Hangover Hill Presents “Pride & Unheard” at Lighthouse Poole
Tonight, we are back at the Lighthouse in Poole for a special event as part of the venues Pride week. Thankfully Pride has now become an annual event across the world and is the promotion of people’s self-affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender.
Even in our recent lifetimes the social stigmas have reduced, and the world is a much more forgiving place than it ever used to be; with most people having the live and let live attitude no matter who you are and what your portal is. Sadly though, there are still many prejudices out there and the education is an ongoing journey – our generations are improving as the years go on. This evening Matt and Mel have brought together three eclectic acts that display their own very individual styles.
The first act of the evening is Double Dix, a duo featuring singer/songwriter Dixie Dix on acoustic guitar and musical sidekick Edd on electric guitar. Dixie with their dyed red hair, tattoos, multiple piercings, Dr Marten boots and fishnets shows their Punky rebellious spirit. With well-crafted songs show that Dixie is thoughtful and compassionate with some lyrics that dig deep into modern social life. Kicking off with a caffeine hit with opening number “Coffee”, the first thing you notice is Dixie’s voice. I’ve heard them perform previously in noisy pubs, the acoustics in this room really accentuate their lovely warm vocals.
The electric and acoustic guitars beautifully meander through the songs working well together, providing a nice atmospheric backdrop to tracks like the retrospective “Bedtime Story” and the politically motivated debut single “Messed Up Century”. The crowd warm to what the duo has to offer and seem to appreciate the quality of their performance. “Safe Insider” is a set highlight with some seriously passionate and heartfelt vocals. Dixie and Edd take their bows after an impressive 45 minutes on stage, providing a great start to the evening.
Next up are Honey Kick duo who feature popular South Coast troubadour Krista Green and her cajón/drummer Justin Young. The band were formerly known as Krista Green & The Bees who have performed here at Live & Unheard previously in November 2019. Honey Kick are a versatile outfit that perform as a 2, 3 or 4-piece, featuring bassist Kris Venzi-James and guitarist Jack Smith who are both sadly unavailable tonight. Krista who I first saw perform back in 2012 at a Folk club in Bournemouth has many musical talents and her unique sounding voice has serenaded many significant audiences over the years. Her quality songwriting sets her aside from many other artists and this will be further displayed in a new album due for release this winter.
Both Krista and Justin are natural performers and are comfortable in front of any audiences, there is a chemistry and no matter what they decide to play they deliver. Kicking off with “Senorita” Krista’s husky tones are soon putting smiles on all the audience members faces. Next up is “Beth’s Song”, a song about Krista’s beloved wife, they got married in 2021 and are clearly a perfect match. Krista is a versatile performer and she explains that she has recently just finished performing in a musical at the Regent Centre in Christchurch. The musical was Little Mermaid and Krista played Scuttle the seagull, dressed in a full feathery costume for the duration. The set continues with one of their standout songs “Barry Song”, about a homeless friend who sold the Big Issue magazine who was sadly lost to cancer but forever remembered in this song.
We are treated to a few of the new tracks from the forthcoming album including “Something in The Water” and “Living in a Fishbowl”, with the latter recently written for a project on a university course about trolls on social media. “Cutting Ties and Moving On” displays the band’s impressive consequential, creative abilities; a song with a distinct Reggae heart and a powerful message of unity, a very fitting song for this occasion.
Their set ends on a clever medley featuring Katy Tunstall’s “Black Horse & The Cherry Tree” mixed with “No Diggity” and Aloe Blacc’s “I Need a Dollar”. The audience provide plenty of celebratory applause for a great set from two wonderfully talented musicians.
Our headliner for the evening is entertainer Mr. Ken Dee, an all-round performer with over 40 years’ experience within the showbusiness industry with a huge CV of shows. I honestly cannot claim to be an aficionado on the art of the drag queen, in fact tonight is the first I have ever seen one in the flesh (so to speak).
I have always been a fan of the slightly risqué style of comedy and legends like the late great Paul O’Grady with Lilly Savage set the benchmark high. With shows like “RuPaul’s Drag Race” putting the art in the spotlight, acts like these are becoming more and more popular. Ken was first introduced to showbiz when a chance meeting with Cilla Black and her husband Bobby Willis resulted in tickets to her Bournemouth show, from then on he knew his path.
After meeting Ken out of costume briefly before the show and then seeing the transformation as he glamorously strode on to the stage; it’s astounding to see him with wig, make-up and dress in all his drag glory performing opening number “A Wonderful Day Like Today”. His sharp tongue and inuendo-filled quips in-between numbers are priceless.
There are stories from growing up in Scotland having to hide his gay identity as it was illegal to be gay there until 1980. Once touted as the Danny La Rue of the Bournemouth Cabaret Scene, Ken is a quality all-rounder who brings wonderous entertainment to this stage. There are chats with various members of the audience, along with the occasional obligatory put-downs; with builder Steve Marshall getting Ken sat on his lap, bouncing up and down while his wife watches in hysterics.
There are songs including “Hey Big Spender”, “Time Warp” and a random Loyalist Scottish football song by Roy Orbison called “Penny Arcade”. Tonight’s audience is by no means the biggest or the most responsive that Ken has played to, however every one of us went away knowing that we had been thoroughly entertained. The highlight was of course the big sing-along to Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and closing number Vera Lynn’s “We’ll Meet again” marking the D-Day Anniversary. Thank you Ken, for the education and for opening my eyes to a whole new world of entertainment. A fantastic night dedicated to “Pride” and the whole new diverse world that we live in.
Set Lists
Double Dix
Coffee
Anyway
Bedtime Story
Life is Not a Fairytale
Messed Up Century
Behind Closed Doors
Safe Insider
Teach Me
One Day
Honey Kick Duo
Senorita
Beth’s Song
Barry’s Song
One More Time
Something In the Water
Stardust
Living in a Fishbowl
Cutting Ties and Moving On
All I Ask
Black Horse and The Cherry Tree (Featuring No Diggity/I Need a Dollar)
Mr Ken Dee
A Wonderful Day Like Today
Hey Big Spender
Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
All That Jazz
Time Warp
Penny Arcade
You’re My World
Sweet Caroline
We’ll Meet Again
Videos
The Next Live & Unheard is on 27th June and features: Jordan Watts’ Rock band Wytch, Folk duo Hari and singer/songwriter Nick Coleman. You can purchase your tickets in advance here.
Links
https://www.facebook.com/ken.dee.186
https://www.facebook.com/honeykickband
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083048753130
Article & Video by David Chinery (Chinners)
Photography by Allan Jones of Rock Star Images
