Date: Thu, 10 Aug 1995 01:02:58 GMT From: "Listserver@drink.demon.co.uk" SCOTSGAY MAGAZINE ================= ScotsGay is a bi-monthly magazine for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals. Edited, printed and published in Scotland Issue 5 - August 1995 ELECTRONIC EDITION To subscribe: Send a mail message to listserver@drink.demon.co.uk The first (not subject) line of the message should be subscribe scotsgay-list (If you are subscribing for a different address from the one you are using to send the request, you should preface your request with a line of the form set address myotheraddress@my.other.system instead) To unsubscribe: Send a mail message to listserver@drink.demon.co.uk The first (not subject) line of the message should be unsubscribe scotsgay-list (If you are unsubscribing for a different address from the one you are using to send the request, you should preface your request with a line of the form set address myotheraddress@my.other.system instead) All Material Copyright (c) Pageprint Limited 1995. Permission is hereby given to distribute this material provided that this copyright notice is included and that distribution is specifically for non-profitmaking reasons. Distribution for profit must be done only with prior written consent of the magazine any deviation from this will be seen as an infringement of copyright. Hardcopies are limited to one per person for personal use only and such hard copies are subject to the same copyright restrictions as laid out above. The printed edition of ScotsGay is available by post at the following rates: 6 issue sub (UK & EC) 6ukp 6 issue sub (Overseas) 12ukp 12 issue sub (UK & EC) 10ukp 12 issue sub (Overseas) 22ukp Make Cheques and POs payable to 'Pageprint Limited' or 'ScotsGay' and send them to: Subscriptions ScotsGay Pageprint Limited PO Box 666 Edinburgh Scotland EH7 5YW ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- In this edition: Editorial - Keeping to ourselves? News - Reports and investigations Interview - We talk to Patrick Stewart Festivals - Our festivals extravaganza Inside Out - The total scene guide Venues - What and where Scene - Who and how *Boxes - the ScotsGay Meet Market International - News from around the world Media - The new gay broadcasting Health - Developments in Glasgow Reviews - Wrist and upper arm exercises Serial - Dare Dave 'talk' to Mum? *Listings and Helplines - Checked and updated every issue ScotsDyke - Who did what with Barbie? Credits - Who writes this stuff anyway? Due to their length, items marked * are dispatched separately. ---------------------------------------------------------------- EDITORIAL ========= Is the lesbigay scene getting too fragmented? That's a question I asked myself when I saw that Edinburgh has yet another cafe being opened to cater for a homosexual clientele. That brings the count here (depending upon how you class places) to something like four cafes, six bars, two clubs, a bookshop and Drondale. Glasgow is similarly supplied. There was a time when it seemed that we could all squeeze into the Kenilworth or even GHQ (in Glasgow it would have been The Duke of Wellington or St V's). These days are long gone and the scene is growing quicker than most of us ever thought possible. It's true that some of these businesses don't always last - Buster Brown's and QT's immediately spring to mind. But the general trend is towards an Expanding Gay Universe rather than one in a Steady State. It's not just the scene that's getting bigger - there's a proliferation of Special Interest Groups of all sorts. From the lesbigay Science Fiction fans who will be playing a major role in WorldCon in Glasgow later this year to the recently formed London Gay Real Ale Drinkers, there are now lesbigay groups to cover most interests. Our ghettos are becoming larger and more visible - but that may be at the expense of integrating (on our own terms, of course) with the rest of humanity. And I'm not entirely sure how I feel about that... John Hein ------------------------------------------------------- NEWS ==== BATTLE FOR THE MINISTER'S EAR Lesbigay activists are up in arms to hear that Michael Forsyth, newly appointed Secretary of State for Scotland, has chosen an outspoken homophobe, Gerald Warner, as his special political advisor. According to OUTRIGHT Scotland's Law Reform Secretary Tim Hopkins, "In this day and age, the appointment of an outspoken homophobe to such a post should be as unacceptable as the appointment of an outspoken racist". Warner's comments in the Sunday Times Scotland following Cardinal Basil Hume's condemnation of homophobic prejudice were among the most bigoted and hateful public remarks about homosexuality to appear in Scotland in recent years and a perfect illustration of the prejudice which Cardinal Hume sought to condemn. Now Hopkins has written to the Secretary of State to seek his assurance that Mr Warner's views on these matters did not reflect his own. He goes onto ask, "Can you also reassure us that this is an area in which Mr Warner's personal prejudice will not be allowed to influence policy in any way, and that lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Scotland can fully expect to be treated equally and fairly by your administration, without regard to our sexual orientation?" Forsyth voted against 16 as the male gay age of consent in the 1994 Commons debate on the issue and sent a fairly negative letter to a gay constituent shortly afterwards. Nevertheless, he did vote for 18 in the same debate and is not believed to be particularly personally prejudiced on the issue. After all, his wife is the former secretary of out gay Tory MP Michael Brown and the two men are believed to have been close political colleagues before the Stirling MP's meteoric rise to power. DUNN FOR OUTRIGHT Following a month in which OUTRIGHT Scotland's Co-ordinating Committee threw out founding member Ian Dunn, let him back in again and then saw their Convenor Martin Walker dramatically resign amidst accusations of character assassination by Dunn and assault on him by young men from a hostel near to Dunn's house, the Group now has Dunn as its new 'Convenor'. The Group has also seen the resignation from the Committee of respected campaigner Tim Hopkins and its Membership Secretary Sean Cross. A special General Meeting of the Group on the 20th of July threw out the two remaining members of the Committee (Jim Halcrow and John Hein) and proceeded to elect four replacements (Ian Dunn, John Wilkes, Paul Ivison and Charles Colquhoun). Halcrow and Hein did not stand as they claim that the meeting had no power to remove them and that the method of election used to select their replacements was deliberately chosen to eliminate opposition. Normally, the Committee is elected by a postal ballot of all members of the Group, candidates can be nominated in advance and the election itself is conducted by Single Transferable Vote. This method of counting allows proportional representation of different interest groups and factions within an organisation and has been a feature of the Group for many years encouraging diversity on its elected committees. This time, the meeting decided that only those present (less than 20% of the membership) could vote or nominate candidates and that the vote should be conducted by Eliminating Ballot - a method of election which excludes minorities and encourages a Stalinist dictatorship of the majority. In a move clearly planned in advance, Dunn, Ivison and Wilkes were nominated for the four vacant men's places in quick succession (nobody stood for the women's places). Then, after former OUTRIGHT Convenor Gordon Gosnell had been nominated for the remaining place and it looked as if the four men would be elected unopposed, Dunn was seen persuading his tenant Colquhoun to stand as well. Not surprisingly, Gosnell was not elected. Under the STV system, it is clear that he would have been. Later, Jim Halcrow, a founding member of the group with twenty five year's continuous service on the committee (longer than Dunn), told ScotsGay, "I refused to stand for election under such an inherently unfair voting system and will take no further part in the running of the Group until such time as it returns to being a democratic members' organisation." A change in the Group's year end, also decided on at the meeting, means that many young members who joined under Walker's youthful convenorship will have to pay another year's membership subscription if they wish to remain in the organisation and be able to vote in the Group's next annual election. Most will not bother. Dunn is now styling himself as Convenor of the Group (though Acting Convenor is more accurate as there has been no proper election procedure) and, in a mailing to members says that he hopes to raise the political temperature and the public profile of the Group. He believes that the challenge to fill the four vacant women's seats on the Committee will require past misogyny to be eliminated. "Gay rights in Scotland can't make progress until OUTRIGHT Scotland has visible and vocal women involved. One of my jobs as Convenor is to ensure that we welcome in women members." This is unlikely to happen. In the 1970s, Dunn was a founder member of the Paedophile Information Exchange and this fact is frequently given as a reason why many women unjustly refuse to work with him. Dick Wilson AIDS EXPENDITURE CLAIMS SLATED Scotland's Chief Medical Officer and many people and organisations working in the AIDS field have hit out at recent academic reports which argue that in the light of AIDS being relatively rare, the level of government funding earmarked for education and care was unjustifiably high. The Government and Health Boards say that the current low levels of HIV prevalence in the heterosexual population in Scotland is evidence of their success in halting the spread of HIV, particularly from drug injectors. But the report's authors claim that people are trying to protect their jobs in the AIDS industry, that the earlier forecasts of widespread infection into the general public were wildly exaggerated, and that expenditure was therefore excessive and largely unnecessary. This last point is surely clear indication of the attitude that AIDS doesn't matter much because it is mainly affecting gay men and drug injectors. Peter McGraith of Scottish AIDS Monitor argues that AIDS spending is not excessive, but rather that there is a need for funding decisions to be based on epidemiology. Although gay men currently make up more than 75% of new cases of infection in the Greater Glasgow area, an anomalous situation persists where less than 10% of expenditure on HIV education is targeted at work with gay men. LOCALS STEAMED UP OVER SAUNA Raymond Inverarity, owner of Bodytech sauna in Edinburgh's Haddington Place, has been threatened with the possible loss of alcohol licences for his pubs and club if he uses a loophole in the law to allow him to re-open his sauna without a Public Entertainment licence. Inverarity, who also runs popular gay watering holes Maggie Rayes, L.A.D.S. and Picardy's , bought the building six years ago and operated it quite legally as a sauna for several years. When he moved the business to other premises in the West End, the building was refurbished as part of a Common Improvement Scheme and he spent thousands of pounds in extra work to satisfy the local Councils' building, health and fire regulations. "I had to put in thirteen emergency lights - and there are only ever about twelve people in at any one time", Inverarity joked to ScotsGay. Nevertheless, when he applied to Edinburgh District Council for a new Public Entertainment licence last year (at a cost of over ukp500), he was knocked back after residents in the tenement above him objected on every possible ground (including the nature of the people likely to frequent the establishment). Now, if he runs the place without a licence, he could be fined up to ukp20,000 or imprisoned for up to six months. But he claims that there's nothing to stop him opening the place up if he doesn't charge for its use! And that's exactly what he intends to do: members of L.A.D.S. will be able to use the facilities free of charge on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 4pm to 9pm. However, police chiefs have threatened to oppose the future renewal of his drinks licences as 'being not a fit and proper person' - a label normally reserved for habitual criminals and drug pushers. "I've told them that a threat like that is sheer blackmail", said Inverarity. "I shall be opening up as planned towards the end of the Festival. I won't be charging, so I don't need a licence although I intend to apply for one at the next opportunity in December". HIGHLAND FLING II SAM's Highland Fling II at the Meadows in Edinburgh on Saturday 19th August is set to be the biggest ever safer sex promotion in Scottish history. Following on from the success of last year's Fling and the amazing Pride Scotland event on the Meadows earlier this year, the organisers - The Gay Men's Project and Blue Moon Productions - expect a huge turnout. The Highland Fling is like a cross between a Highland Games and a Gay Pride, a recipe for a great day OUT! The attractions include the Cabaret Tent, the Dance Tent, the various sports events not to mention the SAM Health Tent and a lot of talent in kilts. Acts already confirmed for the Cabaret Tent include gay comedians Scott Capurro and Bert Tyler-Moore of Gaytime TV. THANKS This issue sees the departure of Gordon Gosnell, one of the co-founders of this magazine who will be leaving the ScotsGay Editorial Team to pursue other business interests. However, he will continue to publish the monthly Pulse Magazine. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Gordon for all his help and support in setting up ScotsGay - it would not have happened without him. We wish him well for the future in all that he undertakes. John Hein INVERNESS Reach Out Highland is to hold an Information Evening on 24th August from 7-9pm. It will focus on the HIV/AIDS agency's work and how people can get involved as volunteers. Further information: phone Andrew Hunter on Inverness (01463) 711585 (office hours). GLASGOW Strathclyde Regional Council have made a grant of ukp87,000 to the Glasgow Gay and Lesbian Centre despite an investigation by the Scottish Office to see if this was against Section 28. The Centre hopes to be open on Saturday 28th October in time for Glasgay! PARTY The Lantern Group in Edinburgh is holding a party in the Eat Out caf on Monday 21st August from 9pm to 1am. Entry will be by donation of ukp1 (minimum) and this will include food and a glass of wine. OPENING Actor and gay activist Michael Cashman recently opened Aberdeen Lesbian and Gay Switchboard's new offices in the oil capital. He was visiting the city at the time to appear in a play in a local theatre. ACCESS An appeal for ukp45,000 is to be launched to pay for alterations to Edinburgh's Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Centre to allow wheelchair access. The Centre was opened in 1975. ARRIVAL Former nurse Liz Jaconelli has been appointed as Strathclyde Gay & Lesbian Switchboard's new Development Officer. GRANTS Strathclyde Lesbian and Gay Advisory Forum is handing out small grants from their sessional funds to Strathclyde based lesbian and gay community groups. Applications, addressed to GLC Project, 196 Bath Street, Glasgow. G2 4HH, should be sent to arrive by 31st August. SUN FUN PHACE West has launched holiday safer sex packs containing condoms, lube and a handy translation card which includes the Italian, French, Spanish and German for 'I only have safer sex' and 'Where's the pharmacy?'. AWARD Nominations for the annual Mike Rhodes Award are being sought. The ukp500 annual award is given to an individual who has significantly promoted an understanding of lesbian and gay life. Nominations sent to Mike Rhodes Trust, 50 Roupell Street, LONDON, SE1 8TB must arrive by 31st August. ------------------------------------------------------- INTERVIEW ========= A STERLING CHARACTER Patrick Stewart is easily one of "our favourite actors", who left our shores to show the Americans what real acting is all about. With an outstanding career in the Royal Shakespeare Company behind him he went on a voyage of discovery as the captain of the USS Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation to become one of the most famous faces on the planet. Brandon Judell spoke to him about his new film, Jeffrey, which unfortunately hasn't made it to the Edinburgh Film Festival as was hoped. We should see it before the year is out. "I am not the archetypal leading man. This is mainly for one reason. As you may have noticed, I have no hair," Patrick Stewart humbly admitted a few years ago. On a more serious note, he told the graduating class of Pomona College this past June that "it is what you do from now on that will either move our civilization forward a few tiny steps, or else... begin to march us steadily backward." What Captain Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation has done is trade in his space togs for a sweater over the shoulders and a lover who's a chorus boy in Cats. This star of the sci-fi institution that ran for seven seasons and was the highest-rated syndicated show in TV history is now indeed leading his Trekkie fans to parts of the universe few have ever envisioned _ and they've envisioned quite a bit in the past. His Sterling in the film Jeffrey is a flamboyant interior decorator who prowls the streets as a Pink Panther, protecting his fellow gay man, when he's not shopping or attending the opera. A sample Sterling line: "I was watching these two guys on Nightline on Gay Pride Day, and one of them said, 'I'm Bob Wheeler and I'm a surgeon. And my lover is an attorney. And we'd like to show America that all gays aren't limp-wristed, screaming queens. There are gay truck drivers and gay cops and gay lumberjacks.' And I just thought, 'Ooh, get her.' " Attired in a very expensive grey flannel sports jacket, a collar-less shirt, grey slacks, light brown socks, and exquisitely soft brown leather shoes, Stewart immediately starts off our interview reprimanding us for even suggesting he'd have second thoughts about playing a gay man. "I'm not quite sure why you see the role as controversial," he insisted. "I can see that the film might be controversial. In fact, it damn well is controversial. Some people who may not know what's in store for them are going to be a little surprised by what they encounter. But I only saw a cracking good role. One of the best roles I've ever had, and it just happened to be a gay man in a rather provocative movie about gay men and AIDS." Stewart, who was a rather unknown entity to the American masses until he travelled into the future for them, did entertain the PBS crowd at one time in such mini-series as I, Claudius; Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and Smiley's People. His film efforts include Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Excalibur, Dune and, of course, Star Trek: Generations. Currently, he's outdoors in Central Park, New York, starring as Prospero in The Tempest. So is he worried about how his fans will react? Is he apprehensive about US homophobia having any effect on his career? "Homophobia I don't think is localized just in the United States," Stewart instructs, "although if you were to read the wit and wisdom of Jesse Helms in the last couple of weeks you might be inclined to think it is. Actually, in a way, it's a kind of blessing because Jeffrey could not be released at a more appropriate time than when the unspeakable Helms is making these statements." After a quick pause, he exclaims enthusiastically, "I'm glad to say Jeffrey is in your face, isn't it? It really is... The first time I saw the film, even though I knew what was in the film, I gasped more than once. But then I have to cast my mind to the first day of rehearsal," Stewart says. "Six of us in a room. The six principal protagonists: writer, director, four actors. Three of us gay. Three of us straight. None of us really knew one or another at all." "We'd been together about half an hour, talking rather nervously. We were going to read the script when Steven Weber suddenly grabbed hold of Michael Weiss and kissed him on the mouth and said, 'THERE I'VE DONE IT. I DONE IT. I'VE GOT IT OVER WITH.' " "That was the moment everyone was most terrified of. The first kiss, how it would be. Steven, who is marvellous in the movie, his gesture at that moment was absolutely appropriate because not only did it make us laugh, but it brought out into the open all of that heterosexual nervousness about what it would be like when the moment actually had come." Three gay? Three straight? And which group did Stewart belong to? "I can't speak for the others, but in recent interviews, certainly with the gay media, to my surprise, it's been put to me that I might be gay. There's a genuine body of opinion that I am. Well, I explained that I'm not as far as I'm aware. Nevertheless, it's a kind of a held body of opinion in the gay community. " "You know I found myself curiously flattered by this. I'm serious. I'm not sure why but I do feel flattered by it. Perhaps in a way, it's one of those things that makes my casting in Jeffrey so appropriate." Sterling, probably couldn't agree more. When asked which group he's marching with on Gay Pride Day, Sterling replies, "Gay Men Who Need a Cigarette." Puff on that, Trekkies. Brandon Judell ------------------------------------------------------------- FESTIVALS ========= FILM: The Drambuie Edinburgh Film Festival runs, this year, from the 13th to the 27th of August. Showing some six hundred or so films, it promises to be one of the biggest ever. It has films from around the world, short films and some excellent documentaries. BRAITHWAITE looks through the programme and gives us a preview. This is the 49th Annual International Film Festival to be held in Edinburgh and promises to be one of the best yet. It is split into a number of highlighted sections including: Rosebud which consists of the best innovative discoveries the film world has to offer, Gala which has some of the most glamorous films in the festival, and Scene By Scene with screen writers and directors giving insights into filmmaking. The Stanley Donen Retrospective is showing some of his campest musicals including Singin' In The Rain and Seven Brides For Seven Brothers. His other great movies like Charade and Two For The Road are also being screened in a 14 strong programme for which there is a special Donen Pass at ukp40. The festival opens with the first screening of Ken Loach's Land and Freedom. It also has Kevin Costner in Jon Avnet's The War and Mario Van Peebles' Panther. There are quite a number of films of lesbian and gay interest, full details of which follow. The international premiere of Jeffrey (see our interview with Patrick Stewart) was to have been the big gay film of the Festival. Unfortunately, it has been pulled from the programme to allow it to be entered for a supposedly more prestigious Film Festival elsewhere. Ballot Measure 9 by Heather Macdonald This documentary won an award at the 1995 Sundance film festival and is the story of the fight against "Section 28" type legislation in Oregon. This is the UK premiere of a documentary which deals with the issues with a degree of humour and pathos. Mon 14th August, 4pm Cameo 1 & Tue 22nd, 1pm Cameo 1. ukp6/ukp4 I'll Be Your Mirror by Nan Goldin & Edmund Caulthard This is a profile of one of the world's best photographers: Nan Golin. It deals with her work and life. With beautiful torch songs by Eartha Kitt, it deals with issues as diverse as the 1970s Boston drag scene, 1980s gay New York and the devastation of AIDS in the 1990s. It is being shown with another documentary called Martha. Both films question voyeurism and decadence. Mon 14th August, 8.45pm Filmhouse 2 & Sun 20th, 4pm Filmhouse 2. ukp6/ukp4 Scene By Scene with Terence Davis This is a section of the film festival where you get the opportunity to talk to directors, and they get the chance to explain their latest piece of work. Davis has made a number of very personal films The Long Day Closes and Distant Voices Still Lives. Wed 16th August, 6.15pm Filmhouse 1. ukp8/ukp4 The Neon Bible by Terence Davis Gena Rowlands, Diana Scarwid and Denis Leary Having made a series of semi autobiographical movies he has turned his attention to the 1940s Southern Bible Belt. The Neon Bible is based on the novel by John Kennedy Toole and is an odyssey of childhood memory. It tells the story of young David and how his life changes when his flamboyant aunt comes to stay. Wed 16th August, 9.30pm Cameo 1. ukp6/ukp4 Three Steps to Heaven by Constantine Giannaris Katrin Artlidge, Frances Barber, James Fleet The first feature from director Constantine Giannaris who previously made a series of short films and worked on Out on Tuesday. This is a thriller about three very different Londoners: a city whizz kid, a left wing Labour MP and a game show host. A fascinating modernist and homoerotic film. Thu 17th August, 4pm Cameo 1 & Sat 26th 9.30pm Cameo 1. ukp6/ukp4 Carrington by Christopher Hampton Emma Thompson and Jonathan Pryce This film won several awards at this year's Cannes Film Festival. It tells the story of the relationship between painter Dora Carrington (Thompson) and Bloomsbury Set writer Lytton Strachey (Pryce) who scandalised London in the early part of this century. Strachey was a gay pacifist, Carrington a free spirited tomboy who had a string of lovers some of whom were also Strachey's objects of desire. Fri 18th August, 8.15pm MGM. ukp6/ukp4 The Basketball Diaries by Scott Kalvert Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruno Kirby, Lorraine Bracco, Marky Mark This is the international premiere of the much awaited film version of Jim Carroll's cult book about his own years as a teenage drug addict. It has cute young dynamic actor Leonardo DiCaprio (This Boy's Life and What's Eating Gilbert Grape?) who gives an amazing performance in one of the best films at the festival. If you don't see anything else, watch this. Look out for Marky Mark and some serious ball play. It's hoped that DiCaprio will attend the premiere. Sat 19th August, 9.30pm, Cameo 1 & Fri 25th, 7.30pm UCI. ukp6/ukp4 Living in Oblivion by Tom Dicillo Steve Buscemi >From the director of Brad Pitt in Johnny Suede, this is a comic story of paranoia in the film business. Steve Buscemi (Parting Glances and Reservoir Dogs) is a low budget director who leads a misfit crew including a muscle-bound cameraman, the production manager who is in love with him and a strange leading actress. Sun 20th August, 7.30pm UCI & Sat 26th, 8.15pm Filmhouse 1, ukp6/ukp4 Madagascar Skin by Chris Newby John Hannah, Bernard Hill Another UK premiere, this is director Chris Newby's second feature and has the 'other' star of Four Weddings and a Funeral, John Hannah as a man whose sense of alienation stems not only from being gay but because he has a large birthmark on his face in the shape of Madagascar. He forms a relationship with a lonely kleptomaniac Bernard Hill and the film explores their odd relationship. Sun 20th August, 10.30pm Filmhouse 1 & Sat 26th, 6pm Cameo 3. ukp6/ukp4 The Limits of Thermal Travelling by Mark Bender This babes and bikes saga with its tongue firmly in its cheek (and a few other places) is bound to be one of the underground hits of the festival. Shot and edited like a promo, the film tells a typical Miami tale of how Karen is bored with brain dead Josh and hooks up with lesbian biker Viper. Should pack in the dykes if nothing else. Mon 21st August, 11.30pm Cameo 1 & Wed 23rd, 10pm UCI. ukp6/ukp4 There are a number of other films which are well worth watching: Panther starring and directed by Mario Van Peebles; The War starring Kevin Costner; The Four Corners of Nowhere, the cult hit of the Sundance Film Festival; Love And Hate - European Shorts, a series of excellent short films; The Near Room, shot in Glasgow; Venice Bound, the story of a drifter with a disturbing past; Mad Love with star of Batman Chris O'Donnell and Drew Barrymore; The Good Old Boys, the directorial debut of Tommy Lee Jones; and Loved Up, a bittersweet 90s love story. FRINGE: Another Festival, and as usual Edinburgh's lesbian, gay and bisexual population gets boosted by lots of visitors. But, so many shows, so little time. What to see? Well certain venues have a better track record than others, but good new venues appear, and others seem to lose their way. One new venue well worth attention is Bluefest on Calton Road which describes itself as "the first ever gay and lesbian venue" - why did it take so long for one to emerge? With an adventurous programme of 12 shows focusing on the lighter end of the spectrum this could be good. One venue that one can almost review without looking at the programme is Theatre Workshop in Hamilton Place. As usual this has a wide ranging programme of different types of theatre, most of which will undoubtedly be excellent. As always Clyde Unity Theatre are back with a new play written by John Binnie, Bone, which if past form is anything to go by, will address issues of sexuality and sexual stereotypes. This is also likely to be hugely entertaining and thought provoking at the same time. Definitely one I won't be missing. Theatre Workshop also has the advantage of some of the comfiest seats in Edinburgh and an excellent cafe with the best ambience of any front of house in the city. Lovers of dance who have not got money to burn should forget about the official Festival and get themselves down to Continental Shifts at St Brides, just off Dalry Road. For the last two years this venue has put together a programme of astounding quality which has put the official Festival to shame. It looks like they plan to do the same this year. It is difficult to single out one of the 11 shows on there as the one to see, so I won't. The Demarco European Art Foundation on Albany St is not so much a venue as an installation one is invited to become a part of. People can be found amongst the art exhibits studying piles of leaves, unsure whether they are someone's latest creation or piles of leaves that have just been swept up. As for the programme - on the heavy side concentrating on companies from throughout Europe. The home of comedy is undoubtedly The Pleasance. With its 6 performing spaces and 1000 performances it can provide entertainment for all. The home of just about everything is The Gilded Balloon just along the road in the Cowgate. Now also up to 6 spaces it uses them to the full to provide some of the best in all fields of theatre to satisfied audiences. The venue that showed the greatest improvement last year was The Mad Abbot in Abbotsford Lodge, off Morningside Road. Back again are the superb Aspects Touring Company and The Bad Habit Cabaret from 10pm onwards was definitely the place to find new talent last year. What to avoid? Student companies into Physical Theatre. Now, when done well theatre where much of the meaning is conveyed by the physical nature of the piece is great, but when performed by those that can barely act who seem to have forgotten that the meaning is supposed to be conveyed to the audience it is rubbish. Have fun, I intend to. Martin Powell Listings: Bluefest: V94 - New Calton, 24-26 Calton Road - The Fringe's first lesbigay venue. The dates given below do not include Mondays when the venue is closed. As well as these productions, there are regular clubs in addition to various speciality and benefit nights - see the Bluefest leaflet for details. The biggest crowd will undoubtedly be for Boy George who will be appearing on 18 Aug. Cat. A. Theatre Company 'Doing Bird' are three inmates of a women's prison. Comic genius which won them a Fringe First. But a far cry from 'They used to eat my Rhubarb, I wish they would again ....' Aug 15-20; 2.30pm The Divine Feud 'Plush .. An Intimate Review' combines a dazzling mixture of drag, juggling, song, dance, puppets, acrobalance, fan-dancing and strip-tease to explore the frequently undervalued history of British Variety. Aug 15-20 7pm, Aug 22-27; 9.30pm Israeli Writers 'Words Of His Own' is a selection of gay short stories by Israeli writers - an alternative view of masculinity to the macho bravado of popular Israeli culture. Aug 15-27; 4.30pm and 8.15pm Killer Disco 'Fame Costs' is a multimedia production starring 'Angel Valentine'. The drag show of the 90s. Aug 10-27; 10.15pm The Living Juke-Box You name it - they'll sing it! From a selection of 50 numbers. Sing along at your peril. Aug 22-27; 11pm Michael Atavar 'Don't You Want Me Baby?' showcases the missing link between Neil Bartlett & Morrissey. Where Shirley Bassey sings, Grant and Phil become porn stars and the Human League dance all night long at the Daisy Disco. Aug 10-20; 6.15pm Miss Fit's C.O.C Conceived, choreographed and performed by Derek Porter, from the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras comes 'Miss Fit' - a thought-provoking piece about transsexuality. Aug 22-27; 2.30pm Oxygen House A new production of 'Are There Really Tigers In The Congo?' - an HIV/AIDS play that won a Fringe First for the 1991 production at the Traverse. Focusing on a middle class heterosexual context, the play challenges us to radically re-assess our attitudes to HIV/AIDS. August 11-27 (not 14, 21); 1pm Pantomime Prods 'Knockers' is written and performed by Jenni Potter (a man with a woman's name, playing a man playing a woman). 'Chloe Poems' is Tory MP 'Paddy Field' by day and a gay socialist poet and raconteur by night! The Gingham Diva is the best thing to come out of Liverpool since Ms Savage. Aug 10-20 9.30pm, Aug 22-27; 4.30pm Projectile Children 'Adventure Playground', featuring Tu Tu and Alison Cocks is a collaboration of theatre, dance, song and spectacle drawing on their own experiences of the sex industry. Aug 10-20; 11.15pm Scarlet Stories Parisian jazz singer Caroline Nin, now living in London, performs French ballads and classic songs. Aug 22-27; 6.15pm The Tina C Experience New Country Star from Nashville Tennessee. The woman who put the cunt into country music. A loud woman with balls. Aug 22-27; 7pm Comedy & Revue: Rhona Cameron The funniest thing to come out of Musselburgh in years, Cameron has been sitting around at 'Gaytime TV', but now presents her own stand-up show. V3 - Assembly Rooms - Aug 11-Sept 2; 9pm Scott Capurro Following his surprise success at last year's festival, Capurro returns with his 'Love and Affection Tour'. A very funny young man. V 33 - Pleasance - Aug 10-Sept 2; 6.50pm Julian Clary Having exposed himself in Australia and New Zealand, Clary is back (sans mutt) for just four nights. Nice work if you can get it! V3 - Assembly Rooms - Aug 24-27; 9.15pm Bob Downe The King of Kitsch returns! Outer and wilder than ever, this Australian misfit appeals to all sorts of family audiences. V37 - George Square Theatre - Aug 14-28 (not 20); 10.15pm Karen Dunbar 'No Laughing Matter' allows the well kent DJ and all round funny woman a chance to examine the art of being Scottish whilst doing song and dance numbers. V78 - CC Blooms - Aug 18-26 (not 20); 8.30pm Simon Fanshawe New show from the well known professional woofter, comic, broadcaster and Fringe heid-bummer. V3 - Assembly Rooms - Aug 21-Sept 2; 6.10pm Paul Hull 'These Girls I Knew' is a musical whirl through the wilder excesses of gay culture featuring songs of some of the world's most famous dental dames. V82 - Southside - Aug 13-Sept 2; 11.10pm Jeffrey Dahmer Is Unwell A black comedy in three crime scenes. Probably in extremely poor taste. V51 - Gilded Balloon II - Aug 11-Sept 2 (not 31); 6.45pm Jenny Eclair 'Prozac and Tantrums' is likely to sell out early, so get tickets soon. Superbitch Eclair is well worth seeing. V33 - Pleasance - Aug 11- Sept 2 (not 31); 9.30pm Lee and Herring's Fist of Fun A chance to see the cute one and the naff one - as seen on TV. I won't say which is which. V33 - Pleasance - Aug 9-20 (not 17); 8.45pm Earl Okin The campest and horniest man on the Fringe - even though he's straight! V50 - The Music Box - Aug 11-Sept 2; 7.35pm & V90 -Mansfield Place Church - Aug 12,18,19,25-28,Sept 1,2; 4.15pm Tom Robinson Bisexual star of the Locker Room presents his late-night showcase of talent - music, anecdotes, etc. V33 - Pleasance - Aug 17-28 (not 22); 11pm Lily Savage, Gayle Tuesday and Bob Downe 'Best of the Fest 4' is a one nighter described as the hottest show on the Fringe. Nice and convenient for the scene afterwards. V59 - Playhouse - Aug 22; 8pm Bert Tyler-Moore Bertie Something is the genial comedian's first one-man show in Edinburgh. Following his exposure on 'Gaytime TV', Mary's son should be fair getting the bums on seats. V82 - Southside - Aug 11-Sept 2 (not 15,22,29); 7.45pm Dance & Physical Theatre: Archaos Bikers BVDA Alternative circus with some very dishy people and some rather interesting bikes. V109 - Cirque Surreal - Aug 12,15-19,22-26,29-Sept 2; 5.30pm & Aug 14,21 6pm, Aug 13,14,20,21,27,29; 9.15pm Burklyn Youth Ballet 'Peter and the Wolf' is danced by 18 young dancers aged 12-20. V46 - Church Hill Theatre - Aug 12,14-19; 3pm The Re-animators Caf Flesh is presented by the world's most bizarre ballet company. Costumes to die for. V62 - St Bride's Centre Aug 14-19; 9.30pm Music: Damage Nights Although it didn't work out as a lesbigay venue, 'M8' is now punting for a mixed crowd and promises the best dance/chill venue at the festival. V116 -Club M8 - Aug10-Sept 2 (not Mons); 12 midnight Musicals & Opera: American High School Theatre Festival 'Personals' is a musical about people placing lonely hearts ads. Gay relevance? Probably not! V176 - Roxburgh Halls - Aug 12,14,16,18; 3.03pm & Aug 15; 7.30pm Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group 'Gilbert and Sullivan Go Wilde' combines the music of Sullivan, the lyrics of Gilbert and the humour of Wilde. A veritable how-de-do! V23 - Chaplaincy Centre - Aug 27-Sept 2; 8.15pm Nancy 3. Hoffman Herself More G&S as the usual 40 strong cast of 'The Mikado' is replaced by one woman. This I must see! V49 - Bedlam Theatre - Aug 14-26; 11am & Aug 28-Sept 2; 7pm Strawberries With Cream 'The Boy-Friend' is a camp classic - a witty pastiche of 1920's musical theatre. Revisit the sparkle of a bygone age. V34 - Adam House Theatre - Aug 20-26; 5.15pm & Aug 28-Sept 2; 7.45pm Union Theatre 'Kiss Me Kate' is hardly PC, but this is said to be a production well worth seeing. V93 - James Gillespie's High School - Aug 22-26; 7.15pm Talks And Events: Edinburgh Festival Voluntary Guides Association Free walking tours of the 'Royal Mile' which, for three weeks, ruin the business of the local professional guides. V165 - Canonball House - Aug 7-Sept 2; Tours leave regularly. Theatre: Arches Theatre 'Sexual Perversity in Chicago' is a hilarious exposure of modern sexual mores. V38 - Gilded Balloon Theatre - Aug 11-26; 4pm Ballonatics Theatre Company A solo show by Paul O'Hanrahan, 'Zany of Sorrow' recreates Oscar Wilde as our most phenomenal contemporary. 100 years after the trial, relish kisses and conundrums that still inspire convulsions. V20 - Theatre Workshop - Aug 14-Sept 2 (not Suns); 5.45pm Bradford Playhouse Studio Group 'Nativity' by Jonathon Hall was the 1993 Fringe Hit. A comedy on an all too familiar theme. V82 - Southside - Aug 12,14,16,18,20,22,24,26; 2.05pm 'Statements of Attainment' is Jonathan Hall's new comedy set in a Bradford infant school. V82 - Southside - Aug 13,15,17,19,21,23,25; 2.05pm The Bridge Theatre Company Much is known of Oscar - but what of his mother? In 'Mother of Oscar' we hear Speranza, the fiery young poet who electrified Ireland. V82 - Southside - Aug 27-Sept 2; 12.20pm Clyde Unity Theatre 'Bone' is gay writer John Binnie's exciting collaboration with dancer Rosina Bonsu. Raw, emotionally searing, physical. V20 - Theatre Workshop - Aug 14,16,18,20,22,24,26,28,30,Sept 1; 6pm John Binnie's Independent Theatre Award winning drama, 'A Little Older', is about friendship enduring under exceptional circumstances. V20 - Theatre Workshop - Aug 15,17,19,23,25,27,29,31,Sept 2; 6pm David Forest In 'Entertaining Changes', David reveals all in words and song - plus deviation in his private life. V33 - Pleasance - Aug 9-21 (not 14); 12.25pm Demarco Foundation 'Beyond All Certainty - UK - Sweden' is 'The Great Escape Theatre Company's' meeting between two pooves: philosopher Wittgenstein and father of computing Turing. It examines their public and private dilemmas. V22 - Demarco European Art Foundation Aug 14-19; 1.30pm 'Latin! or Tobacco and Boys' is Stephen Fry's comedy of corruption set in an English prep school. Wonder if any of the cast will do a runner? V22 - Demarco European Art Foundation Aug 21-26; 11.15am De Montfort University Theatre 'Equus' - A deranged youth blinds six horses with a spike showing how materialism has killed our capacity for passion and thus pain. V23 - Chaplaincy Centre - Aug 21-26; 1.30pm The Electric Company A young teacher and his pupil come to terms with their sexuality and one another in 'Caliban On Thursday'. V36 - Festival Club - Aug 16-18,21,22,25,26; 2pm Fettes At The Fringe The famous Fetteshists (Tony Blurr's old school) present 'Equus'. V54 - Fettes College - Aug 23-25,28-30; 7.35pm 4X4 Theatre Company 'Hoplite' is a gay love story set during WWII. The way of life Captain Markham fought to protect now traps him. V19 - C Venue - 9 Aug - Sept 2 (not 17,31); 8.20pm Ken & Barb 'A Day in the Life of a Supermodel' has Barb as silicone babe and Ken as her frustrated accessory. Wickedly funny 4-hander. V38 - Gilded Balloon Theatre - Aug 11-Sept 2; 5.30pm The Liverpool Playhouse 'The Legend of Pope Joan' is a hard hitting and often raw story of sexism and a woman's struggle to survive it at any cost. V45 - Old St Paul's Church Hall - Aug 14-19; 7.25pm Merlin In 'A Meeting With The Monster', junkie, womaniser, homosexual and pornographer Alex Trocchi takes you through his turbulent life. V61 - The Wee Red Bar - Aug 27-31; 8.30pm Northern Theatre Company In 'Family Values', Anna and Jo want a baby. No problem - except that they're dykes! V34 - Adam House Theatre - Aug 12,14,16,18,20,22,24,26; 11.30am Oxford Brookes Drama 'Equus' - yet another production! V82 - Southside - Aug 21-Sept 2 (not 24,30); 4.05pm Perpetual Theatre 'Limp Writs' consists of three monologues by local lad 'Paul Trainer' - drawn from contemporary gay life with characters as diverse as they're recognisable. They're all here, from the self-oppressive hyper-closet to the acid tongued queen, to one, with perhaps, a more regal station in life. V78 - CC Blooms - Aug 17,18,19,25,26,27; 7pm & Aug 31-Sept 2; 9pm Pharma Theatre Company In 'Acid Maze', drugs and clubs bring five people together. Friendships are forged but when sexualities are questioned the framework crumbles. V98 - Marco's - Aug 27-Sept 2; 8.15pm QMW Theatre Company 'The Normal Heart' is Larry Kramer's harrowing play chronicling the first frantic episodes of the AIDS epidemic. V45 - Old St Paul's Church Hall - Aug 21-26; 8.15pm The Sexact Roadshow 'Teen Spirit' is a lively play about HIV, AIDS and what it's like to be a teenager in the 90s. Devised by its youthful cast, it follows the fortunes of a group of teenagers experimenting with their sexuality. V58 - Royal Mile Primary School - Aug 28-Sept 1; 7.30pm Starving Artists 'Road Movie' is a passionate, hilarious trip through love and loss in gay America. Combining monologue, laconic humour and hilarious comedy, the text is powered by passages of great lyrical beauty and tenderness. Mark Pinkosh performs the last in Godfrey Hamilton's trilogy. V15 - Traverse Theatre - Aug 22,26,31; 12.30pm, Aug 22,26,31; 3pm, Aug 24,29,Sept 1; 5.30pm & Aug 25,30,Sept 2; 8pm Traveling Light Productions 'Food For Thought' celebrates the resilience of the human spirit as a woman and her two gay friends navigate the treacherous New York world of brunch, homophobia, gravity and anonymous sex. V55 - Randolph Studio - Aug 11-12; 8pm & Aug 14-Sept 2 (not 20,29); 11.15am When Harry Met Cathy (& Anne & Jane & Anne & Kathy & Cathy) Bernadine Corrigan's camp romp through the wives of Henry VIII. V33 - Pleasance - Aug 9-Sept 2 (not 14,29); 3.10pm John Hein OFFICIAL: Most fag interest in the Official Festival this year is focused on dance with Bill T Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co (graphic below) and the Mark Morris Dance Group being the names to go for. Which is fine if you're into dance. If you're into music, you can forget John Adams' I Was Looking At The Ceiling And Then I Saw The Sky - it'll doubtless by the hit of the Festival but then, there's no accounting for tastes - his dreary Nixon in China was a wow in 1988. ------------------------------------------------------------- INSIDE OUT The most accurate, up-to-date and accessible guide to Scotland's scene, with all the pubs and clubs, bookshops and cafes, along with all the juicy gossip contained therein. If that's not enough, our numerous box ads might just contain the very person that your mother warned you about... Aberdeen CLUB CABERFEIDH 9 Hadden Street. Tel: (01224) 212181. Every night 10pm-2am. The biggest and most popular Lesbian and Gay disco in the north! PINK FLAMINGO 47 Upper Kirkgate. Tel: (01224) 624472. Noon-2am. Plush cocktail bar frequented by the trendier crowd. Increasingly busy disco downstairs. Dundee CLUB CRUISE 60 Brown Street (part of Oscars). Tel: (01382) 221176. Sat 11pm-3am. Noisy with soft lighting, but, despite its name, relaxed and not too cruisy. Possibility of a new monthly Wednesday Romp - watch this space. DEVA'S 75 Seagate. Tel: (01382) 226840. Mon-Sat 11am-midnight, Sun 12.30pm-11pm. Formerly the Gauger, no expense spared in the re-decoration. Something for everyone! Edinburgh During the Edinburgh Festival, most Edinburgh venues have greatly extended hours courtesy of the Licensing Board who, for three weeks, allow Edinburgh to look and act like a proper European Capital. As we go to press, we don't know what these hours will be so we've continued to list the conventional opening hours. You'll just have to suck it and see! BLACK BO'S 57/61 Blackfriars Street. Tel: 0131-557 6136. Mon-Fri 12.30pm-2.30pm and 6pm-10.30pm, Sat 12.30pm-10.30pm, Sun 6pm-10pm. Superb little vegetarian restaurant. Friendly staff. Mixed clientele. Good value lunch menu. BLUE MOON 36 Broughton Street. Tel: 0131-557 0911. Mon-Thu 9.30am-midnight. Fri 9.30am-3am. Sat 9am-3am. Sun 11am-3am. Popular lesbigay cafe. The Barony Street entrance gives access to the Buzz Bar open Mon-Thu 9am-1.45am, Fri 9am-2.45am, Sat 11am-2.45am, Sun 11am-1.45am). The new Tapas Bar in the basement serves Spanish food, drink and music and is open Wed-Sun 7pm-1am. BODYTECH SAUNA 29a Haddington Place. Open FREE to members of L.A.D.S. only. Will operate Thu, Fri, Sat 4pm-9pm from end of August. CAFE KUDOS 22 Greenside Place. Tel: 0131-556 4349. Noon-2am. A new addition to Edinburgh's flourishing cafe society in the former Chapps premises. Fresh and stylish. CAFE LUCIA 13-29 Nicolson Street. Tel: 0131-662 1112. Generally 10am-10pm but hours vary according to performances. Mixed bar attached to the financially challenged Edinburgh Festival Theatre. Full of luvvies and their friends! CC BLOOMS 23 Greenside Place. Tel: 0131-556 9331. Noon-3am. Bar/diner serving superb food in the Hole in the Wall restaurant (Noon-10pm). Karaoke on Thursday and Sunday. Male strippers Sun afternoons. Disco every night. CITY CAFE 19 Blair Street. Tel: 0131-220 0125. Mon-Sat 11am-1pm, Sun 11am-midnight. Not as outrageously mixed as it used to be, but still seriously conventional. CLUB SAPPHO 25-27 Market Street. Tel: 0131-226 4224. Fri 10pm-4am. Scotland's new women only nightclub/bar. Fab atmosphere, venue and sounds. Wheelchair accessible. DRONDALE LIMITED 60 Broughton Street. Tel: 0131-556 1471. Open Mon-Fri 10am-7pm, Sat 12-8. At the front of the Edinburgh Lesbian Gay and Bisexual Centre. Undoubtedly the largest gay shop north of Manchester, with a large selection of magazines, cards, toys, underwear, w imwear, leather and rubberwear. Well worth a visit. Worldwide mail order service. EAT OUT IN EDINBURGH 60 Broughton Street. Tel: 0131-556 0152. WWW: http://www.colloquium.co.uk/www/eponym/eatout.html. 11am-11pm. Licensed cafe at the rear of the Edinburgh LG&B Centre. Now under the capable management of Brendan Nash - need we say more? Undoubtedly, the place to partake of a superior set of comestibles. EDINBURGH LESBIAN GAY AND BISEXUAL CENTRE 58a and 60 Broughton Street. Owned by OUTRIGHT Scotland, it houses Calosa Publishing Limited, Drondale Limited, Eat Out in Edinburgh and Pride Scotland as well as providing meeting and noticeboard space for many lesbigay organisations. FOUR BBBB's CLUB 26b Dublin Street. Tel: 0131-538 7775. Big Beary Bulky Boys have their own club at Intense in the Newtown Bar on the 4th Friday of the month. 8-10pm - bar opens to non members 9pm-12.30am. JOY AT THE NEW CALTON 20 Calton Road. Tel: 0131-558 3758. Sat 11pm-late (during the Festival, not open until midnight). Edinburgh's Saturday One Nighter is Scotland's largest gay club. Reduced entry before midnight. For membership: write to JOY, PO Box 13456, Edinburgh. EH6 8YA. Wheelchair accessible. L.A.D.S. 2 Picardy Place. Tel: 0131-556 5414. 9pm-2am. Membership only cruisy club/disco. Downstairs from Picardy's but with its own door. Raymond has gone wild with the black emulsion! LORD NELSON BAR Linden Hotel, 9-13 Nelson Street. Tel: 0131-557 4344. Mon-Sat Noon-2pm, 6pm-11pm. Sun 7pm-11pm. Quiet bar attached to Edinburgh's biggest gay hotel. Superb Thai restaurant. MAGGIE RAYES 85 Rose Street Lane North. Tel: 0131-225 7651. Mon-Thur Noon-1am. Fri-Sat Noon-2am. Sun 1pm-1am. Frenetically friendly impromptu cabaret bar. Friday is karaoke night! NEW TOWN BAR 26B Dublin Street. Tel: 0131-538 7775. Noon-1am. Especially popular with Bears, but has wide clientele. Real Ale. Intense, the sub-basement cruise bar is open Fri-Sat 9pm-1am - mainly men, but women welcome too!. No EIGHTEEN 18 Albert Place. Tel: 0131-553 3222. Mon-Sat Noon-10pm. Scotland's only sauna club for gay gentlemen - run by a couple of straight Dykes! OVER THE RAINBOW 32 Broughton Street. 11am-1am. New licensed cafe. Live music a speciality. PICARDY'S 2 Picardy Place. Tel: 0131-556 5414. 11am-late. Cabaret Show Bar. At the Centre of Edinburgh's Gay Triangle. ROUTE 66 6 Baxter's Place. Tel: 0131-556 5991. Sun-Fri 3pm-1.30am. Sat Noon-1.30am. Food served all day. Discos Fri and Sat with DJ Patsy. Real Ale. THEATRE ROYAL BAR 24 Greenside Place. Tel: 0131-557 2142. Mon-Sat 11am-midnight. Sun 6pm-11pm. Basically straight, this Real Ale bar (formerly a Gas Board Showroom) in the middle of Edinburgh's Gay Triangle attracts an increasing number of queers having an off-scene pint before heading for the fleshpots nearby. WEST & WILDE BOOKSHOP 25a Dundas Street. Tel: 0131-556 0079. Tue-Sat 10am-7pm, Sun Noon-5pm. Scotland's only lesbian and gay bookshop. Lots of books and quite a few magazines! Falkirk DROOKIT DUCK 16 Grahams Road. Tel: 01324 613644 Mon 11am-3pm and 5pm-11.30. Tue-Thu 11am-3pm and 5pm-12.30am. Fri-Sat 11am-12.30am. Sun 7pm-midnight. Straight bar used by a few discrete local gays. Glasgow AUSTINS 183a Hope Street. Tel: 0141-332 2707. Mon-Sat Noon-midnight, Sun 12.30am-midnight. Friendly and busy basement pub. Food lunchtimes (until 5pm). Entertainment every evening. BENNETS DISCO 80-90, Glassford Street. Tel: 0141-552 5761. Tue-Sun 11pm-3am. Very popular busy gay disco. Tuesdays straight. CAFE DELMONICA'S 68 Virginia Street. Tel: 0141-552 4803. Mon-Sun Noon-midnight. Food Noon-7pm. Busy pub with backroom area (not THAT kind of backroom!). Cabaret Thurdays. Bingo Tuesdays. Karaoke Wed and Sun. Happy hours 5-7 and 9-10 every night. DJ Monday nights with Becks at ukp1.25 all night! CCA Centre for Contemporary Arts, 350 Sauchiehall Street. Tel: 0141-332 7521. Centre open Mon- Wed 9am-11pm Thur-Sat 9am-midnight. Bookshop 11am-7pm. Galleries 11am-6pm (admission free). Two galleries, two performance spaces, cafe bar and bookshop. Lesbigay friendly place bustling with life, the universe and everything. Wheelchair accessible apart from upstairs performance space. CLUB X-CHANGE 25 Royal Exchange Square. Tel: 0141-204 4599. Tue-Sun 11pm-3am. Large basement club, popular with young crowd. Wednesday nights are straight (though still quite mixed). COURT BAR 69 Hutcheson Street. Tel: 0141-552 2463. Mon-Sat 11am-Midnight, Sun 8.30-11pm. Small bar beside former Sheriff Court. Straight until mid-evening. DIVALLY'S 86 Maxwell Street. Tel: 0141-221 4657. 11am-3am. Members' club containing lounge bar and cinema showing legal erotica (gay and straight). Gayer on Mon and Tue. Membership available at the door. GHQ CAFE/BAR 8-10 West George Street. Tel: 0141-332 8005. Bar: Noon-midnight. Cafe:10am-10pm. Nice and convenient for Queen Street Station. Large bar featuring Suave Gav - Glasgow's most popular DJ. Happy hour 5pm-7pm nightly. MADAME GILLESPIE'S 26 Cheapside Street. Tel: 0141-226 5468. 6pm-3am. Scotland's first gay revue bar. Duplex complex incorporating disco with fab light show. Staff permanently in drag. SQUIRES LOUNGE 106 West Campbell Street. Tel: 0141-221 9184. Mon-Fri Noon-Midnight, Sat 12.30pm-Midnight, Sun 8pm-12pm. Long narrow intimate basement bar, DJ Sun, Tue, Wed, Thur, Fri & Sat. Packed at the weekend. Nightly happy hours 9-10pm (all night Sun). VICTORIA BAR 157-159 Bridgegait. Tel: 0141-552 6040. Mon-Sat Noon-midnight, Sun 12.30pm-midnight. Basically straight, but still popular with real ale queens and dykes. THE WATERLOO 306 Argyle Street. Tel: 0141-221 7359. Mon-Sun Noon-midnight. Popular, crowded, down to earth gay drinking shop. Cabaret every Thursday, Karaoke on Sundays. Greenock Although Greenock doesn't have a gay bar as such, some discrete local lesbians and gays meet and socialise in the Princess Lounge. Some young gays also use the Jolly Sailor. Inverness NICO'S BAR/BISTRO Glen Mhor Hotel, Ness Bank. Tel: 01463 234308. Wed and Fri 9-11pm. Smart relaxed bar popular with local gays especially on Wednesday and Friday nights (9.15pm onwards). Mixed clientele. Kilmarnock KAYPARK TAVERN 27/29 London Road. Tel: 01563 523623. Straight pub - the lounge is used by some discrete local gays on Mondays. Stirling BARNTON BISTRO 312 Barnton Street. Tel: 01786 461698. Mon-Sat 10.15am-11pm (Meals Noon-8pm), Sun 6.30pm-11pm. Situated near to the railway station, this mixed, busy, bohemian and friendly bar/bistro is justly popular with students and Sons/Daughters of the Rock alike. Good food. Real Ale. ABERDEEN Summer arrives at last and, along with it, comes the predictable flow of tourists wondering where the Aberdeen gay scene is. The thinking goes like this ... Aberdeen has a population of 200,000, half of them of drinking age is 100,000, ten per cent of that should be gay, so Aberdeen should have a gay population of about 10,000! The question on everybody's lips is "where are they all?". The recession seems to have finally hit Aberdeen and the past few months have been fairly quiet on the scene. However, things have been picking up now for the past eight weeks or so, and hopefully things will be back to normal before long. So, what has been happening recently in Dod and Bunty land? Aberdeen is down to two gay venues with the changes at the old Flannies. As predicted, this has now been relaunched as a straight venue, with a new name, new staff, new management and now catering for a straight clientele. The two remaining venues are of course Club Caberfeidh and the Pink Flamingo. Due to the changes in opening times recently there has been some confusion with visitors not knowing what hours the Clubs are open. Club Caberfeidh is open seven nights a week from 10pm to 2am. Entry is free except on Friday and Saturday. At the time of going to press, the entry charge was ukp1 from 10pm-11pm, ukp2 from 11pm-midnight and ukp3 after midnight. The Pink Flamingo is open seven days a week from midday til 2am and there is no door charge. The two venues are only a few minutes walk apart. The last ScotsGay stated that the Women's Group disco was being held at the East Neuk. They are now in fact held on the first Friday of the month in the Pink Flamingo and are being increasingly well supported. Wednesday is also becoming increasingly busy after the Women's Group meeting and the downstairs bar is now open from 10pm. Quiz Night in the Pink continues to go from strength to strength and has now become so busy that some teams have to go and sit in the disco! Come early if you want a table upstairs or you might get stuck sitting in Tarts' Corner! Now that the trade (licensed!!!) is starting to pick up, the club is remaining busy right up 'til closing time seven nights a week, although most of those out after midnight during the week just want a late drink in the upstairs bar. If you're out to pull a disco bunny on a Monday night - forget it! Entry charges to the Pink have now been abolished at the weekend resulting in a vast increase in numbers on Friday and Saturday. There is now also a happy hour from midnight until 1am on Friday and Saturday when all bottled beers, all pints and all spirits are only a pound. Predictably, this has been a huge success, and the Pink is now rapidly re-establishing itself as a busy disco at weekends. Rumour has it that Grippy Graham has got something else up his sleeve to accelerate the process! DUNDEE Dundee has been throbbing recently, but the wee 1am drinking extension for the Golf has been and gone and it's back to a midnight "Gies us yer glesses" at Deva's. The regular Thursday night cabaret, entertainment and PAs there have fair been pulling them in with even a few douce denizens straying in from the Ferry! Most notable of recent events was Blind Date which saw two poor lads sent off on the Dundee Tour Bus - wonder what they discovered? Stars in Your Eyes is set for 17th August - should be a fun night. During July, Access All Areas proved a wow with their bouncy set of covers and Jack Daw went down well too especially with the older crowd. Karn hasn't been seen much in the pub recently - it seems that she's been leaving all the work to Anne. "She just hides in her office and only comes out to shout at people", says Anne! Figures!!!! Club Cruise continues to thrive on Saturday nights with its usual mix of house and chart music. However, the much awaited opening of the Club on a second night in the week failed to draw many punters the other Friday. Advertising might help! There's certainly room for a bigger scene and a little bird tells me that there's a good chance that another Dundee pub will soon start welcoming lesbigay drinkers. Watch this space! EDINBURGH Since I spoke to you last, things in Jessieburgh have been on the move quite a bit (must have something to do with the hot weather). Jimmy Quinn is no longer involved at the former "QTs", (now called "Picardy's"), with the downstairs bar now open and trading as "L.A.D.S." (Leather And Denim Scotland) a private members club. Proprietor Raymond Inverarity told ScotsGay in an exclusive interview that L.A.D.S. are offering FREE membership until 9th September 1995, after that it will be o2.50. You will also need a passport photograph (so, get posing). Membership forms are available at the door. For those of you who want to avoid the Techno/Rave stuff, L.A.D.S. guest DJs will be playing their own style of music. See the in-house blackboard for details. Picardy's is being opened as a camptastic (now that's a big word) showbar, with lots of female impersonators giving you their all in a magical journey in music and dance. Just what we need, somewhere for a gal to show off her new dress (you know the one, the one that the boss won't let you wear around the office). Now, as we are all aware, Brenda Le Vell (the great one nighter) has jumped ship (or was he pushed?) at Fusion, now re-launched as "Cafe Kudos"(no, Brenda, we don't mean that you have been re-launched). Cafe Kudos is being re-opened by Iain MacDonald formerly of Maxies Bistro. Please, no choruses of 'Old MacDonald Had a Caff'! It is expected that the classy new cafe will be open from 12 noon until 3am, serving all sorts of continental things from all over the continent. Certainly beats a bacon butty! By the time we go to press "Eat Out Edinburgh" should have opened its doors in the Lesbigay Centre. Brendan Nash tells us that Eat Out (seems an odd name for an indoor cafe) will be run on the same lines as its former namesake in Glasgow, with the emphasis on Fresh-Fresh-Fresh (What? No need for a sell by date? - I think we're both long past ours, Gordon - Ed). And not to forget the coffee top ups. Whooooo! Not content with all of that, just in off the fax is even more news of another cafe opening its doors in Broughton Street. Next door to the Blue Moon will be the site for the city's latest cafe venture "Over the Rainbow". If you are not sure where to find what is sure to be the campest eatery in town, just watch for the soapy bubbles. One cafe with a difference and well worth a visit is Web 13 in Bread Street. A place where you can not only be fed but can also spend a fun time surfing the internet. For those who don't already know, ScotsGay for the past 10 months and its sister magazine Pulse, for almost two years, have been available on the net. As the country's first Lesbigay magazines to go out over the net, it goes without saying that should anyone wish information regarding this service please feel free to contact us direct: 'scotsgay@ drink.demon.co.uk' and 'pulse@ drink.demon.co.uk'. Who better? For those of you in the mood for a bit of Mexican food, you could always try the Tapas Bar in the basement of the Blue Moon Cafe open Wed-Sun 7pm-1am. Over at Route 66, it would appear that the vodka bar has taken off a trick, but do watch out, those little cocktails can be lethal (well, after six pints anyway). I hear that No 18 Sauna has just had its licence renewed, and that there are plans afoot to open on a Sunday (I wonder what will happen to the beef and two veg). If the day time trade is anything to go by, the Sunday opening is sure to be a smash hit! GLASGOW With all the openings going on in Edinburgh, it is good to see business as usual in the Holy City (no, not the street corner type). Well, if you count business as usual to mean that the pubs and clubs have been busier than usual, then so be it. There has been a rumour in some of the press that the old Duke of Wellington is about to reopen once again. However, that rumour has been about before. We will believe it when it happens. ScotsGay contacted the owners of the property who claim that they have no plans to open the pub in the foreseeable future. Now someone somewhere is telling porkies. Talking of the Duke of Wellington, reminds me of the evening during the spell of power cuts, when I was down in the gents when the lights went out. A young man and I, who was also relieving himself, like me could not find his way out in the pitch darkness. Being the friendly Glaswegians that we were, we soon made the best of a bad situation. Unfortunately the lights came on 90 minutes later. Can't win them all. Another ukp500 or so was added to the coffers of the Glasgow Bars Aids Welfare Fund, after their recent Hoe-down on the Ferry. Chairman Jim Glenn tells us that, although it wasn't as busy as previous events, a good night was had by all in attendance. A special thank you must go to Colin McKee from Austin's for his efforts on the night and to Robert and May Miller for yet another outstanding performance. Next stop is the Ball in January. More details later. "Busier and busier" is how manager Robert Anderson describes Glasgow's latest club. If the nights I have been in have been anything to go by, then I can see what he means. This month sees the start of Madam G's floor shows. To launch what will be a spectacular night (Aug the 12th), the club has combined with Phace West to bring the one and only Hazel Dean to top the bill, in what we are promised will be a night such as Glasgow has never seen. The live floor shows begin at 9.30pm. Over at Bennets this month, on Sunday the 27th, we see the only Scottish appearance of disco diva Irene Cara, who will be performing her full 30 minute show. This one is sure to pack them in. With the departure of Calum from the Waterloo, there has been no shortage of gossip as to why. However, to end all the speculation, I can exclusively reveal that if you were to ask Calum you might just get near enough the truth and it will stop all the bad mouthed queens from expounding on something they know nowt about. And probably never will. There, I've said it. On the pub scene, Barbara Bryceland will be making her usual appearance at Delmonica's, while in the Waterloo, Georgia is packing them in each week. As is La Belle Hutton in her cameo part in the Sunday night Karaoke. Up at Squires, there are now six nights a week to choose from if it's live DJs you prefer, and, if this weather lasts out until the 12th, the toga party at Squires will I'm sure go down a treat. Just the job before heading off to the disco. Down in Austin's, it has been can opener stuff, no matter which night of live entertainment you choose from their menu of Cabaret, Karaoke, or their quite funny Quiz Night. There has to be a night for everyone in there somewhere. Eh? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- INTERNATIONAL NEWS ================== from Rex Wockner ITALIAN ANTI-GAYS ORGANIZE Italy's new "Defence Committee for the Natural and Christian Family Order" has gathered 70,000 signatures on petitions urging Italy to reject a 1994 European Parliament resolution that directed member nations to grant gays absolute equality, including the right to marry. "The situation is like a civil war," the national gay group, ArciGay-ArciLesbica, said in a press release. ArciGay has collected 70,000 signatures of its own supporting the European Parliament. Defence Committee President Coda Nunziante claims "homosexual debauchery, contrary to God's Law, is repugnant to the conscience, and people reject it on instinct as a deep moral disorder." ArciGay requests letters of support, stating, "I (name/address) agree with ArciGay-ArciLesbica's petition for civil rights in favour of the Strasbourg Resolution for civil unions." Mail to ArciGay-ArciLesbica, Segreteria Petizione, Piazza di Porta Saragozza 2, 40123 Bologna (BO), Italy. ILGA CONFERENCE DISASTER The International Lesbian and Gay Association's recent 10th annual conference for former East Bloc nations was a "grandiose scandal," reported the Moscow newspaper Segodnia. When the 100-plus delegates arrived at the end of May in Kiev, Ukraine, no one was there to meet them. They finally found the conference site the next day, one hour out of town, but were later evicted a day early. An organizer, from the Ukrainian Gay and Lesbian group Two Colours, apparently made off with the registration fees, part of a $10,000 grant from the World Health Organization, and a donation from the Lifestyles condom company. Immigration officials detained and interrogated two British delegates, both named Peter Norman, for failure to register with the Department of Visas and Registration of Foreigners. A letter guaranteeing payment to the conference site, a spa, supposedly bears the signature of one of the Normans. ILGA's one employee, Andy Quan, a Canadian who works in ILGA's Brussels office, was horrified at the mess. He promised, despite ILGA's financial quagmires, to make efforts to reimburse all delegates who had been promised scholarships. At the conference's end, the exasperated attendees voted to agree that the conference had never taken place. CANADA "Don't Be A Fucking Idiot." That's the slogan of the Edmonton (Alberta) AIDS Network's new pro-condom campaign and some Albertans are shocked, according to a local paper. The poster also features a straight couple having sex. Network officials said they used street language to get the attention of people in their teens and 20s who ignore messages that sound as if they come from authority figures. CZECH The head of the Czech Republic Parliament, Milan Uhde, and the minister of the interior, Jan Rumi, support extending marriage rights to gays and lesbians under a registered-partnership law. "There's no reason why gays can't marry," Rumi said. Uhde said he "carefully considered" the arguments in favour of partnership presented by the gay group SOHO, thinks the arguments are "important" and forwarded the material to two Parliamentary committees. The partnership bill will be considered this year when Parliament rewrites Czech family law. DENMARK Denmark's National Organization for Gays and Lesbians (LBL) has closed its Copenhagen cafe and disco to survive a financial crisis. The decision followed a courtroom agreement between LBL and its creditors. LBL's other functions, including its newspaper, Pan-Bladet, will continue as before. The organization's offices will move to a smaller space, at Teglgardsstraede 13. EUROPE Three of Europe's top five gay publications have died in as many months _ the latest, Sweden's Reporter. The newspaper announced in July that it was suspending publication and filing for bankruptcy. Among other problems, the paper did not receive its annual grant from the state Cultural Periodicals Commission. London's highly regarded weekly Capital Gay died in early June and Germany's glossy monthly Magnus disappeared in March. Capital Gay, which was 14-years-old, blamed its demise on declining advertising revenue. A new owner bought Magnus this month and the magazine plans to return in September. SWEDEN A 69-year-old Swedish man who was caught in 1993 having sex with a 13-year-old boy in a hotel room in Pattaya, Thailand, was sentenced in Sweden June 22 to three months in prison, reported Stockholm's Dagens Nyheter. He must also pay the Thai youth, now 15, approximately ukp8,000. Sweden is one of several countries, including the US., that recently passed laws allowing prosecution at home when a citizen has sex with someone below the age-of-consent in a foreign country. Similar legislation has been proposed in the UK. -------------------------------------------------------------- GAY BROADCASTING ================ The Buggers are everywhere! In the pubs, on the streets, and now on the radio and telly. There's just never been so much lesbigay broadcasting around and things can only get better. BRAITHWAITE gets his teeth into the unexpected surfeit. Time was when the love that dared not speak its name did not have its name spoken on radio or TV. Nation might speak peace unto nation - as long as it wasn't Queer Nation! However, over the last few years, things have changed and the airwaves are now full of out queers. Radio may be an 'old fashioned' medium, but some of the best fag broadcasting around has been on the wireless. If you're prepared to endure the Medium Wave snap crackle and pop, Radio 5 Live's Out This Week each Sunday at 10.05pm is well worth listening to. Because it's cheaper to make, ghetto radio tends to be a lot meatier than ghetto TV - but maybe I'm biased. As usual, July and August is the season for lesbian and gay television and BBC2 has just ended a series called Gaytime TV. It was their first lesbian and gay series and was produced by Planet 24 - who gave you The Big Breakfast and The Word. Gaytime was studio based with a few filmed location reports. The studio format was an attempt to parody Good Morning with Anne and Nick but instead of that staid duo it had Bert Tyler Moore and Rhona Cameron indulging in camp chat. It also had an exercise section filmed on the beach in Miami, and a weekly celebrity interview. The series was the 90s version of Out but was better in that it had none of the silly PC programming that dogged the last two series of that now defunct C4 show. It was fun, light and entertaining and although l must admit that l don't like the presenters, I'm sure that like Richard and Judy or Nick and Anne they will probably grow on me. l hope there is a second series. Channel Four have bought a series from America which was produced by PBS called Over The Rainbow. It's a kind of civil rights programme similar to the award winning series on black civil rights Eye On The Prize. A four part, powerful and illuminating documentary series which examines what it means to be lesbian and gay in America, it traces the history, politics and culture of an emerging movement. This is the first ever major US lesbian and gay television venture. The series is to be broadcast on successive Wednesdays from 1st August at 9pm. Outrage 69: Following the beginning of the lesbian and gay movement from its beginning and the restrained Mattachine Society of the mid 1960s to the explosion anger, frustration and violence of the Stonewall riots in 1969, this film is an excellent history of the birth of the lesbian and gay movement. It has interviews with those who were at the Stonewall bar on the night that changed the lesbian and gay movement forever. The style of the programmes is standard documentary with no real frills. Covering the 1950s to the 1970s, it leaves few areas uncovered showing our gains and failures, the arguments which still continue between lesbian and gay men, gay men and gay men, lesbians and lesbians and our fight against a homophobic world. Culture Wars: This starts with the story of the murder of gay man Julio Rivera in New York which could have been just another tragic anti gay murder but becomes a rallying cry for the whole of a community. This murder brought together a movement that had been destroyed by AIDS and infighting in a remarkable way. The middle class professional gay men met Queer Nation and fought the indifference of the police and New York State to bring the murderers to trial. The film exposes the background behind the attacks by Senator Jesse Helms on Marlion Brigg's film Tongue Untied and the religious organisations that tried to put forward a measure similar to 'Section 28' and the fight against it. However, it ends on a rather depressing note: one of the interviewees says that while they were celebrating victory she sat down and wondered what we had won - not more rights or better conditions but the right not to be attacked? Hollow Liberty: This is an examination of how US Federal policies reduce lesbians and gay men to second class citizens: a look at the strange sodomy laws and how they are being used to criminalise homosexuality. It gives an analysis of the Gays in the Military furore which shook the Clinton administration. It shows how this came up and the fight against it There is a excellent section where some of the interviewees are asked if we want lesbian and gay men in their army and the programme also deals with how the campaign has damaged the community as a whole. Generation Q: This is the last in the series and concentrates on the homophobic 1990s and the new generation of lesbigay activists as they battle to find and accept their own sexual identity in climates fuelled with hate and ignorance. The tone is upbeat with students' fighting for equal rights in the school system. The interviews with the school kids are really heart warming and are full of the optimism that only really comes with youth. There is an amazing school where young lesbian and gays can finish their education without the hassles of a homophobic school life. It reminds all those cynical hard worn older activists like me what it is all about. There is a book which comes out to accompany the series Over The Rainbow. With a foreword by author Armistead Maupin the best-selling author of Tales of the City, it costs ukp12.99. C4 are also going to broadcast a series called Dyke TV which starts from the 2nd September and which has already caused controversy with Tory MPs like Emma Nicholson. Amongst other things, it will have items on the Lesbian Avengers and will be the largest collection of films made for and by lesbians ever broadcast on UK television. It looks like it will make for great entertainment and not a little fulminating in the tabloids. As well as these gay/dyke themed series we've also found an increasing number of 'regular' documentaries and travelogues occasionally giving over a programme or segment to a lesbian or gay perspective, such as the recent Travels with my Camera: Greetings from Out Here, which looked at the US' Deep South. It may have been a long time a comin', but queer broadcasting is now here with a vengeance. Long may it remain. -------------------------------------------------------- HEALTH ====== A HEALTHY GREATER GLASGOW Growing recognition of the specific health needs of gay men and lesbians has led to a number of exciting developments within Greater Glasgow Health Board and Glasgow's gay community. In November 1994, Greater Glasgow Health Board appointed Mark Dawson as Health Promotion Officer with specific responsibility for gay men and other men who have sex with men. The emphasis of Mark's work is on HIV and sexual health, although he is committed to developing a holistic approach to gay men's health. He has forged links with gay and lesbian groups in community, educational and workplace settings, enabling the Health Board to work more closely with the gay community. A range of new materials for gay men is currently being developed, following the successful launch of leaflets on alcohol and ecstasy at the Health Board's 'safer sex, drugs and alcohol installation', witnessed by many at Pride Scotland in June. Topics covered will include sex and sexuality, recreational drug use and coming out. A library with a wide selection of books, videos and packs specific to gay men or those working with gay men is also being developed. Anyone may borrow these items from the library. A number of innovative themed campaigns and events are planned for the coming year, including involvement at Glasgay!, Europe's largest lesbian and gay arts festival, in October/November. Mark has also been appointed City Contact Person for the Gay Men's Action Group of MCAP AIDS (the Multi-City Action Plan on AIDS). MCAP AIDS is part of the World Health Organisation's European Healthy Cities Project: the Gay Men's Action Group has participants in Gothenburg, Nancy, Rotterdam, Tallin and Vienna as well as Glasgow... the potential for European Collaboration in the gay men's health field is substantial. For further information, please contact Mark Dawson on 0141-946 7120 ---------------------------------------------------------- REVIEWS ======= books: Fortunes of War by Mel Keegan Gay Men's Press, ukp7.95 Rather different from his SF masterpieces Death's Head and Equinox, this enjoyable little maritime romp is set in 1588 rather than in the future. A good solid read with a few surprises, some top class erotic writing makes this definitely one for the bedside. Kama Sutra of Gay Sex Pics: Bjorn Andersen Words: Ray Lightbown Prowler Press, ukp19.95 It really is sad when you have to bung in a load of well meaning how to do it and safer sex advice in order to be able to publish a wank book. Yes, it's very nicely printed. Yes, the photos show just about everything. Yes, there are stiff(ish) willies in mouths, bottoms and condoms. But, ultimately, this coffee table 'Limited Edition Art Book' which accompanies the video of the same name fails to satisfy. Sorry Bjorn, stick to honest to goodness filth instead of dressing it up as art and education. The George Day Gay Guide to Holiday Accommodation in the UK 1995 Edited by Geoffrey Leigh George Day Publishing, ukp4.95 As the book says, "Holiday accommodation in the United Kingdom for gay men and lesbians can be a problem". But it's a problem which can largely be solved by referring to this excellent 70 page booklet - obviously a labour of love on the part of its compiler. Glancing through it, I'm amazed at just how many establishments there are which cater for us - nearly 200 of them spread throughout the length and breadth of the land. And the listings seem to be about as accurate as any listings of this sort can ever be. A useful little book - lesbigay community publishing at its best. mags: Hunk No 24 Prowler Press, ukp4.99 This bi-monthly gets better every issue. 'Big boys with big toys', indeed! There's a most amiable guy on the front cover with a big broad smile and nicely muscled arms - inside you get to see everything else! Yes please! There are 5 spunky models in solo shots and a duo. Get those tissues handy! Prowl No 32 Prowler Press, ukp4.99 A goodly selection of healthy homoeroticism from Prowler. 'Hunks - Cuties - Sexy Stories' - they're all there. From the boy next door look of David Brownstone (showing his all in a sylvan setting) to the rippling muscles of Gyula Pearce (a new discovery from Budapest) via the mucky Adventures of Rick Jackson USN (his first off-duty adventure), this mag upholds the reputation of Prowler as Porn Merchants of Repute. video: Only the Brave Ana Kokkinos, ukp12.99 One of the hits of the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, marking the directorial debut of Ana Kokkinos. An Australian film, it's the powerful and haunting story of the heat and anger of two Australian/Greek teenage girls searching for a way out of the teenage war zones of ragged emotions, sex family, boredom and abandonment. As with most teenage angst films - a tragic ending which has all the highs and lows of emotion that this small budget film can muster. 6/10 Romeo & Julien Sam Abdul This video won awards at the Adult Video Awards 1995 for best director, best actor, best erotic scene and best music. A gay variation on the Romeo and Julliet story, it's billed as the first romantic gay musical...yes porn musical.....It has very low production values but it's a soft porn movie and they sing every so often (rather badly) but it makes a change. The story is: Julien is a busy man who works too hard to find a lover so he goes to a bar and finds Mr Right (Romeo), but the path to true happiness is never easy. A few minor problems, a few painful songs and some very long sex scenes. It could have been very witty but is has turned out awful really. 4/10 EuroBoy 9 Prowler Press, ukp14.99 This is number nine in one of my favourite series of soft porn videos and is subtitled "While his parents are away". It is set in a country house where there's the son, his friend, a handsome chauffeur, a French butler, a dishy black window cleaner and a special bonus of an American beau at a photo shoot. It is really quite fun. Tron is a babe and the others have fun scenes. There is a need for a slight change for the future in the EUROBOY series - maybe some humour - but l cannot imagine everyone watches all of these videos anyway so perhaps they won't pall.. 6/10 Home Made Bad Boys Vol. 4 Prowler Press, ukp14.99 This the fifth in what Prowler Press call their "home made" series. It features eight models in various scenes. The first is in Brighton where Sid the Filthy goes on his skateboard for a good time on the beach. The second has Mark and Marc in a twosome in tight white briefs. The third has Andy working out in the gym. The fourth has Steve in a moment at home. The fifth has Paul in the countryside. The sixth has Tim in his dressing gown. And, finally, there is Renato who really gets down to it. There is no real story or dialogue but who really cares - worth it for a quick one off the wrist. 5/10 I Like You, I Like You Very Much Oki Hiroyuki, DTK, ukp15.99 This is one of a series of Rose Family Films which are Japanese gay erotic films not until recently available in Europe. This is a low key slice of drama which eloquently captures the nuances of daily life as two men Yu and Shin struggle to maintain the integrity and love in their relationship. One day Yu finds himself attracted to Tara who he meets on a train platform and he promptly announces that he loves Yu. This causes problems between Yu and Taka which is the basis for the story. This is an amazing series from which l understand DTK are about to release two further titles later in the year. 7/10 Midnight Dancer Mel Chionglo, ukp16.99 This was recently shown on C4 as part of the Secret Asia season but this is the video release of the full length version. Shot in somewhat of a documentary style, it's the story of three brothers who are embroiled in Manila's shady world of "Macho" dancers and was banned on its release in its native Philippines - it has numerous gay sex scenes. The film attempts to become a thriller and fails but is, nonetheless, very watchable. 6/10 Six Degrees of Separation Fred Schepisi The film adaptation of the stage play which was a major Broadway hit, it stars Donald Sutherland, Stockard Canning, Ian McKellan and Will Smith. It's the story of a young man who cons his way into the homes of rich New York. He pretends to be a friend of kids who are all away at college and their parents take him in and let him entertain them with stories of his father who they believe is Sidney Poitier. They are all impressed with him and give him money and a bed for the night - it's a great comment on how the rich live and their relationships. Will Smith is shockingly good - he has you convinced of the depths of his character even when he picks up a man and is caught in bed by his new rich friends. He goes from rich family to rich family with great ease. Then he has sex with the boyfriend of a couple who take him in - the girlfriend is disgusted and upset. This is a great film which is ideal for those Sunday afternoons. 8/10 Trance Pride Video, ukp14.00 This is really part two of the video DESERTION with sex scenes in beautiful locations in the new democratic South Africa. It has six white actors aged in their mid twenties and one black actor who all get down to some fairly erotic sex scenes in some really beautiful locations. It's difficult to really comment on the 'plot' which is billed as 'a hallucinogenic trip to the far reaching heights of sexual excess and fantasy', but l wonder if it is really worth the cost. 3/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------- SERIAL ====== COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE! The rest of our Easter weekend at Gran's passed without further excitement, unless of course you count some of the most pleasurable bouts of sex imaginable. The threesome with Peter had us both buzzing all weekend and must have acted as a stimulant. Whenever we could grab the moment it was clothes off and at it boy, I seemed to have a permanent hard-on at just the very thought of the way Paul could suck me to the point of explosion and then stop before I could come. By the time he was ready to enter me, my body was screaming to be fucked, and I was never let down. To have your body at such a high pitch then slowly fucked for ages was as much pleasure as a guy could ever want. The last night there was a prime example of this. Paul had been having me and I could tell he was getting ready to come, normally he would wank me off after he had finished and rested a bit, but this time he grabbed hold of my bursting cock and began to go to work on me at the same time and rhythm as he was thrusting in and out of me. His breath quickened and quickened, I could feel the pleasure rising out of my own loins, we both came at the same time. I have never experienced a come like it, I never knew it was possible to come at both ends at the same time. I never wanted the weekend to end, but end it must, and home we had to go. It was good to get home for a rest. Well! Maybe not. On the way home we had talked constantly about us and whether or not we could come out to our parents. "No way" Paul said, "my folks would kill me if they thought their son was a poof". "Paul, I am so in love with you I just want to tell the whole world. I am so happy, I want people to know about you and us". "Do you really think your parents could handle it?", Paul said, looking at me in an odd sort of way. "Well I think my mother would be OK, but I'm not so sure about my dad". "It's a big step for you to take". This I knew. I drew my breath in, looked at lover boy and said, "Yes, I'm going to do it". "When?", Paul quizzed me. "No time like the present." " Do you want me to come in with you?", Paul asked in a very caring manner that belied his lack of years. I smiled and we both headed off to the manse. When we got in, my mother was sitting reading in the kitchen. "Did you two have a nice weekend", she greeted us on our arrival. "Yes it was fine" I replied. "Mother, there is something I want to talk to you about". She lifted her eyes from her paper. "Yes?" "It's about Paul and I." "Yes, yes" she retorted. I drew my breath in, gave Paul a quick glance and blurted it out: "Well, em, do you know why I have never brought any girls round to the house?". Mother looked at me in silence. "Well, it's because I'm gay". Before the words had parted my lips, Paul blurted out, "And I'm his boyfriend", as if to try to share the moment with me. Mother looked at me and smiled, "Yes, I had guessed as much, and Gran confirmed it when she phoned me on the Saturday night. We already had our suspicions. She is not as deaf as you two might think". The two of us were really blushing by now. "Does Dad know as well?", I asked. "Yes of course he does." "Oh God!", I replied. "Leave it to me", said Mother, "When he comes back tomorrow we can all discuss it over lunch". I looked at Paul and he just nodded. That was the first hurdle over and done with. Mother looked at us and said. "You two look as if you want to be on your own". I smiled and started to leave for my own room, when mother smiled at us and said, "If Paul wants to stay over, it's alright with me. Just make sure his parents know where he is. I am going over to Mrs Murphy's, I'll be late back, so I will see you in the morning". We closed the door to my room behind us, and just stared at each other in disbelief. I grabbed hold of Paul and hugged him as hard as I could, "Are you going home or are you staying over?". "This is one fuck I'm not going to pass up on. A crafty old yin, is your granny, eh?". "Oh Paul, I'm so happy I could burst". "Well, maybe this might help", he said as he put my hand on his stiff cock. Soon the clothes were off, Paul turned me on to my belly. "This I what you need, lover boy", he teased as he entered me. I groaned with pure pleasure as his strokes brought my senses to a pitch then some more. Somehow it was different this time, we were not just fucking, we were making love. God, I was so happy! -------------------------------------------------------------------- SCOTSDYKE ========= BARBIE EXPOSED! Barbie's Queer Accessories by Erica Rand has recently been published by Duke University Press. Paperback ukp14.95, Hardback ukp43.50. Monica Smith has been reading it for ScotsDyke. When I was a little girl, it was never dolls that interested me. I wanted to play with my brother's train set! You probably think that led to fights. In fact, it didn't. He played with my dolls and I played with his Hornby (except when The Parents were looking). Now I'm a big girl, I've got a train set of my own - a good sized layout that bores the knickers off my girlfriends and causes some poor men to go green with envy - yes, it really IS bigger than theirs! So, it really should be my brother who is writing this review - except that he's out in Hong Kong chasing yet another Chinese boyfriend and, therefore, isn't currently available. "She's skinny, white, and blond. She's Barbie - an icon of femininity to generations of American girls. She's also multi-ethnic and straight - or so says Mattel. But, as Barbie's Queer Accessories demonstrates, many girls do things with Barbie never seen in any commercial. Erica Rand looks at the corporate marketing strategies used to create barbie's versatile (She's a rapper! She's an astronaut! She's a bride!) but nonetheless premolded and still predominantly white image. Rand weighs the values Mattel seeks to embody in Barbie - evident, for example, in her improbably thin waist and her heterosexual partner - against the naked, dyked out, transgendered, and trashed versions favoured by many juvenile owners and adult collectors of the doll." >From dyke activist Erica Sand's book, it appears that Barbie was a lot more of an icon than Cindy ever was in Britain - although they seem to have been largely contemporary. Barbie's boobs put a lot of mothers off buying the doll for their daughters whilst TV advertising and peer pressure contrived to keep up demand amongst the little horrors for the profitable plastic plaything. Once you get your head around the academic jargon, the book is quite a good read and combines history and personal reminiscences of women who had experiences with Barbie in their girlhood. Unfortunately, although it is mentioned frequently, the book does not reprint the famous photograph from On Our Backs that shows a woman inserting a Barbie (feet first) into her vagina! Mattel, the manufacturers of Barbie are portrayed as baddies: "Mattel doesn't want you to know this, but a business woman later convicted of financial fraud bought the patent to a plastic German sex symbol and turned it into Barbie with the help of a guy whose other credits include designing missiles and, he says, fucking one of his numerous lovers out of drug addiction". They're also portrayed as naive idiots over their introduction of Earring Magic Ken in 1993 - a doll wearing a cock ring! Rand blames the design team: "I imagine a scenario closer to what got all those penises drawn onto The Little Mermaid's magic castle: subversion from within by at least some people who knew exactly what they were doing". It's the subversion of Barbie which especially appeals to me. AIDS Barbie - from the 'zine Diseased Pariah News is a classic of its kind and there should be some kind of medal for the people who swapped the voice chips between a consignment of G.I. Joe and Barbie dolls and then replaced them on the shelves! I never had a Barbie when I was a wee girl so I think that I'll give my brother this book for Christmas - maybe it'll make him realise what he missed! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- CREDITS ======= ScotsGay: a bi-monthly magazine for lesbians, gays and bisexuals edited, printed and published in Scotland. ISSN: 1357-0595. c Pageprint Limited 1995. Non profit use by the lesbigay community of material in the magazine will normally be permitted free of charge _ but contact us first for permission. We haven't had sex with most of the people who appear in the magazine so we don't actually know what their sexuality is. Editor: John Hein. Contributors in this issue: Martin Powell (Performance), Dick Wilson (News), Brandon Judell (Features), Gordon, Graham and John (Scene), Rex Wockner (International), Tony Hiscox-Sloan (Smut), Justin Milne (Mags and Books), Braithwaite (Films and Media), Monica Smith (ScotsDyke). Editorial Enquiries: Write to: ScotsGay, Pageprint Limited, PO Box 666, Edinburgh. EH7 5YW. Telephone: 0131-539 0666. Fax: 0131-558 1262. E-mail: scotsgay@drink.demon.co.uk We welcome news, articles, photos, cartoons, etc. _ especially lesbian and bisexual material. Advertising Enquiries: Telephone: 0131-558 1279. Fax: 0131-558 1262. Subscribing by Internet: Scotsgay is available on the Internet. Send a 'subscribe scotsgay-list' message to listserver@drink.demon.co.uk and the text files of future editions will be delivered to you by e-mail. -- Listserver@drink.demon.co.uk Please note that e-mail sent to listserver@drink.demon.co.uk is dealt with by a computer programme and is not read by humans. If you require a human to deal with any problem, please direct your e-mail to postmaster@drink.demon.co.uk