Today would have been the 80th birthday of the late, much-missed Mr George Logan, better known (of course) as "Doctor Evadne Hinge" [pictured left, above] - one half of one of the most enduring British drag acts of all time. By way of a celebration, here's an extract of my post way back in 2009:
Hinge and Bracket [for it is they] first became a double act with their regular bookings in the early 70s every Sunday lunchtime at a gay Kensington restaurant run by the iconic April Ashley. Their earliest breakthrough into the mainstream, however, was their smash hit appearance in 1974 at the Edinburgh Festival.Patrick Fyffe (Dame Hilda Bracket) and George Logan (Dr Evadne Hinge) both had brilliant operatic singing voices, and their evocation of middle class gentility in the mythical "Stackton Tressel", suffused with smutty double-entendres, kept their flame alight until they were "discovered" by the BBC in 1977 - resulting in hit radio series such as The Enchanting World of Hinge and Bracket, followed by The Random Jottings of..., and At Home with....
As well as gracing us with their TV commercials for sherry, they appeared in two Royal Variety Performances, their own series of "Gala Evenings", starred on The Good Old Days, landed their own prime-time TV series Dear Ladies, and made a number of records. They also appeared in a televised Royal Opera House production of Die Fledermaus in 1983, conducted by Placido Domingo and starring Kiri Te Kanawa as Rosalinde.
Our own precious copy of the Best Of Hinge and Bracket is often on an evening's playlist, not least for the pair's superlative versions of We'll Gather Lilacs, Zigeuner and A Regular Royal Queen.
Sadly Patrick died in 2002; George moved to France to run a guest house - and departed to join him in Fabulon just last year. But we will never forget the sheer joy that Hinge and Bracket gave us...
Perfect "Sunday Music".
George Logan (7th July 1944 – 21st May 2023)
What a lovely slice of gay (?) history. And what a fun niche to have discovered and plowed for all its worth. Fascinating. These queens definitely earned their place.
ReplyDeleteThey were remarkable - and so convincing was their act (they never appeared out-of-character in any TV appearance or interview) that a lot of people in the UK truly believed they were two old ladies! Even HM The Queen Mum was a fan. There's never been anything quite like them, and never will be. Jx
DeleteI can understand how the average person believed they were women. Brilliant. And this made me smile!
ReplyDeleteThey were an absolute joy! Jx
DeleteWell, you and they brought me much needed joy today. Thanks!
DeleteYou're welcome, sweetie! Jx
DeleteHow sweet, darlin, and entertaining! Perfect Sunday morning fare. xoxo
ReplyDeleteIt is perfect! Jx
DeleteOh they were lovely! So genteel, and naughty at the same time. I'm glad they were in my life when I was growing up.
ReplyDeleteSx
We still quote some of their repartee, even today - such was their influence. Jx
DeleteOH! What Scarlet said. Absolutely fabulous, they were. And no one recognised out of costume. True artists of a bygone era.
ReplyDeleteTrue artists of any era... Jx
DeleteA true delight. They were so talented and so adored by the whole nation. We will never see their like again.
ReplyDeleteTididly Pom.
"That's the other lovely note..." Jx
Deletehahaha
Delete"Rather reminiscent of Lilian Baylis, I thought."
Delete"She didn't sing, dear."
Love 'em. Jx