The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
DUNCAN JAMES MY LIFE IN TRAVEL
I FEEL AT HOME IN LIVERPOOL – a wonderful feeling for someone as peripatetic as me. I lived there full-time while filming Hollyoaks for two years and loved the city so much that I snapped up a house, overlooking the docks. Honestly, it was the best thing I ever did. You can usually find me there, in Belgium (where my partner lives) or in London or some other big city where I happen to be working.
BEIRUT WAS UNLIKE ANYWHERE I’d been before. My birthday was in April so my friends and I packed our bags and set off for a long weekend there. I was very impressed with the old town, especially Brassica, an Italian restaurant we went to a lot.
MIAMI HAS THE BEST EYE CANDY in the world. My good friend [the singer] Anastacia lives just up the coast in Fort Lauderdale and is always up for a big night out when I visit.
The Palace Bar on Ocean Drive is our usual haunt. It has a drag queen show, which is always so much fun to watch. For my 40th birthday last year I took my mum, my daughter and my daughter’s mum on a cruise from Miami around the Caribbean. It was nothing short of glorious.
BUTLER SERVICE THREW ME when I visited the St Regis resort in Mauritius. My suitcase reached my room before me. Not only that, but it was unpacked and my clothes were all hanging in my wardrobe. I felt like a king. I’d never had service like that.
SOLO TRAVEL WAS LIKE THERAPY for me after the craziness of Blue. I was in desperate need of some “me time” and needed to “find myself ”, so to speak. After we disbanded in 2005, I took off on my own around Thailand. It was great, and I’ve travelled alone since then.
I REMEMBER
OLD IBIZA before it became so expensive and overexposed. I used to get invited randomly to Simon and Yasmin Le Bon’s villa, along with John Hitchcock when he was dating Caprice, the model. We’d go every year and have a wonderful time. These days I prefer to go on holiday to Mykonos, which is just as beautiful – and just as expensive – but a little less populated.
MARIAH CAREY SERENADED ME once while we were 35,000ft up in the sky. It all happened on a flight between London and Los Angeles. We were somewhere in international air space when a steward approached me out of the blue. “Miss Mariah would like to invite you for a drink at the bar,” he said. Yes, there was a bar on board this plane and, naturally, I obliged. “Hey it’s Mariah, I recognise you,” she said, before ordering an inordinate amount of drinks just for the two of us. We were doing shots at one point. The next thing I knew she was singing in my ear. It still sticks with me as the best flight of my life.
I WHACK ON A FACE MASK when I fly these days. Your skin can get so dried up in plane cabins, which can be problematic if you’re bound for a press event straight off the runway. It’s important to stay hydrated and to drink lots of water.
I’VE CURBED MY PARTYING as I’ve grown older. Not because I want to, but out of necessity. I’m on tour with the Rocky Horror Show at the moment and I simply can’t drink during the week because I won’t have a voice the next day. Every night I’m in bed by midnight, without fail. It might sound silly, but touring is a challenge. You’re hanging out with the same people every day and giving it your all every night.
RUNNING OUT OF UNDERWEAR is a real issue on tour. Self-maintenance is difficult, generally. It doesn’t take long for me to fall into bad habits, such as substituting crisps and chocolate bars for meals, or making do with dirty clothes. It can be tough.
WHEN BLUE WERE IN TOKYO we would hit up the ANA hotel for teppanyaki. First they would serve
EAR PLUGS
I cannot stand being on a plane and hearing the people behind me eating their crisps or talking. My ear plugs are specially moulded for me, so they are a perfect fit. £19.96; pcwerth.co.uk you the crispiest, most delicious prawn heads. Then they’d bring out the wagyu beef. When I’m hungry for a fix of Asian food on home shores, I’ll go to E&O in London’s Notting Hill and order some crispy squid with a glass or two of hot sake.
PERFORMING AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE for the Queen’s Golden Jubilee was one of the greatest
“rock star moments” of my career. We were invited to perform on stage with Tom Jones for the “Party at the Palace” celebrations. By the end of the set I had Tom Jones next to me on one side, Ozzy Osbourne on the other and Queen jamming behind me.
I’m very intimately attached to a particular pillow – I have to take it everywhere I go
CALL ME STRANGE BUT I’m very intimately attached to a particular pillow. It’s a big, heavy, down-y pillow. My grandparents gave it to me when I was a little boy and we’ve been together ever since. I have to take it everywhere I go. I’ve even left it on planes before and consequently missed connecting flights! Duncan James was a guest speaker on board Sapphire Princess, sailing on a Mediterranean Explorer cruise