To Be or Not To Be.

Where have all the alternative clubs gone? Where does that leaves the Soho gay crowd who don’t want to listen to soulless remixes?

“It’s always struck me as odd that a subculture that is based on non-conformity could be so … well … conformist.”

To Be or Not To Be.

Andrew Darley is asked why he wants to be a godfather to his brother’s as-yet-to-be-conceived child and puzzles over his answer.

“It wasn’t until a close friend of mine outright asked me ‘Why would you want to be a Godfather if you don’t believe in God?’ that I began to mull over it. “

In the beginning Gloria created the heaven and the earth.

Paul Baker celebrates a record breaking reading from the Bible … in your actual Polari.

“Before Polari became the name of this online magazine it was a secret form of language, spoken mostly by gay men and lesbians, with a complex and eclectic history encompassing drag queens, actors, travelling circus people, sailors, Italians, American airforce men and even Punch and Judy entertainers.”

Placebo Effect.

Andrew Darley looks back at the subversive career of Placebo and asks if the latest EP shows a loss of direction.

“Last month saw the release of B3, a five track EP of brand new material. This small collection of songs will no doubt keep long-time Placebo fans content, if not happy, as it contains glimpses of their signature sound. “

Celebrity Big Brother 2012.

Paul Baker looks back at the surprisingly pro-LGBT Big Brother, and celebrates recent Julian Clary’s win of Celebrity Big Brother 2012.

“The public, who had been expecting Julian to be the swishing Diva, were second-footed to find a quiet, introspective and kind man behind the outrageous stage act.”

Cosmo for Femmes.

BJ Epstein takes a look at Sweden’s new magazine for lesbian and bisexual women … and finds it wanting.

“There is certainly a population out there that wants tips on performing better cunnilingus along with advice on open relationships, horoscopes.”

45 Years of Legal Consensual Gay Sex … With A Few Reservations.

What was the 1967 Sexual Offences Act all about, and how effective was it as a piece of social legislation?

“The Act further restricted gay men by only sanctioning sex between two consenting adult males (i.e. over 21) in private. A threesome (or more-some) was a definite no-no, but even sex with non-participant/s present was an offence, as was consensual sex in an hotel or other ‘public’ place.”

Austerity Britain Comes to World Pride.

Keep calm and carry on, World Pride 2012 fell apart and Boris Johnson failed London one more time.

“Is it really worth jeopardising London’s international standing as a fun city to live, work and do business in for the sake of a reported measly £65,000, which probably amounts to little more than a bankers’ bonus-celebration dinner?”

Even the gays don’t want equal marriage! Apparently.

Nadine Dorries is opposed to what she calls the Metro Elite Gay Activists, who she says are pushing an agenda that nobody really wants. She sums up the tactics of the new homophobia, writes Paul Baker.

“Just who are these Metro Elite Gay Activists – or MEGA-gays as Nadine Dorries claims? I have this picture in my head of a haughty cartoon gay couple called Ivan and Tarquin, living in a swanky loft somewhere near Primrose Hill.”

Will A Proposed Development End This London Insitution?

Simon Watney writes about the history of The Black Cap, and the cruel face of modern developmental planning.

“The fate of The Black Cap also matters in wider terms, since its history goes back many centuries, like that of The Worlds End on the opposite side of the High Street, which since at least the seventeenth-century had been famous as The Old Mother Red Cap, its name only being changed most regrettably by new owners in the late 1980s.