Simply Divine[City Life July/August 2000]
*Count Lovely und Spike send a glowing
danke to Miss Darvas for nudging this
article in the direction of Pretty Lady*For some an empowering visionary and entertainer, for others an outrageous talentless wonder, the Divine David has spent the last decade doing nothing if not provoking a reaction. So why, Sarah-Jane wonders, has he just destroyed his persona?
A fortnight ago, Streatham Ice Arena was occupied by a thousand mourners paying their final respects to one of the most important figures of the last decade. As he made his exit, flowers rained down upon the ice and the crowd cried out for more. The celebrity in question continued making his way to the dressing room, his swan song over. There he began to peel away his make-up and strip himself of his role as queer outlaw, avant-garde performance artist and innovative dissident. We are, of course, talking about The Divine David. A man whose wicked entertainment, shock therapy and flaming genius divided audiences instantly.
For me personally, The Divine David was an empowering visionary who spent the '90s enlightening, provoking and educating audiences about everything from body fascism, societal control, misogyny and gay mediocrity ("Making your sexuality the spine of your identity is tragic. Being a human being is the only way forward") to self-obsession and the cancer of celebrity He was also the nearest thing my generation had to Yoko Ono, Andy Warhol, David Bowie, William S. Burroughs, David Wojnarowicz, Iggy Pop and Cookie Mueller.
For others however, his outrageous statements, extreme methods and screaming appearance were a tad too difficult and leftfield to stomach, let alone comprehend or engage. Occasionally, he was even asked to cut his act short and leave the venue for fear of violence. Whilst lesser performers would have changed their choice of sacred cows, The Divine David continued regardless. In fact, his shows sometimes seemed to get more risque, echoing the epitaph of US transgressor Jack Smith (1950 - 1989): "They have made their mistake. They have let me live".
Last summer, Blackpools self-confessed "effeminate boy" spent 26 consecutive nights wowing audiences at the Edinburgh festival. Prior to that he had two wildly entertaining TV series - The Divine David Presents and The Divine David Heals. The place he seemed to be in his element however, was at Duckies in London or somewhere in Manchester, playing to a room of friends and recent converts who understood and loved his acid wit, subversive commentary and cruel parodies.
For his last show, The Divine David could have selected a dangerous building site or his own Whalley Range bedsit. Either way, his fans would have flocked to see him. Instead, he chose an eerie ice-stadium on the outskirts of London. In typically flamboyant style, The Divine David On Ice opened with a song from Scott Walker's dark, misunderstood masterpiece Tilt and ended with David singing an emotive and heartfelt rendition of 'You Made Me Love You' to his "avant guardian angel" and side-kick J-Cloth. In-between, he blew up a television, condemned Channel 4's lack of creativity and guts ("Apparently, I'm not talented enough for Channel 4..'Let's have our own talent competition right now, they can shove theirs up their arse!"), took a rusty scalpel to fellow performers ("Remember celebrities are people that don't remember others suffer") and painted two large canvases. He also reminded us exacly why he will be so sorely missed.
Just hours before this requiem, The Divine David gave his last ever interview.
Your epitaph is "The world needs another gurning celebrity like it needs a hole in the head." Is this the reason you've decided to immolate/destroy The Divine David?
"Absolutely. When I first started I must have felt, either arrogantly or naively, that single handedly I could change the world. Ten years down the line, I realise that's simply not true. The Divine David also came from the underground and for him to go overground would be a castrating experience... I'm not prepared to be perceived as another puffy person on the television in a similar way to Graham Norton or Sir Ian McKellan. I'd rather starve."What does the future hold for The Divine David?
"At the moment, I'd quite like to go somewhere and paint. Of course, there'll also be the occasional collaboration with Chloe Poems as Bits'N'Bobs. Two Nazi gay queens that reflect the true nature of the gay scene"
.
Rumour has it that there's going to be a single by The Divine David on new Mancunian label Switchflicker?
"Yes, I've atready put my vocal down. It's a mixture of spoken word and singing and I'm quite happy with it, because it's like the last echo of The Divine David. The theme? It's a song of hope, the sentiment being that the slave is always stronger than the master."How do you want to be remembered?
"As somebody who gave a shit and had a go. As for those who missed out. ignored or dismissed The Divine David? Fuck'em all! My message to the readers of City Life: We are the future. Thank you very much."
What made The Divine David such a unique artist. Sarah-Jane asks a few of his fellow performers from Duckie.
Marissa Carnesky
"The Divine David is a really charismatic, risk taking performer with a bizarre fusion of influences and ideas. I love the fact that he references '70s glam rock in the same show as Veihmar cabaret, shocking those that (foolishly) expected him to be a traditional drag performer. What I loved most about him, however, was the raw pun energy and attitude he expressed. Contemporary artists are often too over-produced and shiny, but the Divine David was always hardcore, shocking and exciting.Helena Goldwater
"What I love most about the Divine David is the fact that he has politics. So many artists compromise to further their careers, David doesn't; he has strong beliefs and he wants to change things. He's also interesting in terms of drag because he uses it so ironically, playing with the boy/girl thing and refusing to mimic women and define gender. He's almost a burlesque performer. I've no idea if he'll resurrect his character one day, but I'd definately like to see him do a post-mortem!"Chloe Poems
"The Divine David can't be copied or diluted and his impact on the performance scene has been immeasurable; he's completely original and without peer. He never ceases to amaze me each time he performs, and I think what makes him special is his ability to transcend so much of what celebrity performers is and take it somewhere dangerous. He's also a massive support to me as an artist and friend, and I think of us as two cosmic fireballs that happened to clash in the middle of Manchester. It's definately his last show in a sense, but altogether? The great thing about being an artist is being able to change your mind or change direction.