#QLive Drop Dead Gorgeous: interview with Republica & Kenelis

We were very lucky to catch up with Saffron Sprackling, lead singer of legendary band Republica,
 
and Mel Sanson, Q Alternative Stage organiser and front person, as well as lead singer for Brighton rock band Kenelis right before they rocked the stage at Brighton Pride. 

Planet London (PL): What's been the vibe for you at Brighton Pride today and what have you enjoyed so far?
Saffron Sprackling (SS): Well it's been such an amazing day. To be here with Mel Sanson and Vicky from Kenelis who are co-ordinating the Q Stage, and seeing their dream realised... with the crowd being amazing, going crazy for all the bands, especially Lucy Spraggan earlier in the day, it's going to be fantastic to see Kenelis perform and then go on stage oursevles.

Mel Sanson (MS): Joan of Arc played a Guns N Roses cover ealier, that I managed to catch in between working, and that was amazing as well.

PL: Will you be partying after the Park?
Both: Hell yeah! 

PL: What's been your favourite performance today then? 
MS: I can't really pick a favourite, it wouldn't be fair!
SS: Lucy Spraggan!


PL: Why did you introduce the Q Stage and why is it important for Brighton Pride?
MS: I just think it's important to have alternative music in the park, not just the main stage, main stream singers with backing vocals. Brighton Pride want to make the event more like a festival... I was previously involved with the women's live performance stage but this year I thought, "Why limit it to women?"

So the Q Stage is about live music, it doesn't matter what your gender or sexuality is, it's about playing live music at Pride. 

PL: If you could be in a girl band of your choice who would you choose to join you?
SS: I'd be in TLC because that's my favourite girl band of all time. If I could make my own... then Courtney Love, Mel Sanson, PJ Harvey, Shirley Manson, Gwen Stefani... 
PL: Can we join?

PL: What music is your guilty pleasure?
MS: Example. I like it. Not cool for a rocker but I like it. 
SS: Supertramp and the BeeGees. 

PL: Tell us a secret about yourself...
Both: There really aren't any. Everything's out there already.

PL: Is there any song out there you wish you had written?
SS: Waterfall by TLC. But there's so many really, like Read my Mind by Gordon Lightfoot. Beatles songs. 
MS: Drop Dead Gorgeous.

PL: Who would be your ultimate person to cover your songs? 
SS: Kenelis!
MS: Republica!


By Naomi & Katie

LBQ women show their support for women’s visibility at Pride in London

With the second Pride parade and festival delivered by Pride in London just around the corner– expectations are high and the organisers are keen to make a mark and improve on last year’s successful event.

In addition to their strong social media campaign #Freedomto, Pride In London realised that women’s visibility needed to be addressed, and so created a new campaign specifically aimed at increasing the visibility and participation of women at Pride called #ProudWomenUK which launched in May 2014.

Pride in London have been working with Elysion Events to run a quiz (which took place in May/June), the official women’s after party on the parade day at Adam Street Social, and later in the year a formal fundraising dinner.

Planet London wanted to show full support of increasing women’s visibility and through working in partnership with local event organisers on the LBQ social scene, so undertook a complimentary campaign to reach even more women and to also raise a bit of money at the same time.

Whilst ProudWomen’s main objective was to raise £5,000 through a three well organised high quality events, #ProudPlanet was created with an aim to reach as many women as possible and to work with the existing network of event organisers to spread the word and encourage women to participate in Pride in London this year.

ProudPlanet worked with 6 event organisers to run special Pride fundraising events.

Naomi Bennett-Hall said “We were delighted with how many event organisers got on board very quickly and either dedicated an existing event or created a whole new event to support the issues of women’s visibility at Pride in London. It was also fantastic to see so many women from the community attend these events and share our vision. The range of events were beyond our expectations given we only had 6 weeks. We are so proud at how the event organisers got on board, and how we rallied around in the community and put our hands in our pockets.”

• FindHrr hosted a Friday night club night at Labels. The event was free entry with donations at the door and raffle tickets were sold on the night.

 

• She Soho let #ProudPlanet take over their monthly quiz which saw a so many quiz teams that there wasn’t a spare square inch of floor space at the venue. The entry fee from everyone was donated, raffle tickets & answer hints were sold. Members of Pride’s volunteer group were also present to promote volunteering with Pride in London.

• Promoter and DJ at She, Amy B said “It is so wonderful seeing a dedicated team raising worthwhile awareness and visibility for women. Having run the women’s stage last year I know how important it is and it has been fantastic working with the ProudPlanet campaign. With a host of fantastic events they were able to get the word out to women from all walks of life. And besides…I wouldn’t have been able to do the quiz without them. I hope it’s the first year of many.”

• Labels ran a free live music night featuring an impressive line-up that included Miri and Jade Ellis. The venue was pretty much at capacity and an amazing night was had by all. Donations were encouraged and raffle tickets sold on the night.

Bar Manager at Labels, Tara said “Labels and our members were so proud to be given the opportunity to contribute to the ProudPlanet campaign to raise women’s presence in Pride 2014”

• DownGirls donated money from the door as well as collecting money on the night. Several of their exciting line up of live acts donated their fee to the cause. Members of Pride’s volunteer group were also present to promote volunteering with Pride in London.

• BridgeGirlsLate invited us along to their monthly night in Clapham where we sold raffle tickets on the night. 

• The Glass Bar hosted a delightful Cream Tease (cream tea with burlesque and erotic entertainment) and donated a portion of the entry fee from the event. In addition we were able to speak about Pride at the event and promote the aims of Pride in London around women’s participation.

Katie Bennett-Hall of Planet London said

“Planet London is delighted to announce that we have raised over £420 (and counting) for Pride in London to support women’s events at Pride in London.

“Planet London are also looking forward to the parade itself on Saturday 28 June. In response to Pride’s announcement that they want to increase the visibility and participation of women at Pride, we have undertaken to create a large group of women from within the community – as we firmly believe that the best way to be visible is to turn up on mass. We have a tricycle, sound system and funky limited edition t-shirts and are inviting all women and allies to join us if they want to be visible and take part in the parade. Marching is completely free, and for anyone who doesn’t have a Planet London t-shirt, we ask you to wear hot pink, black or white to keep in with the theme of the group.”




If you want to march with Planet London, all the information is online here: http://bit.ly/2014Proud

GET ON BOARD WITH PRIDE IN LONDON 2014

Readers of G3 and Out in the City magazines have voted Pride in London 2013 the Event of the Year. The Award was announced by Charlie Condou and Sophie Ward and presented by Dan Gillespie Sells at a ceremony at the Landmark Hotel where winners in other categories included Joey Barton, Paul O’Grady, Heather Peace, Jane Hill and Tom Daley. So we’re in great company.

This is an incredible vote of confidence in voluntary organisation Pride in London, who took over delivery of the event in 2013 and so won this award straight out of the blocks. It’s also an amazing tribute to the small army of volunteers who make Pride in London possible as stewards on the day, by running events as part of the festival or by planning the event in collaboration with the London authorities.

Planning for Pride in London 2014 is now well advanced but there are still lots of opportunities for individuals and organisations to get involved.

Chair of Pride in London Michael Salter said: “We’re delighted that our first year organising Pride has been judged so positively by our community. I am immensely proud of the hundreds of volunteers who make Pride possible and I hope that this recognition will encourage others to join us. There are so many different roles available that there really is something for everyone.

“I also hope that organisations will step forward to put on events as part of the Pride Festival. It’s a fantastic opportunity to showcase your work or talent to a wider audience, find new supporters or new audiences and show the world the power and achievements of London’s LGBT community.

“Despite being run by volunteers, it still costs a lot to deliver Pride in the middle of one of the greatest and busiest cities in the world. So if you can support us through our exciting crowdfunding campaign or work in an organisation that could sponsor Pride, we’d love to hear from you. Visit http://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/freedomto to find out more.”


See what Planet London is doing for Pride through our Proud Planet Campaign.
 

Find your Pride!

How you can help make Pride in London 2014 the best yet

1) Get Marching! There's no other experience like walking in a group as part of the parade and waving to the thousands of Londoners that come out to support the Parade. There's music, there's dancing, there's antics and a great buzz. And if you're lucky, no rain!

Parade registration for groups closes on 18th May.
Details: http://prideinlondon.org/get-involved/parade-registration/

If you are an individual, there are lots of groups marching, and they all need bodies - so ask your sports team, social group or charity if you can volunteer. If you would like to march with us, get in touch ASAP!! You'll get a free t-shirt and maybe some goodies too, as well as a guaranteed fun day.

OR you could take parade involvement to the next level, and volunteer to steward the event, along with hundreds of other LGBT community members. It's a fantastic way to make friends - through the training and social events - and be involved on the day without the pressure of marching with a group. Find out more here. 

2) However, the Parade can't happen at all without some investment from the community. Following the success of last year, Pride in London have set up a crowdfunder to help cover the cost of the parade - things like barriers and security don't come cheap. http://prideinlondon.org/get-involved/fund-parade/

Just £2 can make a big difference, if we all get behind this! 

3) There's more to Pride in London than the Parade. Did you know the organisers are also curating a festival of community-organised events. We want that to be incredibly diverse - building on the success of last year. Planet London are keen to make sure there's plenty of events for women, and that women know about the events to attend.  

We will be promoting the events on the My Pocket Planet App exclusive events calendar - so you'll know what's on and where at your fingertips!

More details here http://prideinlondon.org/get-involved/festival-events/

4) #PROUDWomenUK launched on 15 April. PROUDWOMEN is the non-profit partnership between Elysion Events & Pride In London (Community Interest Company CIC); on a mission to increase the representation, inclusion and visibility of women at Pride. Here's a link to their Facebook - please 'like' and 'share' their page; attend their events - the first one of which is the PROUDWOMEN Challenge Quiz; lend your support; be involved. 

Join the #ProudWomenUK quiz night - bring a team to a heat and if you can make it into the finals. Heats are taking place on Wednesdays throughout April & May with celebrity guest hosts - Zoe Lyons is the first! For full details about how to enter a team, visit their Facebook page.

Planet London are keen to hear from you if you have any ideas about how to raise funds towards activities for us in Pride, and from any women interested in running or supporting fundraising events - get in touch via mail@planet-london.com

By Katie