Entertainment For Lively Minds
Word-friendly Celeb Spotting
Posted by Spartacus Mills on 2 November 2011 - 2:16pm.
Spotted! One of the Unthank sisters pushing a pram down Northumberland St in Newcastle, about an hour ago.
Any more for any more?
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Did you not
follow her round town for an hour and offer her something to sign?
She would almost certainly...
...unthank you for it.
No, she would unthank almost certainly sounds better.
Doesn't it?
i think you may find
I think you may find it is not possible to "..follow her round town " when it is Newcastle upon Tyne . However one may " follow her roond the Toon "
Hang around again
until she reappears, then slap her on the back, shout "Eliza!" and walk off whistling "Who Knows Where The Time Goes". © Burt Kocain
I spotted Mike Heron, with...
...(presumably) wife and kid (and perma grin on his face, of course) strolling around Belfast a couple of years ago. I recall thinking at the time, 'Well, I suspect I'm the only person in Belfast who'll have the thought 'hey, wasn't that Mike Heron?' today'...
Curiously,
I see his old mucker Robin Williamson almost every day on the streets of Pontcanna in Cardiff. He's usually in the Post Office with a pair of specs on his nose buying envelopes and stamps.
He doesn't have internet. I know that because I stood behind him one afternoon and heard him talk to the cashier. I thought it amazing that here was someone who'd actually played at Woodstock.
I spoke to him on the phone once and tried to persuade him to come on an old radio show of mine to review some recent releases but, having listened to it first just to check, he phoned back to politely decline saying that our comments about some of the records during the previous week's programme hadn't been terribly charitable. I sniggered a bit at the time thinking he was an old hippy but, these days, I feel a bit bad because he was right.
He has no idea what I look like and, because of the radio thing, I've never felt the urge to introduce myself.
May not have the internet
but does have a regulalry updated web site.... http://www.pigswhiskermusic.co.uk/index.htm
How interesting,
maybe he fibbed.
Either way
his last album - Just like the river and other songs for the guitar - is a fine piece of work. His versions of Wild Horses & Absolutley Sweet Marie are so close to perfect you can't see the gap.
A glint at the kindling, however, is perfect in every way. As is Myrrh. In fact, now I think about it, he's one of the finest neglected artists in the country.
Robert Wyatt
Cycled past his house this morning. No sign of the man himself unfortunately.
He was out, on his way to
enjoying a south-east Asian feast with his mate Jim. Allegedly.
I just saw a Robert Wyatt lookalike
not half an hour ago. He was walking though and talking Swedish so probably not him.
Robert Wyatt
Cycled past my house this morning. On an Eddy Merckx racer, the malingering cunt.
OP is a bit vague
"One of the Unthank sisters "
Come on - which one ? Smacks of "all these Unthanks look the same to me"
:-)
I wasn't sure
But a quick Google image search reveals that it was Becky.
It was Rachel that recently
had a sprog so was it Becky with Rachel's baby? The Unthankers need to know
Shame the NOTW have closed as they would be all over this shit
I don't know
In fact, you've got me doubting whether she was pushing a pram or whether I've imagined it.
I think you've invented
this story to impress the Word Magazine staff. Its never works. They think we're idiots
There's only one thing for it
I'm going to go back into town and wait for her, ask her who's baby it is and what the hell she thinks she's playing at.
Yeah, the NOTW would tell us -
this has "aunt takes baby out of house whilst mother does hoovering" written all over it.
Rock'n'Roll.
Is this Word-friendly?
I had a discussion with Hank Marvin about Frank Zappa last week.
Is this Word-friendly?!?
...I'm surprised a vision of Heppo & Ellen in Excelsis* didn't appear in the room with you!
(* Excelsis - the name, of course, of their underappreciated and now little-recalled fusion orchestra in the 1970s)
I was doing most of the talking
let me say.
Hank kicked it off by saying "I hear Frank Zappa has done some interesting stuff".
Then I was off and running. Until his eyes began to glaze over, that is.
"Police are investigating...
...an extraordinary incident involving 'Flingel Bunt' hitmaker Hank Marvin which ended in Mr Marvin throwing himself out of a window. Over the previous hour or so, witnesses say an earnest man had cornered Mr Marvin and was apparently regaling him with detailed anecdotes about Frank Zappa. Marvin's condition was seen to deteriorate rapidly during the encounter. 'He seemed to be a Shadow of his former self,' said one observer. Speculation is growing that the case may be linked to a recent incident involving a Mr Nick Duvet, a transatlantic flight and a large haystack.
"In other news, concerns are growing over the whereabouts of Rachel Unthanks baby..."
Nivver bother aboot the bairn
Some hawmless blerks playin' her some erld tunes on a gramaphern while her mam and auntie gan oot on the hoy
But his eyes are glazed over anyway
He being a four-eyed fender-totin' apache-twangin' synchro-steppin' kinda guy
Was
Hank frank about Frank and said "he's wank"?
Hank
What did he have to say about Zappa? And what was Hank himself like?
Presume you all know that 'From Hank to Hendrix' refers to our Marvin. I'd thought it was Williams for a long time.
Was at 'Smile' premiere in London a few years back and witnessed Dave Gilmour and Bruce Welch having a matey conversation at bar of RFH. Checking out the body language, I thought that Welch was the one to whom kudos were being paid.
Gilmour was in row behind me at the gig and I spotted him Dad-dancing to 'Help me Rhonda', as was I.
It gets even more surreal
I've known Hank for a few years and he's a lovely man, true gent etc,. Yet as a practicing Jehovah’s Witness, he is obliged to go out door-knocking on a regular basis and turns up at my workplace from time to time armed with JW leaflets.
He knows he’s wasting his time talking about religion with me, so we usually just chat about music, guitars, people he rates etc. This time he saw a Zappa tour poster on my wall and that sparked the conversation. Just before he left he did the usual thing of handing me a JW leaflet which he reckons I “may find interesting”.
He’s great when you get him talking about the early days and last week he gave me a detailed description of the interior of the 2 I’s coffee bar in Old Compton Street which spawned so many pre-Beatles British rockers .
That's amazing stuff, Moje...
...nobody interesting calls round here!*
(* ie chez moi - not 'here', of course)
I forgot to add
Hank's knowledge of Zappa was limited. He had no idea how many albums Frank had made, or that it ranged across so many types of music. I suspect he thought it was just all rock music.
He had no idea that Frank had released several albums of guitar solos, for example. I offered to loan him some CDs and he said he'd think about it.
So if he takes me up on it, the next Shadows album could be a very strange affair indeed!
Still, it may also prove that...
...talking about Frank Zappa is a good way to get rid of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Actually, to be fair, I've had some perfectly nice and pleasant conversations with JWs in the past. But Mormons: a shower of unblinking Aryan zombie weirdos. With satchels. And an undertaking in blood to go everywhere two by two, it seems.
I'm sure
Frank would absolutely love the irony of the situation.
Is Hank aware that
he's one of Neil Young's heroes? And does he rate Neil?
I must ask him about that
But then Hank is almost everyone's hero. His influence is incalculable. Although The Shadows never meant much in the USA, they were huge in Canada (the British Empire/Commonwealth connection), so any guitarist growing up there in the early 60s would have fallen under Hank's spell. Which explains the Neil Young song, I guess.
It's a strange situation, Hank sometimes sits at a table outside the coffee shop in our street and none of the kids who work there have the first idea who he is. Recently one of the young waitresses said to me "Who is that bloke with the glasses? Someone told me he's famous".
She was quite stunned when I told her he was possibly one of the three most important figures in British rock & roll before the Beatles.
And it's not only Neil Young. Hank has been immortalised in song by several artists - Richard Hawley and Fairport Convention among them.
And it's not every day you meet someone who has given his name to a piece of rhyming slang.
Edit:
The story goes that it was Brian "Licorice" Locking (who, in 1962, replaced bassist Jet Harris in The Shadows) who was responsible for introducing Hank to the Jehovah's Witnesses - and, curiously enough, Cliff to Christianity.
The more you say, the more...
...awe-inspired we are, Moje!
Who here *wouldn't* delight at the chance of bumping into Hank Marvin at their local coffee shop and nattering with him for half an hour over a large Americano?
I spend lunchtimes at a pavement cafe near work - which usually involves doing a Guardian crossword with Jazzman George, a retired jazzman (double bass) who's very pleasant company. But he's not Hank Marvin!
You're too kind Colin
although I suspect you may be overstating the level of interest somewhat.
Trivia fans may like to know that Hank has built his own studio here in Perth and it's run by a chap named Gary Taylor.
Gary was bass player and occasional vocalist with 60s psych popsters The Herd, a band which featured none other than teenage guitar prodigy and "the face of 1968" Peter Frampton.
They scored a massive hit with the single From the Underworld.
Coincidentally...
...I've just received an email about the Frampster's 35th anniversary something or other concerning 'Comes Alive'. (I deleted it immediately, obviously.)
Which Perth do you mean, by the way? The Oz one or the Scottish one? You have so many anecdotes about things in both Oz and UK that I'm unsure where you current domicile is!
It's Perth in Western Australia
at the moment Colin.
Don't you think
that some of Neil's earlier solos betray the Hank influence? "Down by the River', 'Cowgirl', Southern Man', 'Words'. You're right - The Shads were massive in Canada and Neil idolised him.
I see what you mean
with those Neil tracks. There is a similarity.
Speaking of the Shads’ low profile in the USA, it reminded me of a 1991 interview I did with Las Ulrich when Metallica’s ‘Black Album’ was about to be released. There’s a track on the album called The Unforgiven which starts with a very clean, almost Shadows’ guitar sound. Not entirely seriously I suggested to Las that perhaps they’d been listening to Hank Marvin when recording the track. He looked blank for a second, then something registered and he said “Ahh, that’s the guy who looks like Buddy Holly, right?”
And let's not forget, Lars had lived in Britain for a few years soaking up the NWOBHM scene before taking what he'd learned back to America to plan world domination.
The Zappa strategy may backfire
if it's Prince who knocks on your door.
I can see...
...Jeremy Vine from here.
Ooh, and Mike Mills...
Johnny Marr
Johnny Marr was sat a few seats along from me at Adam Buxton's 'Bug' show in Manchester last Wednesday.
I thought about telling him "You're Johnny Marr!!", but then reasoned that he probably already knew.
Is Jeremy
Vine inside a bedroom with a woman who is not his wife? Or Mike Mills
Er
This hardly registers but I saw unctuous former Antiques Roadshow host Hugh Scully in the Truro branch of Tesco's last week. We're Celebrity Central here.
On reading this, and thinking that Hugh Scully had died
many years ago, I Googled him. Not only is he still alive, he's the same age as my Dad. This surprises me, as I recall Mr. Scully looking old beyond his years even when he presented "Watchdog" in his late 30s, thirty years ago.
Of course, Wikipedia could have got the date of birth wrong. If not, Mr. Scully is 68 years old.
I saw Will "Bumface" Carling
at our local firework display last Saturday. I was struck by the shear thickness of his thighs. They are veritable tree trunks. I went home, picked up a rugby magazine.......
Big news for Redhill
Vernon Dudley Bohay-Nowell, Platform 3, last year. I'm still trembling.
No longer game
I passed former Still Game stalwart, and horror movie officionado, Greg Hemphill this morning. He didn't look happy.
Saw lead singer of Yello
On a train last week
John Barnes
At Dubai airport baggage collection a couple of weeks back.
Howard Jacobson, a few weeks back
walking down Wardour Street.
Brian Cox
at Heathrow a couple of hours ago, just before being hassled by security and a PCSO about the camera I had slung around my neck. I was suspected of being a Pap.
Mancunian prof or
Scots actor?
Scots Actor.
.
I have mentioned this before
but I have slept with* Val Kilmer. He wore Dangermouse socks.
*next to. On a plane.
Christopher Brookmyre
recently in Sainsburys Hamilton. I did briefly consider asking him which of his several books featured the hilarious conversation between a young posh female lawyer and Mrs McMad (or similar scottish name)with her 2 errant grandchildren but he was in the fresh produce aisle. Anybody here know the answer. it is a very funny passage (no, not the fresh produce aisle!).
A Word first
"Fresh produce aisle" and "Hamilton" used in the same post
It is the county town you know
Huz your maw got a sewin' machine by the way?
Certainly not
She has staff for that kind of thing
Good chap,
carry on.
Is it
In the Country of the Blind? It's one of the Jack Parlabane books.
English lawyer with Mrs McGrotty and the weans, Demi and Naomi?
Mrs McGrotty!
Yes indeed it is. Thanks HH. I remember calling friends and performing that whole conversation between Mrs McGrotty and the lawyer in my best glesga accent. So funny. Here I am thanking you once again. I'm off to check if that is one of the books passed on to the Oxfam bookshop in Byres Road. If so, I will be buying a new copy tomorrow.
Suggs
At Eastbourne railway station on Monday. A bit off his usual Manor, I thought.
And Mark Ellen at Kings Cross, a couple of times. He gets the bus up the hill to the office I think, while I walk all the way to City Road, which is further. Both times it was well after 9.00am, the slacker. I thought about saying hello, but what would I say? "Mark... Underpants" ?
I saw Rod Liddle
outside Kings Cross station a few weeks ago, having a fag and looking a bit shifty
Also having a fag
opposite our office yesterday: Matt Le Blanc and Stephen Mangan.
5C posted this on Twitter as well.
Whilst starry international A- listers smoked outside his workplace, I had had Pissy Dave the local tramp smoking a roll-up outside mine.
I had to tell him to bugger off. The tramp. As well as Five-Centres.
I saw Helena Bonham Carter in Hampstead...
in London about a month back.
I shared a taxi...
...with Helena Bonham Carter in Florence (the place before anyone jumps on this). It was at her suggestion because the queue at the airport looked as if it would never subside. She paid, too, and wouldn't hear of any contribution. Embarrassingly, I had to be told by my then FPO who she was. We met her a few days later and she said that her family has/had a villa there. Nice person...
Here's a friendly Celeb encounter.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2011/nov/02/jim-fix-it-iron-ma...
I was thinking of making a post on this myself
Made me grin.
The boy Lawson stuck with his metal...
and ended up working at Kerrang! magazine.
great story
thanks for the link
I saw Stewart Lee...
...his missus and their two little children in Hampton Court Palace Gardens the other week.*
Apparently they're planning on having another child. And then another. And another. And then another. And yet another. And another. And another. The theory being that with enough repetition, the kids will start being funny.**
*This is true.
**This may not be true.
Mark Ellen Skips Queue Shocker.
Mr Ellen seems to have been late for his Eurostar to Paris one morning about a month ago.Last seen sprinting off to Business Class passport control and racing up to the platform while us polite folk stood in the regular queue. Must have been delays on the district line that morning.
Jarvis Cocker..
..in a meeting room somewhere in Manchester Town Hall a couple of Sundays ago. I couldn't think of anything pithy to say to the finest lyricist of his generation, so I pulled this ludicrous face instead.
Jarvis Cocker in the background
Mrs B took a photo of me at dinner in Birmingham Ronnie Scott's at a Tony Christie gig years ago.
In the background Jarvis and the All Seeing I's 'Parrot' are observed in earnest conversation.
Saw Jarvis ...
... cycling on Charing Cross Road once, it was about 30 degrees C and he was dressed for snow.
Can you imagine?
The headlines if he'd been wearing trackies from JD Sports? Or, better still, lycra?
And no...
..he wasn't pointing at anything amusing.
Brian Eno
...in the Portobello Road area earlier this year - had to explain who it was to the GLW, who perked up when I mentioned Roxy connection....If had been Bryan Ferry she'd have have probably left me there and then for a life of luxury and pleasure.
"a life of luxury and pleasure..."
...growing potatoes by the score?
I somehow think
...she might settle for that. We have this arrangement, if she goes off him, then I'm off with Helen Mirren.
Get in line, Soldier...
I once saw Ringo Starr
in Kensington High Street. At least I think it was Ringo. It could have been that guy from Fiddler on the Roof. You know, Toppy.
You didn't stop him and...
...ask for autograph, did you?
I had that Billy Bragg
in the back of my train once
Euros Childs
walked past my house yesterday.
Poor old Euros.
Going to have to change his name back to Drachmas pretty soon, I expect.
I chatted to Chesney Hawkes
About singing with earplugs in, about 3 weeks ago when he turned up at a gig I was playing.
Doffed my cap...
to the andrognyous pop Hydra of Jedward in Dublin Airport last weekend. Respect to these pups - their ability to parlay a modicum of talent into a career reminds me of Ray Mears huffing hypertensively on a tiny spark in a piece of kindling to produce fire.
Once had a slash beside SKY Sports pundit Alan McNally
In a pub in Glasgow. He actually engaged me in the "better out than in etc" peeing banter, that some men find more comforting than embarrassed silence when standing alongside another when both have their penises visible.
The thing that struck me was how short he is. I'm just under 6 ft tall and he was below me. Yet in his playing days he was known as a big burly target man centre forward type.
Toilet banter
I once had a slash next to an old fella in some dodgy pub. He nodded towards my flowing urine and said 'that's a good strong piss that son'.
Toilet banter 2
In a pub not so long ago, the bloke next to me commented that I "pee like a horse". And no, I wasn't on all fours and munching on hay at the time.