(Review by Jess Kemp)
‘VARIOUS ARTISTS’ – ‘FABULOSO AT PRIDE’, PRESTON PARK, BRIGHTON 3.8.24 (DAY ONE)
Our venue for the whole of last weekend was Preston Park, Brighton. Situated to the north of Brighton it is the largest urban park in the city. ‘Brighton Pride’ took place over the 3rd and 4th of August in venues across the city, with the largest event culminating in the weekend-long charity fundraising event, in the park ‘Fabuloso’.
As usual the weekend started with a Pride parade beginning at Hove Lawns, which led revellers to the park. Traditionally the march represents and honours the LGBTQIA+ community as a whole, and consists of the organisations, groups and charities that support them. It also features many allied partners of the community. Since 1973 part of the parade has always been a protest for LGBTQIA+ rights, not only in Brighton, but the whole world. This year there was a focus on Trans rights, the erosion of rights of the entire community worldwide and those currently affected by conflict. The whole event usually has a theme taken up on the parade floats and many revellers accompanying them. This year the theme was ‘JOY!’, which has also been followed by every LGBTQIA+ event around the country.
In years past several of the tents in the park featured local acts from the cabaret and music scene as well as UK and International acts. Though they are still inclusions of some local acts, by enlarge they have made way for international performers and those from outside of Brighton, despite the plethora of local talent.
On Saturday there were three DJ Stages, and five stages featuring performers including the main stage. The four other stage with live music acts and performers included, ‘Legends Presents: Miss Jason Cabaret Tent’ playing host to drag acts, in memory of much-missed local legend ‘Miss Jason’, the ‘Rhys’ Pieces Takeover stage’ with performance from London based acts, the ‘Sheila McWattie Woman’s Performance Stage’, renamed in dedication to the journalist campaigner and organiser of the Women’s performance tent who passed in 2015, and ‘Sober Bright’Huns’ all situated to the north of the main stage and the ‘Queer Town Stage’ hidden away to the rear of the main stage. All of these stages would have benefitted from better signage and information about the acts themselves shared on the website rather than just photos.
The somewhat overpowering corporate presence both in the parade and at the park and the distance from other events across town has given ‘Fabuloso’ a more a generic ‘Pride’ event with far less of the ‘Brighton’ quirk which set it apart and has made it so popular over the years. The distance from town and lack of transport on the day also means visitors have to make a decision either to attend the events in Brighton central and Kemp Town or make the trip to the park.
This is not to detract from the performances on offer over the weekend all of which were worthy of inclusion and celebration.
SATURDAY 3rd AUGUST
BETH McCARTHY (Fabuloso Main Stage 2:25pm)
It’s no mean task to open an event as large as Brighton Pride has become. Over the years the performance space in front of the main stage has grown and grown, which can seem like a gulf when empty as it was on both days until roughly 4pm.
Yorkshire native McCarthy took this all in her stride as she owned the main stage with aplomb. This wouldn’t have come as a surprise to her fans. Her appearance on season three of ‘The Voice’, (where she was mentored by the Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson) saw her perform in front of an audience of 10 million viewers. She has completed two tours of the UK and performed at festivals including ‘Latitude’ and the ‘Green Man’ as well as playing support to Shed Seven, The Orchestra (E.L.O) and Nizlopi, small wonder she took Pride’s main stage in her stride.
Her set featured tracks from her 2024 EP ‘IDK How To Talk To Girls’ and previously released singles. I spotted an audience member sporting their custom-made t-shirt sporting the title track from the EP ‘IDK How To Talk To Girls’ in the audience before the set. It’s a great upbeat track dedicated to the difficulty of approaching an object of affection.
McCarthy dedicated her current single, and last track of her set ‘Good Bi’ to the Bisexual members of the audience, stating that she included herself in their number. Statistically making up sixty per cent of the LGBTQIA+ community seldom receive a shout-out to quote the lyrics, “…how could anyone hate a good Bi?”. If upbeat positive ’90s style indie pop with an LGBTQIA+ angle is your bag, then McCarthy is likely to appeal. Expect to see her become a regular on the festival circuit from here on in.
TIA KOFI (Fabuloso Main Stage 3:25pm)
A finalist in the second season of the UK version of LGBTQIA+ icon ‘Ru Paul’s Drag Race’ and winner of the second season of the spin-off series ‘Drag Race UK vs The World’. Unfortunately, where McCarthy’s bubbly charm has won the audience over Tia fell somewhat flat. Tia’s schtick of being somewhat deadpan was perhaps a poor choice to get the main stage going and a misstep in the lineup order. As is not the first time that Tia has performed at Brighton Pride it’s a shame the organisers didn’t find a more appropriate time slot for their talents. The set consisted mainly of tracks from Tai Kofi’s published catalogue and a cover of Britney’s ‘Toxic’. Dazzling as her presentation and routine was, sadly it was not the highlight it could have been on a more appropriate stage or time of day.
HOUSE GOSPEL CHOIR (Fabuloso Main Stage 4:25pm)
The House Gospel Choir have made several appearances at Brighton Pride now. The groups feature talented vocalists belting out the finest of LGBTQIA+ anthems. Based in London the group made their debut in 2014 at ‘Glastonbury Festival’. The choir combine House and Gospel (the clue is in the name), a perfect mix for a Pride Main Stage. The choir never disappoint, effortlessly elevating the mood of the audience and building them up for the main draws of the day. Including classic dance floor hits such as ‘Clivilles and Cole’s’ ‘Pride (A Deeper Love)’ and Livin’ Joy’s ‘Dreamer’ in their set, the choir also included their original material. They debuted their new single ‘Love Is The Message’ and tracks from the 2024 album of the same name due for release on the 9th of August and are currently available for pre-order. Resplendent in exuberant pink outfits the choir’s voices radiated ‘JOY!’ across the site drawing the crowd to the main stage and beyond.
SOPHIE ELLIS-BEXTOR (Fabuloso Main Stage 5:40pm)
From the second her platform heels hit the stage Ellis-Bextor got the party started and didn’t stop until she took her final bow. Rising to fame in the ’90s Ellis-Bextor has enjoyed something of a resurgence thanks to her stint entertaining the nation in her ‘Kitchen Disco’ during lockdown and again as her perhaps best-known hit ‘Murder On The Dance Floor’, enjoyed a recent resurgence thanks to appearing on the soundtrack to the hit film ‘Saltburn’ as the backing track for the actor ‘Barry Keoghan’ conspicuously nude dance scene. As such she has a place firmly in the heart of not only the British public but also the LGBTQIA+ community and is a dance floor favourite.
I was surprised by how many of her tracks I soaked in without realising it during the height of her original fame. Her set reminded me not only how many of her songs I knew, but how good they were. From the kickoff it was song after song that got the crowd dancing. Opening with the Alcazar cover, ‘Crying At The Discoteque’ she followed it up with her cover of Cher’s ‘Take Me Home’ and then ‘Music Gets The Best Of Me’. Midway through she launched into a medley that included: ‘Lady (Hear Me Tonight)’ by ‘Modjo’ / ‘Groove Jet’,‘ If This Ain’t Love’ / ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling’, ending on ABBA classic ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)’. A delight throughout, interacting with the audience and dancing to every track Ellis-Bextor brought the ‘JOY!’ and the sunshine with her as she closed her flawless set with ‘Murder On The Dance Floor’ much to the crowd’s obvious delight.
BILLY PORTER (Fabuloso Main Stage 7:10pm)
Actor, singer, writer, and director stage and screen star and LGBTQIA+ Icon Billy Porter brought N.Y.C dance hall and Broadway magic to the main stage. Porter is perhaps best known in the UK for his lead part in the smash hit series ‘Pose’, chronicling the dance hall scene in NYC during the late ’70s and ’80s, or to a lesser extent his show-stopping Met Gala appearances. He has also been voted one of Time magazine’s top 100 most influential people in the world. To others, he is the star of the Broadway run of the U.K. breakout musical hit ‘Kinky Boots’, from which several of the set’s songs came.
Also making an appearance in the set was a cover of ‘Elton John’s’ ‘The Bitch is Back’. Later in the set came a cover of a track from his 2002 romantic comedy ‘Anything’s Possible’, which saw him also make his directorial debut. Effortlessly moving between Broadway hits and dance floor bangers, Porter also offered songs from the 2023 album ‘Black Mona Lisa’, including the title track. Known for sartorial elegance Porter’s stage outfits dazzled as much as his dancers. If you missed this seldom-seen show-stopping set of elegance, class and professionalism, don’t worry as you can catch Billy Porter in Brighton again at the Brighton Dome on the 28th of October 2024, tickets can be booked HERE. You won’t regret it!
GIRLS ALOUD (Fabuloso Main Stage 8:40pm)
The main draw of the day was the reformation of ‘Popstars: The Rivals in 2002’, favourites Girls Aloud. Though currently on tour the girls had put a special set together for Brighton Pride.
We, like the rest of the crowd, were looking forward to seeing the girls, albeit minus Sarah Harding who sadly passed away in 2021 at just 39 years of age after succumbing to complications from Breast Cancer.
However, when we arrived on site our official photographer had been informed along with the other press photographers that we would not be allowed to shoot any photos of the Girls Aloud set. We had hoped they would relent and allow us access as the day progressed, but sadly this was not the case. As a result, we therefore decided not to review the two-hour set from the four remaining members.
