I know a lot of you must have had close encounters with Newcastle players, some of which have already been reported on this bbs, but who else have you bumped into?

I`ll start the ball rolling! At the age of fifteen and a half, I ran into the Small Faces at the Spanish City. I went on the Waltzer with Steve Marriot and Dave Berry (who was also on the bill with them in Newcastle). (:o)

Next!!!!

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Answers

Paul Keating, John Howard and every possible Liberal party member who is not a tea totler has leaned on my bar at some stage or another over the last six years.

All of the Brisbane Broncos, strikers, Bulls - again my bar is very popular. Oh and the 1997 or was 1t 1998? touring Scotish Rugby Union team. They had very nice ties, alas they wouldn't give me one. ;-(

Steve Vizard, most of the members of the late Comedy Company.

And inumerable other people who I've forgotten. That said, no one of real interest outside of Australia. And that includes the ex and current PM's.

Oh and incase if your wondering why. Well I used to work in a restuarant/function centre behind the bar, that was owned by the father of a duaghter who as a Liberal Senator. So we used to have lots of political party functions at work. Plus the owner likes to have the cities sporting teams in so he shouts each of them to a night at the restuarant at the beginning of their seasons. Also we used to do a lot of fund raising functions for cuases, like Canteen (luekimia cancer research), Wesley Hospital (breast cancer research - in the five years I was there, we raised 3 and a quarter million dollars alone for this hospital), Rotary, and a few others. What else, yeh the owner is a suposed memeber of the brisbane Mafia (being italian with lots of money). The restaurant is one of Brisbanes best, and used to be known as the best seas food and italian restuarant in the southern hemisphere.

Now that the old manager left and took most of the staff (myself included), all the good ones atleast, it's going to sh!t. The owner is to tight to pay decent wages - everyones on minimum wage - so no one who is good or experienced will there anymore. Coincidently, about 75% of the regular function custumers have followed the old manager to his new place.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Oh and David Dixon from Joseph and the technicolour dream coat. We used to beat him up everday at school.

Same went for Peter Andre at my mates school.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

During our promotion season, all of the Newcastle and Sunderland teams. They came into the restaurant after the derby game at Roker Park. And when I logged on at 7pm they would all still be there. They were all pissed by that time, Sunderland would sit in one section of the restaurant, the Toon the other. Even KK would stay until the bitter end!

Oh those were the days.

I have also met, Farley Jack Master Funk. The Beautiful South, Bryan Adams, Jimmy Saville and the leader singer from Take That whose name I can't remember.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

So you just about had celebrities on tap over there! Mind you, I don`t approve of your treatment of that nice Andre chappie - what`s he doing now, by the way, sunk into obscurity?(:o)

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

OK here`s another one:

Shirley Bassey in Harrods Perfume Hall. Dressed in a floor sweeping real(yuck) fur coat, complete with liveried chauffer trolling along three steps behind carring the parcels! Very OTT!(:o)

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

And of course I know that`s not how you spell `chauffeur`! It was a typo, honest!(:o)

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Jay, did you meet them all in the same restaurant?(:o)

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

For the most part yes. Apart from the Beautiful South and Take That I met them in Hull.

Used to work in the Marsden Grotto, on the Coast Road in South Shields, the Sunderland players were in every couple of weeks. Toon players 3 or 4 times a year. The owner at the time was good mates with the Mackems Chairman.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

I've seen Mark McGhee's willie

and it's very small.

Now before you all start on, I went to school in Durham and on a Thursday afternoon we used to use Maiden Castle sa our sports centre (my school didn't have a good one) so we obviously saw all the players a lot (this was when most were sh*t. Anyway I walked past the showes one day and looked in as you do as mark McGhee was stark boll!ck naked......

On a brighter note, I saw beardo jogging round the riverbanks once (when he was recovering from Ruddock), in fact I think it was the day after the Ipswich 1-1 draw away (although I'm probably mistaken)> Anyway he was jogging along and I said something like, 'the sooner your back the better mate' and he had the ugliest grin and said cheers mate and continued his run.
A pure champion as I think most players would have looked at me as though I was acomplete to$$er but Beardo didn't.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

DUH Sorry about that folks.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

But Kegsy, you are a complete t0$$er. You forgot to tidy up after yourself.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Twice! Double to$$er!!

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Did I make that tripple to$$er?

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Nah - I think you stuck on a double. Yo get banned after that.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Stings dad was my milkman!

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Hiro,

Strange that cos Sting's dad was a milkman I've heard ;)))

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

I was standing at the bar in the Canterbury Tales when a young lass came in. She smiled when she caught me giving her the once-over and raising a rascally eyebrow, and I was just thinking to myself, 'Nice tits, shame she's wearing so much makeup', when she must have realised what I was thinking and crossed her arms and turned her back on me. Being male, I was undeterred and carried on thinking, 'Nice arse, shame she wears so much makeup.' Anyway, the young lady I was with at the time was killing herself laughing and informed me that I had just insulted Martine McCutcheon who was doing panto at the Marlowe Theatre over the road...obviously never heard of Cold Cream before.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Reflected glory:
Wor lass has worked out with Big Al in Burnham Beeches
Honest.
(Thats what she said as well)

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Whilst walking round Silverstone one year at the British Grand Prix, I bumped into someone, instantly recognising him as a familiar face, and greeted him like a long lost relative. You know the kind of thing - `Hi, long time no see, how lovely to see you etc!` It must have been a full sixty seconds before I registered the fact that it was Barry Sheen!

Must be in the gene`s - my father had a similar situation when he was flying to New York. Sat next to someone who he felt he knew, but just couldn`t place him. Spent the entire flight asking leading questions, like `wife alright?`, to try and get some bearing on the man. It wasn`t until they had landed and someone pointed to the mystery man as they were collecting their luggage, he discovered it was actually - Jimmy Stewart! (:o) Must have actually been a good bloke to put up with Dad`s idiotic ramblings!

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Name drop city coming up....

OK...Celebs (some of them!) that I've met and spoken to......I'm bound to miss some....and sorry bout some of the spellings..

LDM (had to stick that one in for the lads!) Gail Porter Marina Sirtis (Deanna Troy from Star Trek) Gates McFadden (Bev Crusher from Star Trek) Brent Spiner (Data from Star Trek) King Kev P. Bracewell P. Merson S. Bould J. Barnes J. Hill Angus Deyton (sp?) Ian Hislop Paul Merton Ian Walker Ian Wright Geri Halliwell Emma Bunton Vinny Jones Michael Stipe Lisa Stansfield The Edge (U2) Lenny Henry Dawn French

I'm bored now and can't be bothered to try and remember if there are more....YOU did ask!!

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Come on Ken....I'm certain you can beat my haul :)))

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

I was working in a bar in Hong kong when there was some 6-a-side cricket game on. I don't know much about Cricket but Merve Hughes-the Australian who looks like a gay sailor was there. Within twenty minutes he's got himself a BJ off the ugliest fifty something I've seen, the following day he was asked to get out of the ladies where he was trying to shag the second ugliest fifty something i've seen.

Same bar I've met Glenn Hoddle, Frank Bruno, a load of suppsedly famous basketball players from Chicago, Chewsee players from 1995 including born again christian Gavin Peacock (who was very miserable complaining about the price of a pint), Arsenal blokes just before Ray Parlour had a run-in with a taxi driver. Also shared a few beers with the Aussie Rugdy team, they said they were famous, I told 'em I'd never hear of 'er and anyway Rugby was a game for people who weren't good enough to play football.

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Hey Gav....never one to disappoint old son......

sorry about this, but given where I work, and have done for twenty years, it sounds very blase I know, but there are so many I wouldn't know where to start.

As I also used to write comedy sketches back in the 80's and early 90's, I have worked with most of the comedians of those years....and I also used to write some of the stage material (pantomime and summer season) for one of the double acts, so have worked with people from that area as well....and it was through that association that I started playing golf with the Variety Club and met with people such as KK.

Prior to working for the BBC and prior to living in London, I also used to have a lot to do with the CIU Club scene all over the north east, so used to know most of the bands and 'turns' that were around at that time from Bobby Thompson through to people like the Don Juans, the Millionaires (who remembers Paul Squires and his brothers) and This That and the Other.

As I said, blase and probably big headed to boot, but it would probably be easier for me to name the people I haven't met in some way shape or form....especially in the entertainment field...however the biggest one of the lot probably has to be meeting Princess Diane when I was setting up a BBC Christmas Press Launch at Harrods

-- Anonymous, June 26, 2000

Billy Bragg, - Richards Records, Canterbury. He had an amp/speaker on his back and was promoting Life is a Riot - about 15 years ago. He chatted for ages. The sexy waitress from Allo Allo (the one who spat when she spoke) came to my wedding. I once sat next to Ted Heath (and a young male friend of his) at a restaurant in Salisbury I interviewed Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn when he returned to Moscow When we were kids Mike Summerbee stayed at the same resort as us in Corfu and refereed a footie game

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2000

I lived in a flat above Richards Records for 2 years! Well, not right above, 2 doors down, but close enough to be both strange and startling.

Their burglar alarm was also set off one Saturday night, and at about 4 in the morning I became aware of it. I'm usually a law-abiding person, but I wasn't putting up with that kind of bollocks until Sunday lunchtime. I took an iron bar from my weights, slipped some black clobber on and set off out to 'turn the alarm off'. It stopped when I was just around the corner. When I arrived it was still swaying on its wires where a likeminded individual had just twatted the bliddy thing off the wall :-)

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2000

Well, I've met ITK once, so does that mean i've vicariously met almost every celebrity who's been kicking around for the last decade or so ;-)

Discounting 'sightings and brief hellos' of course, I grew up with Ben Watt from Everything but the Girl (same road), spent a drunken evening annoying Rob Newman (of Newman and Baddiel) in some pub in Campden. He actually seemed to lose it fairly soon after that evening, strangely. Was head butted by Matt Le Tissier in some club in Southampton in the late 80's. Umm. Eric Cantona was round my mum's place a couple of times this month, as I've posted here before, which I thought was amusing, especially when my mum tried to talk footie.

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2000

Softie Is Richards Records still there? I used to live in Canterbury - On Palace St, but haven't been back for ages.

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2000

Well, having been on Tyneside for 2 years, 1 month and 12 days, I can't say for sure, but it was still worth a visit in 1998. Parrot records and Richard records and the Record Fair in the Scout Hall used to be part of the Saturday morning round :-)

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2000

I haven't been to Newcastle since the day before the Arsenal Cup Final which was - bizarrely - two years, one month and 12 days (or so) ago

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2000

Bizarrely enough, I left Canterbury the day before the Cup Final so that I could watch it in the Golden City. If you saw a blonde chap with a Toon shirt on, a huge rucksack and 2 suitcases, that was me with all my worldly posessions emigrating :-)

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2000

Back to the start of this...... Steve Marriot and the Faces were in my street throwing ice-creams at eachother! My big sister dated Steve Marriot (allegedly). My mother wouldn't let them in the house!

Sis does have lots of pre-release signed singles (note to self: steal and sell)

-- Anonymous, June 27, 2000