Glory and Gobshites: NYC Downlow's tribute to Lily Savage was equal parts heart, equal parts hard-faced

On approach to Glastonbury’s most infamous nightspot on Saturday, everything appears to be as normal... or as "normal" as Block9's legendary on-site nightclub can be. Outrageously long queue, check. People dressed in leather swinging around a meat hook, check. But as I rock up to the mesh-covered booth at NYC Downlow's entrance, and see the flock of peroxide blonde queens dressed to the nines in gaudy leopard print and bundles of pearls — I'm hit with a Wirral-sized wave of nostalgia. A wave that only intensifies as one of these chain-smoking goddesses approaches me with a cheeky wink, inquiring in a fake Scouse accent: "Nice top gerl, where is it from? 'Marks?" I realise that tonight is no ordinary night at the Downlow. As part of its 16th birthday celebrations, the team at Block9 have decided to pay tribute to one of the UK's most prominent LGBTQIA+ icons, the Dame Of Birkenhead, Lily Savage.

It's a match made in heaven. NYC Downlow has consistently and unabashedly repped queer culture in all its irreverence, unafraid to showcase the weird, the wonderful and the downright scandalous; from walls scattered with tongue-in-cheek posters, drag queens donning glitter and muddy boots, the X-rated beauty of the Meat Rack, to even the venue design itself which is a to-scale replica of an early eighties warehouse in NYC's Meatpacking district. While with Lily Savage, Paul O'Grady was similarly uncompromising in exhibiting the unfiltered charm of working class, gay culture — a foul mouthed, hard-faced, Scouse sex worker, who in the '90s became one of the first drag queens to become a mainstream figure. Lily Savage's unapologetic, “If I wanted your opinion, I’d slap it outta ya" attitude took her from London gay scene regular to prime time gameshow host — despite the British public still being deeply-suspicious and prejudiced towards queer people.

When Paul O'Grady sadly passed away in March, thousands paid tribute to this working class national treasure; many told stories of how Lily Savage had been one of their first encounters with queer joy, others shared vintage clips of her cutting one liners and instances of O'Grady speaking truth to power. Among them, was a story of Savage on stage during a raid at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in 1987 at the height of the AIDs crisis, quipping as officers barged into the venue wearing rubber gloves "Well, it looks like we've got help with the washing up." She was one of 10 people arrested, and when police demanded her "real name" after she had identified herself as Lily Savage, she replied: "Lily Veronica Mae Savage." It feels incredibly fitting then, that NYC Downlow's tribute to Paul O'Grady and Lily Savage is not one of melancholy or even cheerfulness — but instead it's bitingly ironic, camp and hard-faced, just as Lily would have wanted.

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“Lily Savage was gay pub culture right there in the centre of mainstream entertainment and television, and it said to the nation we're just as good, just as fun and just as amazing as everyone else," says The Glory owner Jonny Woo, who coordinates the drag queens at NYC Downlow. "There were only a few TV channels then and she managed to make that leap, the pressure was on and she nailed it. She was the standard to which I as a performer aspire! It was only right to dedicate our stage to her legacy since she passed away this year.”

Through the night drag queens move around the room, winking, taking regular puffs on ciggies — and I can see that feeling of nostalgia in the eyes of many of the partygoers who encounter them. DJ Grace Sands, who is playing at the Downlow on Saturday, comments later: "It was fab to see our Downlow queens channeling their inner Lily and giving us a shimmy! Lily Savage’s caustic wit resonates still within the East London drag scene - an irreverent tone that’s as at home on The Glory stage as on top of the Dalston Superstore upstairs bar. And it’d probably fall off as well!"

Regardless of the irreverence of the Downlow, it's difficult to not get a lump in my throat. Paul O'Grady famously said that Lily Savage was inspired by "tough but colourful women in his family" — and as I'm here at the Downlow, "sweating like a glass blowers arse", all I can think about is watching my nanna, close to tears laughing at a quip about smoking. A Scouse battle axe whose son had come out in the late '80s, who had found comfort in Lily Savage as a way to connect with parts of his world that she couldn't understand. I'd asked her in-between deep guffaws why she was laughing so much, and she wiped her eyes and responded: "She reminds me of my mam."

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The impact of Lily Savage on British culture, and her work in popularising drag and bringing genuine queer culture to the forefront, will hopefully be remembered forever. So I appreciate the NYC Downlow taking one day of their five this year to present Lily Savage her in her brazen, gobby best — they did her proud. In 2023, when the lives of LGBTQIA+ people are as at risk from oppressive government policies and a bigoted British public, it feels poignant to celebrate someone who was such a source of optimism for gay people. In an interview with The Mirror in 2021, while discussing his decision to retire his alter-ego, Paul O'Grady said: “At the moment it is the current trend. We’ll have a drag queen reading the news before much longer. Question Time will be hosted by a drag queen. That would liven things up.” And upon leaving the Downlow on Saturday night, my clothes baked in cigarette smoke, I can't help but agree with him.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter