Viva Rebel Rock!

Copyright: Craig Richmond

Last week saw the tremendous success of the beautifully sleazy Barelesque 4: CineSex! in aid of the Albert Kennedy Trust. Hosted by the divinely foul mouthed Ophelia Bitz, CineSex! saw astounding performances from Arcane Sin's surrealism with a continental twist to the too-damn-hot Bugsy Malone cross dressing turned filthy lap dancing of Jada Love.The auction was bigger and better than ever before with frenzied bidding on, amongst many other delights, a boudoir photo shoot, a course of singing lessons and sizzling lingerie. Barelesque keeps going from strength to strength and the Barelesque Minxes and I are really looking forward to thrilling audiences and raising more cash for a brilliant charity at the next event.

Barelesque 4: CineSex! also saw the debut of my new 70s Vampire act which is a loving if nonsensical tribute to the Queens of Scream from Hammer and European horror films of what I personally view as a golden age of cinema. All I can say is that I'm heavily indebted to late night Channel 4 during my formative years.

If you missed the debut of my oversexed blood thirsty creation, 70s Vampire will be visiting Bar Elixir in Camden this Saturday for Viva Rebel Rock! - the final show of my burlesque family The Rebel Rebels. After over three years of being the comedy misfits of burlesque, The Rebel Rebels have decided to call it a day due to grown up commitments. It's been wonderful being in a troupe with four funny, intelligent and strong women. 

Copyright: Jon Topper

The beauty of The Rebel Rebels is that each artist portrays their own bold character yet simultaneously compliments the rest of the group with their individuality. And our rehearsals are a wine-soaked scream! The Rebel Rebels are burlesque's answer to The Spice Girls (and no, being blonde and the youngest certainly does not make me Baby!) and proves that you do not have to conform in order to entertain.

Viva Rebel Rock! will be hosted by the handsomest man alive Lucky van den Boon and guest performers include musical boy wonder J'onn J'onzz, gorgeous Eljay and her ukulele, and the instrumental genius that is Paul Browse with his secret weapon - a fish slice!

So come join me and the other Rebel Rebels - Lolly Pops, Betsy Bliss, More More Kensington and Little Miss Naughty - for one last party of burlesque and live music. Decadent mourning dress optional and what a fabulous option it is.

Viva Rebel Rock! is on Saturday 27th April at Bar Elixir, Eversholt Street, Camden. Doors open at 7pm, Show at 8pm.

£7 tickets for Viva Rebel Rock! are available here: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/213409

Barelesque 4: CineSex! - Ready for the Close-Up!

Next week, Barelesque returns to the RVT with a sleaze-tastic tribute to the silver screen in all its lairy technicolor glory - CineSex! Hosted by the deliciously filthy Ophelia Bitz, Barelesque 4: CineSex! will be bigger and better than ever before with a divine line-up including the award winning Lolo Brow.

Along with an array of feisty twisted performances from la creme de la creme, the notorious Miss Cy will present our auction extravaganza that’s more lip-smacking than Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. Auction items include beautiful lingerie from our wonderful sponsors Kiss Me Deadly, Sh! and Playful Promises, an abundance of Sh! treats, a photo shoot by Lily Moss and the chance to star in your very own bespoke movie filmed and edited by video wizard Miss Morphic!

All proceeds from Barelesque events go to the amazing charity The Albert Kennedy Trust, which supports young and vulnerable LGBT people. 

Channelling the Dietrich look! 

I have an exclusive act up my sleeve for CineSex - it will be comedic, sexy and guaranteed to make you scream! Want me to reveal more? Come to Barelesque 4: CineSex and find out!

Here's a cheeky Barelesque teaser* to get pulses racing wildly: vimeo.com/60343404

Barelesque 4: CineSex!

Wednesday 17th April

Royal Vauxhall Tavern

Doors 7pm, Show 8pm

Tickets available here: http://barelesque4.eventbrite.com/

*NSFW!

Sparkles & Briefs

Kiss Me Deadly

This week I had the pleasure of attending the Crystallized show, in the Swarovski Crystallized Lounge in the heart of London’s West End, showcasing the Spring/Summer collections of top UK lingerie and swimwear brands including Kiss Me Deadly, What Katie Did and Paolita. 

Accompanied by Monsieur du Vin and surrounded by sparkly displays of Swarovski, the drinks flowed and chocolate savoured while demonstrations were given on customising lingerie with crystals and glamming up make up with fetching jewels. 

With crystal-adorned eyes and slicked back hair, the models kicked off the catwalk show in What Katie Did. There were great new takes on What Katie Did’s distinctive vintage styles such as the vibrant red satin and sheer peach contrast bullet bra, girdle and briefs. There were also fetish-inspired garments such as a black corselette with red overstitching - a great new spin on the Bettie Page look.

Next came the eye-poppingly sexy Dirty Pretty Things with their updated spin on retro lingerie with sexy babydoll gowns in neon pink and yellow. For those not brave enough for an assault of brashness, there were white bras and briefs with neon straps and stitching.

Kiss Me Deadly, every vamp’s favourite brand, delivered the goods which included one of my personal favourites - a bralet and knickers in, naturally, leopard! Also from Kiss Me Deadly were new versions of all-time favourites such as a DeVille bra and matching panty girdle in blue.

Fred & Ginger

Next came the opulence of Fred & Ginger with the stuff that erotic dreams are made of with creations such as the floaty fabrics and ribbons of a white playsuit and the exotic ruby red bra and knickers trimmed with light-catching gold coins. The latter collection would be perfect for a belly dance routine!

Getting the crowds up for a holiday in the sun were luxury sarong specialist Poshtotti and vibrant swimwear brand Paolita. Poshtotti’s sarongs are a big step away from the usual sarongs with their luxurious fabrics and incredible versatility - you don’t need to wear anything else in the hot months (the next best thing to going au naturel!). 

Paolita

Paolita were on top flamboyant form with a deco style patterned bikini in soft blue and sorbet shades of yellow and lilac. Other fun Paolita swimwear included a Mexican-inspired one-piece with blue and red floral tie-sides and bright yellow panels with sugar skulls, sparrows and roses.     

Monsieur and I had a fabulous evening at Crystallized and the length of my lingerie wishlist has trebled - you all know my birthday’s round the corner, right? It looks like Spring/Summer 2013 is going to be bright, bold and sassy!

Lucky 13

 There were many wonderful highlights for me in 2012. This was the year in which I brought to the world my Flash! and Dreamy Jeannie acts which both went down a treat with audiences. Flash! is arguably my campest number to date, with gold gogo boot-clad highkicks and saving the world with the power of flashing nipple pasties. This comedic routine finally gave me the opportunity to use music by one of the greatest bands ever - Queen.

Photo by Lily Moss

2012 was also the year that I took up belly dance which I incorporated into the funny yet fiercely erotic Dreamy Jeannie. Belly dance has really struck a chord with me and it is the sex of the dance world - it is sensual and moves from slow and hypnotic to fast and wild. I’m continuing with belly dance classes which are a joy to attend. Maybe this time next year you’ll see me shaking my hips at a Turkish restaurant near you!

A great highlight of the year was the success of Club Chardonnay - a cabaret (produced by yours truly) and wine auction (curated by my good friend and wine supremo Kenrick Bush) which raised money for Alzheimer’s Society. As I thrive on diversity, I recruited a wide variety of talent for the show including classic and neo burlesque, live music, stand up comedy and contortion - something for everyone!

Photo by Peter Livingstone

Barelesque, the bi-annual sex and body positive show in aid of Albert Kennedy Trust, has been going from strength to strength and the Barelesque Minxes were thrilled when this saucy night was nominated for an Erotic Award! A super hot fourth Barelesque outing is currently in the pipeline for Spring 2013 so look out for announcements and teasing sneak previews.

Of course, 2012 was also the year that my website and blog were launched. The website was created by the incredibly talented code72 who brought to life a website that was distinctive, fun to navigate and, naturally, deliciously kitsch! The logo with the broken heart and cartoon Honey was the work of the amazing Simon Cottingham.    

2013 looks set to be an exciting year. Along with Barelesque, there will be new adventures with The Rebel Rebels and I’ll venture beyond the South East to bring my glitter and hip-swinging to Manchester in March! I’m also looking forward to constantly learning and setting myself new thrilling challenges and, most importantly, continuing to embrace the Joie de Vivre.

Wishing all my wonderful friends, colleagues and followers a goddamn spankingly sexy 2013. Be bold, be a maverick, listen to your instincts, love like you’ve never been hurt and whatever you do do it with passion Xxx

Photo by Andrew Armitage

Barelesque casts a spell over Vauxhall

Barelesque will return with a big bang on Thursday 8th November at Royal Vauxhall Tavern. This is the third downright shameless outing of the Erotic Award nominated show which raises money for the Albert Kennedy Trust who provide support for young LGBT people.

Hosted by enfant terrible Mat Fraser, Barelesque III will take you to a dark twisted world of fairy tales and fantasies turned upside down and inside out with lashings upon lashings of smut.

As well as badass performances from established and up-and-coming talents, Barelesque also holds a lip smacking lingerie sponsored by award winning Kiss Me Deadly and Playful Promises. Yes, you don’t have to wait till Christmas for dreams to come true. There will also be sweets for guests who arrive in fairytale fancy dress and a prize for Best Dressed - Will you be the Belle or Prince of the ball?

Being a Barelesque Minx is a divine balance of work hard and play harder. We use our mix of skills and talent - from performing to PR to tech wizardry - to create body-positive and sex-positive nights of spectacular fun. Our meetings and rehearsals are evenings full of brilliant ideas, breakthroughs, moments of sheer genius, wine, gorgeous cats and a hint of nudity. 

Photo by Ana Morphic

As well as co-producing Barelesque, my new act will make its debut on the 8th of November. A lady never gives it all away but I can reveal that my latest creation will be deliciously exotic, sensual, passionate and a distorted homage to a classic US sitcom!

All proceeds from Barelesque go to the Albert Kennedy Trust

For tickets and more info please visit http://www.rvt.org.uk/event/barelesque-1

Come and join us in our magical sexy kingdom!

Blonde on Blonde

From image to performance, I have many influences, male and female, from sexed up film stars to peacock rock musicians. One thing that is consistent in my ever-changing influences are blondes. As a blonde myself, it could be that I subconsciously feel that I can emulate what other blondes have. You always hear blondes claim that the likes of Marilyn Monroe (the Champagne of Blondes!) influence their image while brunettes may lean more towards Elizabeth Taylor or Audrey Hepburn. I adore the likes of the dark and sensual Ava Gardner but I tend to just admire them.  My list of blonde icons are endless but here I’ve whittled it down to my top three and explore what it is about them, in terms of image, that makes me tick. And no, as much as I adore Marilyn she’s not here! 

One major source of blonde inspiration is Brigitte Bardot - the original sex kitten. The long tousled mane, the kohled-up eyes and neutral pout of Bardot is seen everywhere from sixties fashion connoisseurs to glamour models to Kylie. It’s a morning-after-a-passionate-night look that can be either individual or mainstream. Bardot’s sexiness was playful and appeared to come more naturally to her compared to American pin-ups. Bardot was sex. One of Bardot’s most celebrated moments on screen is her fiery dance in And God Created Woman (1956). In this scene Bardot moves as if possessed by an erotic demon, starting with baby steps to a slow drum beat and culminating to wild, skirt-ripping hip-swinging mayhem on a table. This scene has inspired many including a recent Dior Addict ad campaign and my mambo act!  Another iconic moment was in a TV special (Special Bardot - 1967) where a leather-clad Bardot draped herself around suspended chains and go-go danced around a motorbike to the Serge Gainsbourg-penned Harley Davidson. This sequence was swinging sixties sexy-sexy and partly influenced the look of my Biker Girl act. 

Like Bardot, Catherine Deneuve is blonde, French and worked and/or made love with the same men. That’s where the similarities end. Deneuve, like Alfred Hitchcock’s blonde actresses, is often cited as a quintessential ice queen. Deneuve has always appeared elegant and detached. Even in comedic roles she has never been brash. It’s the mysterious demeanour that keeps everyone guessing and a major part of her appeal. Her enigmatic coolness lent itself to roles in films such as Repulsion (1965) and Belle Du Jour (1967) where she portrayed suppressed characters consciously or subconsciously seeking a sexual outlet - classic fire under ice. In one of my favourite films, The Hunger (1983), Deneuve plays an immortal vampire who promises selected humans eternal life if they become her vampiric lover. Her slicked back blonde hair and ruby lips nonchalantly blowing out cigarette smoke stand out in the Bauhaus-led opening sequence set in an industrial club where she seeks out her latest prey. Deneuve's cool otherworldliness was perfect for the role. 

 My ultimate blonde icon has got to be Debbie Harry. Through VH1 and remixes of Blondie’s Atomic, I first became aware of Debbie Harry at the age of thirteen. She had Monroe-esque prettiness with slavic cheekbones and haphazardly bleached barnet combined with a feisty attitude and an innovative punk spirit. A devastatingly knock-out combination. Harry’s performances were full of character and variety - she would go from sexily breathy in Fade Away and Radiate to angry and trashy in Rip Her to Shreds. Image was an important factor for Blondie (apparently keyboardist Jimmy Destri got in the band because he wore nice shoes) but they also explored a wide range of music genres (including disco and hip hop which included a collaboration with Coolio on 1999’s No Exit) and wrote songs which have stood the test of time. Blondie had both style and substance. For me, Debbie Harry confirmed that you can be sexy and flaunt it without dumbing down or sacrificing individuality - a far cry from the fifties bombshell. Without Debbie Harry, there would be no Madonna or Lady Gaga.

My top three blondes all have different appeals to me be it kittenishness, enigma or edge. Their gold and platinum tresses reflective of their spirit and attitude. All three are not bubbly child-like blondes like the starlets from the forties and fifties (yes, Bardot’s career was launched in the fifties but it was the latter part and her sixties image has more universal influence). My top blondes are hot-blooded women who roared instead of squeaked. They graced our screens and magazine covers in the late twentieth century when sexuality became more overt thanks to more relaxed censorship laws. Image from the sixties onwards became less restrained which to me is sexier by far. I love pre-sixties looks but I can imagine a great shag must have ruined the victory rolls. Give me cool, subversive, tousled, back-combed, kohl-smeared super sexy blondes any day!       

Confessions of a Leopard Lover

I don't recall leopard print ever really being out of fashion. Regardless of whether it's "in" or "out", at some point every year the high street turns safari with animalistic clobber. Good news for my taste, bad news for my wallet. I observe up and coming trends but I'm highly selective with what I embrace. If there's a trend that I find awfully hideous or dull then I just ignore it, there's no obligation to follow it. In the sound words of Quentin Crisp, 'Fashion is what you adopt when you don't know who you are'. Influences on my style tend to come from cinema and music, not the catwalk, as you will see.

My earliest memory of leopard print was watching the camptastic feature Batman (1966), which my parents bought on VHS when I was barely in primary school. In an attempt to lure Batman into a trap, Lee Meriwether's Catwoman poses as seductive Russian Miss Kitka. When we first see Catwoman as Miss Kitka, she emerges from a crowd of dark suited reporters and photographers wearing a long leopard print trench coat and matching Russian-inspired tall hat. In an instant, the outfit suggests the wearer's exoticness and other worldliness while at the same time it's a too damn obvious connection with cats. It's elegant and at the same time kitsch. My first memory of leopard print was an image you may associate with retro camp, as animal print tends to be, but it was not typically so in that it appeared more refined than a busty 50s pin-up in a bikini or Bet Lynch pulling pints.

 From my childhood onwards leopard has always lurked in my wardrobe in one guise or another. It started with a fake leopard fur hooded coat that my grandmother made for me. As a teenager, leopard print as a conscious taste kicked off with a grey leopard vest which I accessorised with pink plastic Disney jewellery (I was Kawaii and didn't know it!). When I graduated from university I teamed up my gown and mortar board hat with leopard court shoes. Even on soberly dressed days, you can be sure that there's a wild cat of a bra and thong set waiting to be unleashed from hiding. My most recent purchase is a What Katie Did Tiger corset which combines leopard with tiger patterns and contains gold thread. A masterpiece.The moment I spotted the Tiger corset online I could hear the Sirens call. Curiously, I go through phases with colours and most patterns yet leopard always stood its ground. For a pattern that at times is referred to as daring or brave that is some comfort zone!

As a burlesque artist, leopard has always played a major part in my garments from my debut performance of bumping, grinding and snarling to my turn as Scary Spice in a very rude tribute to a certain 90s girl group. Leopard is an extension of the fierceness that I portray. Of course leopard print representing the wearer's ferocity is a cliché. It's the same as a woman in a red dress representing sexiness (Jessica Rabbit and Michelle Pfeiffer on a piano in The Fabulous Baker Boys are just a couple of iconic examples) is a cliché. But what I represent onstage are cartoonish fantasies, not social realism (although the work of Ken Loach adapted for a cabaret show could be interesting)

The beauty of leopard is that for a usually beige/brown background with black irregular spots, it's wonderfully versatile. It's retro, punk, modern, post-modern, tribal and so forth. You could be trashy like Jayne Mansfield or subversive like Debbie Harry. Cheap and cheerful or luxurious and decadent. Ultimately, this is why my love affair with leopard has endured for so long and I'm sure the same goes for many others regardless of trends and fads. Purrrr!