Kings Bloody Cross: Queens of the Cross

Mark Kristian has been performing professionally since the age of five. For more than 40 years this acclaimed entertainer has showcased his special brand of showbusiness magic to audiences throughout Australia and all around the world. American audiences nicknamed Mark "Mr. Entertainment" for his dynamic vocals, energetic performance and infectious sense of fun.

The winner of seven Australian Entertainment MO Awards as well as eight Australian Club Entertainment (ACE) Awards, Mark has worked extensively as a headline cabaret performer on cruise ships worldwide having notched up over 500 cruises during the past 30 years. He has performed extensively on television both as a singer and presenter on shows such as Good Morning Australia, Bright Ideas, Infobreak, The Midday Show and The Bert Newton Show.

As a cabaret performer he has acted as ‘support’ to many international artists including Max Bygraves, Reg Varney, Ronnie Corbett, Danny La Rue, Cilla Black, Petula Clarke and Phyllis Diller. Corporate appearances for local and international companies include AMP, Lend Lease, Hewlett Packard, Fujitsu, Shiseido, Coca Cola, Toshiba, Telemall, ClubsNSW, Uncle Ben's, Capital Events, Hancock Events and Event HQ Asia Pacific.

Mark has also featured in leading roles in musical theatre productions such as 'Grease' (for David Atkins/GFO - Australia, New Zealand & Asia 1992/95) and 'Pageant' (for Harry M. Miller - Australia 1997).

Mark also hosted his own live variety/chat show in several major venues titled 'This Is My Life. Celebrity guests Mark has interviewed include Bert Newton, Mike Walsh, Don Lane, Col Joye, Kamahl, Ita Buttrose, Stuart Wagstaff, Tommy Tycho, Paul Duncan, Jeanne Little, Maria Venuti, Carlotta, Frank Ifield, Toni Lamond and Ugly Dave Gray.

Mark is currently writing a book on the history of Australian variety entertainment, titled “The Golden Years of Australian Variety”.  The book is scheduled for publication in mid 2018.

In the seventies I lived, worked and loved in Kings Cross. As a Les Girls showgirl we worked hard doing three shows, six nights a week, entertaining locals and tourists. We were treated like stars everywhere we went, I was young and life was exhilarating and glamorous.

We were seen as freaks on the one hand and as the most beautiful boys in the world on the other. But in Kings Cross, along with the strippers, the call girls and other associated misfits, we were at the heart of Sydney’s then exciting nightlife.

Later in the eighties I found myself at the heart of the then Gay Sydney, performing at the Flinders Hotel and the now legendary Mardi Gras soirees. For many years I sat on the Board of the DIVA Awards, doing my bit to showcase and nurture a spectacular Sydney drag industry.

These days as a features writer, I tell the stories of Sydney’s LGBTI history, Gay Sydney and my memories of Kings Cross — I love to share the connection of the past and the present.         

“Every night was like new years eve….fun and laughs, tits and tinsel!” – Monique Kelly

Monique Kelly was a legendary performer at Les Girls for 24 years and is Kings Cross living history. The Cross has imprinted itself on Monique as much as she has left a mark on the identity of the area.

Monique started her performing career singing bass with an opera company. She was first employed as a drag performer in the late 1960s and early 1970s at Gilligans in Bondi, which was owned by crooked businessman Jimmy Anderson. It was a sleazy, rough old bar outside of which Anderson’s wife was gunned down. Later, Monique worked at the Unicorn Hotel, The Rex, The Flinders and the Taxi Club.

In 1973, Monique joined Carousel Cabaret in Kings Cross, before joining the relaunched Les Girls in 1976 at the Palladium (now the Empire Hotel), which is where Monique and Carol Spencer (Carlotta) became good friends.

Monique left Les Girls just before it closed in 1997, after 24 fabulous years.

“There was nothing like the world of Les Girls, and there’s nothing like it now” - Monique Kelly