The Daily Tonic: Nice To Meat You

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* Jeremy Irons’ conversational flow

* Will•i•am’s freestyle pitch

* PLUS: An audio quiz of banned songs

>> Burn book <<

Andy’s not pro-Bono

Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has been getting himself lot of positive press attention recently. He may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but he’s certainly got good taste in enemies.
Back when he was an MP, Burnham once put in a bit of facetime at a Labour fundraising gig in Hove, arriving while a musician-comedian was in the middle of his set. Andy quickly nipped to the loo, and then asked an aide to catch him up on what he’d missed when he returned.
Burnham: What’s he singing about?

Aide: He’s singing about Bono being a cunt.

Burnham: He’s got a point – and I’ve met him.

Nominative Determinism of the Day: the Secretary of the Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust… Peter Goodship!

>> Question time <<

Our friends in the North

Part of the reason we started these daily issues was to brighten up the afternoons of anyone affected by the social restrictions of this pandemic. As the North West is having an especially tough time of it at the minute, we felt we ought to rally round a bit and compile some stories to help lift their spirits.
Today’s Question: What are your favourite celebrity stories from the North West?
Whether they’re about stars who hail from Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire or the nearby areas; or whether they’re about other celebs who had a unique experience when visiting (Paul Danan’s noisy motherfucking trip to Preston, e.g.) we want to hear about them.
Send your stories to hello@popbitch.com and we’ll reward the best with some digital goody bundles.

FYI: Everywhere else, we haven’t forsaken you. Looks like we’re in this for the long haul…

>> Press leaks <<

Don’t disrupt the flow

BL writes:

“A former colleague of mine once did a press junket with Jeremy Irons. She reported that in the middle of the interview in the usual hotel room set-up, he got up and went into the bathroom – leaving the door open – and had a piss, while keeping the conversation going over his shoulder the whole time.
“I can’t remember asking if he washed his hands or not. Sorry, bad form for a longtime Popbitch subscriber.”

AM writes: “I once had a meeting with Brian May. He put his feet up on the chair next to me. MASSIVE feet. Also, watching him eat rocket leaves is fascinating. He eats them individually, making a meal out of each one.”

>> Bad rap <<

Not-so-smart watch

T writes:

“Had a meeting in NY about launch marketing Will•i•am’s new smartwatch probably five years ago. Will’s people are there, but he is not. He is joining on speakerphone.
“We ask Will what we should know about his plans for the product. He tells the story through the medium of a freestyle rap. The rap is not good. Then his people take the watch out of the box. It’s a heavy plastic cuff that looks and feels like the exploding necklace in The Running Man.”

John Leslie was almost the host of Fun House before producers gave the job to Pat Sharp.

>> First meating <<

“Please, Mr Loaf was my father”

K writes:

“In the early 2000s I was working for EMI in Chicago. Meat Loaf was represented by them at the time so when he was asked to sing the US National Anthem at the Chicago Cubs game, several of my colleagues went round to cheer him on.
“When we were escorted into the private box to have a bit of a meet and greet, Mr Loaf insisted that we call him by his first name… Meat. He was quite jolly but I did find it weird introducing myself – ‘Hi, Meat. Nice to meet you…'”

K-Fin writes: “A bit off-topic, but the mention in Monday’s mailout of an offy named after Amy Winehouse reminded me of the wonderfully-named tribute act that was advertised at a pub near my parents’ house a few years ago: Amy Housewine.”

>> Quarantunes <<

#157: With The Banned

As we recently did an audio round based around work (#138) today’s theme is a wildcard. The ten tracks in today’s quiz are all songs that the BBC banned during the first Gulf War. For anyone who thinks that this generation is somehow uniquely talented at finding offence in innocuous places, you might be surprised to hear some of the things that got blacklisted back then.
You get a point for every song title you can name, plus a further point for getting the performing artist(s).
[Ten songs; twenty points]

POPBITCH POPQUIZ: Now that our social lives are all headed back to Zoom, get yourself a Play-At-Home Popbitch Popquiz. Containing eight new rounds of trivia, challenges and puzzles, the Gold Edition has everything you need to host your own version of our legendary pub quiz.

[Get your copy here]

>> Hmmms <<

A couple of quick things

Headline of the week? “Phil Collins Wants To End Ex-wife’s ‘Armed Occupation’ Of His Mansion, Lawsuit Says”

[See on Miami Herald]
Beastie Boys x Ghostbusters

[Hear on YouTube]

Thanks to: MDS, KD, T, BL, AM, SK, WA, JF, OS, K-Fin

Old Jokes Home

I broke my pizza cutter so had to use an old Bryan Adams CD instead.

Cuts Like A Knife.

Fancy Another?