Starstruck: Meeting your heroes and the fun of famous faces
From Kylie to Buzz Aldrin and Nelson Mandela – Team Weekend reveal the truth of their most memorable celebrity encounters.
Andy Richardson: The prince and the pauper
I’m a bit freaky around the famous, and here’s the reason why: they’re just the same as you and I. They eat the same, they sleep the same, they work the same – well, sometimes. It’s just that they have front-facing jobs, where column inches is part of what they do for a living.
I interviewed the late, great, and remarkably talented Prince, many years ago. It was my first NME cover. And for years afterwards – truthfully, to this day – people asked one question: ‘What was he like?’
The answer, every time, was this: ‘Normal.’
Because he was.
At one point during the interview, I asked him to remove his shades, so that we could make proper eye contact. There was a power imbalance, I thought, where I was asking questions but he could somehow hide behind a pair of indoor sunnies. He obliged, while explaining that the glasses were intended to protect tired, red eyes – the result of too much adrenaline and too many late nights. And, when the shades were removed, he was telling an absolute truth – his eyes were indeed red from his late-night/early-morning exertions.
Another rock star – no names, no pack drill – refuses to stay in hotels and prefers a tour bus instead. And, having spent too many nights in hotels, I can understand why. There’s the hassle of checking in, being recognised, getting shoddy service, or being unable to sleep because of noisy neighbours. Whereas a tour bus, which appears to be rock star affectation, is, quite literally, a home on wheels. You can exit the venue and walk straight into your lounge. You can avoid the stuff that’s boring and debilitating when on tour – the travel – by doing it during the night, while still asleep. You can even take a fully-stocked fridge and have your oven, rather than relying on a young chef who doesn’t know his Roscoff onions from his artichokes.
The point is, when you drill down into the detail, when you understand what some people are doing and why they’re doing it, it starts to make a lot more sense. And a sense of logic emerges, that runs something like this: It’s actually quite normal, it’s just something that I don’t encounter in my life because I’m a) a plumber, b) work in a shop, c) an office worker, or, d) a stay-at-home parent.
So I tend not to be lost for words. I tend not to be overawed. I tend not to go weak at the knees and struggle to find things to say. Rock stars or the rich and famous are no different from you and I – it’s just that they might be more creative, more financially literate, harder working, more focused, or have different priorities to the man or woman who focuses on a simple life, a modest job, and a beautiful family who get all of their time – rather than a few weeks at the end of a tour.
That said, there’s an undeniable frisson when in the presence of greatness. There’s a buzz, a fleeting moment of ecstasy, a shot of adrenaline straight to the bloodstream, when basking in the reflected glory of someone who’s been there, seen it, and done it.
And that’s usually because we project all sorts of mad fantasies onto that person – it’s our imagination, rather than their reality, that’s so exciting. Wouldn’t it be great, we think, to have all that wealth, to have all that attention, to have achieved so much? What we don’t think of are the downsides: how stultifying it must be to work under that degree of pressure, how mind-numbing to have that degree of expectation, how intrusive to have so many people projecting all sorts of madness onto you. We don’t think about that stuff. Instead, we just think: ‘Aww, they’re so cool.’ When, in fact, they just do something different that we can’t do – and that’s what makes them cool.
Over the course of 35 years, I’ve met, or spoken to, a few rock stars – John Rzeznik, frontman from the Goo Goo Dolls, couldn’t disguise his utter boredom when I asked him about his hit song, Iris – probably for the 10,000th time.
And just imagine how people like Geoff Hurst feel when someone asks them about the 1966 World Cup, or how King Charles III feels when he’s asked what it’s like to be in the Royal Family – it’s his lived experience, he has no other reference points, it’s utterly, utterly normal to him, even if it isn’t to us.
It’s little wonder the rich and famous lock themselves away behind electric gates – they do what they do, largely, for the love of it; for the enjoyment of writing a great song, or performing an amazing role. Some, though not all, live for the validation of their fans’ love, though most get quickly tired of that and realise others are setting impossibly high standards that they could never live up to.
The best part of meeting people in the public eye is this – recognising in them the ordinary, relatable traits that they share with people like us. So Paul Weller is remarkably funny and gentlemanly, Kevin Spacey swears like a trooper, Bono has a distinct rock star mode and a very different normal person mode, Kylie is the acme of professionalism, while others are as mad, dreadful, eccentric, difficult, high-maintenance, or downright beautiful as we might imagine them to be.
And so in celebration of the weird, wonderful, and disorientating world that is fame, our crack team of writers is peering through the looking glass to remember times when they’ve met people in the public eye – and what they thought of it.
Matt Panter: A memorable moment with Mr Tumble
Nelson Mandela attended my university graduation in July 1997.
I’d like to say he had flown from South Africa to watch me collect my BA Honours in history at The University of Essex.
But, he visited the university in July 1997 to accompany Graça Machel, who subsequently became his wife, and who was awarded an Honorary Degree in recognition of her work with the UN on children’s rights.
Does sitting about 15 rows from someone class as meeting them?
Probably not, but it was a good story to share with mates in the pub.
Talking of pubs, I once met comedy duo Trevor and Simon, Shane Richie, Nell McAndrew, Alison King (Carla from Coronation Street), Status Quo and other TV and music personalities in a bar in Magaluf.
They were taking part in an overseas version of a a Channel 5 Karaoke show called Night Fever, which used to be hosted by Suggs.
I remember, in rather a drunken state (it was a lads’ holiday after all), having pictures taken with a whole host of them, using a disposable camera. To my devastation, on returning home and taking the camera into a shop to be developed, none of the pictures turned out.
It has been, since working as a journalist though, that I have had the chance to meet more well-known faces or interview them on the phone.
Some people say that you should never meet your heroes.
And yet, I have been lucky enough to meet my dad Albert’s one – WBA striker Derek Kevan – my own, another Albion great, Cyrille Regis, and a couple of my daughter Eleanor’s heroes (Mr Bloom and Mr Tumble).
It was quite a surreal experience meeting Big Cyrille, whose posters had adorned my bedroom as a child. And, thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed by meeting him face-to-face. He was an absolute gentleman and a real presence.
A young reporter at the time, who might have felt just a little nervous, I soon relaxed in his company. It’s still sad to think he’s no longer with us.
As for meeting Mr Tumble, I should just say, my daughter, now 10, has moved on to the likes of Taylor Swift and Ariana Grande, in terms of her favourite stars.
But I remember being quite excited back in 2014 at the chance for her to pose for a picture with her favourite CBeebies stars, including Justin Fletcher, at Alton Towers.
Sadly, though, the picture didn’t quite turn out how I had intended. It actually looks like I’m the one excited to meet Mr Tumble, rather than Eleanor, who looked a little bewildered and terrified by the whole thing.
She did smile for the next shot with Mr Bloom though and at least she has the memories on camera, unlike my memories of Magaluf.
Sadly, I now just have a fading memory of me, Trevor and Simon, at the back of my mind.
Dan Morris: The Holy Grail of meet-ups
Let’s be honest, every journo dreams of the big celeb interview that sends them weak at the knees.
For me, it was a major draw to the weird and wonderful world in which we work, and over the years I’ve been lucky enough to rub shoulders with a few household names.
From cabinet ministers to peers of the realm, football managers, and – most recently – a particularly adored queen of daytime TV, my diary has played host to its fair share of public personalities.
Yet there are those who have eluded me, and whom the opportunity to meet would be my Holy Grail.
First and foremost, two eminent TV historians, one of which I must credit for a hearty portion of the miracle that was my university success.
Dame Mary Beard is a force of war in the classical history world, and a leading authority on Ancient Rome. She has championed enthusiasm for history with various TV shows and media appearances and has been frequently described as “Britain’s best-known classicist”.
Learned but accessible, she lights a fire in the uninitiated with her tales of Rome’s fascinating past, and her many tomes were my chief sources of reference and strength during a degree course that saw me balancing learning Latin with pushing the known limits of Guinness consumption.
To meet said idol (incidentally, born and educated on our patch) would be an absolute honour – even just for the chance to say thanks, while undoubtedly blushing like a schoolgirl.
Another great lady who deserves medal after medal for bringing the joy of history to the masses, Lucy Worsley can often be found fronting fabulous BBC documentaries in full period regalia. A knowledgeable, fun and entertaining presenter who helps make the magic of the past enticing and accessible, an hour with this other hero of mine would be a dream come true – especially if Dame Mary could also attend, and we both got to dress up to match.
Sure, there are plenty of rock stars and renegades I’d love to break bread with, but having a chance to personally salute these two celeb academics would be far better for my soul.
Maybe we could just cover all bases and attend a Metallica gig together with a bucket of chicken wings. Now that would be the Holy Grail.
Heather Large: A real buzz at star convention
Since I became a journalist 18 years ago, I’ve been lucky enough to meet many famous faces as part of my job.
The first celebrity I interviewed while working for the Star was Liverpudlian comedian Sir Ken Dodd, who was set to treat his beloved audience at Dudley Concert Hall to another marathon show in 2008.
I was tasked with speaking to him backstage before what turned out to be one of his trademark five-and-a-half hour performances
“It’s like a big party, a party that keeps getting wilder and wilder and just before it gets completely out of control we end it,” he told me.
I remember feeling a bit nervous, I had not long started at the Star and this was probably the biggest interview I had done so far.
But he put me at ease straight away, welcoming me into the dressing room, encouraging me to take a seat and asking me about my day.
He was lovely, answered all of my questions, even those he had probably been asked many times before, with a pleasant smile. A real gentleman.
Ken was not the only face I met at the venue. In 2011, I spoke to Lenny Henry ahead of his Cradle to Rave sell-out show, which saw the funnyman look back at how music had shaped his life.
When he first walked into the room where the interview was taking place, he had a face like thunder and I was worried that being questioned by a journalist was the last thing he wanted to do that day. But as soon as we were introduced, he completely changed, and the smiley man we all knew from TV appeared.
He was telling me all about the show and what the audience could expect, when I realised he was talking faster and faster and despite making notes in shorthand, I was struggling to keep up. I just happened to look up and see him grinning at me – I suspect he was doing it on purpose as a joke.
Laughing, he said, ‘should I do that bit again?’, and he re-told the same anecdote he had previously shared – this time at a more manageable pace.
In October 2012, I covered the Autographica convention at Birmingham NEC, which was full of star names such as astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the moon, and racing car driver Sir Stirling Moss.
I also spoke to Samantha Bond, known for her role as Miss Moneypenny in the James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan years
I think I may have put my foot in it by asking the actress who was her favourite Bond. She told me that ‘of course it could only be Pierce Brosnan’, in a tone that suggested that I had probably asked a silly question.
Sir Stirling was probably my favourite interview that day. The photographer and I spent a lot of time talking to him about his racing achievements and he was so down to earth.
As a Wolves fan I also feel incredibly lucky to have met many former players and managers including legendary striker Steve Bull and Dave Jones – who led us to victory in the 2003 play-off final. The first time I met Bully was particularly surreal, having grown up watching him in the number 9 shirt.
Outside of work, I’m struggling to think of any celebrities that I’ve met. My family and I saw Ryan Moloney, the actor who plays Toadie in Neighbours, at Melbourne Airport about 18 years ago. My brother did go over to him to say hello and get his autograph and he happily obliged.
