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. 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, Manchester. 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, 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 actor Bill Tarmey.

Career

Drag queen It was at the age of 20 that Pearson originally discovered drag; 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 (the surname was latterly spelt as Lammar).

The 1960s was a boom period for drag acts in the northern clubs, and by the 1970s, performers like Danny La Rue and Larry Grayson 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 wrote of his act. "I don't see myself as a drag queen," he said, adding "I'm more of a comic in a frock." 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 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 release hosted by Coronation Street actress Liz Dawn. In October that year, he was seen in The Ghost of Ivy Tilsley, a Channel 4 documentary about another Coronation Street actress, Lynne Perrie, who had played Ivy Tilsley 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 channel, Hot Agony Aunt, in which he gave advice to viewers' problems.

In the early 1970s, he owned Napoleon's, thought to be Manchester's oldest gay bar. By the 1990s, the Canal Street area had become known as the city's gay village, and Lammar owned Cruz 101 there.

Charity work In his spare time, Lammar was a prolific fundraiser for local charities, such as the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. His appearances at charity auctions would attract large donations from members of the public, 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 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 in Stockport and issued by Columbia in 1980, whilst "Around the Old Campfire", backed with "I'm Gonna Be Strong", was released in 1989. The same year, Lammar was among those sharing their memories of his fellow Mancunian Les Dawson in an edition of ITV'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.

On 7 November 2003, after suffering from cancer, Lammar died at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, aged 66. 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. In addition, Lammars Restaurant & Bar on Hilton Street is named after him.