Dear Readers — once the preserve of underground gay culture, drag hit the mainstream in the late 20th century when Dame Edna Everage and Lily Savage became household names. Comedy was key — and looking polished was not the point.
Cut to the 2010s however, and with the rise of international TV hit RuPaul’s Drag Race, drag grew into something flashier. Now, it is common for contestants to spend thousands on glam outfits, while those who wear fast fashion get berated by Paul and her fellow judges.
This glossy image is the pervading presentation of drag in the UK — but in pubs and clubs across the country, the old way endures. ‘Bastard’ drag is the term used to describe the less polished, comedy-focused drag of yesteryear. Once a kind of slur, bastard drag has been newly embraced by contemporary queens — especially in Birmingham. In today’s story, writer Erin Lewis speaks to the performers who are rejecting perfection in favour of having a laugh.
But before that, your Brum in Brief.
Brum in Brief
🥘 A Dispatch exclusive: UNESCO could be about to recognise Birmingham’s Baltis. Andy Munro, the secretary for the Association for the Protection of the Authentic Balti and local all-round Balti enthusiast, has applied on behalf of some authentic, local restaurants. If accepted, Birmingham will be a stop on the UNESCO Trail of Intangible Cultural Heritage — an initiative showcasing community-led traditions. Munro thinks that a Birmingham Balti is an unmissable stop when visiting the city. The application has already passed a first round and he and his team are now making a full bid to UNESCO. Got a favourite balti restaurant? Let us know in the comments.
📄 Labour’s Weoley and Selly Oak councillor, Jamie Tennant, is the subject of a confidential complaint to Birmingham city council, alleging gross misconduct, we can reveal. The complaint, seen by The Dispatch, claims that Tennant has engaged in sexual activity at the council house and has shared a photo of himself there on so-called ‘hook up’ apps. The photo has been shared with The Dispatch and while it appears to show the council house’s green carpet, it is not possible to identify Tennant — the photo shows a man’s trousered waist and legs. If the allegations are true, the complainant argues they would amount to breaches of council rules governing personal conduct and the appropriate use of resources. As recently revealed by Birmingham Live, a similar complaint was made about Tennant to the Birmingham Labour group in September, alleging he had engaged in sexual activity at two local party premises. In a recent open letter, addressed to the Labour leader John Cotton and his deputy, Sharon Thompson, and the Labour whip Ray Goodwin, the Conservative shadow cabinet member for justice Alex Yip demanded to know why the senior members had not acted on the allegations. “I am now formally asking that you immediately suspend Cllr Tennant, publish all correspondence and instigate a formal investigation which must conclude before the end of his term of office.” The Dispatch understands that Tennant denies the allegations. Birmingham Labour, Birmingham city council and Cllr Tennant were approached for comment.
➡️ That news comes two weeks after Cllr Tennant announced he would no longer be standing in May’s local elections, and a week after he stepped down from his cabinet role due to ill health. Also last week, it was revealed that Tennant had previously been investigated by Labour following a sexual harassment complaint by the now-Conservative candidate for Harborne, Hugo Rasenberg. He claims Tennant called him “eye candy” and a “twink” at the May 2024 West Midlands mayoral election, where Rasenberg was working for the Conservative Party. A council report, seen by The Dispatch, reveals that the monitoring officer determined that Tennant was not acting in an official capacity as a councillor at the time. It also states that Tennant acknowledged it was “never his intention to cause any distress”. A Labour Party spokesperson said: "we take all complaints seriously and they are investigated in line with our rules and procedures."
📋 The Dispatch needs your help. Madeleine’s curiosity has been piqued by a couple of organisations offering youth support in Birmingham. The two she’s interested in are called NonStopNonStop, and Attentive Management, both are part of a youth-focused conglomerate offering mentoring and workshops for young people. You might have spotted them fundraising by the Bullring and New Street Station, wearing jackets with distinctive gold logos. You can donate to them directly on their website via buying a magazine, which includes a page on the effects of knife crime, a day-in-the-life with an Attentive Management worker, and testimonials from those recruited by the company.
If you’ve come across NonStopNonStop or Attentive Management in Birmingham, or know someone who has benefitted from their work, please let us know in the comments or email madeleine@birminghamdispatch.co.uk
Today, Erin Lewis explores the high-energy world of Birmingham 'bastard' drag.
Elphaba, face perfectly contoured, applies wig glue to her forehead. The mirror is covered in smudges, the room cramped. After positioning the hairpiece she slides on green gloves with manicured black nails.
“Do you know how many people are out there?” she says to Glinda, who is sitting in the corner sipping on cider. “I’m still quite hungover from last night.”
I am backstage at the Village Inn with two drag titans of Birmingham. Mia Virgin and Jazmin Sparks are about to perform their latest Funhouse show, a monthly event that the pair started in November 2024. Last night, they held an extraordinary show at Wednesfield Conservative Club, raising £1,100 for the mental health charity CALM. The gig ran late into the night, which probably explains the hangover,
Not that a sore head will stop her. Tonight she and Sparks are embodying the two main characters of the Wicked movie franchise for their act — a high-energy mix of physical comedy and frenzied lip syncing that has the audience in stitches.
The homage to the musical witches is just one number in a vast repertoire. From the pair’s loosely-plotted, soap opera-inspired comedy series Brumenders, to their Patty and Selma double act, these queens have range. But one thing all of their shows have in common is that they are quintessentially Birmingham.
Virgin and Sparks are purveyors of bastard drag: a style of drag that is unpolished, unpretentious, and unapologetically chaotic. Think Lily Savage’s unfiltered speech and bawdy attitude — it is as much about comedy as it is wigs and makeup. This style of drag has been around in Birmingham since the city’s first gay club, The Nightingale, opened in 1967. In the 1980s and 1990s, Savage performed there alongside local acts before becoming a household name.
Today, drag has a firmly mainstream audience, thanks largely to the success of the hit television show RuPaul’s Drag Race which launched in the states in 2009. In this reality show competition, queens will think nothing of spending thousands on outfits and judges will single out contestants for looking “cheap”. The UK version of the show has inherited the same upmarket branding, leading to the rise of a far glossier form of drag than in times gone by. “I don’t want to see any fucking H&M,” RuPaul once memorably shouted at series two contestant Joe Black, a moment that has drawn criticism from queens for its implied snobbery.
In Birmingham, however, the old school lives on. Once a derogatory term, “bastard” is now a badge of honour.
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“Bastard drag is fun, camp, a bit silly,” Sparks tells me, after the show. “I think that's a good thing as well about Birmingham, we like to reclaim power words.”
Wearing a shimmering pink dress and a large blonde wig, she is glowing in the gaudy lights. Her makeup is camp with a capital C — big, flash eyelashes and high-contrast contour.
“You don’t have to look pristine," she says, adding "one of my favourite makeup artists from the UK is Ellis Atlantis,” referring to the London-based drag queen who achieved fame on the BBC’s reality show Glow up: Britain’s Next Makeup Star. Atlantis is known for her high-glam, creative looks that are often more at home in Hollywood than a club dressing room. “I watch her do something like, ‘wow, you're incredible’, but that's never going to be me. What I am going to do is get on the stage and make a tit out of myself with everyone.”
To pay it its dues, Drag Race UK has undoubtedly done a lot for the art form. For many people, it was their introduction to drag and it has inspired lots of amateurs to get involved, myself included. While my own foray into drag — since you’re asking, it featured a coarse Jane Austen impression — is probably not going to get revived soon, it probably would not have happened without Drag Race bringing drag to a wider audience. Still, despite giving drag a stronger foothold in mainstream British culture and allowing performers like La Voix and Danny Beard to achieve great success, the show doesn’t quite nail British references. Nor has it been much of a national launching pad for many Brummie queens — save Cheddar Gorgeous and Black Peppa, two local icons who deserve their flowers.
“I don't think Birmingham comes across well on Drag Race,” says Sparks. “I think we're at that point now where it's a bit over produced, where people go on knowing what's going to go well with audiences”.
Instead of trying to appeal to these audiences, the focus in Birmingham is on growing new talent. Several, now-established queens, got their start in competitions such as Ladywood Legends. Hosted by a drag king — a reverse drag act where a woman dresses as a man — called Crip Ladywood, the show welcomes first timers. So does Mia Virgin’s new competition to find the next drag superstar Make Mia Winner which begins next month at The Fox.
Super Smash Drags Titans at The Loft was another iconic training ground for would-be queens, although it ended when that venue closed last year. The weeks-long competition involved a series of challenges including lipsyncs, impressions and comedy roasts – and it is where Sparks cut her teeth.
These shows are community-focused and allow queens to develop their own drag style without worrying about having to translate it to a wider audience. The result is some of the most unique personas and performances that wouldn’t get a look in on Drag Race UK.
Take Selma Soul, Sparks’ ‘drag daughter’ — the term used to describe a newer queen who is mentored and supported by a more experienced performer. When we meet, she is dressed as a combination of Kate Bush and a Twilight vampire. She could not be less interested in the TV show. “I really can't be bothered. I'd be one of the ones that just send themselves home. I’d probably walk in and go, ‘by the way, I don't want to do this’ and leave.”
Soul is a member of a relatively new drag family called Haus of Sparks which includes her, Sparks and a queen called Misty. Their show, which I attend at Missing Bar, is a haywire homage to pop culture featuring a Pussycat Dolls medley and parody of The Traitors, with the queens adorned in sparkly traitors’ robes.
It is electric and hilarious. Even though bastard drag has a history spanning more than 60 years in Britain, sitting in the audience, I feel like it was made for this moment. Jazmin Sparks agrees with me. “People have gone through so much in the last few years, they just want to go have a drink, see a man in a wig,” she tells me. “Or whatever it is — drag queens are such a small part of it. We want to see drag kings, drag things.”
No one can say how drag will evolve in Birmingham in the years to come. But for now, the city’s queens are committed to keeping tradition alive. They are proud to be cheap, hilarious — and utter bastards.
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