In Memoriam: the truly great and berserk operatic Polska singer, actress and all-purpose diva Violetta Villas (née Czesława Maria Cieślak, 10 June 1938 - 5 December 2011) died on this day aged 73. For anyone not au fait with the wild, wild world of the tempestuous Villas, think of her as an ultra-campy, kitsch outsider artist; a wild low-budget Eastern European hybrid of Yma Sumac, Jayne Mansfield, Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita, Brigitte Bardot and Charo; a punk (her image and un-hinged performances can suggest Nina Hagen or Jayne County); and the self-parodic possessor of a drag queen sensibility (is it deliberate or naive? Certainly, her persona evokes the films of the Kuchar brothers and John Waters). Dubbed "the voice of the atomic age”, Villas was a celebrated Las Vegas headliner in the 1960s and even appeared in some Hollywood films, but her promising international career was cut short by Communism (she bounced back in the 1980s and never stopped being venerated in Europe). I revere this woman and wish she was more embraced as a queer icon in the non-Polish speaking world. I highly recommend investigating old clips of Villas on YouTube – prepare to have your mind blown!