Amy Lamé: DJ and London’s Night Czar
Season 1, Episode 1, Jun 19, 2019, 01:00 AM
Alice talks to queer multi-hyphenate Amy Lamé - co-founder of clubnight Duckie, London’s Night Czar, RVT Future activist, BBC Radio 6 DJ, and author. We talk about how London’s LGBT scene has changed since the 1990s, sexism in the club scene, and why Amy staged performance art at a men’s cruising ground.
New Jersey native Amy Lamé is a true queer culture multi-hyphenate. Since moving to London in the 1990s, she has firmly embedded herself in the capital’s LGBTQ scene.
Amy co-founded and continues to run iconic Vauxhall clubnight and arts company Duckie, which champions innovative cabaret and runs community outreach with those on ‘the edge of the edge’. She’s also the co-founder of campaign group RVT Future, which aims to protect the future of the Royal Vauxhall Tavern - Duckie’s home and the UK’s oldest queer venue.
In 2016, Amy was appointed Night Czar by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, tasked with helping London thrive around the clock. She’s responsible for the city’s nightlife - including safeguarding venues - working with night time industries, local authorities, the Police, Transport for London, and the public.
Amy is also a BBC Radio 6 DJ, and author of the first ever LGBTQ history book for children - From Prejudice to Pride: A History of the LGBTQ Movement. So, a busy woman.
We talked about how Amy came to settle in London and how society has changed since the 1990s. We shared our experiences of sexism in the queer club scene. And I asked Amy about the pieces of work that mark her out, in my mind, as a true Dorothy - the performance art pieces Gay Man In A Lesbian’s Body, and Cum Manifesto, which she performed at cruising ground Hampstead Heath in the midst of the AIDS crisis.