HICKEY
WITH Boris Johnson criticised in some quarters for failing to tidy up his trademark unruly barnet before publicly paying tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, sister Rachel, pictured, comes to his defence.
Responding to a suggestion the Prime Minister could have “run a comb” through his hair beforehand, LBC presenter Rachel maintains Boris’s wayward lockdown locks would have been beyond controlling. “Wouldn’t make any difference,” she insists.
AFTER discovering one of the Duke of Edinburgh’s favourite songs was Charles Dibdin’s 18th-century composition Tom Bowling – about the death of a sailor – former First Sea Lord, Admiral Lord Alan West, arranged for it be performed for his royal guest during a dinner marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar in 2005.
“I had a harpist and a singer,” West now remembers. “Sadly, I did put the wrong thing on the menu: instead of saying ‘exotic harpist,’ I said ‘erotic harpist’, which really amused the Duke.”
ANNOUNCING his “deep condolences” to the Queen, old hellraiser and Rolling Stone Keith Richards, 77, once sang for Her Majesty when part of a trio of sopranos at Westminster Abbey during more angelic days as a choirboy...
FELLOW veteran rocker Alice Cooper, 73 – born Vincent Furnier – points out: “I quit drinking and smoking, doing all the stuff that rock stars do, 38 years ago. That’s why I’m still here!”
Noting the fates of hard-living friends in the music business, Cooper adds: “Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix... they were like big brothers. I watched them drop off at 27. That turned a little light on in my head.”
The singer happily concludes: “I’m probably healthier at 73 than I was at 28.”
REFLECTING on turning 60 last September, Colin Firth, pictured, admits: “I wasn’t quite ready.”
The Oscar-winner and longtime screen heartthrob – not least as wet-shirted Darcy in Pride And Prejudice – confesses: “I was in denial until one minute before midnight... if somebody asks how old I am, there’s a voice inside my head that screams, ‘What?’”
GENTLY mocking the energetic promotional efforts of frequently globetrotting Sir Michael Palin, Monty Python colleague Eric Idle, 78, jokily claims: “I know he stops people in the streets and offers them autographs. It’s sad really.”
ACTRESS Jane Milligan reports that one of father Spike Milligan’s beloved Mini cars has been restored and is now due to be part of a planned exhibition on the Goons star, almost 20 years after his death.
Explaining his devotion to Minis – he owned 10 during his lifetime – Spike recalled of his first purchase: “I gave up smoking and the money saved came to £500. I thought, I won’t waste this... I bought my first Mini.
“It served me for seven years, without any trouble at all. I just had to have a change of tyres and underwear.”