Still glowin', still crowin', still going strong

Wow - that was a whirlwind-quick weekend! As always, I could do with at least one more day to get everything I planned to do done...

Hey ho, never mind. On this Tacky Music Monday, let's cheer ourselves up as we prepare for our sad trudge back to work - in the company of one of our fabulous patron saints Miss Carol Channing! Here's her rollocking 1979 Royal Variety Performance of Hello Dolly:

Carol Channing - Hello, Dolly! (1979)

Hope you have a good week!

Yes, tonight, Josephine!

Eighty-five years ago, a little black songstress and dancer emerged from her vaudeville beginnings in Harlem onto the stage at the prestigious Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, and an Art Deco erotic icon was born.

Josephine Baker (for it was she), often accompanied on stage by her diamond-adorned pet cheetah Chiquita, was an instant overnight success - not least for the fact she very often performed her nightly cabaret in nothing more than a skirt made of bananas! Her glamorous (and often scandalous) lifestyle (including many lesbian lovers) is the stuff of legend. I blogged about her life as a Civil Rights champion three years ago.

I think on this occasion, we should just celebrate her life with this very late Royal Variety Show appearance as the most "glamorous granny" in the business. A year later she died, peacefully, and was lauded as the best entertainer of her generation...

Josephine Baker, London 1974

Josephine Baker official website

“I wouldn't say I invented tacky, but I definitely brought it to its present high popularity”

Happy 64th birthday today to that gorgeous bundle of campness Miss Bette Midler! I have always loved this lady's sassiness and chutzpah, and to me, as with many gay people, she embodies a way of being to which I aspire...

Read my previous blog about Bette two years ago.

Bette's The Showgirl Must Go On has been the top selling show in Las Vegas for the last two years, and she has announced that her last show will be Sunday 31st January 2010. As she says, "These legs have had such a great run in the desert - it may be time to haul them to places with more humidity and fewer slot machines."

One of those places is the UK! Miss Midler is appearing on this weekend's Strictly Come Dancing, and she will undoubtedly make a few more appearances on TV to promote her Best Bette: Deluxe Edition compilation CD, which was released yesterday.

Indeed, Bette will perform in front of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at the 81st Royal Variety Performance next Monday on a bill that includes Michael Buble, Miley Cyrus and Lady GaGa - and I reckon she'll give them all a lesson in what it really means to be a performer!

Bette Midler - I Look Good

Bette Midler - Do You Want To Dance?

[Yes, I know I posted this one before, but how could I resist?]

Bette Midler - Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy

Bette Midler (born 1st December 1945)

Three old broads

In these times of doom, gloom, cold weather and redundancy, I cheer myself up by delving into the world of showbiz. And what better way is there?

Here's a fabulous extract from The Royal Variety Show in 2001 that features three of the greatest showgirls ever to work together - Miss Babs Windsor, Miss Cilla Black and... Miss Lily Savage! Enjoy...

Lily Savage, Barbara Windsor and Cilla Black - You Gotta Get A Gimmick