Pride is more important now than ever
AMERICAN SINGER ADAM LAMBERT TALKS TO NAOMI CLARKE ABOUT CELEBRATING DIVERSITY IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND BEING ABLE TO SING HIS TRUTH
ADAM Lambert is no stranger to the spotlight, from touring the world providing vocals for the rock band Queen to performing for the late British monarch’s Platinum Jubilee.
The singer first found fame after finishing as runner-up on American Idol in 2009 and has since established himself as an international star, releasing five studio albums which featured hit tracks Whataya Want From Me and Ghost Town.
This weekend will see Adam take on one of the most sparkling roles of his career as he headlines Pride In London.
He will top the bill with fellow world-class performers including former The Greatest Dancer judge and singer Todrick Hall and Frozen star Idina Menzel among the line-up for Saturday’s event. “I think Pride is more important now than ever,” says Adam, 41, who came out publicly as gay in a 2009 Rolling Stone interview. “We’ve come a very long way in the queer community in terms of visibility and equality and representation, but the further we get, the more progress that’s made and the more normalised it is, I think the opposition grows stronger as well, unfortunately. “We have a lot of people out there who, unfortunately, are afraid of what they don’t understand and whose egos are a little too sensitive to be able to tell them something that they can’t fathom.
“And so, unfortunately, there’s a lot of homophobia out there.” However, he feels Pride is a space that allows the LGBTQ+ community and allies to come together. “I think everybody kind of goes: ‘Oh, yeah, we are a big family.’
“We’re also really happy to party and celebrate with our allies as well during Pride, there is room for everybody. So I feel like that’s the real meaning.”
Over the years Adam has attended Pride events in a lot of other cities, including making a surprise appearance during Christina Aguilera’s set in New York last weekend, but he reveals this will be special as he has never made it to London’s extravaganza. “I’m excited to be a part of it this year,” the singer adds.
To mark the occasion, he has recorded a cover of Sylvester’s 1978 disco anthem You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) with chart-topping DJ Sigala.
Adam reveals he is a “huge fan” of the late US singer Sylvester, who died in 1988.
“I think he was so ahead of his time. Back in the late 1970s, he was unapologetically and unashamedly queer,” he says with admiration.
“He’s probably what we would call gender fluid now, but they didn’t use that term back then. And he was just exactly who he was. “This song was a hit, so he was really a pioneer to be exactly that gay, one of the first. And so I think he’s somebody that I really wanted to honour and celebrate.”
The singer says he was also keen to put out a feel-good dance song ahead of summer and to work with Sigala again, and so it became a natural outcome. “When I had the idea of covering the song, I thought immediately of Sigala, he’s brilliant. He is somebody that I’ve actually done a little writing with in the past, but we hadn’t figured out what song to put out or what projects to attach ourselves to so this was the one,” he explains.
The track will be added to Adam’s recently released album High Drama, which boasts a host of other covers spanning from a glam-rock rendition of Bonnie Tyler’s Holding Out For A Hero to a rocky rendition of Lana Del Rey’s West Coast.
The record also allowed him to connect with some of the e musicians who have influenced him as an artists, including Boy George when he covered his Culture Club song Do You Really Want To Hurt Me.
“That was really exciting to be able to do my version of it and luckily he approved and liked it, which was great,” adds the singer. “There are a couple of my heroes on there. Sia is someone I look up to a lot. Pink is someone I look up to a lot.
“It’s an album where I get to really pay tribute to the people that inspire me.”
Since he broke into the music industry more than a decade ago, Adam feels the world has evolved in positive ways for LGBTQ+ artists. “It’s incredible now that the industry is giving full backing and chances to artists that are queer because back in the day, that was a really difficult sell, not only to the industry but maybe to the public,” he considers.
“I think now that is shifting, and it’s very exciting. I don’t necessarily think that it’s a different brand of pop, we’re making pop music just like everyone else is making pop music, it just so happens that we can sing about things that are real to us. Some of that may be sexuality.
“I mean, sexuality is such a part of music. For someone to say: ‘Why does it have to be about being gay?’ – well, how many songs out there are about being straight? I could think of a zillion. “I think the idea of equality is something that needs to be recognised, that everyone should have the opportunity to sing about their
truth. truth.”
‘Why does it have to be about being gay?’ – well, how many songs out there are about being straight? I could think of a zillion.
