Gay & Lesbian

Marc Massive looks every inch the pop star. He has the kind of face you know instantly, even if you’re not sure where from. Born ‘in the year of the lunar landing, 1969’, at 18 he arrived in London on the National Express from Middlesbrough with £250 in his pocket and dreams of becoming a model or forming a band, ‘both of which came true’.

But not overnight. His first night in London was spent at the notorious cruise club the London Apprentice, where he fell in with a bunch of club-loving gay squatters who’d taken over a load of old council flats in Hoxton Square. It was the late ’80s, clubs like Daisy Chain were going strong, and people were still dressing to impress.
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Young Marc took to the scene like a tranny to slingbacks. Soon he developed the look he’s best known for – pale face, shiny black wig and Mickey Mouse ears. ‘I refer to it as my Geisha Mickey Mouse look,’ he says with a smile. ‘Although I do seasonally adjust it.’

His mother thought he’d be back when his £250 ran out. Instead he took several bus boy jobs before ending up as a meet-and-greet at a restaurant in the Trocadero, where he entertained himself and passers-by by voguing in the window. One day who should be passing by but Leigh Bowery, who reported back to his friend MC Kinky; within weeks Marc was voguing in the video for the club classic ‘Everything Starts With An E’.

A contract with the Storm modelling agency soon followed. But it was another ten years before his dream of forming a band became a reality with Massive Ego. ‘I think my look started getting more extreme when I started the band in ’97. It was something to hide behind more than anything. I still get extremely nervous before live shows. Plus it gives me the advantage of being able to go out as myself some nights and leave the Marc Massive persona at home washing his wigs. I’ve always wanted to front a band that’s capable of literally scaring the kids, and giving them something to think about.’

Massive Ego certainly have the ‘scary Mary’ factor. It’s hard to decide who looks the most alarming: Marc, with his sequinned horns and elaborate floral head-dresses, or musical partner Olly Frost, with his white face and over-sized clown mouth drawn from black glitter. But do they have what it takes musically? They certainly had a big club hit with their cover of ‘Planet Earth’, and a duet with Dusty O on ‘My Heart Goes Bang’ made some impact.

Now they’re releasing an album, ‘Nite Klub Skewl’. There are guest appearances by Dusty O and MC Kinky and production work by club legend Tasty Tim. The music is a blend of ’ 70s disco, ’80s electronica and ’90s electropop, though the choice of covers tells you where their heart really lies.

‘I’m hopelessly trapped in the ’80s’, Marc admits. ‘I just think they got it so right then in terms of packaging, where the look was everything from the album sleeve and the limited-edition, picture-disc 12-inch, to the photo shoot for Smash Hits. Some of the most iconic pop imagery and videos came from that period and, I’m sorry, but the whole R&B scene just doesn’t cut the mustard for me and has singlehandedly killed off pop music. The videos all look the same, the tracks are pretty much indistinguishable from each other, and there are no real stars coming out of that scene who flick my switch.’

And what about the title of the album, ‘Nite Klub Skewl’? Wasn’t that a song by Visage? ‘The title track of the album pays homage to Visage’s classic track, “The Anvil”, but we’ve changed the words. Visage were pioneers of electro dance, and their influence on the current electropop scene is sadly underrated. I’ve met Steve Strange on several occasions over the years and he’s lovely. I even went to his house once and was in awe of his platinum disc for “Fade To Grey” hanging over the fireplace.’

‘Nite Klub Skewl’ by Massive Ego is out now on Klone Records.