Rock Star Amnesia
Picture the scene.
It's a corporate day out at Chester Races today. I'm there, with a bunch of colleagues, and a raft of clients and contacts. Now bear in mind I work for a major firm of accountants (I know, I know) so you can imagine the general demographic. A lot of professional, middle aged, middle class white males with a sprinkling of ladies.
One guest stands out from the crowd. Powder blue suit - think Miami Vice and you'll get the picture. Suit sleeves rolled up. Tangerine skin. Spiky, streaked peroxide hair that is slightly longer than a man of his age should be sporting.
Nice bloke though. Had a quick chat with him in the Champagne pavilion, and we shared a glass or two. Neither of us having any luck with the horses.
Went back to a couple of my colleagues, who mentioned my conversation with the 'Def Leppard bloke'. Which I took as shorthand for 'bloke who looks like he might have once played with an '80s hair metal band from Sheffield'.
But they said "No Paul, he is 'THE Def Leppard bloke'".
And a closer look confirmed that it was, indeed, Joe Elliot of Leppard infamy.
Now given that I have a bit of a reputation at work for being 'the bloke who knows far more about popular music than is strictly necessary for a man of his age', you might understand that this was a bit of a blow to my assiduously-acquired reputation.
In my defence, this was the last place I would have expected Joe (I can call him that now, us being mates and all) to appear, but my credibility is now shot to pieces.
Has anyone else failed to identify famous rock stars in incongruous surroundings?
- More from Paul Waring.
- Login or register to post comments
Yes indeed
once stood next to Jools Holland in a Chip shop and had no idea until my girlfriend told me outside.
Also while working in a Brighton club many years ago i asked some thin Scottish bloke to kindly drink up.he replied with a mouthful of abuse. I responded by removing him from the premises.
Later another member of the bar staff commented i'd just thrown out Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream.
Of course a companion piece could be " Don't you know who I am ? or Don't you know who this is ?
Step forward.
Anne Nightingale
Darren Emerson(Underworld)
Some bloke from The Cult
all have done this in the name of getting a drink after time.
Bet David H and Mark E have some good ones
To be fair to Joe
There was absolutely no element of 'Don't you know who I am' about him at all - just an extremely pleasant (if somewhat orange) bloke at the races.
Top man in fact.
I just failed miserably to spot him.
A stranger and I...
...were a whisker away from vandalising a cigarette machine that was refusing to cough up the fags in a Maidenhead pub. Eventually we outfoxed it and, returning to my mates, I was informed that I'd been tabbing up with actor Robert Powell who was all over prime-time Sunday night TV at the time, bang in the middle of the role of his life, Jesus of Nazareth.
Does this count?
I once walked past Cheryl Baker of Buck's Fizz in a car park in the Algarve and didn't realise...
When I worked ...
... at Waterstone's in Taunton I had a couple of pleasant chats about books with a regular customer before another regular told me that he was Joe Strummer. I never was much of a Clash fan. Nice bloke though.
Joe Elliot
Paul,didn't mean to imply it towards Mr Elliot.I 've heard that he is a top bloke too from a mate who did security for Leppard years back.
More on Jools,my flatmate went out with Jools's wifes' sister for a while and he said he was a really nice bloke.
And one i forgot to add ,I wss once in Ed's Diner in Soho and this really pissed bloke was annoying everyone by trying to nick chips from their plates.It was only when we were leaving that one of my group said "I used to like John Hurt,but what an aresehole he is" I turned round and it was indeed The Elephant Man himself still trying to have it away with someones Chips and Cheese.
I completely blanked
Chas Smash one night in Brighton. My wife told me about him, but I was a bit slow on the uptake.
Sadly, at that particular moment, we were queuing to see Madness at the time.
Igor! Fetch me a new brain! This one doesn't work!