Metro.co.uk – by Andrew Williams
Drag queen Verka Serduchka is a comedy phenomenon in the former Eastern Bloc. The brainchild of Ukrainian comedian Andrey Danilko, Verka plays sell-out gigs in the former Soviet Union. He was a sensation at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest but was pipped at the post by a Serbian female Billy Bunter lookalike. His song, Dancing Lasha Tumbai, is out now.
What are the highs and lows of being a Ukrainian drag queen?
It?s not an easy way to be a Ukrainian star. It?s not an easy way to be a star at all. Occasionally there are people that bother me because I?m too successful. I wasn?t very much loved in the Ukraine before Eurovision and after that there isn?t much love for Verka in Russia either. There was a black PR campaign against me. They said I sang ?Russia goodbye? but I was singing ?lasha tumbai?. It was a huge black PR campaign from the Russian TV stations saying Verka Serduchka f**ked Russia up.