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Edna Everage

The Death of Two International & Iconic Queens

By Gay, ThinkingNo Comments

Recently we’ve lost two international iconic queens, Lily Savage (Paul O’Grady) and Dame Edna Everage (Barry Humphries). Here is my tribute to them:

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I don’t think that anyone could ever replace them. But in the same breath, the young comedy performers coming through just haven’t got that iconic quality.

Blog soon,

Antony

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TheGayUK Articles – Vintage History: Manchester Gay Village, Top 5 Vintage TV Characters & Book Reviews

By Creativity, Gay, History, Journalism, TV, Online Streaming & FilmsNo Comments

TheGayUK‘s theme this month is Vintage. The articles I’ve written this month are: Vintage History: Manchester Gay Village, Top 5 Vintage TV Characters & Book Reviews. Now, some of these have been submitted, but not yet published. The Editor assures me he’s spreading out the articles over the month, so here’s your chance to get a first read.

Here is my first article on the theme and what I learnt from writing this piece:

Vintage History: Manchester Gay Village

Manchester Gay Village has a long history that makes it truly vintage. Starting as an underground scene in the sixties, through the decades it has transformed to what it is today: one of the most vibrant gay scenes in the UK. In this article we’ll cover the significant events that led to this transformation, describe the Village today and briefly contemplate it’s future.

In the 60s the area that would become the Village was deserted following the collapse of the cotton industry. Having been industrialised it was a gloomy part of the city with little life. The night visitors to the area were either men looking for prostitutes or the prostitutes themselves.

At this point it was still illegal for men to have sex with men, gay people were isolated, not seen as part of society and often encouraged to conform and get married to someone of the opposite sex.

The New Union pub started out as a place for men to meet female prostitutes, but it soon started to attract a small number of gay men. Female prostitutes and gay men might sound like an odd combination, but it was a relationship of mutual legal protection. If the Police ever raided, the prostitutes would pretend to be the gay men’s girlfriends so that neither could be arrested for their respective crimes: prostitution or men that are having sex with men.

In 1967 after campaigning in Manchester, London and other cities the law was changed so that men having sex with men were no longer doing anything illegal, but societal attitudes would take longer to change.

In the 70s the civil rights movement in Manchester continued to campaign for equality. The Rembrandt pub opened as well as one or two others; but these few venues were regularly raided by the Police aiming to catch gay men engaging in sexual activity in a public places. The Police applied the law unfairly, as it was only applied to gay men and often the attitudes of Police Officers were perceived as homophobic.

Then the early 80s came and along with it HIV/AIDS. This caused an increase in homophobia in society but caused the gay community to stand together. In the Village the Thompson Arms seemed to have opened at around this time, if not slightly earlier.

By the late 80s more gay people were coming out. In Manchester protests against Section 28 took place that passed through the city centre, the Village and ended at the town hall. At one of these Manchester protests around 20,000 people marched and what was significant was that: they weren’t all gay. In the Village New York, New York, Queen Club (now Company Bar) and Napoleons opened at around this time. The New Union and Rembrandt were still going strong.

In the late 80s Manchester Pride was also born, although it wasn’t named as that until many years later. It started with the owners of Rembrandt, Napoleons and the New Union wanting to do something on the August Bank Holiday weekend, the main event in the first year was an afternoon bring and buy sale. The vigil aspect came a few years later, when the gay people of Manchester started loosing their friends, lovers and life partners to HIV/AIDS.

The 90s brought a glass-fronted revolution started by the newly opened Manto bar. Before Manto the Village had a very “behind closed doors” feel to it, and this glass-fronted venue was symbolic of being: out and proud. New bars sprang up including Metz, Prague 5 (now G-A-Y), Vanilla and Via Fossa. Poptastic and Cruz 101 clubs opened around this time as well.

The late 90s brought Queer As Folk, a TV programme that dramatised life of three gay men in the Village. It was aired on Channel 4 and signified that there had been a major shift in societal attitudes towards gay people.

By the noughties the Village was similar to as it is now but the construction of The Beacon of Hope was significant. The Beacon of Hope stands on the edge of the canal in Sackville Park. It is a beautiful artistic steal structure that lights up in the evening symbolic of remembrance. Although we’ve moved on, we’ve not forgotten our gay brothers and sisters who’ve been lost to HIV/AIDS.

The Village today is a clean and bright setting with plenty of bars and clubs that gives it a vibrant atmosphere. It has the Village Business Association (business owners group), the Lesbian and Gay Foundation (a charity aimed at improving the health & well being of gay people), Manchester Pride (one of the biggest pride events in the country) and a myriad of community groups around every sort of leisure activity you could imagine. If you want to find out more about Manchester Gay Village, see our guide to gay Manchester:
http://www.thegayuk.com/#/manchester/4565401305.

Looking at the Village’s history one thing that is clear: it has always brought the gay community of Manchester together. Once together gay people have always instigated the change they want to happen. As long as the Village continues to bring the gay community together, be a part of the changes and keep up with them, it’s future will remain secure.

Antony Simpson, writer of this article wasn’t born until the mid-eighties. So in addition to speaking to some of his older friends who witnessed to some of the historic events in this article, he would also like to reference the following sources:
Gaydio: Your Story Radio Documentary, available: http://yourstory.gaydio.co.uk/documentaries/.

Guardian: Village people by Beatrix Campbell, available:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/aug/07/gayrights.communities.

Channel 4 OD: Queer As Folk
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/queer-as-folk/4od

Wikipedia: Canal Street (Manchester), available:
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal_Street_(Manchester)

Here is what I learnt from writing this article:

  • Don’t disregard an idea without discussing it with someone first. I happened to mention in an online writers meeting that I’d had the idea for this article, but disregarded it as it was local history and TheGayUK is a national online magazine. The Editor seemed really keen on the idea and said that after London, Manchester was their next biggest audience.
  • More about the journalistic research process.
  • If you’re writing about something that’s been wrote about it before, make it your own by using a different slant or point of view (POV).
  • When it came to writing about the ‘noughties’ writing 00s didn’t feel right so I ended up using the word. This was inconsistant with the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s I’d previously used. I should have found a better way to write the decades, as it would have made the article consistent.

Here is my second article on the theme and what I learnt from writing this piece:

Top 5 Vintage TV Characters
This month’s theme is Vintage. So I thought I’d share with you my Top 5 Vintage TV Characters. In order to make my list, characters had to be iconic (at least to me), gay and in some way vintage. So here we go:

5. Willow Rosenburg (Alyson Hannigan)
5.Willow
(Image Credit: Slayer Revival @ Flickr)

Buffy The Vampire Slayer first appeared on TV in 1997. Willow started off as a geeky, shy girl who fell in love with part-man part-werewolf Oz (Seth Green). When Oz decided he was too dangerous to be around and left Willow she slowly transformed into an UBER Witch. She met fellow Witch Tara (Amber Benson) and fell in love again, only for Tara to be murdered. I love Willow because of the transformation from shy girl to powerful independent woman.

4. Captain Jack Harkness (John Barrowman)
4.Captain Jack
(Image Credit: alacoolb @ Flickr)

Captain Jack Harkness first appeared on our TV screens in 2005 in Doctor Who, before getting his own spin-off series Torchwood. Captain Jack is openly bisexual although all of his on screen relationships have been with men.

Now before you start commenting and telling me 2005 is hardly Vintage; Captain Jack is an immortal rogue Time Agent that has a timeline that dates back 1860’s. So if that doesn’t make him vintage, I don’t know what will.

3. Michael ‘Mouse’ Tolliver (Marcus D’Amico)
3.Michael Tolliver
(Image Credit: Seattle Gay Scene)

Michael ‘Mouse’ Tolliver appeared on TV in Tales of the City in 1993, which was based on the series of books with the same name. Michael is a gay man living in San Francisco in the late 70s and is a truly loveable character. If you’ve never seen Tales of the City, I can’t recommend the TV series’ and books enough.

2. Mr Humphries (John Inman)
2.Mr humphries
(Image Credit: NightMaresGrim13 @ Flickr)

Are You Being Served? Originally appeared on TV in the 1970s through to the 1980s. Are You Being Served? Was a sit-com set in Grace Brothers’ Clothing Department that focused on the Sales Clerks. I remember seeing a re-run and instantly fell in love with the mincing Mr Humphries.

Camp humoured Mr Humphries was filled with innuendo always alluded to his sexuality, as did his famous catch phrase ‘I’m free!’ whenever a good looking gentleman entered the store. An iconic character, one of the first TV characters to allude to their gay sexuality.

1. Edna Everage (Barry Humphries)
1.edna everage
(Image Credit: jsarcadia @ Flickr)

Edna Everage debuted on stage in her native Australia before she appeared on our TV screens in the late 80s. This Melbourne Housewife is surrounded by fables, but is essentially a character created and played by Barry Humphries. Edna Everage self-proclaimed advisor to the stars and royalty I always think of as being the first mainstream comedian drag act. Her international status makes her number 1 on my list.

If there’s a TV character you feel should be on the list, comment below so that I can discover some new characters.

Here is what I learnt from writing this article:

  • That I can write and indeed enjoyed writing a light-hearted ‘Top’ article.
  • The format of a ‘Top’ article.
  • Use of a Creative Licence with regards to using flickr user images.
  • Keeping it brief: saying more with less words.

Book Reviews
This month I have submitted two book reviews: BOOK REVIEW: Into The Flames by Mel Bossa and Book Review: Handling Edna The Unauthorised Biography by Barry Humphries.

Blog soon,

Antony



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Book Review: Handling Edna The Unauthorised Biography by Barry Humphries

By Amazon, Books & Authors, History, ReviewsNo Comments
handling-edna-barry-humphries-book-cover Barry Humphries has been with Edna Everage since the very beginning. In Handling Edna: The Unauthorised Biography by Barry Humphries he describes how they met, and the adventure she’s dragged him along for ever since.

Before the book even begins there is a “Note to the Reader” eluding to the fact that some people have come to believe that Barry Humphries and Dame Edna are essentially the same person. Humphries writes that he hopes to shed some light on where this belief came from, so that the reader can make their own decision about what they believe.

The first chapter starts in Moonee Ponds, Australia and describes how Barry and Edna met. Humphries writes in the first person, and throughout the book uses description to indicate the decade and location of events he describes.

Each chapter gives an entertaining and fascinating insight into Barry’s life and career (or lack of), Edna and her family’s life and careers, her rise to stardom (and Barry’s lack of understanding as to why) and the problems that it brought her – all in a chronological order.

A few highlights (in no particular order) include Barry being the warm up act for Dame Edna – for various shows; Edna’s time in Hollywood; Barry’s stint in hospital with alcoholism and Edna being his only visitor; Barry’s love life; Barry’s impersonation of Edna on two occasions – the first for his benefit and the second trying to help her; Edna’s poor mental health – in particular in relation to the death of Norm (her husband).

As the chapters go on, towards the end of the book you start to get a fictional feel to the book especially in the final few chapters. Earlier in the book Barry is handed a letter for Edna by Madge. Madge instructs Barry to only give the letter to Edna when she dies. In the final chapter Madge finally dies in hospital. Barry remembers the letter and it reveals that Edna’s missing daughter Lois was taken by Madge in a moment of madness (which explains why Madge tolerated Edna over the decades). Madge writes that she gave Lois to some old friends to raise as their own, with Lois calling her Auntie Madge. In the hospital, the nurse turns out to be called Lois and is upset as her Auntie Madge has just died.

Having read the book do I believe that Barry Humphries and Edna Everage are the same person? Yes I think they are the same person, but that only makes Humphries even cleverer. The factual parts about Barry’s life are interesting to read, but the fiction about Edna is even more interesting. It not only makes the book very entertaining, but it gives an insight into the psyche of Humphries.

The book was a brilliant read, and as you’d expect from a bibliography it has several glossy photo pages throughout the book. You can buy Handling Edna: The Unauthorised Biography by Barry Humphries on Amazon.

Write soon,

Antony



I aim for posts on this blog to be informative, educational and entertaining. If you have found this post useful or enjoyable, please consider making a contribution by Paypal:


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