10 minute read
DAVE LYNN - A LIVING LEGEND
Jason Reid catches up with the iconic Dave Lynn, who has just celebrated 45 years of treading the boards
Born and raised in Hackney, London, Dave Lynn is a living drag legend. Pure and simple. An artist that has stood the test of time, and then some. Ordinarily when people talk of legends in a particular field of artistry they talk of those who have been pivotal players and have passed away. There are very few living drag artists who are held up in such high esteem by fans and peers alike.
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Dave Lynn (Photo Tom Selmon)
Now in his fifth decade of performing, there’s no sign of Dave slowing down. And why should he when gigs are still coming in? I spoke to him recently during lockdown and, as always, he was charming and witty, full of showbiz stories, punctuating sentences with a cheeky laugh.
“It really doesn’t feel that long. Obviously it’s been my whole life but everything changes so quickly on the scene, and the last decade was quicker than ever. Where did it go? I’m hoping to have a proper celebration in-person when we’re out of all this [pandemic].”
Dave Lynn first set foot on a stage in November 1975 at the young age of 17 when he entered a talent competition at the greatly idolised London cabaret venue that is no more, The Black Cap in Camden.
“It all started with me falling in love with Liza Minnelli, the film Cabaret, and the song Liza with a ‘Z’, and also watching Shirley Bassey perform. When I was very young I would DJ at family parties at home, and it was then that I realised I had a knack for lip syncing, so it became my party piece. I would go behind the door and my brother would give me light with a torch, and often take the piss. When I finished the family would sit there and applaud. I never dressed up at that point though. It never crossed my mind. Then one day my friend from school encouraged me to go and do the talent contest at The Black Cap,” Dave recalls.
The gay scene was very different in the 1970s and 80s, clandestine and often underground ensuring safety was paramount, and putting aside the obvious dangers from society more broadly, Dave remembers the fear of being a young and naive gay person and having to be constantly cautious: “I was scared. There were all types of perverts around. It was all new to me. When you’re young, you’re very impressionable. Looking back now it’s horrifying to think of some of the situations I was in. Thankfully I am able to look back.”
“I never knew what I was when I was very young, I just knew there was something different about me because I wasn’t like the rest of my friends. When I went to The Black Cap that night I was chatted up, admired, and something clicked. It was a huge learning experience. Those days were about chatting up and foreplay. It was a lovely underground thing, not many people knew about it. Sunday nights at The Black Cap featured the crème de la crème of drag: Hinge & Bracket, The Harlequins, Disappointer Sisters to name but a few; you always had to queue to get in there. The Harlequins were mentors to me in the early days, they taught me a lot about make-up and glamour. Alistair and I were very close; we were kind of in a relationship for a bit.”
Seeing Dave perform it’s apparent that he has a natural flair, something very special; it’s almost as though he was made to be a drag queen, yet it was something that he never in his wildest dreams imagined doing when he was that young boy performing to just his family.
Dave Lynn (Photo Tom Selmon)
Soon after that first performance at The Black Cap, Dave found himself in the presence of the drag greats of the time. “I was starstruck many times. Especially by Mark Fleming; he was quite something to a young guy like me. Mark was an act that would go among the audience, you know the type, he really frightened people, and he also said he was best friends with the Queen Mum – that story got me at such a young age
“Mrs Shufflewick was barely audible most of the time, but I was totally in awe of her; I remember one time she was lying on the floor flat-out backstage and the compère called her name; when she got up I said, ‘Do you want me to do the back of your hair?’ to which she curtly replied, ‘Oh no, no-one touches that, dear’. She then went on and did her whole set and when she came off she lay back down on the floor and fell straight back to sleep again.”
Dave’s love for drag is apparent when you talk to him; that passion continues to burn deep: “Drag is a special kind of magic. What I love is the different types of characters that stick in your mind. The Trollettes were very important, and Topping & Butch, Phil Starr, Nicky Young, Hinge & Bracket and Adrella. I’ve been very lucky to do all of this, and feel very grateful.”
Dave Lynn (Photo Tom Selmon)
As well as playing alongside the greatest drag artists, Dave found himself playing the great venues that catered specifically to gay drag and cabaret; places that served as safe havens and creative community hubs for gay and trans people – some of which are still going strong to this very day.
“When I was young and getting to know the scene, in my mind there were three royal variety venues: the Royal Vauxhall Tavern – if you got a gig at the Vauxhall it was like getting a huge thumbs up from everyone; The Black Cap, and then joining them later on, the Two Brewers. The Union Tavern was also a big deal at that time – it was almost like a little theatre. But the Vauxhall was the most famous; I remember it being on TV, and seeing Lee Paris performing on the bar. Everyone wanted to play the Vauxhall. I was hoping I didn’t because I was scared of falling off the bar. When I did eventually play there – on the stage, not the bar – it was Pat and Breda McConnon (RVT landlord and landlady at the time) who got me properly into glamour when they asked me to host a sort of Mr Gay UK contest”
Opportunities have come Dave’s way throughout his career that were very rare in the drag world at the time, breaking through to the mainstream was not a given, only afforded to a select few drag artists of his generation and generations immediately before and after – there were no Drag Race golden tickets offering instant fame every year. Dave worked hard to be seen as a ‘serious actor’ and as such has been cast in numerous TV shows and films – most famously Beautiful Thing, Silent Witness, Coronation Street. But at what price comes fame?
“A lot of painful things start happening when you get very successful; people can be very cruel. Then there was the loss of my parents. You know... people change. And I know I certainly used alcohol a lot when I was miserable. Which sometimes was, actually sometimes is, still my enemy. But I fight against that. Truly I do. Life hasn’t been that perfect. My parents didn’t want me to go into showbiz because they thought I was too sensitive. And to be honest, I thought they were right at the time. I remember years later when we were all at some do my mum said she felt so guilty for saying that because she thought it prevented me from making it, that I went in the back door – so to speak – and I told her she should never feel guilty. A comic who was present at the time said I was right to go in the back door, performing as a drag artist rather than going to drama school and the like, because that’s how you learn, and I had a niche, I wasn’t just another actor among a sea of actors all vying for the same job. It’s the best way in and you get to understand everything.”
Dave his mum
And now that Dave is, in his own words, “a grandmother of drag”, what does he think of the new British drag artists who are fearlessly taking the world by storm?
“I absolutely love and admire the new acts of today. I look at some younger artists and think they shouldn’t do this and that because it’s a bit dangerous, but then I was told I was dangerous years ago. If you’re not dangerous, you’re boring.”
Dave back in the day
Being a nurturer to young artists who are finding their feet on the scene is something that’s very important to Dave, and he believes that should be standard across the board. That sense of family and belonging has long been a part of the culture of drag:
“Maisie Trollette and I used to always - and still do - encourage new acts because the gay and drag scene is a community, it always has been. Some other acts hated us because we were putting on shows to try and find new talent; I even had my own drag academy. I would say to other queens: ‘Darling, if we don’t carry this on, or encourage it as an art form it will die. We need young blood’. At first some were upset because new acts were getting more bookings and they were losing out, but that’s just how life goes. It happened when I was young, and has happened to me as I’ve grown older. We should be all encouraging acts – that’s so vital. I’m thrilled that in this terrible and dark time we are living through right now I can switch on my TV and see a friend or someone I know doing what I do, showcasing drag to a huge audience. That’s incredible.”
Now with the world on pause, but with glimmers of light finally shining through, what does the future hold for this giant of the drag world, where will Dave Lynn go from here?
“I’ve been asking myself this a lot throughout the lockdowns. When I look back at my career I feel great. Not many people can say that. The age bit I never really understood. I often think of Maisie, who doesn’t care about age and just carries on doing what she loves. But of course not everyone is the same. I think after the pandemic it will be like a new beginning for all of us, when the venues are fully open and lockdowns are a distant memory. I would like to perhaps direct and write. I’d love to write a book. There’s a couple of things I’m currently working on, a documentary being one of them.
“I’ve also been thinking more about a book that’s written from the heart – that’s very important to me, it must have real meaning. We’ve got to make things feel good. I’ve obviously got my battles; I’m old now, and there’s younger acts chomping at the bit. I will continue to work thanks to the reputation that I’ve built up over the years through hard work and determination. I can’t do the things I did 30 years ago, but I wanna see it though. Let’s just say that. I’ll continue performing beyond lockdowns and Covid-19. That’s not the way I want to stop, I’ll do it on my terms.”
