Brenda: Part 2

Sunday is Club Brenda at the Ruby Lounge and very nearly every gay friend I’ve had in Manchester is in attendance somewhere which is the loveliest thing, and not a one of them wearing a Pride wristband pass for the Village. Thank god for Brenda and the like giving us an alternative to 3 days of monotonous house music in the rain to ‘celebrate’ our diversity. And only six quid!

The mighty Hidden Cameras

The Hidden Cameras play a glorious set, us down the front in this tiniest of venues and just SO exciting and sweaty with a little mosh pit in front of beautiful Joel Gibb and his lovely music. Dozens of sweaty queers shouting ‘Ban Marriage!’ is the highlight of my Pride weekend. We meet the band afterwards and they’re the sweetest, fun people, Joel is fawned over by everyone but remains modest and unassuming even when Thom tells him that he saw a bit of his cock and balls in the Attitude Sex issue.

Joel Gibb and me

The night takes a bad turn for me when, lured drunkenly into the Invest in Property DJ lounge to wig out, I think, God forgive me, to ‘Sussudio’, I have to thereafter repeatedly kick myself for missing David Hoyle. I know! Bloody Phil Collins. I’m absolutely furious with myself. I did get to see David MC a little though, looking amazing in fright wig and floral print frock, and he also took the stage to play tambourine with the Cameras. My disappointment was curbed a little when we went to his dressing room after and I had a lovely chat with him, we’re both Blackpool boys and it turns out he only lives down the road from Neil in Longsight. Such a wit, such a gentlemen and so full of the kind of free gay spirit that I love and that is sorely missing from Pride. God bless him. I’m going to get Neil to cook him a lovely dinner now that he has a dining table so at least one of my fantasy dinner party guests may actually come to pass in my lifetime.

Me, Sir David Hoyle, Neil

Soundtrack: Belle & Sebastian, Hidden Cameras, Babybird, ‘Wired for Sound’, Connie Francis