Claim to fame?

With the first band thread and first album thread thought I’d try this one.

What’s your claim to fame? Headline and explanation. Only ONE allowed (although I have three)

mine - I played guitar with The Jam! I worked in a music shop and they came in to pass some time and spent an afternoon jamming (sic)

8 Likes

…shared a urinal with James Last…

7 Likes

Real tenuous link here . Years ago my mum lived in Cheshunt Hertfordshire. She was friends with a young girl who had an older brother, they used to sit on the wall and listen to him playing his Elvis records coming from his bedroom window. A short while later she remembers the brother turning up on his pushbike and telling his sister that he’d just made a record. The brothers name was Harry Webb later known as Cliff Richard, and the rest they say is history.

7 Likes

A link to the above post…

I tripped up Bruce Welsh at the Royal Albert hall, we we going to get refreshments at the interval. He actually apologized to me, my fault though.
We were watching Eric Clapton.

5 Likes

My daughter duetted with Leslie Garret :notes::notes::notes::heart:

6 Likes

I ran into Nick Mason (pink floyd) at a drum event and nearly knocked him over as we collided on a corner upstairs at Earl’s Court, I actually stopped and apologised and then realised who he was and said “oh it’s you!” he actually smiled which I’m told is unusual.

Once played drums with Keith Emerson when he sat in with my band one night, and another night Arthur “fire” Brown played with a band I was in and we improvised a set at a hippie music festival in a gigantic Mongolian Yurt.

Played with James McCartney one night in Rye for a full set, he was friends with the band, I was covering for their drummer. He has a claim to fame due to his dad. :joy::joy::joy:

Fixed Chris Difford’s boiler once.

Some of my customers are famous but not household name famous, famous within their own area of expertise.

6 Likes

Chris Diffords boiler, was it too cool for his cat😉 I’m sorry I’ll get my coat .

4 Likes

He did have a cat, not very chatty though. I’d worked in the same house since I was 12 with my dad, first for a relation of JFK who knew him and then for Richard Ingrams daughter. We get all sorts need heating ‘round ‘ere.

2 Likes

Had “lunch” so to speak with Sir John Barry & his daughter in a cafe in Loch Lomond centuries back.
Place was rammed, so the only 2 seats left were opposite theirs at the large table.
I’d no idea who they were…he was scruffy, old wax jacket. Daughter was…casually dressed.
Only came to light when we got chatting about…the bloody weather and he asked where SWMBO’s accent hailed from. She asked him what he did for a living after he asked hers.
Priceless. Nice down to earth every day guy.
He also insisted on paying.
They left in his beaten up Landy…the whole appearance was seemingly just to get peace & quiet from the public gaze.,
His daughter ended up doing “jingles” for my hospital radio slot but tbh we lost contact after the great man passed away.

5 Likes

Mik Kaminski (Violinski) came to live next door to us in Yeadon. A very quiet and peaceful character.
:heart:

4 Likes

I fitted Bucks Fizz out with rubber suits…

.
.
.
.
.

Years ago working in aviation logistics and safety equipment we issued survival suits to people travelling to North Sea facilities by Helicopter. At the time there were a series of programs broadcast from the BP 40’s field and Bucks Fizz were on one (also fitted Terry Worgan and Russell Harty at other times too).

BP Video Library still has footage available.

6 Likes

I saw the Queen drive through Essex once and I saw the Queen Mum get out of a Helicopter in Chelmsford.

3 Likes

My son used to sit up in his bedroom playing his guitar. He went on to win radio Piccadily search for a star. After singing in pubs and clubs at the start of a singing career and then recording his first album, The Voice, he is known as the peoples tenor.
His name… Russell Watson.

12 Likes

My mate’s brother in law and cousin who both played guitar joined a newly forming band and we went to their first gig in Bow, London. After that first meeting my mate became a roadie for them and because I had a car (Ford Corsair) I was “interviewed” one night in the Dog and Duck Walthamstow by the bands leader Steve Harris and was given the job of drummers roadie, probably because I had played the side drum in the Boys Brigade. We then got a residency at the Cart and Horses in Stratford, East London on a Friday night, that band was Iron Maiden. Funny thing is when they were coming up with names, I thought Iron Maiden sounded stupid and was too much like the band Iron Butterfly. I left when I met the Obergruppenfurher, although she hadn’t reached that rank back then.

4 Likes

I thought you were going to say you worked in one of those shops that sell gimp masks and other things like whips and bondage gear. :flushed:

4 Likes

Oh…got a nice letter from Himself Mr Spencer…William & Harry’s Uncle after SWMBO wrote to him following the passing of his Mother on Seil Island where she worked PT at the tat shop.
She used to chat to SWMBO a lot. Lovely lady. She lived on the island…and her house & area was an island “state secret”.

2 Likes

Can I have another one?

I stood next to Bradley Walsh in a bakers once , I think he had a sausage roll , and he’s very short .

2 Likes

I once shared a commercial flight with Tim Brooke-Taylor and his golf clubs, no other passengers.

In the days of the BA Shuttle there was a reserve aircraft and on an Edinburgh to London sector they filled the first one, we got on the reserve aircraft.

3 Likes

Blimey you’ve met a whole seaside special of seventies stars :wink:

3 Likes

A good few years ago, a friend of ours called in on a Sunday morning on his motorbike, along with a pal of his - James - who was riding a fabulous Ducati (996 I think)
We got chatting about the Ducati, and classic cars, etc, as you do, and at the time I thought James looked vaguely familiar, but didn’t think anything of it.
A couple of days later whilst watching TV, the penny dropped - it was the celebrity chef - James Martin - who had been at our house and I didn’t even recognise him - oops!!

3 Likes