Our featured honoree of the day from the "School Days"–themed 2009 Out 100 -- this year's look at the 100 gay, lesbian, and trans people who made an impact in both gay and mainstream culture -- is Kelly McGillis.
McGillis’s coming out last April created an outsize media storm. The 52-year-old star of Top Gun and The Accusedrevealed she was a lesbian to SheWired.com, unleashing a torrent of support from around the globe. McGillis, who also starred on The L Word as a closeted army colonel trying a “don’t ask, don’t tell” case, emphatically said she is “done with the man thing.” A sexual icon for millions of straight boys who grew up in the 1980s, McGillis became another iconic example of the significance of sexual honesty later in life. This winter she will star in a U.K. tour of Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.
During the coming days we'll continue to roll out more honorees from the 2009 Out 100 -- shot by renowned photographer Jason Bell -- until the full portfolio is revealed in stores and online in mid-November. Keep checking back for a new honorees and in the meantime check out the 2008 Out 100 here.
After playing two small acoustic sets and a taping a performance at Letterman, Florence had her first proper official gig at New York City's classic Bowery Ballroom (we adore the venue's wood floors!). Florence acoustic is nothing compared to Florence when she has The Machine with her and the freedom to play a full set.
Despite this being her first official New York appearance, the devotion of her fans is already so great that not even puking into their own coats before the set would induce them to leave the front. That's a fact. Blake Lively and Penn Badgley of Gossip Girl were even spotted at the show. Once Florence appeared in a floor-length see-through gown and began serenading us with "Between Two Lungs" accompanied by a harp -- and how often have you seen a harp at a rock club? Never, we bet, which is what makes it so f-in' rock n' roll -- you could see the reason behind the crowd's fervor. Whipping her long red hair around her and putting her all into each song, Florence had the pipes and the onstage persona to keep us positively riveted.
Bending almost double with the force of emotion, Florence raced through singles "Dog Days Are Over" and "Drumming Song," posing dramatically behind her mic stand, which was decorated with plastic flowers. Conspicuously missing was the lesbian-themed "Girl With One Eye," but Florence made up for it with the uplifting "You've Got The Love." There was a lot of love to go around and once the encore wrapped with "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)," Florence was bowing and throwing air kisses at the cheering crowd. She promised to return, and after a performance like this one, it would be downright criminal if she didn't.
If the name Billie Myers sounds familiar, it's probably because 10 years ago you couldn't turn on a top 40 radio station without hearing her hit song "Kiss The Rain." Since then the British singer, who considers herself queer and has played numerous gay pride events, has continued to make music and recently released her latest album Tea & Sympathy.
Not long ago Myers was kind enough to invite us into her rehearsal space to record her performing two songs, aforementioned "Kiss The Rain" and her new single, "I Hope You're Happy Now." To see an interview with Myers recorded on the same day, head here.
It's no secret that we love -- no, worship -- Róisín Murphy. The electro-pop songstress with a voice that could make us do the best kind of very bad things and a penchant for the performative (not to mention sex with lobsters) has just released her single, "Orally Fixated," her first new offering since spending two and a half years promoting her last killer album, Overpowered.
The (very pregnant) former lead singer of Moloko is taking a more viral approach to delivering her new music -- "Orally Fixated" is one of three singles slated for release in the coming months -- through video blogs (like the above clip), remix competitions (Ro confesses she's recently become a "vaguely good" DJ), and other surprises. "My fans are so loyal and I am really excited to have them more involved in my creations," says Murphy. The early part of 2010 will be spent adjusting to motherhood, but Róisín promises a slew of new music including a move towards mixing a bit of key note British urban beats and MC's with her infamous pop sensibilities.
You can hear "Orally Fixated" on Róisín's MySpace and Facebook pages and in the coming days a 48 hour global free download of the single will be launched by The Guardian.
To read our profile on Róisín Murphy -- and see the stunning photos -- from Out's 2008 October music issue, click here.
Advance copies of Peter Biskind's new biography of Warren Beatty, Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America, have started circulating and in an effort to be the best homos we can be, we turned directly to the sections featuring the actor's former paramour, Madonna, and transcribed a few of our favorites for your reading pleasure:
Beatty was never long without female companionship, and Madonna was waiting in the wings. She was 30, while Beatty was 51. According to Sandra Bernhard, "Madonna and I were in the back of a limo driving to some concert in L.A., and she said, 'Sandy, did you fuck Warren Beatty?' I said, 'No.' And then a month later she started dating him. I always thought, What if I had said yes, I'd fucked him, would that have meant she wouldn't have wanted him? The deal would have been off? I guess she was just testing the waters.'
Beatty began seeing Madonna in January 1990, shortly after Sean Penn famously tied her to a chair, which didn't prevent the younger man from phoning her to point out that Beatty was 'old enough to be your damn father.' According to a friend of his, Penn 'would follow her at night and, always, they would end up at Warren's... He'd sit in Warren's gate, waiting for her to leave. Often, she wouldn't do so until the sun rose.'
As Madonna reportedly recounted to a friend, Beatty called her from the car, said, 'I'm half a mile from your house. Take off your panties.' A few minutes later, he called again: 'I'm four blocks from your house. Take off your bra.' And again, when he pulled up outside her Malibu home: 'Now I wanted you to go downstairs and unlock the door. Then I want you to lie on your bed and wait for me to come to you and make love to you like you've never been made love to before.' Apparently that wasn't good enough, because she said she didn't have an orgasm. She complained the sex was better with Penn, and wondered why she was with Beatty. But high maintenance at the best of times, she was in particular need of an island of calm. The actor supplied it. Moreover, her interest in him was piqued by rumors from the Inge-Williams days that he was bisexual.
At that time, Madonna was racking up column inches by teasing the envelope of gender ambiguity with her friendship with Bernhard, who was a lesbian and proud of it. During a dinner with Beatty at the Sushi Cove (sushi was his food of choice), Madonna was offered a selection of vanilla or chocolate ice cream for dessert. She chose both, which got him thinking. He asked her, 'You seem to like to try everything. Have you ever made it with a woman?' 'Have you ever done it with a man?' [she responded]. 'Do you want a woman?' he replied, ignoring her. 'Because if you do, it will be my present to you. I'll get you a woman...if I can watch.' 'All this, just from ordering two kinds of ice cream?' [she said].
Star: How Warren Beatty Seduced America will be in stores on January 5.
Having canceled several US tour dates because of lung trouble, La Roux's Elly Jackson kept her appointment with New York City's Highline Ballroom early this week. Looking androgynous in a slim-cut, shiny, striped suit, and with her red hair defying gravity, Ms. Jackson strode out on stage to tremendous cheers from the sold out crowd and kicked off the show with "Tigerlily" from the UK duo's (Elly's partner in crime is synth player, co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid) self-titled debut album.
Due to the aforementioned health problems, Elly apologized profusely for the short set, which clocked in at around half an hour, but they did not leave out a single hit. The break-out track "In For The Kill" drew the loudest screams of approval. "Colourless Colour" allowed Elly to amp up the energy, teasing the excitable mass in front of her by stepping in close and basking in the palpable adoration. And when she thrust her microphone out during set-closer "Bulletproof," she summoned an instant sing along with the crowd chiming in for the chorus.
The show sounded slick and polished, with two keyboards, a computer and even an electronic drumset creating a steady wall of sound. Elly was cheerful as she paused between songs to catch her breath, happy with the band's reception. There was not much banter and that was probably for the best as the songs certainly spoke for themselves.
"[Beyoncé] called me and she said, 'What do you want to do?' And I'm like, 'I don't want to show up in some frickin'
hair bow and be fashion Gaga in your video'. I said, 'I want to do
you.' The whole time I was learning the
choreography they were calling me Gee-yoncé."
-- Lady Gaga speaking with the Z100 morning show about her upcoming appearance in Beyoncé's "Video Phone" video. Today marks the one-year anniversary of the release of Gaga's debut album, The Fame, which has sold over 4 million copies and spawned four top 10 singles.
To see our slideshow from Out's September issue featuring Lady Gaga on its cover, click here. To read the cover story, click here.
It's as if the love child of David Bowie and Samantha Fox joined an outer space Ice Capades league and -- more importantly in light of his recent questionable Details shoot -- it's gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay gay:
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