reFRESHlite - Male News from around the world

Scene Superstar Lady Lloyd returns to Leeds to front the revamp of Homo @ Mission

Scene superstar Lady Lloyd is returning to Leeds to front the revamp of Homo at Mission, the city’s most popular gay event. She will be joining resident Drag DJ, Carla Jackson, on the decks with a regular slot each month, making her debut at the club on Monday 6th July.

Since launching a few years ago, Homo has become a firm favourite amongst Leeds’ coolest club kids and one of the busiest and biggest gay events on the city’s scene. On the first Monday of each month, Lady Lloyd will take over, with Homo Supercharged, a one-off extra special night.

Lady Lloyd became a London icon by ditching drag’s tacky image and turning it into a fashion statement, revolutionising it by replacing sequined outfits with chic designer dresses. She’s already a huge name on the capital’s queer clubbing circuit, where she can be found working at cult gay nights like TrannyShack. She fronted Vivienne Westwood’s last collection, being labelled as the model of the moment by the Dame of high British fashion herself.

Homo takes place every Monday at Mission night club, 8-13 Heatons Court. £3 on the door before midnight, £4 thereafter and only £2 with an NUS card. For more information go to www.clubmission.com

Madonna Stripped Bare in a new Exhibition

To celebrate the arrival of Madonna’s Sticky and Sweet tour to the Capital, Seven Dials, Covent Garden’s hidden village, is set to play host to the London premiere of 'The Madonna Nudes - 30th Anniversary' exhibition, a collection of intimate photographs of Madonna, taken when she was just 20.
 
Available to buy from £3400 and guaranteed to become serious collectors’ items, this series of black and white photographs capture Madonna’s exceptional beauty as a young woman with a toned body, perfect breasts and great skin. 
 
The exhibition will be co-hosted by Seven Dials and Impure Art (the UK’s only erotic art gallery) who are exclusively handling the sale of the Madonna Nudes 30th Anniversary collection. See www.impureart.com for details.
 
The Madonna Nudes will showcase at 19 Earlham Street, Seven Dials, WC2 from July 2-19. The gallery will be open seven days - Monday to Saturday, 12-7pm, and Sunday 12-6pm. For more information please visit www.sevendials.co.uk

Clifford Chance Art Exhibition marks Gay Pride and Stonewall Riots Anniversary

Clifford Chance is celebrating Gay Pride with a joint art exhibition of gay and lesbian artists in its London and New York offices. Organised by Arcus, the firm's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employee network, the exhibition also marks the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York. The London exhibition will showcase the works of seven gay and lesbian artists: Kerry Andrews, Annie Attridge, Roberto Ekholm, Rotimi Fani-Kayode, Lucia King, Alana Lake with Fayann Smith, and Stuart Mayes, and will be held at Clifford Chance's offices in Canary Wharf.

Clifford Chance senior partner Stuart Popham says: "We are delighted to be helping to celebrate this pivotal moment in the history of the gay rights movement. Hosting our Annual Pride Art Exhibition is just one element of Clifford Chance's commitment to enhancing diversity and fostering a supportive work environment."

The exhibition will run from June 15 – July 26 at Clifford Chance, 10 Upper Bank Street, Canary Wharf, London E14 5JJ. Exhibition open by appointment on Fridays, 12-6pm. Phone +44 (0)20 7006 5384.

Rotimi Fani-Kayode image 'Unititled 1', 1988, courtesy of Autograph ABP.

Absolut Colours

ABSOLUT VODKA and BLU To Help Fund Eastern European Participation in Gay Games® VIII Cologne 2010

ABSOLUT VODKA and the German BLU publishing group have both announced partnerships with Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010 to help bring Eastern European participants to next year's Gay Games in Cologne. ABSOLUT and BLU are making a contribution to the Gay Games 2010 Scholarship programme that will help provide funds to lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender athletes and artists from Eastern Europe who would otherwise be unable to afford to attend the sports & cultural festival.

"Gays and lesbians from Eastern Europe are often targeted by homophobic hate groups," said Annette Wachter, CEO of the Cologne Gay Games. "We hope that by bringing Eastern European participants to the Gay Games, we can help strengthen self-esteem and inspire them so that they can achieve progress in their own countries."

"With this money we will help finance the participation fees, travel and accommodations for many athletes," said Wachter. "Without this donation, participants would have had no chance to come to the Cologne Gay Games."

The Gay Games Sports & Cultural Festival was founded in 1982 and takes place every four years. Everyone is welcome regardless of sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, political beliefs, athletic/artistic ability, physical challenge, age, or health status. The motto of the Gay Games is "Participation, Inclusion and Personal Best."™

Gay Games VIII Cologne 2010 will take place 31 July to 7 August 2010. With 34 sports and five cultural events, the Cologne Gay Games are expected to draw 12,000 participants, more than the Olympic Games. For more information, including how to register, visit www.games-cologne.com (English) or www.games-cologne.de (German).

Diving Shot: Courtesy of Bob Olayas

 

 

reFRESH Theatre Club: June Special Offers

CHICAGO is a show that's hotting up over summer with some high profile casting. Throughout June you can see the charismatic showman and TV host Jerry Springer playing suave and slimy Billy Flynn, and from 13 July multi award-winning Destiny's Child singer Michelle Williams will be wowing audiences at the Cambridge Theatre as Roxie Hart. Theatre Club followers can save up to £21 on tickets.

 

All good things come to an end and after a mammoth run at the London Hippodrome LA CLIQUE is closing on 27 June. Don't miss out on this truly unbelievable mix of spectacle, circus, burlesque and comedy, and save 20% on tickets.

 

The West End continues to enjoy a resurgence in high quality drama. Ronald Harwood's two plays COLLABORATION and TAKING SIDES (save £26 on tickets) at the Duchess Theatre won glowing reviews last week, with the Telegraph finding both plays "gripping, highly entertaining theatre".  Also DUET FOR ONE at the Vaudeville Theatre (save £16) has been praised by both audiences and critics alike and features two of the UK's finest actors ("a perfect balance between the superb performances of Juliet Stevenson and Henry Goodman" - The Guardian).

 

To book these and many other shows - including great savings on Hairspray, Dirty Dancing, Priscilla, A Little Night Music, We Will Rock You, The 39 Steps, Grease, La Cage Aux Folles, Billy Elliot and The Phantom of the Opera - visit the reFRESH Theatre Club at www.westendtheatre.com/refresh

 

Voila, c'est Gui...

We've long been fans of the lovely performer, acrobat and model Guilherme Wandresen, so an overcast London morning was brightened considerably by this latest shot of him by French photographer Pascal. Gui just keeps on getting better and better....I am sure he'll be gracing one of our covers in the not too distant future.

The Circus Comes to Shoreditch

London’s Shoreditch is a prime destination thanks to its plethora of fashion outlets, bars, restaurants and art galleries. And since opening its doors, The Last Days of Decadence has become synonymous with the coolest of Shoreditch’s party scene. The club showcases live music and performances and top quality DJs in 1920s-style surroundings. We attended Jodie Harsh’s raucous ‘Circus’, which is on every Friday night where the likes of Ladyhawke, Skin and Peaches spin the decks.

We were as impressed by the décor as we were by the good-looking patronage. There were some supremely stylish folk dancing the night away at Last Days. Not to mention the ultra-glamorous Jodie Harsh. As for the drinks, the cocktail list is in tune with the 1920s theme and has old-time classics like the Singapore Sling, Blue Lagoon and Mai Tai. The club is nicely opulent and spread over two floors with leather booths, velvet ropes and even a birdcage for dancing in, all reminiscent of the golden twenties. Don’t miss the bathrooms, which is where most of the party seemed to be happening!

145 Shoreditch High Street.

www.thelastdaysofdecadence.com

Memories of Eurovision....Germany and Greece

We all know the winner, but there was some other great performances on Saturday night's Eurovision 2009. Sakis Rouvas from Greece (pictured above) looked very hot in white and managed to shake the crowd up with his performance of This Is Our Night.

The other performance that was unfairly overlooked was Germany's Alex Swings Oscar Sings and their performance of Miss Kiss Bang Bang (which featured an appearance by Dita von Teese). A great song, and Oscar didn't look too bad with his shirt open either!

New Beauty & Grooming Editor appointed on reFRESH Magazine

reFRESH Magazine is pleased to announce the appointment of REMY LE FEVRE (pictured) as freelance Grooming & Beauty Editor to the title with immediate effect.

A Bit about Remy
 
A bout with severe acne when younger prompted Remy to find out all he could about how to overcome skin problems. Motivated by a desire to pass what he learnt he found himself working in the beauty and cosmetic industry for four years and working across brands such as Givenchy, Stella McCartney, Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen.  Now smooth and shiny, he is bursting with energy to pass on his hints and tips on all things beauty and grooming to you and seems an entirely appropriate choice for the role of grooming/beauty editor. Flick through his section and feel brand spanking new (and refreshed!)...

This conjuncts with a number of new appointments made recently by Editor-in-Chief David Tickner as part of his plan to refresh the magazine ahead of a planned redesign. Remy's first grooming section will appear in the next issue out at the end of June.

You can contact Remy at refreshgrooming@googlemail.com