JACK-JACK-JACKIE: ’90s Pop Icon Joanne ‘Honoured’ To Headline Brisbane Pride Fair Day

Brisbane Pride Fair Day is back at New Farm Park this year, and it’s bringing 90s dance-pop icon Joanne with it. Yes, that Joanne. Jack-Jack-Jackie Joanne. 

When I told my mum I was interviewing Joanne Accom, she immediately reminded me that I used to run around the house with little-to-no-clothes on as a child, singing Jackie at the top of my lungs. 

Ironically, I do much the same thing in my 30s when Jackie comes on – still little-to-no-clothes, except now it’s on the dancefloors of gay bars. And I know I’m with my kind of people, because despite the iconic track being nearly three decades old, everyone else loses their minds singing it too. Every time.

“Jackie has honestly been like the gift that keeps on giving,” Joanne tells Star Observer. 

“I honestly think that the LGBTQIA+ community love [it] because of the joyous feeling, the sassy confidence and the pop-infused nostalgia that the song brings.”

The ARIA Award-winning singer says people still tell her their own Jackie stories, some 28 years after its release. Drag queens have told her it was the first song they ever performed to; others said it gave them the confidence to persevere. 

These conversations have stayed with her, she says. “The track means so much to so many people… and I have the privilege of hearing those stories everywhere I go,” she explains.

One encounter, at an early Sydney Mardi Gras performance in 1999, still makes her laugh. While Joanne was singing, a queen came onstage dressed as her – complete with the little black dress and ponytail from the Jackie video.

“It was sooooo surreal! She was stunning AND looked 10 times better than me!” Joanne giggles.

She’ll get to hear a few more stories when she headlines Fair Day on 24 October. Joanne is bringing a full hour of joy to the main stage: “the old, the new and everything in between”, including original releases. 

For her, the Brisbane gig feels especially close to home, and she is “absolutely honoured” to be headlining Fair Day. 

“The LGBTQIA+ community in Brisbane have supported my music since day one, so this is my opportunity to return all the love and sing my heart out for everyone!”

She only has 24 hours in town, but hopes to fit in some backstage laughs, see some familiar faces, meet some new ones, and naturally – hit the food trucks. Then there’s the part she’s most looking forward to: singing Jackie while a whole crowd sings every word back.

And what a day to do it. Fair Day returns to New Farm Park for the first time in years, with RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under stars Vybe and Coco Jumbo joining Joanne on the bill. Paul Wheeler will host, alongside co-hosts including Brisbane drag legend Miss Synthetique. 

From 10am to 5pm, the park will be filled with music, drag, performances, food trucks, markets and stalls run by LGBTQIA+ organisations, services and businesses.

It’s a whopping big day this year, fair warning. The Brisbane Pride Rally and March, then Fair Day, then MELT Festival’s River Pride Parade and opening night party at Brisbane Powerhouse – all on one gloriously packed October Saturday.

So, march for each other, patronise some queer-owned businesses at the market, and then – scream along to Jackie with several thousand queers and allies. Perfection.