Author Archives: Paul

I went to a party there on Saturday at what’s now the Richmond Boat Club. I sort of knew where it was – in the middle of the Thames near Twickenham – but I’d never actually been there. In the 60s, Eel Pie Island had the one of the most famous jazz and blues clubs […]

This weekend sees the 50th anniversary of Radio 1. In its 1970s heyday it was huge, the only place where new records could be heard, so practically every teenager in the UK tuned in. DJs like Tony Blackburn, Noel Edmonds and Mike Read were proper supermarket-opening stars. But in 2017, I can’t imagine who listens […]

Soho came to a standstill yesterday for the funeral of Bernie Katz, the “Prince of Soho”. For more than twenty years, this tiny, flamboyant and hugely charismatic man was front of house at the Groucho Club. Bernie was perhaps the most recognisable character in a area chock-full of recognisable characters. And they all turned out […]

All football fans know the story of AFC Wimbledon. In 2002, Wimbledon FC was cynically re-located to Milton Keynes and renamed MK Dons to attract a larger fanbase. So fans of the original club decided to form a new team, holding trials on Wimbledon Common for anyone who wanted to play. They began in the […]

Is the Rev. Richard Coles, co-host of Radio 4’s Saturday Live and contestant in the new series of Strictly. No stranger to stardom, he was once one half of The Communards, and this was biggest-selling single of 1986. A few years ago, I used him as a voiceover because he sounds very similar to Stephen […]

Kids are now back at school and I can’t help noticing that more of them seem to be in uniform than ever before. School uniform is now back in vogue because it gives pupils a sense of equality and identity. It removes worry about what to wear to school and the bullying of those whose […]

A comedy staple for as long as most of us can remember. Though not so much now. It’s quite rare to see a rug but the other day, I was sitting behind a man sporting a beauty. Not jet black and comically obvious, it was its near perfection that gave it away. It was authentically […]

To my son’s graduation ceremony at University College London on Friday to see him wear a cap and gown and collect a degree in Classics from one of the finest universities in the world. So proud to have a son who’s a graduate though of course, I can’t see that word without thinking of Dustin […]

Today we commemorate 20th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. I met her once in the late 80s. The Hammersmith Palais had been refurbished and re-launched as “Le Palais”. Bit glitzy, bit naff, so of course I was the DJ on the opening night. All proceeds were going to the Prince’s Trust so Charles […]

If this calypso album he made back in 1957 is anything to go by, the answer is almost certainly yes.