16/08/2022
Sky Arts Channel on Tuesday night televised a documentary-drama about a touching urban myth – namely that one night during the later 1980’s, during the height of the AIDS pandemic, bisexual hero Freddie Mercury and gay DJ Kenny Everett took a disguised Princess Diana, trapped in the glare of publicity, for a night at gay hostelries, eventually ending up at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. The film, called “One Normal Night” speculates on the evening that has often been rumoured in the gay press. Diana meets a drag queen with KS lesions as a result of AIDS and discusses the meaning of her life with them, coming to the conclusion that she has a platform to reach out to outsiders in society. In the twenty fifth anniversary year of Diana’s untimely death, it was pleasing that the trio’s rumoured sortie was dramatised in a witty thirty minute piece starring Mathew Baynton as Kenny Everett, David Avery as Freddie Mercury and Sophie Rundle as Princess Diana. Smooth Radio network in the UK leaves the decision as to whether the urban myth might be true, to the viewer, noting “The story goes that Freddie and Kenny dressed Diana up as a man, and took her to the iconic venue. Whether it actually happened or not is still a mystery, but various people have spoken about it, including the comedian Cleo Rocos. In her book “The Power of Positive Drinking”, the TV star claimed that the group were having champagne at Kenny’s home, before Diana asked about their plans for the rest of the evening. They said they were heading to the legendary gay venue in London – and Diana is believed to have asked if she could join them”.
