Lola's Page
Monday, January 1, 2007
Goodbye 2006.....Hello 2007!
I am not a huge fan of New Year's Eve. It was ok when I was younger. Getting pissed in a pub full of mates, and finding it easy to get a snog at midnight, being a bit of a catch, as I was then!
But as I've grown older, I've felt NYE has lost it's appeal. Maybe it's because I'm single, and NYE is really special if you're with a lover, perhaps somewhere other than your local gay venue. I think the first time I realised that NYE meant little to me, was about 10 years ago, and I was booked to do the Oriental in Brighton. Lovely atmosphere and I was having a great time, and then midnight arrived. It didn't help that a queen in the audience felt that only his watch told the correct time and we were a little premature in our celebrations, but when midnight struck, everyone ignored me. They all hugged, kissed and toasted each other, but I was stood on that stage with a drink in my hand as if I was invisible. Even Mike and Don, the governers didn't come and wish me happy new year and they were stood 5 feet away!
Then there was the millenium celebrations, in 1999. Every drag queen had fought to get a gig that night. I wasn't bothered. I decided to spend the night in Brighton with my friend, Duncan McCann. He lived above the Aquarium, and the plan was to go onto the seafront and watch the firework display at midnight. Well he stayed in the pub, with his partner, Ben, and I was trapped on the seafront, trying to see the fireworks through the heavy mist, whilst enduring homophobic abuse from the ignorant twats in Shooters and the Hungry Years.
So from 2000, I've worked every New Year's Eve. 2000 was at the Queens Arms, Brighton; '01was at Central Station, King's Cross; '02 was back at the Queens Arms; '03 was Central Station, Walthamstow; '04 was at the Stag, London, and '05 was at the Fountain, Handcross. Every year was a fabulous night in terms of atmosphere, and gig, and so made it much more pleasurable for me. Also, I wasn't getting ignored at midnight anymore!!
Last night, I was back at Central Station, King's Cross, which is one of my favourite places to work, any night, never mind NYE. As I said, I was there in 2001, which is lodged in the history books at the venue, as the night the power went. I'd come back on at 11.45pm to see in the new year, and was singing 'Money, Money, Money'. The opening line is "I work all night, I work all day. I pay the bills, I have to pay", when the power in the entire building blew and we were plunged into darkness. I felt like Bette Midler in "For the Boys". trapped in the dark with hundreds of men!!! Candles were quickly lit, torches were found, the power companys were called, and me? Well this is showbiz and it's on with the show! So I sat on the edge of the stage and led the crowd in a mass sing-a-long, whilst getting pissed. The power company didn't arrive until 4/5am to replace the fuse, and i was long gone by then.
Last night had none of these dramas, but it was a truly fabulous night. Nice and busy, with a fantastic atmosphere, and some very fine looking men in there! The 2 spots went very well, but the icing on the cake for me was walking to the stage for my first spot and bumping into my 2 best friends, Ian and Mark, who had lied to me and said they were staying in. It really made my night! A big thank you to ALL at Central station for a superb night, and maybe I'm thawing slightly where NYE is concerned...............we'll see!
# posted by Lola Lasagne : 11:16 AM
