The Xtra Diary - HIV patchwork prayers
Published: 7 July, 2011
ON the eve of the annual Pride march through central London over the weekend, a memorial to all those who have died from HIV-related illnesses went on show in the West End courtesy of Soho Masses – a religious organisation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Catholics.
The “names quilt”, which is embroidered with the names of victims of the virus and adorned with sequins, was displayed in the sexual health clinic in Dean Street and the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St Gregory in Warwick Street.
Martin Pendergast, from the Soho Masses Pastoral Council, said: “The presence of the quilt in the church over these days enables us to unite with Pope Benedict XVI’s Prayer intention for July: ‘That Christians may contribute to alleviating the material and spiritual suffering of AIDS patients, especially in the poorest countries’.”
The inaugural names quilt was started in San Francisco in 1987 by a group of strangers united by having lost friends to HIV and AIDS. By its completion, the artwork had become so large that, when it arrived in London in 1993, the only open space with enough room for it to be displayed in full was Hyde Park.
Rewind 44 years, just what happened to the ‘Tea’ tapes?
AMONG aficionados of 1960s pop music, they are considered akin to the Holy Grail – a stash of reel-to-reel tapes recorded by legendary producer Joe Meek.
Twelve years ago this newspaper reported on a demonstration in Denmark Street at which old rockers, skifflers and mods called for the release of the “Tea Chest Tapes” – so-called because they were hidden away in 75 tea chests by Meek, who was notoriously paranoid.
As far as anyone can tell, this mysterious musical legacy, which has lain unheard for 44 years, is in the possession of Cliff Cooper, a former singer from one of Meek’s bands.
In 1999 Cooper stated that he had the tapes and was preparing to donate them to the British Library’s National Sound Archive.
But there is no indication he has followed through on this, and a cursory search of the archive’s catalogue turns up no clue that they are there.
Now John Repsch, a former denizen of Denmark Street and biographer of Meek, has issued a fresh call for an end to the mystery.
He is once again campaigning for the tapes to be released, and told Diary he feared they may be “suffering from oxidation”.
Mr Repsch said: “The British Library would have the facilities to look after them, to treat them. They may need to be baked before being played.”
Meek was bankrupt when he shot himself dead in 1967, but when the liquidator listened to some of the recordings in the chests in his flat, he thought they were worth preserving for future generations.
Mr Repsch added: “Meek was streets, you could say light years, ahead of what everyone else was doing at the time. Cliff Cooper should come clean about what has happened to the tapes.”
Diary made numerous attempts to contact Mr Cooper through his nephew, who works in Denmark Street, but he was unavailable for comment.
Dressing down from van Durme
OUTSPOKEN Belgian stage sensation Vanessa van Durme almost spat out her sparkling water when informed that West End showbiz shop Dress Circle is facing closure.
“Definitely?” she said. “No, this can’t be certain. What a pity. I need Dress Circle to buy DVDs and records and other musical jewels that I cannot find anywhere else. This is not simply a case of wanting something – it must stay open.”
The Monmouth Street store recently ramped up its programme of events in a bid to boost footfall.
Owner Murray Allan has warned the shop may be forced to draw down its shutters for the last time owing to rising rent and falling trade.
Ms van Durme, 63, who this week appeared in variety show Gardenia at the Sadler’s Wells theatre in Islington, worked as a male prostitute in Antwerp’s red-light district before undergoing a sex change in 1974. She went on to write for Belgian television and choreograph many a worldwide stage tour, often stopping in London to perform.
“I dedicate my London performances of Gardenia, and Gardenia itself, to Dress Circle,” she added. “I don’t want all those Zaras, and Topshops and H&Ms, they are so bland, so boring. Dress Circle is a haven.”
Ello, ello! Cops at Libya talk
PUZZLING event: Why did two of our finest slip into the back of the Marchmont Community Centre, Bloomsbury, where a packed audience recently heard speeches from two people who had just returned from a visit to Tripoli in Libya. They spoke about heavy civilian casualties, including those of women and children and a population armed by Gaddafi to resist an invasion. Not the usual picture portrayed in the media, Diary admits. But surely not seditious enough to warrant a visit from the Met!