Come join the Dami Army

I love the Eurovision Song Contest – always have. As a kid growing up in Wales I was lucky to experience the UK glory years. The representatives were the big names of the day, Sandie Shaw, Lulu, Cliff Richard and Olivia Newton-John were just some. Those songs were the massive hits of the decade and are still played on nostalgic radio stations here in Australia.

Now some sixty years later the event is the biggest production in the world, it has more than a fair share of camp layered over the performances, some of the best looking people ever to grace a television screen and fans – well it’s said there is nothing quite like the Eurovision fans.    

And I know this first hand. My friend throws a Eurovision party each year and it’s always one of the year’s best nights. In 2011 we watched the contest broadcast from the German city of Dusseldorf with great anticipation as it had been decided a group of my friends would travel to the winners city the next year.

Will we Sleaze again?

There’s a growing buzz about the return of Sleaze Ball. It began with the creation of a Facebook page dedicated to the issue last month and has already amassed 1800 followers. The admin behind the page - former Sydney Mardi Gras chair Marcus Bourget - is active in keeping the momentum going and followers are posting their Sleaze Ball memories, photos of what they wore and the shows they remember as favourites. 

The first Sleaze Ball was held at the Paddington Town Hall in September 1982. I recall it with great humour because after spending hours getting ready and pre-party drinks, our group arrived only to be turned away as the place had been full almost since the doors opened.

The next year we all headed to the Showgrounds – the start of 27 years of unforgettable experiences. Sleaze Ball, by definition, was always the more rugged, darker and sexier partner of the Mardi Gras Party. It was, for the greater part of its existence, the main fundraiser produced by Mardi Gras to cover the cost of the parade and festival.