GT85 to Gary Wilmott

he was doing chitty chitty bang bang at the hippodrome at the time – I also rebuilt the wheel from the hair cutting machine \m/

I used to have a petrol station years ago, one day & Range Rover came in & I was trying to place the face/voice of the driver. When he gave me his credit card it was 'The RH Norman Tebbit' on the front, very nice chap.
Bumped into Jonathan Edwards at Newcastle Airport. I said 'hiya' & he said 'Hi, how ya doing?'
Thats about it for famous folk.

Manchester International festival a few years ago me and mrs Ed go to see John Hegley, with his band, free gig

at the end he says 'are there any sax players in the audience' Mrs Ed puts hand up and says 'he does' after a short silence when she realises that no one else is and I'm not saying anything. I get on the stage and a saxophone is thrust into my hands, the guy says 'blues in D for a guitar, do you know what to play?' I say yes. do a bit of soloing, then more then go for it properly, get a round of applause.

We chat with Hegley afterwards and he's buying us beers, turns out someone who he knew was supposed to be in the audience (didn't make it) and was somewhat relieved that someone else said yes. said he really liked my playing, not heard about the other gigs he promised (didn't expect the bit of paper to be kept, seemed a bit disorganised rather than a cynic) but nice bloke all the same

Griff Rhys Jones: Worked in an architects in Soho we used to get a few tv types in. (he was a bit grumpy, just gave me a look like: don't you dare recognise me!)

Jenny Agutter: She came in the architects once too and everyone crowded round…she was just lovely!

Yngwie Malmsteen: (guitarist) Went to an aftershow party and met him after a gig. Despite his rep he was nice enough…

Joe Lynn Turner: (singer in Rainbow) At the party above (we were gatecrashing) he came over and introduced himself. Really nice bloke!

Ed Wynne (from the Ozric Tentacles) I saw him with his face pressed up against the glass looking at pedals in a totenham court road music shop window. He seemed quite surprised to be recognised but was very nice.

Saw Steve Leonard (TV Vet) on the landegla trail. He was really friendly even stopped for a picture.
He is human after all, a few of us done him on the climb… 🙂
and his mum picked him up from the trail centre.. arghhhh

Saw that Jimmy bloke 'jimmy's Farm' tucking into the most un-organic, mass processed food in a hotel in newport pagnell.

John Hegley; met him too. Think I may have bought him a pint after a gig. My friend sees him all the time where she lives. He's a little odd, but a nice enough feller.

My Boss is Sir Robin Knox-Johnston…

Moved Andre Agassi's piano for him. He was very interested in how two guys were going to handle something so heavy. While we worked, his wife Steffi Graf scrubbed grout in tiles near the front door. Whatever the cook was making for lunch smelled great.

Smoked a joint with Jerry Garcia in the '70s, rode MTBs with Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir in the '90s and wrote a story about it for Dirt Rag, and Grateful Dead bass player Phil Lesh has me move his pianos for him.

My parents know Julie Goodyear pretty well and in the mid 80's she used to drive a black MG. If she ever passed me on my way home from school she used to stop to give me a lift home. I grew up in a pub just outside Rochdale and she would also pull pints behind the bar from time to time.

Let me get this right…Bet Lynch from Coronation St would pull up in her sports car and give you a lift home from school ? Awesome !

Yep. Happened probably half a dozen times 😀

Pete Postlethwaite in that pizza place at the end of the high street in peebles, seemed a really nice bloke. Jarvis Cocker at St Pancras, we were very drunk but polite, and he was really good with us. David Gedge at the indie tracks festival, and again smashing bloke, had a chat about a couple of the bands. Simon Groom and Goldie (the dog, not the jungle superstar) at a roller disco at Ripley lesuire center when I was about 12, so I'm a bit vague on the detail. But so far I'm good with the famous folk I've met.

Met Prince andrew, who was stuck up and cherie blair who seemed pleasent enough

A few years ago I worked in a busy pub in Cornwall where Phil Mitchell [Steve MacFaddon] was a Saturday night regular. Never struck up a conversation with him, but it was very surreal being behind a chunck of mahagony serving Phil. He's polite enough but it's very difficult to tear oneself away from the screen persona.

A mate of mine is now his weekly taxi driver on the basis that he's the quickest driver leaving more time for Sunday bevvies before heading up to London.

Jet from Gladiators – gorgeous

Shaun Ryder, seb fontaine, Jay Kay, all in Ibiza at various points and all were sound.

On Saturday night i shared the lift with the King of Benin, his protection officer told me who he was so i shook his hand and said nice to meet you blah blah, I should have know as he was dressed in robes and stuff with gold hanging off him, i had just been in the hotel Gym and was sweating like a fat bloke in a pie factory and i think the protection officer realised that as i walked into the lift the officer had not stood between me and him so was flapping a bit. Seemed a nice bloke the King did LOL

Mind you the hotel (corinthia Libya) had 200 African Union guests in over EID so i probably bumped into a few Royals etc, i saw Madam Sarkosy here last year, not close up as when she went to the gym her protection team whould not let anyone else in,cockheads, i did see here walking up some stairs and she had stunning legs.

Met Rod Stewart at Number one in the Balmoral, anongwith Gordon Strachan and various other Scottish footballing legends.

And Penny Lancaster got her norks out. Only to breast feed her little'un who's christening they were out for, but it still counts. 🙂

Get to meet and interview quite a few celebs through work…

Brad Pitt – met him a couple of times, quite funny. Disappointed he didn't have Anglelina with him!
Juan Pablo Montoya – came across as a bit of a knob
Katie Stamm – Miss America 2009, very pleasant but can't sing to save her life!
Jay Leno – quite funny, despite not sleeping for 36 hours prior to interview!
Sami Hyypia – quite chatty, and very tall!
Matt Le Blanc – quite chatty, big bike racing fan
Pamela Anderson – also quite chatty and very polite
Tom Cruise & Katie Holmes – he is very, very short!
Nigel Mansell – couldn't stop staring at his moustache
Mark Webber – bit boring
King of Spain – he knew someone I worked with. Seemed pleasant enough
Keith Flint off of the Prodigy – met him a few times, really nice guy and not what you would expect at all

When I was in the Army Dick Strawbridge was my adjutant and I used to play (and drink) alongside him in the Regimental Rugby Team!

not really no.. I'm aware that I have although I've never noticed until being told later to be honest..

Although I was at a party a couple of weeks back and one of the guests looked very familiar indeed in an 70s/80s musician kind of way.. maybe elvis costelloish.. he was quite off his face and the couple he arrived with acted more like indulgent smothering grandparents than mates.. I didn't make any attempt to satisfy my curiosity.. although I noticed on the dancefloor later that the guy had zero sense of rythym so maybe not..

I offered to help a lost looking hugh fearnley wittingstall outside Exeter central station once.. he just looked at me like I was an alligator and started screaming down his phone for his PA to get him the hell out of there.. I was gutted