Random Times You’ve Bumped Into A Rock/Pop Star

[sadoldgit]

Following on from Benji’s music thread and the other thread on the main board…

Kate Bush and her then partner and band member Del Palmer in Sainsbury’s, Eltham.

Jon Anderson (Yes) in Harrods.

Rick Wakeman (also of Yes) and his then wife Nina Carter in WHS, King’s Cross Stn.

Mike Rutherford (Genesis), Holland Park Tube Stn.

Keith Emerson (ELP) at Brands Hatch.

Joe Strummer (The Clash) at Paddington Stn.

Fergal Sharkey (The Undertones) riding a bike in Islington).

Roland Gift (Fine Young Cannibals) also riding a bike in Islington but on a different day.

Mike Nolan (Buck’s Fizz) in Rye. We also saw Tracey Emin the same day but I’m not going to start a thread about random artists you’ve bumped into as well as she is the only one 😉

Edited Thursday at 06:28 by sadoldgit

[Lord Duckhunter]

6 hours ago, sadoldgit said:

Fergal Sharkey (The Undertones) riding a bike in Islington).

Roland Gift (Fine Young Cannibals) also riding a bike in Islington but on a different day.

I’m starting a thread “random times you’ve bumped into a bore”. 

[trousers]

Scottish band Runrig - several encounters

Chris de Burgh - on a plane to Malta

Nick van Eede, Cutting Crew (of "I just Died in Your Arms Tonight" fame) - back stage in Worthing a couple of years ago

Paul Brady - back stage at Danish festival

Bryan Adams - back stage at Tanzbrunnen, Cologne (had a good chat with his tour manager)

Eddie Jordan - keyboard player with Fiction Factory (1980s one hit wonders with '(Feels Like) Heaven')

 

Doesn't get much more Rock 'n' Roll than that!

 

 

Edited Thursday at 12:53 by trousers

[badgerx16]

In a public setting the best I can recall is Bonnie Tyler on a Swansea railway platform.

There were a few bands I worked around as part of the stage crew at the university Students Union, most notably Squeeze, but that is not really a 'random' setting.

Edited Thursday at 13:02 by badgerx16

[east-stand-nic]

Mark knopfler at Brands hatch formula one day a very long time ago.....in fact it might have been the last one there in 1986. 

Edited Thursday at 13:09 by east-stand-nic

[AlexLaw76]

The drummer from Bastille was sat in the seats across the isle from me. No idea it was him until some young lad asked for a picture.

he was sat playing Football Manager on his laptop and eating a sandwich/crisp typical meal deal type of thing.

[Wiggles31]

Someone very close to me had terminal cancer and I contacted Queens of the Stone Age bass guitarist, he invited us back stage and to watch sound check and meet them before the gig. Josh Homme was the sweetest guy and toasted a tequila shot to her battle. I had free dibs on a fridge of Brewdog and he even lent her his cane (he’d had knee surgery) to use if she was tired. The other let us use their caterers which was Mexican food. Awesome night. It was so mind blowing we forgot to take any pictures! 

[whelk]

I once wanked off George Michael on Hampstead Heath.  Easy £50 and he was very polite 

[Gloucester Saint]

6 hours ago, whelk said:

I once wanked off George Michael on Hampstead Heath.  Easy £50 and he was very polite 

Reminds me of a joke after his arrest in LA:

Q: What’s the difference between a microwave and George Michael?

A: The microwave stops when you open the door

Edited Thursday at 20:27 by Gloucester Saint
Question mark

[Patrick Bateman]

I chatted to Jenny Frost (Atomic Kitten) in Boots in Liverpool once ... 

[Patrick Bateman]

Oh and I pulled alongside Geri Halliwell at the M4 Langley roundabout, she was in an SLK (I think), I was in a Mondeo ... 1998 ...

[trousers]

11 hours ago, trousers said:

Scottish band Runrig - several encounters

Chris de Burgh - on a plane to Malta

Nick van Eede, Cutting Crew (of "I just Died in Your Arms Tonight" fame) - back stage in Worthing a couple of years ago

Paul Brady - back stage at Danish festival

Bryan Adams - back stage at Tanzbrunnen, Cologne (had a good chat with his tour manager)

Eddie Jordan - keyboard player with Fiction Factory (1980s one hit wonders with '(Feels Like) Heaven')

 

Doesn't get much more Rock 'n' Roll than that!

 

 

Forgot one... Have met the band 'Enter Shikari', courtesy of being good friends with the lead guitarist's father

[Farmer Saint]

17 hours ago, Wiggles31 said:

Someone very close to me had terminal cancer and I contacted Queens of the Stone Age bass guitarist, he invited us back stage and to watch sound check and meet them before the gig. Josh Homme was the sweetest guy and toasted a tequila shot to her battle. I had free dibs on a fridge of Brewdog and he even lent her his cane (he’d had knee surgery) to use if she was tired. The other let us use their caterers which was Mexican food. Awesome night. It was so mind blowing we forgot to take any pictures! 

Josh also had cancer in 2022 - was this before or after that? 

[Wiggles31]

3 minutes ago, Farmer Saint said:

Josh also had cancer in 2022 - was this before or after that? 

Before that in 2018. 

[Farmer Saint]

1 hour ago, Wiggles31 said:

Before that in 2018. 

That's really nice of him - great lad. Always loved seeing him randomly do the CBeebies Bedtime Story when my daughter was really young 😂

[Wiggles31]

Yeah that was random af. He’s 6.7ft. A towering presence. 

[Farmer Saint]

56 minutes ago, Wiggles31 said:

Yeah that was random af. He’s 6.7ft. A towering presence. 

I got so excited - called my wife in - "That's Josh Homme from QOTSA".

She wasn't impressed TBF.

[sadoldgit]

I missed off Mel & Kim from my list. I was stuck in traffic in Hackney and they were stuck in traffic going the other way.

[sadoldgit]

I’ve always been reticent about approaching celebs when they are out and about on their private business but do regret not saying hello to Keith Emerson when I walked by him at Brands Hatch. I did meet Greg Lake and Carl Palmer at their (solo shows) meet and greets though. Both very pleasant and chatty, as was Lloyd Cole.

I also won a Yes competition in the NME back in 1973, the prize being a copy of their latest album, Tales From Topograhic Oceans, two tickets to their show at The Rainbow and two tickets to the after show party at the Inn on the Park. All the band were sat at individual tables with their families and friends (apart from a very drunk Rick Wakeman who turned up late). I would have loved to have had a chat with them, but again, it didn’t seem right to bother them as no one else was. Whispering Bob Harris was sat on the next table with what looked like his mother. Either that or he had pulled the world’s oldest groupie.

Edited Friday at 14:13 by sadoldgit

[31cc]

Held a door open for Gary Numan - he just walked through without a 'thank you', so I naturally did the British thing of passively aggressively saying 'You're welcome' when he was almost out of earshot.

Met Bruce Dickinson in the flying club lounge at White Waltham when he was a student pilot.

(On the flying theme, I was at Goodwood having a lesson, When I got back, my Dad told me he'd been talking to a visiting pilot who'd left not long before. It was David Gilmour... )

[benjii]

Jamelia. 

Bob Dylan.

Busted.

[Sheaf Saint]

I was doing some temp work for Southern Water in the mid 90s and I read Roger Waters' water meter. 

He wasn't in though.

[sadoldgit]

In the same vein, I once bought a standard lamp from The Communards singer Sarah-Jane Morris. Sadly, when I went to collect it she wasn’t in and her partner handed it over instead.

 

The lamp still has pride of place in our lounge though.

[Lord Duckhunter]

I once bought a paint brush off a bloke who had met Ray Dorset….He hadn’t painted with it, but I still use it…..

[Gloucester Saint]

Sat on a table opposite Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher at a Turkish cafe just off Marylebone High St not far from my office at the time circa 2010.

[Lord Duckhunter]

I was with my mate when he got called a cunt by Jim Bowen, and before anyone says it’s off topic, he’d just got up to sing a number with the house band…..

[Whitey Grandad]

My sister is good friends with Nobby Dalton, bass guitarist with the Kinks. They used to be neighbours and were always in each other's fridges looking for a drink. I know hom well and we've had quite a few chats.

[Gloucester Saint]

27 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

I was with my mate when he got called a cunt by Jim Bowen, and before anyone says it’s off topic, he’d just got up to sing a number with the house band…..

Did Bowen not like the band or your friend’s vocals?

[Lord Duckhunter]

8 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Did Bowen not like the band or your friend’s vocals?

No, it was Bowen who was singing with the band.
 

There were 3 of us stood at the bar, when Bowen came over my mate said “that was great Jim, super smashing lovely”, Bowen told him to fuck off and called him a cunt. The club owner was a guy I used to play football with, he said to my mate  “ignore him, he’s a bloody nuisance with his singing”. Evidently, he wanted to get up and sing every time he was in there….

[Gloucester Saint]

3 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

No, it was Bowen who was singing with the band.
 

There were 3 of us stood at the bar, when Bowen came over my mate said “that was great Jim, super smashing lovely”, Bowen told him to fuck off and called him a cunt. The club owner was a guy I used to play football with, he said to my mate  “ignore him, he’s a bloody nuisance with his singing”. Evidently, he wanted to get up and sing every time he was in there….

Ah right, I see. Territorial about the club.

Good job Bowen didn’t chat up one of the barmaids otherwise your friend could’ve shouted ‘nothing in this game for 2 in a bed’.

[Lord Duckhunter]

39 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Ah right, I see. Territorial about the club.

Good job Bowen didn’t chat up one of the barmaids otherwise your friend could’ve shouted ‘nothing in this game for 2 in a bed’.

Bowen was a bit of a cock. Don’t want to start a thread about random meetings with tv stars, but when I was younger I met a few TV “stars”. My old man was chairman of a charity (in the days when it was voluntary and you didn’t get paid). Sir Dickie Attenborough was the patron, or similar, and he used to arrange for TV  celebs to do fund raising bits. As chairman, my old man would pick them up from hotel (they were normally in panto or summer season) or train station and take them around. He’d bring them home sometimes and mum would feed them or give them cup of tea.
 

Bernard Breslaw the carry on bloke was one I remember being really nice, but one event shines out and I can still remember it like yesterday. Fiona Richmond. They had pub of the year, an award to the pub that raised the most money. My old man had to pick her up, and take her to this ale house. Being a dutifully son in his early teens, I thought I better help my old man deliver the radiant Miss Richmond to the pub 😂. She spent ages flirting with the locals before partaking in another fund raising activity. She stripped down to a bikini and felt tip was used to divide her body into squares with numbers on. The squares were sold (rather quickly) and the corresponding numbers placed in bucket. The winning number was then drawn and the holder of that ticket got to kiss her on the winning square. I somehow don’t think the charity commission would approve nowadays, but it made a lot of money and I’m yet to see anyone as excited about kissing someone’s arm as the winner was. If memory serves, it even made the local papers as a positive story. Nowadays the landlord would probably be banged up, my old man charged with immoral behaviour and Fiona in therapy claiming  “me too” moment.  

[Gloucester Saint]

47 minutes ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Bowen was a bit of a cock. Don’t want to start a thread about random meetings with tv stars, but when I was younger I met a few TV “stars”. My old man was chairman of a charity (in the days when it was voluntary and you didn’t get paid). Sir Dickie Attenborough was the patron, or similar, and he used to arrange for TV  celebs to do fund raising bits. As chairman, my old man would pick them up from hotel (they were normally in panto or summer season) or train station and take them around. He’d bring them home sometimes and mum would feed them or give them cup of tea.
 

Bernard Breslaw the carry on bloke was one I remember being really nice, but one event shines out and I can still remember it like yesterday. Fiona Richmond. They had pub of the year, an award to the pub that raised the most money. My old man had to pick her up, and take her to this ale house. Being a dutifully son in his early teens, I thought I better help my old man deliver the radiant Miss Richmond to the pub 😂. She spent ages flirting with the locals before partaking in another fund raising activity. She stripped down to a bikini and felt tip was used to divide her body into squares with numbers on. The squares were sold (rather quickly) and the corresponding numbers placed in bucket. The winning number was then drawn and the holder of that ticket got to kiss her on the winning square. I somehow don’t think the charity commission would approve nowadays, but it made a lot of money and I’m yet to see anyone as excited about kissing someone’s arm as the winner was. If memory serves, it even made the local papers as a positive story. Nowadays the landlord would probably be banged up, my old man charged with immoral behaviour and Fiona in therapy claiming  “me too” moment.  

I can see why she was so popular https://www.threads.com/@chrisoneill2020/post/DJKhaGbix9l/fiona-richmond-and-udo-kier-in-the-house-on-straw-hill-aka-exposé-1975-a-film-by

[badgerx16]

52 minutes ago, Gloucester Saint said:

I can see why she was so popular https://www.threads.com/@chrisoneill2020/post/DJKhaGbix9l/fiona-richmond-and-udo-kier-in-the-house-on-straw-hill-aka-exposé-1975-a-film-by

She has far more clothes on in that still than she was usually photographed in, ( or more sccurately out of ).

Edited yesterday at 17:52 by badgerx16

[Whitey Grandad]

4 hours ago, badgerx16 said:

She has far more clothes on in that still than she was usually photographed in, ( or more sccurately out of ).

We saw her in the flesh at the King's Theatre Southsea along with John Inman.

[revolution saint]

Got into a conversation with Tony Orlando's tour manager and drummer whilst having a smoke.  Had no idea who Tony Orlando was but they were nice enough to explain.

Also had a smoke break with Mads Mikkelson and Jimmy White although not at the same time.

[east-stand-nic]

Thought of another one, but not sure it really qualifies as pop star. 

David Soul outside the Gaumont circa 1977-78 with my mum. As in I was with my mum....not him. ☺️

[Turkish]

I once stroked Bob Geldoffs daughters puppies near Carnaby Street make of that what you will 

[trousers]

19 minutes ago, Turkish said:

I once stroked Bob Geldoffs daughters puppies near Carnaby Street make of that what you will 

Pinscher?

[Weston Super Saint]

57 minutes ago, trousers said:

Pinscher?

No.  He's not Rolf Harris FFS!