Life's a drag sometimes, so lets make every moment an extravaganza! The art of female impersonation has fascinated me from as far back as I can remember, wanting to call my brother Lewis 'Lily Savage' Harrison at the age of five should have told me something! Drag Queens are everywhere, whether we like or not these formidable divas have been around for an age! I experienced a fantabulous Drag show Kitsch Cabaret at Madame JoJo's in Soho, London for my 19th birthday! From the outspoken tones of 'RuPaul' to the 'Lily Savage Show' we sure do live in a culture full of Queens! Hunty Work!
Hailing from the shores of the Mersey River is the foul mouthed Scouse Queen known as 'Lily Savage'. Do not be fooled by her snow white hair, 'Lily Savage' is by no means an angel! I can remember watching Miss Savage from an early ageon the television show 'Blankety Blank.' The Illusion of Drag must have been a whole new and different concept for a five year old like myself to fully comprehend. Now I realize why my mom said no to my suggestion for baby names! I do make myself laugh!
Birkenheads finest spent most of her time making crowds roar with laughter by performing her own stand up comedy routines. Now I'm of age I've watched these shows back and have found them absolutely hilarious. The daughter of 'Hell Cat Savage' has made herself a name as the 'Ultimate Pantomime Dame' recently performing at London's 'O2 Arena' in the pantomime 'Aladdin'. Most Queens lip-sync for their lives but this Hunty has never done such a thing, this 'Shanghai Lil' does things differently!
Like every star 'Lily Savage' took a break from her wicked ways of being a working girl by checking herself into a convent. 'Lily' has taken several of these breaks, but she always makes her comeback! I visited the city of Liverpool a little while ago, during that visit I took the ferry over the 'Merseyside River' to the 'Wirral' for some reason I half expected to see the legendary Scouse icon walk through the streets of 'Birkenhead'. So it begs the question, what does the future hold for this Liverpudlian siren?
From stand up comedy to the big screen, those Queens can do anything! 'Priscilla Queen of The Desert' is a film that stays very close to my heart! Travelling across Australia from Sydney to Alice Springs these three working girls trusted their coach 'Priscilla'. Mitzy Del Bra, Felicia Jollygoodfellow and Bernadette Basinger proved that no matter what their journey threw at them they always knew how to work it!
This film is one of the many Drag orientated productions to have captured a huge following from the Gay community all around the world. 2006 brought the premiere of the 'Priscilla Queen of The Desert; The Musical' opening in Sydney Australia. This musical has since wowed audiences outside of Australia by opening theater runs in New Zealand, United Kingdom, America, Brazil and Canada! I was lucky enough to see this musical after my 19th birthday at London's 'Palace Theatre' in the heart of the 'West End' theater district!
Drag cinema doesn't just center around 'Priscilla' there's a whole range of fabulous films out in the world! Another favorite flick of mine has to be 'To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar' this American drag picture captures three Queens making their way from New York City to Hollywood for a beauty pageant in a vintage 1967 Cadillac. Vida Boheme, Noxeema Jackson and Chi Chi Rodriguez took a pitstop in Snydersville to get their ride fixed, but as ever they cause some controversy by turning the party up! Eventually making it to Hollywood for the beauty pageant by the skin of their teeth! Attitude is Everything!
The legendary Drag Superstar 'RuPaul' is now the leader of her own television spectacle! Forget 'America's Next Top Model' because 'Rupaul's Drag Race' makes the number one spot all the time! This Queen expects the best from the Drag hopefuls that she selects to race for the chance to be 'America's Next Drag Superstar!' I discovered this show in 2010 and have never looked back!
RuPaul is a star in her own right, before the days of her 'Drag Race' she worked her 'Star Booty!' This Drag Superstar also producers her own music albums, which by the way are fabulous! I own three of her albums, my collection includes; Champion, Glamazon and most recently her 1993 release Supermodel of the World. Nothing stops this premium Queen, from her performances at the Wigstock Festival in New York she invites everyone into her 'House of Love!' My fabulous friends from Orlando, Zach and Dawin would agree 100% that this Hunty is amazing!
RuPaul has brought new Drag talent to the mainstream, through the success of her Drag Race these debuting Queens always make it big after a stint on RuPaul's show! Manila Luzon and Shangela Laquifa Wadley are my favourites from season three of the Drag Race! But my ultimate Queen is Willam Belli, this outspoken Queen tells it like it is! You can catch Willam on a premium Youtube channel called Transfashionable, where she has her own show known as Willam's Beatdown! William Belli is part of a showstopping trio singing alongside fellow Drag stars Vicky Vox and Detox. This Drag supergroup are famous for their singles 'Chowdown' and 'Boy is a Bottom'. Subscribe God Damn It !!!
It's Now Time For You To Lip Sync For Your Life !!! Shantay You Stay !!! Hunty Work It !!!Joseph Harrison