Key boys

Now they're supporting another icon, Joan Collins, on her nationwide tour. They talk to Steve Pratt.

THEY might have called themselves Two Up, Two Down. Or even Four Of A Kind.

"Typical end of the pier cabaret names, " says Stephen De Martin. They settled on 4 Poofs And A Piano, which is not only a name guaranteed to get them noticed but also explains the preferences of the four performers and their choice of instrument.

The potentially-provocative name doesn't appear to have stopped the quartet - "more hairdresser than barbershop" is their description - from getting work or becoming the resident band on BBC1's Friday Night With Jonathan Ross.

The series has seen them perform musical introductions for many of their idols, everyone from Elton John to Kylie Minogue. Now they're supporting another icon, Joan Collins, on her tour as she travels the country with An Evening With. . . show in which the Dynasty star shares her life story with the audience.

"It happened by accident in a way, " explains De Martin of the gig.

"We met her promoter backstage in the green room at the Jonathan Ross show. He also promoted the Joan Rivers tour last year and said another big gay icon was going on tour next year and would we like to be on the tour. We didn't know who it was but said we were interested."

4 Poofs open the show with a 45minute spot before Collins' entrance for her 90-minute appearance.

"It's a bit tiring because we're doing all our own driving and, where possible, we travel home because we're London based, " he adds.

The self-explanatory ensemble began back in mid-2000. All had professional background in show business as singers, dancers and actors to their credit. They thought it would be a good idea "to do some singing at the weekend", although De Martin says that "we didn't really have any major ambition to go forward".

A gig at London's Groucho Club changed all that. They went on to play in venues ranging from the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Jermyn Street Theatre and their own show at the Kings Head Theatre, London.

Then they were spotted by Jonathan Ross's producer and asked to do the pilot show for his BBC1 chat show in 2001. They've been there ever since.

Again, De Martin says, it was just one of those things that sort of happened by accident. "It wasn't planned, it was being in the right place at the right time. The opportunity presented itself and we said, 'let's go with it', " he says.

"We'd been together nine months before the Jonathan Ross show started. People sometimes think we were put together just for the show, that's not true."

The name was a risk. "It's upset a few people but it's quirky and different, while pushing the boundaries a little bit. I guess most people are fine and have a laugh, " says De Martin, who makes up 4 Poofs with David Wickenden, David Roper and Ian Parkin.

He hopes it hasn't lost them work. "We have been told in terms of corporate work that the board doesn't like the name, and we have had complaints in the past, " he says.

Their act has evolved naturally since they debuted on the Jonathan Ross show. They've always had a piano or keyboard to back their vocal harmonies which "combine to produce individual and quirky interpretations of standard ballads, show tunes, chart hits and classics as well as their own original material" as they put it.

"You're always trying to better yourself or come up with new ideas, " says De Martin. "On the Joan Collins tour we're using all original material and breaking away from what we've done in the past."

Despite their name, he doesn't see their core audience as gay, but more straight like a typical TV audience for Ross's show. "We're not that different for a gay audience. We just happen to be four gay men, " he says.

"The audience at the Edinburgh Festival, where we performed last year, was a lot younger and more diverse. They were more up for the comedy side of things. Joan's audience are a little more conservative and a bit older because she's been around a bit herself. We adapt to different styles."

They're returning to the Edinburgh Festival with a new show, Strictly Neurotic, this summer and may take themselves across the Atlantic in the wake of the US success of their album Screaming Party Anthems.

Released last year, it has been nominated as best new album in the Out Music Awards. "If we win, we're toying with the idea of going over, " says De Martin.

They're also happy to stick around on the Jonathan Ross show.

"It's a great little gig, " he says.

"Meeting all these stars is a great bonus of the job. We've met some of our idols - I'm a huge Kylie Minogue fan, and there's been Paul McCartney and Elton John. And we get to see them perform live in front of us."

An Evening With Joan Collins, with special guests 4 Poofs And A Piano, is at York Grand Opera House on May 13. Tickets 0870 606 3595.