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George Michael tribute party raises £5,500 for his favourite charities

George Michael fans celebrate his life at Tropicana Beach Club’s Tribute Party.

Tropicana Beach Club, a Covent Garden nightclub which takes inspiration from the hit, Club Tropicana hosted a marathon George Michael Tribute Party on Friday January 6 and Saturday January 7 to raise money for Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), Macmillan Cancer Support and Childline, three charities which the late star had generously supported.

Over 2500 fans attended the events raising £5,500 in donations and more promised from the sales of a Club Tropicana cocktail special in which the club is donating all takings from throughout the month of January.

Anthony Knight, Marketing Manager of Tropicana Beach Club and the event organiser said: “As a gay man myself, I have nothing but respect for George Michael. He didn’t just open the doors, he broke them down for the gay community. He inspired people to be proud of who they were and was a fantastic ambassador for LGBT rights.”

“We wanted to pay tribute to George Michael and raising money for charity felt like the best way to do this following the recent stories of just how generous he was. We waived our usual £10 entry fee and asked for people to give what they could. I have been humbled at the response. We’ve been sent everything from signed George Michael concert tickets to football boots signed by premiership football stars to auction off to help reach our target of £10,000.”

The event which was originally planned to be a small celebration on a Thursday night attracted worldwide attention with fans flying in from as far as America, Germany, France, Holland, Greece and Dubai to attend. Within days, of announcing the event thousands had responded with over 11,000 fans registering their interest to attend with extra dates added to accommodate demand.

Guests were treated to tribute performances, celebrity sing-alongs and danced until 2am in the morning wearing George Michael masks. Fans were invited to the stage by compere, Jullian Bennett, a close friend of the late star to share their memories of George.

Hannah Jefferson-Smith, a 29 year-old student nurse who had travelled down from Glasgow shared that she had lost her virginity to Careless Whisper when she was 20. There were cheers before the gathered fans burst into a cover of the hit.

In one dedicated corner of the club, fans stuck message of tribute to the singer on a wall. “Childhood soundtrack, foundation of friendships, lonely days, joyful dances, cheesy sing alongs – all scream George. Lovely, genuine, funny man of ours. Lots of love,” one note read.

Amrit Sagoo, 40, dressed in the uniform of a policeman was one of the first to arrive: “As a gay man growing up around a lot of straight men, listening to George Michael gave me a sense of release,” he said. “In my deepest, loneliest of times, his music was a source of comfort to me.”

Jane Barron, from THT, said: “We are grateful to Tropicana Beach Club for raising funds towards our vital work supporting people affected by HIV. The funds they raise in George Michael’s memory will help us towards our vision of a world where people living with HIV can live healthy lives, free from prejudice and discrimination.”

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Winter issue of Pink Humanist ready for download

The Pink Humanist is an online magazine published by the UK LGBT charity the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT), featuring topics of special interest to those who identify as atheists, freethinkers, humanists, secularists and sceptics in the LGTB+ communities and those who support them.

The magazine’s editor is Barry Duke who also edits the Freethinker (the Voice of Atheism since 1881).

In the latest issue (Winter 2017) human rights campaigners Peter Tatchell and Leo Igwe respectively write about the contentious Ashers Bakery gay cake legal battle, and Chad’s decision to criminalise homosexuality.

The issue also contains details of Malta’s decision to ban gay cure therapy and the dismay this move has caused to Christian zealots who remain convinced that homosexuality can be eliminated through reparative therapy.

The cover story by Barry Duke explores the reasons why Islam’s hatred of homosexuals shows no signs of abating and continues to blight the lives of millions of LGBT+ Muslims.

The issue also carried the obituaries of four prominent gay rights champions who died in December 2016 – Brighton resident Ted McFadyen, Australian Anne Deveson, Rabbi Lionel Blue and Lord Jenkin.

There is also a review of an excellent new graphic novel – The Case of Alan Turing: The Extraordinary and Tragic Story of the Legendary Codebreaker.

To download the current, as well as past issues of the magazine in pdf format from The Pink Humanist website, click here:

To download the magazine as a pdf document, go to Archived Issues then Back Issues and place the cursor on any cover. In the top left corner of the cover you will see click here to download pdf.

Additionally, individual articles can be accessed directly from the site’s home page. These contain all relevant hyperlinks.

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