Babette Basanova
Early Siren and RR in midnight show at 97
The Hong Kong special event industry has lost a great contributor and I have lost a friend. Greg Derham, Madam to many or Siren to others passed away last week.
When Greg arrived in the early ‘90s to Hong Kong he brought with him a flare for fabulous that had not been found in Hong Kong. His vivacious personality and experience in the beautiful world of modelling combined with his time spent in the Australian drag scene quickly propelled him into the spotlight of the then quiet Lan Kwai Fong night life I had the pleasure of being the ‘beautiful assistant’ for several of his early performances at Post 97. These midnight shows pushed the edge of the Hong Kong night life scene way beyond anything seen before. His impersonations of Nana Mouskouri, his own character Babette Basonova, crazy renditions of Shirley Basey numbers and classic cabaret led the way for a mixed alternative crowd searching for an identity in a city that had only just legalized homosexuality.
It was during these performances “Siren” was born. In ’92 Greg opened and his costume workshop and entertainment office on D’Agulair, “House of Siren”. His boundless energy and eye for details propelled his popularity and the business grew and his alter ego “Siren” flourished. With the success of Pricilla Queen of the Dessert, Siren was constantly in demand. She was the Queen of the Hong Kong scene and in demand at every event from small soirées for the Duchess of Kent to the then magnificent all night parties of JJ’s.
Siren hosting bar at Yacht Club Grand Ball circa 97
Greg was producing larger entertainment spectacles and his popularity as a performer grew, everyone wanted ‘Siren’ at their party. Siren had moved to the mainstream, no longer was she desired for herself and her fabulousness but now she was the ‘thing to have at your party’ to Greg, Siren was becoming a freak show. It was then he turned his eye for detail and love for extravagance to the corporate world. The business grew and House of Siren focused on couture costumes for the elite and on corporate events. Siren appeared les and less and only performed at events where she was appreciated and could have fun herself. Through the late nineties and into the millennium House of Siren led the way and set the standard with their intricate detail and signature style. Millennium at the Regent, Car launches, fashion shows events just got bigger and more over the top as Greg and the team continued to induce ‘fabulousness’ in every thing House of Siren did. In recent years Greg stepped out of the spotlight and focused more on smaller high end gatherings with less stress and higher returns, content that he had made his mark on the industry. Greg showed the industry anything was possible, he showed us how to infuse style into events and how to make events truly fabulous.
The man not only left his mark on the Hong Kong event industry but also left many friends behind. There will be a good bye party Nov 3rd. 3pm till dusk at Victoria Peak Garden.
