I first met Peter at Harpoon Louie’s after his performance in early 82 and from then on he took me under his wing. So to describe him in a few words that encapsulate him is hard but a few that are apt would have to include Original, Artistic, Compassionate, Talented, Humorous, Creative , Helpful, Witty, Charming, Handsome, Outrageous( 1..2..3..Oh how Vile!!!), Clever( Treasure Hunt and various other game shows),Vulnerable, Courageous(twenty eight years positive), A Perfectionist and Visionary (anyone who went to Camp Camp would understand that),Impressionist(The Official worlds Second best Shirley Bassey), Thoughtful, Unique, Loving and who enjoyed Disney, Uniforms and life in equal measures but the greatest word that encapsulates Peter for me is FRIEND. One who created a Legacy that will endure eternally. The last song Peter heard before slipping away was" I'm every Woman" by Chaka Khan and never a more apt number could have been played. Peter was every woman when he was Adrella. whether as the world's second best Shirley Bassey, or when he persuaded Eartha Kitt to do Champagne Taste at Camp Camp (a number that was a staple in his shows) and one of her back catalogue she had forgotten about. Liza Minnelli became another one of his many, many, many, characterizations which were performed with unique style and panache. His attention to detail was incredible and I have been very blessed to have had him as my Mentor and Friend. As for me it was a Dionne Warwick song that played shortly before which was “ I don’t know what to do with myself” One of the last numbers that he loved to listen to in his final days, which hopefully will do well on the 26th May was Englebert Humperdinck ‘s UK entry for the Eurovision 2012 ( I kid you not ) “Love will set you Free “ which is actually growing on me. Rest in Peace Peter. Hi everyone, ( reprinted from the Adrella Appreciation page) I'm Mark and knew Peter very well for 25 years. I echo the wonderful comments made by you all. I want to give some information on Peters life and some of the eventful moments i'm aware of. Family consisted of parents, one sister Gillian and a younger brother John. Peter's father was in the Police Force and before his retirement at Chief Inspector level was posted to Hyde Park area. The name Adrella La Camp was given to him by a gay school mate and it stuck altho often shortened to Adrella. Peter was very much a european and early in his career made a brave decision in 1980 to go to Hamburg to work in the city's night scene and Adrella was on her way. Peter was there for 2 years arriving home late 1981. He then took Adrella to work at La Vie En Rose in Soho from 82 - 84. Ebbonknee can tell you far more than i can bcos she was there working with Adrella but the gist of it involved drag queens impersonating stars with lavish costumes, slapstick humour, fun and frivolity. Peter told me that one night he was preparing to go on stage and do a wicked take on Shirley Bassey and was aware that no other artiste was in the dressing room which was odd. His Shirley number had him at the top of a flight of stairs walking down to face the audience. As he descended he noticed all his fellow performers at the side of the audience not looking at him but looking to the centre stall. As he followed their gaze he came face to face with the real Shirley Bassey watching 3 rows in. Peter met Shirley after the show, she posed for pics and wrote on a cocktail menu: To Peter, the 2nd best Shirley Bassey ever. It was around 1983 that Peter was offered a Sunday afternnoon slot at the legendary Royal Vauxhall Tavern by the then landlords Pat and Breda and Sunday School was created. He never imagined that he would be there for 13/14 years. Large crowds would gather at this great temple to worship the goddess Adrella but soon after Jason Dickey took the helm and continued to book Peter. Peter told me a few weeks ago that Jason was the most supportive person from the Tavern he ever worked for. And thank you Jason for coming to see Peter towards the end, you cheered us up with tales from down memory lane. I should say at this point that Peter had a thing for the armed services or more to the point a thing for hunky Coldstream Guards in their uniform. He regularly attended Earls Court Military Tatoo held late July. One of the highlights of the Tatoo is the Royal Navy Field Gun race pitching teams from Portsmouth, Devonport and the Fleet Air Arm against each other. Idea is that hunky service men pull a field gun around the arena, dismantle it then put back together. It's incredibly hard, the gun very heavy and takes great skill and teamwork to win the event. One year Devonport were a disaster, they lost their line to follow in the arena, messed up with the gun and lost momentum. Peter was sat in the audience watching. Imagine to all our surprise when the Devonport Field Gun crew turned up at the Tavern the following day for Sunday School. How they came to be there i don't know. They all had their red polo shirts on and were creating quite a scene. Adrella came on stage and at some point stopped the show because of their noise. Having identified themselves proudly as Devonport Gun Crew Adrella said 'What a load of rubbish you lot were in the Field Gun Race yesterday at the Tatoo. They were stunned that Adrella knew. As silence engulfed them Adrella added ' And which one of you messed up attaching the wheel back to the chassis. They all started pointing at this one guy and laughing. They were stunned but delighted Adella knew this. Later in the show they were all on stage half naked and we got to see some butt cheeks. The tavern erupted. Adrella became their mascot and would often perform in their mess in Plymouth and through them would become actively involved in the Tattoo itself. Final points on Tavern are to mention the charity collection buckets shaken at departing customers in aid of Foodchain. Thousands of pounds were raised and handed over at the Summer Sports day and in Winter inside the Tavern. And not forgetting the fabulous Lesbian Corner with Margot, Jan, Margaret, Annie and Jan. These are the only names that come to mind so apologies if i've missed you out. Peter was quiz show mad and along with Ebbonknee entered many competitions together and winning some of the most popular on tv. Who can forget Treasure Hunt, Peter and Ebbs won in 1989 with 48 seconds to spare and walked off with £1000. Winning Talkabout in 1990 5 days in a row, Think Tank in 1997, Soap Addicts and 100% twice (with Regina And Ebbonknee) just to name a few. I didn't attend the Skegness Camp Camp due to cat sitting at Peters so anyone with stories from that event pls post them. Little known fact - Peter successfully auditioned for Opportunity Knocks in the 1970's then the show was cancelled. 1. 2. 3 Oh how vile. Special thanks from me go to the following: Paul O'Grady for being the friend you were to Peter. Ebbonknee, close and loyal friend to Peter. Yor a joy to know. Simon, always there. Diana, friend and fantastic neighbour. Sonia, another wonderful neighbour. To all the fans, a huge thank you. And finally to my mate Peter Searle aka Adrella. may you rest in peace fella. Looking back it was one hell of a ride.