Remembering Matt Hawkins, The Divine Miss M

Born in 1967 in Cannock, Matthew Hawkins – also known to many as The Divine Miss M – was a shining light in Birmingham’s LGBTQ+ community until he sadly passed away late last year, following a battle with cancer.

Matt grew up in the West Midlands and moved around quite a lot over the years, not only in the region but also living in Fuerteventura, Ireland and America for periods of his life. Eventually, he settled in Old Hill, Sandwell with his beloved partner of six years, Dave Ashmore. 

Friend and fellow drag performer, Twiggy, old school friend Paul, and Matt’s partner Dave shared with us some memories and stories, celebrating Matt’s life.

Paul Andrew Downes met Matt at school and shared a love of drama and performing. Although they lost touch for a few years after school, the pair came back together at auditions for a musical, and eventually they formed ‘The Corselettes’, performing in drag together and living together for many years. Paul recalls when Matt kindly dropped off shopping for him when he had Coronavirus, adding: “that's the kind of person he was, [he] would do anything for anyone. I'm truly going to miss him.”

It was the bar and club scene of the 90s that brought Twiggy and Divine Miss M together but they “didn't work together until put together on a tour to Tel Aviv by the same agent. We hit it off immediately and Matty later told me he asked to be paired with anyone but me. But once together we had a blast and grew closer and inseparable on tours as well as at home.

“Any time was a blast with Matty. We did Frodsham monthly for a year or so which was always manic.”

 Twiggy and Divine Miss M

What stood out to Twiggy about Divine Miss M’s performances were two key things, his voice and his approachability.

“He was occasionally nervous going to new gigs but after his first number and five minutes of chat, he had an audience eating out of his hand. He'd combine new songs with old and was a fan of jazzed-up versions of songs. His rendition of George Michael’s Careless Whisper was astounding. And his version of Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars was phenomenal. He was as hilarious and fabulous in and out of drag.”

Matty’s love story with his partner of six years, Dave also began in Birmingham’s Gay Village but they almost became missed connections having forgotten to exchange numbers. Luckily, as fate would have it, the pair had previously messaged online, and a determined Matt searched through his messaging history until he found Dave’s number. Their first date was down-to-earth bacon and egg butties sat by the canal lock in Enville.

“I discovered that Matty loved boats and he worked on making canal boats with his grandad after he left school.  It was a great first connection,” Dave remembers.

When the pandemic hit, Matty and Dave’s relationship was put on fast forward when they chose to ‘bubble’ together, and move into Dave’s home together.

“It was very strange for us to be with each other 24/7 but it worked and we loved every minute. The more we discovered about each other the more we fell in love. Matty gave me so much confidence and I felt love for the first time as Matty was my first proper boyfriend. It was true love, we started to make it OUR home and I even set up the spare bedroom as his drag room... buying him wigs and jewellery. He knew I was creative and loved my sewing machine, and he encouraged me to make frocks for him.”

Matty and Dave

When Matty began to miss performing in drag, it was Dave who suggested they spend their lockdown evenings on Facebook Live, and acted as Divine Miss M’s karaoke machine, holding up printed lyrics while she sang.

“We had a ball and everyone loved it. Once we had logged off, we would carry on into the early hours and party the night away with karaoke and a good selection of booze in the drinks cabinet. We would jump around, singing like a couple of teenagers. We had no cares or worries, just enjoyed each other.

“We never had to work hard to be together, it came naturally and I used to start crying while we watched TV, he’d say ‘What’s the matter?’ and I’d say ‘I’m so happy, I can’t believe I’ve now got everything I ever wanted. I felt like I’d won the lottery.”

When the pandemic restrictions finally lifted, Dave and Matty were able to enjoy many more memories together; exploring in their campervan 'Daisy'.

“Matty and I had many days out exploring new towns and loved charity shops, antique shops etc. He loved looking for bargains and we would always bring something back to remind us of the trip wherever it was. We were like a little family: me, Matty, the dogs, and Mollie his cat.”

“When Matty became ill, I loved him more and more each day,” Dave explains, “I did things I had never thought I was capable of to look after him... It was hard work but I loved every hair on his head and I have those memories forever. It wasn’t easy but it made us even closer.

“Matty has left me with memories and friends that I thought I’d never have, they all said they could see our love for each other and we were so happy; proper soulmates. It was love at first sight and still is. Even though he’s not here in body, I feel he is all around me in spirit and he will never leave me.  It’s very hard to not have him here physically but he’s certainly in my heart constantly.”

Matt was laid to rest at a colourful funeral on Wednesday 23rd January 2025. In honour of Matty AKA Divine Miss M, Missing Bar in Birmingham will be holding an event on Sunday 2nd February. The celebration of Miss M's life will be raising money for Cancer Research UK; a charity that Matt donated to every month following his diagnosis to support ongoing research. The event will be hosted by Miss Ashleigh Marc with performances from Amy Laqueefa, Cherub, Marty, Pam Catz, Paulette Cherry and Twiggy. An auction will be held to raise money for Cancer Research including generous donations from Sequin Show Stoppers, Hummingbird Heels, artwork and prints by Kim Partridge and Nick Hynan, and more.