by William Dean
(4/11/01)

“99% of Duckie people have been to charm school and are polite, well-mannered homosexuals. It's that remaining 1% that feel like itching powder in my knickers.”

--Miss Amy Lamé

Her world-famous gay and lesbian performance club has been dissed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, while being touted by famous left-of-center newspaper, The Guardian, as "Still the best club in London." She’s been floated on the London Exchange, and she hosts the Miss Lesbian Beauty Pageant. She's an avowed lesbian and activist, yet is also a presenter for BBC television. Like the late-night purveyors of gadgetry proclaim, “But wait...there's more!"

Amy Lamé, originally from New Jersey, is a tour de force in her own life and as co-owner of Duckie, a pub housed in The Royal Vauxhall Tavern, built in 1863. The place has been a gay pub for more than 50 years, survived 2 world wars, the criminalization of homosexuality, the decriminalization of homosexuality, and the dreaded Soho pink pound explosion. Clean Sheets invites you to pull up a chair and sit down for a pint and a bit of chatter with the irrepressible Miss Amy Lamé.

CS Your London club, Duckie, is world-renowned for quality performances and its easy, casual atmosphere. What's your secret management style that ensures the Duckie boys and girls of a good "night out?"

AL The one thing that separates Duckie from a lot of clubs is the fact that we don't underestimate the intelligence of the people who come along. We are a democratic club, in the sense that we really welcome participation from the punters in terms of getting up on stage to take part in the quiz, suggesting acts to put on, coming up with theme ideas, and indeed even taking to the stage themselves for performances!

I have a very special relationship with the audience....they know I'm the boss, but if I step out of line on stage they really take me to task for it. I'll often ask what the audience thinks of something before I do it (like throwing someone off stage for being really rude, and if they disagree with me, I do heed their advice. On the other hand, I do insist on a certain modicum of behavior in the club...no violence, no body fascism, and please, please watch the performance!

In fact they call me "old eagle eye," because I stand on the steps of the dressing room and watch the audience while the act is on stage, just to make sure they behave themselves. The team behind Duckie has remained the same since the club's inception; we're dedicated to putting together a top Saturday night out, because, after all, it's our Saturday night just as much as everyone else's. We wanna rock and roll, get drunk, watch a show, dance, and fall over with 300 of our mates...which is what more or less happens every Saturday.

CS In a city like London, which surely ranges from gay/lesbian social acceptance to tolerance to radical intolerance, what kind of challenges do you still face with day-to-day life and club-running?

AL I consider myself quite lucky, because in virtually all the work I do -- the club, my work as a presenter for BBC radio, television, modeling, acting, etc., my sexuality has not been a problem...or at least I'm not aware that it has! And if it were, I would definitely challenge the situation. Of course I have, just like virtually every other gay man and lesbian, been subject to verbal abuse on the street. But I get most hassle because of my size, not my sexuality. I have quite butch lesbian friends who are constantly hassled, spat at, etc. but as I am a girlie girl, I get a different reaction.

CS You're originally from New Jersey in the U.S. We still often hear stolidly British people call Americans "brash and uncultured." How did you overcome this attitude to become such a regaled icon on the London scene?

AL Ha ha! I'm still working every day to overcome those stereotypes! The British love American things, they just find Americans themselves an inconvenient by-product. I have heard Brits criticize Americans for being stupid, egocentric, ill-mannered and uncultured. But the same Brits won't give up their Big Macs, Gap jeans, or Starbucks Coffee. In my eyes, the accusations are completely reversed. I still get treated like a tourist (even though I've been here for over 8 years). I still get asked with astonishment and disbelief how an American could possibly be allowed to work for the BBC! I have managed to do a complete crash course in British popular culture and history over the past 8 years (thanks to friends and partner), which has been enormously helpful in terms of being accepted and indeed being taken in as real part of queer British popular culture myself.

CS For a few years now, you've hosted the "Miss Lesbian Beauty Pageant." What are your plans for the 2001 version? How will it be different from last year's?

AL I started The World's First Lesbian Beauty Contest back in 1997; last year I did Miss Lesbian Beauty 2000. In the interim years, someone took my idea and turned it into a tacky, crass, and badly managed contest. That's why last year I came back to reestablish my claim as the originator of the concept. Miss Lesbian Beauty 2001 will be just like last year's competition, with a dozen lesbian lovelies representing a wide range of gorgeous women from our community. It is just like a more traditional beauty pageant in form (we have daywear, swimwear and evening wear rounds, plus a talent round) but all the contestants are lesbians. The first year BJ, a big, fat gorgeous butch woman, won, with the most amazing cleavage you've ever seen! Last year's winner was Carol Hutchins, who has MS and spends much of her time in a wheelchair...she absolutely wowed the audience with her sit-down (as opposed to stand-up) comedy routine. She has amazing energy and grace and wit...we'll be looking for Miss Lesbian Beauty 2001 in the summer. Watch out!

CS From your unique perspective, do you sense an increasing "It doesn't matter" acceptance from the average person for gay/lesbian lifestyles? Particularly now that one of England's leading literary figures, Jeanette Winterson, is an acknowledged lesbian?

AL I am a huge fan of Jeanette Winterson's work...she has been very open and frank about being a lesbian for many, many years now. Unfortunately the press sees her as some uppity self-obsessed troublemaker...I believe it's all caught up in class and sexuality issues. People like Jeanette are still actively challenging the establishment with what it means to be a woman who doesn't "fit in". I take much inspiration from her and her writing. Yes, there are loads more people who nowadays "accept" gay and lesbian people, but there are still too many who are ready to pounce as soon as the word gay or lesbian is mentioned. We should not and must not underestimate how important it is to continue the fight for equality, not just in the eyes of the law but in the eyes of our fellow citizens.

CS Many activists today want to simply abolish labeling such as "gay" or "lesbian" or "fetishist" and try to get us to relate to everyone as individuals without regard for gender or gender-specific sexual preferences. Do you think we'll wind up with no "identity" if that happens?

AL Yes, certainly. I don't want to be the same as everyone else, and I'm sure lots of others feel the same way. I am happy that I am a lesbian....indeed, I thank God every day for making me a lesbian! Blandness is our cultural enemy...and there's too much of it already. I think we should all revel in and celebrate our differences and our diversity.

CS Who are some of your favorite performers that appear at Duckie?

AL Gosh, there have been so many! I really like Ursula Martinez, especially when she does really crazy things on stage. I like them all (with a few exceptions I'd not like to recall).

CS What might an American tourist expect to experience by dropping in of an evening?

AL Sheer madness! We get quite a few people visiting London from all over the world. Of course I have a soft spot for our American visitors, and I do my best to make them feel welcome. Some visitors may have been to other gay clubs in London, and are really shocked (and happy!) that a place like Duckie exists....we are a club of outcasts, and there seems to be a steady stream of outcasts from all over the world who find their way to the Royal Vauxhall Tavern on a Saturday night. Indeed, we have inspired people to go and start their own club nights. I received a letter from a Belgian chap who loved Duckie so much he went home to Belgium and started his own Duckie-inspired night. I think that's fantastic, and makes me really proud.

CS Is Duckie a uniquely English or London club, or do you think it might be possible for such a club to have imitators in other countries and cities around the world?

AL Duckie is uniquely English. A few years back my friend Simon (who I run the club with ) and I went to New York City and San Francisco to see about starting up some nights there. But it just wouldn't work. With Duckie, we have just the right balance in just the right venue. I don't think audiences in NYC or SF or anywhere would really get our sense of humor in a way that would support us doing a regular night there. As I said above, there are people who have been inspired by what we do and have gone off to do their own thing, and that's great. But I know it will never be a direct imitation....no one can do that. Although I'd like to see someone give me a run for my money, so to speak!

CS Any last comment or statement you'd like to make to our readers?

AL Be fearless!

When the usual outrageous performers are not controlling the stage, Duckie is hardly silent. Their tune spinners are Chelsea Kelsey and Kim Phaggs, a duo known locally as The Reader's Wives. They don't really take any requests but smile patiently and listen to you make them anyway. Here's what they have to say about what they play:

“Gay people have gotten used to pubs and clubs serving them up the musical equivalent of early Saturday night TV -- Barrymore, House Party, the Lottery, etc. It's all so lively, it's all such fun, there's nothing in there, and it's the fucking same week after week after week...

“For us, being part of Duckie really feels like a beautiful act of revenge because what we're doing on a Saturday night in the Vauxhall is what we used to do every Saturday night in our living rooms. That is, to get drunker and drunker with your mates and just play loads of really fantastic records in any order you fancy.

“A word to all pop stars, past, present and future. You get 3 minutes, mate, to prove your point at Duckie and then you're off. The Disc Jockeys won't stand your record amongst a few like yours in order that you can blend in and hide. If it's a bit mediocre, it will sound very bad indeed next to what we'll be programming it with -- Kate Bush, The Supremes, X-Ray Spex, Divine Comedy...

"New Records" and "Old Records" are an illusion, as are the other labels like "Romo," "indie," "New Wave," "Retro," etc. Clearly, there are only two types of record -- Good Records and Bad Records. People come to Duckie to hear a load of good ones.

Quite why a Good Record is a Good Record is a mystery...

“Music is a precious thing and, gay girls and boys out there, we reckon that it doesn't need to have that Nazi jackboot beat stamped all over it in order for it to be a valid part of our lives. It's also a fragile thing, a subjective and instinctive thing, and once you try and analyze it as we've tried here, you run the risk of it falling apart like a dead bird and all you're left with are the tiny feathers in your hand."