Accidental Encounters With The Rich and Famous?

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

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.

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

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.

(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.

That's a charming anecdote, Ian.

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

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.

People with bodyguards are so laughable.

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

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.

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

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

Come On Peepee We're Making It Now.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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

"getting baked" = ?

a cruel form of punishment?

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

on leaving a delgados gig at the garage in glasgow, I bump into jim delahunt and lady friend. I tell him who he iss and he asked me how I am. I walk away.

the following saturday, crossing across sauchiehall street I see jim delahunt again. I shout "how am I doing??" and he waves to me. I continue to the horseshoe bar where bernard ponsonby asks me if my surname is spanish.

after my brother's graduation, we are leaving est est est on glasgow's bothwell street. jim white and family are about to enter.

the british open at st. andrews a few years ago. I haven't slept from the day before and am sort of hungover and stale feeling. I encounter archie macpherson doing laps around the practice green. after I tell him who he is he tries to shake my hand.

I OWN THIS THREAD.

I saw the bass player from Feeder!

And about 10 years ago I saw Izzy Stradlin on a bicycle riding down the Uxbridge Road. (It might not have really been him)

Waiting for a tube after work at Euston Square. See skinny bloke in black with shades and unruly black hair. Thought1: he looks just like John Cooper-Clarke. Thought2: No - he looks just like JCC circa 1980. Can't be him. Wait around, garbled announcement. Skinny bloke walks over and asks me if I could make that out. Unmistakeable voice. More delays, plus we're heading the same way - we chat about the New York Dolls and hip hop for about forty minutes.

Next day at work, I mention what happened. No one knows who he is.

this thread is fun;

me?

courtney love
bobby gillespie
kevin shields
gowan
sandy from big brother (strangely the one i got most excited about and shouted 'hey it's sandy from big brother' in the middle of selfridges, where he works....)
j mascus
liam gallagher and his roadies (who both tried to pick up sophie and sophie, underneath ultra violet lights, pointed out the cocaine which was glowing under their noses)
tony viscounti
liv tyler
chris sheppard
richard ashcroft (don't know if that counts...just stared whilst my friend tony rolled him a joint)
jason spaceman and kate radley (scored pot off of my friend tony)
kevin spacey (he asked my friend tony for a special favour)
eric's trip (showed off my neil young records that i bought, and tutted them having to pay loads more for their neil yougn albums (which i got for much cheaper) and then went to the gig and yelled out, look look, someone bought julie doiron a gift, a big gift, as she placed a box of merchandise on their table. saw bob dylan walk by very frightened, a load of third rate indie bands, hmmm....hmmmm....who else? kate moss. *arched eyebrow* hmmm...hmmm....sophie mentions loads of celebs but they are english celebs so i have no clue - though i did call someone out for budding in line at budgens, i think it was a well known television presenter in crouch end.

the end!

eric's trip - my friend tony told me that wasnt cool to brag about my neil young albums!!! oh yes, i saw doctor who at the groucho club, tom something dr who something, and just went, oh your doctor who, wow, doctor who, then he just went yes, yes and then he was pissed and red faced, i think a bit of my childhood went down the tube there, innocence, you know, so i didnt care when i saw him at the national gallery.

when i was a baby, we used to live in a housing project in toronto, and next door, lived aretha franklin's third cousin, who was my mother's best friend and i had my photograph taken with aretha holding me.

j mascis was the most boringness...

when i was three, i saw polka roo in an outdoor arena, when i went backstage, he had his head off and was having a cigarette, apparently i was traumatised for days afterwards. ummmmm....i saw the strokes in a club before but had to be pointed out that it was the strokes. hey paul - it's the strokes! what?? where???? same with the hives. hey paul, it's the hives. What where???? i bummed a cigarette off of the ex-happy mondays manager. Ummm.....who else? i did acid with one kid who used to play a girl from degrassi junior high. I chatted with the drummer or something from reel big fish, he gave me mushrooms which i digested and we wondered around, met up with some friends, and went to a party and i walked back to the hotel with him, only to find that he was eight hours late and the band and the tour bus were waiting for him. ummmm......who else??? jah wobble. who looked deranged.

i was out at a club and saw anita pallenberg talking with those guys from pet shop boys and yoko ono.

i went to school with that booth guy from james :(

luckily i don't remember him AT ALL

that's a shame, he could have taught you the funny dance....i wish he would teach me.

i partied with sloan, got drunk and told them all to fuck off because i hated their band. i was going through issues at the time.

I was at school with Chris Broad, who went on to open the batting for England loads of times, and was World Cricketer Of The Year one time. I can honestly say that I got the ball past his bat many times, and he couldn't remotely cope with the pace and movement of my deliveries. (This actually means I thrashed him in the semi-final of the school table tennis tournament - I wasn't good enough to bowl at him in cricket!)

ian brown tried to pick up on my beautiful black friend, kathy, got a free t-shirt and the manager tried to get her to go the party upstairs, i smoked cigarettes, whilst she chatted to ian and told her - do it, just so i can say that you slept with ian brown because it would be glamorous. she couldnt stop laughing. the same situation applies only add - perry farrell, peter hook, etc.

same thing happened with my friend tony and k_v_n s_____Y only i think he wanted chatted wtih him aurually. he never did. though i told him it would be glamorous if he did. and i think i was as well, SHOCK, smoking cigarettes.

alex from blur once told tony that he was beautiful and looked like a young syd barrett and tried to get him to come to the aftershow party at blur...!!

and this weekend, i was chatting wtih bill scienkeiwics of new mutants,/electra art fame. though he tried to deny it - it was obvious it was him.

Tony = Dominic Dunne?

ian brown tried to pick up on my beautiful black friend, kathy, got a free t-shirt and the manager tried to get her to go the party upstairs, i smoked cigarettes, whilst she chatted to ian and told her - do it, just so i can say that you slept with ian brown because it would be glamorous. she couldnt stop laughing. the same situation applies only add - perry farrell, peter hook, etc.

note to reader - she never slept with any of them.

i once shouted 'feel my rage' at trent reznor.

and the oddest story was about the ramones, my friend dustin jumped off a bridge, in a dare, smashed his knee to hell, was at the hospital, he was high on drugs that he had given him, he went out to buy a soda on crutches, when a limo pulled up (the ramones played london, ontario that night) and it was joey, he gave a ride back to the hospital and gave him 50.00.

Tony = Dominic Dunne?

He wishes, he just has the knack and the charm for bringing out the gay in stars.

I saw that guy from Auteurs in an old man pub having a drink with the guy from Jesus and Mary Chain.

and billy childish used to be a regular when sophie would throw a party. sophie's friend, natasha, hung out with justine frischmann last week, a friend of a friend and asked justine 'hey didnt you used to play in a band? before going on about her pet rabbits she had when she nine.

come to think of it, i've always told tony that he was bound to end up dead, floating in a swimming pool in north hollywood. thank christ, it was not micheal barrymore. a fisting is hardly glamourous!!!

If we're talking about friends almost sleeping with stars, it's another unmissable opportunity to mention that my ex-wife shagged a Womble! I think I now own this thread...

right - ch___di, this beautiful sri lankan girl, went around to leonard cohen's house, had a cup of tea, they read each other poetry and she still gets postcards. i mean, it *sounds* like a leonard cohen, song, doesnt it?

hahahaha!

dustin bought ron jeremy a beer. i emailed the guy who wrote 'don't go in the woods'

none for me, i live in a v. rural place. however my grandmother apparently went to talk to peter balakian one time and she was hoping they'd have this big armenian bonding thing or something and "he was VERY RUDE to her!", or so my mother says without further commentary.

i like the stories in this thread.

The Bono story makes me smile a big, satisfied grin.

One Loves Simply Everyone Who's Anyone, Dahling, Mwah!

(Thinks: shameless namedroppers, the lot of them!)

right - ch___di, this beautiful sri lankan girl, went around to leonard cohen's house, had a cup of tea, they read each other poetry and she still gets postcards. i mean, it *sounds* like a leonard cohen, song, doesnt it?

of course, i told ch____di, she should sleep with leonard, as it would be glamorous...!!!

and momus.....i've not met him but apparently he is on this message board alot, you see....