Al Pillay
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Al Pillay is an international star of every idiom, whose electrifying,
captivating career has spanned theater, film, cabaret, television,
radio, and the recording industry.
Onetime transsexual disco diva, transgressive being, maverick soul, Channel Four's first out, loud, and proud star, comic icon, movie star, children's broadcaster, voice-over queen, comedian, and raconteur, Al Pillay has packed a lorryload of credits into a life that began among the fish heads and neon lights of Grimsby sometime in the 1960s.
As soon as he was old enough to don a wig and a pair of stilettos, Al took the Northern club circuit by storm, but he was too big a fish for that small pond. At 18 he followed the Yellow Brick Road (well, the M1) to London, where he set about realizing his dreams.
His first TV appearances soon followed with stints on C4's first "yoof" program "Whatever You Want" with Keith Allen and "Four For Tonight" with Ruby Wax. A parallel career soon developed when he caught the eyes and ears of Stock, Aitken, and Waterman, who wrote and produced his worldwide disco smash, "Pistol in My Pocket." As Humberside's answer to Sylvester, the early 1980s were spent touring the world's top clubs in a whirl of sequins and feathers, PAs, and limos (yes, really!). His most prominent successes were in Australia, Paris, and Italy, and he had the #1 spot on Brit dance floors throughout the 1980s.
When the call came from "The Comic Strip Presents..." Al was ready to steal the show in "Gino", "Susie", "Consuela", and "The Bullshitters". His performance in the movie "The Supergras"' inspired Peter Richardson to write "Eat The Rich" as a vehicle for Al's multi-faceted talent. Also smitten with La Pillay was Bristol Funkster Gary Clail who invited him to contribute to his Top Ten hit "Human Nature". The sight of Al on Top Of The Pops in Vegas-style headdress singing "Let the Carnival begin, every pleasure, every sin" brightened up many a Thursday night.
Several dance-floor classics followed, including "I Can Make A Man Out Of You" and "Pistol in My Pocket", before television lured him back. As a critic for ITV's "Funky Bunker", he received as much fan mail as--if not more than--the show's presenter, Craig Charles.
His solo show "Hello La", which was co-written and directed by Paul McVeigh, followed in 1996. It premiered at Islington's Kings Head Theatre before a sell-out run at the Riverside Studios. Highly-lucrative radio and voice-over work, as well as numerous TV appearances on everything from "The Clothes Show" to "The ITV Chart Show" kept Al from theater for a few years, but he returned, bigger and bolder than ever, with a new show, "Wide Open For You", which played to sold-out houses at the Jermyn Street Theatre in London's West End for its three-week run in 2001. This was a rare chance to see, up-close and intimately, one of showbiz's most thrilling and spectacular performers.
Al made a shock move into children's broadcasting as resident voice-over artist and guest interviewer on the BBC World Service's ground-breaking new show "The Edge", having revealed Janet Jackson's tattoos to the world and discovered that Robbie Williams really does believe in angels.
Most recently Al has been working on his new autobiographical play, "Glitter and Twisted", written by Tim Fountain ("Resident Alien", "Julie Birchill is Away") and directed by Matt Ryan (from the Royal Academy, London, resident director of "Les Miserables" and "Miss Saigon" and member of the Cameron Mackintosh Company). The show will premiere at the inaugural Manhattan Musical Fetival in September 2004, where it will be produced by Tambar, the company that brought Joan Rivers to London in 2002.
Welcome to the wonderful world of one of the UK's most gifted contemporary performers.
Onetime transsexual disco diva, transgressive being, maverick soul, Channel Four's first out, loud, and proud star, comic icon, movie star, children's broadcaster, voice-over queen, comedian, and raconteur, Al Pillay has packed a lorryload of credits into a life that began among the fish heads and neon lights of Grimsby sometime in the 1960s.
As soon as he was old enough to don a wig and a pair of stilettos, Al took the Northern club circuit by storm, but he was too big a fish for that small pond. At 18 he followed the Yellow Brick Road (well, the M1) to London, where he set about realizing his dreams.
His first TV appearances soon followed with stints on C4's first "yoof" program "Whatever You Want" with Keith Allen and "Four For Tonight" with Ruby Wax. A parallel career soon developed when he caught the eyes and ears of Stock, Aitken, and Waterman, who wrote and produced his worldwide disco smash, "Pistol in My Pocket." As Humberside's answer to Sylvester, the early 1980s were spent touring the world's top clubs in a whirl of sequins and feathers, PAs, and limos (yes, really!). His most prominent successes were in Australia, Paris, and Italy, and he had the #1 spot on Brit dance floors throughout the 1980s.
When the call came from "The Comic Strip Presents..." Al was ready to steal the show in "Gino", "Susie", "Consuela", and "The Bullshitters". His performance in the movie "The Supergras"' inspired Peter Richardson to write "Eat The Rich" as a vehicle for Al's multi-faceted talent. Also smitten with La Pillay was Bristol Funkster Gary Clail who invited him to contribute to his Top Ten hit "Human Nature". The sight of Al on Top Of The Pops in Vegas-style headdress singing "Let the Carnival begin, every pleasure, every sin" brightened up many a Thursday night.
Several dance-floor classics followed, including "I Can Make A Man Out Of You" and "Pistol in My Pocket", before television lured him back. As a critic for ITV's "Funky Bunker", he received as much fan mail as--if not more than--the show's presenter, Craig Charles.
His solo show "Hello La", which was co-written and directed by Paul McVeigh, followed in 1996. It premiered at Islington's Kings Head Theatre before a sell-out run at the Riverside Studios. Highly-lucrative radio and voice-over work, as well as numerous TV appearances on everything from "The Clothes Show" to "The ITV Chart Show" kept Al from theater for a few years, but he returned, bigger and bolder than ever, with a new show, "Wide Open For You", which played to sold-out houses at the Jermyn Street Theatre in London's West End for its three-week run in 2001. This was a rare chance to see, up-close and intimately, one of showbiz's most thrilling and spectacular performers.
Al made a shock move into children's broadcasting as resident voice-over artist and guest interviewer on the BBC World Service's ground-breaking new show "The Edge", having revealed Janet Jackson's tattoos to the world and discovered that Robbie Williams really does believe in angels.
Most recently Al has been working on his new autobiographical play, "Glitter and Twisted", written by Tim Fountain ("Resident Alien", "Julie Birchill is Away") and directed by Matt Ryan (from the Royal Academy, London, resident director of "Les Miserables" and "Miss Saigon" and member of the Cameron Mackintosh Company). The show will premiere at the inaugural Manhattan Musical Fetival in September 2004, where it will be produced by Tambar, the company that brought Joan Rivers to London in 2002.
Welcome to the wonderful world of one of the UK's most gifted contemporary performers.
