THEGAYUK

Category: Interview

  • Spotlight X Factor: Andrea Faustini

    He’s been winning the hearts of viewers all over the UK. We get to know Andrea Faustini a little better.

    He wowed the judges with his initial performance ofWho’s Loving You in the room auditions. Cheryl even said, “That is unbelievable. You’ve got such control over your voice. When you came in, I was not expecting that at all….don’t judge a book by its cover…”

    He then reduced Mel B and Cheryl to tears with his version of Whitney’s Didn’t Know My Own Strength at Boot Camp, even Simon was moved to a standing ovation.

    What are you most looking forward to about doing the live shows?

    “I just want to sing my heart out, show everyone who I really am, and give everything I have. I think this is the greatest chance I’ve ever had in my life. I still can’t believe it right now.”

    And your rivals?

    “I’m not thinking about rivals. I’m just thinking about the singers who are really good. I really like Paul, I love his style and I think he’s an amazing soul singer. I think he’s going to do really well. I wouldn’t call him a rival but I think he’s very good.”

    And on the makeover?

    I think it’s a very fun side of this job. Obviously you have to be focused on singing but that is a very fun side and I love choosing outfits..”

    What will you do if you win?

    “I would buy a car, maybe. I’m not very good at driving so just a small one, to start with.”

  • INTERVIEW | Paul Burston

    If you don’t know who Paul Burston is, you’ve clearly been living under a rock. A stalwart of the gay scene, ACTUP activist, one-time editor of TimeOut’s LGBT Section, a writer for multiple magazines and newspapers including the Guardian and author of 4 best-selling novels.

    In your time you must have had some incredible brushes with the rich and famous – who has been your favourite?
    I’ve been a journalist for 25 years and I’ve been lucky enough to meet a great many famous people I admire, including Debbie Harry, Victoria Wood and Princess Diana. But if I had to pick one, I’d say Elizabeth Taylor. I met her at London Lighthouse in the mid-90s. She was so tiny – and every inch a star. I’d always loved her, and she didn’t disappoint. She was one of the first stars to speak out about AIDS and a true original. Watching Helen Bonham-Carter play her in that TV drama recently only highlighted just how unique she was. Nobody does Liz Taylor like Liz Taylor.

    We love that you call her Liz, like totally on first name terms. Bravo Gay stripes.

    Finish this sentence: Champagne is…
    …Great fun while it lasts, not so much fun the following day. Champagne hangovers are the worst!

    We hear you, Paul, we hear you!

    Ultimate girl band: Rihanna, Katy Perry and Miley or Kylie, Madonna and Belinda Carlisle?
    I’d have to go with Kylie, Madonna and Belinda. But only because Kate Bush, Debbie Harry and Stevie Nicks weren’t an option.

    Ooo you’re ultra old skool, (and you’ve made us spell School in that kooky way…) Excellent.

    The campest moment of your life?
    Introducing Celia Imrie at Polari last year. We managed to keep her surprise guest appearance a tightly guarded secret, although a few of the regulars had their suspicions. As soon as I announced her, there was pandemonium! If you’d asked me before then, I’d have said it was introducing Fenella Fielding – also at Polari. Both are fabulously camp women, beloved by gay audiences. And both are great supporters of the LGBT community. It was a privilege to introduce them.

    You are kind of like Cilla Black, matchmaking the gays with their icons. We love it.

    What do other people think your most attractive feature is?
    I’d like to say it was my cheeky smile and sparkling personality, but it’s probably my legs. I was a keen cyclist for years, so I have well-developed leg muscles. And yes, I’m familiar with the saying, “nice legs, shame about the face!”

    Ooh He’s got footballers legs and self-effacing. Are you single by any chance?

    If you were PM for a day what would be your first ruling…
    I’d bestow honours on Bette Bourne and David Hoyle. Dame-hoods, naturally.

    Natch.

    What are the two things you couldn’t live without?
    My husband. He’s the love of my life and I can’t imagine life without him.

    My iPhone. I’ve written most of my new novel on it. I no longer carry a notebook everywhere. Everything is written in Notes on my phone and backed up onto my desktop. Now I can actually read my own notes!

    You are ridiculously modern. Furthermore, you managed to plug the fact you’re working on a new novel. The man is a professional.

    Most embarrassing drunken moment?
    Meeting David Bowie at an after show party. I’m a massive fan and got hideously drunk on free Champagne. When he arrived, I launched myself at him and announced that when I was 15, he saved my life. He smiled knowingly and said, ‘really?’ ‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘And you’re still the man!’
    I couldn’t believe the crap coming out of my mouth. I mean, ‘you’re the man!’ Who says that? He must get it a lot. He’s David Bowie, after all. But he was very gracious, a perfect gentleman.

    We know exactly what you mean, we did that with Kelly Osborne once. Well, we think it was Kelly Osborne. It was dark.

    Is there a gay Mafia?
    Not really. But some of us like to dress the part.

    Snaps.

    Liza needs to do… next?
    I love Liza. She’s been written off so many times, but she’s still here.
    She’s a living legend. She just needs to keep on living. That’s enough for me.

    Gotch ya, long live Liza. May she stumble from party to party forever.

    Check out Paul Burston’s monthly Polari Literary Salon at: www.polariliterarysalon.co.uk

  • INTERVIEW | Sinitta

    If you don’t know who Sinitta is then we can only ask one question, which rock have you been sleeping under? We talk to X FACTOR’s favourite guest… Sinitta.

    So… So Many Men So Little Time, we’re getting a theme here with your hits – all to do with man loving, (girl after our own heart)… So what are you looking for this time, someone Macho? Toy Boyish? or other?
    Actually now I’m looking for someone gorgeous with a big big BIG heart!
Lips that are juicy and chewy, a touch that is firm but gentle… I’m crazy and emotional, I need passion, warmth and soul. I want eyes that I can melt in and a chest I can lie on and weep on and sleep on and a body I can feast on. Forever… Sorry Did I say that out loud?

    5/5 She’s an animal. Someone get this woman a man… Stat!

    What’s your feelings about grown men in Onesies?
    Hmmm I actually got to see quite a few this year and they were men of all different shapes and sizes. They looked ridiculous but comfortable, so it was kind of sweet really.

    4/5 Come on now Sinitta, ridiculous is the word… Comfortable and fashion are two words that should never be heard together… You should know that!

    Do you know what ‘Sounding’ is?
    NO!

    Explain to Sinitta that it involves men’s bits and a metal rod…

    Even with the clues – just NO! No idea!

    2/5 The naive mind is a precious place. Once you’ve seen it – you can’t un-see it.

    Have you ever given or tried to give fashion advice to Simon Cowell?
    Of course!

    3/5 And does he listen? We think you need to take scissors to his high wasted jeans and cut cut cut.

    What’s the strangest thing you’ve ever read about yourself?
    Oh dear, ok latest one is that Simon has me gagged so I can’t talk about stuff. How can you GAG THE MOUTH?!! Anyway, it’s not true, I actually exercise my own censorships and discretions, it’s Louis who needs a Gag! And a Bit, and a Bridle!

    6/5 Love that she’s referred to herself as THE MOUTH. Extra points for the capitalisation but we’ve deducted some points for the mental image of Louis in a gag, bit and bridle.

    The biggest pain in the world is… a) Simon Cowell b) Child birth, or c) Getting a tropical plant’s leaf stuck in a place that it shouldn’t be?
    This one’s easy, a Broken Heart. That thing can just ache and ache and ache for such a long time, you wonder if you will EVER be the same again. But TRUTH is, eventually you will get better and it will be ok.

    4/5 White wine heals all wounds darl, white wine and Tramadol.

    Is there any possible way to out camp the leaf dress?
    I really do hope so, though I must admit I haven’t thought of it yet… Imagine if I have “peaked in campness” now, with so many years left to live – nightmare!

    4/5 Perish the thought – Can we suggest you in an oversized champagne glass, served with 4 topless hunks, wearing nothing but the labels of a well known champagne brand?

    You seem to be the nicest celebrity that ever graced the earth! There must be an inner Diva? Ever had a stand up argument with another celebrity? Who, What, When and did you patch it up?
    Aah, that’s really sweet of you to say that… Hmmm I did have a very famous fight with Pete Burns back in the 90s – we were performing with Kylie. Playing the Tokyo Dome he is about 6ft 2 and me 5ft 4 and he thought I was babyish and said, “Here she is-LITTLE MISS SHOWBIZ” in a catty voice and tried to fling me off of the stage! I think we were fighting over a boy, I can’t really remember what triggered it, so I grabbed him by his weave and shook him until all of his rings fell off and threw him onto the ground and stood on him in my red patent leather heels! 
Ok, now the truth -
I was pretty lame I must admit, I think I just let some big man pick me up and carry me away and then started yelling back at him from a safe distance! We are good though Pete and I, we actually get along well if we see each other. He’s actually a big softie!

    10/5 – Automatic 2 extra points for mentioning Kylie. Two more points for the over active imagination and the visual of grabbing Pete by the weave and 1 more for the truth fairy…

    What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
    Best advice I have ever been given – gosh so much good stuff… Be true to yourself always, then at least you always know who you are and where you are at. That may have been me who said that. Or, if you are going through Hell, just keep on going and don’t stop until you get the hell out of there – and no matter how hurt you get never give up on Love… Love fiercely, even when you fight… Love each other

    4/5 This is very Celine Dion. We like.

    What are you doing, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday night? Aren’t you knackered?
    Knackered!!! Actually when not being a disco diva or being Mama, you can find me on my lover’s chest watching House of Cards. On Netflix! It’s incredible… After that I will be watching Scandal. Kerry Washington! Sounds so normal right? But, I will be wearing Westwood heels and a Chanel feather jacket…

    7/5 Sinitta you kill us. Long live the Leaf wearing campness that is Diva Mamma Sinitta.

    So Many Men, So Little Time is out now via all good digital retailers.

  • INTERVIEW | Dina Martina, “There was a time when I enjoyed gentlemen callers, but that time is done and we all die alone”

    The incomparable and hysterically funny Dina Martina has described herself as a tragic singer, horrible dancer and surreal raconteur. Trust me she is all of those and more, but ever since she first exposed her bizarre performances to a startled world back in Seattle’s Center on Contemporary Art in 1989 she has accumulated legions of devoted fans who have dubbed her “magically warped”, “hilariously unfortunate” and “utter genius”. She is in her own words totally ‘off the charts’.

    Absolutely packed with ludicrous song, horrifying stories and overburdened costumes, Dina Martina’s shows are impossible to adequately describe, other than that they’ve become synonymous with jaw-dropping pathos and mind-blowing comedy. On her first trip to London ‘Time Out’ hailed her as ‘divinely funny’ and audiences have demanded she come back to the UK every year since. This unique and unpredictable performer is very much an acquired taste, but it’s one that we at THEGAYUK love to indulge in, so we were thrilled (and a tad apprehensive) when the great lady agreed to take tea with us as the summer drew to a close.

    Thank you for taking Tea with me this afternoon Miss Martina, could you describe exactly where we are and what you are wearing for our readers?
    Thank you. We’re in my suite at the Hampton Inn La Guardia and because this is a print interview, I am wearing jeans and a camisole. The camisole is from Victoria’s Big & Tall Secret.

    How did you spend your summer this year?
    I spent my summer performing in Ptown (Provincetown, Massachusetts), which is so full of tradition and heritages. It’s the first place the Pilgrims stopped in the US, but they moved on to Plymouth ’cause nobody goes there so parking’s real easy. Ptown is also the nest egg of American Theatre, so it’s crawling with celebrities. On any given day, you could be eating sandwiches with Joan Collins or disco dancing with Fatty Arbuckle and the Pointer Sisters.

    You are back in Provincetown for your 10th season, what keeps bringing you back?
    First off, two words: saltwater taffy and award-winning fudge! Second off, it’s such a charming little finger of land, it’ll steal your heart and your soul. A lot of the locals say Ptown’s best-kept secret is the great white sharks, but I think it’s the ticks. Oh, and the biting flies are always a perineum favourite.

    You are quite unlike any other entertainer we have ever seen, how would you describe your own performances?
    My mother told me if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all – so I don’t. But what I will say is that if you come to my show, you may or may not see the following: white carriages under the stars, live violin dubstep routines, shivering girls in short skirts and high heels, one of those old, beat-up school buses with chickens on it, and an elevator that only goes down.

    Many poor scribes (like me) fail to do you justice, what is your favourite review?
    I can’t pinpoint a specific review, but there are press quotes that stand out: “As graceful as a Coke machine moving about on a hand truck”, “She looks like Liza Minnelli and Liz Taylor hit with a brick” and “Dina comes from an alternate reality where female superstars resemble walrus prostitutes”.

    After the show the other night many of the ladies and young men were talking about your unique fashion sense, do you have any tips that you could pass on?
    For myself, I enjoy a snug fit to better showcase my ballpark figure. I find that if it fits like sausage casing, you feel more alive. Vive la tourniquet!

    When you go home at night is there anyone else there to keep you company besides Phoebe your daughter?
    One night, a few years back, there was a woman who was standing in the corner of my bedroom, but she left through the window when I turned my lamp on. Other than that, I’m just in love with Show Business. Of course, there was a time when I enjoyed gentlemen callers, but that time is done and we all die alone.

    Why is it that of all the awards you have won, your movies that are part of your show have never ever been nominated for an Oscar?
    I’m guessing it’s just a clerical error, but I can’t say for sure. Thank you for mentioning it, though.

    As you write all your own songs (or ‘alter’ others) do you have a new album out?
    Yes, I have a new just-released, soon-to-be-finished album titled Dina Martina: Haunted by Maritime Tragedies. I’m so proud of “Maritime Trads” because it’s got a real pan-Asian vibe; more so than my 3 previous albums (Dina Martina: Street of Dreams/Blunt Force Trauma, Dina Martina: Anthem of a Fur Trader’s Wife, and the Christian rock album, Dina Martina Deuterockin’ Me).

    You’ve appeared at Soho Theatre in London 3 times now, if your British fans nominated you to be the next Queen, would you stay and accept?
    Those are some mighty sensible shoes to fill. I think I’d rather start small, like Court Jester, and work my way up. There’s less dissension in the ranks when you’re promoted from within.

    Will you come back across the pond and see us again soon?
    Nothing would pleasure me more.

    N.B. those Press Quotes are 100% real…..

    www.dinamartina.com

  • INTERVIEW | Christopher Green, Mashing Up Ida

    Christopher Green has been described as “part politician, part showman, part sociologist, part healer and an entertainer”. Having won a multitude of awards, travelled the globe performing his wonderful characters and writing for and appearing on Radio 4, he remains not only grounded but as someone who utilises his art to bring people together.

    His character, Ida Barr, is gaining not only popularity but also a reputation for being one of the “must see” acts that is currently bringing communities together. Working alongside Sheffield University and Home Live Art, Christopher is bringing his unique and ridiculously entertaining character to Sheffield for the Festival of the Mind. By bringing a 130-year-old music hall star to embrace modern music, and taking the mash up far beyond anything that Glee could ever hope to achieve, the irrepressible Ida Barr is about to bring generations together.

    Christopher very kindly spoke to THEGAYUK about his forthcoming project, why character is more important than drag and about meeting Her Royal Highness Anni Frid of Abba.

    And where did the character come from?
    I was putting together a series of events at the Cafe Du Paris in London, and I was researching in the National Sound Archives of the British Library. I heard a live recording of a minor musical star, Ida Barr, and I immediately thought “that’s it”. I thought, I’m going to resurrect this woman. She had two big hits, “Everybody’s Doing It” and “Oh, You Beautiful Doll”. I put together the basics of the character and referenced (i.e. nicked) some of Ida’s creaky gags. The character then developed from there. I was born just over nine months after Ida had died and I wondered how, if she was alive, she would view things now. At the end of last year, thanks to the British Music Hall Society, I spent a couple of weeks in the company of the trunk that Ida had donated to the Society upon her death. Ida Barr has simply grown from there and I am proud to be respectfully giving Ida a new lease of life.

    Ida is going to be travelling north to Sheffield this weekend for Sheffield University’s “Festival of the Mind”. How did your involvement with this start?
    It started with a lady called Professor Vanessa Toolman. She is both an Academic and an amazing person. She has worked alongside me, and Home Live Art (the producers of Ida Barr’s Mash Up). They are a force of nature together and they make for a dynamic pairing. We’ve done a number of projects together and the Festival of the Mind is an event which aims to link academics and artists with members of the community on an intellectual level. There are a significant number of free events over the course of the festival, such as lectures, exhibitions and participatory art events. I have had a long involvement with Sheffield University and with Sheffield as a place. I was born in Sheffield and moved out to Matlock in Derbyshire where I grew up. I still have extended family in Sheffield and it is a great place to be. As a town it’s incredibly productive artistically, in particular there continues to be some really great bands coming out of Sheffield, but as a city it gets on with things itself and is beautifully and quietly understated.

    So as you grew up in Matlock, why hasn’t Ida been invited to turn on the Matlock illuminations?
    [Laughs]. That’s a very good question. I guess the answer is that she won’t be until you get the petition out there. Perhaps you could collude with the Matlock Mercury to get the ball rolling?

    I would imagine that the Derbyshire community would either stand there laughing themselves to bits, or simply gaze on with their mouths open not really knowing what to think!
    Quite probably.

    So, Ida is down to perform her infamous mash up at the Festival of the Mind on Sunday, 24 September . What is she going to do?
    The show is going to be a community mash up of old and new songs. There will be an hour or so of a show and then Ida facilitating the singing and bringing together the audience. There is the notion of it being a sing-along with people being genuinely asked to join in and for them to bring to the show what they can bring. For example, we are going to be mashing up First World War songs with Rhianna. It doesn’t matter whether or not the audience know all of the words to “Jerusalem”; even if they can only join in with a few words or a couple of lines of the chorus, then that’s all that they are asked to do. There is a choir there who will be assisting in the sing-along and it is going to be a participatory event in good spirits, not one of those comedic events where people in the audience are picked on or ridiculed. The whole thing has an immense sense of fun.

    So, who is the delightful Ida Barr?
    Ida is probably the UK’s only music hall star/R&B hip hop icon. Having had a successful career as a music hall singer, she has transcended generations to embrace modern music and the culturally diverse landscape of London’s East End where she’s been in retirement for several decades. Whilst her glory days may be behind her, her creativity is still blossoming, following the release of her multi-selling albums, “Artificial Hip Hop”, “Slipped Disco” and “Get Old or Die Tryin”; she is the “People’s Pensioner”

    So are we talking “Knees Up Mother Brown” mixed with “The Only Girl in the World”?
    Yes, these songs are part of our heritage and part of our psyche. It’s important that we continue to sing them. They are fun and they are part of our culture. Some songs are passed down from generation to generation. Look at “White Christmas”, it’s still selling copies and it’s over half a century old. Historically, songs have been passed down by people singing them to each other and singing together as a community. That is really important.

    You have done a lot of work within the gay community. How did that come about and what has been the motivation behind that work?
    I started in “Duckie” in London and really came out of the mid-1990s “queer movement”. My early shows did contain a healthy community aspect but I believe that performance should be open to everyone and that anyone who wants to come can come, regardless of gender, sexuality, race, religion, age or any other features which can be used to define them. For me, since being around 30 years old, being gay has not been an issue. We are very lucky that that is the case, and I certainly consider myself lucky. However, being gay is still an issue for a lot of people. It’s important sometimes to get out there and say “It’s ok to be gay – it can be easy and it can be straightforward”. In my view, it is not my aim to say “look, I’m playing to a gay crowd”. What I don’t want is to leave anybody feeling alienated. My art is open to everyone who wishes to access it. Saying that you will play specifically to a gay crowd is simply segregating a community when it doesn’t need to be segregated. I’m not interested in segregating an audience. I’m more interested in bringing an audience together. I’m not sure I have anything that important to say to such a niche group.

    Do you feel that there is a shift in the way that the gay community and different generations are coming together?
    I get to do a lot of weddings and recently have been doing an increasing number of same-sex weddings. What I have seen is that there are so many families out there, from Auntie Doris who is 93; right down to the children running round aged four and five, and for them being gay is simply not an issue. They have fully embraced having a lesbian or gay daughter or son, or having a lesbian or gay member of the family. We are fortunate that this is happened really quickly.

    So, if this is not specifically about a gay audience and more about bringing people together through art, what influences you in terms of your work and characters?
    There are very few aspects of my work which have not been influenced by my life but my work is not simply gay orientated. I like to connect with people on different levels. For example one of my characters, Tina C, is a very political country and western singer. As her, I have lots of different pokes and jibes at politics and that is probably what the gay and lesbian community may pick up on more than other sections of the community, but then someone who is a hard-core country and western fan will get something else out of the character that the lesbian and gay community might not; unless of course they are lesbian and gay hard-core country music fans. I was asked to present Peter Tatchell with an award from Gay Times Magazine as the character, Tina C. Whilst this was immense fun, Tina is a character who simply is uncaring and it was a challenge in some ways for me to maintain that character. I had a choice either to come across as incredibly uncaring or to step out of character. I feel things like this are important as the gay community, as do all aspects of the community, need people who are dedicated to work for them and push matters forward.

    Would you class Ida Barr as a drag act or as a female impersonator?
    The answer is neither. I would describe Ida as a character. I find that the characters most different from me are the ones who are most useful. For example, Tina C is highly successful, rich and is completely diametrically opposed to me. With Ida, she is old and disenfranchised. They are, in my eyes, characters who just happened to be female. They are not characters born out of drag as you would traditionally define that medium, nor are they female impersonators as you may associate with the likes of Danny La Rue. Being in character should free you up to be able to say and do things that you perhaps normally wouldn’t.

    You mean, for example, like Caroline Ahern? She can put on a wig and make up, transform into Mrs Merton and get away with asking questions that you would never normally get away with on a chat show?
    Absolutely. It’s like with Ida Barr’s Mash Up, I have undertaken the show with such broad sectors of the community including children, older people, vulnerable young people and those who are socially excluded. If I bounded in as myself and said “so how’s everyone feeling today? Let’s have a singsong” I would simply alienate my audience but having a character such as Ida that they can relate to and who puts them at ease not only liberates you as a performer but liberates the audience as well.

    So what is it that makes the public so drawn to characters such as Ida Barr, Dame Edna and hinge and bracket?
    It’s about the quality of the performance. Artists can be really amazing and incredible things happen when they are liberated as artists, and that is exactly what these characters do. But equally, with the audience liberated, as well as the artist, it makes for a really appealing combination.

    Benny and Bjorn from Abba are quoted as saying “Christopher Green’s work is funny and intelligent”. High praise indeed, but how did that come about?
    I had prepared a piece called Pop Junkie which was quite early on in my career. They had to be contacted as I had put in an Abba song and had to contact them for permission. They were sent a copy of the script and that’s how the quote came about. Out of all of the positive press that I have received, that has to be one of my all-time favourite quotes

    You recorded a piece for Radio 4 called “Like An Angel Passing Through My Room. It’s a really touching piece of work. Is Abba a huge part of your life?
    Yes, and that piece is all about how I got to meet Anni Frid herself. It was funny, as she vaguely remembered the script for Pop Junkie, which was my first direct contact with the band that I had grown up absolutely loving. Meeting Anni Frid was an experience I will never forget.

    Ida Barr’s Mash Up will take place at 2pm and 6pm on Sunday 21st September 2014 at The Spiegeltent in Barkers Pool, Sheffield (outside the City Hall). The show is free and promises to be great fun.

    Further details of the show can be found at here along with other information about the Festival of the Mind.

  • INTERVIEW: My Transexual Summer: Lewis Hancox

    Lewis Hancox, a 24-year-old Digital Film and Video student tells Matt Peake about what it was like to appear in Channel 4’s ‘My Transsexual Summer’, his plans for the future and about the love of his life, Sophie.

    Can you explain the process of how Channel 4 initially approached you?

    I made video blogs on YouTube ever since I first started my transition to see how I changed. Twenty Twenty, the production company, found me on YouTube and emailed saying ‘we found your videos and we think you’d be good for this programme. Can we give you a call?’ They came round to film an audition tape then rung me up saying we’d like you to be part of the show.
    During the show you lived in a house with all the other Trans people? How was it meeting everyone?

    Yes, it was a big massive house in Bedford and we stayed there every other weekend during the summer. That was really fun. I’d never met anyone else transgender before and I was really excited to meet other people in my position and really nervous because I knew cameras were going to be on us. Straight away me and Drew just clicked because I think she’s my age and she’s a northerner and we just had loads in common. That would have never happened if it wasn’t for the show.
    I find it interesting that the representation of trans people in the show was so varied from people only weeks into their transition and others who were years into theirs.

    Yes, we were all at different stages in our transition. At the time I hadn’t had my chest surgery. The show helped me raise the money as St. Helen’s wouldn’t fund the chest surgery saying it wasn’t part of the gender reassignment process, which is ridiculous. Within the time that the show was filmed people really transformed.
    Obviously having the support for the chest surgery funding. What was the general reaction from the public?

    I was a bit worried and almost dropped out of the show at the last minute because I didn’t want to reveal to everyone that I was transgender. I felt it was something to be ashamed of and I was embarrassed by it but I literally didn’t get a single negative reaction.
    The most unlikely people in St. Helen’s, like the chavs, were shouting at me saying ‘oh, it’s that guy off the telly! Well done!’. In terms of transitioning, some people don’t even want to be classed as male or female and would rather be called ‘genderqueer’. Personally, I just see that being transgender for me is a medical thing. I feel like I’m just a guy that happens to be born a bit differently. It doesn’t not make me feel ashamed or embarrassed because I don’t mind telling people I was born a bit different. It’s a condition that I have or had. I have to put it behind me and I’m just me.
    You said you’re still in contact with Drew and Fox but have you met the others since the show?

    After the show came out we did a UK club tour. We got to be in the VIP sections and basically live the high life for a year. So that was amazing. I now live down south and am moving to Brighton in April with my girlfriend. Sarah lives in Brighton so I’ll probably see her a lot more.

    You met your girlfriend after the tour didn’t you?

    Yes, basically it worked out quite well. Sophie saw the show and messaged me on Facebook saying ‘Congratulations on getting the money for your surgery!’ or something along those lines. I messaged her back and checked out her pictures because I thought she was hot. I never actually thought that I would meet someone online but we just got on straightaway. We live in Buckinghamshire now. Everything just flowed really “I feel like I’m just a guy that happens to be born a bit differently. It doesn’t not make me feel ashamed or embarrassed because I don’t mind telling people I was born a bit different” naturally.
    What are you up to at the moment?

    I’m studying Digital Film and Video. It’s the one time when I’m actually doing well at Uni because I’ve dropped out of other Uni’s in the past. I’ve also been doing loads of work on the side with Fox so I’m building up a really big portfolio.
    How was it coming out to your parents?

    I told my mum first and she completely understood because when I was a kid I used to say that I was a boy all the time so I don’t think it was really a shock for her. She was still concerned but only because she thought that I would have a hard life. We both didn’t know anything about it so we did research and watched shows about it. We were both learning together.
    My dad was the one who was a little bit weird about things. When I told him, it was like the news had just been sprung on him. I think he felt that I should have discussed it with him, rather than saying ‘I am going to transition’. Maybe he felt that he wanted to be a part of that decision. I think the real issue was that we didn’t see each other enough. On ‘My Transsexual Summer’, they wanted me and my dad to talk and we became closer, with him beginning to accept it. He’s completely cool with it now. He wanted me and Drew to get married at one point. I actually came out as liking girls before coming out as Trans so I suppose that I’ve sort of had two coming outs.
    So what is your ultimate ambition?

    I really want to write a comedy drama based on my life about being Trans with me as the person going through college having to experience that but making light of it and turning it into comedy.

    How do you feel about the representation of transsexuals in the media?

    I think that slowly it’s getting better but what I’d like to see is more Trans people in the media, but not about them being Trans. For example, if I’m a filmmaker, I want to be known as the filmmaker who happens to be trans. I think that would help people recognise that we’re all normal, and that we’ve all got ambitions, hopes and dreams. There is still prejudice and it needs to be tackled directly. Also there are not many Trans men in the media. I know that there are a lot of people that don’t think Trans guys exist, like my girlfriend thought, before she watched ‘My Transsexual Summer’, that a Transgendered person was a man changing into a woman, she didn’t realise that it could be the other way round.
    How do you feel about the gay media’s representation of transsexuals?

    I think in the media that there is too much focus on surgery and things like that and it’s good to educate people but it’s not good if someone were to ask someone if they’ve had surgery or not, to just be nosey. It’s not like people who aren’t Trans are going around ask others what their bits are like. Why should that matter?
    How do you feel about the representation of the Trans community within the supposedly ‘LGBT’ organisations?

    There is the debate that the T shouldn’t be with the LGBT because LGB refers to sexuality and transgender isn’t sexuality. I’ve never been involved or been to an LGBT group for support because I’ve never needed it. I tell a lie, in fact I’ve been to an LGBT group once when I was at Salford Uni and everyone just assumed I was a gay guy when I was there. I think there’s still work to be done with people realising that LGBT isn’t just about being gay. I’ve never felt the need to be part of that though as I don’t see myself as any different. I’m a straight guy and I don’t feel the need to go to LGBT groups.

    Could you explain more about the surgery that you’ve had?

    Well before the surgery, you have to have had your name changed and have been living a whole year as the new gender. It sounds weird to say as I’ve been living my whole life as this gender, except for that time in high school, as a guy. I then got on the hormones for a few years before I had the chest surgery because I had to raise the money myself. I applied for the lower surgery and everything was straight forward and within a few weeks they said did I want to come in for my first stage. There are two different types of surgery. There’s the phalloplasty, which was featured in the show with the guy who had the skin graft from his arm, but I’ve gone with a different type of surgery called the metoidioplasty.

    This interview is from our Feb 2014 Issue – available from iTunes and Android.

  • INTERVIEW: Mr Gay World 2014, Stuart Hatton

    INTERVIEW: Mr Gay World 2014, Stuart Hatton

    If you think beauty pageants are just for girls staring vacantly into the middle distance, where every answer is “world peace”, over-the-top tiaras and feeding starving pandas, you’ve not clapped your eyes on this year’s Mr Gay UK. Step up Hunky Stuart Alexander Hatton, the smouldering, 28-year- old, Star-Trek loving dance teacher who is the UK’s Mr Gay – and now The Mr Gay World 2014…

    (more…)

  • INTERVIEW | The Freemasons

    Presenting The Freemasons, a Grammy-nominated Brighton based English-Irish duo of DJ’s, producers and remixers. They are known the world over for their incredible remixes of some of the world’s biggest artists, here they give us the lowdown on new album Shakedown 3, and working with the Minogues.

    Absolutely love Shakedown 3! The dance scene has seen a massive change and resurgence after a rough few years, is that one of the reasons why you scaled back a bit on Freemasons duties?
    First of all we’re both so glad you love it as it was a labour of love and very personal. Yes we pulled back a touch when the sound changed and what we tend to call new trance (EDM) came to the fore, as a lot of it wasn’t our thing (we do dabble, just never inhale). Also sonic production changes in dance music, meant everyone from our era was caught a little bit with pants down and had to dig back in, do some homework and get everything sounding bigger, better, faster (and even stronger). It was a 2 year process – possibly more, to get the new material sounding the way we wanted and just as we were firing back up, what should happen? … Classic house suddenly jumped back into the public psyche and before you knew it pianos and organ bass lines were back – Yipeeeeee. Not only that, the young producers had moved the sound on even further and suddenly you find yourself very excitedly poring over Cool Cut and Buzz Chart listings, as some brilliant new House classics are being made!

    I’m afraid, I need to ask the obligatory “why did you choose Freemasons” for a name? Is it because you are secretly plotting to take over the world, one remix at a time?
    It would have worked if it wasn’t for those pesky kids!! Anyone old enough to remember Hannah Barbera raise your hands (quietly) now… It is actually a fairly mundane answer – the first FM studio was very close to Hove’s Freemasons Tavern and it was a great Friday night pub back then where literally anything could happen. The record company phoned up for an artist name whilst we’d popped out to get some ‘air’ and we looked down at the menu. However one day later I was coming back from a horrible meeting in London after a Japanese project had gone completely beyond pear and I noticed I was surrounded by a really chatty bunch of (what can only be described as) pensioners. They’d just been up to some do at the Lord Mayor of Westminster’s (the proper posh London Mayor, not the blond Tory jester) and were swapping war stories. I have to say I was really warmed by their friendship and later on they kept talking about the lodge – I was surrounded by Freemasons! Life has a funny way of doing that. If you dig deep there really are no coincidences.

    You recently launched a little side project called “Pegasus” what made you want to do that?
    It was a reaction to some of the one note anti-musical Noise Fest that seemed to be everywhere when Dubstep and EDM hit hard. Now I’ll never be snobby about any movement as without punk, there would not have been New Wave, and without New Wave we wouldn’t have had Yazoo, ABC’s Lexicon of Love and Blue Monday by New Order. But personally (and call me old fashioned) I love a good ol’ chord change with a cracking vocal melody across it, making your ears breathe and the hairs on your arms stand up. Now a few years back, the hairs were standing up on my arms but mainly in blind panic as much of the sound of ‘then’ resembled a Combine Harvester eating Notting Hill’s vinyl exchange and appeared to actually only have one note in it (and bit of ‘wobble’ – whatever that was). When will.i.am ruined a perfectly good Dirty Dancing ballad, that was the straw that not only broke the camel’s back, but gave it a damn good shafting too. We had to do something, so we started Pegasus as a guise in which we could make beautiful things again. Across tempos and sometimes outside of house, whilst everyone else was trying to make sounds to scare young children. Luckily the East End was brimming full of pride having rediscovered house again, and in no time we felt thoroughly fashionable again. In The Blue from Shakedown II was the first Pegasus track ever and we’d never thought organ bass lines would come back – who knew!

    You guys are massively famous all over the world, where do you love playing most?
    England, Australia, America and the Balkans have been our second homes for the last 10 years so they will always be special, but every gig is a new adventure and new friends to make, so we never look shy to any trip.

    You also have a massive following in the gay clubbing culture, did you ever expect that?
    No, it came as a completely wonderful surprise, but let’s be honest here – there’s no better place in the world than a gay club for a good sing-along, and as you know, we do LOVE a Diva, and we love our songs. To be supported for so long so passionately by such a wonderful community is (I would happily say) one of our greatest accolades. We’ve made life-long friends, we had our own tribute float at Sydney Mardi Gras, and some utterly amazing things have happened, including a waxing in Fire Island!

    Still on the ‘gay theme’ you also remixed queen of the gays, Kylie, what was that like and did she like it?
    It was simply brilliant. My dear friend Steve Anderson has been involved in the live shows for years and Biff Stannard and Ash who worked on The One and with Kylie for years, are wonderful chums, so we’ve only ever been a few degrees of separation from Team Minogue. Also, after meeting and chatting to Dannii a few stolen times in Oz, I have to say that nature could not have produced a nicer/kinder pair of artists, role models and businesswomen than Kylie and Dannii if it tried to, and they deserve every bit of love they get from us all.

    How did it feel being nominated for a Grammy award?
    I think I nearly got run over when I got the call! It’s the kinda reverse of stopping traffic and we are both so incredibly proud. I think my favourite part was texting my Father. He’s recently retired and has only just told me he always wanted to get into the music industry as a singer as a young man in the 50s. Unfortunately he was from a tiny village in the country and he was never able to fulfill his heart’s ambition. When I saw him next he bought up an engraved glass he’d had made just so I would get something whether we won or not. I had no idea just how incredibly proud he was of me until then and it made me melt.

    You have remixed some of the biggest names in music, is there anyone you would love to remix that you haven’t yet?
    Will someone please send us all the Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’ and ‘Off the Wall’ multi-tracks and the big ones from Whitney’s first album for good measure? We’ve actually done incredibly well and to be honest, the more we’re hearing the new breed, the more I’m getting excited about the next lot of singers coming through.

    Did anyone ever turn down an offer of a Freemasons’ mix (name and shame)?
    I can hold my head up and actually say. we’ve never offered, we’ve only ever been asked. Although, there is a magnificent Emile Sandé bootleg of Heaven on the studio drives somewhere. You would be amazed if we told you who we’ve turned down though ;0

    On Shakedown 3, Venice In Peril is my favourite track as it samples one of my favourite pieces of music, if you had to pick, what would be your favourite “Freemasons” song off Shakedown 3?
    I’m so glad so many people have picked that up! I was utterly, utterly obsessed with the track as a teenager, after hearing it at a warehouse party in the very early 90s. I have always wanted to cover it, but only now has the sampling of strings got so incredibly accurate I felt we could do it justice. As for personal faves, I love so many of them. Lyrically, I think Sea of Fire is total genius – ‘Here comes the thunder valentine with stormy kisses’…Emma had visions of Henry VIII’s battleships on fire off the shore of the white cliffs of Dover. But also, HANA (a local Brighton artist) has written one hell of a song in True Love Survivor. But you know we love our girls, and Amanda’s Let It Be Me, Bailey’s The Fall, Jude’s Paradise, and In The Blue have not been off the stereo. However, simply because it was amazing to record our friend doing that incredible Gravity- esque ad-lib in our studio and, because of the fun we had writing it with her and Ben Onono, it has to be us and Katherine Ellis’ Cold Light Of Day.

    Any big names lined up for a future Freemasons’ remix, and can you give us a little hint?
    For the moment, after months of endless work on Shakedown 3 it’s time to tour, rest and recuperate, so all that we have right now, we give to you on this release!

    What has been your personal favourite Freemasons’ remix you have done?
    I can’t pick one – Whitney for the look on our friend Scott’s face when we took him to the studio to play him the finished mix (to call him an enormous Whitney fan would be painfully underestimating the situation – I’m convinced he had a draw full of restraining orders), but also Deja Vu Beyoncé. I remember calling our manager and telling him it was going to be career changing when we completed it (how right we were), but my love of it is very personal. It was the first time we’d got the sounds utterly bang on – Disco colliding with House and a set of chords even Nile Rogers could have been proud of. To see so many smiling faces of so many crowds over the years when it’s played and know you’ve made people happy, I’d take that over any success any day, month or year. Now, ‘Ring the Alarm’…there’s another chapter!!

    Sum up Shakedown 3 in 3 words or less
    Blood, Sweat and Tears.

  • INTERVIEW | Sam Dickinson

    Sam Smith caused quite a few headlines earlier this year when he came out, However, he’s not the only soul singer “out” there at the moment.

    Sam Dickinson has been touring and promoting his album pretty much consistently this year, along with performing in a few pride festivals.

    I grabbed some time with Sam in between gigs to pose some questions,

    What are your main musical influences?
    When I went in to record the album I really listened to artists such as Paloma Faith and Aretha Franklin, however, since I finished the album and the more I listen to it, the more I see the Northern Soul influences that keep appearing in reviews, probably because it’s bold and brassy. Vocal influences really come from artists like Mica Paris and Mick Hucknall as their skill is impeccable.

    “The Stories That Occurred” came out about a year ago, what’s changed for you in that time?
    Well not the fame and fortune I envisaged! Seriously though, I’ve learnt a lot, I’ve learnt you actually spend the least amount of time singing, which is the whole aim of making music. Luckily, I enjoy the business side of things though. I’ve also learnt that no matter who you are and what your dream is you should go and try achieving it; I said I never wanted to live my life by saying, “what if I’d done that” at any point. They’re some wise words.

    What would you do differently listening to the album now?
    I think the presentation around the first single How It Used To Be wasn’t what I wanted and I’d really rework a lot of that because it’s such a good song, a song which I thought had the most potential of being a club hit. I hadn’t really learnt how best to spend money when releasing that. I’d also liked to have included another two or three songs onto the original album but I was financially tied to just the 10 songs, it’s partly why I’m releasing the deluxe edition now, I’ve included so many remixes and acoustic songs so people can really see these songs in as many ways as they’d like.

    How important is social media to an artist launching a career now?
    VERY, especially if you’re like me and completely unsigned with no management or label. The thing about social media is that it’s allowing artists like me to make music they love and be able to reach people without paying radio pluggers and advertising campaigns. I spend a lot of time making sure everything I put out on my fan page is worthwhile and engaging so that people can see what I am up to.

    Where would you prefer to perform, a small intimate gig or large open stage at a festival?
    Both gigs have their plus points. If I’m playing a small intimate gig then I can chat more and have banter with the audience. If I’m playing a festival then it’s more about playing the songs and making the set upbeat and danceable. I really enjoy both as I love playing outdoors and I love being able to chat about the songs.

    With Sam Smith coming out it started a lot of conversations. Is it important for artists to be openly gay?
    Yes. I really struggle to understand why this is still considered an issue in the UK. Good on Sam Smith I say. The music industry has had gay people in it for years and years and yet there still seems to be some stigma or need from the media to publicise it. I really thought we’d have been past this point by now. I am glad that artists are coming out and trying to normalise the situation, it should have happened a long time ago.

    You’ve never hidden your sexuality, why was this important?
    I think because the songs I sing are autobiographical, personal and at times tug on the heartstrings. How could I portray the truth of my lyrics without being honest about who I am?

    Which new artists do you listen to?
    I listen to Paloma Faith, Sam Smith and John Newman a lot. I am loving the soul revival that is currently taking place in this country.

    You’ve had “when you left me” played on the Graham Norton show on radio 2, any TV in the pipeline?
    Never say never. I have been trying; it’s just a matter of the right show picking me up. Any TV producers reading get in touch!

    What do the next 12 months hold for you?
    Promoting When You Left Me and the album. I’ll be touring and playing live a lot more over the next year. This is all going to fund my second album and I’ll be presenting the Pride Radio Saturday Breakfast Radio Show come the end of August. It’s the UK’s biggest community LGBT radio station and one more LGBT people need to be made aware of because they’re doing great things. I’ll be busy that’s for sure!

    “The Stories That Occurred” is available on Itunes.

  • INTERVIEW | O Town

    They were the last of the boy-band gold rush back in the day. Finding fame on MTV’s Making The Band, O-TOWN became an overnight talking point with their debut single Liquid Dreams. So when we heard that 11 years later the lads had teamed up again to tour and release a comeback single and album, we had to find out about their nocturnal secretions.

    So how are you finding London?
    Erik: Well we brought the LA weather with us! [But unlike LA our weather changes daily!]

    Have you been to the UK much?
    In the past yeah, we were in the UK all the time. But it’s been about 12 years though!
    Yeah it’s been a while since we’ve been back.

    So it’s been a while since you last put out a record, has the music industry moved on much?
    Trevor: Yeah definitely! There’s a lot that has changed, business wise and musically with us and our band just in general. I mean with Twitter, Instagram and social media, we can really put ourselves out there and you don’t have to rely so heavily on radio play, a lot of things have changed and we’re taking it in. We’re taking it in our stride and learning as we go, but it’s a cool process, because we’re doing everything internally, the 4 of us. We don’t have the big machine or Clive Davis this time – it’s very grass roots. Picking the album cover, the logo design… Everything we’re doing is our stamp, so that’s what’s really cool this time around that we didn’t have last time – and we’re older and maturer. (laughter).

    This maturity, how is it manifesting itself – especially with artistic disagreements?
    Jacob: There’s always artistic differences and disagreements, but we’re more mature in handling it. We’ve kinda got our business practices set to alleviate any kind of stress like opinions on music – now it’s what’s best for the song and whose voice is best for the part. We’ve been pretty diplomatic about doing that and knowing that we’re not being personal. We all do love each other’s voices and song writing, but we’re trying to do what’s best for O-Town. So far it’s been happening really smoothly.

    Are you getting new fans or are you reconnecting with old fans?
    Erik: We like to call them the Town Folk. (They) are the fans that have been around since the beginning, but hopefully now that this new song (Skydive) is out that we can garner some new fans. Everything is just so new.

    Have you noticed any of the old faces in the crowd?
    Dan: Yeah! Yesterday we got off our flight at the airport and we saw a bunch of faces that we recognised that were just 10-years older. They were showing us pictures they had from 10 years ago. People got to know us from our TV show, Making The Band, and they’re personally invested in our struggle because they’ve been there. They saw the ups and downs. So that’s why they’re there. They’re still interested in what we’re doing. If along the way we can bring some more people who weren’t aware of us the first time – that’s awesome, because we think we do okay sometimes! We think we’re alright! So it’d be nice to get some more people interested.

    Do you write your own music now?
    The first album was done so quickly; it was done in less than two months. It was already pre-chosen predestined for us. The second album we had a little bit more say in, but I don’t think as writers we were there yet. I think the beautiful thing about this process is that we’ve had 10 years to become individuals and really hone in on our different talents. As much as we were all about writing before, I don’t think we’re all necessarily so into the writing process now. I know that Dan for the most part is really personally a lot more excited about the design of everything, so everyone’s education has set us up to take our specialities, the things that we’re good at and really explore them and bring them out. I’ve been writing, Jacob’s been writing – so we submitted a bunch of songs on this album. Anything that’s not submitted by us definitely has our thumb print on it.

    If you were superheroes:
    Jacob: I just wanna fly. I don’t even care, I just wanna fly.
    Dan: I would like to be invisible, because I don’t like all the extra attention, I prefer to go unnoticed. I’d just take off the invisibility cloak when it was time to go on stage and then I’d put it back on.
    (ha ha … that’s so true.)
    Trevor: First off I’d say flying, but Jacob already said that so, my second choice, I’d be Batman, he has so many cool gadgets and toys…
    Erik: I’d be Iron Man. I pick Tony Stark, because he’s just the best. He has a cool suit and he always dresses really well…

    When you split first time round there was an email to all your fans saying amongst other things there were financial difficulties – what happened there?
    Dan: It’s pretty well documented that we were heavily involved with Lou Pearlman, so there was a lot of things going on with him and our contracts were tied to him. It was never really about financial troubles with us, but our contracts were such that we weren’t really getting a fair shake at things sometimes. So when we had the opportunity to get out of our contracts and just move aside, we felt it was a good time to do that. We were all just so worn down by the grind of the years we had put in which were just hectic, we worked so hard. It was probably the hardest I ever worked in my life those four years. Four years of not a lot of time off and a lot of travel.
    Erik: And it was the end of an era. When we knew we were going to end, we knew we were the last boy-band out of the box. When we were on the 2nd album, Justin (Timberlake) was already on his solo career. The whole movement was at an end. The fact that we actually had success during the time we did when that whole movement was coming to an end we felt lucky to have that. We knew that if we were ever going to do it again it would have to be on our own terms. We didn’t think it would be ten years later – or at least I didn’t, at least we’re staying true to our word – because 10 years later it is on our own terms.

    Is it easy to make money from music now compared to 10 years ago?
    Jacob: You have to be a lot more creative I think. To compete with the majors if you’re not with a major, if you have a smarter business plan. We’re doing a lot of the work here ourselves by hiring outside consultants to do our radio and our merchandise. When it all boils down it’s interesting. We haven’t done a show in 11 years, the last time we did a show we had All Or Nothing on radio, and now 11 years later by doing a lean operation like we are, we’re able to make about the same amount of money as we were back then, which is just shocking.

    Your first single, Liquid Dreams, was an interesting concept… Are you still having liquid dreams and who are you liquiding about?
    (Laughter) –
    Trevor: I am a man. So I’m liquiding about Katy Perry,
    I think our liquid dreams this time round would be a little different.
    Jacob: Emily Ratajkowski (the girl from Blurred Lines video)
    Dan: I’m still liquid dreaming because I have a kid. It’s not a dream, it’s very real, (laughter), It’s very very very real…
    Erik: Jennifer Laurence, Miley Cyrus, Beyoncé…

    In our new album on one of the songs there’s a portion where we do touch on who our current liquid dreams are, so if you buy the album you can hear our current liquid dreams.

    You can read the FULL interview in our latest issue of TheGayUK Magazine. Subscribe today for ONLY £1.99. Available on Apple and Google Play stores.

  • INTERVIEW | Varla Jean Merman

    For the past 15 years THE GAY UK’s British/American movie critic Roger Walker-Dack has hot tailed it to spend his entire summer in Provincetown on the tip of Cape Cod.

    A lot has changed since the first Brits landed there when the Mayflower docked in 1620. They only stayed five weeks then before sailing on to their final destination at Plymouth Rock, and they really don’t know what they missed. This captivating beautiful small seaside town has been an artists’ colony, a Portuguese haven, and now it is an enchanting gay mecca that each summer sees the all-year round population of less than 3000 swell to over 60000 people.

    In a series we are calling POSTCARDS FROM P.TOWN, Roger Walker-Dack will introduce some of the people and things that create the magic that make this such a ‘must see’ destination for gay people from all over the world.

    VARLA–JEAN MERMAN actress, performer, chanteuse and the biggest redhead ever in a dress.

    Jeffrey Roberson is a strapping 6’2″ strikingly handsome guy whose addiction to doing ‘Cross Fit’ is clearly evident with his muscle bound body that gets his fair share of attention on the streets of P.Town. What most of these admirers don’t know is at night this adonis straps on stilettos and squeezes into a slinky dress to become the infamous and celebrated brassy redhead chanteuse Miss Varla Jean-Merman who has been making audiences scream with laughter for almost 20 years now. To call Jeffrey a ‘Drag Queen’ is a great misnomer as this multi-talented performer has a star-spangled career that makes one dizzy just reading about it. From sell-out One-Woman Shows that he both writes and performs, to starring on Broadway, singing duets with Betty Buckley, ‘opening’ for Jennifer Holliday, and a recurring role in TV’s All My Children and so much more. And each year he decamps to P.Town for the summer and stars in his latest solo show full of wicked song parodies that he belts out in his operatic voice and that we all lap up. And if that is not enough, on his nights off his appearing in another play or two, as the crowd here cannot get enough of this show-business phenonenon

    It helps too that he is an exceptionally warm person and the sweetest of men, something that I found when he sat down with me one day to give this exclusive interview for The Gay UK.

     

    RWD: How did you get into performing in the first place?

    JR: I was raised by Southern Baptist parents and so any sort of performing was strictly forbidden, but that never stopped my urges. Later on when I was in New Orleans I used to hang around with a bunch of drag queens, and I met this guy who made these somewhat silly and disgusting videos a la John Waters and we played them in the background in bars. And that led to me starting to perform live a little bit, but I wasn’t a good singer or particularly keen on doing the usual old routine. Then a friend from N.Y. told me about a Drag Queen called Miss Coco Peru that he had just seen doing a monologue whilst playing opera diva Éva Marton singing a Wagner’sLiebestod.

    I said ‘you’ve got to be kidding me!’, as at the time in New Orleans every single queen was just lip syncing to Mariah Carey, so I really couldnt believe that anyone could do anything other than this in drag.

    So I hopped on the first plane out of there and had the good fortune to meet Coco who was performing at the West End Theater doing her own unique blend of beautifully constructed monologues and stories. I fell totally in love with her/him and he blew my mind. I knew I couldn’t do the same, but it put the whole concept of drag performing on an entirely different level for me, and he very generously helped me find my own path.

    RWD: And this led to your ‘Varla-Jean Merman’ personna being born?

    JR: Not exactly. There was a talent show in Baton Rouge where I went to college and I had just read the autobiography of the Broadway Star Ethel Merman. When I came to the part where she said she had been married to the actor Ernest Borgnine and I turned the page and it was totally blank! (laugh) I thought it was so hilarious and amazing and it set my crazy imagination off. And I started thinking that if she had a child she would have probably given it away as she would not want to be reminded of this relationship in any way. And so I became the ‘lost’ child that she could have had. I’ve stuck to my story even though many people today haven’t the faintest idea of who ‘my father’ was.

    Up to that point in my show I had wanted to emulate the great Divine, but becoming Varla got me singing in my ‘mother’s’ loud raspy voice and made me evolve more into a lady a la Merman style.

     

    RWD: Varla consumes you on stage but unlike so many other performers you leave her bold brash persona behind in your daily life and are almost the total opposite privately. In fact no-one ever recognises you in civies in the street as you couldn’t possibly look any further removed from a drag performer than if you tried.

    JR: Some performers like Bianca del Rio (winner of Ru Paul’s Drag Race) are Bianca off the stage too, as that is who he is. That’s not my style at all and ‘Varla’ never ever comes home with me. I will NOT live with that Lady! (laughing loudly)

    I have a very simple rule at home: NO drag in the house anytime anywhere. What is not being used in my current show is in my storage unit in New Orleans.

     

    RWD: Many years ago I saw you perform in Joe’s Pub in N.Y. and Kristine Zbornik an actress doing a one-woman show on your ‘mother’ Ethel Merman came in and the two of you spontanteosly performed the gay anthem Enough is Enough totally in character and I literally cried my eyes out. You’ve played in N.Y. many times though, haven’t you?

    JR: Yes, my first big ‘showbiz’ break was in 1996 when I played Mary Sunshine in ‘Chicago’ on Broadway. But the one job I loved just as much, or maybe even more, was when I was in ‘Lucky Guy’ on Broadway with Leslie Jordan and I was giving the Stars’ Dressing Room and William Ivey Long (the multi Tony Award winning costume designer) was such a gentleman and treated me so graciously as he fitted me with a wardrobe that cost over $100000!

     

    RWD: Did you get to keep them?

    JR: NOOOOOO! But I did grab the wigs! (laughs)

     

    RWD: And when did you start performing in P Town?

    JR: In 1995 I opened for Lypsinka at Town Hall. I was so fat at the time… about 300 lbs… that people actually thought I was a real woman. (laughs) And then Phyllis Schlosberg from The Post Office Cabaret came to see me in NY and booked me for my first season for the following year. By the time I arrive back for that show I had lost 100 lbs, so there I am on stage really thin but showing my videos of the ‘old me.’ I was exactly like Parker Posey in the movie ‘Adam & Steve’ where she was a comic that had lost a ton of weight BUT was still doing fat lady jokes on stage. And that’s when ‘Varla’ really started to kick in as I simply just couldn’t do fat jokes anymore and I needed a new shtick.

     

    RWD: Tell me about your love affair with P Town itself.

    JR: Coming to P Town, even to perform is being on one long summer vacation like when we were back in school. When you come here nothing else that may have been going in in your life really matters. I can’t wait to get here, but come Labor Day I can’t wait to leave: summer is just the perfect length of time. I have always loved this town no matter how backward it may seem like years ago when there was no Laundromat and we had to drive the 30 miles to Orleans each week just to do laundry, and yet we all still came in droves.

     

    RWD: Many of us here still have very fond memories of you and some opera singers performing the utterly unique ‘CLASSICAL VARLA’ Benefit Concerts which were THE highlight of Carnival Week then.

    JR: I had a friend who was HIV+ who couldn’t afford any medication at the time and my Manager Mark Cortale and his partner were part of the management of the AIDS Support Group who provided the drugs for my friend, and for many others in the same situation. They desperately needed more donations so Mark suggested the Concert as a fundraiser, and I said ‘why not, it will be fun to do’. Turned out to be TORTURE.

    RWD: But we loved it.

    JR: Don’t get me wrong I loved doing it and torturing myself too. But once I set these goals up for myself, I immediately freak out and say why did I do that! But I love classical music and I love the challenge of trying to sing it. And performing with those amazingly talented singers was such a real thrill. I also love the fact that everyone is still talking about it now.

    RWD: It was a joy being in that audience with this overflowing feeling of love of people wanting you to succeed and proud of the reasons why you were doing this. It felt good to be part of this sense of community that P Town is so good at fostering.

    JR: It was great for the few years that we did it, but it felt right to stop on such a high, and I would actually like to do something else in the future, as these guys still desperately need all our help.

    RWD: Your voice training at The Julliard Schooldid you in good stead as you went on (as Varla) to take the leading role in Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera The Medium.

    JR: Thank you BUT I was never at Julliard.

    RWD: Really are you sure? As the word around town is that’s why you sing so well.

    JR: Thank you, then just let the rumor spread. (laugh) But I did so loved getting involved in The Medium and we got to take the production to N.Y. where it was also a great success too.

     

    RWD: There is another rumor about you that your show at The Art House this summer is your last? Is this true?

    JR: It’s a Farewell Tour in the Cher tradition: hence the title ‘Varla-Jean Relieving Herself’ is billed as my Cherwell Show.

     

    RWD: (laugh) So you will be back next year?

    JR: Yes, in some form or another. Performing a one-woman show on a stage can be a lonely thing and so I am constantly looking for new challenges. One of the things I will be doing soon for the first time is acting in a play as a man, which I am so looking forward too.

     

    RWD: I am curious to know how does your Manager pitch you to people? As an actor, or a singer or as Varla?

    JR: I’ve been so very lucky my whole career as I always had people offer me such great opportunities that I have never ever had to look for roles. I love working with Ryan Landry appearing in his wickedly funny parody plays for example. I did ‘The Phantom of the OPRAH’ with him in P Town and Boston, and then last year starred in ‘Mildred Fierce’. I love to do his stuff even though the rehearsal process is very very INTENSE (laughing). We work and work and work and he never stops or even let us take a break… everyone is screaming at him ‘OMG Can we JUST go to the toilet! (laughing).

    RWD: And then you go from scruffy Fringe theatres to performing your one-woman show at the Sydney Opera House!

    JR: That was totally crazy and a real highlight in my career to date, especially as they invited me back the following year to do a new show.

    RWD: Wow!

    JR: But London was and is my big love. I’ve been there four times to perform, and I will always remember my debut there for the most inauspicious of reasons. The day I landed was 9/11. It was the most depressing time ever, and then for a complete contrast my 2nd visit was the time of both the Jubilee and the World Cup, and so was the craziest happiest time.

    RWD: So you got good word of mouth for people to come and fill the Soho Theatre?

    JR: Yes, including a few celebrities like Elton John and Andy Bell. I did a Late Show so I always had to perform my act on whatever stage set was being used by the play that was running earlier. One time is was some sort of Irish Trainspotting drama set in a dingy low-rent apartment, which included a toilet. And for some reason which totally escapes me now, I dressed in full drag I decided to sing the Roy Orbison ballad Crying totally straight but sitting on the toilet, which had Elaine Paige snorting so loud that all her fellow audience members eyes went from her to me and back in disbelief (laugh)

    RWD: And then you go from scruffy Fringe theatres to performing your one-woman show at the Sydney Opera House!

    JR: That was totally crazy and a real highlight in my career to date, especially as they invited me back the following year to do a new show.

    RWD: Wow!

    JR: But London was and is my big love. I’ve been there four times to perform, and I will always remember my debut there for the most inauspicious of reasons. The day I landed was 9/11. It was the most depressing time ever, and then for a complete contrast my 2nd visit was the time of both the Jubilee and the World Cup, and so was the craziest happiest time.

     

    RWD: So you got good word of mouth for people to come and fill the Soho Theatre?

    JR: Yes, including a few celebrities like Elton John and Andy Bell. I did a Late Show so I always had to perform my act on whatever stage set was being used by the play that was running earlier. One time is was some sort of Irish Trainspotting drama set in a dingy low-rent apartment, which included a toilet. And for some reason which totally escapes me now, I dressed in full drag I decided to sing the Roy Orbison ballad Crying totally straight but sitting on the toilet, which had Elaine Paige snorting so loud that all her fellow audience members eyes went from her to me and back in disbelief (laugh)