BANG! It’s Tete Bang! She’s a performer! She’s fabulous! She’s like Barbie came to life, downed a bottle of tequila, dyed her hair and decided to pursue a career in avant-garde burlesque and sexual self-expression. How can you say no to THAT?! What a glitter cannon explosion of camptastic kaleidoscopic colour! BANG!
She’s one of the most exciting and original performers on London’s gay scene. She spoke to Dylan Jones about sex on leather sofas, queer identity and POKEMON! Yay!
Hi Tete! Why are you so fabulous?
I honestly don’t know where it all went wrong! I was conceived in Blackpool, my mum was a stripper and my dad was an eighties DJ. I guess there was no hope for me really. I was always gonna be tacky and fabulous.
If you could throw a super cute naughty dinner party with four celebs, who would they be and why?
In an ideal world it would be Dolly Parton, Anna Nicole-Smith, Isabella Blow and Madonna. Because I think they’re all super iconic powerful females. But out of ones who are still alive it’d be Dolly (Always Dolly, she owns everything), Madge, Britney and Miley…mainly just for the selfies.
If you were a Pokemon, which one would you be?
I like to think I’d be Pikachu, mainly because he’s electric type and I’d do an angle-grinding act as him. But I’m probably more like Jynx. She’s totally the drag queen of Pokemon.
Describe Tete Bang in three words. Wait no, four.
Camp, Queer, Fierce, Femme…oh and PINK. That’s five.
What’s the weirdest place you’ve ever had sex?
Leather sofas. Having sex on leather sofas makes me feel really uncomfortable. It just doesn’t sit right with me.
What’s the most boring place you’ve ever had sex?
I must say the great thing about queer sex is that generally it’s quite good, I think I tend to be attracted people who are very confident with their sexuality so it always pays off in the bed room, But my experiences with straight sex have been pretty boring. I think most straight men have a lot to learn about sex.
Or maybe I’m just comparing it too much.
We love LOVE your performance of Barbie Girl. How did that come into being?
Barbie Girl came about after I took part in the porn protests and a picture of me holding my ‘Squirt Don’t Hurt’ sign went viral. I wanted to create an act to remember it by and to just celebrate female sexuality. I wanted it to be something really silly and campy. And I mean Barbie girl is iconic, everyone knows it and loves it, and it just happened that the beat was perfect for bouncing in time on a pink dildo to.
Who’s your, like, performing inspiration?
I wouldn’t say I have a particular person I look up to other than maybe my mum. She was a stripper through the eighties and nineties and was always very open about her lifestyle and sexuality with me. I was always around showgirls and fabulous creatures of the night, and that definitely had a huge impact on who I am today.
But otherwise I’m really inspired by pop culture and what the mainstream media pumps out. I like to make fun of it and incorporate it a lot into what I do, because people can relate to it and they understand it. I’ve always been into J-culture [Japanese underground culture] and that inspires a lot of my aesthetic. I love street style and all things kawaii. But any fierce female who’s taking control of their sexuality and femininity and sending out a positive message is ok in my book.
We think you’re quite avant-garde. So was Paris in 1901. If you lived in early 20th century Paris, what do you think you’d do?
I mean realistically I’d probably be a prostitute, but I like to think I’d have been a show girl…but that’s a bit hopeful. Or a muse. I’d be some fabulous artist’s lover and we’d just sit around naked all day smoking and they would draw paint me and tell me how fabulous I was.
What’s your fave place in London?
Anywhere I’m surrounded by the people I love and am inspired by – so anywhere that I’m surrounded by my queers! London has one of the best nightlives I’ve ever experienced. There’s so much amazing underground stuff going on. Just follow the drag and you’re sure to have a good time.
Now, you’re one of those rare things on the gay scene…a female! What’s that like?
Well I’ve always been drawn to gay men. I think it’s more to do with my interests and my outlook on the world. I just happen to love things that are a huge part of gay culture. I share my life with a tight group of people and the majority of them are gay and queer men, but to me the gender is completely irrelevant; we all love Britney and showing off and that’s all that matters!
People ask all the time if I come across any prejudice or discrimination from gay men for being a female, but I honestly haven’t yet. I’m very fortunate that I’ve been able to work with some of the biggest names in drag and never once have I had someone say anything about my gender. In fact more often than not they commend it. I think the younger generation is so much more queer and open. We’re getting to a point where gender is irrelevant. If you’re fierce, you’re fierce, and that’s all that matters. I think the only trouble I get from my drag sisters is when they’re jealous I get more Grindr dick pics than they do.
I know you’ve got lots of queer mates. What do you make of “queer” as an identity? Do you identify as queer?
I’m pro-queer. As a teen my first love was a female, but I never identified with lesbians. Small town lesbians never really got what I was about. Yes, I wanted to fuck women, but I also wanted to be super girly and cute. In fact through my teens I really struggled with my self-identity and where I fit into the world. I had a huge problem with depression for many years because I didn’t feel like I fitted into any sort of box when it came to my sexuality.
It wasn’t until I moved to London when I was 19 and pursued a career in the cabaret and club scene that I found out you didn’t have to fit into any sort of box. My sexuality is not my identity. I’ve dated women, men, transmen, gay men…if I could have told my younger self anything, it would be the sooner you stop focusing on trying to fit your sexuality into any sort of box, the better and happier you’ll be. I’m fortunate enough that at this point in my life I’m surrounded by fabulous queer people who don’t question my sexual identity and just accept me for who I am. Being surrounded by love and support is the best feeling in the world.
