Celebcity with Jo Brooks: Fashion designer returns to FAIR, Christopher Biggins in new show and Fatboy Slim to play Pride

fair wears

The FAIR shop on Queens Road, Brighton, is an important landmark in the history of not only Brighton but UK fashion. In the 1970s, the iconic label, Biba, had a shop on the site at 21 Queen’s Road and last week FAIR had a blast from the past when Barbara Hulanicki, the creator of the Biba label, paid a visit to be filmed reminiscing about her days at the Biba shop. This coincides with a huge new exhibition opening at Brighton Museum in September all about Biba. Fashion heaven!

Memory walk
John Altman, best known for his role as EastEnders villain ‘nasty’ Nick, put on his walking shoes on Friday 13 July to launch Alzheimer’s Society’s Brighton Memory Walk. John, who plans to attend the walk that begins at Hove Lagoon and takes place on Saturday 22 September, was joined by local resident Ann Reid. Ann has taken part in Memory Walks in the past, both for her husband who passed away with dementia and her mother who currently has the condition.

“The Society is a cause close to my heart. My father developed dementia towards the end of his life and a close friend recently died from Dementia with Lewy Bodies [DLB], so I know the impact it has on families which is why I’m supporting memory walk,” said John.

Girls and boys
The much loved Christopher Biggins joined the cast of The Boys/Girls In The Band at Theatre Royal Brighton on 16 July to mark the launch of the show (well, two extraordinary shows in one), which runs at the theatre from 22–31 August. The Boys In The Band which will be directed by Christopher Biggins, is the groundbreaking gay play that shocked and thrilled audiences in the late 1960s. The film that followed became a classic. The Girls In The Band is an outrageous late night cabaret featuring the same cast. Spectacular costumes, hysterical routines and outrageous comedy, introduced by the legendary Maisie Trollette. www.atgtickets.com/brighton

fatboy pride
Time is ticking for Pride Brighton and Hove and now we’re even more excited at the news that the one and only Fatboy Slim has announced a DJ slot at the Preston Park event. Along to join him are our fantastic Freemasons and The X Factor’s Alexandra Burke, who is keen to return after the success off her fantastic set at last year’s Pride. Fatboy and Freemasons will be responsible for rocking the Wild Fruit Dance big top, doing what they do best – makin’ you sweat! For tickets visit www.pridebrighton.org

Spotted
Chris Moyles bustling about with the Olympic torch. The radio presenter, who recently announced he will be quitting the Radio 1 Breakfast Show, declared his love for the sound of seagulls and tweeted that Brighton “was fun”. Considering the state of the weather we guess this was best we could hope for.

Brighton band on titchmarsh
Brighton based band The Special Ks made their ITV debut last week performing on none other than Alan Titchmarsh’s show. The tear-jerking ‘Love Your Garden’ programme ended with a Special Ks performance in front of friends and family. The band is set to play at Shakedown Festival on Saturday 6 October.