Love is in the hair

Fortieth birthdays are usually milestones in most people’s lives, but in the case of singer Wayne Harris, it was the 40th birthday of his partner a few years back that marked a significant event in his own life.

The birthday party for Harris’s partner, director Pete Nettell, was a drag night, in which everyone donned wigs and frocks to celebrate the occasion.

Harris checked his appearance in a mirror after putting on a towering red wig, and his life changed.

I had never done drag before, and then suddenly, this being emerged, Harris says. It was such a huge shock to me to see a person there who I felt totally at home with.

That person is about to be unleashed on stage as drag identity Lucille, the star of the Mardi Gras festival show , I Love Youse All , which Nettell has also directed.

Harris worked as a jazz and cabaret artist through the 1970s and 1980s, alongside such legends as Kerrie Biddell. In 1979, he released what is considered Australia’s first gay single, a disco track titled Nice Boys .

He retired from performing two decades ago to pursue a career as a children’s book illustrator.

His return to the stage as Lucille in I Love Youse All marks his comeback.

Who knew -“ I turned 50 and became a drag queen! Harris says.

Joining Lucille on stage in I Love Youse All is a small collection of drag queens and drag kings. The eclectic group performs songs by such artists as Nina Simone, Barbra Streisand, Pink Floyd and David Bowie.

It is all incredibly absurd, but I think also very funny, Harris says. I also have a range of frocks, but I don’t get a wig change as they don’t make many wigs in my shade of vermilion. So if we are successful, I am going to have to find somewhere where they manufacture this colour in bulk.

I Love Youse All is on at the Cabaret Bar of The Imperial Hotel on 19, 21, 26 and 28 February at 9:30pm. Tickets are door sales only.