32 Scene
BON VOYAGE!
Catherine Muxworthy catches up with iconic Birmingham drag queen Miss Marty, who’s hanging up their heels for good ) Marty Smith aka Miss Marty is hanging up
their wig and retiring from drag. They considered retiring from drag a few years ago but decided they weren’t quite done. This decision to step back follows some health problems during the lockdown, though “nothing life-threatening”. Marty also struggled to adapt to digital performances and wanted to give a special thanks to the people who helped facilitate shows. “I’m a complete technophobe so it’s been a learning curve,” Marty laughs. “It’s been interesting but also nice that we got to open out to a whole new audience… We’ve all taken a journey together and shared each other’s ups and downs along the way.” On a positive note, lockdown allowed Marty to rediscover their love of painting. “I just felt it was time to move on to a new adventure, to give my body time to reset, and find new passions. I’m going to take a bit of time to
gather myself; right now I’m focusing on promoting my artwork to see where that leads.” Marty also plans to “spend more time with family and friends. When you’re gigging, you miss out on a lot”. Twenty-two years ago, Miss Marty made their drag début, and they admit: “I wanted to sing and was far too chicken to get up there as me. I dressed a couple of drag queens backstage at the time – Phyliss Stein and Alfie Hooker – enjoyed watching them, and thought maybe I could do this.”
“Be passionate about your craft… It’ll take up a lot of your time, not to mention energy and if you’re not passionate, you’ll fall at the first hurdle” They were asked to host at The Wellington. “I was clueless but armed with a few second-hand
dresses and a £10 wig from the rag market, I hosted karaoke on a Friday and brought the drag acts on stage on a Saturday night.” Marty remembers being thrown on stage due to a no-show. Having previously only done karaoke, this became Marty’s act. “I couldn’t tell you what I said between numbers but it went well. I do remember that my opening line was ‘please be nice to me ‘cos I’m terrified’.” Marty lists many influences. “I was guided in my early years by Dec (Phyllis Stein), and we’re still friends to this day. I’ve been lucky enough to become friends with a lot of the acts I looked up to when I started out, like Tilly, Rose Garden, the Divine Miss M, Dave Lynn, Lola Lasagne, Connie, Kara Van Park, Sandra, to mention just a few. Not forgetting the dearly departed Asa aka Vanilla Rimmer for all the drunken mashups back in the day.” Marty’s act has always included live singing and
