This Sunday the great and the good of the cabaret scene and beyond will come together at the Two Brewers to pay tribute to the late Spike Rhodes, producer, writer and activist, who died two weeks ago. The night is also raising money to help his family pay for his funeral. One of the organisers is Boyz own Dave Cross, who knew Spike for 20 years. Here Dave tells us how it came about and what to expect on the night.
When Spike Rhodes died on Monday 5 March it didn’t take long before his friends on the scene began talking about doing something to honour him. When it became clear that his husband George and family would need help paying for the funeral, Jimmy Smith, General Manager of the Two Brewers, straight away offered the Clapham venue, where Spike and The Drama Queens had performed many times.
Spike was a man of many parts and this Sunday’s show, Goodbye Mr Producer, will do its best to reflect that. Not surprisingly a large part of the evening will feature songs and routines taken from Drama Queens productions and will feature Mrs Moore, Tanya Hyde, Rose Garden and Craiger Bell in group numbers, while other Drama Queens such as Titti La Camp, Morag McDuff, Miranda Jane and Lola Lasagne will perform other solo songs from various shows. Plus scene stars including Myra DuBois, Dave Lynn, Saucy Sophie, Ian Elmslie and more will perform songs that fit with the evening’s theme. The night will also feature DJ and journalist Stewart Who? and Peter Shapcott from the The Eddie Surman Trust, who will both be talking about Spike’s work as a campaigner, fundraiser and club promoter.
We need to raise as much money as possible and there will be a raffle and an auction where we have a couple of amazing items on offer. Scene legend Charlie Hides can’t be there on the night but he is donating a very special makeover package. Called the Starlet Package, it features a two hour drag makeover by Charlie with professional portraits by James Hides at the House of Hides. If you wanted to buy this it would be over £200. Plus the team at The RVT have donated a pair of tickets to see Bucks Fizz at the venue in April AND you’ll get to meet the band in a private meet and greet. Plus there will be more prizes in the raffle, so please bring some cash.
Everyone who’s involved in organising this event is working hard to make it a very special night, in memory of a very special person, and we’d love to see as many Boyz readers there as possible.
Entry is a minimum donation of £5, but we’d like more please, and Sonia, aka Son Bon, will be in charge of collecting money. You have been warned!
The Two Brewers, 114 Clapham High Street, SW4.
Doors open 5pm, show starts at 7pm
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