British drag queens, particularly those in the 1980/1990’s, always based their acts in their working class roots. Their humor was anarchic, fearless and overtly political especially when Margaret Thatcher was in power.
One of the biggest stars of the time was Lily Savage the drag persona of Paul Grady an Irishman living in Liverpool. With his strong Liverpudlian accent, Lily was based upon traits found amongst his tough female relatives who seemed to provide her with an endless wealth of comic scenarios. Lily was rough. slutty, an unabashed petty criminal with a very potty mouth. She was equally at home playing in small gay pubs or at the Edinburgh Festival where she was nominated for the Perrier Award, or on television when they discovered her in a big way.
Thankfully who ever decided to give Lily her first break in TV had the good sense not to tone down her act or change her in any way. Loudmouthed, outrageous and crude with a very questionable taste in fashion, Lily became the most famous drag queen on that era. So much so that she went on to host mainstream TV Quiz shows and also a Morning Show too.
In the mid 1990’s there was a TV series called An Audience where a star ‘chatted’ to an audience of ‘B’ and ‘C’ list celebrities. When it came to Lily’s turn she really was in her element and for almost an hour she used them as ‘straight men’ for all her very hysterically funny monologues and jokes.
Both Lily and O’Grady were great activists for the LGBTQ Community and this second clip is of her performing at a Benefit for The Terrence Higgins Trust, the UK’s biggest AIDS Charity.
Lily hung up her frocks some years ago and as Paul Grady had his own chat shows where he could still demonstrate his acerbic but we missed his gay potty mouth.
