Lanah P (born 1959), previously known as Alan Pillay, is an

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

English entertainer. Previously billed as Alan Pellay, Al Pillay, Al-ana Pellay, and Lana Pellay, Pillay starred in ''

The Comic Strip Presents The Comic Strip are a group of British comedians who came to prominence in the 1980s. They are known for their television series ''The Comic Strip Presents...'', which was labelled as a pioneering example of the alternative comedy scene. The c ...

'' and as Alex in the 1986 film ''

Eat the Rich "Eat the rich" is a political slogan associated with class conflict and anti-capitalism. The phrase is commonly attributed to political philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, from a quote first popularized during the French Revolution: "When the pe ...

''.

Early life

Pillay was born near the docks of

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...

and was the youngest of six children; his mother was a cleaner of

Bajan Bajan may refer to: Geography and culture Barbados * Barbadians, known by the colloquialism Bajan(s) (pronounced 'bay-jun') * Barbadian English language * Bajan Creole, a Creole language Other location * Something or someone from Baja ...

descent, while his father was an engineer on the

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate Trawling, fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing ...

s, and was of Indian descent.

Career

Working men's clubs

Pillay left school at fifteen and went to

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, where she befriended the Northern drag performers Bunny Lewis and

Frank "Foo Foo" Lammar Francis Joseph Pearson (22 March 1937 – 7 November 2003) was a British drag queen and nightclub owner known professionally as Foo Foo Lammar (with his surname also being spelt as Lamarr or Lamar). ''The Times'' called him "One of the North of ...

. Pillay impersonated

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Ba ...

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

Cleo Laine Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth (born Clementine Dinah Bullock; 28 October 1927)Dorothy Squires Dorothy Squires (born Edna May Squires, 25 March 1915 – 14 April 1998) was a Welsh singer. Her early successes were achieved with " The Gypsy", " A Tree in the Meadow" and " I'm Walking Behind You" by her partner Billy Reid, and " Say It w ...

in full drag, with no microphone, and was booked into the

working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class me ...

s throughout the

North of England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

, as well as the

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

club circuit.

Disco diva

During a lull in Pillay's drag career, while managing the Black Market Café in

Levenshulme Levenshulme () is an area of Manchester, England, bordering Fallowfield, Longsight, Gorton, Burnage, Heaton Chapel and Reddish; it is approximately halfway between Stockport and Manchester city centre on the A6. Levenshulme is predominantly re ...

and renting a room from ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

'' actor

Alan Rothwell Alan Rothwell (born 9 February 1937) is an English actor and television presenter. He played David Barlow in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' as a regular from 1960 to 1961, and again from 1963 to 1968. His other acting credits include p ...

, Pillay was introduced to Kay Carroll and

Mark E Smith Mark Edward Smith (5 March 1957 – 24 January 2018) was an English singer, who was the lead singer, lyricist and only constant member of the post-punk group the Fall. Smith formed the band after attending the June 1976 Sex Pistols gig at th ...

of The Fall. Pillay formed his own band, the I Scream Pleasures, who subsequently appeared as guest support at Fall gigs. Pillay also recorded with

Adrian Sherwood Adrian Maxwell Sherwood (born 20 January 1958, London, England) is an English record producer specialising in the genre of dub music. He has created a distinctive production style based on the application of dub effects and dub mixing technique ...

and her dub label, On-U Sound, recording the track

post punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

punk funk Dance-punk (also known as disco-punk, punk-funk or techno-punk) is a post-punk subgenre that emerged in the late 1970s, and is closely associated with the disco, post-disco and new wave movements.Rip It Up and Start Again: Post Punk 1978-19 ...

industrial music Industrial music is a genre of music that draws on harsh, mechanical, transgressive or provocative sounds and themes. AllMusic defines industrial music as the "most abrasive and aggressive fusion of rock and electronic music" that was "initiall ...

tune "Parasitic Machine" for a early compilation. The sound engineer was Mark Lusardi, who had previously worked with Creation Rebel. Pillay metamorphosed into a disco diva as the hormone-popping

transsexual Transsexual people experience a gender identity that is inconsistent with their assigned sex, and desire to permanently transition to the sex or gender with which they identify, usually seeking medical assistance (including sex reassignment ...

Lana Pellay, dressed in costumes by her close friend

Leigh Bowery Leigh Bowery (26 March 1961 – 31 December 1994) was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, and fashion designer. Bowery was known for his flamboyant and outlandish costumes and makeup as well as his (sometimes controversial) perform ...

, enjoying a top 40 single in Australia and New Zealand with "Pistol in My Pocket". She also accompanied

Gary Clail Gary Clail (born 1956) is an English singer and record producer, and the founder of the Gary Clail Sound System. He was part of On-U Sound Records (and also the On-U Sound System) and led Gary Clail's Tackhead Sound System. They had a big hit in ...

on his 1991 hit "

Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

", singing the couplet "Let the carnival begin... Every pleasure, every sin!"

TV and film career

While living in

Notting Hill Notting Hill is a district of West London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Notting Hill is known for being a cosmopolitan and multicultural neighbourhood, hosting the annual Notting Hill Carnival and Portobello Road M ...

, west London, Pillay met Keith Allen, who invited Pillay to appear on the first programme aimed at a youth audience on the recently launched

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

network. There, Pillay met his champion, Peter Richardson. The latter was an actor, comedian, writer and director for ''

'' who wrote parts for him in the episodes "Susie", "Gino", "

The Bullshitters ''The Bullshitters: Roll Out the Gunbarrel'' is a spoof of the TV series '' The Professionals''. It was first broadcast in 1984 on Channel 4. Although it was made by many people behind ''The Comic Strip'', it did not feature the Comic Strip tit ...

" and the feature-length film ''

The Supergrass ''The Supergrass'' is a 1985 British comedy film directed by Peter Richardson, (who also plays a major role) who also wrote the screenplay with Pete Richens. The film stars Adrian Edmondson, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith Allen, Nigel ...

''. Pillay played Ray in "Susie" (episode 8), Himself (as Alan Pellay) in "Gino: Full Story and Pics" (episode 10), Herself (as Alana Pellay) in ''

'' (episode 13), Mary (as Lana Pellay) in the film ''

'' and Women's Clothing Shop Employee in "Consuela (Or 'The New Mrs Saunders')" (episode 14). Richardson also wrote the lead part for Pillay in the 1986 feature film ''

''. Following ''The Comic Strip'', Pillay became a film critic on the

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

late night chat show ''Funky Bunker'', alongside

Craig Charles Craig Joseph Charles (born 11 July 1964) is an English actor, comedian, television and radio presenter. He is best known for his roles as Dave Lister in the science fiction sitcom ''Red Dwarf'' and Lloyd Mullaney in the soap opera ''Coronation ...

Theatre and cabaret

As Al Pillay, she performed in a one-person play, ''Glitter & Twisted'', based on her life and written by

Tim Fountain Tim Fountain (born 23 December 1967) is a British writer. Early life Fountain was born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. An only child, he was brought up in a pub in the village of West Ardsley, West Yorkshire. He was educated at Batley Grammar ...

, which had its premiere at the Beckett Theater on 42nd Street as part of the first Manhattan Musical Theatre Festival. She also appeared in her own cabaret show, ''A Life in Song'', at Pizza on the Park and the

Café De Paris Café de Paris may refer to: Establishments *Café de Paris (London), a London nightclub * Café de Paris, Chicago, a Chicago nightclub * Café de Paris (restaurant), Geneva * Café de Paris (Rome), a bar in Rome, Italy * Café de Paris (Cubzac-les ...

in London. Her cabaret performance has been released as a double CD. In 2012, she played the title role of the Welsh singer

Dorothy Squires Dorothy Squires (born Edna May Squires, 25 March 1915 – 14 April 1998) was a Welsh singer. Her early successes were achieved with " The Gypsy", " A Tree in the Meadow" and " I'm Walking Behind You" by her partner Billy Reid, and " Say It w ...

on stage in ''Mrs Roger Moore''.

Discography (as Lana Pellay)

Singles

*"Pistol in My Pocket" (1986) – UK No. 96, AUS No. 17, N.B. the Kent Report chart was licensed by

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988. NZ No. 40 *"I Can Make a Man Out of You" (1986)

References

External links

Al Pillay's youtube channel "Lana's Story Land"

Al Pillay's entry in IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lanah P 1959 births English entertainers Black British actresses Living people People from Grimsby English people of Irish descent English people of Trinidad and Tobago descent English people of South African descent English people of Spanish descent English people of Sri Lankan descent Actors from Lincolnshire