternoon with Jeremy Sheffield.
Well you'll be hearing the reply "Jeremy WHO?" all afternoon as well, I bet…
Tuesday 29 November 2011
Christopher Meloni joins True Blood
[Source]
November 29, 2011 08:01 PM PST
It's Official: Chris Meloni Joins True Blood as a Series Regular — Exclusive New Details!
That noise you hear is the sound of Twitter exploding into a million little pieces over the following news: After weeks of negotiations, Chris Meloni is officially joining True Blood as a series regular in Season 5.
According to executive producer Alan Ball, the former Law & Order: SVU front man will play, ”An ancient, powerful vampire who holds the fate of Bill and Eric in his hands.”
The gig brings Meloni back into the HBO fold for the first time since his days on Oz. It also mark a high-profile return to the small screen for the upcoming Man of Steel actor following his sudden departure from SVU last spring.
November 29, 2011 08:01 PM PST
It's Official: Chris Meloni Joins True Blood as a Series Regular — Exclusive New Details!
According to executive producer Alan Ball, the former Law & Order: SVU front man will play, ”An ancient, powerful vampire who holds the fate of Bill and Eric in his hands.”
The gig brings Meloni back into the HBO fold for the first time since his days on Oz. It also mark a high-profile return to the small screen for the upcoming Man of Steel actor following his sudden departure from SVU last spring.
Monday 28 November 2011
Jeremy Sheffield
[Source]
Monday Morning Man: Jeremy Sheffield!
By Greg Hernandez on Nov 28, 2011 12:00 am
Somehow, I got caught up watching The Wedding Date on television last night – a movie starring Debra Messing as a woman who hires a handsome male escort (Dermott Mulroney) to accompany her to her sister’s wedding.
She does this to make the man who dumped her jealous and he is portrayed by today’s Morning Man Jeremy Sheffield, an English actor and former ballet dancer.
The 45-year-old actor is openly gay but has played mostly straight roles in such films as The Wedding Date, The Children, Last Chance Harvey and Creep and on the British drama series Holby Hills.
He participated on the ITV competition Dancing on Ice last year and has just joined the long-running series Coronation Street.
“I found that LA and Hollywood were particularly homophobic,” Jeremy said in a 2003 interview with Attitude Magazine. “It’s a high-risk industry with big budgets at stake, and there’s a fear – underlined by homophobia – of testing that theory. And I’m presuming that it’s the money people who aren’t prepared to take that risk, simply because it hasn’t been done before.
Monday Morning Man: Jeremy Sheffield!
By Greg Hernandez on Nov 28, 2011 12:00 am
She does this to make the man who dumped her jealous and he is portrayed by today’s Morning Man Jeremy Sheffield, an English actor and former ballet dancer.
He participated on the ITV competition Dancing on Ice last year and has just joined the long-running series Coronation Street.
“I found that LA and Hollywood were particularly homophobic,” Jeremy said in a 2003 interview with Attitude Magazine. “It’s a high-risk industry with big budgets at stake, and there’s a fear – underlined by homophobia – of testing that theory. And I’m presuming that it’s the money people who aren’t prepared to take that risk, simply because it hasn’t been done before.
Adam Lambert is working on his second album, Trespassing
[Source]
Adam Lambert Storms the Dance Floor on New LP
By Matt Diehl
November 28, 2011 11:25 AM ET
Sitting at a driftwood dining table in his Hollywood Hills home, surrounded by psychedelic paintings of moon goddesses, Adam Lambert cues up a few tunes from his second LP, Trespassing. When his iPhone rings midsong, he apologizes and steps out to accept two huge feathered headdresses – the centerpiece of his costume for Katy Perry's Wild West-themed birthday fiesta later that night. "Perfect!" exclaims Lambert, who's already sporting skintight leopard trousers, a studded leather belt and mascara that matches his jet-black pompadour. "I've got to get my war paint on."
After becoming one of American Idol's biggest stars with his near-victory on the show's eighth season, Lambert struggled to find his voice. And his controversial same-sex kiss at the 2009 American Music Awards highlighted the challenges of being an openly gay pop star. When a grueling world tour wrapped last December, he spent a month "vegging and relaxing" at L.A.'s Sunset Marquis Hotel. "I was dramatically shut in," Lambert says. "At first I was trying to figure out how to please my fans – but then I started trusting my instincts. It's the same as what I learned on Idol. You have to fight for this shit."
This year, Lambert assembled hitmakers including Pharrell Williams, Dr. Luke and "Teenage Dream" co-writer Bonnie McKee to replace his 2009 debut's glam pop with a club-ready sound inspired by classic disco, Nineties electronica and Skrillex-y dubstep. He even got Chic's Nile Rodgers to play on "Shady," a sexy cut that Lambert describes as "Nine Inch Nails meets Saturday Night Fever." "There's party music, sex music, fucked-up-relationship S&M music," says the singer. "But every song explores something real."
Realest of all is "Outlaws of Love" – a smoldering serenade about gay marriage. "I'd never considered marriage before," says Lambert, who's dating Sauli Koskinen, a Finnish reality-TV personality. "But now that I am, I can't do it."
Lambert hit his creative stride at a session with Williams in June. "This kid has a voice like a siren – there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood- Peter Cetera range," says Williams, who produced the LP's title track, a swaggering cut that evokes "Another One Bites the Dust." "Pharrell is postmodern, like Warhol," says Lambert. "If you riff on something and make it your own, it becomes pop art."
Two years after being launched into America's living rooms, Lambert still feels like an unlikely star. "No major label would've signed a gay 27-year-old white theater dude without Idol," he says. "Now it's about how I use the platform. Whoever you are, I hope you can find yourself in these songs. If that happens, I've won."
Adam Lambert Storms the Dance Floor on New LP
'Idol' alum parties with Katy Perry, calls in massive beats from Pharrell and Dr. Luke
 |
| Adam Lambert and Pharrell Williams working at Crescent Moon Studios Derick Garnier |
November 28, 2011 11:25 AM ET
Sitting at a driftwood dining table in his Hollywood Hills home, surrounded by psychedelic paintings of moon goddesses, Adam Lambert cues up a few tunes from his second LP, Trespassing. When his iPhone rings midsong, he apologizes and steps out to accept two huge feathered headdresses – the centerpiece of his costume for Katy Perry's Wild West-themed birthday fiesta later that night. "Perfect!" exclaims Lambert, who's already sporting skintight leopard trousers, a studded leather belt and mascara that matches his jet-black pompadour. "I've got to get my war paint on."
After becoming one of American Idol's biggest stars with his near-victory on the show's eighth season, Lambert struggled to find his voice. And his controversial same-sex kiss at the 2009 American Music Awards highlighted the challenges of being an openly gay pop star. When a grueling world tour wrapped last December, he spent a month "vegging and relaxing" at L.A.'s Sunset Marquis Hotel. "I was dramatically shut in," Lambert says. "At first I was trying to figure out how to please my fans – but then I started trusting my instincts. It's the same as what I learned on Idol. You have to fight for this shit."
This year, Lambert assembled hitmakers including Pharrell Williams, Dr. Luke and "Teenage Dream" co-writer Bonnie McKee to replace his 2009 debut's glam pop with a club-ready sound inspired by classic disco, Nineties electronica and Skrillex-y dubstep. He even got Chic's Nile Rodgers to play on "Shady," a sexy cut that Lambert describes as "Nine Inch Nails meets Saturday Night Fever." "There's party music, sex music, fucked-up-relationship S&M music," says the singer. "But every song explores something real."
Realest of all is "Outlaws of Love" – a smoldering serenade about gay marriage. "I'd never considered marriage before," says Lambert, who's dating Sauli Koskinen, a Finnish reality-TV personality. "But now that I am, I can't do it."
Lambert hit his creative stride at a session with Williams in June. "This kid has a voice like a siren – there's no guys singing in that Steve Winwood- Peter Cetera range," says Williams, who produced the LP's title track, a swaggering cut that evokes "Another One Bites the Dust." "Pharrell is postmodern, like Warhol," says Lambert. "If you riff on something and make it your own, it becomes pop art."
Two years after being launched into America's living rooms, Lambert still feels like an unlikely star. "No major label would've signed a gay 27-year-old white theater dude without Idol," he says. "Now it's about how I use the platform. Whoever you are, I hope you can find yourself in these songs. If that happens, I've won."
Thursday 24 November 2011
Wednesday 23 November 2011
An article from PinkPaper.com
[Source]
AIDS-related deaths drop by 21 per cent, say UNAIDS
Health organisation UNAIDS have claimed that AIDS-related deaths have dropped by 21 per cent since 2005.
Hayley Holden at 14.47 GMT
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Health organisation UNAids have claimed that AIDS-related deaths have dropped by 21 per cent since 2005.
According to their 2011 Health report, HIV infections also seem to have decreased by 21 per cent since a spike in 1997.
They claim this is as a result of improved access to treatment and education.
The executive director on UNAIDS, Michel Sidibe, told the BBC today: “We are on the verge of a significant breakthrough. Even in a very difficult financial crisis, countries are delivering results in the AIDS response.
"We have seen a massive scale up in access to HIV treatment which has had a dramatic effect on the lives of people everywhere."
The report also states that the number of people around the world living with HIV is 34 million, which is a record.
AIDS-related deaths drop by 21 per cent, say UNAIDS
Health organisation UNAIDS have claimed that AIDS-related deaths have dropped by 21 per cent since 2005.
Hayley Holden at 14.47 GMT
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
According to their 2011 Health report, HIV infections also seem to have decreased by 21 per cent since a spike in 1997.
They claim this is as a result of improved access to treatment and education.
The executive director on UNAIDS, Michel Sidibe, told the BBC today: “We are on the verge of a significant breakthrough. Even in a very difficult financial crisis, countries are delivering results in the AIDS response.
"We have seen a massive scale up in access to HIV treatment which has had a dramatic effect on the lives of people everywhere."
The report also states that the number of people around the world living with HIV is 34 million, which is a record.
Saturday 19 November 2011
A disappointed article
[Source]
Catholic leader says ‘commitment plus equality does not equal gay marriage’
Vincent Nichols, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, has hit out at David Cameron’s plans to legalise gay marriage arguing “commitment plus equality does not equal marriage.”
Jonny Payne
Saturday, 19 November 2011
Vincent Nichols, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, has hit out at David Cameron’s plans to legalise gay marriage arguing “commitment plus equality does not equal marriage.”
Following a meeting of Catholic leaders to discuss the Government’s proposal in Leeds this week, Nichols said he is “very disappointed” with the plans, which if passed, would grant gay couples equal marriage rights to straight couples.
Prime Minister David Cameron said last month that he hopes gay marriage legislation can be introduced before the planned 2015 general elections, with a consultation due in March.
As reported by the Telegraph, Archbishop Nichols said: “I am very disappointed that the Government seems to be choosing this direction.
“I respect the Prime Minister’s insistence and emphasis on the importance of equality in relationships and the vital importance of commitment. Those are things that we recognise as very important to the health of society.
“But commitment plus equality does not equal marriage and the distinctive nature of marriage is something that is very important to the well-being of society because it is the foundation of family life as we know it and as it experienced by the vast majority of people.”
Catholic leader says ‘commitment plus equality does not equal gay marriage’
Vincent Nichols, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, has hit out at David Cameron’s plans to legalise gay marriage arguing “commitment plus equality does not equal marriage.”
Jonny Payne
Saturday, 19 November 2011
Following a meeting of Catholic leaders to discuss the Government’s proposal in Leeds this week, Nichols said he is “very disappointed” with the plans, which if passed, would grant gay couples equal marriage rights to straight couples.
Prime Minister David Cameron said last month that he hopes gay marriage legislation can be introduced before the planned 2015 general elections, with a consultation due in March.
As reported by the Telegraph, Archbishop Nichols said: “I am very disappointed that the Government seems to be choosing this direction.
“I respect the Prime Minister’s insistence and emphasis on the importance of equality in relationships and the vital importance of commitment. Those are things that we recognise as very important to the health of society.
“But commitment plus equality does not equal marriage and the distinctive nature of marriage is something that is very important to the well-being of society because it is the foundation of family life as we know it and as it experienced by the vast majority of people.”
Friday 18 November 2011
Danny Miller is leaving Emmerdale
[Source]
Danny Miller leaving Emmerdale
Published: 18/11/11
Actor Danny Miller has confirmed that he will be leaving his role as Aaron Livesy in Emmerdale in Spring 2012.
Danny, who has won several awards for his portrayal of Aaron, says, "It has been an incredibly difficult decision but after three years and much soul-searching I am eager to explore other roles.
"I am so grateful to Emmerdale for the opportunity that I have been given and have loved every moment. I will miss everyone enormously but this might not be the last we see of Aaron."
Stuart Blackburn, series producer says, "We completely respect Danny's decision and are very grateful for the hard work and commitment he has brought to his role.
"We wish him all the best for the future and in the meantime there is still plenty more drama to come from Aaron well into 2012."
Danny Miller leaving Emmerdale
Published: 18/11/11
Danny, who has won several awards for his portrayal of Aaron, says, "It has been an incredibly difficult decision but after three years and much soul-searching I am eager to explore other roles.
"I am so grateful to Emmerdale for the opportunity that I have been given and have loved every moment. I will miss everyone enormously but this might not be the last we see of Aaron."
Stuart Blackburn, series producer says, "We completely respect Danny's decision and are very grateful for the hard work and commitment he has brought to his role.
"We wish him all the best for the future and in the meantime there is still plenty more drama to come from Aaron well into 2012."
Saturday 12 November 2011
Adam in Out and Advocate Magazine
[Advocate.com]
October 17, 2011
Reinventing Adam Lambert
American Idol’s most interesting graduate has a new album in the works, a new relationship, and a new attitude toward the media that prompted him to sing “Whataya Want From Me”
“I got a smoothie and I pumped gas!”
Adam Lambert’s mornings aren’t so unlike those of many Los Angeles residents on their way to work.
“These are my days,” he says at Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood, teasing the last ounce of his smoothie with a straw. “I woke up, I got on my treadmill at my house this morning and ran for 20 minutes and got ready. I love this juice place. This is called the singer’s remedy, and it’s lemon and cayenne. It clears your throat and gets your cords ready. And it’s something I actually do. And I need gas to drive. It’s a normal day.”
Normal to a point. Then there’s the whole magazine interview, photo shoot, and a day working in the studio. Lambert is recording his follow-up album to his 2009 debut, For Your Entertainment, and has been writing and recording for the last five months. And a lot has changed since the most controversial figure to come out of American Idol first took to the national stage.
At age 12 he wowed the audience of his San Diego children’s theater company with a powerful operatic solo in Fiddler on the Roof, an experience that launched a budding theater career. Fifteen years later his unexpected reboots of some beloved songs (Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” Tears for Fears’s “Mad World”), paired with a more decidedly glam aesthetic than that of his largely all-American competitors, made him the most interesting thing to watch on American Idol’s eighth season, where he finished as first runner-up.
Lambert has long been comfortable in front of an audience. It was the other trappings of fame that threw him — and the media — for a loop.
Before the show had even finished filming he appeared on the cover of Entertainment Weekly in an article speculating about whether he was gay and why he wouldn’t say so — all without having given an interview. (Idol contestants are prohibited from giving individual interviews while in competition.)
He came out in Rolling Stone and appeared in a provocative photo spread in Details magazine suggestively grabbing a naked woman. When he did agree to appear in a gay publication, in Out magazine (owned by Here Media, the parent company of The Advocate), his management issued so many conditions for the photo (“must accompany a straight woman”) and interview (“not too gay”) that Aaron Hicklin detailed the conditions in his editor’s letter. Lambert responded via Twitter, suggesting that others not force their own agenda on him, and then shocked media watchers on his first post-Idol TV performance by kissing his male keyboard player at the American Music Awards.
“I kind of asked for it in a way,” he says of the fuss surrounding the kiss, which prompted CBS to censor a later broadcast of the performance and led ABC to cancel a morning show appearance. “Not everything is so premeditated as people think it is. There are things that just happen, there are things you just do. It was an impulse.”
Lambert admits it was “a bit reactionary on my part. I think I was a little overwhelmed with everything. It was me reacting a little bit to that ‘you’re not gay enough’ thing. At that moment for whatever reason I was like, Well, is this gay enough? It was me being a little bit pissed off!”
And that Details photo shoot? “Taking a picture with a girl — I thought it was just sexy. Most of my fans are female, and it was kind of a fantasy for them, and why not? There’s no question in their minds” that he’s gay. “No question in my mind, not an ounce.”
A generally more speculative matter is the content and release date of his new album, which is untitled and tentatively scheduled for a spring 2012 release. Lambert describes a more personal album, driven by vocal singer-songwriter tracks, electrofunk, and synth-pop in a “Nine Inch Nails meets George Michael” sort of way. “I know that’s a weird mash-up, but that’s what it feels like,” he says.
“No matter what the genre is, it’s all very personal, even on upbeat, fun tracks. The last album was a little bit more of a fantasy escape…even my image for that last album felt very theatrical and kind of over-the-top and intentionally tacky. I get a kick out of making artistic statements that are kind of ridiculous.”
The pop sensation thinks the last album cover was more campy than provocative. “But in America, camp is not something that is mainstream. It’s not something that is always grasped. You kind of have to hit people over the head with things, especially in pop music.”
He’s going slow with the sophomore release. “It takes time to get it right,” he says. “I don’t know how other artists do it, but for this project I’m adopting the mentality of just keep writing and keep recording as much as possible, and then when we know that we’re ready to decide which tracks are going to be on the album, we’ll look at everything and narrow it down.”
There’s a different pressure with a second album, especially with the helpful hype of the TV juggernaut a full two years behind him. “But people recognize me, people know who I am, so hopefully that’ll help. I don’t know. It’s hard.”
Of the new album’s personal nature, he says, “I think it’s going to let people underneath my facade a little bit — a self-created and totally admitted facade. I’m trying to convey to my audience that you really can’t judge a book by its cover, and there’s more to the universe than you can see with your eyes. It’s like existential pop.”
Lambert is of two minds when it comes to gay visibility and his place as a gay cultural figure. He’s become increasingly involved with gay rights organizations, yet he asks, “How many ways can I spell G-A-Y? Everybody knows I’m gay. And the thing that’s hard is, where’s there balance for me? I’m a musician and I’m writing music. I’m also becoming more involved sociopolitically, I’m getting involved with the Trevor Project and Equality California — these are things that I really do care about. But I do want to maintain a balance. What am I going to be known for in 15 years? I want to be known for my music, that’s my art. That’s what I’m contributing actively. I think visibility is a great tool, and that’s one other reason that I’ve been so verbal about it, but the irony is that here we are, talking about it.”
“It’s been the weirdest battle with identifying as a gay man in mainstream culture,” he says. “I think The Advocate is an exception — I think a respected gay publication treats it differently — but in regular journalism they make such a big deal out of homosexuality! I’m starting to grow really fond of the post-gay concept.”
Before Idol, Lambert’s life, he says, “wasn’t defined by my sexuality,” but now “all of a sudden it’s all about being gay. In some respects a lot of good can come from that. When I was a kid I didn’t have that many people to look up to. And if I’d had people in the public eye who were really up-front about it, it probably would have helped me. I feel like this is a conversation [Advocate] readers will understand where I’m coming from, because it’s tricky — I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing sometimes. Seriously. No one teaches you how to be a gay celebrity.”
Lambert says he’s become increasingly at ease in the media spotlight. “I’m more comfortable with myself in the public eye. That’s an adjustment.… There’s also a flip that comes from being in a relationship; it changes your perspective and your frame of mind and what you want. I’m lucky enough right now to be in a relationship.”
Though he’s tight-lipped about the nature of his relationship with boyfriend Sauli Koskinen, the 2007 winner of Finland’s Big Brother, he will say they met in a Helsinki bar last year after one of Lambert’s shows. Without knowing he was a TV personality, Lambert approached Koskinen to say hello, and they’ve been dating since last November.
“You know, honestly, when you start talking so much about your relationship, it opens the door too much. I’ve only been in one major long-term relationship prior to this, and I’m really, really happy. It’s done a lot for me, and it’s grounded me, and it has inspired me as a writer as a performer,” he says. “I just think everybody wants that connection, and I’m really happy to have found it.”
Lambert’s more forthcoming about his gay fans: “From what I can tell, there’s more of a gay presence internationally than domestically, which I found interesting. I feel like the [gay fans] that I meet are the ones that kind of feel weird.… I pick up this kind of energy among young people that it might not be the coolest thing to say you like Adam Lambert’s music. People don’t think that I’m cool. So I love that I have the kids who are like ballsy enough to be like, ‘Fuck it, I like Adam’s music.’ I mean, I am kind of a nerd. I feel like there’s a collective eye-roll when it comes to me, in the media and just in general consciousness — with the exception of my amazing Glamberts, my hard-core fans who are the opposite.”
But he’s taking it all with a grain of salt.
“It really is a dream job, and it’s really cool. I do stop and keep it all in perspective. This is pop music, and it’s not fucking brain surgery. I mean, some of it’s serious…but some of it’s just really fun dance music. And I’m wearing eight pounds of makeup because I fucking want to. Why not?”
[out.com]
Adam Revisited
11.7.2011
By Aaron Hicklin
Adam Lambert tells Editor in Chief Aaron Hicklin what he's learned in the two years since he appeared on the cover of the 2009 Out100.
Two years ago, in the 2009 Out100, we anointed Adam Lambert “Breakout Star of the Year,” and shot him for the cover, alongside Dan Choi, Wanda Sykes, Cyndi Lauper, and Rob Marshall. In the accompanying editor’s letter I took the entertainment industry to task for the way they control and limit access to the gay press, using our experience with Adam’s publicist at the time as my example. In hindsight, I was mistaken to address the letter directly to Adam: Although the massive response from his loyal fan base started a valuable debate, my letter was received as a personal attack that muddied the message. Lambert rightly sought to defend himself, in part by demonstrating his independence at the American Music Awards, when he simulated oral sex and kissed one of his band members. A lot of time has passed, and we can look back on that firestorm with cooler heads—so cool, in fact, that we were able to chat together, something we should have done first time around. This year we are honoring Adam for the way in which he has held true to his identity as a gay man while managing a successful musical career, a balancing act that is no mean feat. As he told The Advocate recently, “No one teaches you how to be a gay celebrity.” In a very real way he is leading the way.
Adam Lambert: I heard your name and thought, Oh, here we go!
Aaron Hicklin: You know, I was putting this together, and I realized that it was two years since we put you on the cover of the 2009 Out100. It struck me as important that this time we actually speak to each other.
I agree. I have no hard feelings. That was then, and I’ve learned a lot.
I have too. And I learned a lot from the experience of using my editor letter [as a critique of the entertainment industry]—good and bad, frankly. For a start, I realized you have a gazillion passionate fans and every single one was determined to make sure I knew they existed [laughs].
Yes, they’re very verbal.
They certainly are, and some of them still communicate with me, and I’ve made an effort to respond to as many as I can.
It’s an interesting dynamic, because I think the thing that’s ironic about it is that the photo session for Details [in which Lambert posed, controversially, with a nude female model], the one that we were talking about, was kind of done to play out the fantasy of many of my female fans.
They have deep imaginations, and there’s a lot of fantasy fiction that’s written on the Internet. I try not to read it because it can be a little creepy, but I know it’s something they really get into. So, for me, it was like, OK, I’ve lived my entire life as a gay man; I’m very comfortable with that. And all of a sudden, I have the opportunity to do this photo shoot, to play the opposite stereotype of the straight, butch guy. I found it really interesting, creatively, and didn’t think for one minute that I was toning anything down or trying to change who I was, so much as playing into a fantasy that I knew was really, really present, having been on tour all summer, having women throw their bras at me, and all that crazy shit. I will say that, on the flip side, timing is everything. That’s one thing that I’ve learned a lot about this year. I was still introducing myself to the masses then and, to me, on my own personal journey, it seemed like an interesting thing to do.
Sometimes I’m not as objective as I could be, and I don’t look at things from the perspective of a first-time audience. That definitely was somewhat the case with the American Music Awards performance [when Adam simulated oral sex and kissed his keyboard player]. I didn’t quite put myself in the position of the viewer at home that had watched me on American Idol and, the next time they see me on TV, it’s that performance. The AMA thing was maybe a little too much, too soon, and the photo shoot for Details, although very beautiful, maybe it wasn’t the right timing.
But two years on, I’m curious about what you’ve learned about yourself in this process since you’ve, very transparently, gone from a contestant on a show whose success represented a radical breakthrough to becoming a superstar. It must have been pretty exhausting and demanding and emotionally draining in many ways.
Yeah, it was definitely a lot to take on. But whenever I would feel overwhelmed or stressed out, the thing that kept me balanced is that I really do appreciate the opportunity I have. If I was a little younger, I wouldn’t have dealt with it so well. I’m 29, and having been in the entertainment industry throughout my entire twenties in Los Angeles, I grew almost, like, a Teflon coating, rather than being a kid from Ohio just jumping into it.
So you were prepared to some extent?
No one can really prepare you fully. There were things I was very surprised by [laughs] and had to learn quickly, and had to learn the hard way.
And you probably weren’t prepared to have me pouncing on you…
No, but all’s fair in that game. I think it’s been character building, which is great, and it’s definitely put me where I’m at now. I think the hardest thing about being a gay celebrity is that we’re in the middle of a social rights movement and it’s a very hot topic, so we’re at a very pivotal time. Coming out was great, but there are certain issues that always surprise me and I think, Why is this an issue? I live and I’ve grown up in a space that is very accepting and open-minded; I surround myself socially with people that are artists and very bohemian and I forget sometimes that, OK, we’re dealing with mainstream culture now, which does not have the same mentality as I do. I think, too, that by nature I’m very contrary. If you tell me I can’t do something then I’m gonna push back harder and do it. I’m kind of rebellious, but I try to do it with a smile. I’m not a jerk about it.
Do you fear that there is a trade-off in success and sales when you’re as true to yourself as you have been?
There’s definitely a bit of a conflict. I think I spent a lot of energy trying to find my footing and expressing my sexuality one way or the other. And I think now that I have established who I am and I’ve gotten it out of my system, what’s really important—without denying or downplaying my pride as a gay man—is the music. Looking back, I think the other things trumped the music a little bit. With my new album, what’s exciting is that I’m definitely in the driver’s seat. I’m working with producers and my label directly. I’m not being puppeted around in any way, shape, or form. It’s about the music now.
October 17, 2011
Reinventing Adam Lambert
American Idol’s most interesting graduate has a new album in the works, a new relationship, and a new attitude toward the media that prompted him to sing “Whataya Want From Me”
“I got a smoothie and I pumped gas!”
Adam Lambert’s mornings aren’t so unlike those of many Los Angeles residents on their way to work.
“These are my days,” he says at Conway Recording Studios in Hollywood, teasing the last ounce of his smoothie with a straw. “I woke up, I got on my treadmill at my house this morning and ran for 20 minutes and got ready. I love this juice place. This is called the singer’s remedy, and it’s lemon and cayenne. It clears your throat and gets your cords ready. And it’s something I actually do. And I need gas to drive. It’s a normal day.”
Normal to a point. Then there’s the whole magazine interview, photo shoot, and a day working in the studio. Lambert is recording his follow-up album to his 2009 debut, For Your Entertainment, and has been writing and recording for the last five months. And a lot has changed since the most controversial figure to come out of American Idol first took to the national stage.
At age 12 he wowed the audience of his San Diego children’s theater company with a powerful operatic solo in Fiddler on the Roof, an experience that launched a budding theater career. Fifteen years later his unexpected reboots of some beloved songs (Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” Tears for Fears’s “Mad World”), paired with a more decidedly glam aesthetic than that of his largely all-American competitors, made him the most interesting thing to watch on American Idol’s eighth season, where he finished as first runner-up.
Lambert has long been comfortable in front of an audience. It was the other trappings of fame that threw him — and the media — for a loop.
Before the show had even finished filming he appeared on the cover of Entertainment Weekly in an article speculating about whether he was gay and why he wouldn’t say so — all without having given an interview. (Idol contestants are prohibited from giving individual interviews while in competition.)
He came out in Rolling Stone and appeared in a provocative photo spread in Details magazine suggestively grabbing a naked woman. When he did agree to appear in a gay publication, in Out magazine (owned by Here Media, the parent company of The Advocate), his management issued so many conditions for the photo (“must accompany a straight woman”) and interview (“not too gay”) that Aaron Hicklin detailed the conditions in his editor’s letter. Lambert responded via Twitter, suggesting that others not force their own agenda on him, and then shocked media watchers on his first post-Idol TV performance by kissing his male keyboard player at the American Music Awards.
“I kind of asked for it in a way,” he says of the fuss surrounding the kiss, which prompted CBS to censor a later broadcast of the performance and led ABC to cancel a morning show appearance. “Not everything is so premeditated as people think it is. There are things that just happen, there are things you just do. It was an impulse.”
Lambert admits it was “a bit reactionary on my part. I think I was a little overwhelmed with everything. It was me reacting a little bit to that ‘you’re not gay enough’ thing. At that moment for whatever reason I was like, Well, is this gay enough? It was me being a little bit pissed off!”
And that Details photo shoot? “Taking a picture with a girl — I thought it was just sexy. Most of my fans are female, and it was kind of a fantasy for them, and why not? There’s no question in their minds” that he’s gay. “No question in my mind, not an ounce.”
A generally more speculative matter is the content and release date of his new album, which is untitled and tentatively scheduled for a spring 2012 release. Lambert describes a more personal album, driven by vocal singer-songwriter tracks, electrofunk, and synth-pop in a “Nine Inch Nails meets George Michael” sort of way. “I know that’s a weird mash-up, but that’s what it feels like,” he says.
“No matter what the genre is, it’s all very personal, even on upbeat, fun tracks. The last album was a little bit more of a fantasy escape…even my image for that last album felt very theatrical and kind of over-the-top and intentionally tacky. I get a kick out of making artistic statements that are kind of ridiculous.”
The pop sensation thinks the last album cover was more campy than provocative. “But in America, camp is not something that is mainstream. It’s not something that is always grasped. You kind of have to hit people over the head with things, especially in pop music.”
He’s going slow with the sophomore release. “It takes time to get it right,” he says. “I don’t know how other artists do it, but for this project I’m adopting the mentality of just keep writing and keep recording as much as possible, and then when we know that we’re ready to decide which tracks are going to be on the album, we’ll look at everything and narrow it down.”
There’s a different pressure with a second album, especially with the helpful hype of the TV juggernaut a full two years behind him. “But people recognize me, people know who I am, so hopefully that’ll help. I don’t know. It’s hard.”
Of the new album’s personal nature, he says, “I think it’s going to let people underneath my facade a little bit — a self-created and totally admitted facade. I’m trying to convey to my audience that you really can’t judge a book by its cover, and there’s more to the universe than you can see with your eyes. It’s like existential pop.”
Lambert is of two minds when it comes to gay visibility and his place as a gay cultural figure. He’s become increasingly involved with gay rights organizations, yet he asks, “How many ways can I spell G-A-Y? Everybody knows I’m gay. And the thing that’s hard is, where’s there balance for me? I’m a musician and I’m writing music. I’m also becoming more involved sociopolitically, I’m getting involved with the Trevor Project and Equality California — these are things that I really do care about. But I do want to maintain a balance. What am I going to be known for in 15 years? I want to be known for my music, that’s my art. That’s what I’m contributing actively. I think visibility is a great tool, and that’s one other reason that I’ve been so verbal about it, but the irony is that here we are, talking about it.”
“It’s been the weirdest battle with identifying as a gay man in mainstream culture,” he says. “I think The Advocate is an exception — I think a respected gay publication treats it differently — but in regular journalism they make such a big deal out of homosexuality! I’m starting to grow really fond of the post-gay concept.”
Before Idol, Lambert’s life, he says, “wasn’t defined by my sexuality,” but now “all of a sudden it’s all about being gay. In some respects a lot of good can come from that. When I was a kid I didn’t have that many people to look up to. And if I’d had people in the public eye who were really up-front about it, it probably would have helped me. I feel like this is a conversation [Advocate] readers will understand where I’m coming from, because it’s tricky — I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing sometimes. Seriously. No one teaches you how to be a gay celebrity.”
Lambert says he’s become increasingly at ease in the media spotlight. “I’m more comfortable with myself in the public eye. That’s an adjustment.… There’s also a flip that comes from being in a relationship; it changes your perspective and your frame of mind and what you want. I’m lucky enough right now to be in a relationship.”
Though he’s tight-lipped about the nature of his relationship with boyfriend Sauli Koskinen, the 2007 winner of Finland’s Big Brother, he will say they met in a Helsinki bar last year after one of Lambert’s shows. Without knowing he was a TV personality, Lambert approached Koskinen to say hello, and they’ve been dating since last November.
“You know, honestly, when you start talking so much about your relationship, it opens the door too much. I’ve only been in one major long-term relationship prior to this, and I’m really, really happy. It’s done a lot for me, and it’s grounded me, and it has inspired me as a writer as a performer,” he says. “I just think everybody wants that connection, and I’m really happy to have found it.”
Lambert’s more forthcoming about his gay fans: “From what I can tell, there’s more of a gay presence internationally than domestically, which I found interesting. I feel like the [gay fans] that I meet are the ones that kind of feel weird.… I pick up this kind of energy among young people that it might not be the coolest thing to say you like Adam Lambert’s music. People don’t think that I’m cool. So I love that I have the kids who are like ballsy enough to be like, ‘Fuck it, I like Adam’s music.’ I mean, I am kind of a nerd. I feel like there’s a collective eye-roll when it comes to me, in the media and just in general consciousness — with the exception of my amazing Glamberts, my hard-core fans who are the opposite.”
But he’s taking it all with a grain of salt.
“It really is a dream job, and it’s really cool. I do stop and keep it all in perspective. This is pop music, and it’s not fucking brain surgery. I mean, some of it’s serious…but some of it’s just really fun dance music. And I’m wearing eight pounds of makeup because I fucking want to. Why not?”
[out.com]
11.7.2011
By Aaron Hicklin
Adam Lambert tells Editor in Chief Aaron Hicklin what he's learned in the two years since he appeared on the cover of the 2009 Out100.
Two years ago, in the 2009 Out100, we anointed Adam Lambert “Breakout Star of the Year,” and shot him for the cover, alongside Dan Choi, Wanda Sykes, Cyndi Lauper, and Rob Marshall. In the accompanying editor’s letter I took the entertainment industry to task for the way they control and limit access to the gay press, using our experience with Adam’s publicist at the time as my example. In hindsight, I was mistaken to address the letter directly to Adam: Although the massive response from his loyal fan base started a valuable debate, my letter was received as a personal attack that muddied the message. Lambert rightly sought to defend himself, in part by demonstrating his independence at the American Music Awards, when he simulated oral sex and kissed one of his band members. A lot of time has passed, and we can look back on that firestorm with cooler heads—so cool, in fact, that we were able to chat together, something we should have done first time around. This year we are honoring Adam for the way in which he has held true to his identity as a gay man while managing a successful musical career, a balancing act that is no mean feat. As he told The Advocate recently, “No one teaches you how to be a gay celebrity.” In a very real way he is leading the way.
Adam Lambert: I heard your name and thought, Oh, here we go!
Aaron Hicklin: You know, I was putting this together, and I realized that it was two years since we put you on the cover of the 2009 Out100. It struck me as important that this time we actually speak to each other.
I agree. I have no hard feelings. That was then, and I’ve learned a lot.
I have too. And I learned a lot from the experience of using my editor letter [as a critique of the entertainment industry]—good and bad, frankly. For a start, I realized you have a gazillion passionate fans and every single one was determined to make sure I knew they existed [laughs].
Yes, they’re very verbal.
They certainly are, and some of them still communicate with me, and I’ve made an effort to respond to as many as I can.
It’s an interesting dynamic, because I think the thing that’s ironic about it is that the photo session for Details [in which Lambert posed, controversially, with a nude female model], the one that we were talking about, was kind of done to play out the fantasy of many of my female fans.
They have deep imaginations, and there’s a lot of fantasy fiction that’s written on the Internet. I try not to read it because it can be a little creepy, but I know it’s something they really get into. So, for me, it was like, OK, I’ve lived my entire life as a gay man; I’m very comfortable with that. And all of a sudden, I have the opportunity to do this photo shoot, to play the opposite stereotype of the straight, butch guy. I found it really interesting, creatively, and didn’t think for one minute that I was toning anything down or trying to change who I was, so much as playing into a fantasy that I knew was really, really present, having been on tour all summer, having women throw their bras at me, and all that crazy shit. I will say that, on the flip side, timing is everything. That’s one thing that I’ve learned a lot about this year. I was still introducing myself to the masses then and, to me, on my own personal journey, it seemed like an interesting thing to do.
Sometimes I’m not as objective as I could be, and I don’t look at things from the perspective of a first-time audience. That definitely was somewhat the case with the American Music Awards performance [when Adam simulated oral sex and kissed his keyboard player]. I didn’t quite put myself in the position of the viewer at home that had watched me on American Idol and, the next time they see me on TV, it’s that performance. The AMA thing was maybe a little too much, too soon, and the photo shoot for Details, although very beautiful, maybe it wasn’t the right timing.
But two years on, I’m curious about what you’ve learned about yourself in this process since you’ve, very transparently, gone from a contestant on a show whose success represented a radical breakthrough to becoming a superstar. It must have been pretty exhausting and demanding and emotionally draining in many ways.
Yeah, it was definitely a lot to take on. But whenever I would feel overwhelmed or stressed out, the thing that kept me balanced is that I really do appreciate the opportunity I have. If I was a little younger, I wouldn’t have dealt with it so well. I’m 29, and having been in the entertainment industry throughout my entire twenties in Los Angeles, I grew almost, like, a Teflon coating, rather than being a kid from Ohio just jumping into it.
So you were prepared to some extent?
No one can really prepare you fully. There were things I was very surprised by [laughs] and had to learn quickly, and had to learn the hard way.
And you probably weren’t prepared to have me pouncing on you…
No, but all’s fair in that game. I think it’s been character building, which is great, and it’s definitely put me where I’m at now. I think the hardest thing about being a gay celebrity is that we’re in the middle of a social rights movement and it’s a very hot topic, so we’re at a very pivotal time. Coming out was great, but there are certain issues that always surprise me and I think, Why is this an issue? I live and I’ve grown up in a space that is very accepting and open-minded; I surround myself socially with people that are artists and very bohemian and I forget sometimes that, OK, we’re dealing with mainstream culture now, which does not have the same mentality as I do. I think, too, that by nature I’m very contrary. If you tell me I can’t do something then I’m gonna push back harder and do it. I’m kind of rebellious, but I try to do it with a smile. I’m not a jerk about it.
Do you fear that there is a trade-off in success and sales when you’re as true to yourself as you have been?
There’s definitely a bit of a conflict. I think I spent a lot of energy trying to find my footing and expressing my sexuality one way or the other. And I think now that I have established who I am and I’ve gotten it out of my system, what’s really important—without denying or downplaying my pride as a gay man—is the music. Looking back, I think the other things trumped the music a little bit. With my new album, what’s exciting is that I’m definitely in the driver’s seat. I’m working with producers and my label directly. I’m not being puppeted around in any way, shape, or form. It’s about the music now.
Friday 11 November 2011
An article from PinkNews.co.uk
[Source]
George Michael: Eastenders gay storyline “scaring children”
by Stephen Gray
11 November 2011, 9:32am
George Michael heavily criticised the storyline between two gay character in the soap opera Eastenders.
The musician took to Twitter last night to tell followers the BBC drama was “scaring the shit out of children”.
He said “The relationship between Sayed and Christian is the most insulting piece of bullshit on British television right now.
“Insulting to the gay community, insulting to the Muslim community, and in the meantime, terrifying every gay child that is struggling to come to terms with their sexuality , and the prospect of coming out to their family, whatever their religion.
“So far, Christian has been beaten up 3 times that I can remember, and is now accused of child molestation. Sayed has been disowned and is now mistreating his partner shamelessly, presumably because he is now a confused bisexual after all.
“Total fucking bullshit.”
Michael described modern soap operas as being hugely influential in society, with a power to positively reflect “race and integration”.
He praised the actors, John Partridge and Marc Elliott who portray an openly gay man and a Muslim who struggled to come to terms with his sexuality, eventually leaving his wife.
At the local boxing club, 15-year-old Ben Mitchell, played by Joshua Pascoe, confides to Partridge’s character that he is gay.
The younger character’s feelings initiate the storyline referenced by George Michael.
The star continued: “Life in London is a wonderful thing for so many gay and lesbian people these days, and I know that there are gay people involved in the writing of the show but they really need to rethink their approach to gay ‘issues’. They are scaring the shit out of children everywhere.”
He concluded by saying that he hoped for the sakes of the actors and for “the sake of gay kids in this country, regardless of their cultural background, that Eastenders gets a clue and begins to acknowledge their responsibility and provides us with gay characters that have no reason to live in fear. We do exist.”
George Michael: Eastenders gay storyline “scaring children”
by Stephen Gray
11 November 2011, 9:32am
The musician took to Twitter last night to tell followers the BBC drama was “scaring the shit out of children”.
He said “The relationship between Sayed and Christian is the most insulting piece of bullshit on British television right now.
“Insulting to the gay community, insulting to the Muslim community, and in the meantime, terrifying every gay child that is struggling to come to terms with their sexuality , and the prospect of coming out to their family, whatever their religion.
“So far, Christian has been beaten up 3 times that I can remember, and is now accused of child molestation. Sayed has been disowned and is now mistreating his partner shamelessly, presumably because he is now a confused bisexual after all.
“Total fucking bullshit.”
Michael described modern soap operas as being hugely influential in society, with a power to positively reflect “race and integration”.
He praised the actors, John Partridge and Marc Elliott who portray an openly gay man and a Muslim who struggled to come to terms with his sexuality, eventually leaving his wife.
At the local boxing club, 15-year-old Ben Mitchell, played by Joshua Pascoe, confides to Partridge’s character that he is gay.
The younger character’s feelings initiate the storyline referenced by George Michael.
The star continued: “Life in London is a wonderful thing for so many gay and lesbian people these days, and I know that there are gay people involved in the writing of the show but they really need to rethink their approach to gay ‘issues’. They are scaring the shit out of children everywhere.”
He concluded by saying that he hoped for the sakes of the actors and for “the sake of gay kids in this country, regardless of their cultural background, that Eastenders gets a clue and begins to acknowledge their responsibility and provides us with gay characters that have no reason to live in fear. We do exist.”
An article from PinkPaper.com
[Source]
David Testo is latest professional footballer to come out as gay
Professional football player David Testo is the sport's latest star to come out as gay.
Peter Lloyd at 10.03 GMT
Friday, 11 November 2011
Professional football player David Testo is the sport's latest star to come out as gay.
Thirty year-old Testo, who played for Montreal Impact of the United Soccer League, came out yesterday in an interview with CBC Radio-Canada.
“I really do regret not coming out publicly earlier,” the former midfielder said.
“It’s like carrying around a secret, you know, and carrying around luggage and just never being allowed to be yourself.”
According to the Toronto Star, Testo said he had wrestled with making his sexual orientation public for a long time. He added that he was also regrets not thanking his partner as he accepted the team’s most valuable player award in 2009.
“The one person I wanted to thank the most, I couldn’t,” he said. “I just didn’t feel comfortable at the time.”
“On a daily basis I had to constantly be aware of the things I said, who I said it to,” he said. “I think players around me had to, too. That sucks, as a human being. It would have been a lot easier to get into a field where everything is accepted.”
In response, the president of Montreal Impact Joey Saputo said in a statement:
“David Testo’s declaration is in fact very personal. We knew David’s orientation prior to him joining our club from Vancouver in 2007.
“During his career in Montreal he has always been a professional and dedicated player to this club on and off the field. His decision to go public must have been a difficult one and we respect it.”
David Testo is latest professional footballer to come out as gay
Professional football player David Testo is the sport's latest star to come out as gay.
Peter Lloyd at 10.03 GMT
Friday, 11 November 2011
Thirty year-old Testo, who played for Montreal Impact of the United Soccer League, came out yesterday in an interview with CBC Radio-Canada.
“I really do regret not coming out publicly earlier,” the former midfielder said.
“It’s like carrying around a secret, you know, and carrying around luggage and just never being allowed to be yourself.”
According to the Toronto Star, Testo said he had wrestled with making his sexual orientation public for a long time. He added that he was also regrets not thanking his partner as he accepted the team’s most valuable player award in 2009.
“The one person I wanted to thank the most, I couldn’t,” he said. “I just didn’t feel comfortable at the time.”
“On a daily basis I had to constantly be aware of the things I said, who I said it to,” he said. “I think players around me had to, too. That sucks, as a human being. It would have been a lot easier to get into a field where everything is accepted.”
In response, the president of Montreal Impact Joey Saputo said in a statement:
“David Testo’s declaration is in fact very personal. We knew David’s orientation prior to him joining our club from Vancouver in 2007.
“During his career in Montreal he has always been a professional and dedicated player to this club on and off the field. His decision to go public must have been a difficult one and we respect it.”
Friday 4 November 2011
An article from sheknows.com
[Source]
True love! Conan O'Brien officiates gay wedding
Nov 04, 2011 10:31 AM by Sara McGinnis
Mazel Tov! Conan O'Brien Wedding Video
Conan O'Brien's gay wedding went off without a hitch! Scott Cronick, costume designer for the Conan show, and his partner David Gorshein were bonded in matrimony in the fine state of New York with the funnyman presiding over the ceremony.
Conan O'Brien stood underneath a chuppah requested by the grooms, watched by an audience that included Scott and David's family and friends. Scott had a special request that Conan O'Brien happily obliged -- having Bravo's Andy Cohen escort him down the aisle!
"This is for real," Conan O'Brien commented in the gay wedding's opening remarks. "We are gathered here today in this beautiful place to witness the joining of two lives."
David then said to Scott, "Anyone in the world would be happy to wear one of your designs, but no one is possibly happier than I am to wear your ring." In turn Scott said to David, "I have only one vow for you. I vow to fill your every day with so much love. Cameras or no cameras, I am here today and I am yours forever."
After a double breaking of the glass, a ceremonial tradition done by the groom in a Jewish wedding, Conan O'Brien announced, "By the powers vested in me by the state of New York and the Universal Life Church Monastery, I now pronounce you husband and husband! You may kiss the groom! Mazel tov!"
The wedding coincides with Conan's one-year anniversary at TBS, and was filmed during a series of live shows in New York. Preparing for the ceremony, the 48-year-old host commented, "This will be the first, I believe, same-sex wedding performed on late night television."
O'Brien's camp insists the ceremony was not a publicity stunt, that it was performed on behalf of their staffer's real love, but the comic is coming under fire nonetheless. Opposing Views criticizes the notion of a late night television gay wedding, writing:
Do you think the ceremony was done out of love or as a ratings ploy?
Congratulations to the grooms, and to Conan O'Brien on officiating his first gay wedding!
Image via WENN
True love! Conan O'Brien officiates gay wedding
Nov 04, 2011 10:31 AM by Sara McGinnis
Mazel Tov! Conan O'Brien Wedding Video
Conan O'Brien made his marriage ceremony debut as a gay wedding officiant late Thursday night on Conan. Watch video of the ceremony here!
Conan O'Brien stood underneath a chuppah requested by the grooms, watched by an audience that included Scott and David's family and friends. Scott had a special request that Conan O'Brien happily obliged -- having Bravo's Andy Cohen escort him down the aisle!
"This is for real," Conan O'Brien commented in the gay wedding's opening remarks. "We are gathered here today in this beautiful place to witness the joining of two lives."
David then said to Scott, "Anyone in the world would be happy to wear one of your designs, but no one is possibly happier than I am to wear your ring." In turn Scott said to David, "I have only one vow for you. I vow to fill your every day with so much love. Cameras or no cameras, I am here today and I am yours forever."
After a double breaking of the glass, a ceremonial tradition done by the groom in a Jewish wedding, Conan O'Brien announced, "By the powers vested in me by the state of New York and the Universal Life Church Monastery, I now pronounce you husband and husband! You may kiss the groom! Mazel tov!"
The wedding coincides with Conan's one-year anniversary at TBS, and was filmed during a series of live shows in New York. Preparing for the ceremony, the 48-year-old host commented, "This will be the first, I believe, same-sex wedding performed on late night television."
O'Brien's camp insists the ceremony was not a publicity stunt, that it was performed on behalf of their staffer's real love, but the comic is coming under fire nonetheless. Opposing Views criticizes the notion of a late night television gay wedding, writing:
"...in a desperate move for ratings, the host is taking advantage of the state's new law by 'marrying' two of his male staffers on the program. Thanks to a free online certificate from the Universal Life Church, he can even officiate. While Conan might grab a few headlines from the ceremony, the irony of a comedian performing the ceremony -- along with his joke of an ordination -- is notable."
Watch the Conan gay wedding ceremony here:
Do you think the ceremony was done out of love or as a ratings ploy?
Congratulations to the grooms, and to Conan O'Brien on officiating his first gay wedding!
Image via WENN
Thursday 3 November 2011
Adam Lambert was walking arm in arm with Sauli Koskinen
[Source]
Adam Lambert Dating Finnish Realty Star Sauli Koskinen?
By On Top Magazine Staff
Published: February 03, 2011
Photos of singer Adam Lambert and Finnish reality star Sauli Koskinen walking arm in arm have fueled rumors of romance between the pair.
Koskinen, who competed in the third season of the Finnish version of the reality series Big Brother, helped Lambert celebrate his 29th birthday over the weekend.
Koskinen, an Helsinki native, won the 2007 contest at the age of 22.
“Just in time for Valentine's Day, Adam Lambert is off the market!,” wrote celebrity blog OMGblog.com. “Shed a collective black-eyeliner tear.”
According to SocialiteLife.com, the pair were photographed leaving the Grand Havana Room in Beverly Hills.
“The rocker was all styled up and clad in black, looking more put together than he has of late,” the site wrote. “He and his new beau look smitten together.”
Last week, Lambert was included in gay glossy Out's list of most eligible gay bachelors alongside Welsh rugby player Gareth Thomas, UK singer Joe McElderry, and Glee star Chris Colfer. Guess they'll need to update their list.
By On Top Magazine Staff
Published: February 03, 2011
Photos of singer Adam Lambert and Finnish reality star Sauli Koskinen walking arm in arm have fueled rumors of romance between the pair.
Koskinen, who competed in the third season of the Finnish version of the reality series Big Brother, helped Lambert celebrate his 29th birthday over the weekend.
Koskinen, an Helsinki native, won the 2007 contest at the age of 22.
“Just in time for Valentine's Day, Adam Lambert is off the market!,” wrote celebrity blog OMGblog.com. “Shed a collective black-eyeliner tear.”
According to SocialiteLife.com, the pair were photographed leaving the Grand Havana Room in Beverly Hills.
“The rocker was all styled up and clad in black, looking more put together than he has of late,” the site wrote. “He and his new beau look smitten together.”
Last week, Lambert was included in gay glossy Out's list of most eligible gay bachelors alongside Welsh rugby player Gareth Thomas, UK singer Joe McElderry, and Glee star Chris Colfer. Guess they'll need to update their list.
An article from Greg in Hollywood
Welsh rugby player Jed Hooper comes out!
He follows in the footsteps of recently-retired rugby star Gareth Thomas who is also from Wales.
Jed is just 22 and captain of the Welsh rugby team the Old Redcliffians.
He explained to the Bristol Post what motivated him to come out: “I met someone earlier this year who said he could not be with someone who was in the closet. That, basically, was the catalyst that I needed. Before that, I think I had already told about ten friends and their reaction was very positive so that gave me an inkling of what might happen. And I also thought if the crap really hits the fan then at least there are ten people on my side!”
You’ve got a lot more than that Jed!
Tuesday 1 November 2011
Darren Hayes interview
[Source]
Darren Hayes Secret Codes video interview
added by admin November 1, 2011 1:52
We have absolutely fallen in love with Darren Hayes' new album, 'Secret Codes and Battleships'. In this video chat, the Australian singer / songwriter talks to us about the album, how he is finding being back in the limelight after 4 years away, his sci-fi passion, and more.
Take a look below to watch our exclusive video interview with Darren Hayes:
Darren Hayes' album, 'Secret Codes and Battleships' is available to buy now. You can read our review of the album here.
For more of the latest music news, plus exclusive interviews and competitions, follow Crave on Music on Twitter and Facebook.
added by admin November 1, 2011 1:52
We have absolutely fallen in love with Darren Hayes' new album, 'Secret Codes and Battleships'. In this video chat, the Australian singer / songwriter talks to us about the album, how he is finding being back in the limelight after 4 years away, his sci-fi passion, and more.
Take a look below to watch our exclusive video interview with Darren Hayes:
Darren Hayes' album, 'Secret Codes and Battleships' is available to buy now. You can read our review of the album here.
For more of the latest music news, plus exclusive interviews and competitions, follow Crave on Music on Twitter and Facebook.
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