Tag Archives: Britain

It was 30 years ago this week that Pet Shop Boys released their first album, Please, which propelled their update of 1984’s West End Girls to the top position on pop charts worldwide. Yesterday the synthpop duo released their 13th full-length album, Super, which has already yielded the well-received single, The Pop Kids. All of the tracks from Super have …

Last month I launched a twice-monthly column for the website of Britain’s Pride Life magazine, a quarterly LGBT rights and lifestyle magazine. Today’s fourth installment is titled This Week In US Politics: Things Get Ugly All Around. Hit the link for my update on the GOP race and the situation in North Carolina. DISCLOSURE: Pride Life is owned by the …

Patrick Strudwick reports at Buzzfeed: HIV charities are shocked and angry over a “shameful” NHS statement released on Monday announcing that the drug that prevents HIV infection will not be made widely available on the NHS. NHS England published a decision on its website on Monday — following an 18-month consideration period — outlining its reasons for not funding Truvada …

Last month Pet Shop Boys released The Pop Kids, the first single from their coming album Super, which drops on April 1st. Today we get a slew of The Pop Kids remixes, including takes from Israeli circuit DJ Offer Nissim and Detroit house kingpin Marc “MK” Kinchen. Listen below. The final clip is an extended version of the original single …

Last month I launched a twice-monthly column for the website of Britain’s Pride Life magazine, a quarterly LGBT rights and lifestyle magazine. Today’s third installment takes a look at the never-ending Trump controversies, his down-ballot effect on other GOP candidates, Hillary Clinton’s AIDS gaffe, and the delegate standings in the Democratic race. Clickety-click the link. DISCLOSURE: Pride Life is owned …

Paul McCartney writes on his personal site: I’m so sad to hear the news of the passing of dear George Martin. I have so many wonderful memories of this great man that will be with me forever. He was a true gentleman and like a second father to me. He guided the career of The Beatles with such skill and …

My usual annual slew of Eurovision posts have taken a backseat this year to the presidential race. To catch up a little bit (many other entries are also in the comments), this happened last night in Britain: Pop duo Joe and Jake have been selected to represent the UK at May’s Eurovision Song Contest in Sweden. The singers, both former …

If you were unhappy with the Bowie tribute at last week’s Grammy Awards, this one might please you. Gary Oldman and Annie Lennox paid heartfelt tribute to Bowie, the British rock legend who died unexpectedly from cancer last month. “David, you were mortal but your potential was superhuman and your remarkable music is living on. We love you and we …

One of my favorite bands from the early 90s is back with a truly freaky and disturbing video for their new single. Rolling Stone reviews: The Ringan Ledwidge-directed video itself merges the menacing ball from Phantasm and the maniacal subway scene from Andrzej Zulawski’s Possession. In “Voodoo in My Blood,” recorded with Scottish rap-pop group Young Fathers, Gone Girl actress …

Two weeks ago I launched a twice-monthly column for the website of Britain’s Pride Life magazine, a quarterly LGBT rights and lifestyle magazine. Today’s second installment picks up on last week’s rundown of the leading GOP presidential candidates, their varying anti-LGBT positions, how they fared in the early primaries, and their unified calls to block President Obama from appointing the …

The Telegraph recaps the clip: The first trailer for AbFab: The Movie has just landed and as expected it’s pretty fabulous. We meet sweetie-darlings Patsy and Eddie in the Riviera (our money is on St Tropez) clinking pink cocktails with two unidentified gentleman on the beach. A cheesy voice-over says: “When you must have the best, be sure to choose …

A new Mrs. Slocombe will soon be fretting about her pussy. From the Mirror: Fans of Are You Being Served? will find the news of a reboot bittersweet. In an age where a reboot is growing in popularity, it would seem that nothing is safe as the British sitcom is being brought back. It is the latest programme to be …

Wow, this is great. From Idolator: The Pet Shop Boys have consistently remained one of the most sophisticated acts in the popular music arena for the past three decades, and the first single from upcoming album Super (out April 1) doesn’t betray any signs of them gliding off track at all. With “The Pop Kids,” we get a vivid story …

Launching today is my new twice-monthly politics column for Britain’s Pride Life, a quarterly LGBT rights and lifestyle magazine. In today’s first column I rate four leading GOP presidential candidates based on their potential threat to LGBT civil equality. While my assessments may seem a bit rudimentary to regular readers of this here website thingy, I thought it might be …

Squee! Via Digital Spy: The only thing bigger than the news Pet Shop Boys have a brand new album out later this year, is the actual dance anthem they are leading it with. The British duo have released Inner Sanctum as the first taster from their upcoming album Super, which will be released on April 1. In true PSB style, …

Via Radio Times: After the sad news of Alan Rickman’s passing last week, many fans took comfort in the fact that his work lives on through the many films he worked on, including a couple of movies that hadn’t even been released yet. Now, the first trailer for Rickman’s last live-action performance has been released. Called Eye in the Sky, …

The BBC reports: A Conservative MP has told the House of Commons he is a user of the popper recreational drug and a ban on its supply would be “fantastically stupid”. Ex-minister Crispin Blunt said users of the drug were “astonished” by talk of a ban and respect for the law “would fly out of the window” if it happened. …

IMPORTANT UPDATE BELOW. Patrick Strudwick reports at Buzzfeed: Marco Bulmer-Rizzi’s voice is quiet and steady on the phone from Australia as he tries to stay composed – to explain what has happened, the magnitude of what he has lost, and the sense of injustice he feels. Last Saturday, while on honeymoon in Adelaide, South Australia, his new husband, David Bulmer-Rizzi, …

The use of the medication Truvada as an HIV preventive, a strategy known as PrEP, has not yet been approved by Britain’s National Health Service, a step the FDA took in 2012. Last night the BBC hosted a discussion on the issue in which a representative from the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation expressed his reservations. As you probably know, …

Via the Los Angeles Times: British lawmakers on Monday debated whether Donald Trump should be banned from Britain, after an online petition calling for him to be denied entry for making controversial anti-Muslim comments amassed more than 570,000 votes. “His words are not comical. His words are not funny. His words are poisonous,” said the Labor Party’s Tulip Siddiq. “They …