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Sue Perkins and Dawn French are together at last! Royal Festival Hall, Sun 22 Nov, celebrating Sue’s funny, frank book Spectacles. Book now:
http://bit.ly/1Lv5b3M
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“If you can make pickled onion in your garage, rather than be a garage band, you’re in business” – Alex James
POPBITCH _ _ _ _
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|_| |_|22.10.15 ISSUE 759
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* Selfies with BoJo
* In the toilet with Simon Cowell
* Charts: Bieber still no 1?
>> Sugar and rice <<
…and all things nice
TV chef Jamie Oliver spoke to a parliamentary committee this week about his campaign for a sugar tax.
They should take his advice. If anyone knows how to skim a bit of cash off the back of sugar it’s him. His 2013 TV series was sponsored by Uncle Ben’s – a brand that belongs to Mars Inc, the food giant most famous for Mars, Snickers, Bounty, Skittles, M&Ms…
Zooey Deschanel is the frontrunner for baby name of the year. She’s called her daughter Elsie Otter.
>> Big Questions <<
Who’s asking what this week?
Which out-of-favour Labour MP seemed to enjoy the unexpected amount of free time he had at the party conference by behaving a little indiscreetly with a very pretty, curvy lady who most certainly wasn’t his wife?
Howard Kendall used to play in the same football team as Bryan Ferry, Washington Grammar School Under 13s.
>> Broc blocking <<
It ain’t easy being green
Heineken has been a ‘brand partner’ of the James Bond franchise since Tomorrow Never Dies back in 1997, but their recognisable bottles didn’t actually make it to the screen until 2012’s Skyfall.
The Bond films have never been shy about product placement, so why the delay? Apparently Bond producer Barbara Broccoli hates the colour green because of all the teasing her surname inspired as a kid. So she took a lot of persuading to have Heineken’s green bottle show up in the movie.
Gushing praise for Spectre across newspaper reviews. Hmmm, it was described to us as “cliched, largely twistless, hackneyed, overlong” and industry bibles Hollywood Reporter and Screen Int didn’t care for it.
>> Bakk in Blakk <<
Sietse behaviour
A couple of months ago, we suggested that some of the goings-on at Eurovision HQ were starting to make the organisation resemble FIFA.
If you thought we were overstating the comparison – we weren’t. This week the EBU fired Junior Eurovision’s Head Of Press just three weeks before the competition kicks off. Why? Because she dared to speak out about one of Eurovision’s top bods, Sietse Bakker, on Facebook.
If that’s the sort of power he wields, it’s no wonder that people are now referring to Sietse by a new nickname…
Sepp Blakker.
Mercury Music Prize nominee Eska’s album Eska has sold a total of 1,422 copies.
>> Train gang <<
Blurting things out
Damon Albarn didn’t make many friends on the Great Western Railway when he was travelling to Weston-super-Mare recently.
Sat with five friends in the quiet carriage, Damon’s gang was making a hell of a racket to much tutting and shushing from commuters wanting peace.
The situation was reaching a bit of a head at Nailsea and Backwell station, so Damon decided to apologise. Which he did from his seat, shouting in his very loudest voice, so that the whole quiet carriage could hear how sorry he was.
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Book your team for the Popbitch Get Ready For Xmas 2015 Quiz Night! Tues 10th Nov, Smiths, Spitalfields. Get your ticket now: http://bit.ly/1NW5Rlc
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>> Dishelfie <<
BoJo-baiting abroad
Poor old Boris Johnson. Such is his reputation for being an approachable, affable sort that he can’t even have a nice relaxing holiday without being pestered by the public.
There he was, minding his own business at Perugia airport, trying to say goodbye to a young woman, when he was bombarded by a parade of people wanting to take selfies. Luckily, ‘dishevelled’ is kind of Boris’s signature look – so he was pretty much camera ready.
Boris’s mate Evgeny Lebedev owns a castle near Perugia. Evgeny also has a wolfdog called Boris.
>> School Brittania <<
Well, well, Weller
Paul Weller, former member of 80s Labour-supporting music collective Red Wedge (who also wrote The Eton Rifles to mock posh private schoolboys) was spotted at an Open Day for University College School in Hampstead.
Could he be hoping to send his son there next year? You can’t really blame him, if so. The esteemed list of alumni include Tristram Hunt, Judge Jules and, erm… Paul Dacre.
Popbitch’s favourite fly fisherman, river restorationist and writer? Author of Trout in Dirty Places… Theo Pike!
>> Fact off <<
X heading for an exit?
Sounds like Simon Cowell’s long and lucrative relationship with ITV has hit a bit of a rocky patch. The Dark Lord was heard telling a pal at a recent party that the show’s problems are more to do with ITV’s “lack of promotion” than anything else.
He also seemed to be annoyed that ITV is prepared to concede that Strictly is winning the ratings battle, as The X Factor is more likely to be watched online or on catch up. Still, Cowell should be a little more careful voicing his grumbles. TV sources point out that his 150 million pound ITV deal runs out next year. As does the BBC’s 11 million per year deal for The Voice.
Syco’s spin doctor Ben Todd never seemed to leave his boss’s side at the event. He even followed Cowell when he went to the toilet.
>> Hmmms <<
Media spat, lemurs, Nile
The new Pure Bathing Culture album is available to stream:
http://bit.ly/1LOUHMG
Go see Mary Beard speak about her new book about ancient Rome SPQR, Next Wednesday – Oct 28th. 15GBP tickets withpromo code ROME:
http://bit.ly/1QreIsB
Nile Rogers has some excellent mundane domestic tips (about two minutes in):
http://bit.ly/1LIcQIu
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Thanks to: mercyme, AN, JR, HO, RA, N, JT, L,
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Old Jokes Home:
Q/ What do you get if you cross Titanic with the Sixth Sense?
A/ Icy dead people
Still Bored?
Issue 19 of Popbitch Magazine is out now. Get it for your phone or tablet NOW:
http://bit.ly/1NpVoeu
