Queen of Copla

Tomorrow we will be in Spain again, and I can't wait! Even though we do spend the majority of our time doing nothing much in particular (that's what holidays are all about after all...), we have done plenty of exploring, and absorbed some of the cultural influences of that fabulous country over the years.

Not least of those is our enduring love for that most adored of Spanish divas (those that are still with us, that is), the lovely Isabel Pantoja. I am sure I have written about her before, but suffice to say that La Pantoja is to Spain what Liza Minelli is to Broadway - a timeless icon for gays and old ladies alike, her stage inevitably always coated with flowers thrown to her during every performance.

Born in Seville, home of Flamenco, to a family steeped in that tradition, it was inevitable that Isabel would become a performer. She hit the heights in the late 70s/early 80s, her success rivalling other grande dames of Spanish music such as the late Rocio Jurado. And her position as an iconic figure was ensured when - tragically - her husband, top bullfighter "Paquirri" was killed in the ring. Even recent scandals (her current husband the mayor of Marbella was imprisoned for corruption, and Isabel was implicated and later cleared) cannot dent her position as "Queen of Copla", and she continues to sell out massive concert halls and basks in the adulation of her audiences to this day.

So popular is La Pantoja that some of her classics have been remixed for a younger dance audience, and she continues to be played in the gay clubs in La Nogalera in Torremolinos today...

Isobel Pantoja - Se Me Enamora El Alma (Pumpin' Dolls remix)

Isobel Pantoja - Asi Fue (CC Herrerra remix)

Monica vs the drag queens

As we count down to Spain, I came across this fantastic video I just had to share! One of Spain's top singers of the moment Monica Naranjo, having what looks like a fun time with a load of hysterical travestí.

Possibly the campest thing I have seen on video for a while, and just right to get me in the mood for the bars of La Nogalera...

Monica Naranjo - Amor Y Lujo

"Isn't Dubai in Angola?"

I paid a long overdue visit to one of my old favourite websites "Tube Gossip" - a random collection of things overheard on London Underground journeys - today, and it is still as fabulous as ever.

Here's a recent selection...

• "I know I shouldn't be gloating at a teen mum's expense but I just hate her so much."
• "I think she's the friend of a naval officer."
• "I'm too old for that. I've already done all my rebellion and dressing up."
• "...and talking of fat, sour-faced, miserable old cows..."
• "So let me get this straight? You're asking me out on a date so you can get to know my boyfriend?"
• "Leona Lewis... yeah, she thinks she's sizzling, but she looks like an Afghan Hound."
• "We wont have time for dinner, so I’ll pick up something in Tesco. Some Flumps or something."
• "Isn't Dubai in Angola?"
• "He has more gin than hope these days."
• "What would you rather save? The whales? Or the banks?"

And my favourite:

• "It's not racist because chavs aren't a race."

Overheard on the Tube

The axeman cometh?

It's all change at Radio 2 with the appointment of a new controller Bob Shennan. But what future will this fabulous station have in his hands?

Arriving back at the BBC after he jumped ship for the ill-fated Channel 4 venture into radio (which has now been shelved by the station as part of the reaction to its financial crisis), Bob Shennan has a background in sport and news, but little previous experience of music radio. According to the Guardian, insiders have questioned his lack of music background, although he was appointed by two executives who themselves have no prior radio experience – the director of audio and music Tim Davie, and the creative director Alan Yentob.

Big decisions need to be made at Radio 2, not least who will replace Terry Wogan as he retires from the breakfast show. All the big bets are on - gawd help us - Chris Evans to take over, despite Our Tel's obvious contempt for the ginger one. And bearing in mind the "populist" stance of the man who wielded the axe at Radio Five Live on some of its more traditional and long-running shows, bringing in "big name" presenters to boost the ratings instead, there could be some more nasty surprises in store for the UK's most popular radio station.



Shennan's rise to success in the BBC was remarkable, from sports journalist to controller of Radio Five Live in ten years, and while at the helm there he raised their audience to over seven million listeners. But he had his critics. One of the people who launched Five Live Tim Luckhurst stated that the station had lurched downmarket under the control of Shennan, and had declined "from news pioneer to a bounteously funded competitor for commercial chat radio."

So what exactly will this man do now he has his hands on Radio 2? I dread to think what will be the fate of some of my favourite shows - Malcolm Laycock, Desmond Carrington, Russell Davies and David Jacobs - let alone respected daytime broadcasters like Ken Bruce.

'Cos they're old, see? And that Wossy, well he's a laugh, innee?

Sigh...

You'll ride my rainbow in the sky

Monday, and my mind turns again to tacky music. So here, for your delectation, is none other than the lovely Pia Zadora!

Pia Zadora - Dance Out of My Head

Pia was a child actress and half-arsed singer when, at the age of 17 she married 49-year-old billionaire Meshulam Riklis, who launched her as the "face" of Dubonnet (one of his companies). She continued to be supported by him in film and TV roles (including a cameo in John Waters' original Hairspray), had minimal success in the music biz, duetting with Jermaine Jackson on When the Rain Begins to Fall in 1983, and became most noted for archetypal 80s chugging dance numbers.

Less tacky, however, was her eventual move into singing showbiz standards, even recording an album with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. We have a copy of one of those albums I Am What I Am, and actually despite her name being synonymous with kitsch, it isn't bad at all...

Let's all have a slapping good weekend...

Just because it's a Friday, and we're all feeling a bit folorn at the shocking loss of legends Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson in one day, I felt we needed a bit of cheering up... so I just had to share - THIS!

Guy Maddin - Sissy Boy Slap Party

A Gallic gay icon

I may be a week late for celebrating the birthday of the great French diva Dalida, but in France the queens never miss such an opportunity to pay tribute to the campest of their home-grown icons.



Not only was she celebrated after her death with one of the most outrageous tombs ever (pictured above), but a whole area of Montmartre was re-named Place Dalida in her honour, complete with a bust cast in bronze! (I can't imagine the burghers of Cardiff doing the same for Shirley Bassey when she goes...) We visited to pay our own little homage a few years ago.



Anyway, apparently every year on her birthday Dalida parties are held across France, and on the anniversary of her death her tomb is knee-deep with flowers. Other queens find a more inventive way to pay their tribute:



And thanks to Madame Arcati for finding these works of genius:

Paroles, paroles

Si j'etais un homme

And here's the lovely lady herself with her classic Salma ya Salama...

Dalida - Salma ya salama

Dalida official website