Performer, creative and DJ Tete Bang talks about how she has changed and drag has too
BY LARA IQBAL GILLING, IMAGES BY OLLIE TUNMORE
Tete Bang (she/they) has learnt to say no. Recently she turned down opportunities because of the companies’ anti-Palestinian alignments. “Saying no to things is really hard but ultimately does make you feel more empowered afterwards,” they say. “As a queer artist, I have to do that. Mainstream artists are not and sometimes that makes it harder.”
“Some people are really money motivated,” she adds. “I understand that contracts are in place and sometimes artists don’t have a choice. But once you get to a certain level, you do have a choice as to what you say and where you align yourself.”
Tete is a DJ, performer, creative and lesbian with a winning smile – a “Full Time Hot Dyke”, according to her Instagram bio. Her strong political stance is influenced by her identity. “As queer people, we have a bigger understanding of empathy and other people’s lived experience. We often have to analyse who we are and what we believe in much younger.”
Seen dancing on stage with the trans flag (and, no less importantly, Kesha) at Mighty Hoopla festival this June, Tete certainly isn’t shy about sharing their beliefs. “TRANSGIRLS ARE HOT!” is emblazoned in red on her vest. She wears thick lashes, a raspberry-coloured wig and winged eyeshadow to match. Although she says she’s not sure about the hair, it seems fitting amongst the colourful artwork that adorns her front room. Her two “very, very gay” dogs, a Maltese and a Chihuahua, lie next to her.
Tete grew up listening to punk music and classifies being a drag queen as “a punk act”. But since becoming mainstream, drag has lost the outspoken edge she loved. “As it’s become more corporatised and capitalised, I’ve become less interested in drag. When I got into it, it was more of a subculture and that was much more interesting to me.”
There was a time when Tete wanted to be cast on RuPaul’s Drag Race, but they’ve changed their mind. “I’m so glad I was never cast in Drag Race. I just look at how boxed in it can make you, and how boundaried it makes you, even subconsciously,” she says.
She believes that a lot of people are now getting into drag with misguided motivations. “[RuPaul’s] Drag Race really mis-sold drag to a lot of people, especially a lot of young, queer, cis men,” she says. “It sold the idea that if you got on Drag Race, you were going to become rich and famous and all of your dreams were going to come true and all of your problems were going to go away. The reality is you need to sit with yourself away from the drag to find that level of peace.”
Taking her own advice, Tete has become more comfortable with the “scruffy lesbian” she is outside of her drag persona. “When I first started doing drag, I was trying to be hyper feminine – reclaiming that feminine part of myself in a cartoony way,” they say. “I needed escapism. I needed to feel something completely different, completely alien.
“You can get wrapped up in the character and it becomes really comfortable to be that person and less comfortable to be yourself,” she warns.
Something else Tete has come to value is connection over big crowds. DJing a queer club night in Worcester recently reaffirmed her appreciation for small, community-oriented spaces. “I mean, performing with Mel C at her 50th birthday was also really fun. Obviously,” she laughs.
“I have had a taste of those huge stages and it’s all really good, but deep connection is the most powerful. I’ve come round again to really loving those intimate, sweaty moments with my community.”
Tete Bang is DJing at The Clapham Grand’s biggest ever day of Pride Parties, alongside Tulisa, BIMINI, Nadine Coyle, Bestley and many more on Sat 5 July. You can find out more here: https://claphamgrand.com/pride-london-2025/‘
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