You think you're a man - Divine

"You Think You're a Man" is a song by American performance artist Divine, released as a single in 1984. The song appeared on the compilation album The Story So Far, released the same year. It was written by Geoff Deane, formerly the lead singer and main songwriter with both the Leyton Buzzards and Modern Romance, and his occasional songwriting partner Keith Miller. Deane later went on to write the cross dressing-themed film Kinky Boots.

The single was a hit in the UK, where it peaked at number 16 in the UK singles chart. Oddly, the single didn't chart in the Netherlands. I rediscovered the track when it was included in a 12" singles compilation recently, and when I saw the single, that was my cue to buy it.

My collection: 7" single no. 7776
Found: Alt & Neu, Vienna, 13 October 2025
Tracks: 'You think you're a man' / 'Give it up' 

Native love (Step by step) - Divine

They were called transvestites in those days: men who dressed as women. In the case of Divine, you had a rather voloptuous man, Harris Glenn Milstead, looking like a cross between an overweight housewife and a glamorous pop star. After some success appearing in film productions during the Seventies, Divine first appeared in 1979 at a gay club in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where his unscripted act included shouting "fuck you" repeatedly at the audience and then getting into a fight with another drag queen, a gimmick that proved popular with the club's clientele. Subsequently, he saw the commercial potential of including disco songs in with his act.

In 1982, he joined forces with young American composer Bobby Orlando, who wrote a number of Hi-NRG singles for Divine. Among them was this single, 'Native love (Step by step)'. It was his first hit in the Netherlands, reached number 34 in the Dutch Top 40. Subsequent singles 'Shoot your shot' and 'Shake it up' would prove to be even more successful.

My collection: 7" single no. 7139
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 13 April 2024
Tracks: 'Native love (Step by step)' / 'Native love (Step by step) (Remixed version)'

Shoot your shot - Divine

Harvey Glenn Milstead was born on October 19, 1945. He started out as an actor, playing in various theatre pieces in New York in the Seventies. He also played in several movies in the Seventies and Eighties. Meanwhile, he had a successful music career, singing hi-energy disco music as a drag queen named Divine. His initial singles were produced by Bobby Orlando. The synth-heavy music was also composed, created and performed by Bobby 'O'.

'Shoot your shot' was his biggest hit in the Netherlands, peaking at number 3 in 1983. Divine died on March 7, 1988 as a result of heart failure.

My collection: 7" single no. 3612

Found: Kringloop Holland, Den Haag, March 21, 2009

Cost: 0,5 euro

Tracks: 'Shoot your shot' / 'Shoot your shot (instrumental)'