George stonewalls the big gay party
TROUBLED pop superstar George Michael has surprised gay leaders by refusing to take part in a prestigious Albert Hall fundraiser next month.
George, who famously "came out" earlier this year following his arrest for lewd behaviour in a Los Angeles toilet, has snubbed gay rights charity Stonewall's annual equality bash saying he is tied up with other things.
His decision has left organisers baffled. They believed it was an ideal opportunity for George, 35, to back the gay community after all his problems this year.
"You would have thought this would be the perfect time for George to do the show," an insider says. "Elton John has done it in the past and it's a recognised event in the gay calendar. It's not as if it's sleazy or anything like that." Music business experts are equally nonplussed by George's decision to pull out of the pounds 50 a head party on November 1, especially as he releases his greatest hits album Ladies And Gentlemen the following week.
"A high-profile event like Stonewall's is a promotional dream," one told me. "George's record company must be kicking themselves." Stonewall have been holding the fundraiser for the last five years and have attracted big names like Robbie Williams and Kylie Minogue.
The charity is one of the most respected gay organisations and was represented at Princess Diana's funeral last year. Teen heart-throbs Boyzone have now stepped in and will play alongside opera singer Lesley Garrett.
A CERTAIN world superstar will make their DJing debut on Dave Pearce's Radio One show tonight. I can't say any more at the moment, but don't miss it!
MEG EYES A BIG BREAKFAST
I HEAR Oasis wife and media party organiser Meg Matthews needn't worry too much about lost business after her ill-advised Littlewoods gaffe last week.
Now ambitious Meg, who claimed the chainstore only required the very lowest grade of celebrities at their events, has her eyes set on a TV career.
The thirtysomething blonde rockchick has secretly auditioned for a roving reporter's job on The Big Breakfast, which of course begs the question - what happens to Melanie Sykes?
FEARFUL PHOEBE TAKES OFF
IF Friends star Lisa Kudrow (left) ever claims to be nothing like her kooky character Phoebe in real life, airport staff at JFK in New York might disagree. The actress caused quite a commotion while waiting to board a flight to LA with her husband and baby last week.
"She suddenly refused to board because she'd had a premonition it was going to crash," a JFK insider tells me. "It was really bizarre." The plane landed safely in LA - minus the Kudrow party.
SHE may be the owner of the body most women would love to have, but Titanic star Kate Winslet, has decided she'd like a new figure - so she's agreed to sit for waxworkers at Madam Tussaud's. And in a movie-like twist, Kate will experience a flashback to her nude drawing scene in the film as she sits in something revealing so the artist can see her body, waist, and hips. "It's a great honour,"' a Tussaud's spokesman tells me. '"At pounds 30,000 a figure we only spend money on people who are going to be famous for a few years yet."' Oh. But didn't Kylie Minogue just get a new one?
DESPITE hitting No.1 with her first two records, young Billie Piper has already learnt that with fame comes disappointment. The sickly sweet 16-year-old was devastated at not making it on to this month's Bee Gees tribute album. But what she doesn't know is the real reason why her chosen song Chain Reaction didn't make the final cut.The lines "you make me tremble when your hands move lower and '"you give me only after-midnight action", were considered a little racy for one so young.
COURTNEY Love may look like the archetypal wild woman of rock but according to All Saints, who had a suite next to her at the Metropolitan Hotel last week, she's not such a party animal after all. The girls were enjoying a few drinks in their room when a hotel boss asked them to keep it down because they were disturbing other guests.' An insider says: "They couldn't believe it when they found out it was Courtney."
NEWS reaches me of a potential musical disaster involving Big Breakfast main man Johnny Vaughan and some lounge-room jazz. I'm told Johnny has been offered nearly a million pounds to record an album of covers by the people who inflicted Robson and Jerome on us.
Johnny's well up for the idea and even wants to call it Vaughan To Sing,' my early-morning source tells me.'But he's not too keen on all the promotional work he'd have to do so he's thinking it over.'
Here's hoping then...
SPEAKING of musical disasters I hear heavyweight rocker Meatloaf has a very special reason for his imminent visit to London.
He's all set to take over the West End lead in Phantom Of The Opera after impressing Andrew Lloyd Webber with his work on Whistle Down The Wind.
According to my luvvie sources, the Loaf is meeting the musical knight later this week to thrash out the finer details and talk money.
Just imagine the savings they'll make in make-up.
WHILE appreciating that we're in the middle of a recession the diary can't believe the latest skinflint behaviour at the Beeb.
I hear cash-starved EastEnders bosses have had to ditch the company who provide all the cars on Roy Evans'' car lot and are now begging the show's extras to bring their own cars in when they come to work.
"It's ridiculous," one extra told me. "We even have to buy our own lunch. You don't get this at The Bill."
AFTER going out with Darren Day for 18 months, Anna Friel is obviously used to posing with fakes. Here she is doing a spot of window shopping on the set of her latest movie Mad Cows.
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