Rainbow Crew is an ongoing interview series which celebrates the best LGBTQ+ representation on TV. Each instalment showcases talent working on both sides of the camera, including queer creatives and allies to the community.
Next up, we're speaking to Divina de Campo, the "people's winner" of Drag Race UK.
On October 31, 2019, drag, music and society at large were forever changed by five simple words: "We are the Frock Destroyers". United by this immortal line, Divina de Campo, Baga Chipz and Blu Hydrangea formed the World's Greatest Girl Group™ on Drag Race UK, and just over a year later, they're now back with a brand new album called FROCK4LIFE.
We caught up with Divina de Campo to discuss the group's comeback single 'Her Majesty'. Along the way, we also talked about Section 28, #YoungerMe, and Geri Halliwell, because at the end of the day, it's a Spiceworld and we're just living in it.
What brought you and the other Frock Destroyers back together to record an album?
There was a real desire from the fan base. We still – all three of us – get tagged in "Break Up (Bye Bye)" at least 10, 15, 20 times a week. It's constantly [sings] "break up bye bye…"
So why would you not go back and make some more music with each other? Plus, everybody always says, "I really love them. I get on with them…" – but actually, we do get along with each other really, really well. And we all complement each other in different ways as well.
I'm insanely organised about everything. Baga is just hilarious fun. And Blu is… I mean, Blu is in her 20s. So… [laughs]
That's like the very best girl groups, right? Each member complements the others, but still brings something unique and special to the group.
Exactly. And in that respect, we are a bit like the Spice Girls, They were all really distinct personalities, but they were cohesive as a group. They made sense together.
Speaking of the Spice Girls, we saw on Twitter earlier that you apparently "upset" Geri Halliwell? Can you shed some light on what's going on there?
Some man was messaging me on Instagram, calling me a backstabbing bitch. I was like, "What is this even about?" And then he put, "Geraldine Esmeralda Halliwell."
And I was like, "What are you going on about?"
"Well, if you don’t know, maybe the world will let you know."
So apparently, I said something awful about Geri Halliwell. I mean, the only things I've ever said about Geri is: she's very nice, and that's how you would describe her now. Ginger Spice is long gone, and now Geri Halliwell is fully embodying motherhood.
She's left the bum-pinching, tit-swinging, crawling-out-of-a-set-of-legs Geri Halliwell behind, and she's now grown up and become a mother. So she's very nice. And she is! She's, like, Disney princess loveliness. Which is a bit... dull. [laughs]
Thank you for clearing that up! So how much input did you have when it came to writing the new songs, and curating that whole Frock Destroyers album experience?
It started with us, actually. They asked us for potential song titles. We all just wrote a big bunch of different song titles that we thought might be good. We sent all of those off, and then Leland came back with the ones that he thought chimed with him, because the stuff which chimed with me is not the same for somebody else.
Leland came back with his new ideas. He got some basic melodic ideas in there and stuff like that. And then we wrote our verses to the tracks as well, to put in a bit of our own personality.
There were points where, for all of us, things were becoming too draggy. It was becoming too "Nyeh-nyeh-nyeh", a bit too silly, and there's no way you could have seen it on the radio. So we as a group, were saying, "Can we just rein it in a bit, and do a bit more of this?" It was a conversation between us. So it has been a very organic and natural process.
Why did you all choose "Her Majesty" to be the first single?
How many other countries still have a monarchy? Hardly any. It's very British in that sense. It's referencing all of that British culture, while also being very clearly not about Elizabeth.
I think it has that sort of anthemic feel to it. You can see already that you can get the crowd clapping and joining in with the track. But it also has enough of a beat driving it that you can dance to it.
Love it. So this has been quite a year for drag and Drag Race too. Following your UK season, we've now seen Canada and Holland spinoffs too. What are your thoughts on that explosion of international drag talent?
In one way, that's absolutely fantastic. The more drag there is, the better, because the more visibility there is, the more people there are for young people to look at and go, "I'm like that person. I understand that person. That's me. That's my experience." So I think that's amazing.
Just purely from a business point of view, it's terrible, because these bitches are trying to steal my gigs [laughs].
During your time on Drag Race, there was one moment in particular that really resonated with viewers, and that's your speech on Section 28. What does it feel like to look back at the impact this made?
I've only watched it once, and that was enough. I was doing another interview the other day with my sister, Carys. I sort of felt like I'd protected her and my other sister, Philippa, from the worst of what I was going through.
Then she told her story about how she was already in the dinner hall and as I came in, the entire room burst into jeering, shouting and screaming, "F**, get out" and all of those things.
The people sat on the table with her were saying, "Isn't that your brother?" There was nothing she could have done. Because then what happens is, the entire room, the entire school just turns on you. You become the target, then.
When you look at that, and you think, "If she saw that, then so did all of those other people. All those adults in that room saw that happening, and they did nothing to protect me. They did nothing to make that stop, and they knew that it was happening. And the reason why they didn't do anything was because of Section 28."
As a 15-year-old, I was always very focused on: "I know where I'm going. I know that I'm not going to be here forever. I want to go and do West End musicals or whatever."
So I knew that this was only for right now. And at the time, I said, "I'm glad it's me rather than someone else who's going to go home and kill themselves." But that didn't mean that that wasn't in my head. That didn't mean that that wasn't my experience. That afterwards, you don't carry that baggage with you.
With this, you absolutely do, because the adults around you did not step up and make sure that you were safe. And that's because of Section 28. So the damage that has been left with our generation is really long-standing. And it makes me so happy that that is not the case now – my experience of working in schools has been that kids are much, much less homophobic, and it's much less of a problem.
Although, having said that, the legislation that they're now trying to bring in about trans people is exactly the same as Section 28, but about trans people.
This case, as sad as it is for this person who is de-transitioning and suing the NHS, that's awful that you've been through that. But your experience is not representative of the majority. There's 0.3% of people who de-transition. So you're the 0.3%.
And we're not talking about thousands of kids, either. We're talking about 150 kids over two years who've accessed puberty blockers. So one person out of all of those people, and it genuinely helps them and makes their lives much easier – why are we even having this conversation?
We're having this conversation because it's a really easy minority to pick on. And we, as a community, have to be really aware of that, and exactly what is happening.
Can you tell us about your involvement with the LGBTQ+ charity Just Like Us? Especially their new campaign, #YoungerMe, where queer celebrities post photos of their younger selves to show that young LGBTQ+ people still need support.
I've done a little bit of work with Just Like Us before, and this new campaign is focusing on people like me who are a little bit older, who've already been there. It's what you would say to your younger self, you know? And how you would try and frame things to make it easier.
If the things that had been in place now were in place when I was that age, I think I would be a much less damaged individual [laughs].
Which sounds like "woe is me", but I don't feel like that at all. I went through some really shitty times, but it's OK! If you work hard, and you focus on what you want, and you go for that, then it does turn out OK.
What's next for you? Are there going to be more singles after 'Her Majesty'?
Absolutely, yes! We're planning a tour, currently, with Frock Destroyers. I'm going to be touring with some theatre stuff later in the year, which I'm really excited about. I've released an EP a couple of weeks ago, "Red & Silver". I also have a Christmas special on Fruit TV, which launched on the 8th of December.
So there's tonnes of stuff going on, which I'm super-excited about, and I can't wait for it. We've just got to hope that this vaccine kicks in, and they don't muck it up, like they have with everything else.
Frock Destroyers' debut album Frock4Life is released on December 11 via World of Wonder Records. Order the album here.
Find out more about LGBTQ+ charity Just Like Us and their #YoungerMe campaign here.
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