Starstruck...or not???

[d-cee]

Just read another thread regarding silly clocks,which took me back a couple of years,to a very funny incident...

After waiting the best part of 20 years to experience Public Enemy live,they finally landed at Newcastle Uni,mid 2003.Admittedly,I didn't know what to expect after all that time,what I didn't expect was to literally bump into Clock-wearing Flava Flav as we were walking through the door,only for my mate to ask him,without so much as a seconds hesitation "Here! Excuse me mate,ha' ye got the reet time on yi!!!..." How we laughed! Classic stuff!

Any other vultures had any equally stupid random conversations with their heroes (or in this case,the squarking,un-nerving lunatic that is Flav!?)

As part of his encore,incidentally,he wooed the female contingent by requesting they "Got their titties out for Flava!"

No-one did...

[son of stan]

I accidentally, and physically, bumped into Bobby Womack in a gents khazi. About twenty year ago.

He got slightly vexed and made a waspish comment.

[beddoes]

Just read another thread regarding silly clocks,which took me back a couple of years,to a very funny incident...

After waiting the best part of 20 years to experience Public Enemy live,they finally landed at Newcastle Uni,mid 2003.Admittedly,I didn't know what to expect after all that time,what I didn't expect was to literally bump into Clock-wearing Flava Flav as we were walking through the door,only for my mate to ask him,without so much as a seconds hesitation "Here! Excuse me mate,ha' ye got the reet time on yi!!!..." How we laughed! Classic stuff!

Any other vultures had any equally stupid random conversations with their heroes (or in this case,the squarking,un-nerving lunatic that is Flav!?)

As part of his encore,incidentally,he wooed the female contingent by requesting they "Got their titties out for Flava!"

No-one did...

Eighteen years ago I worked at a bookshop in NYC called Endicott Booksellers. Lotsa rich folk. Including Mick Jagger, who usually shopped the poetry section and also -I kid you not- bought a lot of stuff on Sufism. He was always very quiet. One day I saw him come in, followed him back to the poetry section -my section, incidentally- and, when he had his back to me, said "Hey, I know you!" He turned around. "You're Paul McCartney!" The three seconds until he laughed were among the longest of my life... He asked me about a book -wch book I've forgotten- and then launched enthusiastically into a book recommendation, wch lasted probably two minutes. I caught every fourth word -his accent is thick when he's excited!

At the same bookstore I also had an encounter with Michael J. Fox, who came in with a blond on his arm. He wanted to use the bathroom. I wouldn't let him -no public toilet (my boss was the very devil). "Do you know who I am?" he asked angrily. "Yes, you're the guy who plays Michael J. Fox." I thought that was the name of his television character... who the f@ck is really named Michael J. Fox? He stormed out, people were clapping me on the back... and I was very confused.

[d-cee]

Splendid! Me and a couple of pals "bumped" into Gilles Peterson in the Gentlemens Room at the same Uni,different night.My mate,who was more than a little inebriated "tipped" Gilles for playing such a cracking set...


50pence!

You should've seen the look on his face!

[folkishienne]

Things got a little messy for me at Glastonbury 1996 / 7? All I can recall is stealing a golf buggy back stage and driving straight at Robbie Williams as he was being interviewd...A Benny Hill chase ensued by security and I was forced to hide in a stinking Portaloo till it got dark...

[Hooded Claw]

I worked in a trendy clothes shop while at uni and one Saturday morning I saw someone I thought I knew but hadn't seen for a while and casually said hello and asked him how he was. It was only when he answered I realised I'd never met him and it was Paul Weller.

Lucky i worked there really, cos it came off like casual customer service.

[Sie Vulture]

Any other vultures had any equally stupid random conversations with their heroes (or in this case,the squarking,un-nerving lunatic that is Flav!?)

... in a somewhat (bizarrely enough) related incident, I asked Chuck D, Terminator X and Flav if they were "enjoying staying in Nottingham..." when they played Rock City during the Def Jam Tour of '87.

Why..?

I was very, very young... ... my only defence for asking them such a crap question...

[ginghamkitchen]

I had a heated argument with Dave Lee Travis about the results of a pop quiz he was hosting and I was taking part in in Clacton On Sea in 1994.

Bizarrely, one of the other members of my team was Punk Poet John Cooper Clarke. JCC, slightly the worse for wear, kept harrassing DLT between rounds and going on about how much they had in common - from Manchester, in the 'biz', three names, etc. Travis kept ignoring him, which made John worse.

Anyway, after a stewards inquiry and a public outcry, our team were adjudged to have won and DLT more or less chucked our prize at us before storming off back to his wacky farm.

Since then, I've always thought of him as the hairy c***flake.

For non UK residents, Dave Lee Travis was a disc jockey at BBC Radio One for many years. He was sacked in the late 80's for being shit and then went mental. His favourite record is 'Music' by John Miles.

[vibra]

Sometime around the early 90s me and a few mates went to see the James Taylor Quartet at Canterbury Uni. After the show, we jumped backstage to go and chat to them (clearly some great security laid on back then). We introduced ourselves, then the band told us they were going to a party, and asked if we wanted to come. Can you imagine the excitement? Then one of my associates told them he had some speed on him, and suggested we all have a bit - the band appeared keen. Only in true rock 'n' roll style, and after much pocket-searching, my friend found he'd either left it at home or taken it already, I can't remember. Then the same friend said he couldn't go to the party after all, as he had to get up early to work in the tourist information centre the next morning, so we said goodbye and walked many miles home.

Moral of the story, never take your friends to meet your heroes..

[Brainbomb]

I've been run down (not by car, but by walking around the same corner from different directions) by Lemmy. He was very nice and apologetic. Does that count?

[d-cee]

... in a somewhat (bizarrely enough) related incident, I asked Chuck D, Terminator X and Flav if they were "enjoying staying in Nottingham..." when they played Rock City during the Def Jam Tour of '87.

Why..?

I was very, very young... ... my only defence for asking them such a crap question...

I can visualize that most vividly Sie!

Chuck put me on a bit of a downer when he excaimed "It's truly great to be back in NOOOOO-CAAAASTLE!" - They'd never been anywhere near the place!
Aaaah,the personal touch!

[Sie Vulture]

I've been run down (not by car, but by walking around the same corner from different directions) by Lemmy. He was very nice and apologetic. Does that count?

After coming into direct contact with Lemmy, are you now all warty... ... ...

I just wondered, that's all...

[mr sayers]

i once met schooly d at the riverside (nightclub). it invovled me shaking his hand a lot and me repeatidly telling him how he was one of my favourite rappers of all time! i was quite drunk and this went on for quite a while....

[d-cee]

So long as you weren't 'up-rocking' at the time!

[babycart]

Years back I was digging in a long defunct Newcastle second-hand shop when I realised Joe Strummer was riffling through the racks next to me. Then I found the Jackson Sisters 7” on Mums and forgot all about Joe. .
I also shared a urinal with Fela Kuti before he went on stage once. As I left I muttered' Yab dem Fela' but I don't think he heard me.
And I’ve bumped into virtually the entire cast of ‘Are You Being Served’ by accident

[d-cee]

Which shop would that be then?

[Brainbomb]

After coming into direct contact with Lemmy, are you now all warty... ... ...

I just wondered, that's all...

He was heacily clad in protective leather...

[kirkatron]

1968 / 69 - Marianne Faithful lived opposite our school playground and if Mick Jagger turned up while we were at break he would come across and chat to us.

1978 - While working as a gas meter reader I had to visit George Harrison's place in Henley to read his meters. The first couple of times I never saw a soul but on the third visit he opened a window and asked who I was and then came out to check my ID.

About 1991 I went to see Barney Kessel play in a pub where the owner was a Jazz fanatic and my friend worked part time. After the show about five of us sat with Barney chatting and drinking coffee.


About five years ago went to see Jimmy McGriff and Lonnie Smith at Ronnie Scotts. Manged to shake hands and exchange a few words with Jimmy afterwards.

[d-cee]

He was heacily clad in protective leather...

What on Earth have I started here!???

[Brainbomb]

What on Earth have I started here!???

Leather - not rubber!

[babycart]

Which shop would that be then?

Can't remember what it was called but it was down just past Rockshots on Waterloo street. I think it closed in the early 90s. It was full of good stuff and they'd bought some enormous 7" collection all marked with Dymo stickers. I got heaps of stuff for 10p a throw there. Some of those records later turned up in the big indoor market opposite Spanish City in Whitley Bay - but I think they've demolished that now.

But the most tantalising NE ghost shop was the one I found near Tyne Dock
Metro, with a few hundred soul and funk 45s including JBs Watermelon Man, Johnny Scotton, Charles Pryor, Groundhog etc. I spent all my money on about twenty funk crackers and when I came back the following week it was shut and none of the neighbouring shops could help me.

[d-cee]

Was it on the same side of the road as Rockshots? I can think of one on the opposite side of the road,you know,the one that sells binocliours,antique toys and a variety of stolen goods from the Elswick smack-head contingent!

That shop in Tyne Dock sounds a bit tasty... I wonder if Mr.Sayers can remember it???

Similar thing happened to me around 10 years ago in North Shields,some proper lifting Chazza,where the rekkids were 7 for £1!!!

Found all manner of goods,and was absoloutely minging after searching through thousands of records,the dirtiest shop I've ever been in,anyways I only had a couple of quid on me,and the next time I went back the shop was no longer...

[babycart]

Was it on the same side of the road as Rockshots? I can think of one on the opposite side of the road,you know,the one that sells binocliours,antique toys and a variety of stolen goods from the Elswick smack-head contingent!

It was next to The Happy Chip, although Saj's tack 'n' blue pop empire came much later. I don't even know if that's still there now. Personally I'd like to see a Happy Chip on every High Street in the land. with a 'No Credit' sign featuring Daffy Duck sticking his Vs up.

And you're right, North Shields digging is usually just filthy.

[Mutante]

Rhyme Syndicate & Hijack performed in Portsmouth (I think it was the OG tour or summin) back in the early 90's at the student union.
We were loitering outside sharing a "blunt" when Kamanchi Sly races over shouting & Bawling closely followed by Finesse & Donald D

"Where the F*ck is our gear??"

It turns out that the RS tour bus had been turned over while they were all performing & the local chavs had stripped it bare (Finesse found his socks in the street!)

Ice T joined the fray & thought the whole incident was hilarious!

I'll never forget him saying;

"We've been to Compton, the Bronx & Brixton..no where is as gangsta as Portsmouth!!"

Brilliant!

[el sporto]

.....as a mere youth I needed some grub after a rather wild night of binge drinking at a Nico gig. Saw some folk comedown a staircase with plates of food and bolted straight upstairs. I was drunkenly stuffing my face in a Homer stylee on to realise I was sitting next to Nico. A long chat ensued about the relative merits of on the road catering......oh dear.

.....once drunkenly told Bobbie Gillespie that his band were crap half baked copies of his favourite bands and he'd never amount to anything. Six months later Screamadelica came out.....oh dear.

.....spent a few days getting paid taking John Zorn round some Glasgow record spots. Discovered the joys of Speedy West who he described a death metal steel guitar. Yee ha ..... a happy ending.

[jakartajive]

I spent the best part of a wasted (in every sense of the word as this did coincide with my period of maximum acidness) year selling board games in Hamley's the Toy Shop. Met plenty of folk including Paula Yates and Harrision Ford - in disguise!!!

Best of the lot was a very very pissed Ollie reed, who lurched off the escalator onto the fourth floor, saw me manning the till and screamed 'Boy! Find a young maiden to accompany me to Monopoly'.

I kid you not.

The maiden I found was neither young, nor in possession of even the slightest knowledge of who her beckoner was!

meanwhile, down in Scaletrix, my mate Jason revved the cars round yet another circuit, whilst tripping his nuts off.

[vibra]

Years back I was digging in a long defunct Newcastle second-hand shop when I realised Joe Strummer was riffling through the racks next to me. Then I found the Jackson Sisters 7” on Mums and forgot all about Joe. .

".. which was nice."

Classic.. the epitome of being a vinyl vulture laid bare.

[bazooka joe]

One day at work at Wows!ville Records in NYC I took a quick trip to the deli for a beer. I tunrned arund from the counter and get this... WEIRD AL YANKOVIC was standing behind me! I sai, "HI AL!' He said "Hi." I invited him to come over to the store just two doors down and he came in a few minutes later with his entourage. He didn't buy anything.

Another time I was working at this restaraunt an the owner of Fania Records was having his 75th b-day party there. I met Ray Barretto and told him I was spinning his 45's at clubs. Duhhh...

This is the best... I now work for a record label with some pretty lame jazz releases, but with well known musicians. One day the door opens and RON CARTER walked in. I flipped.

[Daddy Ya Ya]

A few years a go I was up at the Elbow Rooms in Leeds as designated driver for Mr Stapleton . He was rinsin it right out, avin it laaahrge ....and whatever else it is DJ folks do ....when some big black guy came up to the DJ booth and wanted 'a go'. Instead of telling him to piss off John was very accommodating...which I found odd, but charming. As I was standing nearby like a real deck doll ho, he told me to find him a mike. After some enquiries I managed to get something sorted and by this time the place was going RIGHT OFF.....like a frog in a sock...or a breakbeat in a snowstorm.......or something. Anyway this geezer was freakin' brilliant..cutting shit up - rhymin....everything - I was giving him loads of encouragement...thumbs up / high five / screaming whoooh!! etc...his mates were really getting off on it as well....after about 20 mins he finished and the place was in uproar - I slapped him on the back and encouragingly told him how good I though he was - he seemed a bit nonplussed, but thanked me - I turned to the Bar Manager and said "if that guy's local you should book him a regular spot" ....he looked at me 'gone out' and sad "that's RUN from RUN DMC"

..SORRY THIS TOOK UP SO MUCH SPACE....

[benjamin hatton]

A few years a go I was up at the Elbow Rooms in Leeds as designated driver for Mr Stapleton . He was rinsin it right out, avin it laaahrge ....and whatever else it is DJ folks do ....when some big black guy came up to the DJ booth and wanted 'a go'. Instead of telling him to piss off John was very accommodating...which I found odd, but charming. As I was standing nearby like a real deck doll ho, he told me to find him a mike. After some enquiries I managed to get something sorted and by this time the place was going RIGHT OFF.....like a frog in a sock...or a breakbeat in a snowstorm.......or something. Anyway this geezer was freakin' brilliant..cutting shit up - rhymin....everything - I was giving him loads of encouragement...thumbs up / high five / screaming whoooh!! etc...his mates were really getting off on it as well....after about 20 mins he finished and the place was in uproar - I slapped him on the back and encouragingly told him how good I though he was - he seemed a bit nonplussed, but thanked me - I turned to the Bar Manager and said "if that guy's local you should book him a regular spot" ....he looked at me 'gone out' and sad "that's RUN from RUN DMC"

..SORRY THIS TOOK UP SO MUCH SPACE....