When Ross met Bros...and those ridiculous shorts
WEhave all worn embarrassing items of clothing at one time or other.
I had the platforms. The tank tops. The MC Hammer trousers that made it look like I was smuggling ferrets.
Most people are allowed to forget their fashion faux pas, but not me.
The picture above has haunted me for years – and just look at those denim shorts I wore all the way back in 1989.
I was in front of 80,000 people, introducing the brilliant pop band, Bros.
With that many people in the crowd it’s no wonder people remember my pasty Scottish legs. At one stage I’m sure the sunlight reflected off my milk-white thighs and blinded a coachload of schoolkids from Milton Keynes in Row Y.
In my defence...well, I don’t have one. I’ve mentioned the embarrassment of wearing these short shorts before – mainly because so many people won’t let me forget it – and I’ve been getting pelters from Bros, Matt and Luke.
Bros are set to play two huge comeback gigs at the O2 on August 19 and 20 and it’s going to be glorious. The ’80s legends are back, and I caught up with Matt and Luke ahead of their show – and they only wanted to mention one thing. “You were wearing shorts!” said Luke. “Yes, but we were wearing shoulder pads!” added Matt.
“You looked like you had shoulder pads in your shorts!”
It was then the lads asked if I’d come on stage to present them in London this Saturday – and I quickly agreed.
Then they said it was on just one condition . . . that I wear the shorts again. Oh dear – I’m not sure the crowd know what they’re in for.
“We used to drive over the Hammersmith flyover and our dream was to play the Hammersmith Odeon,” reminisced Matt.
“We did five nights there and they told us we’d be adding another night. We thought we were doing another night at the Odeon, but then they told us they were adding Wembley Stadium! “We couldn’t fathom we were playing it.” Matt’s brother Luke added, “I’m a drummer so I hit the bass drum and it echoed round the stadium. I wasn’t blasé, I was asking myself how the hell I was there.
“My first thought afterwards was where the tequila was. I was so relieved.
“They said they’d put a small intimate party on for us for – with 3000 guests!”
They were probably looking for some free booze to wipe out the memory of those shorts…