Whispers at the Video Cafe
Stars turned out by the limo-load to attend the gala opening of London’s swank Video Cafe (the first in Europe), next door to the Palladium. Amongst the celebrities were Nick Heyward, Paul Rutherford, various Bucks Fizzers, Jon Moss, Lemmy and loads more caught here in Whispers candid camera.
Whispers shared a bottle of laughing lemonade with George Michael, accompanied by Pat Hernandez. Apparently the bearded one is well amused by the antics of the two Page 3 luwerlies who claim to be fighting over Andrew Ridgeley’s attentions.
George wouldn’t deny the story: “Andrew doesn’t mind. It’s good for his image,” he sniggered.
George arrived complete with the de rigueur minder but tasted his own food, the Video Caff’s extraordinary chicken burger. “Tastes more like pork and cereal to me,” he sniffed.
Pouring us another glass of bubbly George explained that Wham aren’t doing any more interviews for a while after No.1 ‘s. “The nationals just make it all up anyway,” he moaned…
Trevor Horn is still remixing the late(est) Frankie single ‘Welcome To The Pleasuredome’. When co-director Jill Sinclair and Trey listened intently to the nearly finished artefact at ZTT recently, Jill’s instant reaction was: “But you’ve only changed one note Trevor.”
“Oh-mi-god, d’you know, ‘dashed out so quickly. I’m sure I’ve forgotten to shave. The last time must be. let me see. 000h. all of three hours ago…” George Michael displays the five o’clock shadow that’s the envy of smooth-as-a-baby’s-bottom pop whizz kids the world over.
“Yeah, but what a great note it is,” replied Horn owlishly…
Incidentally, secrecy surrounds the new Bernard Rose directed video for ‘Pleasuredome’. There are worries that certain pop shows may not run the film, which centres around the Lads nicking a car and going berserk in a Pleasure Garden. According to ZTT supremo Paul Morley, the video is the first Frankie flick to depict the group as they really are…
Kirsty MacColl left hospital last week with her baby son James Patrick Lillywhite. She’s got another follow up too in the shape of a brand new single this March…
“Whaddya say I put it right there Paul?” “Hur, just you wait till you see where I’ve got mine!” Paul Rutherford and Lace star Phoebe Cates compare tattoos.
After the BPI Awards the Americans held their version —
Sheena Easton won an award in the Mexican category for some reason which no one could quite fathom, but biggest congratulations go to Billy Ocean who won the R&B award for ‘Caribbean Queen’…
Stephen Tintin Duffy, formerly lead singer with Duran Duran, plans to retire after two albums to make a feature fllm called Valentine’s Day. It’s about a group from Brum who attempt Beatles style success and fail (no parallels with Duran Duran, surely). “Everyone who has read it says it’s fab,” says Steve modestly. He’s also recorded four songs with Booker T who heard ‘Kiss Me’ when it was a massive NY dancefloor hit in 1983. The Art of Noise’s J.J. Jeczalik provides the backing for the version of ‘Kiss Me’.
More stories about Prince at our own BPI awards are filtering through. Apparently he threw a tantrum when the purple car he’d requested to take him to the hotel turned out to be blue. Cheek!
Later on Prince refused to settle down for the night in the swish Inn On The Park until he’d been brought six chocolate milkshakes from the Hard Rock Cafe…
Tony Thompson, drummer with The Power Station is so impressed by Go West, Chrysalis’ latest hopefuls, that he wants to meet them with a view to pursuing a “project”…
Bob Geldof went up several notches in Whispers’ estimation when he bamboozled the so-called Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher with his demands that VAT be lifted on Band Aid, and that the EEC butter mountain be converted into butter oil for the Third World. The wretched woman was quite dumbstruck for once…
Whispers ventures that with Taffy Kinnock seemingly on the verge of massive pop stardom and Geldof well in line for the call to Number 10 that the two wild Celts swap jobs once and for all. Paula Yates is so much more appealing than Denis Thatcher, don’t you think? And Glenys is such a lovely mover…
“Look, over there! Gosh it’s just tripped over that table…”
“Hmmm. Looks like it could do with a heavy foundation job and a good dab of blusher.”
Jon Moss and Culture Club’s make-up artist Lynne Easton watch the lesser-spotted Whisper pick its way through the admiring throng.
Zeke Manyika celebrated his 30th birthday last week by getting terrifically sozzled at a club in the Kings Road. A birthday cake made for the occasion in the shape of a drum kit suffered an unfortunate accident in the back of a cab, when the driver dropped the bass cake bit…
Back in the buntight. Bucks Fizzer Bobby Gee proves he’s now fully recovered by tackling a patent Catering Corps quarter-pounder, assisted by his bravely smiling wife.
The Tube slot is soon to be temporarily filled by a UK version of the US show Soul Train which will include classic clips from old American shows, much in demand by buffs, as well as modern homegrown talent:…
A little known link between The Power Station’s John Taylor and Robert Palmer is that both played in groups called Dada. And you thought they had nothing in common?…
UB40 have donated £100,000, the proceeds of their African tour, to Zimbabwe’s President Mugabe (Ebagum backwards) to be distributed amongst the poor and homeless. Robin and All Campbell’s dad Ian said: “The lads didn’t tell anyone because they didn’t want to make a big thing of it.”
Working Week’s video for ‘Inner City Blues’ is directed by Keith Allen of Comic Strip notoriety. Allen’s the geezer who lobbed a brick saveloy through the windows of the flash Zanzibar watering hole and spent a few days holidaying at Her Majesty’s expense.
Continue »Stewart Copeland gives an artist’s impression of the average punter’s reaction on being made to watch five hours of pop promos while being force fed a lethal Combination of chicken-burgers and warm white wine.
Keith tells us that the video is reminiscent of The Sweeney…
Nik Kershaw may be immortalised as a statue soon in a competition organised by the Memorial Advisory Board. The project, aimed at schools, invites designs for memorials depicting famous East Anglian people. Nik will be in competition with Admiral Lord Nelson, Edith Cavell and prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, none of them especially tall folk…
Spare a thought for Lotus Eater Gerry Kelly who went on the mule with Peter Coyle In the ‘Pool last week and ended up spending the night in the Bridewell prison. He was released the next day looking very dishevelled indeed. Who said that The Lotus Eaters couldn’t get themselves arrested then?
A cautionary tale. There’s an unwritten law amongst high class fashion shops that they won’t sell duplicate outfits to more than one star. Imagine Glenn Gregory’s surprise after being congratulated on his fetching beige and blue check suit by Holly Johnson —
The Bangles were meant to do a message fora Hospital Radio in St Albans last week but kept the poor journalist waiting so long he had to leave. Never fear however, a No.1 person was on hand to record the group’s message and deliver it to the hospital in time. Hurrah!…
Jon Moss was so good as guest presenter on The Oxford Road Show that the programme are anxious to have him back again soon. Don’t give up your day job yet Jonny…
“Never expose it to daylight, never talk to it and whatever you do never ever let it look ridiculous in public…”
The mighty Prince leaves the country escorted by its minder. Is this what they mean by blanket coverage?