Bob Downe 2

“The Globos broke up in ’83 for a while so I took a year off and worked in a friends cafe in Glebe. I lived with a fabulous mate called Richard Lyle who gave me a cheap room to rent. At this cafe I met this wonderful woman called Kathy Armstrong and we had the best laughs. Every September there was the Glebe Food Fair and all the businesses would put on entertainment out the front on the street so Kathy and I did a sketch taking off Entertainment this week. I was like a nasty queen interviewer and Kathy was like a Farrah Fawcett burnt out star. There was a guy in the crowd who worked at the ABC Comedy unit and he gave us work straight away. It was ridiculous, so we started recording sketches for ABC Comedy then The Globos got back together. So during ’85 and ’86 I was doing 3 things at once.

I wasn’t ready to go full time performing so I looked for Journalism work. I made a list of all the places I’d most like to work and Vogue was at the top. I had this fabulous resume I sent off with all the work I’d done at The Sun. My first boss at the Sun was Paul Taylor, father of Noah Taylor. The following year they put me into the Women’s section under this very progressive, eccentric and clever women’s editor called Caroline Ross who was quite a famous Melbourne Journalist and she was always pushing the boundaries so I was writing features when I was 19. I met her many years later. She came to one of my shows. Anyway, magazines and papers were still huge then and I get a call from Gail Heathwood, the Features Editor at Vogue who say’s to me…Did you see our ad? I said No, she said…Well we’ve been advertising for a features writer for months and we can’t find the right person. Within days I was working at Vogue where I worked full time for a year, and then part time editing the Arts page for the following 2 years. At the same time I was doing Bob at the Harold park Hotel and I was also doing The Globos. The last Globos show was the best. The lineup included Nell Schofield and Tim Conigrave who wrote Holding the Man. It was so brilliant.

This is my 40th year as the character and I’ve never been out of work except for the pandemic when everybody was out of work. At the moment I’m working on the 40th anniversary show which I’ll preview at Brunswick Picture House. I went down and did some shows at the Prince Patrick Hotel in 1987. The Melbourne Comedy Festival had started. Gina Reilly is going out with Rick McKenna who’s taken over The Last Laugh with his sister Mary Tobin. Rick is the Executive Producer of Kath and Kim. Gina brings Rick to see me perform and I get nominated as best newcomer at the Inaugural Comedy Festival. Long story short they started the Bob Downe Tonight show because Bob started s a host at the Harold Park shows when I first went solo. The first show was with Doug Anthony Allstars and Libby Gore with her group The Hot Bagels.

The following year everybody went to Edinburgh. John Pinder got Bicentennial money from the Australia Council to take this big Australian group to Edinburgh and called it Oznost. I was left out of the group. It was the Gay thing I think. Why else would it be? I was doing so well at The Last Laugh and with straight audiences. The Gays were the last ones on board. It was 1988 and Mum and Dad were outraged that I wasn’t included in the group. They were all getting their fares and accommodation paid for. Mum and Dad gave me the fare and Richard Vidler from the All Stars gave me all the contacts. I started spots in the variety shows and then I went into one of the shows which was flopping and turned that around. I mean all of those performers were my friends, Gina, Jerry Connelly and Magda. Everybody was really upset for me. I was the one who had UK television before the festival was even over.

I’ve been really blessed. Some things are just meant to be. It was great working London and here. I never had a winter for 10 years.

I fell in love with a beautiful waiter at Kinsellas and that was my first live in relationship. We were together for 18 months. There’s been a few relationships over the years, a couple of serious ones in London. I’m still friends with all of them. I finally met my husband Stef 10 years ago. We’d flirted with each other the previous 10 years. We were always with other people and we’d get caught snogging at Mardi Gras and Recoveries then finally we were together one time when we were both available and we’ve been together ever since. It was World Aids Day 2013 at a Trevor Ashley cabaret where we sat with a mutual friend who ended up being our Best Man. Ironically his name is Stefan Elliot. Everybody thought I’d married Stephan Elliot from Priscilla. We bought a place together in Darlinghurst and renovated it.

I’ve been friends with Maude since Maude came to Sydney in the early 90s. I was doing Bob gigs with the Drag Queens at The Albury Hotel and Maude was one of the Queens working there and lived in Sydney for quite a long time. I knew about Lismore’s Tropical Fruits for years before I finally got my shit together to come up. I so regret not coming to Fruits earlier. I’ve done about 10 parties with Stef and a few before we were together and always loved performing. I also love coming up and seeing what a lovely life Maude has had since moving back to Lismore. I really want to live here. I really want to move up to the Northern Rivers, in fact we definitely will. Stef’s 12 years younger than me so he’s still happy in Sydney, as I am. We have a lovely flat with a huge roof garden that we’ve turned into a proper garden during the lockdown. Stef loves coming up and going to Fruits. I think we both definitely want to finish up here. It’s so beautiful and so many friends have moved up. I love the community here. Once they finish the Coffs bypass and the Newcastle bypass, it will only be 6 hours. I’m very familiar with Australian country town life because of where we holidayed when I was growing up.

I’ve been working at the Brunswick Picture House pretty much since it first opened. I’ve know Brett for years. I knew him when he was young, doing front of house at the original Spiegaltent. Brett learnt everything he knows from working with David Bates at the Spiegaltent. Brett went out on his own and became a very successful promoter and producer of Spiegeltent shows and then he and Chris bought the Picture House, renovated it and it’s now legendary. I’ve lost count of the shows I’ve done there. I’ve done a lot of Bob Downe shows and a lot of shows singing as myself too which I’ve done for about 20 years. I love it. The show at the moment is hosting a Winter Burlesque show as Bob. I also do comedy work on P&O cruises.

By the time I started doing the Fruits I’d already been hosting the Mardi Gras broadcasts. I’ve done 9 now. Now they won’t even book me to do the street interviews, I’m too old now. See, I used to be the only Gay in the village and now everybody’s Gay and I can’t get a gig. It’s forced me to keep working live because it’s so good for you. I’m glad I’m an old white Queer. I’m 65 now and I think performing a one man show is like a major heart lung workout. There is no drinking or anything before a show. I have a very restful day before. I have to keep my brain sharp because there’s so much to remember especially with all the music. It’s now such a joy to perform at Mardi Gras or Fruits. I don’t want fees, just nominal token fees because it’s not about the money, it’s about performing for the community and continuing to perform with Maude and Cindy Pastel who I’ve been friends with for up to 40 years. The Fruits parties are like the original Mardi Gras and Sleaze Balls in the 80s when it was still so free. I associate Lismore with a huge amount of joy.”