Strictly make you scream? Top Gear makes your want throw your tinsel at the TV in rage, then at 7pm click below to hear Marlene Dietrich – Beyond Top Hat and Tails – a radio documentary about why Marlene appealed to gay men. With contributions from, amongst others, Simon Watney, Terry Sanderson, Brendan Nash and David Benson (and narrated by me) –  this one hour doc is the perfect antidote.

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Here’s the blurb:

Marlene Dietrich – Beyond Top Hat and Tails

A feature by Sabine Schereck. Marlene Dietrich dazzled audiences, whether in a glittering dresses or in elegant tails. She crossed gender like no other star and became a gay icon. What was her appeal to a gay audience? Her glamour? Her strength? Her liberty? What could be read between the lines? Author Clayton Littlewood talks to art historian Simon Watney and Terry Sanderson, organiser of a Marlene Dietrich Tribute (on Saturday 16 February 2013 at Conway Hall, London) and looks at this unusual woman, very much ahead of her time and often described as the ‘last goddess’.

With thanks to the Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin at the Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek for their support; Alan Brodie Representation Ltd for their kind permission to use an extract from a letter by Noel Coward to Marlene Dietrich published in “The Letters of Noel Coward” © NC Aventales AG and Barry Day 2007; and the University of Minnesota Press for their kind permission to use an extract from Steven Bach’s book “Marlene Dietrich – Life and Legend”