Gay & Lesbian

Charlie Hides has what you might call multiple personalities. When he isn’t himself he’s a gold-digging starlet called Kandi Kane. And when he isn’t Kandi Kane he’s Laquisha Jonz, a single mom from the ghetto whose claim to fame is that she has appeared on ‘The Jerry Springer Show’ 13 times.

It’s rather fitting that Hides admits to hiding behind his characters. ‘I have no desire to go on stage as myself,’ he says. ‘I wouldn’t feel comfortable. Hiding behind other characters enables me to say things that I wouldn’t be able to say.’

Hides grew up the seventh of ten children in Boston, Massachusetts. His mother was a member of the local amateur dramatic society. His sister now performs on Broadway. ‘We were always encouraged to do plays and musicals at home,’ he says. ‘I think as a way of keeping us occupied. When you have ten children running around the house, it helps if they have an outlet.’

Mom was a big influence. ‘She definitely inspired me. I remember her doing a run of five or six shows in a row, and not once did she use her own accent.’ Then one day his brother came home with a box of theatrical makeup, and turned the 12-year-old Charlie into an old man. ‘He put liquid latex on me, and grey hair. And that was it. I was hooked.’

...and as Laquisha Jonz

So how did he go from being an old man to being, well, a drag queen? ‘The first time I did drag I was 16. The drinking age in Boston was 21, so to get into the bars I had to go in drag, because they didn’t ID drag queens. My friend and I would each say we were staying over at each other’s house, and we would get changed in the car. It was the early ’80s, the new romantic era. It was all about reinventing yourself. Plus I was a big Bowie fan. I loved all his different characters and the way he would say: “Okay, now I’m a new person”.’

Hides moved to the UK in September 2000. The following year, he performed at the Edinburgh festival as Angelina Tortelloni, an Italian-American grandmother and professional bingo caller. ‘She looked kind of like Catherine Tate’s nan, only she was an Italian-American immigrant. The trouble was, the British audience didn’t really get the character. In America, they instantly got it. But here they thought she was Jewish. I’ve always said that comedy is democratic. The audience tells you if something is funny. I can think it’s clever or as funny as hell, but if the audience ain’t laughing, it ain’t funny.’

British audiences instantly got Kandi Kane – a trashy blonde gold-digger in the style of Anna Nicole Smith. Kandi is a great comic creation – funny, foul-mouthed and as politically incorrect as they come. But it’s Laquisha Jonz who has really raised Hides’ profile, taking him from the drag circuit to the DJ box and beyond. ‘Laquisha is a type audiences are familiar with because of people like Jerry Springer, but I rarely talk about her life in the US, because then there’d be brand names and pop cultural references that people might not recognise.’ Instead he’s made her an asylum seeker, providing plenty of fodder for jokes about immigration and national identity.

Hides is helped by his British husband James, who co-writes his material and takes copious notes during performances. Between them, Kandi and Laquisha keep both men pretty busy. Hides has weekly stints at The Shadow Lounge, The Two Brewers and The Black Cap. He also performs at corporate functions and private parties for famous celebrities. In December he opened for Girls Aloud. ‘And I did a party for Elton John. The least famous person in the room, other than me, was Donna Air. There was Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Weber, Liz Hurley, Lulu, Fergie, Neil Tennant…’

Speaking of celebrities, Hides has also found time to write a sketch show, which he hopes to develop for TV. ‘It’s set in a lookey-likey agency. Some of those people are so delusional, like the ones who really think they’re Cher,’ he laughs. ‘This is gonna sound really rich, but some of these people have a very tenuous grasp on reality. Dressing up and pretending to be people they’re not! What nut jobs!’

For more info go to www.laquishajonz.com or www.kandiland.tv