Havana Meltdown and Chanel O’Conor: the fabulous hosts of Tracks

Photo: Tracks

Despite being only six months old Tracks, in Edinburgh’s old town club Subway, is making itself known as one of the most popular drag shows in the city with the weekly Monday show adding another element to Edinburgh’s drag scene. But Tracks’ success stems from two drag queens in particular: Havana Meltdown and Chanel O’Conor, the hosts of the show.

“It’s impossible to host a show and not have good chemistry and host a show together,” said Havana, “you watch people on stage, and you know when they hate each other.”

Chanel agreed that their teamwork is crucial: “Tracks is our baby, and we take responsibility for it together. It’s unique in Edinburgh because no other show is hosted by more than one person.”

Their bond really grew since that first show, eventually leading them to host Tracks together:

“it was us meeting each other and spending more time together, these are really crucial moments in creating a relationship and a working relationship,” said Chanel.

“We’d go for dinner and drinks and we would hang out at each other’s houses, all before tracks happened, I felt like that was the best time for us.”

Havana also talked about the passing of a close mutual friend, who originally suggested them hosting a show together, which helped create an even stronger bond:

“We spent a lot of time together through that period of time as well, not even just for show stuff but like general grieving so it formed a really good basis for our personal and working relationship.”

Chanel, who describes herself as a rich, psychotic housewife, with multiple properties, (such as her one in Austria) wanted by the likes of Dua Lipa, but with a slightly sketchy financial background, said her name was inspired by Ryan Murphey’s series, Scream Queens:

“The name Chanel Oberlin resonated with me. I remember walking the halls of school saying the word Chanel over and over again and I still do it.

“The word Chanel brings me so much joy because I’m saying my own name, I love it.”

Havana, who is Scotland’s only female drag queen host a weekly show, described her character as similar both in and out drag. They both like attention, dressing up and free drinks, which there is a lot of in drag:

“It’s a hobby that blossomed into something more.

Photo: Tracks

“I was Cher Noble for a bit, but then I looked it up on Instagram and noticed a queen in New York with the same name, and I was like, I can’t have the same name because what if she ended up on drag race?

“Imagine you were accidentally called Cherry Pie right now? You’d have to change your name!

“I was having a lot of freak outs about drag and at one point I was like ‘I’m having a meltdown, I’m having a meltdown’ and then I was like ‘Havana Meltdown’!

Chanel and Havana started performing drag at the same time and instantly bonded: “Havana is like a sister to me, I would do anything for Havana.

“I don’t know any other showrunners that I could message at 4 AM being like 'I’m having the worst day', or if Havana phoned me (if I were awake) I would be there."

Havana emphasised the importance of their personal and professional relationship: “you’re my business partner so I need I adore and like spending time with and I can be honest with and vulnerable with when I need to.

“I am quite a strict barrier type of person, so it does take me a while to sort that stuff out and be a normal human being around people, especially in a working environment.”

However, not everyone in the scene is accepting of women performers, and this has brought a lot of hardship for Havana whilst performing:

“one of the issues of being a drag queen is that I do get mistaken for not a woman, so people will regularly touch my tits thinking they’re a breastplate.

"I've also had people point blank argue with me that I'm not a drag queen as I've been standing there in drag."

“I’ve also had people point blank argue with me that I’m not a drag queen as I’ve been standing there in drag, they’ll grab my hips and say that’s why I’m not a drag queen.

“I think as well I get mistaken for being a cis man to the point where a woman in Newcastle nearly punched me because I used a woman’s toilet until I explained that there were no sanitary toilets in the men’s so I had to use the ladies, then I think she got it, even though she thought my voice was unconvincing.

“9 times out of 10 even when I’m not in drag or queer spaces, in open busy spaces, anywhere, you get felt up! It’s the reality of being a woman.”

Havana also shared some of the many issues women in drag have to face, resulting in a lack of representation:

“It’s not a good idea for women or trans women to be getting busses in the middle of the night or even going to and from them, wandering around in the middle of the night after venues have closed.

“If you don’t live in the middle of a major city, where these gigs are closing at midnight, 1 or 2, how are you meant to get home at that time Because these women are unable to do these shows, they’re not on stage as much, it means they’re not practising as much and they’re not held in as high a regard.

Photo: Tracks

“People do want to book women now, but there is such a small pool of women who’ve done it long enough and feel comfortable on stage because of these limitations.”

However, Tracks looks to be different with a slightly earlier time lot than many other drag shows and with bouncers trained in dealing with LGBTQ+ specific issues, ensuring a safe and accessible space for all.

Chanel said: “When we first went into tracks, we had that in our minds, so we talked with the staff and bouncers at the venue.”

Havana continued saying: “I can hand on heart there have been more issues in queer nightclubs with bouncers using trans slurs to describe drag artists than there have ever been in our club.”

And despite coronavirus, things do seem to remain upbeat for Tracks, currently working on online shows through Tracks TV:

“When we look at ourselves next to other shows, we are very well produced,” said Havana, “so we want to put that exact level of quality into Tracks TV.

“To go from that to something that isn’t good quality wouldn’t work, isn't our brand and it’s not something we do.”

"You can put a bullet through my skull and I'll still be able to preform"

Chanel agreed, and highlighted the importance of adapting to any circumstance: “you can put a bullet through my skull and I’ll still be able to perform because I’m always evolving.”

And for any drag queens who are thinking, both Chanel and Havana had this advice to give:

“Go to shows,” said Havana, “support them, get to know the people at the shows, tip the queens, be a nice person.

“In a digital environment, virtually tip, put in the message box ‘from drag name’ get active when people are live on Instagram, get active on the comment section and make yourself visible in a good positive way.”

Chanel said that it’s important for anyone up and coming to make the most of what they’re good at:

“One of my skills is the fit I’m really good at fitting things, I always make things that are unique, gorgeous, and not off the rack.

“Havana is really good at stand-up comedy and being really quick on the mic so one of her strongest suits is hosting.

“My advice, have a signature move, and fucking milk it!”

Visit Tracks on Instagram by clicking here

To see more from Havana Meltdown on Instagram by clicking here

To see more from Chanel O'Conor on Instagram by clicking here