Tanqueray – I’ve Always Been Different, Part 2: Podcast 164

About this episode

The episode continues the story of Tanqueray, exploring her early life and experiences in New York's vibrant nightlife during the 1960s.

In the first part of my interview with Tanqueray, we heard the striking story of Tanqueray’s early life – long before she became such as viral sensation on social media as a result of her appearances on Humans of New York. She was called Stephanie and she’d had a tough upbringing, raised by a strict single mother in an all-white upstate New York area, and then a teenage pregnancy, an unfortunate relationship, and a desire to start a new life had somehow conspired to land her in jail as a teenager. When she was released, she moved to Manhattan – and worked in a clothing factory, this was back in the days when the city had a garment district, attended the Fashion Institute of Technology, and ended up appearing as a much in-demand go-go dancer in clubs such as the Peppermint Lounge. It was the 1960s, and she enjoyed a varied and exciting existence: she had a short career as an escort, became a seller of stolen goods, mixed with pimps, mobsters and The Temptations – and fell in love with an Italian called Carmine, who she married before discovering his drug addiction. But as the 1970s dawned, the go-go bars in New York suddenly seemed rather old-fashioned, quaint, and in terms of…

People in this episode

Host: Ashley West

Guest: Tanqueray

Topics covered

• Tanqueray's life story
• go-go dancing
• New York nightlife
• social media sensation
• personal struggles
• 1960s culture

Keywords

• Tanqueray
• New York
• go-go dancer
• Humans of New York
• 1960s
• Fashion Institute of Technology
• Peppermint Lounge
• teenage pregnancy
• escort

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Humans of New York, Fashion Institute of Technology

Places: Manhattan, New York, Peppermint Lounge

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