BALLERINA
BALLERINA (album version without intro) 2003
BALLERINA (Sex Dummy EP version) 2003
BALLERINA (Out To Lunch) BBC Radio 2, 2006
GENERAL INFO
The third song I wrote, recorded and performed as
Gary Le Strange. It’s the opening track both on the
Sex Dummy EP and Gary’s first full-length album,
Polaroid Suitcase. It was also the opening song of
Gary’s first stage show and the ensuing tour. So
basically very important for setting the scene and
introducing him to the world.
RECORDING VENUES & DATES
EP Version: Walthamstow, 18 July 2002 - 28 Feb 2003
EP intro: 26 Feb 2003
Album version: 18 July 2002 - 31 May 2003
OTL Version: Villiers Theatre, London WC2, 20 March
2006
INSPIRATIONS
Spandau Ballet - especially a track on Journeys to
Glory called Mandolin. Also Classix Nouveaux, ABC’s
The Look of Love (the bit where he goes “Whoa
Whoa Whoa”) and Spellbound by Siouxsie and the
Banshees.
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Gary sings a song of intense infatuation to a ballet
dancer he’s got the hots for.
WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT
As with most of Gary’s early songs, this song’s about
something he admires and aspires to be like. So it’s
probably about me aspiring to be like the New
Romantic pop stars I admired when I was little.
‘Ballerina’ obviously comes from ‘Spandau Ballet’ so I
guess the lyrics are basically just me stating outright
what I was trying to do - that I was trying to write a
song in the style of Spandau Ballet. And at the end,
when the Ballerina disappears back off to Russia,
that’s me saying “And that’s the end of the song.”
The bit in the middle about the ballerina being really
funny and having lots of money is a standard wish
fulfilment fantasy. I wanted my act to be both funny
and lucrative. AND I wanted to move like a train on a
river of chrome. I may have occasionally achieved
one of those ambitions but I’m not telling you which.
Another thing: there’s no proper word in English for
a male ballet dancer - the Italian word is ‘ballerino’
but it isn’t really used in English. Consequently we
tend to associate ballet with female rather than
male dancers. Gary gets similarly mixed up, calling
the object of his affections a ‘ballerina’ despite being
obviously male. So I was probably saying something
about language and gender identity but I’m not sure
what.
ALT VERSIONS
The album version kicks off with a minute-long intro
about Gary’s ambition to appear on Top of the Pops,
but the earlier version on the Sex Dummy EP starts
with a completely different intro about Gary coming
to prominence at the end of 1979, as the new
decade began- an idea I ditched when I realised I
wanted Gary to be a struggling contemporary
musician rather than a former star.
I also did a live version in the first episode of the
BBC Radio 2 show Out To Lunch, during which the
only laughter you can hear from the live audience is
at the funny bits of dancing I did during one of the
instrumental passages. Not ideal for radio. It’s
followed by a godawful, cringeworthy bit of panto-
inspired chat with host Rob Deering about Gary
wanting to find a partner - written by me, but God
knows why - which is supposed to introduce the
character to a new audience but just comes across
as joyless and desperate. No idea whether I was
hoping the story would be followed up in future
episodes - doubtful, since it’s basically the exact
opposite of the asexual loner I’d built Gary up to be -
but thankfully it wasn’t. It was also a zillion miles
away from the much darker stuff I was writing for
my then-current live show, so I genuinely have no
earthly idea why it even happened. Rob
understandably asked not to be involved in such
witless crap in future, so my remaining appearances
began with a solo introduction.
ANECDOTES & TRIVIA
At the Perrier showcase in London after winning the
Newcomer Award, I was so nervous that, even
though I’d already sung the song hundreds of times,
I started with the second verse. Fortunately I had the
wherewithal to remember to sing the first verse in
place of the second. No one noticed, but I still spent
most of the show thinking I’d irrevocably messed
things up.
THOUGHTS & FEELINGS
It’s the third one I wrote but the first I got right, the
first that met my ambitions for the character and
proved to me that the project had a future. So it’s
probably the most important one. It tells you
everything you need to know about Gary Le Strange
- what he’s into, how clever he isn’t, what social class
he hails from, how emotionally challenged he is -
without me ever having to say it directly. I like that
the jokes aren’t obvious and that, if you weren’t
listening carefully, you might think it was a genuinely
bad New Romantic song written by a 10-year-old.
The production values are creaky but in terms of the
writing, it’s as close to perfect as the first album gets
and one of the few songs I’ve written that I’ve never
disliked. Could be painful to sing live though if I
wasn’t fit and healthy.