Jessica Rabbit and Vivian Ward’s lovechild, Cherry Bomb is an occasional entertainer and eternal slag. Here, she catches up with Graham Robson to spill how she’s been spending her time during lockdown and what’s caught her beady eye on the interweb…
Hey Cherry, tell us a bit about yourself…
Hello Daddy, hello Mom! It’s your chchchchchch CHERRY BOMB! I popped my proverbial cherry at Pride last Summer to be the poster girl for our Supergay brand (WeAreSupergay.com), which is all about standing out and proud and feeling like a gay superhero! Growing up in Northern Ireland it wasn’t the easiest to be out and proud, it’s good to see it’s getting there today with some great performers and venues on the scene.
What have you been up to?
I’ve spent a lot of the isolation period learning to drink responsibly but failing miserably! Most recently I’ve given my bush a much needed trim so we could spend a bit of time in my back garden – 100% true, I have the builders’ tan to prove it.
I’d been thinking about the idea of doing a play on Classic TV Gameshows for a while and the first show had to be Blankety Blank. I grew up with the Lily Savage era, I still howl at the re-runs and outtakes on YouTube. It’s that rapport between Lily, the contestants and the “Star Turns” that give you a sort of camp fun you wouldn’t usually see on TV at that time.
I’m giving The Price is Right a spin now and it’s been so much fun inviting people in the comments to GO LIVE and play along to win prizes. You can catch the show every Saturday at 8pm on Facebook Live if you follow @CallMeCherryBomb
How’s it been going down?
It’s been so much fun, especially having some amazing Star Turns from the gorgeous Spice who has been so supportive and genuinely lovely to the stunning Billie Gold my absolute space lesbian crush.
I’m new to this and I’m not coming into it with any social media following so having almost 1,000 views of my first Live act feels amazing! I think it’s allowed me to have a bit more fun with it without any huge pressure.
What’s it like connecting with an audience through a screen?
The real struggle for me has been gauging the audience reaction, I am someone who feeds off that response whatever I throw myself into so it has definitely been a test of confidence to know that what you’re putting out there is hitting the mark and entertaining. I’m desperate to get out there in front of a real life crowd though, so watch this space!
There’s so much going on online…
There’s so much! What’s been so lovely to see is people like the lovely Adam Brooks keeping the Bedford Tavern family together. This whole thing has hit the pubs and venues so hard during what is normally such a busy time over Easter and coming up to Summer. He has managed to keep Piano Bingo going on a Sunday in his own beautifully chaotic way and it. Is. FABulous!
Spice also very quickly created an amazing weekly event with her Fact Hunt Live on a Friday evening which is just getting better every week. The gorgeous Billie Gold and Snow White Trash have been hosting great live performances to keep us all connected and entertained. And Kevin Coyle has been bringing us live cooking shows every Thursday with his Food You Believe It page. Can’t wait for the lovely Bedford Tavern’s Josephine Valentine’s virtual Glitzy Walking Tour on Wednesday! How could we be bored with all of that going on?!
Any tips to keep us and our readers sane?
As much as TV and phones are a great distraction, it’s important to keep your mind active without being glued to our screens. Read about something you’re interested in, challenge yourself with a new skill, hobby or language. Or make me some outfits if you fancy it – for style inspiration think Jessica Rabbit and Debbie Harry’s love child.
Honestly the preparation for my Saturday night live shows has been a great distraction from what is going on and has really kept me busy.
Any plans for when this is over?
We’ll be throwing a huge party (as soon as it’s safe to do so obviously) to celebrate all of us for getting through this. I’ll also be getting some gigs booked in to come and see all your lovely faces in real life!
What do you miss the most?
TOUCHING PEOPLE, other than my husband…
We’re going to miss Brighton & Hove Pride this year!
It’s a shame that it’s had to be cancelled especially on the 30th anniversary but I know it’ll be back bigger and better, if there’s anything we know how to do it’s being able to come through hard times and throw a hell of a party!
Any words of wisdom to get us through?
I know it is hard and everyone will have their own individual struggles but it is important for all of us to take care of our mental health during this time. Try to limit your intake of news and take time away from the constant stream of updates.
A lot of us in the community have built families in our friends so it can be especially difficult to remove that part of our lives. Pick up the phone, have a video call, do whatever you can to keep those connections going. And go easy on yourself, it doesn’t matter if you didn’t join that live exercise tutorial or you didn’t achieve what you wanted to today – you’ve got tomorrow to try again. This is a time when the pressure of deadlines and workload has been lifted for a lot of us so try to take advantage of that. And for those still hard at work in essential services I salute you and thank you, we’ll hopefully all be entertaining you a little bit throughout this time and thanking you all after.
I can only say what I’ve tried to do and that is to see this as a time to slow down and think about what really matters to me and how I want to steer my life. We can use this almost as a reset in a way, whether that’s finding new ways to earn a living or new ways to appreciate and explore the talents we have.
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