The Drag King Scene continues to this day. The Facebook page (and community) are still going strong. Over the course of the Drag King competition, the Drag Kings of Manchester Facebook page was set up by Drag Model Boi Wonder. Our Kelly, representing VIA, performed live and was crowned King of the Manchester Pride Parade. In addition, in a first for Manchester Pride, a Drag King was chosen to lead the parade in front of tens of thousands of people through the streets of Manchester. The three finalists chosen to perform live at Manchester Pride’s Women’s Stage were Don Dick Realis, Our Kelly and the eventual winner of the competition, The Dyke Kings.Īlex Valentine and Jack The Lad, with thanks She sang live with a smooth baritone, just like the original Victorian Kings.Ī year later in 2010, Vanilla bar held the first HRH Manchester Pride Drag King competition for Manchester Pride.Hosted by Valentino King, the first heat attracted seasoned Drag King Jack The Lad (JTL) and newcomer Our Kelly. Over the course of the next year she became Valentino King, the UK’s best known Drag King. The following year in a small North West Village, Gizell Timpani – already known throughout Europe as a vocalist – decided that she wanted to do something different. Valentino King and The Manchester Connection The winner, Stevie Wonderful (Fiona King), went on to run the annual competition which in 2011 celebrated its fourth year. In London 2008, the first King of the Castle competition took place at the Purple Turtle in Camden. Stevie Wonderful – with thanks to Lennaland For a long while they were the only online Drag King presence in the UK. With their exquisite costumes and convincing facial hair they were the toast of the Lesbian Scene, modellng and performing in the south. In 2006, the Hot Frollick Drag Collective formed in Brighton. Three years later in 1999 The Drag King Book was published, showcasing Kings across Europe, the UK and USA. In 1996, Cherry Smyth published ∽amn Fine Art by New Lesbian Artists and held London’s first Drag King contest. This was a time when Lipstick Lesbian Chic was in, and being a Butch Babe was, apparently, only OK if you were KD Lang. Kings were performing in the gay clubs of London’s Soho, but the scene was still dominated by Drag Queens. ![]() In the early 90s, the burgeoning UK scene simmered under the surface of queer culture. From 1989, the amazing Diane Torr pioneered Man For A Day workshops all over the world. From ’87 they all performed as part of the Chain Reaction Collective for an LGBT-only audience. In 1985 in London, Annie Toone met Della Discrase, Sophie Moorcock and Billie Goodfellow. The Eighties and Ninetiesīy the end of the 20th Century, Drag had gone underground and found a new following in the Lesbian community. These women didn’t have the vote and they weren’t allowed to own property in their own right, but they could dress up and mock the patriarchy (well, as long they were funny). Ella Shields’ most famous character, Burlington Bertie from Bow, was a caricature of a certain kind of London man about town. Performers like Vesta Tilley, Ella Shields and Hetty King began performing in drag, shocking and thrilling audiences across England. Women performing onstage at this time were looking to stand out by doing something a little out of the ordinary.Įlla Shields as Burlington Bertie from Bow Victorian Variety Theatre and Music Hall altered the face of England’s theatres. Back in Shakespeare’s time, women were known to bind their breasts in order to appear on stage at a time when women acting was considered reproachable.įast forward a few centuries to Queen Victoria’s day, and there was an explosion of performance for the masses. History has been repeating itself since the 16th Century. When Lady Gaga made every member of the LGBT community question her sexuality by taking to the stage as Joe Calderone she was one in a long line of awesome women sticking two fingers up at convention by donning mens’ clothes, adopting a casual swagger and drawing (or sticking) on facial hair. ![]() FrustratedPoet checks out Drag Kings in the UK from their historical beginnings to their thriving Now. ![]() ![]() Lada Gaga stepping out as Joe Calderone was the tip of the iceberg.
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