{"id":3652,"date":"2024-05-31T14:35:29","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T14:35:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/?p=3652"},"modified":"2024-05-31T14:38:53","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T14:38:53","slug":"dave-lynn-saltdeans-jewish-drag-queen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/?p=3652","title":{"rendered":"Dave Lynn - Saltdean's Jewish Drag Queen"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Dave Lynn, now in his 50th year as a Drag Artist<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Thursday some 15 or more people from the Everything Jewish East Sussex group me to see Dave Lynn, resident of Saltdean and proudly Jewish perform in concert. I wonder if any other star would have made one of his last number Hava Nagila and had a fully trained chorus to back him up..<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We thank<\/em> Jason Reid for writing the piece below and Tom Selmon for the photographs<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now in his fifth decade of performing, there\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt really doesn\u2019t feel that long. Obviously it\u2019s 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\u2019m hoping to have a proper celebration in-person when we\u2019re out of all this [pandemic].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt all started with me falling in love with Liza Minnelli, the film Cabaret, and the song Liza with a \u2018Z\u2019, 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,\u201d Dave recalls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Everyone wanted to play the Vauxhall. I was hoping I didn\u2019t because I was scared of falling off the bar<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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: \u201cI was scared. There were all types of perverts around. It was all new to me. When you\u2019re young, you\u2019re very impressionable. Looking back now it\u2019s horrifying to think of some of the situations I was in. Thankfully I am able to look back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI never knew what I was when I was very young, I just knew there was something different about me because I wasn\u2019t 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 cr\u00e8me de la cr\u00e8me 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seeing Dave perform it\u2019s apparent that he has a natural flair, something very special; it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soon after that first performance at The Black Cap, Dave found himself in the presence of the drag greats of the time. \u201cI 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 \u2013 that story got me at such a young age<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMrs 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 comp\u00e8re called her name; when she got up I said, \u2018Do you want me to do the back of your hair?\u2019 to which she curtly replied, \u2018Oh no, no-one touches that, dear\u2019. 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dave\u2019s love for drag is apparent when you talk to him; that passion continues to burn deep: \u201cDrag 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\u2019ve been very lucky to do all of this, and feel very grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"Dave
Dave Lynn (Photo Tom Selmon)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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 \u2013 some of which are still going strong to this very day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I was young and getting to know the scene, in my mind there were three royal variety venues: the Royal Vauxhall Tavern \u2013 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 \u2013 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\u2019t because I was scared of falling off the bar. When I did eventually play there \u2013 on the stage, not the bar \u2013 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\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It really doesn\u2019t feel that long. Obviously it\u2019s been my whole life but everything changes so quickly on the scene, and the last decade was quicker than ever. Where did it go?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Opportunities have come Dave\u2019s 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 \u2013 there were no Drag Race golden tickets offering instant fame every year. Dave worked hard to be seen as a \u2018serious actor\u2019 and as such has been cast in numerous TV shows and films \u2013 most famously Beautiful Thing, Silent Witness, Coronation Street. But at what price comes fame?<\/p>\n\n\n

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Dave and his Mum<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA 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\u2019t been that perfect. My parents didn\u2019t 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 \u2013 so to speak \u2013 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\u2019s how you learn, and I had a niche, I wasn\u2019t just another actor among a sea of actors all vying for the same job. It\u2019s the best way in and you get to understand everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And now that Dave is, in his own words, \u201ca grandmother of drag\u201d, what does he think of the new British drag artists who are fearlessly taking the world by storm?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI absolutely love and admire the new acts of today. I look at some younger artists and think they shouldn\u2019t do this and that because it\u2019s a bit dangerous, but then I was told I was dangerous years ago. If you\u2019re not dangerous, you\u2019re boring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dave
Dave back in the day<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Being a nurturer to young artists who are finding their feet on the scene is something that\u2019s 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:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMaisie 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: \u2018Darling, if we don\u2019t carry this on, or encourage it as an art form it will die. We need young blood\u2019. At first some were upset because new acts were getting more bookings and they were losing out, but that\u2019s just how life goes. It happened when I was young, and has happened to me as I\u2019ve grown older. We should be all encouraging acts \u2013 that\u2019s so vital. I\u2019m 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\u2019s incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I never knew what I was when I was very young, I just knew there was something different about me because I wasn\u2019t like the rest of my friends.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve 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\u2019t 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\u2019d love to write a book. There\u2019s a couple of things I\u2019m currently working on, a documentary being one of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve also been thinking more about a book that\u2019s written from the heart \u2013 that\u2019s very important to me, it must have real meaning. We\u2019ve got to make things feel good. I\u2019ve obviously got my battles; I\u2019m old now, and there\u2019s younger acts chomping at the bit. I will continue to work thanks to the reputation that I\u2019ve built up over the years through hard work and determination. I can\u2019t do the things I did 30 years ago, but I wanna see it though. Let\u2019s just say that. I\u2019ll continue performing beyond lockdowns and Covid-19. That\u2019s not the way I want to stop, I\u2019ll do it on my terms.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dave Lynn, now in his 50th year as a Drag Artist On Thursday some 15 or more people from the Everything Jewish East Sussex group me to see Dave Lynn, resident of Saltdean and proudly Jewish perform in concert. I wonder if any other star would have made one of his last number Hava Nagila […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-celebrities"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3652"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3658,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3652\/revisions\/3658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shavuatov.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}