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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 spelt as Lamarr or Lamar). ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' called him "One of the
North of England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmorland and Yorkshire. Officially, it is a gr ...
's most popular female impersonators", whilst the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
described his drag act as "legendary". Lammar, who was based in his native
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, worked in entertainment for over 30 years, and amassed a fortune of over £5m."Frank Pearson - Obituary." ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' ''(London, England)'', 18 November 2003: 37. '' NewsBank: Access Global NewsBank''. https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWGLNB&docref=news/0FEEBEB43628E919.
He became an established name in Manchester from the 1970s onwards, and was well known in the city until his death in 2003.


Early life

Francis Joseph Pearson was born to a working-class family on 22 March 1937 in
Ancoats Ancoats is an area of Manchester, England, next to the Northern Quarter, the northern part of Manchester city centre. Historically in Lancashire, Ancoats became a cradle of the Industrial Revolution and has been called "the world's first ind ...
,
Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
, then part of
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...
. He was one of five brothers, and his father was a rag-and-bone merchant. Francis, known as Frank, left school at 15 without any qualifications and worked as a delivery boy for bread vans. This was followed by a stint at a
cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...
, and then Butterworths, a waste paper reclamation firm. In his teens, he was a boxer, and lived on the same street as future ''
Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...
'' actor
Bill Tarmey Bill Tarmey (born William Piddington; 4 April 1941 – 9 November 2012) was an English actor and singer, best known for playing Jack Duckworth in the soap opera ''Coronation Street''. First appearing in the role in November 1979, he played ...
.


Career


Drag queen

It was at the age of 20 that Pearson originally discovered drag; he claimed to have first worn a dress in a sketch at a Christmas party for mill girls. Whilst working in the paper mill as general manager, Pearson began to appear in pubs as Foo Foo Lamarr by night, taking the surname from the film actress
Hedy Lamarr Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American actress and inventor. After a brief early film career in Czechoslovakia, including the controversial erotic romantic drama '' Ecstasy ...
(the surname was latterly spelt as Lammar). It was suggested by him that the first name was a result of a Frenchman being unable to pronounce Frank. Lammar later told the story of his father throwing a bar stool at him after discovering what his son was doing. "Somebody told my dad that I was singing in the Ancoats Arms, but what they did not tell him was that I was stretched across the piano in a frock," Lammar commented. The 1960s was a boom period for drag acts in the northern clubs, and by the 1970s, performers like
Danny La Rue Danny La Rue (born Daniel Patrick Carroll, 26 July 1927 – 31 May 2009) was an entertainer best known for on-stage theatrical productions, television shows and films where he customarily performed in drag. Early life Born Daniel Patrick Car ...
and
Larry Grayson Larry Grayson (31 August 1923 – 7 January 1995), born William Sulley White, was an English comedian and television presenter. He hosted the BBC's Saturday-night peak-time TV game show ''The Generation Game'' in the late 1970s and early 1980s, ...
had made camp entertainment mainstream, a niche which Lammar slotted into. "Appearing on stage in blonde bouffant wigs and expensive sequinned gowns, he was known for his caustic wit and repartee with tough northern audiences", ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' wrote of his act. Although drag has long been associated with the gay community, Lammar mainly played to straight audiences. "I don't see myself as a drag queen," he said, adding "I'm more of a comic in a frock." ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' described Lammar's performing persona as "an outrageous cross between
Bet Lynch Elizabeth Theresa "Bet" Lynch (also Gilroy) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Played by Julie Goodyear, the character first appeared on screen during the episode airing on Monday 25 May 1966. Appear ...
and
Myra Breckinridge ''Myra Breckinridge'' is a 1968 satirical novel by Gore Vidal written in the form of a diary. Described by the critic Dennis Altman as "part of a major cultural assault on the assumed norms of gender and sexuality which swept the western world ...
." He appeared on television, radio and in theatres, working with La Rue. The
BBC 1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
series ''Nationwide'' profiled Lammar in a May 1981 edition of the programme, and he was a guest on TV chat shows, such as
Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...
's ''Weekend'' in December 1984. Lammar and his club were also the subject of an August 1985 episode of
BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
's ''Actuality'' documentary series titled "No Vulgarity Tonight", in which parts of his live act were broadcast. In an April 1990 episode of the BBC 1 TV drama ''Making Out'', he had a cameo in character: appearing under his Foo Foo alter ego in a nightclub scene, he was billed as the Compere. Lammar's life was the subject of a short
BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and d ...
documentary, ''By Day, By Night'', which was broadcast in August 1995. In 1996, Lammar took part in ''Liz Dawn's House Party!'', a
direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strat ...
release hosted by ''Coronation Street'' actress
Liz Dawn Sylvia Ann Ibbetson (''née'' Butterfield; 8 November 1939 – 25 September 2017), known professionally as Elizabeth Dawn or Liz Dawn, was a British actress, best known for her role as Vera Duckworth in the long-running British soap opera ''Cor ...
. In October that year, he was seen in '' The Ghost of Ivy Tilsley'', a
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
documentary about another ''Coronation Street'' actress,
Lynne Perrie Lynne Perrie (born Jean Dudley; 7 April 1931 – 24 March 2006) was an English actress, singer and television personality, best known as Mrs Casper in Ken Loach's 1969 film ''Kes (film), Kes'', Mrs Petty in the television series ''Queenie's Cast ...
, who had played
Ivy Tilsley Ivy Joan Tilsley (originally credited as Ivy Tyldesley, also Nelson and later Brennan) is a fictional character from the British soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Played by Lynne Perrie, Ivy first appeared on-screen on 14 June 1971, initially on ...
in the soap opera. In February 1997, Lammar had a small role in the final episode of the BBC comedy drama TV series ''Common as Muck''. Lammar played Martin, a character seemingly based on himself, who wears drag and works in a nightclub. Lammar also hosted a segment for the
Men & Motors Men & Motors was a men's lifestyle television channel in the UK. It was the last remaining station operated by the former Granada Sky Broadcasting joint venture, set up by Granada Television (now part of ITV plc) and satellite broadcaster Brit ...
channel, ''Hot Agony Aunt'', in which he gave advice to viewers' problems.


Clubs

Lammar bought his first club, the Picador in Shudehill, located in Manchester's city centre, in 1971. He subsequently took over Celebrity, another city centre venue. Located in Dale Street, he renamed it Foo Foo's Palace, and the club became well-established. Lammar worked behind the bar, serving customers in full drag, before doing two turns as the cabaret entertainment, with two support acts in between. He would surprise audiences at the end by appearing as himself, minus the drag. Coachloads of hen parties would visit from around the country to see him perform. Foo Foo's Palace was also a favourite venue for Manchester United footballer players, and it was patronised by showbusiness personalities. Lammar also owned Monroe's, and a punk club, The Ranch, which was next door to Foo Foo's Palace. In the early 1970s, he owned Napoleon's, thought to be Manchester's oldest gay bar. By the 1990s, the
Canal Street Canal Street may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Canal Street (Manchester), Manchester, England * Canal Street, Oxford, Jericho, Oxford, England United States * Canal Street (Buffalo), a street and district at the western terminus of the Er ...
area had become known as the city's
gay village A gay village, also known as a gayborhood or gaybourhood, is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexuality, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people. Gay vil ...
, and Lammar owned
Cruz 101 Cruz 101 (better known simply as Cruz) is a nightclub and music venue situated in Manchester's Gay Village near Canal Street, England. It is one of the most popular and longest-running gay clubs in Greater Manchester, often boasting itself as "M ...
there. In 1994, he opened Metz on Brazil Street. Lammar opened another branch of Metz in
Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in 1996.


Charity work

In his spare time, Lammar was a prolific fundraiser for local charities, such as the
Royal Manchester Children's Hospital The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital is a children's hospital in Oxford Road, Manchester, England. The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital is managed by the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. History A new hospital was required to ...
. His appearances at charity auctions would attract large donations from members of the public, and Lammar reportedly raised £4m for charity. In March 1997, ''The Times'' reported that he had obtained a donation of £500 for the Children's Hospital from
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
. Lammar was a patron and latterly chairman of the Wallness Children's Charity.


Recordings

Lammar made a number of recordings as a singer, including two albums and two singles. The first album, ''My Life at the Palace: The Frank Lamarr Story'', was recorded live in July 1976 at Foo Foo's Palace, whilst the second, ''My Own Special Creation'', was recorded at Pennine Sound Studios in
Oldham Oldham is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the Pennines on elevated ground between the rivers River Irk, Irk and River Medlock, Medlock, southeast of Rochdale, and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative cent ...
and released in the mid-1980s. Both included covers of well-known standards made famous by gay icons. "Foo Foo's Netball Team", backed with "Love You Being Around", was a single recorded at
Strawberry Studios Strawberry Studios was a recording studio in Stockport, historically in Cheshire, now within Greater Manchester, England. Founded in 1968, it operated until the early 1990s. Strawberry Studios was used by a range of artists including the Ramones ...
in
Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...
and issued by Columbia in 1980, whilst "Around the Old Campfire", backed with "
I'm Gonna Be Strong "I'm Gonna Be Strong" is a song written by the songwriting duo Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. It was first recorded by Frankie Laine in 1963 and released as a single on Columbia Records. However, the song did not become a major hit until 1964, when ...
", was released in 1989.


Personal life and death

Lammar was said to be "a familiar sight in his native city dressed in shiny suits and dripping in gaudy jewellery." He owned a number of
Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to: * Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct Automobiles * Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
cars with the licence plate FOO 1, and enjoyed giving lifts to locals. He was "devoted" to his mother Leah, taking her shopping every day and having tea at the bungalow he had bought for her in Moston. A
Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...
supporter, he appeared in the film ''Manchester United: Beyond the Promised Land'' in 2000. The same year, Lammar was among those sharing their memories of his fellow Mancunian
Les Dawson Leslie Dawson (2 February 1931 – 10 June 1993) was an English comedian, actor, writer, presenter, and pianist. He was known for his deadpan style, curmudgeonly persona, musical routines, and jokes about his mother-in-law and wife. Early li ...
in an edition of
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: Television TV stations/networks/channels ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network and company, including: **ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network in the United Kingd ...
's '' The Unforgettable'' documentary series which profiled Dawson. Lammar was a friend of Dawson's, and they had been due to meet on the day of the latter's death in 1993. Lammar lived in Shuttleworth, near Bury, in the 1990s, and at the time of his death, he was living in Piccadilly Village, an apartment complex in Ancoats. His autobiography, ''I Am What I Am'', was published in 2002, with an introduction by the then-manager of Manchester United,
Sir Alex Ferguson Sir Alexander Chapman Ferguson (born 31 December 1941) is a Scottish former professional football manager and player, best known for managing Manchester United from 1986 to 2013. He is widely regarded as the greatest manager of all time and ...
. On 7 November 2003, after suffering from cancer, Lammar died at the
Christie Hospital The Christie, formerly known as Christie Hospital and The Christie Hospital and Holt Radium Institute, is a specialist National Health Service, National Health Service (NHS) single site cancer centre in Manchester, United Kingdom. The hospital is ...
in Manchester, aged 66. As the funeral cortege made its way through the streets of Manchester, hundreds of people lined the streets. The ceremony took place at
Corpus Christi Priory Corpus Christi Priory was a Catholic Premonstratensian priory in Manchester, England. The church The Norbertine canons regular first came to Manchester in 1889 from the Belgian Abbey of Tongerlo and they built Corpus Christi Basilica in the M ...
in
Miles Platting Miles Platting is an inner city part of Manchester, England, northeast of Manchester city centre along the Rochdale Canal and A62 road, bounded by Monsall to the north, Collyhurst to the west, Newton Heath to the east, and Bradford, Holt T ...
, with readings given by Ferguson, actress
Sue Johnston Sue Johnston (born Susan Wright; 7 December 1943) is an English actress. She is known for portraying Sheila Grant in the Channel 4 soap opera '' Brookside'' (1982–1990), Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy '' The Royle Family'' (1998–2012), G ...
and former
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
captain
Bryan Robson Bryan Robson (born 11 January 1957) is an English association football, football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion F.C., West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club ca ...
. Among those attending the funeral were television presenter
Jeremy Beadle Jeremy James Anthony Gibson-Beadle MBE (12 April 1948 – 30 January 2008) was an English television and radio presenter, writer and producer. From the 1980s to the late 1990s he was a regular face on British television, and in two years ...
, former
Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...
Deputy Chief Constable
John Stalker John Stalker (14 April 1939 – 15 February 2019) was a British police officer who served as Deputy Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police. He headed the Stalker Inquiry that investigated the shooting of suspected members of the Provisi ...
, and several ''Coronation Street'' actors, past and present:
Bill Tarmey Bill Tarmey (born William Piddington; 4 April 1941 – 9 November 2012) was an English actor and singer, best known for playing Jack Duckworth in the soap opera ''Coronation Street''. First appearing in the role in November 1979, he played ...
,
Michael Le Vell Michael Robert Turner (born 15 December 1964), known professionally as Michael Le Vell, is an English actor. He is best known for his role as mechanic Kevin Webster in the long-running ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'', a role he has played ...
,
Ryan Thomas Ryan James Thomas (born 10 June 1984) is a British former actor. He is known for playing the role of Jason Grimshaw on ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 2000 until 2016. In 2018, he played Rafael Humphreys in Australian soap opera ''N ...
,
Helen Worth Helen Worth (born Cathryn Helen Wigglesworth; 7 January 1951) is a British actress. She is best known for portraying the role of Gail Platt in the ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street'' for 50 years from 1974 to 2024. In 2014, she received the ...
and Chris Quinten. The funeral service was followed by a private burial at the family grave in Gorton Cemetery. Lammar was survived by his partner of 29 years, Billy Hughes.


Legacy

A painted mural in Manchester's gay village features an image of Lammar, alongside several other historical figures with local links, including
Emmeline Pankhurst Emmeline Pankhurst (; Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was a British political activist who organised the British suffragette movement and helped women to win in 1918 the women's suffrage, right to vote in United Kingdom of Great Brita ...
,
Quentin Crisp Quentin Crisp (born Denis Charles Pratt;  – ) was an English raconteur, whose work in the public eye included a memoir of his life and various media appearances. Before becoming well known, he was an artist's model, hence the title of h ...
and
Alan Turing Alan Mathison Turing (; 23 June 1912 – 7 June 1954) was an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher and theoretical biologist. He was highly influential in the development of theoretical computer ...
. In addition, Lammars Restaurant & Bar on Hilton Street is named after him.


References


External links

* *
last.fm profile

1981: ''Nationwide'': Foo Foo Lammar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lammar, Foo Foo 1937 births 2003 deaths 20th-century English businesspeople 20th-century British male singers 20th-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century British male singers 21st-century British businesspeople 21st-century English LGBTQ people 21st-century British autobiographers Charity fundraisers (people) Deaths from cancer in England English drag queens English male boxers British gay entertainers People from Ancoats Drag performers from Manchester People from the Metropolitan Borough of Bury Nightclub owners 20th-century English sportsmen LGBTQ people from Manchester