RETROSPECTIVE: BRIGHTON GAY MEN’S CHORUS
Bare with me a moment, I’m just meddling with the tech to see if I can make an adjustment here. There we go, it may work, it may not.
Now on to the business of trying to do justice to an extraordinary evening of music in St George’s Kemp Town. Regular readers will know that I am a solid supporter of all the Brighton and Hove LGBTQ+ choirs, anyone would be proud of the heights of musical excellence they draw from the community and the BGMC are certainly at the forefront of such excellence, a thing that they proved last night in the first of two concerts celebrating their 20th anniversary.
The name of the event meant that I was able to hear once again some of the outstanding pieces that I have heard over those years, it was a cocktail of delights that clearly showcased their talents, their range, their sense of fun and their ever increasing ambition. It also highlighted their sense of purpose, of solidarity, support, community and love, yes love!
I’m not going to write a comprehensive list here of the evening’s programme but I am going to cherry pick my personal highlights. And that starts with the Miley Cyrus classic Wrecking Ball. I first heard them sing this in St Bartholomew’s and was blown away by Tim Nail’s stunning arrangement, I was equally impressed last night, what a way to start a celebration. Next a fun it of Britney with Toxic before Joe Paxton’s delightful arrangement of Coldplay’s Human Heart. Over the years the choir has garnered a reputation for creating incredible renderings of pop classics and this was amongst the best.
The choir is also very good at plucking from their number some first class soloists. Last night Andy Williams, no not that one, gave us a peek at his enormous marrow! So well performed with excellent vocal skill and hilarious comic characterisation. Graeme Clarke Dempster kept the humour in place with equal skill both musically and comically with Way Ahead Of My Time, very funny indeed.
Tim Nail is an exceptional force in this choir and his superb arrangement of Secret Love never fails to bring a tear to my eye, a lesser musician would never dream of or succeed in mashing together Ave Maria with a love song from Calamity Jane!
Sadao Ueda always impresses as a soloist and for the second time last night I was reduced to tears by his heartfelt delivery of No Matter What. Sadao shows that with a song like this singing in tune and in time is simply not enough, you have to believe in every word – and he clearly does.
Somewhere in the mix we got a bit of Pet Shop Boys, Whitney, Leona Lewis, all great, and the the first of two Kate Bush numbers. Now the pop perfection of a Bush song belies the complexities of her writing and Running Up That Hill is no easy choice. Ben Fowler took to the front of the platform and delivered an astonishing version, his clear voice enhanced by a slight but effective echo and the simplest of piano accompaniments. Breathtakingly beautiful!
And to take us into the break a BGMC favourite, I Am What I Am, a song that clearly means a lot to them and to so many of us. And I would like to say at this point that this is a song written for a man that should always retain its intention and be sung by a man. That’s not misogyny, it is a statement made with love but with respect to the original place in a story.
BGMC usually pepper their shows with comic skits, sometimes very funny and at others… well I confess that I have not always liked them. For these two celebratory concerts they have made short films, interviews with chorus members about where, what and why they sing. It’s moving stuff, happy moments and sad, comedy and grief, a tale of a wicker coffin had the audience in fits of laughter that perhaps reminded us that in death we need to celebrate life.
Part two sees the choir return to the platform in coloured braces that relate the transgender flag, a fitting statement of support at this time where our world is filled with hate, even from certain factions of our own LGBTQ+ community! You know who you are, grow up, get real and show some humanity! Politics over, you may not agree with me, you are entitled to your opinion but deliver it with reason and not with hatred.
Back to the music and part two is launched with the bizarre, The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte, Sparks, certainly challenging the choir’s timing in Mr Nail’s, once again, excellent arrangement.
Rod Edmunds always impresses and this time Sondheim’s No One Is Alone, a deceptively complex sing, displayed his talents.
Madness by Muse followed and again showed the choir’s ambition and talent for delivering pop in a choral form, Joe Paxton’s arrangement is stunning and I will wager that when Brighton is host in a few years time for the international LGBTQ+ choral festival Various Voices, that visiting choirs from around the world will be asking for both his and Mr Nail’s scores.
At this point I would also like to say that the addition of Josh Mills to the music team has added a new level of musicality to the whole, his keyboard skills enhancing the overall sound for sure.
Andrew Farr is a regular soloist, and a champion of Piaf, his passion and the heart of his own excellent show celebrating her life and work. This time Voilà, a powerful and emotional ballad that saw Mr Farr at his very best.
Rythm Of Life illustrated a highlight from the choir’s history before the final solo of the evening and one that has never failed to amaze and amuse audiences, including over three thousand views on YouTube. Nick Ford’s vocal talents, range and tone… well in every sense this and he is a showstopper, standing ovation stuff and rightly so for Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights.
We moved on to Life On Mars, It’s Raining Men and then a comedy quartet from The Book Of Mormon, Turn It Off. How we laughed at their comic antics and tightly delivered harmonies and choreography. The BGMC nearly always deliver a number like this and it was perfectly placed before a Neil Hannon number, Our Mutual Friend, again not easy pop, Hannon’s work is lyrically complex, but again delivered with style.
An encore, strangely listed in the programme, of Vogue rounded off an evening of music, memories and merriment.
BGMC can belt out a pop anthem with force but can equally deliver something with a delicacy and charm. Last night proved them to be, at 20 years old, at the top of their game. Where do they go next? Who knows, but no doubt that their ambition shows no bounds.
Now did I get that techy stuff right, I hope so, but if I failed please, when seeing the five stars below, my intention was to award ten!
Andrew Kay
2 May
St George’s Kemp Town
Rating:
(DAMN, IT DID NOT WORK, 10 STARS, TEN I TELL YOU!!!)
