Paul O’Grady’s alter ego was once arrested after standing up to the police.
The Birkenhead-born star died “unexpectedly but peacefully” yesterday, Tuesday, March 28, aged 67. Andre Portasio, who married the TV presenter during a low-key wedding ceremony in 2017, confirmed the news in a statement.
Thousands have been leaving tributes online including the LGBTQ+ community - a community Paul was a proud member of. Amongst the tributes, one memory that has stuck out in everyone’s mind was when Lily Savage was arrested while performing in London in 1987.
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The drag queen was gigging at an LGBTQ+ venue, Royal Vauxhall Tavern, when a squad of 35 police officers - who Paul later revealed he thought were strippers - raided the venue and forced the customers into vans outside.
At the time it was the height of the AIDS crisis and when Lily spoke out on issues affecting the community, having marched against Section 28 and regularly holding fundraisers for HIV/AIDS research.
With the fear of “catching” the virus, the police officers wore rubber gloves when touching those inside the club. Paul recalled the events to human rights activist Peter Tatchell, whose foundation Paul was a patron for.
In footage that had never been shared before until now, Paul said: “I was doing the late show and I had only been in about 10 minutes when a copper burst in the dressing room and I thought he was a stripper, a male stripper dressed as a copper.
"He was so rude and so aggressive and when I came out on the stage, the place was heaving and they (the police) were all wearing rubber gloves. And of course, I said ‘oh good, have you come to do the washing up?’ There was pandemonium. People were scared.
“Tables and chairs were going over, the police were extremely aggressive. I went upstairs to the landlady and next thing there was a copper in the front room dragging her out and around leaving the children behind. And God only knows to this day why they raided it.
"The only thing I can put it down to was, we had the chief of police at the time, who was homophobic and of course, it was the height of the AIDS pandemic. So this is a perfect excuse for them all to come in and cause trouble. There was no need for it.”
Dressed in full drag, Paul would then be arrested during the raid, which would soon be known as the “rubber glove” raid.
Lily was ordered to give a name by the police to which she responded “Lily Savage” and when demanded her “real name”, Lily’s tongue-in-cheek humour got the better of her once again as she added: “Lily Veronica Mae Savage.”
This was the club’s second raid in one winter. All those arrested went on to be released without charge but little did the police know the raid would bring the community closer together and cement the venue’s place as a key part of London’s LGBTQ+ scene.
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