They awed the crowds whilst on stage at Leeds Pride 2010 and will soon be crossing the Pennines to dazzle Manchester Pride at the end of August.

 
Luckily, Gayleeds.com had the pleasure of interviewing Cheryl Seedy (Jason Carter-Lord), Nadine Twilite Coil (Gary ‘gazbear’ Connolly), Kimbearly Clarke (Martin Donovan) and Sarah Hardon (Roger Stone), this fantastic four who make up most of Bears Aloud.

 
Sadly, Ginger Roberts (Daniel Turner) was away preparing for winter hibernation as sadly, her fellow-bears had forgotten to tell her that she will be far too busy for any sleep this year.

 
What the most striking thing about Bears Aloud is their ease with each other and their friendly and extremely easy going nature and their love of the group.

It all started just 18 months ago when one night, three of the original group where huddled around over pizza and started talking about the possibility of entering ‘Drag Idol’ when in the words of the now Kimbearley Clarke;

“As fate then had it, ‘Promise’ came onto the radio and we just looked at each other and all said let’s do Girls Aloud and as we all are big, hairy guys, the name Bears Aloud was born.”

 
Other names were also considered, The Spice Bears, The Sugar Bears and The Nolan Bears but Bears Aloud was the ultimate winner.
Initially, there was a huge amount of concern for the gang as traditionally, bears and drag have never really mixed so they decided to just do ‘Drag Idol’ as a one of and call it a day.

 
Luckily for them, Anna Glypta, Carla Jackson and Roxy Tart who are well established Drag Queen stars gave plenty of advice and help which encouraged the bears to continue with their act after ‘Drag Idol’ and their support is something that the bears are incredibly grateful for.

Leeds Market was the answer to the Bear’s prayers when it came to their costume design as, admittedly being big boys, regular women’s clothes shops could not accommodate them at all. Nadine said, “We found this gold, shimmery fabric in the market and luckily, we knew someone who could sew so two bits of fabric sewn together were our first outfits.”

Describing their first performance in Blayds Bar the bears describe themselves as being terrified but, to their joy, it went down an absolute storm Kimbearly thinks one of the reasons was because “it was not the glamorous side of things. It was just five blokes with make-up on, dodgy wigs and not professional dancers.” Nadine added, “We put on a proper show and the crowd had not expected that and it really entertained them.”
After the first few shows were over and done with and the trepidation that no-one would like them had diminished, the bears now feel really excited before going on stage, all apart from newcomer Cheryl Seedy.

Cheryl Seedy joined the group to replace the wonderful Cheryl Hole who moved away from Bears Aloud in order to pursue her solo work and is still very much loved by the Bears.

Before the first performance which was only a few short weeks ago, Cheryl Seedy said, “I was so scared, if someone would have put a bucket in front of me I would have thrown up in it. But, once I got up there it was great.”

On joining a well known and established group, Cheryl said “I was nervous, I had always said I would like a place if someone stepped out but when it actually came to it, I thought what the hell have I put myself up for and why could I have not kept my big mouth shut? Now I am loving it though and Pride is an amazing and important event to me.”

When Cheryl Hole left, the bears did consider staying as a foursome but something just felt wrong and they really missed a fifth person.

Bears Aloud only finally begin to realise how much their fame had spread when they went to Gran Canaria Pride last year they said, “It was amazing to be in an parade thousands of miles away from home and hear people shout our names and realise who we were.

What continues to make this group extra special is their constant surprise and excitement about the fact that people love them. Sarah Hardon said, “During Leeds Pride last year, groups of girls kept coming over and asking for their picture to be taken with us, it took half an hour to walk about twenty yards as people just wanted catch us on camera.”

Bears Aloud work in partnership with Blayds Bar and have the highest of praise for Blayds owners Robert and Duncan who have supported and followed them throughout.

It is obvious that this lovely group of men spend a great deal of time together, in work and play along with their ‘Hags’ which are Hussbears and Grrrfriends. Their love of life, love of each other and love of Bears Aloud is immense and this shines through when they are all on stage.

Bears Aloud are talented and dedicated individuals who together make an incredible act and the amount of sheer entertainment that they provide is just a pure pleasure to watch.
This year they enthused 23,000 revellers at Leeds Pride and as well as many other Pride events, they will be performing a showcase spectacular at Manchester Pride at the end of August.

There is no doubt that Bears Aloud will continue to be a huge success and as their name becomes more and more known and loved throughout the world, there is no guessing to what dizzy heights these incredible men will ascend to.

Gayleeds.com would like to thank Bears Aloud for their time in giving this interview and also, that you were incredible at Leeds Pride 2010.

Bears Aloud Website. http://web.me.com/michaelfraser/Bears_Aloud/Welcome.html

Bear Aloud Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/bears.aloud?ref=search

Sarah Carmody