Actor, singer and drag performer Divine, AKA Glenn Milstead (1945–88), was a cult figure in the gay community and among fans of John Waters’ boundary-pushing indie films like Pink Flamingos (1972) when he unexpectedly crossed over into mainstream success with a hit single on the Australian pop charts.

Divine, who identified as a gay man, visited Australia for the first time in September 1984 to promote ‘You Think You’re a Man’ (an early hit for producers Stock Aitken and Waterman) and play a week of sold-out shows at Sydney gay venue, Kinselas. While in town, he recorded this 10-minute interview with DJ Paul Holmes at Sydney rock radio station 2SM.

This unedited recording of the interview allows Divine’s laidback humour to shine as he discusses the origins of the song, its BBC ban, his success in Europe and Mexico, and his first impressions of Australia. It’s a relaxed conversation, with a lot of laughter from Holmes, who might have been nervous that Divine would do or say something outrageous to offend 2SM’s audience of teenage rock fans.

It’s unlikely that the full interview would have made it to air – certainly not Divine’s comments about ‘blue chatter’ in his live shows – which makes this recording of it all the more valuable. It’s indicative of the ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ era of the ’80s when gay artists could achieve mainstream pop success without talking frankly about their sexuality, for fear of a public or media backlash.

Hearing the full interview also gives an intriguing behind-the-scenes glimpse into the whirlwind promotion of a hit song, as Divine switches to his more flamboyant stage persona to record some off-the-cuff station idents as ‘The Fabulous Divine’ on ‘Rock of the ‘80s, 2SM’.

The hard work paid off – ‘You Think You’re a Man’ climbed into the Top 10 a few weeks later, peaking at No. 8 on 28 October 1984.