SCENE ARCHIVE
In HU3’s 80s and 90s docklands a vibrant drag scene thrived with performers, musicians and club owners creating unforgettable nights. Behind the scenes photographers quietly captured it all… Their images were recently discovered by Kate Genever and now form a vital record, alongside their stories, of the local drag and LGBTQ+ culture. This website showcases what we have revealed and will be added to as we collect more.
Can you help by telling us more?
We’d love to know about the people in these images. Or stories you have about the scene. Send us email at hello@eofus.co.uk
GET
IN
TOUCH
NEW SCENE
Scene But not Heard is collaborating with individuals and groups from Hulls LGBTQ+ community to respond to the archive. Resulting in a broad range of outcomes such as new music, exhibitions, short films and theatre. Our specially created Advisory Group works alongside the project to help shape what these new artworks will be…
Watch this space for more information.
“PEOPLE USED TO SAY TO ME
‘aren’t you frightened of getting up on stage dressed like that in front of all the fishermen and such….
BUT THAT NEVER BOTHERED ME. NEVER BOTHERED ME AT ALL. IF ANYTHING I HAD A GOOD LAUGH WITH THEM.”
Bobby Mandrell / Kandy Lee Barry / Ray Millington
ABOUT THE PROJECT
Perhaps there was something in the working-class docklands water of HU3, in the 80’s and 90’s, that made it the perfect place for a rich and vibrant drag performance scene to emerge.
Home grown and visiting performers, like Kandy Lee Barry/Bobby Mandrell, Dreamgirls and The GiGi Girls, who took their duty to entertain very seriously, were supported by a cast of costume makers, musicians and pub and club landladies and lords, who created big nights out for thirsty audiences looking for a laugh and a good time. It turns out, there was another type of artist involved in the scene, but they were not centre stage…and much more comfortable behind the camera.
Unbeknownst to each other, several student, amateur and professional photographers took an interest in the scene. They have since gone on with their various careers but meanwhile, their drag photographs sat, largely unseen, in their private vaults.
That is until they were spotted, during the development of an EofUs newspaper, by Artist Investigator Kate Genever. Individually there are some incredible photographs but collectively there is an important body of work, documenting the social and artistic history of the drag, LGBTQ+ and local HU3 scene at that time. A body of work that we feel should be accessible to the public.
This site is the shop window of the Scene but not heard project, which aims to bring together the photographic evidence of that scene, alongside the captured stories of those who were there and those who remember, so that others can know. It will build and develop over time, as we unearth more, so please keep popping in.
Scene But Not Heard is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to discover and showcase this important archive.
Scene But not Heard is funded by Historic England as part of Historic England’s Everyday Heritage grant programme. The programme celebrates working class histories and seeks to explore untold stories and celebrate the people and places at the heart of our history.
Investment from the Humber Museums Partnership helped kickstart this project. The ongoing support to Three Ways East and the Encyclopedia of Us project, from the Brignall Family Trust, underpins it all.
