Fascinating Aïda

1983–1989: Formation and early success

Fascinating Aïda was founded in 1983 by Dillie Keane, Marilyn Cutts and Lizzie Richardson, and began performing in a wine bar in West End Lane.^[1] By late 1983, the trio were already appearing on television, including on TV-am's Good Morning Britain.^[2] After Richardson's departure and a brief stint by Glenda Smith, Fascinating Aïda sought a new third singer in 1984. Their manager, Nica Burns, invited Adèle Anderson to audition, and Anderson subsequently joined the act that year.^[3][4]

The trio were among the nominees for the 1984 Perrier Comedy Award for Best Comedy Show,^[5] and were part of the Donmar Warehouse season that brought Edinburgh Fringe productions to London.^[6] Their profile continued to rise in the mid-1980s: in January 1985 they were the subject of the BBC2 Forty Minutes documentary Sweet FA, and by April that year The Guardian wrote that they had become prominent in a relatively short time.^[7][8] By the late 1980s, the group were also appearing internationally, including at the 1988 Sydney Festival and in a New York engagement that year reviewed by The New York Times.^[9][10] Keane later said that she disbanded Fascinating Aïda in 1989 in order to pursue a solo career.^[11]

1994–2004: Reformation and second farewell

Fascinating Aïda reformed in 1994 when Issy van Randwyck joined Dillie Keane and Adèle Anderson; both van Randwyck's official biography and a later retrospective by Keane credit Victor Lownes with prompting the reunion.^[12][3] The revived trio returned to UK touring and staged London runs at the Lyric Hammersmith and the Garrick Theatre; Live at the Lyric later became one of the group's Best Entertainment Olivier-nominated productions.^[12][13] Later productions included It, Wit, Don't Give a Shit Girls at the Vaudeville Theatre in 1997 and Barefaced Chic at the Theatre Royal Haymarket in 1999.^[14][15] An Independent review of Barefaced Chic noted that the production would continue on a national tour after its Haymarket run.^[16]

At the end of the decade, the soprano line-up changed again. In a 2023 history of the group, Keane wrote that van Randwyck left during the life of Barefaced Chic, after which Charlotte Nytzen briefly appeared before original member Marilyn Cutts returned; the group's official biographies page states that Cutts became a permanent member again in 2000.^[3][12] The Cutts-Keane-Anderson line-up continued into the group's 20th-anniversary show, One Last Flutter. In 2003 Fascinating Aïda announced a farewell tour, and Playbill described the Comedy Theatre run of One Last Flutter as the group's final London performances together.^[17][18] The production brought the trio another Best Entertainment Olivier nomination.^[19] One Last Flutter also introduced pianist and musical director Russell Churney, whom Playbill described as the group's "new boy".^[18]

The farewell proved gradual rather than immediate. In 2004, Liza Pulman joined Fascinating Aïda,^[12] and that year Keane and Anderson took Absolutely Fascinating to New York with Pulman for her New York theatre debut with the group.^[20] Playbill identified Churney as the production's musical director and pianist for the group's New York engagements in 2004 and 2005.^[21][22] The group remained active after One Last Flutter; the 59E59 Theaters listing for Absolutely Fascinating described the production as arriving after a sold-out Edinburgh season, a UK tour and a West End engagement.^[20]

2008–present: Reunion and continued touring

Fascinating Aïda returned in 2008 for a 25th-anniversary season at the Jermyn Street Theatre, which Playbill described as a celebratory return marking the group's quarter-century.^[23] The reunion came less than a year after Churney's death; in announcing the anniversary concerts, Keane referred to the loss of the group's "fourth (male) member" and the "sad empty space" he had left.^[23] Fascinating Aïda later took part in the 2008 memorial concert The Lovely Russell.^[24] The reunion quickly extended beyond those London dates. In 2009–10 the trio brought Absolutely Miraculous to 59E59 Theaters in New York as part of the Brits Off Broadway season,^[25] and the production received Drama Desk nominations for Outstanding Musical Revue and for lyrics by Dillie Keane and Adèle Anderson.^[26]

The song "Cheap Flights" became a viral hit online in 2010 and later spawned a stage show of the same name.^[27][28] In 2011, WhatsOnStage reported that the Edinburgh premiere and subsequent UK tour would feature Keane, Anderson and Sarah-Louise Young, who temporarily replaced Liza Pulman.^[13] Keane later wrote that Pulman's absence had been intended as a one-year break and that she subsequently returned to the trio.^[3] Reviewing the show in 2012, Brian Logan of The Guardian identified the line-up as Keane, Anderson and Pulman.^[29]

Fascinating Aïda continued to tour with new material, including Charm Offensive in 2014.^[30] Michael Roulston later became part of the group's touring line-up as musical director and pianist.^[31] In 2023, the trio marked their 40th anniversary with a new tour, which later played three nights at the London Palladium in February 2024.^[32][33]

Musical style and performance

Fascinating Aïda's act combines cabaret, revue and close-harmony singing. Reviews have noted the trio's piano accompaniment, theatrical delivery and three-part vocal arrangements, while the official songs list shows that much of the repertoire is written for three-part harmony or a cappella performance.^[38][39]

Within that format, the trio frequently use musical pastiche. The 2023 programme described the recurring "Bulgarian Song Cycles" as short numbers combining close harmony with topical lyrics, a device Keane linked to her admiration for Trio Bulgarka.^[40] Reviewers have also noted borrowings from Gilbert and Sullivan, German cabaret, jazz, ragtime and hip-hop, allowing the act to move between parody, topical satire and stylised character performance while remaining rooted in cabaret.^[35][40]

Lyrical themes

Fascinating Aïda's repertoire is often marked by sexual candour and comic songs about adult relationships. Reviewing the Cheap Flights tour, British Theatre Guide wrote that sexual material remained a major element of the humour, and songs such as Dogging, Mr & Mrs and Me, This Ain't the Hokey-Cokey Any More and Out of Practice deal with sex, ageing and long-term relationships in an overtly comic style.^[37][39] In 2022, The Scotsman described This Ain't the Hokey-Cokey Any More as a song about sustaining intimacy in a long-term relationship.^[41]

Political and topical satire is another major strand of the repertoire. Reviewers have identified Cheap Flights and Companies Using Nifty Taxation Systems as examples of the group's satire of budget airlines, corporate tax avoidance and other aspects of contemporary life.^[42][37] The Bulgarian song cycle provides a particularly flexible vehicle for current-affairs material: in 2020, Buzz noted that one verse referred to Sajid Javid's resignation from the previous week, while in 2023 Chortle wrote that the segment included newly added lines about Charles III, David Cameron and Esther McVey.^[43][44] Other songs listed in reviews and programmes include Fake News, Lerwick Town and A Tory MP, addressing subjects including misinformation, climate change and party politics.^[41][40]

The repertoire also includes an absurdist strain, with songs built around deliberately eccentric premises. A 1999 preview of Barefaced Chic noted material about Viagra, "the genetic modification of beetroot", oriental fads and The Jerry Springer Show, while later reviewers highlighted parodic numbers such as Lieder and Down with the Kids, as well as the Bulgarian song cycle's satire of celebrity culture.^[15][42][37]

Alongside satire, Fascinating Aïda have also performed more personal and reflective songs. Reviewers have singled out Goodbye Old Friends, Old Home, Prisoner of Gender and This Table as examples of material dealing with friendship, loss, home and Anderson's transition.^[39][45][41]

Current members

Previous members

Fascinating Aïda have also worked with musical directors and accompanists including Russell Churney, Sarah Travis and Michael Roulston.^[12]

Albums

DVDs

Video releases

The group's official website also states that Fascinating Aïda released three earlier VHS tapes, now lost, but does not identify them individually.^[56]