YOUR BEST BETTE

The divine Bette Rinse has been entertaining London gayers for over twenty years and is an integral part of the capital’s glittering cabaret scene. But who is Miss Rinse? We sent our cabaret reporter Jason Reid to find out…

JASON: So Bette, you look as amazing as ever and you are as busy as a bee these days, but when and where did you start your drag life?
BETTE: I started way back in 1989 at the Brief Encounter, which was a legendary gay bar in the 80s. My first gig was a charity do for THT [Terrence Higgins Trust] and I decided to do it as people had been trying to persuade me for ages, saying I was a natural performer. From then I never looked back. My name back then was Mary Rose. God only knows why [Laughs].

So why did you change your name to Bette Rinse?
Well, as a youngster I was a punk rocker and was always dyeing my hair… hence the surname Rinse. Bette came about as I was a huge Coronation Street fan and loved Bette Lynch and, hey presto, Bette Rinse was born.

Fantastic. So what career would you have pursued if not drag?
I come from a family of entertainers, so I was destined to perform. But if not, I would have been a brain surgeon so I could fuck with people’s heads [laughs]!

I can just see you poking about in people’s heads, love. So who was the first drag you saw?
Lee Paris at The Black Cap. He was on a Sunday afternoon and proper old school drag. Alas, it’s a dying art these days but there are still some greats around.

So who actually inspired you to throw a frock on?
Oh, it has to be Danny La Rue because he was the first female impersonator I saw on TV. I adored his look and demeanor, and I really wanted to be him.

How would you describe your act in four words, then?
Can’t sing for toffee!

Haha, so where can we see you these days?
I am busier than ever right now with residencies at 79CXR with Mary Mac (Rinse Out Your Haggis), The Two Brewers on Mondays and Halfway II Heaven on Tuesdays.

It must be great to be so busy in a time of so much cabaret in London. So how do the venues in which you perform differ?
Halfway’ is a really great place and easy to work. I could get onstage and fart and they’d be in hysterics. 79CXR has now become like my second home since it has become mostly a cabaret bar. My audience there really make it for me there, as they are so loyal and friendly.

You are known for being so friendly and down to earth but how do you deal with hecklers?
It all depends on the heckle. I just say, “Shut up or I’ll shoe ya”. But some hecklers can make my act easier, as I just tear them apart, in a nice way of course, and the audience love it.

As a drag legend yourself, if you were to have a camp old dinner party which five drag queens would you invite, living or dead?
It would have to be Phil Starr, as he was a consummate professional and an icon in the drag world. Lee Paris as he was the first drag queen I saw. Dockyard Doris who, again, was a proper old school star. Rose Garden, so I could have someone to bitch with and Mary Mac, as she has one of the best voices on the circuit.

That would be one hell of a party. So, finally how would you like to be remembered?
As someone who can send themselves up, make people happy and appreciates what they have in life.

Don’t miss Bette Rinse at: Two Brewers (114 Clapham High Street, SW4 7UJ) every Monday, 79CXR (79 Charing Cross Road, WC2H 0BN) on various days and also Halfway II Heaven (7 Duncannon St, Charing Cross, WC2N 4JF)

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