Brushes with fame; legends who dont let you down
When I first landed in the metropolis & did not really know my way around, I obtained a job walking architects plans around the city. This proved a great introduction to London as well as a tidy way of making a living.
Fresh faced & northern I was so naive I still talked to people on the tube at the time.
One day I was walking around a soho street and found a little white haired old man struggling to open a big door. Thinking nothing of it, I reached across to help him with the door. I opened it for him and looked down to smile at him as he entered. He didnt move but looked up at me, sneering and told me to "F*%$ off, you c"^*". Quite taken aback, this wasn't what I had expected at all. I then noticed he stank of booze and fags and had a black eye & half a curry on his jacket before he pushed his way past me to get inside.
I looked at the sign by the door - it was The Groucho Club & I realised I had just met Jeffrey Bernard.
It would give my something to tell me simple northern father about that night on the telephone.
Any famous people you've met who have behaved beautifully in character?
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Keith Richards...
I sang him 'Happy Birthday' after an X-Pensive Winos show at the Town and Country Club in London in 1992. He guffawed, did that Keef 'throw head back and wave arms around' thing and drawled to my friend Matt and I "Aww, thanks guys! You remembered!" He smelt of musk, bourbon and fags and was a total gent.
Happy Birthday
I was at that gig at the T&C. From what I can remember the crowd sang Happy Birthday quite a few times and also threw an incredible amount of joints at him. As I was standing at the front of the stage, right opposite Keith, most of them landed on me.
Nice.
Met John Martyn backstage at the Fleadh in Finsbury Park some years ago. He was wandering around like a loon balancing a chair on his head. Lovely guy.
"Walking architects' plans around the City"
I could do that.
What are the hours?
hours were very reasonable
pay wasnt great but kept me in snakebites & bags of chips at the time.
also plenty of opportunities to sneak off for a crafty few minutes reading or pottering. i remember popping into museums and westminster abbey and wandering around foyles when i should have been delivering.
David Hepworth
I saw him on the tube a couple of weeks ago. Reading.
Why didn't you accost him, Harishly,
thereby qualifying for inclusion in the Podcast Named 'n' Shamed Club (for now we are legion)? Come on in; the water's lovely.
Too polite;
Would have been a shame to wake, sorry disturb him in his reading.
Or was it Mark Ellen.......?
And what on earth was he doing in Reading?
Cher and Greg Allman
Back when they were an item in the late Seventies, they swanned into the record shop where I worked. After slowly gliding up the stairs to the rock floor, they then continued to glide, zigzagging their way along every aisle from A to Z. They didn't look at any records or speak to anybody - not even each other. Then they glided out again. I can only assume that the only point of this seemingly pointless exercise was be seen at the one place in London where they were likely to be recognised by almost everybody present.
Cher looked quite stunning until she got up close, when I was rather disappointed to discover that her complexion was as rough as the skin on a prop forward's knees. It was only after she'd left that it dawned on me that it probably once was the skin on a prop forward's knees.
Oh, and Greg's hair looked better conditioned than hers, too.
So, yes, they definitely lived up to their image: vapid celebs practising being vapid celebs several decades before celebrity culture proper kicked in.
very nice post
love the gliding celebs & the prop forward image. still better grafting skin from their knee than their inevitably hairy arse.
Similarly...
Someone once told me that Phil Oakey from the Human League used to loiter around the 'H' section in Sheffield's Our Price until he was spotted. After that he'd go home.
I don't actually believe this is true, but it's still funny.
Curtis Mayfield
Round about 1985/86 I went to see Curtis Mayfield at Dingwalls. It was a great show - probably the best I’ve ever been to - but afterwards a girl that I was there with, who’d perhaps had more than her fair share of “units”, had to scuttle outside to be sick. Chivalrous as ever I escorted her. There was a white minbus parked up and, while she was heaving her guts up, a little fellow emerged from it with a box of tissues. It was Curtis. He gave me his autograph too. “Peace & Love, Curtis” it said. One of the few people you could think off who’d say “peace & love” with sincerity. Wish I still had it, but it was lost years ago. The girl involved is now a social worker in Penrith.
Beautiful...
he's just gone up in my estimation even more, if that were possible.
Jim Davidson.........
....was more unpleasant than i could ever have feared. His attitude when dealing with a waitress in the cafe we were both in at the time was despicable. Les Dennis was the opposite, charm itself.
Can Confirm
Yes Steve,He is a Total Arsehole.once had the pleasure of asking him to leave my Bar after complaints from some women in the Bar.No specific complaint just that he was JD ,Boom Boom.He tried The "don't you know who i am ?" routine and i said "Yes unfortunately I do and that's why you are leaving" Much bravado later he left.Comedians no sense of humour.
He was in the bar at the same time as Ex England fast bowler David "Syd" Lawrence who was the nicest,friendliest bloke you could ever wish to meet.
Les Dennis
I can concur with Les Dennis - lovely chap. He interviewed me a few weeks ago!
are you famous?
or after a job as his butler?
Elvis Costello
About 12 years ago, my son said he was taking part in a school concert that was to be held in a country park in Essex. Having been dragged around tons of those in my time, I tried to feign interest. He then said that Elvis Costello was going to be in it. Bugger off, I thought and almost certainly said. I was pretty much a massive fan in those days and my son knew it.
When the day came it turns out that EC did in fact spend the day at the school in Romford and was indeed at the evening event to introduce an orchestral piece he had written. He had spent a massive part of the day chatting with the kids in the choir / band and generally being a real good sport. My son duely presented me with his autograph but i managed to top that and actually exchanged a few words with EC myself.
Hats off to him I say.
Martin
Richard Thompson...
...is very nice. Clive Gregson asked if I'd like to "go backstage and meet Richard?" and RT was very patient while I burbled idiotically at him for a bit. Luckily he was then accosted by someone who wanted to sell him some guitars and was equally charming while politely demurring.
One Mark Ellen was kind enough to introduce me to the guitarist out of REM at Cornbury. "Hi" he said, rising to shake our hands "I'm Peter". And then introduced us to his wife. A very nice man. You wouldn't find him walking out of an interview with Front Row. The drummer was, if possible, even nicer.