Gay Favourites

Flamboyance, creative genius, personal demons, killer eyelashes, great frocks . . . these are just some of the qualities that make a timeless gay icon — or a song that never goes out of style, for that matter — but the list is by no means definitive. Freddie Mercury's mastery of butch theatricality (given a dance-floor spin on "Love Kills") puts him right up there with the brightest and most feminine of stars, Hollywood legend Judy Garland (here belting out her signature song, "Over the Rainbow"). You'll find every colour in the pop spectrum in Next Steps.

Nineteen-seventies gayness reached glorious heights of showmanship in the firm and capable hands of the Village People ("Y.M.C.A"), whose songs filled the charts with an irrepressible joie de vivre. As disco culture transitioned into the rave era, Franke Goes To Hollywood turned up the kinky dial with their monster single "Relax," and Dead or Alive offered up that glorious blast of hi-NRG dance pop, "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)." You can't stop the music, neither here not in Deep Cuts.

On the surface, there's a world of difference between the countrified balladeering of Tammy Wynette ("Stand by Your Man") and the bright girl-group melodies of Lesley Gore ("It's My Party"), but the essence is the same: life and all the heart-break that comes with it. Of course, if you're partying hard, lost love becomes a distant memory, so turn up the Spice Girls ("Wannabe"), and throw a dollop of B-52's at the wall until it sticks ("Love Shack").

You don't have to be related to Liza Minnelli to make it onto our stellar list of gay pop icons, but it wouldn't do you any harm. The standards set by Judy Garland and her daughter — fierce singing skills, off-stage turmoil, parts in some of the greatest musicals ever made — raise the bar to seemingly unattainable heights, but every performer here, including homegrown superstar Kylie Minogue, possesses talent to spare and fierce levels of charisma. From Shirley Bassey to Missy Higgins, from Nancy Sinatra to Will Young, all these names keep the gay heart beating double time.