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Rubbish claims to fame


GarethRDR

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They just keep coming. I was once interviewed on BBC Radio Leeds about unsuccessfully queueing to get Bob Dylan tickets.

:lol: I think that's my favourite so far.

Oh it was a belter. It was 1978, Dylan's first UK gigs since the legendary '66. Five nights at Earl's Court, and a massive demand for tickets. But London promotions genius Harvey Goldsmith decided that no ticket outlets were necessary north or west of Leeds, so the box office had people coming from Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Scotland, you name it. THOUSANDS queing all night. At one point I was being crushed against a plate glass window that was bowing inwards at an alarming curve - you could hear it creaking. The local plod were doing nothing to sort the queue out, and people were getting very stroppy. Anyway, at some point during the night, this local radio bloke came around and randomly picked me and some girl to come on their rock show the next day to talk about why we liked Dylan. OK, we said.

Come the moring, and I shuffled up to the shop door - and had it shut in my face. I was the first one to lose out.

So when I go to the radio studios next night I was ready to let rip about the crap planning. The DJ was pure Alan Partridge, hitting on the girl (oblivious to the fact that she hated him) and ignoring me. When I got my two minutes I really let rip with a rant of Basil Fawlty proportions, until they managed to shut me up and get me out of the studio. So I had a few beers and went off to see how many of my mates had heard it.

Nobody, not a one.

I had the last laugh though - a couple of weeks later they added a festival date (Blackbushe), with Clapton and several other bands for the same price as an Earl's Court ticket - no problem with queues, and laughing at the touts trying to offload their London tickets.

And it was a memorable gig.

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Ah just remembered another one. I was interviewed with a mate whilst standing outside of Pizza Hut in town waiting for the rest of my mates to come out last year by the BBC Asian Network, they asked me about the news that Gordon Brown was looking into more compulsory PE or something. It was pissing it down so I'm surprised they managed to hear anything over the rain.

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That also reminds me that I was on some crappy West Yorkshire radio station (Radio Air maybe?) after England lost to Croatia. I slagged off McLaren for giving Carson his debut in such a big game. It was a terrible decision.

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Just remembered that my next door neighbour (other side from the one I was talking about before) was once on a show with Clare Balding on Radio 4 talking about walking on the Lickey Hills.

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One afternoon while watching Villa play QPR at Loftus Road I sat behind Robin "Confessions of a Window-Cleaner" Askwith, and just a few seats along from George "Doctor in the House/My Brother's Keeper" Layton and Tim "The Goodies" Brooke-Taylor.

None of whom won the Lucky Programme Draw, a QPR training top. That was MEEEEEEEEEEE!

And I once refused to play table tennis with a brother or cousin of the great Desmond Douglas. Cos he would have murdered me.

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I slagged off McLaren for giving Carson his debut in such a big game. It was a terrible decision.

No ..I think you were right to slag off Carson to be honest

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Thought of another one.

I've met and shook the hand of Alan Whiley. He was the guest of honour at the presentation of my A Level certificates. He told me to keep it up, and after the presentation was over spent the entire night talking to some kid who had just done his GCSEs who was with Walsall's youth players and meant to be a bit of a prospect for them. Actually he even mentioned the kid in his speech...

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