Category: Event Archive

This was our big concert at Leeds College of Music. We started off with our Idols and Icons set, before moving onto a reprise of our Movies set. We even had a snazzy new look, as you can see!

The choir had a lovely weekend in Ireland.  On the Saturday, we sang for the locals in the city centre; and we sang to a standing ovation on Monday afternoon at Mahony Hall. You might even find some videos from the weekend on our YouTube channel (we are very cutting edge at Gay Abandon!).

This was our big summer concert, which took place at Leeds College of Music.  Our friends sang&klang:los! joined us from Dortmund, and we even sang Falling in Love in German, which was a bit of a challenge!

We were invited by our friends, Podium Paris, to visit gay Paris for Pride.  We were on the first float of the parade, and really enjoyed the atmosphere.  On the Sunday, we had a joint concert in the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont.

We took part in a charity singing contest and won!  We also rubbed shoulders with Leeds legend Ricky Wilson, front man of the Kaiserchiefs!

Here’s a lovely write up by Sara Cox from August 2011’s edition of Shout! magazine for our 2011 annual concert. ‘I am what I am’ was the rip-roaring anthem that boomed out from the stage of Leeds College of Music on the evening of Saturday July 2nd, as each individual member of Gay Abandon came together to show that Pride, not Prejudice should be the number one message of the day. The audience was treated to a diverse mixture of music from the more traditional ‘Go Down Moses’ to Chumbawumba, Amy Winehouse and Bronski Beat. From the thundering choruses of the main choir to quieter, emotional, solos and even a ‘boy band’, conductor Jane Edwardson and accompanist Andy Fellows presented the message through music that each and every person in the world should be proud of who they are. A moving slide display showed those who had fought throughout history for just this message to be adopted, and a tongue-in-cheek reworking of letters from Mr Darcy and Miss Bennett added a humorous interlude. Even the interval became part of the celebration, with graffiti boards provided to record audience thoughts and colourful homemade fairy cakes to tempt taste buds. The whole evening was a triumph with more than enough to satisfy every sense. Be sure to put their next date in your diary!

Rosie’s Revue was a night of cabaret, celebrating the life of much loved and missed Rosie Snowden, who passed away in January 2009.  £1000 was raised for the Yorkshire Cancer Centre.

Our big summer concert, which was loosely based on singers with big hair!  We paid homage to the likes of Amy Winehouse, by wearing tinsel headdresses!