Alex Hopkins is a freelance writer based in London focussing on the arts. He took an MA in English on the University of Sussex's Sexual Dissidence and Cultural Change course and is currently Art Editor at Open Magazine (www.openmagazine.co.uk) and features writer for Out There (www.out-theremagazine.com) a new international gay arts, culture and travel magazine. His blog can be found at www.alexhopkins.wordpress.com.

COMMENT: PRIDE, GLF AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Spring is beginning to dawn and before we know it summer will be upon us. And of course with summer comes the biggest gay party of the year – Gay Pride. And this year it is something we need to plan for well in advance. Some may think that this is all rather premature, but this year’s festival is...

February 22nd, 2010 | Comment, Highlights | Read More

HAPPY LGBT HISTORY MONTH?

What use is gay history to us today? In an age when homosexuals enjoy greater rights and freedoms than ever before, isn’t the past rather irrelevant? Isn’t it all a bit of a waste of time? This was certainly not the view of the audience gathered at The British Library last Tuesday as presenter and...

February 15th, 2010 | Comment, Highlights | Read More

GBFs, camp and the real gay reality

Walk past Cambridge Circus any Friday or Saturday evening and the sight will be the same: hoards of usually scantily glad straight women clinging on to their men as they prepare to be intoxicated by the spectacle that is Priscilla Queen of the Desert. The scene inside is no less horrifying. Half of...

February 8th, 2010 | Comment, Highlights | Read More

COMMENT: POPES, PREJUDICE AND 2010

It has been a challenging year for us gays, or should I say for us gays who keep our eyes on something more than the next club night in Vauxhall. And as the year comes to an end, those of us who are actually interested in what is happening in our so called community are inevitably going to be weighing...

December 30th, 2009 | Comment | Read More

COMMENT: DESIRE, CONFORMISM AND THE ELUSIVE GREAT DARK MAN

“Oh Alberto, have you heard Shirley Bassey’s new album?” the shrill, camp voice rang out from the right hand toilet cubicle. “No,” grunted the blatantly bored and clearly paid for Alberto from the left hand cubicle. “Oh well, never mind,” sighed the nameless extra from Julian and Sandi....

December 7th, 2009 | Comment | Read More

COMMENT: FAME, SCENE CELEBRITIES AND THE FUTURE OF GAY CULTURE

Apparently X Factor 2009 ends on 12th December. I say ‘apparently’ because loathing the superficial trite-fest as I do, I had to Google the date. Personally, I could not care less, yet this auspicious landmark is sure to be engraved on many a London scene queen’s mind. It will represent the end...

November 26th, 2009 | Clubland, Comment, Highlights | Read More

COMMENT: Hedonism, HIV and the importance of talking

Everyone has had the odd lost night once in a while. The type when you find yourself stumbling on to the first tube in the morning or, heaven forbid, precariously negotiating your way through the rush hour commuters. There can be something refreshingly beautiful about the experience. At their best these...

November 19th, 2009 | Clubland, Comment, News | Read More

COMMENT: WHAT THE MURDER OF IAN BAYNHAM TELLS US ABOUT GAY LONDON

The death last month of a man from a homophobic attack has sent shock-waves through London’s gay community today. Ian Baynham, 62, was set upon by feral two teenage girls after a night out on 28 September. He spent the subsequent weeks in the Royal London Hospital until his life support machine was...

November 12th, 2009 | Comment, Highlights, News, Pride, Theatre | Read More