If you watched the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, chances are you’ll have spotted RuPaul’s Drag Race icon Ginny Lemon making a spectacular aerial entrance over the Alexander Stadium, suspended from a big yellow hot-air balloon and shouting ‘Fancy a slice?’ What’s On recently caught up with Ginny - whose birth name is Lewis Mandall - to find out more...

Tell us about the creation of Ginny Lemon and where the idea originated from… 
Well, this is always a sad story to tell. I originally started drag in 2016 after the death of my sister. Ginny Lemon, for me, was a kind of coping mechanism - I was able to use drag as a form of escapism. Then, when I started doing more and more shows, it became more of a spiritual possession, as well as a kind of healing talisman. So that’s how it originally started. Throw reality television and the fabulous drag society into the mix and that’s how I ended up here.

Does the name have any significance. Gin & Lemon, perhaps? 
Legend has it that I used to drink quite a bit of gin back in the day - so much so that people used to call me Ginny. When I was searching for a drag name, Ginny was the obvious choice, but I thought I’d add something zesty - a little slice...

Ostensibly your performance is categorised as drag, but how would you describe your style of entertainment? 
I try not to describe it really. I don’t think I’ve got the words - or can make the sounds with my mouth. I would say it’s performance art. I think deep down I’m a character actress. I don’t really see myself as a drag queen - more of a deity that just does drag as an illusion.

You’ve garnered quite a following, both here in the Midlands and beyond. Was that your ambition from the outset?
I think it’s more like a leader of a cult - you kind of want more followers to follow your cult. I suppose it’s kind of like a happy accident that so many people got to find out who I am. It was never something I intended to do; I really just wanted to pay my bills, so I had to work. 

You recently appeared in the opening ceremony for the Birmingham Commonwealth Games. Tell us how that opportunity came about and what the experience was like...
The director of the opening ceremony, Iqbal Khan, approached me. He’d seen me perform live on the season-two Drag Race tour and was kind of inspired by my performance. They were looking for an alternative mascot to do this anthem for Birmingham. They lured me with the idea of a hot-air balloon, but it wasn’t until they said I could come in in a lemon-shaped hot-air balloon that I said ‘Yes, I’m in!’ That kind of sold it to me. I thought it would be such a great opportunity for the little ol’ queer folk from the West Midlands to be representing Birmingham to over one billion people. It was quite a big opportunity, and I felt very honoured to be part of it.

What was your rider like?
I had a rather lethal rider of a bottle of Grey Goose vodka, which was quite nice - although I shouldn’t drink and ride really! And of course, I was very sensible. They very much looked after me. The funniest thing they did was to hire me a yellow sofa for my dressing room, which I thought was brilliant. They said: ‘We’ve hired this for you, so don’t deface it.’ That’s the first thing I did - deface it. There’s a yellow sofa somewhere with my autograph on it.

What else do you treasure from that experience?
The thing I treasure most is working with the volunteers, of which there were thousands. My part was tiny, but seeing the passion from people who’d given up their free time - from the performers to the people in high-vis running around - is the thing I’ll take away from it. Just seeing that community effort and the West Midlands - and in particular Birmingham - coming together made me very proud to be a part of it.

You’ve just released a new album, titled Tonic. What’s the messaging behind this, and why now?
As soon as I left Drag Race, I started to write the album. Obviously we had lockdown, Covid, the sea’s on fire, Australia’s burning - you know, the world is f*****. So I really just wanted to write myself out of my own depression. So Tonic, for me, is kind of like the medicine I needed and I wanted to share with everyone. I thought the best way to share this medicine was to administer it through the ears, and I thought that creating an album would be the best thing to do with my time. The songs on there are a right mix of absolutely silly stuff, but also stuff that, deep down, I think is quite dark. So I wanted to address that and bring some light into dark times.

Of those songs, do you have a personal favourite?
It’s a very difficult choice. I don’t really have a favourite, but the one that kind of is the biggest earworm is I Am Over My Overdraft. That song, or that mantra, has been with me for years and years and years. I wrote that song to pour myself into that frustration. It was that song that got me out of my overdraft. So that’s kind of one of the things I’m most proud of.

Who are the musical influences that helped shape your style and presentation?
My biggest musical influence is definitely Tori Amos - my number-one deity. Then I would say Kate Bush, Bjork, Enya, Grace Jones. People like that really - that sort of ‘strong female singer-songwriter’ vibe. Anything straddling a piano tends to get my gears going. 

You’re also heavily involved in Mobilise, which forms part of Birmingham Festival 2022. Tell us about the initiative.... 
It was my friend, Fat Butcher, who asked me to get involved. We’d worked together on quite a few projects and wanted to do something that was a bit more community-focused and for a more sober audience, but also something that was in an accessible place. As a disabled person, I faced difficulties during the season-two tour of Drag Race trying to access these venues. And trying to get good support networks within those was also hard. So instead of just being pissed off, going online and trying to cancel people, I thought, No, I’m going to do something here; I’m going to create a safe space for people to come. So that was kind of my motivation. I didn’t want to just sit on my arse and go on Twitter and slag people off. I thought, F*** you, I’ll write a song and put on a night instead.

Has it changed at all since the first event? 
Absolutely. We’re very ‘for the people’, and we’ve adapted with the people. We get feedback after each night. It kind of works with the audience, as opposed to going ‘Here’s your fish supper, eat it up’. It’s more like ‘What do you want for dinner?’

Birmingham Pride makes a welcome return in all its glory this month. What will your input be, and what are you most looking forward to about the festival?
I’m looking forward to jumping in at the beginning of the weekend and then kind of landing somewhere at the end of the weekend. For me, no doubt that will mean working, but I shall be partying hard as well. It’s one of my local Prides and the first Pride I ever went to, so it’s always a homecoming Pride for me. So you’ll see me there, but if my make-up is hanging on my belly and I’m swearing and I’ve got 10 fags in my mouth, do not approach me! Leave me to party!

ABOUT:
MOBILISE is a 'Queer and sober dance party' created to empower LGBT+ people to dance, take up public space, feel confident and celebrate themselves. The initiative is part of FATT Projects - a Birmingham-based Queer performance company.                   
The next Mobilise event takes place at The Exchange in Centenary Square, Birmingham, on Friday 9 September. For further information, visit http://fattprojects.org

TONIC - Ginny’s new album features 11 tracks, including the single Ding Dong. Released early summer, the song is inspired by “hearing the sound of your alarm, that space in between sleep and waking, and how the alarm sound can trigger you into remembering you have to go to work, earn money, and take whatever abuse you get in order to pay the bills.”