Exclusive Interview - La Voix
Welcome darling to Spill the Tea, how are you doing?
I'm fabulous darling, thank you very much, I like the fact that you say darling like I always say darling we’re off to a good time already.
I say it far too much! I'm gonna kick off our interview by asking when did you realize that you wanted to do drag?
Oh my gosh, I think for some people they might have, you know, when they were at young age and say that's exactly what I want to do, but never for me it was always my love for musical theatre and performance that always came first really and then I got a job at the world famous Madam JoJo's in Soho and then not long after I finished University and moved to London and then it just snowballed from there, that was a weekly thing (Madam JoJo’s) I was there for about eight years and then it sort of ventured onto the clubs and pub circuit right up until the theatres, cruises and television. Which is what I’m doing now, so it's sort of one of those things that found me. I mean I thought you know what, this can be very lucrative and a great fun way of making a living.
“As always, it's always such a big thing with new shows, from new costumes, new songs and new comedy. It's just a massive mixture of stand-up comedy and big belty diva songs and by the end of it you'll be up dancing in the aisles”
Definitely and you've done an incredible job of it!
Ah thank you, I mean what a great way to make a living, just being in heels and glitter for weeks.
How would you describe yourself or your drag?
Well, actually I would never describe myself as a drag artist. When people refer to me as one, it always still has a bit of a sort of a clink with me. A bit of, oh that's not right. Not because theres something to do with a dislike of drag or anything like that, I think it's probably my own preconceptions, I've been brought up in the North in the 80s and 90s, then drag was very much not on a resurgence there, I think it was very much associated with Hen Nights and that very much sort of low calibre, you get put in the same bracket as strippers almost like oh, I’m about to book a stripper I will book a drag queen too. I think when anyone referred to that term I always had a bit of a twinge of oh no I’m better than that, it's more than that, I can sing and I can wear fabulous things, it's not all you know cheap bowers and the same old dresses but then obviously now drag has become so on trend and so in turn drag is almost… no it's cool. So I would always describe myself purely as a performer, as a singer, as a comedian, as a one of those terms really.
In a world where there's a million seasons of Drag Race airing each year how have you found working in a sea full of Rugirls?
Well, I don’t. I’m not in that World, for me, I work in theatres and I don't know one other drag queen that that tours the UK in theatres solo, there’s never been anyone that's chased my tail in that sense, I don't work the clubs and pubs. I haven't for many years now, it's all with me and my live band, I book my show, write and orchestrate it. Then we're off on the road so I never get to see that drag world even if it's UK based and not from RuPaul's Drag Race. I think if I was working in the bars and the clubs and I wasn't associated through the show I think I’d be very worried that they were going to come and take all the work from me. A lot of those drag queens, do they have a 45 minute or two hour tour? That's the question, (I think there's a lot of amazing UK drag acts who do have that but) can they do 45 minutes to an hour of live singing? I think sometimes the club circuit from RuPaul's Drag Race are used to doing one song lip sync’s and then a costume change with a half an hour gap and then one or two songs, I think it's a very different world. It sounds like I’m saying I don’t like it, I think it's amazing that it's here and I think anyone who is wanting to be in drag is crazy to deny that RuPaul's Drag Race isn't helping all of us in that circuit, to bring drag to the forefront, it's a resurgence and it won't last forever, embrace it while it's here making its cross over into the mainstream. There’s many more straight people watching Drag Race talking about drag and wanting to be part of it and that's wonderful and can never be knocked down.
Your career has been um incredible, in terms of what you have done so, you must have many tricks up your sleeve. Can you reveal one to us that's helped make you stand out and have such a long career?
I think for me, I always try to be a leader, I always try to think and focus purely on my own skill set, my own show, my own comedy, my own stuff and to keep relevant. I think that's a massive thing, I still do all the big the divas, your Shirley Bassey and Liza Minnelli, which a lot of drag people have been doing for years and it can be seen as quite dated, but I'll always modernize it, I'll say, what if Judy Garland sang an Adele song, or what if Cher did a P!nk song, or I’ll always try and adapt and make it current, it's still keeping it within my talent set of the voices and the impersonations and all that but it's moving it forward and I think it's leading the way. It's not trying to replicate or copy anyone else because then you just become almost a tribute act if you're not careful. For me, it's not waiting for things, I speak to so many people that go oh I’m not ready to do Drag Race, I’m not ready to do this and if you think like that you'll never be ready, you'll never have all the costumes or looks ready. In TV, it never works like that, anyone who's done Drag Race is scrambling around two weeks before trying to get every look put together and every costume made and you've just got to chase the opportunities. If they say yes, then sort yourself out then get your dresses together. There's many people I think that wait thinking that a few more years and I’ll be ready, we never will, we never grew up in our heads, we're all kids and we're all teenagers and you just need to take the leap of faith. The way the amount of times I’m booked for certain things and I think oh I can't do that, I haven't got the look for that, or I can't do that long of a show and then you get it together, when you've got that booking in the diary it's all agreed you get it together.
You almost do just need to hold on to that fearlessness that you do have when you're young, because you do say yes to everything when your younger.
You've just got to be a yes person, say yes and then worry about all the boring bits because you can't turn down a massive TV opportunity because you don't have a dress. You've got to grab every opportunity to move you forward and especially now that it's urgent because you never know what it can lead to and who you're working with.
You aren't afraid of a competition of course having competed on Britain's Got Talent and most recently Queen of the Universe, what do you love about competing?
Well do you know what, I think the fun thing is it all comes back down to that challenging thing, you're pushing yourself, in any sort of competition it brings out that sort of inner diva inside all of us. Even if you're absolutely petrified about being on the TV show, the pressure just makes you even surprise yourself with what you pull out the bag in terms of performance and it's really addictive. I’ve just filmed Queen of the Universe before Christmas last year and then I came off it and was like, I want to do another show! I want to do another reality show. You always get that adrenaline rush from it, it's like the best drug in the World, I love it, there was a big gap between Britain's Got Talent to Queens of the Universe, I was really pleased that I had something a bit more current, I thought I can't keep talking BGT.
You need to update the resume! You sung in both competitions, could you always sing or did you did you have learn?
I remember when I was at school I got cast in a school play or something, I had to sing a song and it was terrible, it was then that I thought oh, I'm going to get singing lessons and I went to this big scary Welsh man who ran an opera company or something and I remember him being really strict, I would be like oh my god, this is so scary but I loved it the fact that you could learn it like you can an instrument. Singing is an obsession that I still have to this day, I have vocal coaches and singing lessons and I adore studying and enhancing my singing. That’s how you get better and it's great to then think I’m going to try and sing a Celine Dion song, I'm going to work on that and it's really rewarding the more you can advance with it.
The songs that you do take on tour are a lot of the time by the big divas in the music world, do you ever find it intimidating taking on such iconic songs and making them your own?
Yes of course, I mean the minute you step forward you know there's not many people that will touch some of those songs. I go from a Judy Garland to an Adele song to a Cher to a Bassey and then onto a Whitney Houston. When you look at the list you realize why they're known internationally around the World. When you're doing those songs and they're live you realize how amazing they are to sing and perform. The reaction it gets from an audience is so daunting but it's worth the reward when they go right. I've always wanted to take a risk, I'll go out and take a Bassey song and if it doesn't work, it doesn't work, but at least you try it. I can't stand this cancel culture of someone saying I've got to pull a whole show because I've got a bit of a vocal problem. I’d rather change the set and go out there and still give a show.
If you could duet with one diva past or living who would you bring on stage with you?
Wow, oh my gosh, well I think because she's still alive and she's just so ridiculous, camp and fabulous, I think it would have to be Shirley Bassey or Dame Shirley. I just want to know everything, I wonder what goes on backstage and what she’s like, whether she's a diva or is she nice and what's the sound check.
If you'd wake up with a headache or not each day! Talking of tours, you will be hitting the UK on one. What can your fans expect when you take to the road?
As always, it's always such a big thing with new shows, from new costumes, new songs and new comedy. It's just a massive mixture of stand-up comedy and big belty diva songs and by the end of it you'll be up dancing in the aisles and we've got such amazing plans, you've got Madonna in there, we've got Adele in there, oh my gosh, of course there's Shirley Bassey and there's Judy Garland's and the Cher, there's all those songs mixed in. There's even a bit of Lady GaGa, it’s a mashup of some of amazing singers and some bonkers things and it's called Eighth Wonder and I will be looking in every town for the ninth wonder of the World, a little bit of extra so we can crown that in every single town, by the end of it'll be like a little club of people that would have been crowned that. You'll get your own red plaque like a blue plaque and it's very exciting, I go all over North, South, East and West to some amazing theatres from York Opera House to Brighton Theatre Royal, right up to to the North and over to Wales. You name it we'll be there.
I love that idea, will people apply before the show or are you picking audience members on the night?
On the night!
That's so exciting, before I let you go I thought it'd be fun to play a little game of what I call Piping Hot Tea, which is basically quick fire questions that need quick answers.
These things always scare me, it’s funny how your brain works in that moment.
How long does it take you to get ready before you go on stage?
Two hours
What's the first thing you do once you get off stage?
Take my shoes off.
Did the right queen win the Queen of the Universe?
Yes!
Your favourite pop diva?
Pop diva, oh because she's on Queen of the Iniverse Vanessa Williams!
Biggest pet peeve?
People who swear too much.
What's the best thing about going on tour?
All the McDonald's on the way home.
And the worst?
All the McDonald's!
The final one, did you love this interview?
Yes!
Oh perfect, that's what I like to hear. That's the game's done, you can breathe now.
The way I like to round off the Spill the Tea interviews off is just giving you a chance to give a shout out to another queer performer.
I recently worked with Callum Scott, he was such an amazing performer and his show and music is all ballads, I think it's quite a hard to plan a show like that and hold an audience but he was so humble and so lovely. He did songs he had written from when he came out to his Mum and how his Dad didn't really accept him at the beginning and how he grew up as a child. It was all heavy ballads but beautifully written, I think his humility and his nervousness of performing to an all gay crowd (it was on a big gay cruise ship) and he was absolutely astounding, I just don't think he gets the recognition he deserves. Check out his music! His story was beautiful and I think so inspiring and relatable for so many people.
Catch La Voix on her UK tour this year by grabbing your tickets here.
Imagery with thanks to Chris Jepson
Note: Some of this interview has been edited from the original transcript to help with readability.