In with the old

Everything old is new again. Everything really does come around a couple of times in our lifetime. Clothing fashions would be the most noticeable example, with hippie-style outfits of the 60s rearing their heads here and there. We even see the fabulous Kylie-style bubble skirt/dress appearing once again on catwalks and in nightclubs. So if I had actually paid attention to my grandmother and kept my original bubble skirt she made me (used for a play I was in) I could have dusted it off and spun like a crazy bitch at the Shift or Stonewall in a vintage outfit. Granted I would probably need a shoehorn, Vaseline and a lot of love to get into it but it would be possible.

One thing I have noticed that seems to have a natural life cycle is music. Many times I have sat with sister girlfriend Verushka Darling and discussed numbers we’ve done, and how the young boys are astonished that they weren’t the latest version but one that had been released 15 years ago. Then there is the whole idea of sampling music in new songs, which really sends us old girls into a tailspin. These songs usually send us into a dancing frenzy or to the bar pondering our age over a stiff drink or two.

But I often think, can you actually do a song justice by covering it? Because I know myself, as soon as I hear a cover version, I instantly think of the original and the fabulous times I had listening to it.

One cover that seemed to grab everyone and have huge success around the world was Bananarama’s Venus. To begin with I didn’t even know it was a cover, but to this day I enjoy jumping around like a fool whenever it is on.

Every showgirl around the world is waiting for the DIVA classic And I’m Telling You from the new Dreamgirls film to hit the airwaves. It was made famous by Jennifer Holiday and we see former American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson give it a go in the new film. I heard it on the internet when I was working one day and it’s a ripsnorter. With even the second lesser-known verse getting a go, I’m happy to say this cover is great.

So whether you are like me and love the chance to relive all the old classics with a newer, hipper feel (Young Divas have released a whole album of covers that seems to be going through the roof at the moment) or just love the oldies, we would have to agree they were good for a reason.

And it also means I can dust off my Laura Branigan/Gloria outfit once again, and give that a spin around the dancefloor.