À La Recherche du Great New York City Broads Perdu

So if you were here last Friday, you'll recall that I posted a photo from a late '70s bash thrown by The Magazine Formerly Known as Stereo Review, and that I realized that (with a couple of exceptions -- Lester Bangs, for example) I couldn't remember or identify most of the assembled revelers. Industry types, I assumed, but most of them lost in the mists of memory, or whatever else is left of mine.

That said, at the top left of the photo (excerpted below) was a rather statuesque frizzy-haired woman...

...who started to look familiar as the day wore on; she was some sort of Manhattan underground celebrity of the period, it occurred to me. Possibly a drag queen, but on the other hand possibly not.

And then the name Brenda Bergman popped into my head.

A quick Google search revealed that she was in fact a lovely and talented actress/singer of that name (and forgive me, Brenda, for the drag queen speculation) and that she's had a long and shall we say interesting career.

Exhibit A in that regard: Here she is in a hilarious live performance from 2008 at a Neil Diamond tribute concert.



God, she's funny. "Hey, get outta my way -- I can't see the air."

I should add that Brenda -- who is still active (as witness this appearance from last year on THE MAURY POVICH SHOW) -- can also be glimpsed co-starring in the 1983 punk satire Geek Maggot Bingo...

...alongside Richard Hell and my personal hero John "The Cool Ghoul" Zacherle, which can -- and should -- be ordered on DVD over at Amazon HERE.

And -- for those of you in the New York Metropolitan Area -- she will be performing downtown this very evening.

If you catch the show (previous committments prevent me from attending, alas), be sure to tell Brenda that PowerPop sent you.

As for most of the rest of the people in that party photo...

...including the Bailey Quarters look-alike talking to Lester -- I haven't a clue.