Thursday, January 17, 2008

Showbiz

Last night, the other Green Wing types and I went for a drink/catch up in London's fashionable Brick Lane, which always strikes me as being like a very weird cross between Nathan Barley and the last fifteen minutes of Children Of Men.

After sitting in a quiet bar for an hour or so, we left the building to find a couple of thousand very excited young people accompanied by television crews, all peering in excitedly. Naturally, I assumed it was blog fans*, and pushed Stephen Mangan to one side to allow them greater access to me, but it turned out Radiohead were playing a secret gig at that very venue.

We pause for a second, considering whether we should go back in and see THE GREATEST BRITISH BAND THAT HAS EVER BEEN.

GW WRITERS: I need my tea.
GW ACTOR: Should probably get back to the baby.
C4 EXEC: I need to catch the train.
ME: Ooh, they'll have finished cleaning my hotel room by now.

So we didn't see them in the end. This is a rubbish post, apologies.


* The monstrous, only-semi-ironic egotism of that bit is made almost viable by the folowing bit of phone dialogue:

ME: Hello, is that Channel Four rights department? I just need to chase up a couple of things.
NICE PERSON: What's your name?
ME: James Henry
NICE PERSON: Blue cat?
ME:...

Channel Four rights department are ace and on their behalf I demand pay rises and all the holiday they want, starting now.

17 comments:

Dave said...

I have never seen or heard Radiohead (although I do listen to Radio 4 a lot). On the other hand, I did watch Green Wing.

I know which group I would be most excited to meet.

Anonymous said...

Do you stay at a swanky hotel? The Ritz perhaps, or Claridges? If so, I'd be more excited about getting back than seeing Radiohead. Especially if someone else was paying...

Oli said...

To be fair, the new album is a bit pony.

hayleym_sw said...

According to the BBC they didn't do it in the end, because too many people turned up. So you didn't miss anything after all.

Anonymous said...

Aha - they did do it but it moved:

http://theboywholikesto.wordpress.com/

and they didn't go on until after 10pm. Well after your bedtime James.

Fat Roland said...

"A bit pony" ... interestang.

Oli said...

The phrase itself, or do you disagree? Plenty do, but I think it's their weakest offering since Pablo Honey.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely love the new album, but what do I know?
This is the perfect excuse, however, to tell the story of how I met Thom in Virgin Megastore, Aberdeen two days after 'the Bends' came out (I worked there at the time and was going to see them later that night). I finally plucked up the courage to go and speak to him, after watching him wander around the store for a while. Unfortunately, they weren't very well known at the time, and I'd only ever seen his name written down, so assumed it was said with the 'th' pronounced as in 'the'. After being assailed by my shouting his name at him wrongly, he literally turned right around and ran out of the store.....
Gutted.
You should never meet your heroes - one of you is always going to end up embarrassed...

Valerie said...

Hmm, I don't think that's always true, Danothebaldyheid, but I do see where problems can arise...

When the hype becomes bigger than the band — and don't misunderstand me, I do like Radiohead — one's tea and sleep concerns become more important than a secret concert. I think you may have chosen wisely. There's always the chance you missed the greatest small-audience concert R. has ever given, of course. People will be talking about it years later and you'll have to tell them that you were excited about your clean hotel room and missed it all. But really, that's but a remote possibility.

patroclus said...

>>There's always the chance you missed the greatest small-audience concert R. has ever given, of course. People will be talking about it years later and you'll have to tell them that you were excited about your clean hotel room and missed it all.<<

I greatly fear this will come to pass, if today's media coverage is anything to go by. Apparently there weren't any riots, though - shame.

Sylvia said...

I'm with the GW writers - nothing's worth missing your tea for.

Could I join the GW writers? I'm keen, middle aged, and would bring my own sweets.

James Henry said...

Sweets are a good in, definitely.

Bearded Lady said...

I think I said 'are they really that good?'. I think we were best off leaving. It's cooler to have left than hung around for hours like desperate loosers. Although if it had been Take That......

Sylvia said...

or Donny.

Oops. Showing my age, there.

Boz said...

I actually quite like the new album. I think this means I'm officially too old to be hip any more. But old enough for this not to bother me.

...now if it had been the Divine COmedy in their heydey...

(runs away in a middle-class fashion).

Anonymous said...

aah thanks James - you just made my day! Unfortunately the boss isn't going for the payrises thing - damn.

Not to dent your ego but I'm even worse talking to Hollyoaks actors, I think I even giggled once; how embarrassing.

I think I need to get out more...

Anonymous said...

So was the lovely Julian not invited, was he left at home all sad and alone - one needs to know.

And I bet the Radio Head gig wasn't all it was cracked up to be, it's just the Media hyping it up, cause they all missed it as well.