June 29, 2022 ON THIS DAY
FROM THE DAILY MAIL ARCHIVE JUNE 29, 1973
THE rock superstar with hair dyed orange and green and outrageous glasses to match rested his rainbowcoloured boots on the desk and said: ‘Sex appeal? It’s a bit of a mystery. I mean, I’m not pretty . . . in fact, I’m a bit podgy, not very tall and my eyes are weak. And the reason my hair isn’t long is because it’s falling out. Yeah. I’ll probably be the first bald pop star.’ This is Reg Dwight — better known as Elton Hercules John — whose moody, piano-dominated songs have earned him a million dollars, 11 gold discs, a RollsRoyce, a Ferrari and a £50,000 mansion. JUNE 29, 1992
A DEFIANT Margaret Thatcher put herself at the head of the Tory revolt on Europe yesterday. Ministers were appalled as she delivered her most ferocious tirade yet against John Major’s strategy over Maastricht, and denounced the treaty as a threat to democracy.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
NICOLE SCHERZINGER, 44. The Hawaiian- born former X Factor judge was frontwoman of the Pussycat Dolls. The band were in hot water after a show in Malaysia; organisers were fined for flouting public decency laws. The ex-girlfriend of racing star Lewis Hamilton is dating former Scottish rugby player Thom Evans. CARL HESTER, 55. The equestrian from Sark in the Channel Islands (where cars are banned) started out riding a donkey. At 25, he was Team gB’s youngest ever rider to compete at the olympics in 1992,
and won Britain’s first dressage olympic medal: gold at London 2012. At Tokyo 2020, he was the oldest gB competitor, aged 54 and won bronze in a team event.
BORN ON THIS DAY
ORIANA FALLACI (1929-2006). The Italian journalist and bestselling novelist made her name interviewing global figures, from Fidel Castro (to whom she complained about his body odour) to Muhammad Ali (he said he’d break her nose if he saw her again).
CARA WILLIAMS (1925-2021). The U.S. actress, born Bernice Kamiat, started out doing voices for Porky Pig cartoons aged 13. Co- star Tony Curtis hailed her as ‘a complete original’, adding: ‘She’s like having a best friend you’d like to kiss.’
ON JUNE 29 . . .
IN 1974, Charles Aznavour was celebrating his first week at no 1 in the UK with She (co-written by one-time Mail TV critic Herbert Kretzmer) — the only time he topped the charts here.
IN 1976, the Seychelles gained its independence from the UK.
WORD WIZARDRY
GUESS THE DEFINITION: Careen (c.1590) A) To lean, sway, or tip to one side while in motion. B) To sing in the streets. C) To eat or drink especially noisily or greedily.
answer below.
PHRASE EXPLAINED
Shuttle diplomacy: meaning to negotiate an agreement by travelling between countries or parties.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
It is better to lose health like a spendthrift than to waste it like a miser.
Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish writer and author (1850-1894)
JOKE OF THE DAY
WHAT do you get if you throw a piano down a mineshaft? a flat miner. Guess The Definition answer: A.