‘I really had to work for it’: Courtney Act on loving – and performing – Olivia Newton-John

‘Olivia was such a fierce advocate.’ Courtney Act dressed to perform Olivia Newton-John’s Xanadu. Photograph: Mitch Major

Courtney Act, the acclaimed drag queen who goes by Shane Jenek when out of the frocks, was in a gay bar in the US when he heard Olivia Newton-John had died. “I wasn’t in drag, but I just felt like I had to get on stage and sing Xanadu,” Jenek says.

It is one of his favourite songs to sing – and not just because it is a gay classic or one of Newton-John’s most recognisable hits. “It’s also dear to my heart because it’s one of those songs that taught me that you can learn to perform a song,” he says.