Accidental Encounters With The Rich and Famous?

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A friend of a friend lives next door to Fatboy Slim and Zoe Ball. I've met the friend of the friend, does that count?

― DG, Saturday, 16 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

MARK PERRY! that is so cool. but i guess it's just about where you live, like if someone here went , WOW I SAW PETER GUTTERIDGE! or something...

― duane zarakov, Saturday, 16 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I split wine on Honor Blackman.

― Magnus, Sunday, 17 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Magnus, you should tell the story about your Mum meeting someone in the Windsor Castle.

I nicked Mark Gardner of Ride's drink, and was complicit in the calling of Andy Bell a cunt.

― Tom, Sunday, 17 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Last spring I had a 6:30 appointment on Broadway between Bond and Bleecker. It was extremely important that I be there on time. I arrived at the address with 5 minutes to spare, and arm-gnawingly hungry. Terminator-like, I scan the street for a close deli. Nothing. On a second pass, my sensors picked up a hot-dog cart a block away. Perfect! I hustle over there, scarf down two dogs w/everything, and on my way back see a woman for whom the world moved in slow motion. She looked great - business skirt, hair up, big sunglasses, talking on her mobile. She ripples the Broadway street traffic, prompts whispers and furtive nudges. I of course pull the classic celeb sighting move of thinking for a second that I actually know her -- why else would I recognize her after all? I couldn't be sure because of the shades because it did seem she was looking at me, too -- then - like a ton of bricks - it's CHRISTY TURLINGTON. Before I can look away she beats me to it, turning her face with a visible grimace. Huh. Still walking (only about 4 secs have passed) -- "what was that for...? Bitchy superficial models... mumble mumble..." when I look down and see ketchup and mustard all down the front of my pants. Cue frantic napkining, etc.

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Andy Bell is a cunt.

But leave poor Mark Gardener's drinks alone!!! Humph!

I want to go to Oxford. Will pester Paul... or perhaps go BY MYSELF this Thursday! Weh-hoo!

― masonic boom, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Ah yes, my mother's encounter. What made this such a strange tale for me was the way that she handled and retold this meeting with such charming innocence.

My mother and I were chatting on the phone when she mentioned that she had popped into a pub not far from my flat. The fact that she had started frequenting my local was in itself a revelation of some concern to me, but more was to come. She had struck up a conversation with a young couple after a semi-introduction from a friend of a friend. A teacher at a girls school for twenty years, she chatted easily with the girl for some forty minutes: about her handmade jewellery business, their impending move to Covent Garden and so on, while the boyfriend was happy to sit and listen. Really, they were both very nice. As an afterthought she mentioned that the boyfriend, Alex, played in a local band.

Had I heard of Blur?

― Magnus, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

That kicks the ass of any of our stories.

― Ally, Monday, 18 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Is that really Paul Morley posting on the "It's Another Music Press Question" on ILM?

― Nicole, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Taking a break from ILM the other night I took a walk, Mark s had just made some interesting comments about subversion and I was thinking them through when I bumped into JG Ballard ( he was looking in the window of a dry-cleaners though a car showroom was only meters away) so after a couple of minutes chatting about Heathrow, the future, the novel, I dragged the conversation round to the internet, and the discursive nature of forums (difference of opinion leading to a greater collective understanding, rather than a empty consensus of agreement.) But he complained that the net was "limitless, no edges" and told me how he could only write long-hand. Well, it was good while it lasted, but I'd still like to go round his and watch TV.

― K-reg, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

OK: I bet (a) Juggy has no TV, so (b) you would have to sit in his utility room watching his spin dryer. Which is a toploader.

― mark s, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I just got body slammed by Bea Arthur.

― Ally, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Oh, come on, Ally. The Strangest Thing Someone Said to Me In the Past Five Minutes thread is over here.

Funny - you say Bea Arthur, I see Estelle Getty.

― David Raposa, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Bea Arthur has more bass in her voice than Tone Loc. She frightens me.

― Dan Perry, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I'm totally serious - she was running to get a taxi out of the hotel, and ran full force into me. I dropped the checks and everything.

― Ally, Wednesday, 27 June 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

one month passes...

HI! =) I know that my msg has nothing to do with the topic, and I'd like to apollogize myself for that =( but it's just I really need your help, and 'cause I saw you are nice people, I dare to ask you sth... 'cause every other place I asked I recieved insults and people got mad....I don't know..maybe they thought I'm a stalker or sth.... but I'm from Chile! =) How could I stalk sb of London from Latin America?? =)))

Well, the things is that I really need to know where to meet (pub, restaurant, etc) or where does Brian Molko lives.... you see...I'm going to travel to U.K. soon and I'd love to meet him, in fact, that's a big dream for me... =))

Hope you could help me, but if you can't, anyway, I'm totally gratefull at you guys, for your time and plus, 'cause I had a great time reading your posts. =)

Good luck to all of you

Love

Flor.-

PS: Please, excuse my bad english =( thanx =)

― Florencia Vargas, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I don't know where Molko lives. If I did, I would knock on his door and run away before he answers. That would annoy him.

― DG, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Hello all:) I have met just a few famous people. In the 60's I had the pleasure of meeting George Hamilton the 1V. In the 90's I had the pleasure of meeting five. The first was a band known as "The Brent Lee Band... They were very nice people . I met Bronn Journey whom plays the harp so very beautifully. I met Larry Branson,who did the Roy Orbison experience. I met Chris de Burgh last year. April 7th 2000. Just recently I met a man by the name of Ralph Steiner who did Hank Williams story... I enjoyed meeting them all.

― Gale Deslongchamps, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Gale, don't try to get us excited by fooling us into thinking you've met 5ive. We can see right through you.

― Graham, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Hi Grayham :) It's the truth. I did. Gale

― Gale Deslongchamps, Sunday, 19 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I met Jeff Wall and Stan Douglas. They hate each other. It is bizzarre . I mean Roadrunner and Coyote M.A.D hatred.

― anthony, Monday, 20 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Boney M once came to town square in a horse carriage. Little me was picked up and kissed by the guy. Can't remember his name. It was about 23 years ago.

― nathalie, Monday, 20 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I once stood behind Terry Nutkins in a motorway service station queue. I may have mentioned it before. Oh, and the other week I saw George from Men Behaving Badly on the tube.

― Ally C, Monday, 20 August 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

two weeks pass...

I ran into Ice-T today. He was walking with a chick. He had on a blue football jersey, I think it was Tennessee.

― Ally, Wednesday, 5 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Ronan Keating now lives around the corner from me. I can't wait to meet him. I saw Sara Cox last week when I went to see Jon Carter dj. I saw Tim Wheeler in Dublin last year and shouted at him, which was funny enough. That's about it. Oh and I know those guys from that awful JJ72 band. Obviously I don't know them well enough that I have to say they're any good.

― Ronan, Thursday, 6 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Just reading Terry Nutkins name up there made me chortle. I fear I am in a rather silly mood this morning.

― Richard Tunnicliffe, Thursday, 6 September 2001 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

one year passes...

The guy from Cabaret Voltaire (Richard D Kirk I think) is known as Dirty Bob in Sheffield. I was in the Casbah there a couple of years ago and met this Dirty Bob guy and chatted about Roxy Music and suchlike and thought 'What a jolly nice chap'. Then I got stumbling drunk and Dirty Bob leched over me and tried to persuade me to go back to his flat for a night of pleasure but I refused. Ended up sat in a 24 hour coffee shop with him wailing and crying and causing a scene, with other drunks looking over at us and chuckling as if it was a regular thing with Dirty Bob and his teenage boyfriends. Had enough and ran off home.

Months later found out that it was the CV guy and while I would still not have opened my bottom for him, I would like to have seen the flat of an old post punk legend.

― Ian SPACK (Ian SPACK), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 00:17 (twenty-one years ago) link

(I can't believe I was posting here in June '01.) Sports celebs I've seen/met in person: Mark McGwire stood behind me in Starbucks (he is gigantically huge. All I got out was a "wow."), Joe Buck I saw in a Steak 'n Shake, Bob Costas I saw in a movie theater parking lot, he shot me the "I know you know, but please don't talk to me" look.

― bnw (bnw), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 00:43 (twenty-one years ago) link

That's a charming anecdote, Ian.

― dan (dan), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 00:57 (twenty-one years ago) link

i saw a movie with justin timberlake in the SAME theatre on friday!

― chaki (chaki), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 01:25 (twenty-one years ago) link

Most "okay, and I should care because?" encounter: I'm at a DC bookstore, minding my own business. Paul Reiser passes me (turns out he had been there for a book signing), accompanied by two bodyguards who clearly were engaging in some Secret Service wannabeism.

― j.lu (j.lu), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 01:49 (twenty-one years ago) link

People with bodyguards are so laughable.

― Andrew (enneff), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 01:55 (twenty-one years ago) link

If I were Paul Reiser I'd definitely have bodyguards - he tried to infect Earth with aliens for fuxake

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 02:04 (twenty-one years ago) link

I don't know if this counts. I went to a club/bar (at the time, it looked more like a bar to me, with a stage -- now that it's relocated, I'd call it a club) to see Luxt play, and a friend of mine got me on the guest list. I showed up a little bit early, but not too much so, and was one of the only people there, so I went up to the bar and got a gin and tonic. This guy comes up to me while I'm drinking, asks me about my being on the guest list, and I said something like, "Yeah, I only just started listening, but my friend is really into them and in the fan club and whatnot, so since she couldn't be here, I figured I'd come in her stead."

Then he finished his beer and got on stage.

― Tep (ktepi), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 02:05 (twenty-one years ago) link

I took a pee pee next to Richard Ashcroft and on my honeymoon I saw Bill Murray.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 15:58 (twenty-one years ago) link

Was this in a bathroom or were you just following RA around waiting for the right moment?

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 16:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

Come On Peepee We're Making It Now.

― Ronan (Ronan), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 16:05 (twenty-one years ago) link

I think what's more important is why was Chris scheduling his honeymoon to follow Bill Murray around.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 16:08 (twenty-one years ago) link

Yeah, how did your new bride take you dating an aging comedian during your honeymoon?

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 16:20 (twenty-one years ago) link

Lots of celeb sightings in NYC, but the best of all was Ethan Hawke, who actually approached me. I was waiting for the Q train in the 42nd St. station, reading Nick Tosches' Unknown Legends of Rock & Roll book. Ethan Hawke walks by. I look at him, he looks at me. He goes and uses a payphone, I go back to reading. Then he comes and sits next to me on the bench. "That's a really great book," he says. "First time you've read it?" "No," I answer. "I'm just rereading it. It is great." He agrees. Then my train arrives. I turn and say goodbye. He says bye too. And then I left.

And later that night he and I tagteamed Uma.

― Yancey (ystrickler), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 16:44 (twenty-one years ago) link

I was at an early premiere of "Trouble Every Day" and walked past Claire Denis but what in the world would I say ? eh, she's famous to me! Oh, and I got a book signed by David Cronenberg.

― daria gray (daria gray), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 17:10 (twenty-one years ago) link

At shows:

Chloe Sevigny and Paul Kaye coming into Madame Jo Jos about two seconds after Nick's gig there had finished. Fuck was he cross he didn't see them, 'cos they turned straight around when they discovered music was over.

At a Beck show was kissing boyfriend on balcony, only to turn around to see my pal Graham who co-wrote Father Ted blushing away in the company of Peter Baynham and Mr Christopher Morris. CRINGE.

Liam Gallagher tried to mate his fuzzy black coat with my fuzzy white coat, stood next to me at last Manics-with-Richie show. I don't like Oasis but he was fucking gorgeous, has the startled Peter O' Toole eyes thing, so...

Gwen Stefani pokes me on shoulder at weird Blur gig where Spice Girls invaded stage to say, 'are those the fucking Spice Girls?'

Gormless girls from college went to do open-mic gig at Speakeasy in Village. They are taking pictures of selves in front of venue afterward. Friend and I are sitting on steps of felafel store, eating our dinners. Keith Richards and Billy Idol come out of Scrap Bar opposite and shout, 'why don't you take pictures of someone FAMOUS?'

other people's houses:

Hugo Speer from the Full Monty getting baked in my friend's front room.

Kathleen Hanna getting baked in my friend's kitchen.

― suzy (suzy), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 17:12 (twenty-one years ago) link

RA walked in to take one as I was taking one, as I was washing my hands I looked in the mirror and spotted him. Geeky fan admiration was to follow.

Weird thing about Bill Murray is we spotted him and started to get closer and then he was gone. It was strange. He de-materialized or something.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 17:12 (twenty-one years ago) link

My dad used to hang out with Bill Murray and his brother Brian when they came to visit cousins in St Paul who were best school friends with my dad.

― suzy (suzy), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 17:19 (twenty-one years ago) link

As I live in nowheresville, I have no real celebrity encounters. The best is that I saw Jason Schwartzman, star of Rushmore and CQ and drummer for Phantom Planet, in my local record store. He was startlingly short, I estimate about 5'4 or 5'5. That's all the really stood out.
My sister, however, lives in NYC, apparently in the same neighborhood as Uma Thurman, so she sees Uma and Ethan Hawke all the time. She said Uma seems nice, however, Ethan seems desperate for people to recognize him in public (which would explain the above Yancey story). She also saw John Lithgow in a park, and went to a club where she saw members of the Strokes, Jack Black, and SNL cast members (after the Jack Black/Strokes SNL episode). What was weird was that Macauly Culkin was also there, not lookin' too good, and having a conversation with Chris Kattan of SNL. Those are my vicarious celeb encounters.

― Nick A., Wednesday, 30 October 2002 17:33 (twenty-one years ago) link

my wife's bumped into:
Jarvis at barne's fair last year
Mark E Smith outside a hotel in western america
Giles from buffy on tottenham court road
the welsh one from coupling
the barefoot doctor at some gig in north london
and Mr T(!) in the health food shop near her old workplace

best i can do is Claire Danes and her boyf on melrose in LA (didn't recognise either of them to be honest) and then, 10 minutes later in golden apple, Allyce Beasley (miss DiPesto from moonlighting)

― koogs, Wednesday, 30 October 2002 18:08 (twenty-one years ago) link

Hooray, Giles, my friend's uncle...

― suzy (suzy), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 18:12 (twenty-one years ago) link

"getting baked" = ?

― zebedee, Wednesday, 30 October 2002 18:19 (twenty-one years ago) link

a cruel form of punishment?

― jel -- (jel), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 18:26 (twenty-one years ago) link

equals in the process of smoking a jazz cigarette, of course. With tons of skunk in it.

― suzy (suzy), Wednesday, 30 October 2002 18:44 (twenty-one years ago) link

Skipping 252 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

well, it's all in the same building - and you know, that was 1997. Folks had different priorities back then. If standing in a congested line to swap yr shoes back meant that you missed the first five minutes of the Ganger gig, well, we were prepared to live with the consequences of the choice that we made to bowl. And if in choosing to bowl, you end up bowling with Claire Danes, you might not even regret missing the first ten minutes of the Ganger show. That's only like half a song for them anyway.

― brödinger's cat (Pillbox), Thursday, 28 June 2012 15:42 (eleven years ago) link

Hahahaha, I would say fair enough, except I never got to see Ganger, so boo you. Bad priorities.

― emil.y, Thursday, 28 June 2012 15:43 (eleven years ago) link

four years pass...

I met up with a high school/university friend last night who I've just gotten back in touch with after a couple of decades. He reminded me of something that I have no recollection of whatsoever (but he's very clear on this, and I have no reason whatsoever to question the accuracy): that as we left a screening of Apocalypse Now at Toronto's regal (and long-gone) University Theatre in '79 or '80, we passed Wilt Chamberlain leaving an adjacent bar or hotel.

― clemenza, Friday, 5 May 2017 00:37 (seven years ago) link

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