22 February 2014 Dr Sketchy Set List

/ Behind the Candelabra: Insanely beautiful young Catherine Deneuve /

Saturday 22 February was a gloriously sunny early spring day in London. I spent the whole afternoon of it inside a darkened windowless boozer (the sublimely seedy Royal Vauxhall Tavern, to be precise) playing a putrid assortment of vintage musical sleaze and necking pints of lager. (I find inspiration in liquid form). While women took their clothes off onstage.

The reason for the daytime drinking was a Saturday afternoon Dr Sketchy. The first Dr Sketchy of 2014 was a triumph – and this one pretty much matched it. We’re on freaking fire at the moment! Dr Sketchy has most definitely got its mojo back.

It helped that toilet-mouthed bad girl of cabaret Ophelia Bitz was emceeing again and in filthy “blue” mode (she made a great “fanny fart” joke – you really had to be there). The audience (including a hen party) were raucous and up for a laugh. (In fact, I stuck around DJ'ing for longer than I strictly needed to because the crowd was so fun and appreciative). And the two guest burlesque performers were top-notch. Showgirl deluxe Annette Bette did a vivacious bunny girl routine: she entered to Bugs Bunny intro music clad in a white old-school Playboy Bunny outfit complete with powder puff rabbit tail, wielding a carrot. At a climactic moment she invited a guy from the front row to unfasten her corset– and received the most stony-faced and mortified reaction to audience participation I've ever seen at a Dr Sketchy! (Like Jayne Mansfield with her Chihuahua, Annette was accompanied by her adorable little dog Dorothy. She’s a real scene-stealer: at one point, while Ophelia was speaking, Dorothy poked her head through the curtains and the entire audience ooohed and aaahed).

The glamorous Amelia Kallman made her Dr Sketchy London debut at this one. She did an elaborate and spectacular Bride of Frankenstein act. I was sweating bullets over her ultra-detailed stage directions, with nerve-wracking music and lighting cues. (One cue was to kill the stage lights as soon as the Frankenstein puppet reached for her crotch!). The scale for things going wrong was huge and there was no time to rehearse it beforehand – but it came off seamlessly! All the 1950s and 60s macabre Halloween novelty -style tracks were for her pose (I didn't even know about her number beforehand – it’s just sheer luck I like ghoulish graveyard rock music and had it packed in my DJ bag already. My only regret is I didn't have any songs by Tarantula Ghoul handy).

Intermezzo - Korla Pandit
Chuncho (The Forest Creatures) - Yma Sumac
Quiet Village - Martin Denny
La-ba c'est naturel - Serge Gainsbourg
Monkey Bird - The Revels
Church Key - The Revels
Not Me - Robert Mitchum
Accentuate the Positive - The Bill Black Combo
Beat Generation - Mamie Van Doren
Wiped-Out - The Escorts
I Can't Sleep - Tini Williams and The Skyliners
Chop Suey Rock - The Instrumentals
Fujiyama Mama - Annisteen Allen
Uptown to Harlem - Johnny Thunders and Patti Palladin
Little Miss Understood - Connie Stevens
Intoxica - The Centurions
Lucille - Masaaki Hirao
Beat Girl - Adam Faith (Beat Girl soundtrack)
Wiped-Out - The Escorts
Night Scene - The Rumblers
That's a Pretty Good Love - Big Maybelle
Tall Cool One - The Wailers
Cadillac Jack - Andre Williams
Fever - Nancy Sit
Drums A-Go Go - The Hollywood Persuaders
Bop Pills - Macy "Skip" Skipper
I Was Born to Cry - Dion
Train to Nowhere - The Champs
Caterpillar Crawl - The Strangers
Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby? Ann Richards
Where Flamingos Fly - Linda Lawson
Let Me Entertain You - Ann-Margret
Petite Fleur - Chet Baker
Do It Again - Eartha Kitt
Some Small Chance - Serge Gainsbourg (Strip-tease soundtrack)
Little Queenie - Bill Black's Combo
Party Lights - Claudine Clark
Welfare Cheese - Emanuel Lanskey
No Good Lover - Mickey and Sylvia
What Do You Think I Am? Ike and Tina Turner
She's My Witch - The Earls of Suave
Rockin' in the Graveyard - Jackie Morningstar
Goo Goo Muck - Ronnie and The Gaylads
Blood Shot - The String Kings
Rigor Mortis - The Gravestone Four
Alligator Wine - Johnny Thunders and Patti Palladin
Hiasmina - Jean Seberg
A Little Girl from Little Rock - Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell
Torture Rock - Rockin' Belmarx
Summertime - Little Esther
Begin the Beguine - Billy Fury
La Javanaise - Juliette Greco
Work Song - Nina Simone
I Love the Life I Live - Esquerita
Sweetie Pie - Eddie Cochran
L'appareil a sous - Brigitte Bardot
The Girl Can't Help It - Little Richard
Hit the Road, Jack - Ray Charles
Roll with Me, Henry - Etta James
Fools Rush In - Ricky Nelson
Devil in Disguise - Elvis Presley
Rock'n'Roll Waltz - Ann-Margret
Jim Dandy - LaVerne Baker
I Would if I Could - Ruth Brown