Lock up your sons – Leeds Gay Pride cometh!

That’s me (well Maria) on stage at Huddersfield Pink Picnic. It was my first solo outing and it was scary, cold but so much fun. As I mentioned in my last blog Tia Maria had two bookings last weekend. The other was at The Viaduct’s closing party (its closing for a week for a refurbishment – us gays will celebrate anything), which was really fun. It’s only the second time we’ve performed there and it was great fun. The more established drag queens/showgirls are all so nice and friendly there, we always feel so welcome. It was useful to get feedback on the numbers we’d done before The Big One this weekend – Leeds Pride.

Leeds Pride is going to be amazing this year (and not just because we’re going to be there!). If you look at pictures from just two years ago you can see how far it’s come. This year is expected to attract over 20,000 people, and generate over £1 million. To be just a small part of that is incredible, not to mention terrifying. Last year was my first ever Pride, and I volunteered as an assistant. I caught just a small glimpse of the amount of effort that goes into staging something like this. I often wish people would appreciate it a little more, instead of whining that we’ve ‘only got Adam Ricket’ or similar.

Perhaps the thing I’m most excited about for Pride this year is my outfit. I love fashion, and I was recently fortunate enough to work with Attitude magazine in their fashion department. (I got to style Peter Andre for the cover. And when I say style, I mean pick one pair of underwear over another. He wasn’t wearing very much). Fashion is one of the main draws to drag for me, I love creating outfits and looks for Maria, and her style is very different to regular ‘drag’. For Pride (and this is something I’ve only told about 10 people) I’ve commissioned a pair of giant feather horns from a jeweller friend in London. I’m very fortunate to have a creative circle of friends to make things for me. (As I type this my housemate is sewing up my tights. Ta love!) I’ve also been very lucky to be lent some fierce shoulder pads from new designer Hong Chang. You can see them here:

Speaking of fierce, I want to close this blog by mentioning another of my drag queen heroines, Carla Jackson. I met Carla (then Carl) at University, and have watched her career develop. Carla is one of those drag queens who seemed born to do it, and even from her early days she was outstanding. She’ll be about at Pride, performing with a fabulously hot Anja Bach and the controversial Miss Orry. They are putting something together especially for Pride and it’s going to be showstopping. I can’t wait.

Profile: Martin Carter is primarily a writer but dips his heel into the world of drag. Along with Craig Dixon they won the title of Drag Idol 2009 with their act Tia Maria.

Links:

Tia Maria on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tiamarialeeds

Leeds Pride: http://leedspride.com

Carla Jackson on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/misscarlajackson

The Viaduct on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/viaductshowbar

Info:

You can see Tia Maria perform at on the main stage at Leeds Pride, which starts from 12pm at Millennium Square Sunday August 1st. Other acts include: Adam Rickett, Liz McClarnon, Scarlette Fever, Robbie Williams tribute, Cheryl Hole, Bears Aloud, and Carla, Anja and Orry. The parade through Leeds City Centre begins at 3pm, and ends at Lower Briggate. The entertainment continues in all the bars on Lower Briggate until late.