Blog: Worrapolava

Thanks to a friend of mine whose finger is always on the throbbing pulse of gaydom, here's Hunx and His Punx . This is their brand new single, You Don't Like Rock 'n' Roll which they're touring the UK promoting as I write. This San Franciscan has a great sound: like The Ramones teaching Martha Reeves and the Vandellas how to fist each other... It's solid rock 'n' roll with a delicious queer taste. And I can imagine John Waters watching their vids and chuckling, "That's my boy". The whole ethos of being able to [...]

Look at these love eggs the Easter Bunny left behind. Baby Can't Stop by Lindstrøm & Christabelle This gorgeous bumping track by the Norwegian duo has been somewhat overlooked since its release at the end of last year. But not in this house. Clicky here for a FREE mix by the magnificent Aeroplane, second only to Fred Falke in the remix stakes. Columns by Silver [...]

Which is a shame, because this lot had another few in them. First up is: Scarlet Fantastic - No Memory No. 24 October 1987 Borne from the trio Swans Way (their biggest hit was Soul Train ) Maggie De Monde and Rick P. Jones were the classic 80s duo: charismatic singer with moody musician. The video below cut old footage of London with the updated 1987 version; a much better concept than the "We're so wild we're caged up in this (pretend) jail". [...]

Fresh from the second Parralox album State of Decay comes this thundering slab of gorgeousness. Go here to sample track after track of synth pop heaven. It seems like ages since Isn't It Strange was slated for a single release and with 15 other tracks on the EP version, no bloody wonder it's taken a while. This band add value! This version, above in the video, is a perfect example of how Parralox have matured since their debut, Electricity , two years ago. With a neat little nod [...]

Once upon a time, a blogger, not too far from here, met a sparkling, luscious tranny full of joie de vivre. Little did he know, the tranny had a secret. It was a secret she'd kept to herself mostly but would bring out on special occasions. It was something she was unsure of herself but other people would marvel at. Undaunted, the blogger made her get it out and helped her see that it was indeed something amazing she should share with the world. What was the secret? It wasn't anything she had under her wig. It [...]

...by just playing this. Honestly it can be done. This gorgeous piano-driven slow house track is perfect for pretending it's the weekend already and that it's actually June, not March. This track, Holiday , by Swedish duo Montauk is out late March. Spring's been and gone. Summer's here!

Well this new Ali Love track is so low on the downlow it's practically invisible, which is a shame, because it's his strongest yet. It's a brooding groove with a KILLER chorus. There are shades of early 90s dance with the synth sequence from Candi Staton's classic You Got the Love popping up. Thanks to catblack9 for the heads up on this one. The single is out now. Clicky here for iTunes. Ali needs to get the radio love back again or his last single Diminishing Returns will be [...]

Well, actually, in many ways, Voyagers are a new/old band. New in as much as the duo was formed in 2009 but there is a mammoth musical pedigree in tow. Susanna Klayman and Jon Pleased are on "a mission to create the perfect pop song" and judging from the tracks so far, they're well on their way. Try this stomper, Guiltless . The chorus is KILLER. Voyagers - 'Guiltless' by Jon Pleased Jon Pleased [...]

I KNOW! I KNOW! I haven't been around here much. Been vare busy cooking up another project, more on which vare soon. Anyhoo. I overlooked Paul Young's No Parlez album when it first came out but the Come Back and Stay single was always a favourite. Chicane have produced a meh dance version, Well, it's a bit lazy to be honest, but, THE VIDEO! Watch it. It's the most inventive, creative and engaging vid I've seen in YEARS.

How perfectly queer and AMAZING. The TV production company behind the seminal Queer As Folk , Red, are to begin shooting a 90 minute drama about Boy George! Called Worried About the Boy , it will begin with his leaving suburbia through to global pop stardom. And what's in between will be Malcom McLaren, Marilyn, Steve Strange, Philip Sallon, The Blitz and of course Culture Club. I think I've just fainted. What's even more interesting is the casting. Burberry's poster boy, newcomer Douglas Booth , will portray George (which will please the Boy himself, no [...]

Don't they look YOUNG! Well, it was 24 years ago. Here's a clipping from the Newcastle Evening Chronicle from January 1986 heralding the Pet Shop Boys first number one, West End Girls . Clicky piccy to make it biggy. The band thought the record had finished its climb up the charts: "We all thought it had peaked when it got to No.4 at Christmas, so this is wonderful news" . The Geordie connection meant Neil would always feature in the Chronicle thereafter and because he went to the same school as Sting (and me!) his name would forever [...]

Picture the scene: you're in the kitchen, horsing down a packet of Pringles, crumbs on your stained dressing gown, hair all over the shop and scratching your bum when, "Ding, dong" . You go to the door of your Twickenham home and there outside, with cameras and entourage are the Pet Shop Boys. Fluff me! Lucky Lorraine Sands got the boys in her sitting room reproducing a condensed version of the Pandemonium tour; a miniscule of sound. She said: "I've been a massive Pet Shop Boys fan for over 20 years and to have [...]

Now here's a turn up: something different. There's rapping in Japanese, the return of New Jack (sorta), the return of 90s rave (sorta) but more importantly, I loves it. The Dexpistols duo have broken through from the Japanese underground to the worldwide underground, performing DJ sets and supporting dance giants Daft Punk around the world. Watch the perfectly styled vid below and keep your ears peeled. Oh. And the 90s are officially back. Selfridges have deemed it so. DEXPISTOLS / NEW JACK HOUSE feat. JON-E（RADIO EDIT) [...]

Alongside a load of burly Welsh miners, Neil and Chris performed their massive hit Go West at The Brits in 1994. And they could be winners again. Just clicky here to vote for their show-stopping appearance. Seriously, though. Who would vote for The Who? Personally, I always loved this Banarama performance of Love in the First Degree . Can't think why.

Now, Cicada... Have you not heard/bought their 2009 album Roulette yet? Oh, just do it now and be cheered by the fact a band can still produce a collection of beef and no filler. I was flipped like an Angus steak quarter-pounder hearing Roulette for the first time . And today, they release One Beat Away with the obligatory stack of remixes . The luxurious original is below... ONE BEAT AWAY [...]

Aw. A Christmas get-together + a few sherries + a karaoke machine + Boy George = this lovely video. Happy Christmas everyone. x

Oh for the innocent days when the Christmas charts were seen as a way to cash in and make shed loads of wad with genuine Christmas tat. Any band worth their salt used to brave the blistering summer heat, slug back the sherries, think of the huge royalties they'd get in March and crack out a Christmas hit. These days it's the lucky few who think, "More for the pension fund" every time the same fifty hits are churned out on TV and radio. So let's remember the pioneers, and make a plea to our current pop stars to ignore [...]

• Wombling Merry Christmas - The Wombles » Wombling Merry Christmas.mp3

I came across this in the YouTube vaults and HAD to share. Stars in Their Eyes was the show to have on in the background while getting ready to go out on a Saturday night. And occasionally, the catchphrase "Tonight, Matthew, I'm going to be be..." would make you run back in the room and SCREAM. Like this one above, "...Marc Almond" . You just know that Ian, above, doing Marc, is in fact Trixie on stage, usually in a tight frock and that she does her own belting version of [...]

The Christmas EP is out today in half of Europe , with the rest to follow on Monday. And as if to kick-start a PSB Christmas, their card arrived today too. Hoorah! But for a very special PSB offering, go here to the luverly Chartriggrrrrr who has given us his top ten PSB output from the noughties . And here's the consolidation of PSB as a live act. The obligatory live video for the third single, All Over the World from the [...]

Well, that's it. Done. We think. Kylie tweeted "Recording in NYC has been amazing..." . All with Jake Shears at the helm? Right hand man? Conduit? Muse? It'll all become clear soon enough, but suffice to say, the line up of collaborators is exciting: Deadmau5, Calvin Harris, Nerina Pallot (!). Can't wait.