I suppose the one person I’ve met on a number of occasions who’s closest to being famous, if not a celebrity, is the lovely Eddi Reader, once of Fairground Attraction, who I’ve seen a bunch of times, and met three or four, the last time at Komedia in Bath, when she turned to me after chatting to someone else and said, “hello, we’ve met before, haven’t we!”, which was nice. Thea Gilmore is another singer/songwriter who I know well enough to chat to and be greeted with a “hello, how are you?” by Thea and Nigel, her husband, the same with Sarah Howells, of Paper Aeroplanes and Bryde, her solo project; I saw her set at Green Man, and when she finished and came round the side of the stage to flog some merchandise I got a big smile, a hug and a kiss, and greeted with a “lovely to see you, really glad you could make it” as well, which made my day.
Had a chat with Sir Bill of Bragg before his gig at the Cheese & Grain in Frome, and again afterwards, lovely bloke as well.

Mid-70’s, I sat next to and talked with Emmylou Harris on a first-class flight between New York and Los Angeles (my company was paying, I couldn’t afford first class). A most lovely woman indeed!!

My first real job was with TWA in Los Angeles (about 1966 or so) and I talked with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton while completing a report on their lost baggage for a flight to Catalina Island. Another most lovely woman!!

My least tenuous would have to be a most bizzare lunch at the Scottsdale, AZ branch of California Pizza Kitchen with the bass player from Megadeath.
I was visiting my mate who was living there at the time and he had other friends over one of whom was a tour manager for various rock bands.
Not being a big ‘death fan I had no idea how famous this wee guy from Minnesota was, nice guy though and his heavily pregnant wife was a good laugh and a touch scary when she started talking about the guns she owned.

Was at school with Smeeks from the Exploited still in touch with him.

Also I have never met any of Led Zep.

On a flight from LA to Detroit, had the pleasure of sitting next to Scott Wilson (Hershel from the Walking Dead).

Wonderful guy and we talked for a few hours. He is extremely active in supporting the Screen Actor’s Guild and has been involved in many legal disputes with studios fighting cases. Warner Brothers and Netflix being interesting ones. Had plenty of other tidbits and we had a great conversation around acting in general.

He also said that Andrew Lincoln was extremely dedicated to his role and plays a huge part in being the leader behind the scenes and keeping up the family atmosphere and camaraderie on the set of the Walking Dead. Top bloke apparently.

He also gave me his ‘tip of the day’. Never put anything you care about in a plane’s seat-back pocket. Scientifically proven to be one of the most disgusting places on earth apparently.

No members of Led Zep were on the plane.

Did Hershel have enough leg room:-)

Herbie Hancock (I was apologising for accidentally falling against his tour bus at Glastonbury – very nice chap)

Michael Cain (I served him while working at Harrods year ago – very charming person)

Bootsie Collins (bumped into him in a carpark after a Funkadelic concert, can’t remember what we talked about)

And if you like old hiphop, I spent the day with Busy Bee Starski 😉

Ooh, just remembered. I nearly bumped into Don Whillans in the Vaynol. Good thing I managed not to!

I spent a day in Pembroke climbing next to Dick Renshaw. It was only after we’d spent all evening drinking and talking with him in the pub after that my mate pointed out who it was.

Also a mate of mine, until recently, played a particularly nasty bloke in Game of Thrones.

Had a works Christmas dinner with Steve Bull at his restaurant, along with another 15 or so workmates. He immediately took the piss out of my height.
Sat at same table with him, where he told many stories, the funniest always seemed to involve Paul Gascoigne for some reason!
Afterwards a night at the horses, thoroughly nice bloke.

Can’t really compete with your tales of indie hobnobbing metalheart, but I did once get directions off deb goodge of mbv in the royal Albert hall, and nagged her to hurry up with the next album.

Must have worked as it only took them another 17 years.

My son James really loves the first Suede album and also Bernard Butlers first solo album. I’d love to say that at 9 he had discovered them himself, but as with most children his music taste is currently informed by mum and dad.

I went to see a gig by the Ben Watt (Formerly of Everything but the Girl) and Bernard had recorded his last two albums with him and was part of his touring band. After the gig Bernard walks past munching on a chocolate digestive and I overcame my natural state of awe and asked him if he would do me a massive favour and say Happy Birthday in a video to my son who was 9 in a couple of weeks and was a big fan. He was simply lovely about it – really friendly and charming. Then recorded a lovely personal message for me and was willing to do it again if it wasn’t quite right. It was perfect and James was massively chuffed! I was also chuffed as he was as nice in real life as he always seemed from a distance in interviews etc… Made my week. Thanks Bernard!

So many great stories on this thread. Fantastic to see that many are still ‘normal’. Some make me very jealous – Emmylou Harris above being one of them!

Had a part-time job in a local theatre way back where a lot of comedians used to turn up at for pre-tour shows so chatted to a lot of them. Also got a few up-and-coming ones through there too, Rhod Gilbert, Russell Howard, that kind of time. Lee Evans was the nicest, bought the staff drinks afterwards and was great to talk to. Might have sightly fallen for Lucy Porter one evening there too, such a lovely sense of humour… 😳
My old local pub is a magnet for famous people to stay at too, mainly theatre types but the odd music star. Had to ask JK to move one of his Ferrari’s to let me out of the car park (more than once), had Robbie Williams join me and a few friends for drinks one evening, he was hiding from all the screaming teenagers outside. Bumped into the old Top Gear trio a few times in there too.
One of my sister’s friends worked at Rockfield studios for a bit so she met loads of musicians, occasionally she’d turn up with them in her local. It took me a while to realise I’d been talking to Dave Grohl for 20 minutes one evening

No Robert Plant story though.

I wouldn’t even recognise Robert Plant, I must confess.

I forgot my proxy Robert Plant story!
My aunt walked in to a small pub near Borth, there were only 3 other people in there, one of which was………………you guessed it! it was Robert Plant!
He was celebrating his birthday and insisted my aunt join them and all the drinks were on him.

I accidently bodychecked Jimmy Saville and knocked him to the ground in the foyer of the Moat House hotel in Glasgow.

I was storming through the hotel in a foul temper, dripping wet, wearing full highland evening dress after unsuccessfully trying to lock my car without the alarm going off in the car park in the pissing rain.
As I was walking past the lifts in Reception*, Jimmy walked out right in front of me and I knocked his frail, shellsuited form to the floor. I growled an apology and stormed off before I realised who he was.

When I told my wife and the other people at the party they thought that I was some sort of monster for assaulting a kindly old guy who does so much good work for charity.

Hindsight eh?

*Robert Plant may or may not have been observing from the bar.

Every working day….

whats a famous person?

I met Jackie Chan at the start of the Hong Kong – Beijing Rally in 1996. He had a team entered or something.

Not strictly a conversation because he couldn’t speak much English back then.

Kevin McCloud wandered up to me with a pair of ski’s over his shoulder whilst I was doing a bit of transfer driving in the Alps… bit of an understatement to say I was a fan so I decided to play it cool and not let on I knew him… told him why I was there and that I couldn’t get hold of the pickup… he rang on the intercom for me and he suspected it was his friends flat and proceeded to talk in a French accent “madame you av urr blockage in your toilette, i come to fix it”… he freaked her out quite nicely and she was who I was waiting on so it all worked out well! As he wandered off laughing I shouted “bye kevin”… never have I felt so sad!……

Apart from dancing with Tim Booth at a festival – a bit loved up on life and all I could do was offer him a banana I had apparently been carrying around for 2 days… he politely declined – we danced a little more and then he made a tactical escape!

A few weeks ago Steve Cougan nearly took my wing mirror off coming round a corner into Coniston in his 3 wheeled Morgan? He did a full open mouth expression which I populated in our car with “AHHHHAAAA”.

Mick Doohan in the run-up to his first Brit GP before he was famous. He was at a bike shop in Towcester and I was in the crowd of 1. Thoroughly nice bloke we agreed Schwantz wasn’t that good I got some merch and he signed my crash helmet (still got it).

Similar encounters with James Toseland Neil Hodgson and that Stalker bloke

While working as a guide I took Ben Shepherd out riding while working in Spain and got drunk with him and the BBC film crew, although he didn’t touch the tequilas if memory serves. I had my 30 seconds of fame later that year on ‘Holiday’ programme.

Apparently a friend’s wife saw a silhouette of Ben and I riding up a hill and said ‘I recognise those legs’. Friend wasn’t sure what to make of that.

As an MTB guide used to show a certain Cy Turner around the Elan Valley. He was only a nipper then and not so tall.

Met Dominic Behan and Chris Woods (Traffic) (whilst hitch-hiking)
Met Alan Rusbridger a few times, kids at same school
Chaired meetings addressed by Richard Wilkinson and the late Paul Foot
Had lunch with John Carey
Met Mick Jagger. Didn’t really but I did chat with his brother Chris in the Thatch in Croyde (also Wingnut)
Chatted with Kelly Slater and Tom Curren at Bell’s in 1992
Bill Oddie comes to town every year for the birds of Rutland and I (just) see him down the local, alongside hundreds of birders

Captain Eric Brown. Twice. A lovely gentleman

You win!
I would imagine that the sheer volume of potential subject matter must be quite daunting 😀

Wife once got shouted at by David Baddiel. She said he was a right ****.

When I was about 14 I got yelled at by Dave Hemming. Proper, red faced, sweary, bawling in the face of a slightly frightened child, yelling. Complete ****. He wasn’t that famous outside of MBUK though.

I spoke to Steve Peat at the same event and he was really nice.

Escorted John Cooper Clarke from a friends house to a cafe in Mumbles after she called me up saying he was making a nuisance of himself, John wanted a cappuccino but all the cafe had was filter coffee and startled looks

I’ve had dinner with (sat next to) Jonathan Aitken and black Stig, hoped to get an introduction to Jonathan’s daughters but failed but did get him to sign a copy of his book – for my Dad.

Tried to have a chat with William Hague whilst waiting for a train, resisted following him on to sit next to him though.

Went to school with Martin Lewis, I’m sure I gave him some money tips.

Erm…I sometimes ride with the bloke that used to own Evans….

I went out for drinks with Richard Herring and the rest of the crew when he was hosting a program on poker back in the early 00’s. Nice bloke and a decent poker player too.

On a different note, I got into a discussion outside Tesco Huntingdon last but one election with the local MP (Djangoly) about Trident and the role of a strategic nuclear deterrent. He didn’t get it in the slightest and told me that it would protect us from terrorists. Some gentle pushing on my part that this was bolleaux because terrorists have no state and therefore won’t be scared by something that can turn a country into glass did not go down well with him.

Escorted John Cooper Clarke from a friends house to a cafe in Mumbles after she called me up saying he was making a nuisance of himself, John wanted a cappuccino but all the cafe had was filter coffee and startled looks

Definitely Chickentown.

Wife once got shouted at by David Baddiel. She said he was a right ****.

i spent an afternoon in his Hampstead flat he shared with Frank Skinner, was a nice enough bloke then, also had Jo Brand offer me a brandy (it was 12pm) in her Denmark hill flat, this was mid 90’s i’m guessing their properties are a bit bigger now.
when i was an assistant photographer i met loads of famous people through work, too many to remember them all.
most recent notable was Alan Ford (brick top in that Guy Richie thing) as a friend did a short film with him as the lead and i was B-camera, just small talk over lunch.

I used to train with Graham Bell and Martin Bell back in the day, used to go to their house quite a lot.

I’ve asked Steve Peat where the easier trails were on Wharncliffe as I minced down a DH track whilst he was coaching some of what I guess are now top UK DH riders. He was actually very helpful !

Geoff capes as a kid, Christ he scared me.
Ari vatanen as a kid, absolute hero.
Johnny hartson on several stag dos/weddings, wouldn’t arm wrestle me the big girl, daisy lowe in a hot tub (not a lot of chat just me and the brother in law worried our wives would see us, we were like two children), few beers with Ricky Wilson from the kaisers, erin O’connor “model type” , mylene klass looked very good that day, Emilia fox gave me the kiss on both cheeks, and that janine Bird from eastenders. So all pretty much b list.

Not a conversation as such but a full scale punch up with Liam Gallagher at the log flume in universal studios, La. I stood on his foot by accident and he got shouty and tried to hit me, I had a bad hangover and was a grumpy man so hit him back. Thus ensued some man wrestling eventually broken up by patsy kensiy screaming and his security. He scowled at me all day. I thought it was quite funny by then….

Once met Frank Sidebotton in a bar in Salford in 91, girlfriend at the time was studying there, chatted to him for a bit but cant remember much apart from the papermache head.

I’ve met many ‘famous’ people over the years, mainly through family.

But the one that sticks out was a nice chat with Nick Frost by a taco stand in universal studios when him and Simon Pegg were promoting Hot Fuzz, none of the locals had a clue who he was so he was fairly happy to have a chat and a picture. A few minutes later he came passed me and the Mrs with Simon Pegg in tow and sent him over to us which was nice. He was also a thoroughly nice bloke.

More recently me and the Mrs spent an hour or so in the company of the band We Are Scientists who my wife loves, we paid for a VIP package with a meet and greet expecting a signing and a free tshirt, ended up hanging round the venue with them and a couple of other people for well over an hour. Not so famous these days, but were fairly massive in the 2000’s, great live band too, and top guys.

Princess Anne

And Tim Farron, twice, yesterday (and once a while back when he was helping save our post office)

Once met Frank Sidebotton in a bar in Salford in 91, girlfriend at the time was studying there, chatted to him for a bit but cant remember much apart from the papermache head.

Not much else to remember is there?

Thus ensued some man wrestling eventually broken up by patsy kensiy screaming and his security. He scowled at me all day

Surely Liam is the hardest man on the planet and would’ve drowned you in the log flume??! 😆

Muttered some guff to Howard Marks once after he did a talk. Spoke briefly to Abdominal after a DJ Format gig (nice guy).

Working at the FW World Cup I tried to bar a bemused Phil Saxena from the closed 4x track unitl I spotted his named pass. Also told Robbie Bourdon to get off the track during the DH finals.

(Mis)Spent extensive amounts of time in Ewen Vernal’s (of Deacon Blue / Capercaillie) old house as I was mates with his nephew. Still speak to his daughter who is pursuing a music career of her own and has also met Robert Plant.