Kylie Minogue receives her OBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace

Our favourite pop princess and all-round Gay Icon Kylie Minogue did herself proud today and picked up her OBE (Order of the British Empire - like that still exists..) and brought a bit of gay to Buckingham Palace which is kinda already one of the gayest places in the world, but I digress.

Some of the right-wing British media are spitting blood that our Kylie dared to touch the hands of Prince Charles. Apparently, "she breached the stiff formality that is normally the order of the day at investitures".

What a load of old guff! I love the down to earth no-nonsense approach of Kylie and Charles should be so lucky (see what I did there?) that Kylie bothered to touch him. I mean, I wouldn't wanna touch him anywhere, especially his hands. Those rough old fingers were probably been up Camilla earlier and that makes me feel queasy just thinking about it.

At least it didn't seem to bother our Kylie who looks like she enjoyed her day and good for her after all the dramas she's had over the past couple of years. A good Gay Icon can't just be a strong woman, we gays like them to suffer a bit too.

The top fifty gayest songs EVER!

Australian website samesame.com.au asked their readers to vote for what songs out of the vast catalogue of musical history you think deserve to be called camp classics to help them celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Sydney’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and this is their top fifty (in reverse order):

50. Elton John and George Michael “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”
49. Dead or Alive “You Spin Me (Like A Record)”
48. Pet Shop Boys “New York City Boy”
47. Diana Ross “Chain Reaction”
46. Deborah Harry “I Want That Man”
45. Cher “Strong Enough”
44. RuPaul “Supermodel (You Better Work)”
43. KD Lang “Constant Craving”
42. Culture Club “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me”
41. Chaka Kham “I’m Every Woman”
40. Wham “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”
39. Paul Lekakis “Boom Boom (Let’s Go Back To My Room)
38. Kym Mazelle “Young Hearts Run Free”
37. George Michael “Outside”
36. Donna Summer “I Feel Love”
35. Dannii Minogue “This Is It”
34. Belinda Carlisle “Summer Rain”
33. Peter Allen “I Go To Rio”
32. Sylvester “You Make Me Feel Mighty Real”
31. Heather Small “Proud”
30. CeCe Peniston “Finally”
29. Madonna “Express Yourself”
28. Cyndi Lauper “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”
27. Charlene “I’ve Never Been To Me”
26. Tim Curry “Sweet Transvestite”
25. Barry Manilow “Copacabana”
24. Barbara Streisand and Donna Summer “No More Tears”
23. Whitney Houston “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)”
22. Sister Sledge “We Are Family”
21. Queen “I Want To Break Free”
20. Dolly Parton “9 to 5”
19. Coming Out Crew “Free, Gay and Happy”
18. Village People “In the Navy”
17. Frankie Goes To Hollywood “Relax”
16. Village People “Macho Man”
15. Judy Garland “Over The Rainbow”
14. Bronski Beat “Smalltown Boy”
13. Diana Ross “I’m Coming Out”
12. Cher “Believe”
11. Gloria Gaynor “I Am What I Am”
10. Alicia Bridges "I Love The Nightlife"
9. Madonna "Vogue"
8. Olivia Netwon-John "Xanadu"
7. Kylie Minogue "Better The Devil You Know"
6. Pet Shop Boys "Go West"
5. Kylie Minogue "Your Disco Needs You"
4. The Weathergirls "It's Raining Men"
3. Gloria Gaynor "I Will Survive"
2. Village People "YMCA"
1. ABBA "Dancing Queen"

Looking down that list, that sounds like a typical Saturday night in the Kitsch Bitch Lounge at Poptastic here in Manchester. In fact, although I haven't counted, I reckon I bought most of those older songs on 7" vinyl during my innocent childhood years. And my family said they didn't have a clue!

Source

The Brits winners - Kylie Best International Female!

Did you all watch The Brits on telly tonight? In case you didn't, here's a list of the winners:

Outstanding Contribution To Music
Paul McCartney

British Album
Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare

British Single
Take That - Shine

British Group
Arctic Monkeys

International Album
Foo Fighters

British Female Solo Artist
Kate Nash

International Group
Foo Fighters

International Female Solo Artist
Kylie Minogue

British Male Solo Artist
Mark Ronson

International Male Solo Artist
Kayne West

British Breakthrough Act
Mika

Critics Choice
ADELE

British Live Act
Take That

Mika started off the show in fine form wearing some of the tightest trousers I've ever seen (no wonder he sings in falsetto!) and duetting with the lovely Beth Ditto. They didn't sing Big Girl (You Are Beautiful) unfortunately. Mika won British Breakthrough Act but probably spent the rest of the evening hiding from that lecherous old queen Ian McKellan who was there to present an award. Seriously, each time I've ever seen McKellan offscreen he's got his hands all over some young chicken. Run Mika, run!

My favourite acts to perform were Rhianna who performed a great version of Umbrella with the Klaxons, Kylie Minogue who lipsynced most of her way through Wow but she's had the cancer so we forgive her anything these days, and Amy WInehouse who came on twice, firstly to sing Valerie and then Love is a Losing Game. Amy seemed a bit out of sorts during her first song, but it looked like she just couldn't hear herself properly and you could spot her asking Mark Ronson if she was alright. Ok, so her private life has been messed up recently, but as a performer she's electric and you've gotta love our Amy.

I hope they kept her away from that Jonathan Rhys Meyers though. Did you see how fucked up he was? He wasn't the only one as Vic Reeves seemed more than a little worse for wear too and so did Alan Carr but at least he was amusing with it. By the way, what's with all these actors and comedians presenting awards? It's not as if there's a lack of musical talent to present and I could've done without the feeble attempts at humour.

Take That won two awards and they seemed to be well chuffed with 'em. Nice local lads. I've met Mark a couple of times through work and he's absolutely lovely and down to earth. I bet he's glad that the group reformed though. I'll tell you what our Mark ended up doing a few years back when interest in him was thin. His niece goes to the same school as my niece and on Show and Tell day she decided to bring in her uncle Mark who used to be in a pop group. Of course, the kids at the time had no idea who he was as this was before the comeback, but the Moms sure remembered and the school had never had such a good turn out!

PETA announce their Worst Dressed Celebrities of 2008

You do know that PETA are the meanest bunch of motherfuckers on the planet don't you? Oh yeah, you don't want to get on the wrong side of that lot. You may innocently think that vegetarians are happy and kind people because they love animals and think that fur is cruel and all that, but those PETA types are just plain mean. Like, seriously Joan Crawford mean. They're even meaner than those crazy Scientologists and they'll get you every time. Now, I don't know whether they got hold of Mr Blackwell or just got some gay guy in the office to dish, but their list of Worst Dressed Celebrities is as a hoot.

Fur-loving Aretha Franklin may have pulled a hissy fit when Beyoncé described Tina Turner as "the Queen" but she gets her title back from PETA who describe her as the Queen of bad dressing:

Aretha Franklin - How 'bout some R-E-S-P-E-C-T for animals? Aretha, when you waddled into the Grammys in yet another vulgar fur, you looked as if you were going to perform "I Am the Walrus" by The Beatles. You may be a queen, but you don't know jack about compassion.

Kylie Minogue - What does Kylie Minogue have in common with her python purse? They are both cold-blooded. Come on, Kylie—it's not cool to clutch onto an accessory made by nailing snakes to trees and skinning them alive.

Kate Moss - Nothing completes the transition from supermodel to super-tramp like a fur coat. If Kate could see clearly through those bleary eyes, maybe she'd clear her closet of those furs.

Eva Longoria - Eva Longoria is short on compassion. In her trashy furs, she looks like the street walker of Wisteria Lane. Eva is one "desperate housewife" who needs a quickie divorce—from her stylist.

Marilyn Manson - Always draped in leather from head to toe, Manson has enough skeletons in his closet to fill a pet cemetery. As if wearing dead animals isn't foul enough, Manson says that he wears his cow-skin pants 24/7, only peeling the smelly things off to have sex. That alone should be enough to tarnish leather's dated sex appeal. Manson may just be the shock-rocker's stage name, but his wardrobe is a real-life tale of blood and guts.

Lindsay Lohan - I Know Who Killed Me isn't just the title of Lindsay Lohan's last bomb—it's also the cry of the animals snuffed out so that this "mean girl" can pose in their pelts. Lindsay, there's no road to recovery for the foxes who are anally electrocuted so that you can look skanky.

Heh, they call Lindsay Lohan "skanky". Cheap shot, I know, but still funny. Let's face it, the only fur she ought to be wearing is over her crotch!

NME Awards 2008 nominations

Ok, so it's not the Oscars but it's still amusing to look through the NME Awards 2008 nominations and have a snicker:

Best British Band supported by Shockwaves
Arctic Monkeys
Babyshambles
The Cribs
Klaxons
Muse

Best International Band supported by T4
Arcade Fire
Foo Fighters
The Killers
Kings Of Leon
My Chemical Romance
Best New Band supported by BBC Radio 1
The Enemy
Foals
Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong
The Pigeon Detectives
The Wombats

Best Live Band supported by Carling
Arctic Monkeys
The Cribs
Kaiser Chiefs
Muse
My Chemical Romance

Best Solo Artist supported by 4Music
Kate Nash
Jamie T
Jack Penate
Amy Winehouse
Patrick Wolf

Best Album supported by HMV
'Favourite Worst Nightmare' - Arctic Monkeys
'Shotters Nation' - Babyshambles
'We'll Live And Die In These Towns' – The Enemy
'Myths Of The Near Future' - Klaxons
'In Rainbows' – Radiohead

Best Track supported by Trinity St
'Fluorescent Adolescent' – Arctic Monkeys
'Flux' – Bloc Party
'Men's Needs' – The Cribs
'Lord Don't Slow Me Down' - Oasis
'Let's Dance To Joy Division' – The Wombats

Best Video supported by NME TV
'Teddy Picker' – Arctic Monkeys
'Flux' – Bloc Party
'D.A.N.C.E.' - Justice
'Golden Skans' - Klaxons
'Teenagers' – My Chemical Romance

Best Music DVD
'Up The Shambles' – Babyshambles
'The Song Remains The Same' – Led Zeppelin
'Unplugged In New York' - Nirvana
'Lord Don’t Slow Me Down' - Oasis
'I Told You I Was Trouble' – Amy Winehouse

Best Live Event
Carling Weekend: Reading And Leeds Festival
Glastonbury
Muse At Wembley Stadium
T In The Park
V Festival

Hero Of The Year
Matt Bellamy
Pete Doherty
Noel Fielding
Ryan Jarman
Thom Yorke

Villain Of The Year
Tony Blair
Johnny Borrell
Gordon Brown
George W Bush
Amy Winehouse

Best Dressed supported by Topman
Pete Doherty
Noel Fielding
Kate Nash
Alex Turner
Gerard Way

Worst Dressed
Johnny Borrell
Pete Doherty
Mika
Gerard Way
Amy Winehouse

Best Dancefloor Filler supported by Club NME
'Flux' – Bloc Party
'Hummer' - Foals
'D.A.N.C.E.' - Justice
'Atlantis To Interzone' - Klaxons
'Let's Dance To Joy Division' – The Wombats

Best Album Artwork
'Favourite Worst Nightmare' – Arctic Monkeys
'The Good, The Bad And The Queen' – The Good, The Bad And The Queen
'Sawdust' – The Killers
'Because Of The Times' – Kings Of Leon
'Send Away The Tigers' – Manic Street Preachers

Best Radio Show
Russell Brand (Radio 2)
Zane Lowe (Radio 1)
Chris Moyles (Radio 1)
Colin Murray (Radio 1)
Jo Whiley (Radio 1)

Worst Album
'1973' - James Blunt
'The Trick To Life' – The Hoosiers
'Spirit' - Leona Lewis
'Life In Cartoon Motion' - Mika
'Blackout' - Britney Spears

Worst Band
30 Seconds To Mars
Fall Out Boy
The Hoosiers
My Chemical Romance
Panic At The Disco

Best TV Show
'Heroes'
'The Mighty Boosh'
'Never Mind The Buzzcocks'
'The IT Crowd'
'Skins'

Best Film
'Control'
'Hot Fuzz'
'Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End'
'The Simpsons Movie'
'Superbad'

Sexiest Man
Howlin' Pelle Almqvist
Julian Barrett
Noel Fielding
Nicky Wire
Patrick Wolf

Sexiest Woman
Jenny Lewis
Kylie Minogue
Rhianna
Hayley Williams
Rachael Yamagata

Best Venue
Brixton Academy
Manchester Apollo
Glasgow Barrowlands
London Astoria
Wembley Stadium

Best Website
Bebo
Facebook
Last.fm
Myspace
YouTube

Best Band Blog
Foals (www.wearefoals.com/blog)
Lily Allen (www.myspace.com/lilymusic)
Lightspeed Champion (www.lightspeedchampion.com)
Radiohead (www.radiohead.com/deadairspace)
The Streets (www.myspace.com/thestreets)

Best Music Blog
The Hype Machine (hypem.com)
The Modern Age (www.themodernage.org)
Nothing But Green Lights (nothingbutgreenlights.net)
Spinner (spinner.com)
Stereogum (stereogum.com)

Poor Amy Crackhouse, she just can't catch a break off anyone these days, not even the disaffected alienated kids that read NME!

The Brits 2008 nominations - Kylie, Mika and Girls Aloud!

This is the full list of nominations for this year's Brit Awards 2008:

BEST BRITISH MALE

Jamie T

Mark Ronson

Mika

Newton Faulkner

Richard Hawley

BEST BRITISH FEMALE

Bat For Lashes

Kate Nash

KT Tunstall

Leona Lewis

PJ Harvey

BEST BRITISH GROUP

Arctic Monkeys

Editors

Girls Aloud

Kaiser Chiefs

Take That

BEST BRITISH ALBUM

Arctic Monkeys - Favourite Worst Nightmare

Leona Lewis - Spirit

Mark Ronson - Version

Mika - Life In Cartoon Motion

Take That - Beautiful World

BEST BRITISH BREAKTHROUGH

Bat For Lashes

Kate Nash

Klaxons

Leona Lewis

Mika

BEST LIVE ACT

Arctic Monkeys

Kaiser Chiefs

Klaxons

Muse

Take That

BEST BRITISH SINGLE

Leona Lewis - Bleeding Love

Mika - Grace Kelly

Take That - Shine

Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby

Sugababes - About You Now

Mark Ronson featuring Amy Winehouse - Valerie

Kate Nash - Foundations

The Hoosiers - Worried About Ray

James Blunt - 1973

Mutya Buena - Real Girl

BEST INTERNATIONAL MALE

Bruce Springsteen

Kanye West

Michael Buble

Rufus Wainwright

Timbaland

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEMALE

Alicia Keys

Bjork

Feist

Kylie Minogue

Rihanna

BEST INTERNATIONAL GROUP

Arcade Fire

Eagles

Foo Fighters

Kings of Leon

White Stripes

BEST INTERNATIONAL ALBUM

Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Eagles - Long Road Out Of Eden

Foo Fighters - Echoes Silence Patience & Grace

Kings of Leon - Because Of The Times

Kylie Minogue - X

CRITICS' CHOICE AWARD

Adele

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO MUSIC

Sir Paul McCartney

On my iPod this week - vintage Madonna, Girls Aloud and Etienne Daho

Madonna Each Time You Break My Heart - you must remember this song from Nick Kamen which was co-written and produced by Madonna. Well, this is the original demo track which was leaked on the interweb merely twenty years or so after it was recorded. I forget where I got it from but I'm sure it's all legal and stuff. Well, I think so anyway.. Erm, oops!

Girls Aloud - Can't Speak French - from their new album Tangled, this just has to be their next single. It's impossibly catchy, cheeky and sexy. I love these girls.

David Sylvian - Forbidden Colours - This was originally on the Secrets of the Beehive album but subsequent reissues have seen it replaced with another song which is a pity as it's one of Sylvian's most beautiful songs. It was written with longtime collaborator Ryuichi Sakamoto for the film Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, it has a haunting melody and vocal.

The Blow Monkeys La Passionara - remember the Balearic beat from back in the late 80's? I still love that music and this track is a classic from the period.

Mutya Buena Fast Car - Mutya's cover version of the Tracey Chapman song for the Radio 1 Established 1967 album. Lots of great covers on this album but this is one of my favourites.

Etienne Daho L'invitation - there's a new Etienne Daho album out, whoot! This is the title track. More classic French pop from the oh so dreamy Mr Daho.

On my iPod this week - Kylie!

On my new silver iPod shuffle this week:

Kylie Minogue Sensitized - I loved this as soon as I heard it on Kylie TV special the other week. It makes clever use of a wonderful sample from Serge Gainsbourg's Bonnie and Clyde

David Sylvian Heartbeat - another sublime collaboration between Mr Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto

Girls Aloud Call The Shots - these girls just get better and better, a perfect pop record

Hayley Westenra Prayer - yes, I know it's not my usual sort of thing, but it's used on the soundtrack to the Nintendo Wii game Endless Ocean. I've been playing the game over the past two weeks and this song has stuck in my head and reminds me of my virual diving exploits

Robyn With Every Heartbeat - this is on endless rotation at the gym each time I go and it's yet another song that's driven itself into my head

Grace Jones Slave to the Rhythm - heeeeere's Grace!

Shayne Ward Breathless - what's not to like about our Shayne?

My listening pleasure this week includes...

New to my iPod this week:

Axel Bauer Cargo de nuit - "Mais cette machine dans ma tête, Machine sourde et tempête." Ah, this song takes me back to the mid eighties in France. Axel Baucer was so cute in the Querelle themed video clip by Mondino.

David Tavare Summerlove - I heard this last October when I was on holiday in Gran Canaria. It was played in this drag bar I hung out at a lot over those two weeks, but I never found out what it was called. I finally found it during a random browse of Spanish hit records. This track is pure Eurotrash and I love it.

Daniel Zueras No Quiero Enamorarme - This is another Eurotrash Spanish song. This made some headlines earlier this year with the raunchy ménage à trois video clip where Daniel Zueras snogged a man and a woman, the minx!

Robbie Williams No Regrets - Written and produced by Pet Shop Boys, this is easily my favourite Robbie Williams song.

Ricky Martin Shake Your Bon Bon - Ricky's been all over the blogosphere this week as he got himself one of those twinkly stars on Hollywood Boulevard. I've had the hots for Ricky since I first saw the CD cover of A Medio Vivir in a store.

Basement Jaxx Romeo (Acoustic Mix) - I love this mellow, chilled out version of this Basement Jaxx song. Perfect for winding down after a night out.

Kylie Minogue Your Disco Needs You - And we need you Kylie. Oh, it's not long to go until the new album.. I can barely contain my excitement!

k d lang Constant Craving - A beautiful song from k d (she likes it lower-case).

Kylie Minogue is the Q Idol

Kylie Minogue has won the Q Idol award. Kylie's been experimenting with her 'look' lately, but I'm not too sure about this one. Since when did Kylie has curves? This get-up just makes our Kylie look old. Ok, I know she's knocking forty, but I prefer Kylie looking fierce and covered in sequins and glitter just the way a good gay Diva ought to be!

Here's a list of the winners:

Best New Act: The Enemy
Best Track: Manic Street Preachers' Your Love Alone Is Not Enough
Breakthrough Artist: Kate Nash
Best Video: Kaiser Chiefs Ruby
Q Classic Song: Stereophonics Local Boy In The Photograph
Q Classic Album: The Verve Urban Hymns
Q Innovation in Sound: Sigur Rós
Q Lifetime Achievement: Johnny Marr
Q Merit Award: Ryan Adams
Q Hero: Anthony H. Wilson
Best Album: Amy Winehouse Back to Black
Best Live Act: Muse
Q Legend: Ian Brown
Q Classic Songwriter: Billy Bragg
Q Inspiration Award: Damon Albarn
Best Act In The World Today: Arctic Monkeys
Q Idol: Kylie Minogue
Q Icon: Paul McCartney

So, what does it take to become a Gay Icon?

There's an interesting article on AfterElton about how exactly a celebrity sets about to become a Gay Icon, in particular, Grey's Anatomy actress Katherne Heigl. They ask John Epperson, who drags up as Lypsinka to imitate many of the great movie glamour queens, to described why certain women become Gay Icons:

“Gay men feel like outsiders in our heterosexual, patriarchal society.. Consciously or subconsciously they are often drawn to other people who are outsiders. This applies to female stars of all stripes, who are outside the realm of everyday life due to something that makes them unusual, whether it's their beauty or their sexuality or their vulnerability — qualities that come through on the screen, large or small.”

They go through the usual list of Gay Icons: Barbra Streisand, Better Midler, Joan Crawford, Bette Midler, Judy Garland, Liza Minelli, Margaret Cho, Kathy Griffin, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the Sex and the City gals and Cher (of course, Cher!). They missed out on Madonna and Kylie though.

Anyway, this got me thinking. Apart from the predictable list above, who are your favourite Gay Icons? Moi, I love French singer Mylène Farmer. Her extravagent antics over the years have caught the eye of many a gay guy. As for Katherine Heigl, just the way she said "Sh*t!" when she won her Emmy the other week was enough to win me over. I love a glamour gal who knows how to cuss.

Kylie - twenty years of being our favourite Pop Princess

Our favourite gay boy fantasy princess, Kylie Minogue, celebrates her twenty years being in the music industry. Twenty years ago this week The Locomotion entered the Australian charts. Ah, it seems like only yesterday that Kylie ditched the dungarees of Charlene and came over to England to record her first UK success I Should Be So Lucky. A lot of people made fun of that song when it was released, now it's considered a classic. Us 'mos loved her from day one though and we've stuck with her, through thick and thin, even during her unfortunate "indie" period.

Kylie's touring exhibit of her clothes, stage costumes and props is currently on show here in Manchester so I've promised my niece that we'll go once she's back from holiday. Ah, the pleasures for a young girl of having a 'mo uncle. All the other girls at school are so jealous!