SHOOT MAGAZINE !

SHOOT magazine by PIEPKE in the Netherlands. Brilliant artist ! I was in issue 1 and he wanted a pikky of me holding the mag for issue 3. This was it ! By James Andrew Yardley.

Gay Pride 2010 ...

Last years PRIDE was amazing as TRANNYSHACK UK had a float in the parade for the first time. I think we really brightened it up too with a gaggle of amazing trannys , Boy George and the odd colourfull hanger on to boot.

It was followed , for me , by a stint hosting the KU BAR STAGE in Leicester Square. The sun was shining and the acts first class and a wonderfull afternoon was had by all !

This year Gary Henshaw the owner of KU has asked me to organise and arrange the programming for the stage , aswell as host it.

I have never had carte blanche to do anything quite as high profile as this before and its a wonderfull opportunity to put together a collection of artists who represent the gay community and who want to entertain us too !

Over the last year , through my work at KINKY KABARET i have met many West End performers whose talent was immense and obvious. I really want to incorporate some of them into the line up of stage talent and try and add a bit of "va va voom" to a stage that has always been a big hit with the hundreds of thousands of gay people who come out to play and be seen on an important day in our calendar. Nearly everyone i have approached so far has jumped at the chance and the lineup is looking diverse and rather good so far ! Of course there will be scene stalwarts aplenty and some of the KU dj's will get a chance to show us their mettle , as scene entertainment is a must , alongside the more mainstream acts. There will also be a few high profile celebs strutting their stuff. So far no one has turned me down. I wont be hogging the stage as host either. Its going to be packaged out to our favourite scene stars so no one person will steal the limelight on a day thats about us ALL. I am sure it will all pull together on the day and give everyone something they will like along the way. I cant wait !!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY !

An old Kipper !

This is a picture of an old kipper. Miss Jude Bean has a nu-nu that resembles this old kipper in more ways than one !

KINKY KABARET

I thought i would tell you about my Monday night get together at FREEDOM in Wardour St , Soho , its called KINKY KABARET and is almost a year old now. Most people who are familiar with my work know me mainly for my Wednesday nighter TRANNYSHACK which i started with Walt Utz almost 5 years ago. Of course there were many , many other clubs over the 25 years i have been in this game , nights like Bambina , Pushca and The Limelight stand out but i care about NOW not the past as the past does not pay your bills or take you on holiday !

KINKY KABARET was a departure for me as its more of a cabaret/disco than a nightclub. I host and dj and my friend Nathan does all the programming. Each week we welcome a variety of singers , dancers , drag shows , comedians and variety acts for a fab 1 hour show at midnight. No one gets paid , they all do it for the love of what they do and the buzz of performing on stage in a gorgeous West End venue. We attract quite a few celebs who come down for the unique Soho atmosphere. Last night there was Louis Walsh and Graham Norton and its rare not to have at least a couple of well known faces in the crowd. The venue suits itself perfectly for what we do as the club area and stage is in a pink , velvet clad basement so it "feels" kind of decadent and thetrical. From 11 to 12 before the show begins i dj and we play showtunes and old 40's and 50's stuff with a good dose of camp classics from the likes of Bassey and Dietrich to create the right atmosphere. Its quite a grown up affair. You wont get much trash until after the shows .... then i go POP which is of course what i am known for and its 2 hours of hits till 3 in the morning. The seating is whisked away and the seated lounge area becomes a dancefloor complete with poles for anyone who feels like making a show of themself ! LOL.

Next week we have TRANNYSHACK legends THE TRANSISTERS and a whole gammut of other talent. The Transisters always go down a storm and the last time they performed we ran at capacity and the whole place gave them a standing ovation. It was amazing. Last week we welcomed the 2 leads from HAIRSPRAY , one from the West End show and one from Broadway. It was quite a show. Of course now and then a duffer gets through the system. I am never sure if Nathan does that deliberately however to make everyone else look better. It always gives the west End Wendy's something to giggle at too !

This night is not advertised ( we dont need to as its usually very busy) and is a bit of a hidden secret in Soho. If you like talent , great singers and dancers and an ecclectic atmosphere then you should try it. "KK" really does rock !

Libz

This is Lilly. Today i really miss her. R.I.P Libbz.

Bollywood Belle !

Trannyshack Uk hosted a BOLLYWOOD party for Tasty Tims Birthday this week. It was a spectacular night. Packed to the rafters with a gorgeous mixed up crowd of drag ,trannys , gay boys and girls of every hue and style and a smattering of hetty's to give us something to laugh at .... JOKE ..... Boy George performed his new single "Amazing Grace" and the Transisters who are an amazing 3 drag/2 boy dance group performed alongside "Move Like Michael Jackson" 's ASH and a fabulous belly dancer with his snake called SNAKE BOY. Vanilla and Sahara (Trannyshack girls) both did a number and i hosted and dj'd as always. It was a fab night . I did a 60's Bollywood Princess look. I am sure tons more of these pikkys will emerge as i seemed to be posing for pikky all night long (you would think people had never seen a man in a sahri before) but here is one to be going on with taken by my friend Alex Gerry. Laterz. Dustina.

Sport Relief

Here are a few pictures from the SPORT RELIEF charity shoot i did in Feb 2010.

The Man of My Dreams !

I love Duncan James. he is handsome and charming. Duncan is a regular at my cabaret club KINKY KABARET @ Freedom in Wardour St on Mondays. This is him trying to escape my filthy advances ! LOL.

Marie Antoinette

I have been rather obsessed with Queen Marie Antoinette since i was about 12 and first read the Jean Plaidy book "Flaunting Extravagant Queen" which is rather oddi suppose as it became pretty much what i turned into !

Marie Antoinette is one of those characters in history who most people know something or other about. Often its wrong however . Most people would say she said "let them eat cake" when the peasents invaded Versailles (the home of the French Royal Family) calling for bread. This is absolute rubbish and the woman who actually said it was her husbands great grandmother ! People assume she was a spendthrift and stupid. Actually by the standards of her class and of the day she was neither. She was just a woman in the wrong place at the wrong time with a not very imaginative or responsive husband. She was a victim really and a very interesting one at that. Over the years i have read everything i have been able to get my hands on about her and the more i have found out the more fascinating she has become to me. She was a lady with an enormous amount of courage and joi de vivre. She faced her downfall and that of her husband and family with brave fortitude and maintained her dignity in extreme and violent circumstances. She was a woman of many facets , a brilliant hostess and style icon (which was required of a French Queen) and kind friend and mother. She was uniquely stylish and went against the mode of the time in dress and appearance , which played a part in her downfall as most of the people surrounding her never quite "got" where she was coming from. She was a free spirit in a stifling court but managed to carve out a life for herself and family. She was unfortunate to be a Queen in a country that was riddled with problems and change and her family paid the price for it. None of us can be responsible for the sins of our ancestors but Antoinette and her family paid the price for 500 years of absolute rule. Anyway , enough of the history lesson. If you ever get the chance , read up on her , she is fascinating , as were her family.

Rickaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy !

This pikky is so funny ! Taken with Patsy Palmer at the party for the opening of Agent Pravocateur at The Connaught Rooms in 1994.

Sobriety

I am currently on a sobriety-fest ! Shocking i know. It means basically that i have given up alcohol and fags. I am going to try to stick to this as my poor lungs and liver have taken one hell of a beating over the last 20 years and they need a holiday. Its been rather liberating though. Tonight for egample i was at my friday night soiree THE O ZONE at KU KLUB in Lisle St. I did not touch a drop of the devils brew but still managed to have a really lovely time. Usually my alcohol consumption starts as a result of nerves. This may surprise you but i always get very nervy before work. No idea why. I just do. A couple of shorts takes the edge off my worry's , however this usually leads to another 10 which has become kind of a problem as i dont work at my best like that and often small things blow up , or rather i blow up in people's faces ! Not great really. Though in at least 2 of the last incidents where i have spoken my mind i regret NOT A THING. Infact i am glad i had the conviction to say and do what i did , if a few bevvy's helped me to do it then good , and if as a result a couple of brain dead , ego ridden , delusional arse holes want to have a twitter (or TWATTER in their cases) about it then so be it. I can live with it . I did before ... quite LITERALLY ... LOL.

I have asked my friends to not offer me drinks for a good while when i am working. I WANT to be on the ball and in control. I am really proud of all my nights , i still work more than almost anyone in a similar position and my work events are busy and respected and i want them to stay like that. While i may be more amusing for other people at times when i am drunk for me its not that much fun anymore. Its also giving the coterie of cackling bitches that watch and report my every move ammunition. Well no more i am afraid. I am a fairly sharp person in most ways , most of the time . I have plans and dreams (as we all do) and being half smashed all the time aint helping me achieve much other than tread water, I can move mountains when i want. I am determined and motivated and not one to mess around with. Its time for me to get serious. I have ! Be warned. A sober Dusty O is a much nicer person .... also a sharper one.

DISDAIN !

I had to post this pikky. It was taken for the Sport Relief Charity shoot this week. Sandra D is the gal doing the sit ups and i am the one sneering and reading Vogue. Too funny.

My friend Mark O'Flaherty sent me these two pikky today. I gagged when i saw them. They were from 94. I am with Polly and Venus on the first one. Polly was the door whore at the Fridge for donkeys years and a very sweet guy. He died a couple of years back. Venus was an amazing character and had a fab look too. Not sure what she is doing these days. Its so sad when people just vanish. I can understand it though. Hedonism takes its toll and sometimes its just time to fuck off. The second picture is of Mark and myself with Phillip Stephens who now owns UNCONDITIONAL. It was taken at the opening of a club we worked at called NANCY'S at "The End". They were brilliant days. Phillip and i both worked at London Lighthouse then , god only knows how we used to get up for work ! LOL. 16 years ago ! Seems like a lifetime .....

Sport Relief Shoot

Today i did a shoot for SPORT RELIEF at "THE GYM" in South London. A jolly time was had by all and the paying punters did not seem to mind a wiggy woman in their midst. Enrique took these shots on his i-phone. Check THE METRO tomorrow for the proper ones. x