Shot! Brighton Pride 2023
A combination of travel chaos and Storm Antoni had an adverse effect on this year’s Fabuloso, which wasn’t helped by a problematic choice of headliner. But Sunday saw the sunshine return, along with the good-time vibes of Sporty Spice and Steps.
There’s no doubt 2023 has proved to be an especially difficult year for the event organisers of Fabuloso, the ticketed music event of Brighton’s Pride weekend.
It began with the original announcement of the artists when there was an immediate backlash to the Saturday headliners, Black Eyed Peas. Many felt they were an inappropriate choice considering they had performed at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, a country that does not respect the rights of women or the LGBTQ+ community. Others, like myself, were just underwhelmed that they would be topping the bill. Indeed, with its nostalgia focus, this year’s lineup felt significantly weaker than previous Prides.
Of course, how one views a festival lineup is very much down to personal taste and for me, the only acts I was interested in were Zara Larsson on the Saturday and Steps the next day.
Like many, the decision of whether to go on both days or just one, was taken away as the double whammy of a train strike — announced just a week before — and unseasonably bad weather meant anyone intending to travel into Brighton on Saturday would have to do so without a train service and with an 80% likelihood of thunderstorms.
Both would prove devastating for Saturday’s Fabuloso as thousands of ticket holders found themselves unable or unwilling to attend. To make matters even worse, apparently, the night ended early because Black Eyed Peas suffered from sound problems.
And just to clarify the situation regarding the train strike: it wasn’t actually a strike by train drivers, but rather an overtime ban. Because of that, Southern Rail chose to cancel all services and close stations to and from Brighton.
That meant I was only able to go on Sunday when the weather took a turn for the better. Indeed, the sun shined all afternoon. I arrived at Preston Park in time to catch Louise. Now 48, the former Eternal member, was returning to Pride after first appearing back in 2018. As with virtually every artist at Fabuloso, she performed to a pre-recorded track, with no live musicians apart from three backing singers.
It’s been a long time since Louise troubled the charts, although ironically she was promoting her fancifully titled, recently released Greatest Hits. The highlight of her short set was the lively Let’s Go Round Again, actually a cover of the Average White Band’s hit from 1980.
Speaking of which, I can’t say she wasn’t anything more than average, indeed she felt like this year’s equivalent of Sophie Ellis-Bextor, someone who can keep an audience entertained for half and hour, without ever blowing them away.
Next up was another singer who used to be part of a girl band. The difference however was this was the Spice Girls, the world’s biggest selling girl band. Best known as Sporty Spice, Melanie C is the only Spice Girl currently still performing.
While the 49-year-old also relied on backing tapes, she was at least joined by a live drummer/guitarist and keyboard player. Sadly, they were the only live musicians I got to see all day.
Sporting a retro silver track suit, Mel C lived up to her old moniker, and never stopped bounding around. Her energy and legacy ensured she received a fantastic reaction from the crowd, especially when she performed a medley of classic Spice Girl hits: Spice Up Your Life, Two Become One and Who Do You Think You Are, which got everyone singing along like it was the 90s.
There’s no question, Melanie C was worthy of being second on the bill, and for her it will prove good preparation for what’s to come next year. 2024 marks the 30th anniversary of the Spice Girls and you can be sure they’ll reform for one last money-spinning world tour, although I somehow doubt Victoria Beckham will be in the line-up.
And with that, it was time for the act many believe should have been the Saturday headliner, Steps. This, it turns out, would be their only live performance of the year. A guilty pleasure, I’ve seen them twice, most recently when they played the Brighton Centre in November 2021. That gig was memorable because they were down to a four-piece as Faye Tozer had tested positive for Covid.
Now, some 25 years after first forming, they were back in Brighton and back as a quintet. Arguably they’re the perfect Pride headliner, so it was surprising that this was their first appearance. Topping the bill also meant they were the only act of the day to benefit from stage lighting.
All five members were dressed in white, but I have to say their outfits were pretty naff. Indeed, it looked like they’d thrown them together at the last minute, decided they weren’t Pride-appropriate so got their costumier to sew on some rainbow-coloured ribbons.
Looks aside, it was the same old Steps. We got all the bangers (many of which are covers) and all the cheesy moves. Onstage, Steps did what they always do, although considering this was their only show of 2023, I think they could have put a little more effort into the production beyond having a handful of dancers and releasing a few balloons.
Fortunately, Steps’ music is lighthearted pop and despite singing to backing tracks, the sound quality was as good as I’ve ever heard it in Preston Park.
Having been warned of travel issues out of Brighton, and ridiculously early last train times, like many I couldn’t stay to the end. I learnt afterwards that the combination of travel chaos and Storm Antoni saw attendance at this year’s Brighton Pride plummet by 50 per cent.
What’s more, in a bid to increase numbers at Sunday’s Fabuloso, free tickets were apparently being offered to people who had a Saturday general admission ticket or wristband.
As Paul Kemp, MD of Brighton Pride, commented:
“We’ll certainly have to work hard to overcome the significant challenges in delivering Pride 2024.”
Sorting out the trains and appeasing the weather gods maybe beyond them, but curating a far stronger, more contemporary line-up for Fabuloso surely has to be top of their list if Brighton is to maintain its standing as the UK’s biggest and best Pride event.
Steps Setlist: Love’s Got A Hold On My Heart | Neon Blue | Better Best Forgotten | Something In Your Eyes (Jenny Silver cover) | 5, 6, 7, 8 | Last Thing On My Mind (Bananarama cover) | Tragedy (Bee Gees cover) | Heartbeat | It’s The Way You Make Me Feel | Summer Of Love | Rain On Me (Lady Gaga cover) | Here And Now | You’ll Be Sorry | After The Love Has Gone (Earth, Wind & Fire cover) | Deeper Shade Of Blue | What The Future Holds | Heartbreak In This City | One For Sorrow | | Scared Of The Dark | Unholy | Better The Devil You Know (Kylie Minogue cover) | Chain Reaction (Diana Ross cover) | Stomp
Behind the shot: These images were taken using the Olympus OM-D E-M1 with the M Zuiko 1.8 75mm lens and the camera’s built-in digital zoom. As is often the case, shooting Pride is a frustrating experience. Not only are there over twenty photographers vying to get shots, but where you can shoot from varies from one artist to the next. For Louise, we could shoot the first three songs anywhere within the pit. With Melanie C, we weren’t allowed to be close to the main stage and had to leave after just two songs. But most frustrating was Steps, where photographers could only shoot from the end of the runway. For all three opening songs, Steps performed a long way away on the main stage, and for much of the time were enveloped in smoke, only taking to the runway when the photographers had to leave the pit. Photographed at Preston Park, Brighton on 6 August 2023
About the author: Based in Sussex-by-the-Sea, on England’s south coast, Gary is a creative writer and image-maker. He specialises in creating out of the ordinary portraits of musicians and people with interesting faces, as well as photographing some of the world’s finest flowers and gardens, not forgetting an array of automotive exotica.
On the writing side, he has used his research skills to author deep dives into some noteworthy songs beginning with Bryan Ferry’s ‘These Foolish Things’ ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials, ‘Real Wild Child’ by Ivan and ‘All The Young Dudes’ by Mott the Hoople.
He has also written a biography of Robert Palmer and the stories behind Whitesnake’s blatant Led Zep rip-off, ‘Still Of The Night’, Harry Styles’ anthem to positivity, ‘Treat People With Kindness’ and the little known Queen track ‘Cool Cat.’
Most recently, Gary has penned the fascinating story behind George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four.’ as well as ‘Believe It Or Not’ a look into the rise of fake news.
All these can be found here on Medium, along with his reviews of gigs and events and chats with musicians including the likes of Royal Blood, Joe Satriani and Wolf Alice.
