QX meets ROY INC ahead of his performance at Handsome on Saturday, 11 October 2025

Handsome is a popular monthly House club night at one of Vauxhall’s most popular gay venues, Eagle London. The next Handsome night is on 11 October 2025, 9pm – 4am, and they have some very special guests. Guest DJs Terry Farley and Spatial Awareness will be playing alongside ROY INC, who will be performing his new tracks, The Promise and What Is A Man.

Born in Birmingham and now residing in London, ROY INC (AKA Roy Anthony Brown) has enjoyed a significant career that has taken in the worlds of underground and mainstream culture. Characterised by a series of fortunate events rather than a meticulously planned trajectory, ROY INC has enjoyed success as a dancer, model, singer, and musician.

As a dancer, he enjoyed success in the late 80s, having become a member of the voguing group House of Child. Able to ‘strike a pose’, he was invited by David Holah of Bodymap to model on the catwalk, from where he was booked by So Dam Tuff model agency. The 1990s saw Roy become the first black male model to appear in the most prestigious titles, including L’Uomo Vogue. Despite his success, his career then took a different direction into music. His initial forays into music were so encouraging that he finally gave up modelling in 2001, and ROY INC was eventually born.

Martyn Fitzgerald, DJ and club promoter, had a chat with ROY INC to find out a little more about the man and his music ahead of his performance at Handsome on 10 October

Describe ROYINC in three words. 

1: Tenacious

2: Creative

3: Blessed

How did you get into performing and songwriting?

I’ve always wrote poetry at school, but started writing lyrics after college and then properly when I joined the band Recreation, an indie rock band in the mid to late 90s, and that made me think deeply about songwriting as a whole, and to write in two or three narratives to paint the picture whilst crafting a song.

You’ve been in the industry for many years (your number’s safe with us, babes). What’s changed? 

Many things have changed when you whittle it down on some scale of diversity, inclusion, transparency, positive body image, ageism, speaking out on injustices, etc. But there’s still a way to go due to sadly, others’ ignorance and lack of understanding on many levels, that’s moving other inspirational successes backwards.

What was the inspiration for The Promise?

To inspire the individual that they have the knowledge and strength of mind to not depend on technology but themselves out in the wider existing world, in their community, to socialise! And to communicate with confidence without an App.

You’ve rubbed shoulders with many stars over the years…

It’s a long story, but in short…

I was asked by Madonna to star in her music video Justify My Love after she saw me perform the choreographed performance I created in Neneh Cherry’s video Under My Skin. Both videos were directed by the French mega-director Jean-Baptiste Mondino.

ROY INC is performing The Promise & What Is A Man (11:30pm) and alongside DJs Terry Farley and Spatial Awareness at Handsome on 11 October 2025, 9 pm – 4 am, at Eagle London,  349 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5QY, United Kingdom.