NPH Hosts Disney Xmas Parade Special

Neil Patrick Harris opened today's 30th Annual Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade with a giant song-and-dance number down the main street of the Magic Kingdom.

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Posted in: Disney,gay artists,Neil Patrick Harris,Xmas

Mary Lambert - Auld Lang Syne

Openly gay singer Mary Lambert, who guested on Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis' monster hit Same Love, is back with a truly lovely live take on the classic. I met Lambert at a GLAAD event a few months ago and she could not have been more charming.

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Posted in: gay artists,Mary Lambert,pop music

Morrissey At The Nobel Concert

Morrissey performed three numbers at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo on Thursday night. Stereogum ponders:

His voice sounded strong, and he looked as engaged as he ever looked. But he still offered a few questions to puzzle out. For instance: Why was he wearing what appeared to be enormous wide-legged sweatpants? And why were all the members of his backing band rocking matching Hustler T-shirts? Finally, why would an event like this, which seems to operate entirely on sincerity, book a hall-of-fame arch ironist like Moz in the first place?

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Posted in: concerts,gay artists,Morrissey,Nobel

Erasure - Gaudete (Dave Aude Remix)

The single and seven remixes are on iTunes today.

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Posted in: dance music,Erasure,gay artists,Xmas

Ian McKellen: The British Government Warned Me Against Traveling To Russia

Actor Ian McKellen yesterday said that the British government has warned him that he would not be safe in Russia.

In an interview with the Radio Times magazine, the openly gay actor, 74, said he was told by Britain's Foreign Office that it could not "protect him" from the laws. In July a nationwide law banning distribution of "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations" among minors was passed in Russia. “Imagine trying to be a gay actor, a gay anything in modern Russia?," Sir Ian told the Radio Times. “Where to be positively oneself, to be affectionate in public with someone you love of the same gender, or to talk of that love in the hearing of anyone under 18, will put you in prison? "That’s why I can’t go to Russia."

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Posted in: gay artists,Ian McKellen,LGBT rights,Russia

Ben Whishaw To Play Freddie Mercury

Openly gay British actor Ben Whishaw has been cast to play Freddie Mercury in a biopic to be directed by Dexter Fletcher.

Mercury died in 1991 of complication from AIDS, but it is said his last days will not be the subject of the film. Sacha Baron Cohen was due to play the Queen frontman but left the production in July over “creative differences” with the band. The Borat star reportedly wanted to make a gritty “tell-all” about the gay singer, while the band wanted a more family-friendly film. Whishaw, who starred in BBC TV series The Hour, is due to reprise his role as Q in Bond 24 in 2015. He will also star as Herman Melville in The Heart of the Sea, a Warner Bros film about the whale attack that spawned Moby Dick.

The film will reportedly end with Queen's legendary Live Aid performance in 1985.

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Posted in: Ben Whishaw,Britain,Freddie Mercury,gay artists,HIV/AIDS,movies,pop music,Queen

RUSSIA: Elton John Denounces Anti-Gay Laws From Stage Of Moscow Concert, Dedicates Show To Slain Gay Man

"You took me to your hearts all these years ago and you've always welcomed me with warmth and open arms any time I've visited. You have always embraced me and you have never judged me. So I am deeply saddened and shocked over the current legislation that is now in place against the LGBT community here in Russia. In my opinion, it is inhumane and it is isolating. People have demanded that because of this legislation, I must not come here to Russia. But many, many more people asked me to come and I listened to them. I love coming here.

"I want to show them and the world that I care and that I don't believe in isolating people. Music is a very powerful thing. It brings people together irrespective of their age, their race, their sexuality, or their religion. It does not discriminate. Look around you tonight. You see men, women, young and old, gay and straight. Thousands of Russian people enjoying the music. We're all here together in harmony and harmony is what makes a happy family and a strong society.

"The spirit we share tonight is what builds a future of equality, love and compassion for my children and for your children. Please don't leave it behind when you leave tonight. Each and every one of you please, keep this spirit in your life and in your heart. I wish you love and peace and health and happiness. And this show is dedicated to the memory of Vladislav Tornovoi. - Elton John, reading from the stage tonight at his concert in Moscow.

NOTE: Vladislav Tornovoi was the 23 year-old gay man murdered earlier this year in Volgograd after coming out to drinking companions, who mutilated his genitals with a beer bottle and then set his body on fire.

NOTE II: I transcribed the above from a non-embeddable video posted to Facebook today. I'll post video here as soon as it becomes available.

NOTE III: It should go without saying Elton has certainly put himself at risk, although Russian authorities would likely be very hesitant to move on a star of his caliber. I wasn't crazy about the idea of him going to Russia at all, but I think he handled tonight admirably.

UPDATE: The clip has appeared on YouTube.

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Posted in: concerts,Elton John,gay artists,LGBT rights,Moscow,Russia