QX Gay London Magazine - N 1074 (8 October 2015).pdf

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No 1074 8 October 2015
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Suitable only for persons
of 18 years and over
Prating with
Panti
When she’s not being sued by
right wing journalists, dismantling
homophobia with eloquent, viral
speeches or leading a nations
campaign for equal marriage, the
Emerald Isle’s beloved Panti Bliss
can be found on stage, performing
her show High Heels in Low Places.
Ahead of her run at the Soho
Theatre, Chris Godfrey caught up
with the Ireland’s accidental activist.
Hey Panti, tell us a little bit about the
show; will it touch on similar themes to
your famous Noble Call speech at the
Abbey Theatre?
In the Noble Call I was talking about being
publicly gay as a private person in a sense,
whereas I guess the show is a bit more about
being publicly gay as a public person in
my context. It’s very particular to me, but a
large piece of the show is about the weird
pressures for Panti in Ireland to always
be the perfect gay, where every single
thing is taken very seriously. Which is fine
sometimes, but other times it’s a total pain
in the arse.
I guess with the way in which you
became the figurehead for the same-
sex marriage referendum there’s now
an expectation on your part to almost
‘toe the line’ for a more mainstream
audience?
Everybody here takes everything I have to
say so seriously now. And you know I am
first and foremost an entertainer and so it’s
a weird thing to suddenly have this pressure.
You have to suddenly second-guess that all
the time, you know: ‘can I say that now’.
Five year’s ago Panti could say anything
she wanted, whereas now, even if I put
something small on Facebook it’s pored over
and six months later in some argument it will
be thrown out on the TV or something. Even
if I make small silly joke somewhere people
can get upset. That’s a weird position for a
drag queen to be in.
It’s a double edge sword. Sometimes it’s
a good thing it means I can say things that
are taken seriously. But on the other hand I
don’t represent every single gay and you’ll
find gays who don’t agree with me and you’ll
probably find some who hate me. There’s
this weird pressure on me now that they think
that I represent every gay. So whatever I say
some people think ‘that’s the gay thought on
this’. No, that’s my thought on this.
So people are forgetting that you’re an
entertainer?
They have a tendency to do that and I have to
constantly remind them. Of course sometimes
it works in my favour - sometimes I want
people to take what I say more seriously.
I spent 20 years of my career trying to get
people to take what I say more seriously.
Most people have a low opinion of drag
and what drag is. The mainstream saw a
drag show in Lanzarote once and now they
think every drag is that. It’s such a weird thing
because people don’t have that same view
of any other art form. People don’t say ‘oh
I hate all kinds of comedians’ because they
understand that you can’t compare Woody
Allen to Joan Rivers, or whoever. There’re
all different kinds of comedians and people
understand that.
Somehow there’s this thing about drag
where the mainstream mostly think that drag
is simply a bloke putting on a dress and that
therefore all drags are the same. So I spent
20 years fighting that, because you’re trying
to sell them tickets to your theatre show
and they’re all like ‘oh I went to that bar in
Lanzarote once and saw a drag queen so
why would I want to go to buy a ticket to see
another one? I’ve seen one.’
The gays understand generally that drag
comes in all kinds, that you can’t compare
Taylor Mac, to Lily Savage, to David Hoyle,
to RuPaul’s Drag Race. We understand
that some of them are funny and some of
them lip sync to Britney. Most people in the
mainstream don’t know that. They think it’s
only putting on a dress and that that is the
act. I spent years fighting against that and
now I almost did too well!
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Now even if some drunk idiot
decided to shout something
at you or wherever, there’s a
general feeling of ‘fuck you, 65%
of the people on the street think
you’re the arsehole’.
And how have things been in Ireland since the referendum?
As I’m sure you know we were the only country in the world to do it
by referendum and I wouldn’t recommend that to anybody because
it’s a very risky way to do it; if we’d lost the vote we’d have had to
wait another 15 years to have another go at it, because you can’t just
constantly have referendums. It was a difficult way to do it and quite
a stressful way to do it, you spend six months walking around with
posters all around the country telling you you’re terrible. It’s kind of
depressing and horrible.
But when you do it that way and you win the result is much more
powerful, because no one could talk about it afterwards and say it’s
just politicians doing it. Obviously having that giant conversation and
having six months of every
family talking about it and
every shopkeeper talking
about it, again when the
results are positive it’s very
powerful.
Since the day of the
referendum the gay
community definitely feels
different, they feel more
comfortable. The really
obviously sign of that is you
see gay couples holding
hands wandering around the
streets now in a way that you
just never did before.
I guess that goes back to
that TED talk you gave on
how even something as
small as holding hands
with a partner can be a
political statement. Is it
less so now?
I think there was a feeling
before the referendum that
a gay couple might decide
to hold hands depending
on where they are; there’s
always that thing of ‘oh is
somebody going to shout faggot at us’ or something. And before the
referendum a gay couple might have felt maybe lots of people on the
street agree with this arsehole. Now even if some drunk idiot decided
to shout something at you or wherever, there’s a general feeling of
‘fuck you, 65% of the people on the street think you’re the arsehole’.
That’s a really obvious physical thing that’s happened since the
referendum that’s lovely to see and unexpected.
So what’s next on Panti’s political and theatrical agenda?
At the moment I do an awful lot of speaking to companies and schools
and that sort of stuff because even if you have full equality under the
law it doesn’t mean there’s a day-to-day life everything is perfect,
especially for kids, so I do a lot of that sort of stuff. But for the next
couple of months I’m concentrating on putting this show that I’ve been
doing for the last year and a half finally to bed!
You can catch Panti’s show at Soho Theatre (21 Dean Street, W1D 3NE)
between Monday 12th and Saturday 17th October. Tickets from £12.50.
Visit the www.sohotheatre.com for more details.
P E T E R ‘ M A R I LY N ’ R O B I N S O N
of the rise, fall and most
recently rise again of 80’s pop legend known as ‘Marilyn’ is one that
if you didn’t hear first hand, you might actually think it was a tale of
fiction. He began his singing career whilst at school with ‘a really pure
choir like type voice’, auditioning, unbeknownst to him for the St Paul’s
Cathedral boys choir, but even then he had a determined and rebellious
streak. ‘I was like 9 or something. I didn’t know that what I was
auditioning for, I just loved singing.’ Peter’s mum was mortified when he
refused to sing any songs at the final audition, ‘When I realized that was
what I was singing for, I thought, ‘No, it’s not what I signed up for... you
can’t make me... bye’.
Peter ‘Marilyn’ Robinson, with a sense of adventure became a bona
fide pop star in an era when stars created their own images, had a
say in their musical direction and sometimes confronted their fans with
decadent and questionable lifestyles. His fame began before all the pop
hoo ha kicked in though. Sade once asked him, ‘How come you’re more
famous than [Boy] George?’ And it’s true, ‘Marilyn’, after appearing in
Lyndall Hobbs’ cult short short ‘Steppin’ Out’ screened before ‘Aliens’ in
1979 became at once recognizable with a broader public than he could
have ever imagined.
Peter or should I say ‘Marilyn’ was never one to shy away from
the limelight, even at the tender age of 15 as he hotfooted up to the
bright lights of central London from his suburban childhood home of
Borehamwood. He became a clubland habitué with an image based
on the original film star Marilyn. Gorgeous, funny and quick of wit
‘Marilyn’ piled on the makeup, cinched in his waist and tottered around
town dressed to kill. People often cite him as an original star of the New
Romantic Blitz era club of ‘79 but he’s quick to point out that wasn’t the
making of ‘Marilyn’, ‘I got a job there but the Blitz didn’t make me!’ He
says laughing at the irony of it, ‘I came fully formed, we lived a lifestyle
24/7. We got up in the morning, dressed, we just were’, he remembers. ‘It
drives me mad when people ask, ‘Did the Blitz make you?’... ‘I made me.’
Sure enough it was only a
matter of time before ‘Marilyn’
would be noticed for his honeyed
and soulful singing voice which
to all intents and purposes was
something he had hidden under
a bushel until the time was right.
It was while Marilyn decided
to move to LA in 1980 invited
by photographer Johnny Rozsa
that friend and Hayzi Fantayzee
manager Paul Caplan approached him, ‘We should do something
together, when you come back call me.’ And sure enough he did,
almost over night the pop career erupted. By ‘83 ‘Marilyn’ had begun to
establish himself with a well considered series of chart topping singles
The spectacular story
By Princess Julia
“It was like boys wanted to
fuck me, so did the girls, I
was the unacceptable face
of pop, it was too much.”
and an image that triggered the publics imagination albeit with an
element of confusion. ‘It was like boys wanted to fuck me, so did the girls,
I was the unacceptable face of pop, it was too much. I think I was ahead
of my time, I was too sexy... it was just too much for them.’ Nevertheless
‘Marilyn’ remained a glamorous enigma. Covers on magazines,
countless interviews and a celeb lifestyle ensued, our ‘Marilyn’ played
hard with the best of them that is until life
on the fast lane caught up. ‘Hitting rock
bottom, I’m not there any more so I don’t
mind talking about it. I’d had enough, I
didn’t trust anybody. People stole off me,
told me they were looking after me...’
Marilyn’s struggle with an overwhelming
drug addiction got the better of him,
his gradual decline into a pit of despair
is something he reflects upon with a
profound mindset, ‘Of course I regret
being stupid but I don’t let that affect how I am today. Acceptance of ones
past, you can’t live in the present moment if you regret your past’.
How he ended up in his mother’s parlour for 20 years, looking
forward to his next fix, is a tale of his own imprisonment that he readily
acknowledges. Now 6 years in recovery (now in sobriety), ‘Marilyn’
is remarkable in that his quick wit remains intact. He’s upbeat and
philosophical and the first to point out where he went wrong, but doesn’t
have a bitter bone in his body. 2015 has been a year of revelation
for him, he’s virtually picked up where he left off and is continuing a
music career he’s feeling very invigorated by. Revisiting his classics
such as ‘Calling Your Name’ and ‘Baby You Left me’ with new mixes,
reacquainting himself with musicians he’s worked with in the past and
creating new material rediscovering his distinctive melodic vocal talents.
‘I love doing what I’m doing at the moment... a couple remixes just to let
people know I’m still alive, making new music and working with loads of
young producers and writers’, adding, ‘a lot of it is autobiographical.’
Coming through a really dark chapter of his life, Marilyn’s attitude is
inspiring with a sense of humour I find enlightening, ‘I think that’s what
saved me! I was fucking mental...’ Nowadays Marilyn says, ‘I like to keep
my expectations low and my gratitude high’. For those of us following
Marilyn’s cathartic stream of consciousness on social media he embraces
all that life throws at him. ‘I’m me’, he says, ‘I’m Peter who is also named
‘Marilyn’, I know exactly who I am today and it’s alright.’
The future? Marilyn is firmly taking one day at a time and enjoying
every moment as it comes, ‘I’ve got two decades to catch up on!’
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