I met Benjie at the care home I was working at on Sillwood Street when he was about 18 years old. He apparently came from a good family in Jamaica and wanted to study to be a vet, but because of his drug problem he’d ended up in the care home. I didn’t see him again for many years until he walked into the Sussex AIDS Centre and Helpline on Cavendish Street announcing his presence with ‘hello pea pod’ when he saw me. It turned out he was also living in the same block as me at Tyson Place! I started training to be a volunteer at the Sussex AIDS Centre when it was based in just one room near London Road. Years later when Princess Diana officially opened the place on the 12th of July 1990, Benjie was there too. When he said ‘how's Charlie boy then’ to her I nearly died, but she took it all in her stride and smiled. When Our House Body Positive was up and running, I organised a trip to Arundel Castle. There were eight of us with my dear friend James Etheridge driving. Benjie asked me if we could go to the Castle café for some hot chocolate. When I turned my head at the counter, I saw Benjie tipping sugar sachets into his hippy bag, and I was horrified. He just grinned and said, ‘we've paid for them.’ He was so beautifully dressed that day in an Edwardian green velvet frock jacket with lacy cuffs and black trousers tucked into high leather boots. One Christmas Eve (his last) I came home at 1 in the morning to be greeted by four fire engines. Thick smoke was billowing from his bedsit and the fire was so bad they had sealed off the entire 3rd floor. I think Benjie stayed at the hospital that night. He came back in the morning and asked me to go upstairs because he thought his cat was still in the flat, but I couldn't find it, or any remains. The fire started because he’d been drinking with a friend and using drugs by candlelight because they’d run out of electricity. Benjie was rehoused, but he sadly passed away the following Easter after a three-day Methadone binge. It was an electric heater that caused a blaze this time, and he died in hospital soon after from smoke inhalation. Words by Avee Tsofa Holmes

Bi Curious George and Other Sidekicks

Brown cardboard with the worlds 'BLACK TRANS LIVES MATTER' written in black bubble writing

Worn blue and orange crocodile dog toy

Music video for Boogaloo Stu's single 'Bazooka', by Boogaloo Stu and ladypat. "ladypat filmed various takes against a greenscreen, and then added in all of the effects and graphics. The basic premise of this video was 'too much is never enough'! I wore a variety of my wildest costumes, and at the time I was experimenting with unusual headgear; I had an old orange perspex Kartell lampshade upcycled to become a bubble-shaped helmet. I had drilled some additional air-vents in the top of the shade which I then covered up with sequins. The base structure for the helmet was an orange satin 'neck corset' that fitted around my neck, lacing up at the back. The helmet was festooned with sequins and with orange pompoms. Despite the ventilation, it was unbelievably uncomfortable and claustrophobic to wear, which is possibly why it only makes a fleeting appearance in this video - I could only bear to wear it for about 30 seconds at a time."

Music video for Boogaloo Stu's single 'Dynamite!', by Boogaloo Stu and ladypat. "We filmed this with Toby at Lighthouse, where they had an infinity studio. It features Sparklemotion, Princess Knickers and Dolly Rocket. This video was made for the re-recording of this song; the original version featured a sample of Cuba by The Gibson Brothers, whose label refused to give permission for us to release it."

Music video for Boogaloo Stu's single 'Forever More - Metronomy Remix', by Boogaloo Stu and ladypat. "We never had a storyboard planned for any of these videos. It was always just me turning up with a couple of suitcases full of costumes and quiffs, and then figuring out what we could perhaps make. With this video, there were a few props sitting around at Microchunk that we made use of, including a large papier-mache apple; we then filmed my green net-clad hands and arms in a variety of poses, which ladypat then formed into a tree to make it appear I was plucking a giant apple from a tree made of arms. It’s weird watching this back now. It all seems quite serious and earnest, and then suddenly I appear in my knickers, doing a bit of thrusting. It’s all at odds with at my attempts to be a serious artist. But that was always the problem whenever we made these videos, I couldn’t help acting the fool - and of course ladypat would film it all!"

Music video for Boogaloo Stu's single 'Magic Soul', by Boogaloo Stu and ladypat. "There’s a lot of pouting, and serious looks in this one; ladypat wanted to create something lush, ultra-dreamy and meditative, to reflect mood the song. He has spent long periods of time in India, so there’s quite a lot of cultural references to Buddhism in this video. This was all shot in one day against a greenscreen, with ladypat spending weeks after layering up the animations and graphics."

Music video for Boogaloo Stu's single 'Magnetic Heart', by Boogaloo Stu and Collina. "This is the only video for which I didn’t collaborate with ladypat. Collina was hugely talented and storyboarded every frame of the video, so we knew exactly what we were going to film. It features Sparklemotion, Princess Knickers and also my ballroom dancing partner, Sherri. I also made 4 mini-Sparklemotion hand puppets."

Music video for Boogaloo Stu's single 'Magnetic Heart', by Boogaloo Stu and ladypat. "It’s hard to believe this was almost 20 years ago. YouTube had only just launched, and ladypat was an early adopter. He used flashpop software (which was also quite cutting-edge at the time) to create this video. He always described himself as an ‘undesigner’; as such his animations often have a crooked, wonky charm. The characters here were drawn and animated from images I had from photoshoots, club events and performances. It features The Incredible Tall Lady, Miss High Leg Kick and Dolly Rocket (with her exploding boobs)."

Boogaloo Stu performing in a clip on codpiece - photographer unknown, taken at Shinky Shonky, downstairs at Polar Bear, 1999

Boogaloo Stu posing in front of a jukebox - featuring Lucy and Marianne from Sparklemotion dance troupe - taken by Toby Amies, at his flat in Kemptown 2003

Photo of Boogaloo Stu in platforms and quiff taken by Amanda (surname not known) in Greenwich in 1994

Boogaloo Stu in titwank costume. Photo taken by Lankton at Holborn Studios, Shoreditch 1999

Boogaloo Stu shares the incredible stories behind his three submissions to the imaginary Queer Museum. Boogaloo Stu is a DJ, producer, maker, designer, artiste, and performer. He is the creator and the life of many of Brighton's best parties and events. In this interview Stu talks about Marilyn, the power of a DIY outfit, and a lifelong fascination with giant phalluses. Recorded remotely on March 16, 2021, remotely, as part of the My Queer Museum podcast Interview by: Roni Guetta and David Sheppeard Editing and original music by Olive Mondegreen