Jake Shears

0:03Hello and welcome to Table Manus. I'm Jessie Ware. It's a Tuesday evening. We have had a throng of children in the house. Yeah. We're at mine. Yeah. I haven't done the cooking. No, it is meals on wheels again. Hang on, you haven't done that for ages. No, I cooked the dessert at home. Okay. And schlepped it. I appreciate that. And schlepped the fish. Well, what have we got on the menu, Mum? We've got Turbot. Haven't had that for a while. I don't think we've ever had it. The king of the sea? Is that what the queen or the king? The king of the sea, didn't we? I don't know. Let's have queen. Didn't Tom?

0:44Tom Kerrish said it's the king or queen of the sea. I don't know. We'll have king because it's topical. I'm doing roasted turbot on fennel, lemon and potatoes. With a few chilli flakes. With some chilli flakes and wine and we're serving it with samphire which I didn't realise was so expensive oh is it yeah nine pounds 80 for 500 grams but i think it goes a long way that will we no i think it goes a long way and i think it looks nice anyway i um want to know what's for pudding well because you always like the healthy option i've poached some pears in cinnamon and Vanilla. Yum. Yeah. And we should really serve it with the Chantilly cream.

1:38But actually, I think we should serve it with whipped cream, I think. Should we whip it in a minute? We can do. Whip it real good? Yeah. Okay. You whip really quickly. Oh, do I? Or was it you whipping when we had Sam Smith on and we whipped? That was mental. And it kind of whipped in one. I think that that was because it was off. Who knows? Anyway, we have the formidable Jake Shears on tonight. Oh, sister, sister. He's got a new record out. It's fabulous, darling. Last Man Dancing. And you can really dance to this one. It's so good. It's so fun. He's got Big Frieda on the record. He's got Kylie on the record.

2:15He has got himself on the record, which is always a joy. I've seen him in the club. He loves the dance. It's so good. It's so nice to have him back. He has become a friend of mine, and I really am so fond of him. the Scissor Sisters were so massive I remember their Glastonbury performance that iconic Brit performance Jake always had a fabulous outfit on and wriggled those hips like nobody's business Well I'm excited to hear all about his musical Oh yeah of course The Eyes of Tammy Faye Yeah I can't wait to hear all about that that he made with Elton John Selma to Almeida It was such a success, it just won Olivier's too didn't it he's got his fingers in a few musical pies and he's brilliant and he's a very very nice guy so excited to have Jake Shears at my house coming up on Table Manners

3:20so Jake Shears has just said goodnight to my children told my son how much he loves Groot and Spider-Man my mum is preparing the mains How are you, Jake? I'm great. You are? You really are? I'm good, yeah. I'm really, I'm very happy. I feel like you're an optimistic, positive person. I am. I mean, I try to be, see, you know, I have dark days sometimes, you know, where I get a little overwhelmed by things. And, you know, but most of the time I try to, yeah, I try to look at the bright side of things. I try, you know. You're in the right camp with fascination. We've both got the same management.

3:55We do. And they are very positive, aren't they? Yes, but I also have, I love deeply, deeply cynical people. Do you? Is that why you live in London? Is that why I live in London? Yeah. I mean, do you feel like the city is full of... Do you think New York or London is more cynical? I don't, I've not, I don't feel like I know enough people in London yet to even answer that. Is it quite a new thing for you to live here? It is. I've been here for one year. I just kind of hit my one year mark. Happy anniversary. Thank you. It's been, it's been great. I really enjoy it. I still feel like I haven't penetrated.

4:27the city. In what way, just in all ways. You were with Zachary Quinto, or you wanted him to go to that disco. The disco, and he loves London. No, he wanted to go to the night that we saw each other at Bodyguard. Yeah. Yeah. But he was performing. Yeah. But he was talking about how much he loved London and he could live here. Yeah, I could see that. I love Zachary. He, they ended up over at my house later that night. Oh, did they? Yeah. We went after we went to that. Cause you and I went to this rave and your brother. Yes. And which was super fun. Yes. And then you went and did a DJ set at your house or something.

5:12I did. Is this what happens on a Jake Sheer? Like, is that what happens? Everyone comes to your house and you do a DJ set. That's my favorite. That's so fun. That's my favorite thing to do. Are there nibbles or drinks? I did get invited, but I had children to look after. But do you, yeah, do you provide nibbles and drinks or is it just the music? So, you know, there's a lot of digging through the cabinets and seeing what's wrong. I'm such a bachelor. I'm like, you know, I'm very much like a, that kind, you know, I'm not super sure. I come and fill your cupboards for you and bring chicken soup when you need it.

5:47I would love that. That's my favorite. Is it? It's my favorite. I eat a lot of chicken soup whenever I can. whenever I have access to good chicken soup. Where's your favorite chicken soup? There's this place, I don't know if it's like janky or if it's some chain or whatever, but I've found... Coquette? Coquette? Coquette? Coquette? Where is it? And you get a good chicken soup on it. I can look up where... Are you like the king of Deliveroo, Jake? I have been and I'm really trying to... trying to curb that. But it's not kosher chicken soup with nuts and balls. Yeah, no, I don't think so. but I do yeah I do like having people over I love hosting but my hosting is much more late night okay I like having people over I love sort of an unexpected evening where everybody's just hanging out and dancing so you're not going to be the one that's bright and early at Columbia Road Flower Market and you're putting on a brunch for everyone if you see me out at Columbia Road Flower Market at like 8 in the morning I haven't gone 9am and it is brutal out there if like you've had a night and you walk out there Do you live near Columbia Road?

6:58Right off of it. But the door that I have I won't say exactly where it is but the gate that I'm sort of amused and the gate that opens up it really is I feel like on Sundays when you open it up it's like you're walking out on like a stage set Notting Hill or something everyone like, you know, will. So if I, if I've, if I've had a big one and I'm walking out at like 9am, it's rough. Yeah. Have you got any favorite spots that you go to? Are you a big patisserie person or are you kind of, cause you've got some, you've got Lily Vanilli right there. I love Lily Vanilli. I have a lot of their cupcakes.

7:37They do a great sausage roll. Oh, do they? They do on Sundays. The people that work there are very nice. I get a wonderful four shot cappuccino. Four shots I do two usually every morning Yeah No two four shot cappuccinos What's that called in the states Is it called like a red eye I don't know I think a red eye is when you've got a I think red eye is when you've got Espresso and coffee If I'm not mistaken I only have two shots a day Do you feel it when you have it I feel it if I don't have it So you have eight shots of coffee In the morning yeah and then I have like my little like Nespresso machine that and then I have like the little kind of instant things that I drink but it doesn't really and it's funny would you say you love coffee Jack I do I really do should be in Greece why because I love coffee I love Greece but it's not I like it strong I like it to have like some kick there's nothing worse than just like when things get watered down like if you order an Americano and like they just you know fill it up with hot water and just watered I watered down coffee like makes me sick to my stomach like maybe it's a little espresso in the morning but yeah would you yeah would you like my men but would you have it as a cappuccino or do you would you be that person that's sipping an espresso I can totally do an espresso but I do a cappuccino because it's just a little easier as far as like getting the milk in there without having to like direct around too much and if it's four shots then you know it's going to be strong enough you know i know it's not going to be some wimpy yeah no shit you know so where's your favorite place for coffee uh the people that allow you to order a four shot of which i'm wondering how much does that do they charge you per shot they do i think or do they just kind of slip it in you know that every once in a while they'll slip it to me my my favorite little spot which is i mean i i don't know if this is i love I just always go to the pavilion on Columbia Road it's really sweet and get my eggs there and stuff yeah it's delicious but I'll tell you so I live in New Orleans part time I have a house in New Orleans how did you fall in love with that place then?

9:51I when Scissor Sisters first started sort of touring around I got off the bus and started wandering around the quarter that morning French Quarter is just so special it's this big sort of grid that's not changed in 200 years. You know, it's one of the oldest parts of the States. In the United States, you know, they tear everything down. It just doesn't exist like that in the States. But not in New Orleans. Not in New Orleans. You need to say New Orleans, not New Orleans as well. It's really important. It depends on what you're ramming it with. Really? I thought it was about, you know, I'll sing, I'll put it in songs a lot and, you know.

10:29You changed it. In Take Your Mama, I refer to it as New Orleans. Okay, fine. you know okay depends on how you sing it do you have a hat do you have a house there yeah i've got a gorgeous i've got a beautiful house one of those beautiful houses it's a double shotgun cottage so it's just like one of those with like doors on each side if you're facing it i'm so jealous and it's not like too fancy or anything but i've like made it so cozy and and nice to hang out i've got a huge library in it do you go there a lot i've not been able to this last year but I mean yeah I lived it I've I lived part of my life there I've been living there part-time for a better part of a decade so it was New York New Orleans it was New York it was New York to then Los Angeles then I started splitting Los Angeles with New Orleans yeah now I'm saying New Orleans okay NOLA we also call it LA to New Orleans and then and then I I sold my house in LA and then I was just kind of like floating.

11:32And then I, I was like, I ended up buying a house in New Orleans. I had a little condo there. Yeah. And right when I bought my house, COVID just started happening. So you were there for COVID? I was there for, I had, I had just started work on this house. So I had to go to my parents with my boyfriend in Virginia. How was that? Well, it was great because I just bought them a house. Wow. to get them off of their farm. They had this horse farm. And my dad's 94 now. My mom's 74. And it was just too much of a handful. This big-ass farm that they'd had for like 20 years. Where was this farm? It's on the Virginia-Tennessee border.

12:17So it's in Bristol, Virginia, Tennessee, which is the birthplace of country music. It's where the first country record was cut. And so I got them a place to coax them off of the farm, which eventually, it took a long time, but eventually they moved into this house. I was basically like, if I get you a really sweet house, 15 minutes away from the farm, at your leisure, we can get in there. So did you grow up on a farm? I did not grow up on a farm. I grew up, I was born in Arizona, and when we were eight, we moved to an island in the Pacific Northwest, like a couple hours out of Seattle. Oh, wow.

12:52Like a two-hour ferry ride and like an hour drive, so it was like a big deal to go. We called it going off island. So is that like kind of the equivalent of our Isle of Wight or something like that? Probably, yeah. I think that's probably a good comparison. So then? It's a tiny little place, but it was beautiful. And we had 20 acres on the water. Like we lived on the ocean and had orcas, you know, going by every day. And it wasn't like, back then the island wasn't like super fancy or anything. It wasn't bougie. Is it bougie now? Oh my God, like around the millennium, like, you know, sort of Microsoft, when Microsoft exploded, all the big Microsoft billionaires basically discovered it and like started building gigantic garish houses everywhere.

13:37And, and I do feel like the place lost a little bit of its soul over the years. So, so what were you growing up eating? If you were by the ocean, were you eating loads of fish? Everyone would, you know, we would do crabs, uh, and we would pull crabs. We had a boat that we would put crab traps out, which I liked all right. But we also had mussels that we could just pick right there. But I was scared of mussels. I only learned to like mussels way later. I mean, usually I kind of have always been a little bit skittish about things without backbones and eating. That's what I put out. I was like, usually not things without backbones.

14:19But mussels, I've really learned to love the broth, and I think they're delicious. And especially down in New Orleans, oysters are something that I really have a tough time with. And I'm trying. Don't try. Mom's like, don't bother. What do you think? I hate them. You hate them. It's like eating snot. It feels, the texture of it is, I grew up with a phobia of slogs and snails, and we had banana slogs on the island. A phobia? Yeah. Yes, we had worms, basically, that grew up to, like, a foot long. Oh, Jesus. That would, like, be crawling everywhere. What? It was horrific. I need to go for this. What?

14:56Yeah, look up, like, a banana slug. A banana slug? Yeah. They're big and gross. And they're kind of... Now that I look back on it, I'm like, actually, they're kind of sweet. And I was just being... You know, I was really being... They're disgusting. And they can grow up to a foot long. Oh, God. Those are the ones. Those are the ones. They're like a, they're kind of a, what color green is that? Kind of like an olive green? It's like one of those chilies you get in the fancy places for a gus martini. That looks delicious. And then I'll get the other one. But I don't want dinner lady problems. That looks wildly delicious.

15:36I hope so.

15:47So, Mom has just made dinner. This is crazy. I just had my first bite of it. It's delicious. It's too much faff. Too much faff? It would be okay if it was in my own kitchen. Wait, what about the potatoes? Do you like those? They're so good. Good. And the fish is so good. The fish should be good. I'm about to try it. So what did you... What is the green... I thought there were green beans when they came to the table, but... Samphite seaweed. Let's see. your nutritionist will be so thrilled I've never had anything like this neither have I that's delicious this stuff is really cool I love the texture of it I was imagining you with shucking your oysters on the island, eating samphar no?

16:36did you ever have samphar? no, this is the first time I've ever had this particular vegetable this is so good Are you sure? I love it. It's very nutritious. I'm telling you, to have a home-cooked meal like this is so special and so rare in my life. Darling, you can come every week. I treasure this. Like, this is... But so many people would like... I'm sure, Jake, lots of people would like to cook through a home-cooked meal. Wait, what? Tell me what... I just... There's another vegetable in here. What is it? Fennel. Fennel. Do you like fennel? I love it. I mean, it tastes great. I don't really know what it is.

17:14What's this? Oh, Mary. That's the tattoo, Mary. Yeah. And after your song? After my friend. After your friend. It's about a real person. Oh, I didn't know that. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell me about eating out with Mary. About eating out with Mary? Yeah. Oh, my God. So Mary, I met on a phone line when I was 15 years old. I was in Arizona. I had just come out. We met on like a party line. This is like pre-internet. and where this kid at school gave me this phone number. You're now in Arizona. Yeah, I went back. I moved in with my art teacher from junior high. It's such a convoluted, crazy story.

17:51Jake, I can't keep up. No, I know. I wrote a whole book about it. It's a very, you know, I ended up back down in Arizona like on my own. My parents let me leave the house at 15 and moved in with an art teacher of mine. It's like, no, no, no, no, no. She was a beautiful Christian woman who's still like my sister, Jennifer LaBerre. Moved in with her husband. She was having a baby and lived with her and her husband and this baby and was also kind of getting away with murder. I came out at school. But anyways, I got this phone number and started calling it, and it was this party line. It was kind of like an internet chat room, but on the phone.

18:30And I met this woman who went by the name Deja. I went by the name Barbie's Nightmare. Yeah. What can this is us? it was a deja and this is us a tv show oh but i've never yeah i haven't watched it nightmare uh i was barbie's nightmare she was deja and then we uh you know it was it was interesting because i she was 21 and and before we decided to meet up and she said to me before we did we had a phone conversation she's like there's something i haven't told you I have a weight issue that I've had all my life and she was a really really big woman and had a lot of shame about it and you know I think being in public was really hard for her she had developed kind of an agoraphobia like not wanting to go out out you know out into public people would be very cruel and it sort of opened my eyes to the cruelty of people.

19:37And we would go to, so we met up. I remember our first date was at a restaurant called Fuzi. It's like kind of bad Italian, sort of off of a, sort of in a parking lot of a mall, I think. And we just hit it off. And we had a great, we had such a great time. Finish that drop. And then it's a different one. And then it's a different one. And she's still your friend. I mean, it's a sad story. It's a sad story. No, but I'll talk about it. We were, you know, she became my best friend. And, you know, I was 15, she was 21, and we developed this gorgeous friendship. And she ended up, I went back to Seattle and then moved to New York.

20:21She loved Seattle visiting me, so she moved up to Seattle. and I'd moved to New York and we you know I had a I had a phone uh a landline that only she had the number in my apartment so when when that phone went off it was basically her we talked every day and I was making the first scissors record and she got really upset at a certain point and she was like you are you know you're you're living this glamorous life you don't you know your life is so fabulous now why why are you even my friend and I went and I wrote the song Mary on the first record and I did she hear yeah I put on a CD and and and sent it to her and basically this song was me saying it was me saying like like don't ever say that you're not my best friend you know like you can never say that again like we're never having that discussion again that's what that song was about and yeah and then it went on from there are you right where is she now she so uh when she loved this song and so when when it came out basically she and i made a deal that she really wanted gastric bypass surgery so we made a uh yeah if the song ever made any money I was going to get you this operation.

21:49And the album was such a success. She came over to London. We had a great time. She came to shows. We were at Albert Hall together and got to show her such a good time. And she went in and had the surgery and, yeah, she passed away. No. Yeah. It's a very sad story. But, you know, our friendship was incredible. And it just shows you like what life is so strange, you know, these weird like paths that happen. And you never know when you meet somebody what that relationship is going to be and how you can, you know, how people affect one another. And, you know, it's that sort of like the wings of a butterfly causes a, you know, a monsoon on the other side of the world.

22:39It's kind of like that. and you know she was so funny and we loved like a diner to answer your question we loved a diner and we would go out late and we would what's your food that you choose to do? we would eat like grilled cheese sandwiches and fries and we just had so much fun together she really was an amazing person That's such a tragic story. But I feel so fortunate to have shared, I've gotten to have her in my life, and that we were there for each other. And such a strange pair. I was a 15-year-old weird gay boy, and she was this 21-year-old woman. You know what I mean? We were an odd couple, but just found this amazing common ground.

23:37and we were in each other's lives for just over 10 years. You know, it was amazing before... Is this the saddest table man I was... No, before she went and had the surgery, she told me, I'll never forget the conversation. She said, I just want you to know that this is my decision. And if anything happens, you need to know that this is my decision. For her to have the foresight for that, you know? Like, I don't think if we'd not had that conversation, like, I don't know if I could have lived with myself. You know? And when she said that, I thought it was so ridiculous. I was just like, that is astute.

24:18Like, shut up. Like, what are you talking about? Like, no. Any surgery has a risk, isn't it? Yeah. Oh, fuck. But I'm thankful that we had that, you know, that conversation. And I'm thankful that there's this song. Yeah, it's a beautiful song. that I get that I get that I get to get up you know I just did it on radio too recently and it was stunning and it surprised everybody I was like I just want there's this orchestra and I want to get up and sing Mary so you get to celebrate her yeah and and just even in that moment you know it's just like it's so special that like there's this I can sort of pay her tribute you know a lot on you know in a concert or there's this there's this song that's still there and I think we'll live on for a long time absolutely you know and it's about a real thing it's about a real person it's not some made up story it's all real oh Jake thank you for sharing that I told you it's like also I think it's like there's something beautiful about it too life is short and friendships are dear and family is dear and you can't take any of it for granted Jesse

25:36can i just talk about food yeah new orleans yes so the food there is particularly special i think so we so we had so we had beignets so we have randy jackson who comes from new orleans yeah you remember nothing and he talked about that bean thing that his grandma used to make with green beans. And he says the food is really special. Like a bean casserole or something. He said the food is really special in New Orleans. It's one of the food capitals of the world. Yeah, I think we need to go. Have you been? I've been. I played to pretty much nobody, but I ate well. Where? I think I was in the House of Blues.

26:22Yeah. I'd say go back now. Do you think? Mm-hmm. Maybe, yeah. Yeah, no, I think people would be very excited. Thanks, Jake. You're just so cute and nice. Okay, so tell me. Wait, really quick. Before we go on, I want to say the New Orleans food. So when I first moved down there, I just wasn't thinking about it, but the food was so good and I was going out to eat all the time. And I remember pretty early on, I went to this place called Okra was the name of it. And I had this incredible dinner and I just kept eating. and you know I just had a couple drinks but I just ate so much and the food was so rich and I remember I got home and I was like I was the only time I was like I've got to barf you know you're over eating and you know but it's like the food is that good that you have to like watch out for like because you could just you can it's some of the best but it's very rich yeah it's very very rich so where do you get your po 'boy from when you're there can I tell you something funny yeah I've never had one but isn't it a po 'boy it's one of the main things a po 'boy is like a it's a it's like a giant piece of bread that is filled with like you can put shrimp and all these you know all these different fillings into it it's kind of like New Orleans' version of a submarine sandwich.

27:59Okay. But I've... They look so overwhelming. You need to share it with three people. Yeah, I've never had one and they look so messy. But I have... I do eat sweetbreads there a lot. Oh, God. Which I never thought I would be into. No, I don't think I would. And are you now? I love them. How do you eat them? They just fry... They fry them, darling. You would love them. They're so tasty. I kind of trust that you may, if he doesn't like an oyster but he likes a sweet bread, we've got to give it a go, Mum. You've got to know where they come from, darling. Where are they from? The innards of the, it's the lining, a sweet bread is the lining of the cow's stomach.

28:42I don't think it is. It is. Yeah. I think it's brains. Oh, there's brains as well. That's another one. You can use brains too, Mum. I ain't going to eat brains. You thought it was what? Testicles. oh my god I thought it was the stomach lining or is that trite it's very tasty I'm telling you it's a gland of sorts it's one of those things where I was like I would never eat that and I was like you know what I'm going to try that and I was like they could serve this at McDonald's but what about the spicing is really clever in New Orleans isn't it so many spices there's just like loads of like gumbos and like jambalayas yeah it's Cajun food It's very spicy.

29:25I was drinking the Mardi Gras. People drink there. It's a drink in town. What do they drink? Anything. Anything. And like sugary, you know, these like sort of hurricane. We have a special drink there. We have a very special drink called Purple Drink, which is sold at the oldest bar, I think, in the States. It's called Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop. And it's on the far end of Bourbon Street. and if you stand across the street from it I mean it looks like the place is sort of sinking into the ground um and they do a it's like a daiquiri it's a dark purple daiquiri the taste is not sweet it's a distant grape and no one really knows what's in it it's very cold um and it it it's just like a tonic basically that we have on sundays that cures your hangover yeah oh if you have one if you're not feeling good on a sunday have a purple drink you have a purple drink and and it's it's the main local drink there i love that the tourists drink these big hand grenades and stuff but the locals drink purple drinks and it really is a magic that's the only way i could describe it is sort of like our magic tonic of the city how's the coffee there jake i was going to talk about that earlier.

30:47I was... Because I think I know about this. When we were talking about... It's an incredible coffee place. There's a little market that every morning I get up and go and have a... It's called Coast Roast. It's local coffee. And I go and I get a big iced cold brew, which they haven't really figured out how to do over here. No. They don't. And there, every morning, I will get it. I'm telling you, it will put hair on the back of your neck. So is it without milk? It's like nitrate. No, it's like a frappe in Greece. No, it's fucking not, Mum. All right. That's all. I love that you're lensplaining to me about good coffee.

31:28Isn't that with Nescafe? Lensplaining. That's with instant Nescafe, Mum. That's true. I'm joking. But it's very strong. It's very strong. I mean, I like to put straight up cream in it. Like just like a little bit of cream and like, and then some like dark, dark chocolate syrup. That cream isn't like what we have, darling. Dark chocolate, it's like a mocha cold brew. Yeah, like a, yes. And I have that basically every morning there and it's, and it really will get you. Talk about getting revved up. You need to bring this over here. I just don't understand why. Well, first of all, like people, no one over here likes ice.

32:06Everyone, it makes me crazy. We never like ice. We hate ice. Do you want some ice in your water? No, no, no, no. We hate ice. I don't understand. Tell me why you hate ice. I don't hate it, but I find it really unnecessary. I don't know why it's annoying and unnecessary. In fact, if people offer me a drink, I say don't put ice in, please. Really? Yeah. I just don't. When there's like one cube sort of floating in the top of something, you know what I mean? You get like a whole thing. I like my cocktails to be strong. What's your best cocktail? I love a Mezcal Negroni. Oh, God. I've never had one of them.

32:40You're hardcore. I am pretty hard. That is what I, you know what? I think you might've just, I am, you could describe me as a hardcore person. I'm pretty like, you look good for it though. Thanks. When I say hardcore, I, I, I, I'm not even referring to substances or anything. I just definitely, whatever. You like to party. I will, I just live life to its fullest. And it's not even in a party way, just in a, I, I love, you know, I love life. And I, I, I try as best as I can to, explore it did that ever get too much in the scissors sister days like where you lived life to the fullest and it kind of was problematic the opposite oh really we were like a nunnery

33:28oh my god like when after like after our last album after the fourth record like i went my LA years when I went to LA those were like I sort of that was my time of celibacy and no not celibacy just like going off the rails or whatever yeah when we were the band I mean we you know I think when you're working so hard as you and I you know in this business and we love it you can't if you're in the thick of it you have to really be on top of it and be focused and and Scissor sisters would never have happened if if if that's what I was doing I mean it was such a huge thing the whole I mean it was you were huge yeah I got I mean there was there was some pretty bonkers moments yeah it's weird it's like such a it's a sweet thing to look back on sometimes it's like whoa that actually that happened is are you enjoying being I mean you've been are you enjoying being a solo artist?

34:31Yeah. Is it scary not having anyone else to kind of, is it scary having your name up there or is it okay? It's, I mean, for me, it's fine. Yeah, I can definitely swing it. I am so happy that all of that happened when it did in the timeline of the world. I don't think I would ever want to go through anything like that in this moment. I'm not interested in anything like that in this sort of moment in time with how everything operates. And so I'm thankful that I lived in it, that I was successful at a time where we were selling CDs. Yeah. You know? And it's so cool. It's old school. Where does the name come from?

35:14Scissor Sisters. Is it because she was... Oh, no. Because it's... I thought because his name... I don't know. Oh, he likes blog names. No, because his name is Shears. You're absolutely... Yeah. I thought Shears are scissors. They are. Okay, you're laughing at me, Jessie. That's not fair. Mum, do you know what Sizzorsisters means? Oh, that. Yeah. Bumping. I didn't know that. You know. Well, it's a good job. Bumping badger. I didn't want to part the record, probably.

35:58I'm interested to hear what your last supper is, Jake, because, like, you've eaten all over the world. You have lived in so many places that are so different. Jake, you don't have to finish it. It's been delicious. I think I just did. I think I just took the last bite. Jesse, you've got to beat cream up, darling. Anyway, last supper. I just have my like I love comforting food and I would my last supper would be like my the thing the only thing that I cook which what is it it's like I make you don't have to oh is this your because it's very good I just love it it's my favourite okay I make just very suburban American gringo tacos oh my god I can't make a taco old El Paso like fajitas.

36:48I'll use El Paso refried beans. Okay I like that. Yeah and uh chopped up black olives and shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese. Yeah. And then do like kind of a beef you know fry some beef up with with like some some sort of store-bought taco seasoning. Yeah. Um so you like beef? The cheap stuff. Beef but like the the real like old school I thought you were going to go like, I don't know. I thought you were going to go like Frenchman Street. No, I've had beignets. No, this is my favorite meal. Okay. And iceberg lettuce chopped up. So you get all that out and then you take the corn tortillas. I fill a thing up with vegetable oil and I fry the tortillas.

37:32Oh my God. And all of that together is just, to me, it's the tastiest thing. It's heaven. I love it because I can do it at a party. I bring a lot of people you can have a lot of people over he's quite fatty so he's frying his tortillas for god's sake can't you buy the little baked ones isn't vegetable oil okay no you have people over I'll do like 15 people 10 to 15 people and everyone hangs out and they help themselves and then I just stand at the thing make it all and then I just fry the tortillas and that makes you happy It makes me really happy. But can't you buy the taco shells? That's the secret of this thing.

38:15Okay, so when you do your tortillas and you fry them, do they go crispy and hard? They do, but I do them just at the right. It's a mixture of crispy and chewy. Okay. So it's almost like a cookie. Just the texture that you get from it. because people are so used to getting the store-bought shells, right? And so when you fry up the shells with good corn tortillas it just makes it taste so delicious. Is that how taco shells are made? Fried tortillas? Authentic tacos, I know, well in like California are just, they don't even, they'll heat the tortillas but they don't necessarily fry them. My version is very, it's not authentic in any way whatsoever.

39:01How big are your tortillas? They're like, They're little small ones. They're small, yeah. Where did you get those from? I found them. Mexico, mom. No, here. I do see them here every once in a while. I did on my birthday this last year, I made a batch of them. And yeah, it's just one of my favorite things to make. I like it because it's sort of what we're doing now. It's super tasty. Yeah, and also it's just like a community. You hang out with everybody. Yeah. And, you know, it's easy. And it's my, that's my favorite meal. And I think if I was to have a last supper, that would be. So would you have a starter before that?

39:43God, a starter. Jesse, maybe put the pears in a bowl, darling. Or serve one up in each bowl. I'd go straight for the, I'd go straight for the tortillas. Straight to the taco. I'd make some really good guac. Oh. Some great guac that you can eventually put on the tacos. What's your secret? I don't have one. I always have somebody there that actually does the choir. And what about dessert?

40:14You're not a big dessert. Yeah, this is just like brutal. This is all very embarrassing. I want to tell you something. I make very, quite nice desserts sometimes, don't I, Alice? Jessie's on a diet and she said, Jake, well, oh, that's a pretty bowl. I knew that we were both looking after ourselves. Yeah. so I thought about us and our physique and we're going quite light tonight great is that okay yeah it's a poached pear yeah he doesn't like pears I love pears I love pears okay yeah I I guess my favourite my favourite dessert if I was going to if I could transport it into my house would be a churro from Disneyland oh oh yeah what dipping with chocolate they do these No, not with Star.

41:03They do just like a sugar... Just sugary. A sugary churro from Disneyland that they usually sell like right off of the main... In front of the... What's that? Why Disneyland? It's the happiest damn place on earth. And it really is. Look at that. Yeah, it's on my arm. It is. I love Disneyland so much. Do you stay for the parade? I do. Yeah, I just went to Disneyland this last January. I just went to Disneyland Paris and stayed for a couple days. Did you enjoy it? I had a great time. Oh my God, you're not putting them on the table like that. No, I fucking don't. Just pour them into that, Jessie.

41:38It's going to be so good. We love you, Jessie. And I would have made you something really delicious, but she said this. Oh, wow. He's happy. You happy? He probably isn't. He probably wanted chocolate pudding. I'm so happy. Or what's that banana cream pie that everyone loves in the States? I do like a coconut cream pie a lot. I like a coconut cream pie and I like a key lime pie a lot. I like a key lime pie. Oh, my God. But I've never made coconut cream. Coconut cream is like, mm. Have you got a good recipe? I can't cook worth two shits. So when all your people come for tacos, do they get a dessert?

42:18Ice cream? I would just use my ice cream probably, yeah. Oh, wow. It's just cream. Is it like a mascarpone? No, it's just got a bit of ice and sugar in it. called Chateau Lee Cream. That looks good. It's like sculptural. We haven't even got on to Tammy Faye yet. This is like... Oh my God, I've got so much fun. We're not even like on Tammy Faye. Um, I... Can we talk about that? Yeah. Congratulations for your Olivier's. They're two, you know, their actors won, you know, Katie Braben, Zubin Varla won. Because you, you know, helped them. It's your baby. They were amazing. And yeah, no, Tammy Faye was like one of the joys of my life.

43:02It looks like it's gonna, I mean, I can't. Is it gonna move? It's gonna. Because I missed it. I do have some, yeah, there's some news coming down the pipeline pretty soon. How was it working with Elton? I mean, I made the memories that I have of us making all these songs. It's just so special. And the fact that he asked me to do it with him. And the fact that we have this body of work together. You know, we've got this like show that we've made together. Yeah, they're memories that I'm going to cherish forever. That's quite a feat to create a musical. It's my second. I mean, you know, I did Tales of the City into a musical.

43:41When? It ran in San Francisco 2010. No, it's not. It never came over here. I feel like it could have a life someday. So I'd seen a theater thing, Tales of the City at the National. and then they did a kind of television thing with What's It Linny Laura Linny I really really enjoyed it I love Tale of the City so much yeah it's wonderful but yeah I want to keep doing I want to keep doing them they take forever they're full of heartbreak you never know what's going to happen you could work on them all your life you never know but when you see the curtain go up and the lights go down. Why are they not bringing it to the West End here?

44:29It was a huge sellout. They will. Timmy Fay will ride again in London. I can tell you that. How many times did you go? Me? I went... Every night? All the time. And when it closed, there was like a kind of relief a bit. It ran for six weeks. I kind of couldn't stay away from it. I loved being in there. I love the Almeida. I love the Almeida. It's such a great. And watching Katie Braben, like, just in the cast, everyone just tear it up. My mom came for the opening. Yeah, my mom and, you know, Auntie Gabby, a family friend. And, like, I remember when they, I had never been so exhausted in my life.

45:12No. I remember I sat down on the couch. I was so tired that I just remember my body ached just laying on the couch. I was so tired. That was after we opened. And then. But exhilarating. Exhilarating. I love doing that. Would you do any theater yourself? I've done Kinky Boots on Broadway. Of course. But would you do any more? Yes. Jesse, you would. I can't. You can't speak about anything. I can't, I can't, and I can't wait to do some more theater. I'm very excited to do more theater. So the record comes out. You're probably going to do some more theater. You're probably going to write a new musical.

45:55You're going to go back to New Orleans for a bit. Just for the winter. I just want December, January, February in New Orleans. That's such a great night. January, February, March in New Orleans. I just need, like, winters. I'll work here, and I can go chill out there when it gets. sounds like a good balance joke I think so I do like warmer weather and yeah I like to be down there so it's trying to set it up I still feel like I've been dating and it's been great who knows what's going to happen in that side of things but it's like I really would love to set up I'm in here and I look around and I see a home and a family and that's just like what I want I think you'll get it Jake I think you'll get it you deserve it I'm so emo oh Jake don't you make me cry now oh no but I do like that it's it's very special it's not all it's crap oh Jake cheers you are like an absolute diamond you tell a brilliant tale and also like you're vulnerable and wonderful and talented and I just can't wait for everyone to hear the record which is amazing by the way we haven't even talked about you have Kylie Minogue on it Big Freedia you kill it it goes from Jane Fonda fuck off Jane Fonda yeah she she's got a big moment in it yeah you're doing alright aren't you Jay life is good life is good I'm very lucky and I have I have a great time you know it's not perfect but it's it's like it could it couldn't be any better well i just best of luck with it last of all i just want to thank you for such an amazing dinner and it's just such a pleasure meeting you and such a pleasure getting to hang out with you i love seeing you likewise likewise and hopefully we'll get to do some more you can come for dinner when we're not i would love that yeah i would love to just like come hang out and like you know sit on the cell phone you know what if you ever need a bit of chicken soup after a big long week you need to just call Lenny and I'll Uber it that's what she does she'll do an emergency chicken soup if you need that Jake thank you but I would need a little bit of you too okay I'll bring you I would need a little bit I would need a little bit I would need some hang with you as well

48:38I think I'd done weight training with those bloody turbots. They were so big. I think Jake was ready to crack open another bottle of wine and put the world to rights. Well, I would have done, but... You've got to get up, Mum, sorry. We have to get up early in the morning. You've got to drive back to Clapham. I've got to schlep back to Clapham, and you got stopped for driving the other night. Oh, my God. I know. OK, should I tell the listeners about this? On the way back from the last podcast that we did, which was last night. And you hadn't drunk anything. I'm not drinking. I hadn't drunk. I was driving home.

49:11I was on the South Circular and I see flashing lights go off behind me. Like two flashing lights cars. Like undercover policemen. And I'm like, oh God, they're in a hurry. God, what's going on? And I'm doing my 30 miles per hour. And I'm like, I know I'm a shit driver, but this is a bit weird. They're still behind me. what's going on then they indicate so I'm like oh I'll just pull into the middle lane so they can get out then they pull up next to me and they're like we're trying to pull you over and I said oh my god I'm so sorry what have I done and they kind of look at me and laugh with your car seats with my car seats my glasses on and me like looking apologetic and going what's going on and obviously not understanding that when they're indicating and flashing and have their sirens on That means pull over.

50:01I didn't know that. So I said, I'm so sorry. They start laughing and go, you're not the person we're looking for. And I said, oh, well, what are you? And the car matched a description and they ran off. So robbers are driving Volvos now. Yeah, Christ. I thought I was making their life easier by going into the middle lane to get them to go. But anyway, that was the first time I have had a run in with the law. And I was terrified. It's so scary. I was terrified. but the fact that they laughed in my face made me feel like yes I am not the person they are trying to capture anyway it was shocking um Jake was so interesting and so fun and I feel very touched that he shared that story about Mary with us I know and also that he felt that he could be as vulnerable to say about what he wants um well first of all he's a very handsome very handsome and those astonishing eyes, they kind of pierce you.

50:57And I just thought he was really warm. But I felt he wanted a maternal touch, Jessie, that I might need to look after him. Okay, so what are you going to do? I think the next steps are we're having him for a Friday night dinner. Okay. And he can have a chicken soup and matzo. I felt that was missing. You told me that he was on promo, so he needed to have a healthy option, like you. He didn't seem to be bothered about the healthy option. No, he did not. Well, the pears were amazing. Really lovely. I'm very excited about them being in my moosily. Thank you so much for listening. Now, Mum, I love you, but please get out of my house because I want to go to bed.

51:35OK, I'm going to make you.

51:53Thank you.