On a Tuesday night ten years ago in a misty basement on Bloom Street, the likes of Lady Gaga, Blondie, David Bowie and Steps were all booming out to a packed and sweaty crowd of students, city dwellers and drag queens at club night Poptastic.
At the front of the crowd, leading the charge behind the DJ decks, stood drag performer Danny Beard. When not hurling sarcastic retorts at the crowd in a thick scouse accent midway through a Spice Girls megamix, Danny would be lip-syncing, dancing and posing for photos until 5am each week.
While those days are now long gone - thanks to Danny’s recent win on BBC Three’s RuPaul’s Drag Race UK - they look back on that time as a pinnacle moment for their drag career.
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“Manchester’s gay scene really has played a massive part in my life,” the 31-year-old, originally from Liverpool, tells the M.E.N. “It was really where I learnt the craft of performing in drag.”
At the time, Danny was studying Contemporary Performance Practice at the University of Salford - “it sounds just as arty-farty as it was,” they say - and while the late nights in clubs and early mornings in lectures didn’t always see eye-to-eye, it was an opportunity to earn money and hone in on their performance skills at the same time.
“I was looking to make a bit of money on the side so I started DJing,” Danny, who now lives in Ancoats, explains. “That then led me to drag when then led towards the shows and cabarets.
“The Gay Village birthed me. It helped shape my drag as I was able to take inspiration from the matriarchs of the scene, like Belinda Scandal, Nana and Misty Chance.
"Since then, I've pretty much performed in every bar on Canal Street. I love the vibe of Manchester, it’s proper Northern and everyone’s real. People here don’t mind getting the p*** taken out of them and I don’t mind getting the p*** taken out of me. We just get on with life, don’t we?"
While many aspects of Danny’s drag aesthetic have been taken directly from the pages of a late 1980s New York magazine spotlighting the Club Kids scene or performer Leigh Bowery, it has also been borne out of sheer convenience.
They explain: “Whilst I was studying, I was really inspired by the Club Kids and people like the Family Gorgeous and Cheddar Gorgeous, who were alternative yet mainstream at the same time. I don’t think I’d look the way I do without Manchester.
“I’m a huge Leigh Bowery fan and that’s where the white face came from. I also really didn’t want to shave so that’s where I came up with the look I have. These people I looked up to were all about doing drag your own way and that’s what appealed to me.”
Last year, Danny competed alongside Cheddar Gorgeous in RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. Ultimately, both performers were the last two remaining before Danny was reigned champion. But instead of feeling threatened by competing against their inspiration, Danny used it to spur them on.
“It was a big moment when I realised we were both on the same show but it also felt quite comforting to see someone from home there,” Danny says. “I am very good friends with Cheddar now but at the time of the show, we only knew of each other. It’s not like we’d ever gone for dinner or hung out together.
“It was nice to have someone who I looked up to so much there with me. It really pushed me to do the best - especially when I knew just how exceptional they are.
“We brought out the best of each other and we still do as friends. We’re very much in our own lanes because what we do is completely different. We’re just really lucky that we can be doing what we’re doing and still be friends.”
And speaking of winning the BBC show, Danny says they hope it will inspire other performers to take part who might not feel they conventionally fit the bill. "I feel really lucky that I am the first bearded winner of the show," they explain.
"I never ever thought I would ever get on the show - I thought I was too alternative or too weird for it. In reality, my drag isn’t even that different, it’s just different to what people usually see on TV.
"I hope that by winning the show it will open people's eyes to the different types of drag and it will lead to more trans contestants, drag kings, bio kings on the show. It can only be a good thing."
Next week, Danny will be taking to the stage as part of their very own show - accompanied by a live band. It’s something they say they’ve been wanting to do for a long time.
“It’s an old-school drag show on steroids,” Danny laughs when explaining the show at The Lowry on June 7. “It’s cabaret, it’s comedy, it’s going to be so much fun. I’m naturally very chatty and I’m able to find the funny in pretty much any situation so I don't really have things written down. Every show really is going to be different.
“We do a moment in the show where the audience members will just shout out songs, and we’ve managed to have some really special moments with songs we never imagined we’d ever do. We do everything from musical theatre to songs like Estelle’s American Boy.
“I really do feel like Beyonce every time I get on stage. It’s all of my childhood dreams come true - instead of dancing on my bed with a load of teddies on my head, I’m dancing on a stage with loads of people on the other side and it feels so fab.”
Danny will also be headlining Manchester Pride this August, which is set to be a huge moment for the city. “I feel like that will really be a big homecoming moment for me,” they explain.
“Manchester has always supported me and I’ve been a part of Manchester Pride for a while now. The Danny Beard and Friends stage helps find acts that people might not know about and puts them on the same stage as the headliners. I’ve worked ten years through the cabaret scene so I feel it’s important that these performers get the same opportunities as the likes of Jake Shears.”
And at a time when drag and the LGBTQ+ community are being contested by a small minority of people, Danny says they feel like it is more crucial than ever to champion and elevate others.
“There are a lot of old, recycled stereotypical tropes out there right now,” they explain. “It happened in the 80s and 90s when gay people and other minorities were made to be the scapegoat and we see it now with transphobia.
“We’ve also seen it with people discussing whether children should be able to enjoy drag. The reality is that not all drag is suitable for children, that’s the truth. My theatre show is not suitable for kids, but that doesn’t mean all drag isn’t suitable.
“If we start saying that all drag should be banned, then maybe we should ban all films because some of them aren’t suitable for children either. It’s really as simple as that, but obviously people like to make us the enemy.
“It’s an echo chamber of hate and that’s not what drag is about. Drag is about forgetting your problems, enjoying the moment and having the confidence to leave the house in a garish outfit. It’s about loving yourself and being who you want to be.”
Danny Beard will perform at The Lowry on June 7. Tickets available here.
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