Shirley Bassey Eat Your Heart Out

-

You may have heard the name Conchita Wurst in the news over the last week; by ‘may’ I mean certifiably you will have without a doubtedly heard it, unless you live under a rock or just outside of Europe. The enigmatic bearded beauty recently won the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 for Austria with her fabulously James Bond-esque song Rise Like a Phoenix, we here are also a big fan of stunningly overt metaphors so it gets double brownie points from the Lady Boys. The song deservedly stole the show and there’s no denying that Conchita has a healthy set of lungs on her, if you didn't get chance to watch it check the link out below.


Conchitas male counterpart is called Thomas “Tom” Neuwirth, an Austrian born natural star who rose to fame in 2007 after reaching the finals of the Austrian casting show Starmania, Austria’s answer to Britain’s Got Talent. As with most reality stars Tom sadly faded into obscurity after the show, but triumphantly returned to television in 2011 as Conchita Wurst, kind of like a phoenix rising from the ashes, wonder where I’ve heard that before? Coming out as Conchita was as you would expect a very personal choice for Tom, he was quoted as saying "This is about an important message, it's a call for tolerance for everything that seems different” and this is the kind of tolerance we can certainly get behind. However Tom himself has said that he is not a transsexual, just a man who happens to like wearing women’s clothes and why not?



                                                                   

Moving on back to the song, we are huge fans of this year’s Eurovision winner everything from the big ballad sounds to the perfectly executed sweeping arm movements that would even give Take That a run for their money (no pun intended). The song played with an air of a James Bond theme about it, filling the mind’s eye with the sights and sounds of Shirley Bassey’s Goldfinger, Adele’s Skyfall or our personal favourite Garbage’s The World isNot Enough. Concita Wurst for the next bond girl anyone? Not surprisingly Tom actually performed Goldfinger in the Starmania finale, so now we know where Conchita got her James Bond Diva flare from. Let us know what your favourite bond theme is, unless it’s Madonna, then you don’t get a say.


Applause should also be given to the Eurovision’s technical team as the stage the artists performed on was fantastic; throwing out dying flames and embers behind Conchita as she sang her heart out. What did you think of the song, remind you of any of your favourite ballads?


Conchita's performance was met with enthusiasm throughout the continent and the world, even Russia gave her 4 points in the competition. Not only do the public love her and her beard, but she took the celebrity world by storm as well. From Philip Schofield to Boy George numerous celebs tweeted out there support for Conchita, with Russell Brand taking his own comical skew on events making note of his likeness to the singer by donning a dress and tweeting “I don't normally endorse voting but please vote for me on #Eurovision tonight. #Austria”.


Even the one and only George Takei, that’s right Ensign Sulu tweeted this rather amusing picture of Conchita Wurst (which means sausage in German) engrained within a sausage, oh myyyyy.


The Lady Boys of Bangkok understandably have nothing but respect for Conchita Wurst and will certainly be tuning in to watch her on The Graham Norton Show tomorrow night, you go girl and sometimes boy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Thanks for your feedback!

Popular posts from this blog

A brief history of clowns to celebrate Andreea's birthday!

-
Image
Hip hip hooray! It’s our crazy clown Andreea’s birthday! The lovable Andreea has been appearing in shows with Gandeys Circus for nearly a decade. Now Andreea is actually French – so perhaps we should say ‘bon anniversaire’! We’re proud to have Andreea as part of our current team in the big top at Butlin’s Skegness . While our other clowns – currently performing at Butlin’s Bognor Regis and Minehead – Bippo and Chico Rico are more traditional, Andreea opts to show off her sense of style with an offbeat modern look. We think her pink tutu / Converse / blazer combo is pretty iconic… especially paired with her blasting boombox! (she’s never been shy of making an entrance). Andreea likes interrupting the action with her silly routines. And you know something else… she is the UK’s only female clown! So you could say she’s a bit of an innovator when it comes to clowning around. With that in mind, let’s look at how much clowns have changed ov...
Read more

Origins of the Chinese Circus

-
Image
200 BC – 200 AD – Han Dynasty, Sichuan Province – Juggler with balls and knives – Carving, stone of the “Hundred Games.” [source: Chinese Acrobatics Through The Ages, p15] The origins of the Chinese circus are not entirely crystal clear. There are debates and differing opinions when it comes to the exact history behind the circus, which is not a surprise when you take into account how long it has been around! First records of the Chinese circus - including carvings and mural paintings - date back more than 2,000 years to the Warring States period (475–221 BC), with evidence of performances developing further during the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 BC - 230 AD). Although it is believed that the art may have actually started around 3,000 years ago! One theory is that the acts originated in imperial courts, with performers entertaining the houses in a manner similar to western court jesters. However, it is more likely that the circus was a folk art that was later adopted by...
Read more

Strong Women in Circus

-
Image
In honour of International Women's Day and the 'Women in Circus' movement, we would like to share these photos of strong women with whom we have worked - past and present. Women who inspire us here at Gandey World Class Productions , and who influence and empower other women across the world. There are many strong circus women who we have not mentioned here. Please be aware that this list is by no means definitive – there are so many more strong women whom we would have loved to include, and who remain an important part of the Gandey family. The pictures can also be found in a Flickr album here . Mary Gandey: Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Performer – the foundation upon which Gandeys as we know it was built Carol Gandey: Director and Producer – Gandey World Class Productions Hayley Gandey: Circus Director and Performer – Gandeys Circus Coral Gandey: Brand Manager, London Mariska Gandey: Circus Performer – Gandeys Circus Andreea D...
Read more