Members of anti-cuts group Queer Resistance were arrested in central London today after gathering over a kilometre away from the royal wedding celebrations. (more…)

The Prime Minister has dismissed claims of sexism over his behaviour at Prime Minister’s Question Time this week. David Cameron told shadow chief secretary to the treasury Angela Eagle to “calm down” during the session. (more…)

A church congregation in the US state of Kentucky has voted unanimously to halt the signing of marriage licenses for straight couples. The move is a protest against unequal marriage laws. (more…)

One of San Francisco’s best-known LGBT destinations, A Different Light bookshop, is set to shut its doors at the end of this month. The closure will mean that there are no longer any gay bookshops in California and only a handful in the US as a whole. (more…)

Anti-cuts collective Queer Resistance will participate in a “zombie flashmob” during the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton this Friday. (more…)

Leeds-based adoption agency Catholic Care has lost its latest battle against equality laws. The charity had argued for the right to turn away gay couples on religious grounds. (more…)

US television presenter Rachel Maddow has called upon other gay news anchors to come out. (more…)

Delegates at the National Union of Teachers’ (NUT) conference warned that failure to act against homophobia could send out the wrong message to lesbian and gay pupils.

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Singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading and her partner, artist Maggie Butler, are to have a civil partnership in May 2011. (more…)

A New York maternity shop is courting controversy by offering a 10% discount to its lesbian customers. Karen Paperno, owner of Boing Boing, said that she was inspired to offer lesbian couples the discount because of the pay gap between men and women. (more…)

Christianity and homosexuality, rather famously, don’t get along too well, writes Kirsty Smith. But do these two things have to be segregated from each other, or can a compromise be made?

Make no mistake; this article is not actually an attempt to convert you. It is merely an objective examination of the facts, written by a self-proclaimed atheist. (more…)

Strathclyde Gay and Lesbian Switchboard (SGLS) has been hit by funding cuts and is facing the prospect of closure as early as September.

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Four of the five parties currently holding seats in the Scottish Parliament have promised progress towards marriage equality. Scotland will elect a new Parliament two weeks from today. (more…)

American actress and singer Evan Rachel Wood has come out as bisexual. (more…)

Carol Ann Duffy, the first woman and first openly gay person to hold the post of Poet Laureate, has written a poem inspired by the upcoming marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Entitled Rings, the verse will be published on the morning of their day,  29 April (more…)

A new study in the USA has suggested that living in a gay-friendly environment can reduce the risk of attempted suicide among teenagers.

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Newly-declassified documents show that until the 1990s the RAF forced suspected lesbians to undergo treatment for their ‘perversion’.

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An 8-bit flash game themed around retro sci-fi lesbian bondage has become a massive hit. Lesbian Spider Queen of Mars has been played almost 120,000 times since its launch two weeks ago. (more…)

A public outcry followed the Government’s decision to question the usefulness of the Equality Act last week, and now a spokesperson from the Department of Business, Innovations and Skills has joined the fray.

The Pink Paper reported that there was concern within BiS that “there are a number of different provisions within the Act that some people may think are needlessly bureaucratic or could be implemented more efficiently.” To date, there have been 2,642 responses on the website, the majority of which support the Act in its current form.

A major church-based adoption service has spoken out in favour of new gay adoption rights on the Isle of Man. (more…)

The Catholic Children’s Society have been awarded an £89,000 to “help and support [school] students” in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The charity is known for its anti-gay views. (more…)

Have you ever noticed that there is a disproportionate number of vegetarian and vegan ladies in the queer community? asks Stephanie Davies. (more…)

A gay kiss-in event is to be held this evening in London in protest of a landlord evicting a gay couple for kissing in the pub. (more…)

Zimbabwe president lambasted European tolerance of sexuality while complaining about the travel ban still imposed on him.

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Lesbilicious Comedy is back in Newcastle upon Tyne in May, with four new top comedy acts (plus a band).

Performing on Thursday 26th May will be: (more…)

The change to legislation in the small country, bordering Austria and Switzerland, will come into effect in September 2011.

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When Heather Peace first auditioned for Lip Service, she knew it was something special. “I had a feeling in my gut that this was going to be a life-changing job,” she admits, but the success of the show surprised even her. “I’m feeling the pressure now!”

No wonder – as well as stealing the heart of every lesbian in the country (including a certain Scottish architect) as DS Sam Murray, she’s about to embark on a UK tour showcasing material from her upcoming album, This is Me. Oh, and she scored a place on the Independent’s coveted Pink List last year, before Lip Service even aired.

A classically-trained pianist – as a student in Manchester, she had a jazz residency at popular gay bar Velvet – moving between music and acting comes naturally to Peace. Long before DS Sam Murray came into our lives, she had already made a career of playing women in uniform. A role on ITV’s London’s Burning earned her a cult following – and a record deal with a pre-reality-TV Simon Cowell. It was a crash course in fame, “all the highs of getting signed and all the lows of it all going to s-t.” She groans when she recalls miming on Richard and Judy, and her experiences with BMG, her former record label, are not ones she wants to revisit in her revamped music career.

Describing herself as “a rockier Eva Cassidy”, she cites Judy Garland and Nina Simone as influences, and says that her recent burst of good fortune has “opened the floodgates” when it comes to songwriting. Previous gigs featured just Peace, her guitar and a lot of banter with the audience, but her current tour sees her supported by Jill Jackson, whose music has been featured on Lip Service. Jackson was doing a soundcheck when Peace spotted her, “and we just clicked.” The pair will be accompanied on tour by Peace’s dad who, in the manner of indulgent fathers everywhere, has been roped in to drive the bus.

Rock and roll, it ain’t, but it’s this down-to-earth attitude that has made both her and Sam a hit with Lip Service viewers. Playing the level-headed alternative to Frankie’s troubled bad girl, Sam’s tough and tender persona seems to be just what Cat needs – but is it what she wants? Peace definitely thinks so. “Sam’s stable, but she’s not boring. I think she’s a bit of a scream, really. And,” she adds wickedly, “she’s definitely competition for Frankie.” Although she claims not to be as cool as Sam, she promises that the swagger, at least, is all hers.

Having had her fill of bad scripts and bit parts, Lip Service makes a refreshing change, and not just in terms of quality. “I didn’t work with women until The Chase,” she says, referring to the 2006 Key Mellor drama. “If you get the right crowd, then it’s brilliant.” She’s also proud to be following in the footsteps of a certain US import that drew inevitable comparisons. “There were moments [in The L Word] that absolutely blew me away,” she says, describing Lip Service’s transatlantic big sister as “groundbreaking”.

As the only out lesbian in the cast, the gay community has clutched Peace to its collective bosom. “The support has been amazing,” she enthuses, describing a gig she played in snowed-in Hebden Bridge, where fans braved arctic conditions and impassable roads to come and see her play. The days where she could party in Glasgow’s gay scene in relative anonymity may be long gone, but it sounds like the sacrifice is worth it.

In the past, she’s favoured acting over music “because it’s easier to make an OK living if you’re not famous”, but would she ever give up acting to focus on her music? “Yeah,” she says without hesitation. “I think that’s the first time I’ve ever actually said that. If I could make a living from music, and then wait for a really stonking role to come along, it would be perfect.”

She doesn’t know what the future has in store for Sam, but reveals that we will be seeing some of her past. “They’re going to explore her backstory,” she says, with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, before wondering aloud if the creative team will bring out Sam’s bitchy side in series two. Beyond that, she can’t say anything else – mostly because she doesn’t know, either. “Harriet [Braun, the show’s writer] keeps telling me to stop asking her. I think she’s avoiding my calls now!”

Somehow, I don’t think she needs to worry – whatever lies in wait for Sam Murray, Heather Peace has a very bright future ahead of her.

Interview by Kaite Welsh.
Photography by Andrew Whitton.

Heather is touring the UK in Spring 2011, and she is also performing at GOGO Festival and L Beach in Summer 2011. Tickets for Heather’s tour, GOGO Festival and L Beach are available from www.heatherpeace.com.

Win tickets to GOGO Festival

Heather Peace will be performing at GOGO Festival in 2011, alongside Uh Huh Her, Betty and many other artists.

Tickets for the full weekend are £95, but we have a pair of tickets to give away to one lucky reader. To enter go to the competitions page.

The government is asking if the Equality Act should be “scrapped” as part of its Red Tape Challenge website. The site invites businesses and members of the public to comment upon legal regulations. (more…)

The European Court of Human Rights has rejected an appeal by the Russian government that sought to uphold a ban on Pride marches. Moscow Gay Pride will go ahead on 28th May. (more…)

The Salvation Army has won a £6 million contract from the government to run ‘Poppy Project’ services for victims of sex trafficking. The evangelical Christian charity will take over from Eaves, the feminist organisation that pioneered the Poppy Project. (more…)

Lesbian, bisexual and trans women are explicitly included in a new Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women. (more…)

A judge from Chile is taking her fight against discrimination to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in Washington DC after losing custody of her three children. (more…)

Freemasons are to join Uh Huh Her, Betty and Heather Peace at GOGO Festival in June 2011. (more…)

Sarah Waters’ The Night Watch loses none of its subtleties in its adaptation to the screen, writes Chloe Setter. (more…)

Taiwan’s first lesbian magazine has hit the shelves, signaling what its editor described as “the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ tradition in our society”. (more…)

Sarah Waters’ The Night Watch loses none of its subtleties in its adaptation to the screen, writes Chloe Setter. (more…)

“Beautiful”, the 2003 hit from Christina Aguilera, has been voted “the most empowering pop song of the last decade” in a poll for lesbian, gay and bisexual people commissioned by Stonewall. (more…)

The European Parliament voted on new EU-wide procedures for handling asylum claims yesterday. During the session, members backed amendments that will provide particular protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people. (more…)

A woman attacked the painting entitled “Two Tahitian Women” in the National Gallery in Washington DC.

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A new public sector equality duty has been introduced as part of the Equality Act 2010. This measure puts a legal duty on public bodies to actively promote equality. (more…)

Lesbian icon Beth Ditto and openly-bisexual singer Jessie J are set to take to the stage at London’s Lovebox Weekend, organisers announced yesterday. Other latest additions include Santigold, The Joy Formidable and Cheeryghost. (more…)

Crest Lawn Memorial Park in Atlanta has proposed that a section of the cemetery should be devoted to LGBT families.

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Campaigners in Guernsey have collected hundreds of signatures in a petition calling for civil partnership in the Crown Dependency. (more…)

A drama teacher who was found guilty of grooming a teenage pupil for sex may have other victims, according to a former colleague. (more…)

A police officer has successfully sued her former employers for discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. PC Tracey West suffered over six months of homophobic abuse whilst working for Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary. (more…)

Gay rights groups believe that the LGB population is still greatly underrepresented in both Scottish and Welsh politics.

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The U.S Government have pledged to do more to improve the health of LGBT people in America following a report by the Institute of Medicine that identified “research gaps and opportunities” for further study into LGBT health. (more…)

Lesbians everywhere can rejoice – fan favourite Katherine Moennig, who played Shane on The L Word, is set to trade Los Angeles for Glasgow. (more…)

As a Lesbilicious reader you’ll be used to reading sensible, well-balanced news about gay issues. But what if you’re in the mood for some ill-informed, deliberately misrepresentative stereotyping nonsense?

To save you the trouble of reading the tabloids yourself, we’re starting a monthly review of some of the very best / worst LGBT coverage in the straight press. So without further ado here is the first monthly round-up of all the news they deemed fit to print about us. (more…)

Lesbianism may become an official religion in the United Kingdom, if a trend identified in early analysis of this year’s census continues to rise.

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