Life and Career
Early life
Christa Hughes was raised in the Sydney suburb of Vaucluse. [1] Her father, Richard "Dick" Hughes, was a journalist and jazz pianist. Hughes later recalled that her parents "were hard-working people, we just happened to live in a posh suburb. In fact, I think the suburb tried to have us moved out several times because we were the noisiest household on the block." [1] She is a granddaughter of the journalist and writer, Richard Hughes (1906–1984) and his wife, May Hughes née Bennett. [2]
Jazz and Blues
Christa started singing jazz and blues at the age of 15 with her father, Dick. Her first live performance was as a shy teenager joining her father's band on stage at Soup Plus to sing a few ditties. "I really wanted to sing but I didn't want people to watch me do it," she says. "I completely grew out of that." [3] By the early 90s, Dick and Christa had a regular set offering "raucous Sunday afternoons" at the Shakespeare Hotel in Surry Hills. She continued to perform with Dick at various times throughout her career, appearing at The Famous Spiegeltent (Sydney Opera House) in 2008, with "the duo's repertoire guided by the family's favourite songbirds, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and Lee Wiley." [4] They provided a "wonderful night of jazz and blues for those with a taste for a modern twist." [5] and were "bloody funny buggers, to boot!" [6] In 2010, they released the album 21st Century Blues together [7] and performed their Speakeasy Sundays at the Sydney Opera House. When, after Dick's death, Christa was discussing one of her own productions, she suggested that "the show would never even exist if he hadn't shared his passion for song with his daughter." [8]
Christa opened and sang with various international blues artists when they were in Sydney, such as Brownie McGhee, The Swamp Boogie Queen Katie Webster and Champion Jack Dupree. After she turned 21, Hughes travelled the world, singing in New York, Edinburgh, London and Paris.
In 2011, she released Shonky with the Honky Tonk Shonks. [9]
Cabaret Shows and Musical Theatre
Christa has written and starred in several musical theatre shows, generally producing these as well.
Mongrel (1999)
An original work written by Christa and the two other performers, Mongrel won Best Comedy/Drama at the New York International Fringe Festival. It earned an extended season at both this festival and the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.
Sleepless Beauty (2002)
A dark comedy cabaret following a beauty contest winner’s amphetamine fueled hallucinations in a mirror. Commissioned by the Sydney Opera House, Sleepless Beauty was described as "a German cabaret-meets-Hollywood musical that takes apart the surgery-enhanced beauty myth. It has serious intent, lacerating and lampooning a culture where your body isn't a temple, but a construction site waiting for the next renovation." [10] Sleepless Beauty had a successful Opera House run in 2002 and was performed at the Adelaide Cabaret Festival. Although not to everybody's taste, it was said to be "exceptionally strong music theatre." [11] The songs and music were written for the show by Christa and composer Michael Lira. A CD of the soundtrack was released in 2004. [12]
Beer Drinking Woman [13] (2003)
"Known for her raunchy stage presence and sultry singing style, Christa takes audiences on a journey through song – from the elegant first sip of the Speakeasy Siren to the despair and pain of the Dive Bar Diva with hair-of-the-dog blues." [14] Christa stated that “There’s stuff from the 1920s and 30s which I just love. I sing Bessie Smith’s Give Me a Pig Foot and a Bottle of Beer, and Memphis Slim’s Beer Drinking Woman, which is where the show gets its name". There were also more contemporary songs; "I do a take on Britney Spears’ Toxic which has got quite an edge to it". [15] The reviews were positive, including "This tour de force proved Hughes has lost nothing of her vocal power or comedic energy." [16] Beer Drinking Woman was performed around Australia in venues including the Sydney Opera House, Adelaide Cabaret Festival and the Brisbane Powerhouse.
Temptation [17] (2008)
A show paying tribute in song to the things that lead us into temptation. Initially inspired by the 1930s American film Reefer Madness, it contained references performed in a melodramatic, film noir style. As well as her own songs, Temptation's repertoire included compositions by Tom Waits, Cole Porter, The Velvet Underground, [18] Beasts Of Bourbon, Marilyn Manson and Grace Jones. Temptation was performed in festivals, theatres and bars nationally as well as Shanghai’s Glamour Bar and Hong Kong’s Fringe Club. Christa suggested that "Once you can't do something, all of a sudden there's a desire". [19]
Neurotic Ladyland (2013)
"An introduction to a stylish menu of extraordinary female characters ranging from rock star personas to Berlin Cabaret artistes." [20] "Neurotic Ladyland celebrates 'mad, wonderful women'." [21]
Oz Rockin’ the Ladies Lounge [22] (2015)
"Christa Hughes (aka KK Juggy from Machine Gun Fellatio) brings her trademark exuberantly vulgar theatricality to the great Australian songbook. She delivers ballsy, go for broke renditions of iconic pub rock anthems by the likes of Cold Chisel, ACDC and Divinyls – alongside knowingly self-aware and ironic takes on kitsch pop ditties by Kylie Minouge and the Bee Gees" [23] "She reams off stories and observations as though a dam has burst within her chest... She’s charming, but God knows where she gets such energy." [24] "Despite her deliberately crass stage persona, the technical quality of Hughes’ singing is impeccable and exudes finely-honed class." [25]
The World According to Farts (2017)
Originally commissioned by Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre, The World According to Farts was a show which allowed the children in the audience to take over the space and become the stars.
The One With The Great Big O In The Middle Of It (2023)
A performance of Christa's absurdist script written for the Powerhouse's substantial 1001 Remarkable Objects publication, following an invitation to "interrogate a specific slice of the exhibition and respond to one or more of the remarkable objects that resonated with them". [26]
Machine Gun Fellatio and Other Bands
Doppelgängers (1987)
Christa's first rock band.
Machine Gun Fellatio (2000 to 2005)
Christa is perhaps best known as her alter ego, KK Juggy, the cartwheeling, often nude chanteuse [27] of Machine Gun Fellatio. [28] [29] [30] The band toured the country extensively, with Christa's burlesque meets the Marx Brothers inspired live performances gaining notoriety. This led to a ban by the University of Melbourne (an event well covered by the media at the time). MGF recorded three albums for Mushroom records (one earned Gold status, one Platinum) and took part in several TV performances.
MGF are to reform for shows in Australia over October and November 2024. [31]
The Loud Hailers
Christa performs regularly with her blues psychedelic thrash trio, The Loud Hailers. [32]
Museum Of Accidents (1990)
Christa made her theatrical debut performing in Open City Theatre’s Museum Of Accidents at the Performance Space, where she worked with composer Jonathan Mills and took opera singing lessons with Richard Gill.
Go-Go Burlesco (2005)
A Sydney production which played the Assembly Rooms during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Christa was the MC and also performed her own solo pieces.
Eternity Man (Concert version) (2005)
Christa was cast as brothel madam, Myrtle, in this chamber opera. Composed by Jonathan Mills, libretto by Dorothy Porter and conducted by Richard Gill [33] The Eternity Man is the "story of Arthur Stace, the quintessentially Sydney eccentric who, with his coloured chalk, scrawled the word 'Eternity' on walls, footpaths and railway platforms for 35 years." [34] Eternity Man was first performed at the Sydney Opera House for the Sydney Festival.
Circus Oz (2006 to 2008)
Christa was the singer and ring mistress for Circus Oz, [35] touring nationally and internationally with the troupe for two years.
How to Kill Your Husband (and other handy household hints) (2011)
Christa was cast at sex therapist, Bianca, in Victorian Opera’s adaptation of Kathy Lette’s book of the same name. Conducted by Richard Gill.
Hidden Sydney – The Golden Mile (2016 to 2018)
Christa played the role of Judy Garland in an immersive theatre performance, starting in a Kings Cross laneway and unfolding through the many rooms of the building that was once the infamous Nevada brothel.
InSide Out Lightbox (2020)
A collaboration with Arianna Bosi / Dashboard Animals, the InSide Out Lightbox was a multimedia performance piece performed in an abandoned shop in a car park in Ocean Shores where Christa played a mermaid.
The Marrickville Mermaid (2022)
Christa played Annette Kellerman in The Marrickville Mermaid (Hilary Bell & Luke Styles) performed at The Marrickville Aquatic Centre. [36] Described as "An original song cycle about The Million Dollar Mermaid Annette Kellerman - Australian champion swimmer, inventor of the modern one-piece bathing suit and star of underwater ballet, Hollywood films and international vaudeville." [37]
Film and TV
Away With Words (1999) [38]
Christa was cast in cinematographer Christopher Doyle’s Hong Kong arthouse film, Away With Words, premiering at the Cannes Film Festival. It was a "film about a Japanese man who arrives in Hong Kong and plants himself at a local gay bar inhabited by a cast of eccentric characters." [39]
The Eternity Man (2008) [40]
After the success of the concert version, Christa again starred as brothel madam, Myrtle, in the film adaptation of The Eternity Man, directed by Julien Temple and produced by Rosemary Blight. [41] "The story of Arthur Stace, The Eternity Man runs like a song-line through 20th century Sydney history. Spanning four decades, Arthur Stace's nocturnal mission to chalk his timeless message on the city streets somehow captured its changing soul, and to this day his journey remains its quintessential urban legend." [42] The film screened at the Locarno Film Festival and won the prestigious Rose d’Or award for Best Performing Arts program (2009).
You Only Live Twice - The Incredibly True Story of the Hughes Family (2010) [43]
Covering four generations of the Hughes family, [44] You Only Live Twice - The Incredibly True Story of the Hughes Family was directed by Brendan Young and produced by Ruth Cullen. It "takes us on an intimate, whirlwind journey through the ages, revealing the complexities and duality within this prodigiously talented, eccentric maverick clan who've pursued their passions on the world stage" [45] and "gave the family's history in jazz, journalism and cabaret a wider audience." [46] It was the AFI award winning documentary in 2010.
TV Performances
Christa's other TV work has included appearances on Spicks and Specks (2010), Q+A (2012), [47] Sideshow (three appearances in 2007), The Glass House (2001), Love Is A Four Letter Word (2001), Eurovision Quiz Show (2014) and Beauty And The Beast (2001 to 2002)". [48] There was also an appearance on the UK's Channel 4 production Eurotrash, "a personal triumph".
