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Post Info TOPIC: Stories from Hay - Geldof and Mailer


Loudmouth

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Stories from Hay - Geldof and Mailer
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I love this story, from Hay Festival by Peter Florence.

Its the after-hours stories that often resonate longest with me. Take Bank Holiday Monday in 1999, which was to end with Bob Geldof playing his rootsy folk-rock concert, after Norman Mailer had been holding court earlier that day.

Mailer had yarned about Kennedy, the CIA, Sinatra, God and plastic his particular obsessive hatred.

Everyone and I mean everyone loves him. Hes a force of nature, but hes quite deaf. He was eating, merrily, with theological writer Karen Armstrong, Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and the wicked Bernice Rubens. On the way back from the gig, Geldof, whos rarely lost for words, was unaccountably nervous about meeting Mailer. What shall I talk about? he said. What? Youre Bob Geldof, for Gods sake, I countered. Your last album was called Loudmouth. I dunno, ask him about boxing. So he did.

Over a plate of Franco Taruschios outstanding Walnut Tree truffle tagliatelle, Bob asked the American legend, So, Norman, do you still go to the fights?

What followed was a breathtaking analysis of every contender, champion and glass-jaw in every division in the US, Cuba, Ireland and Nigeria.

We all listened, rapt. After about 25 minutes of this, Mailer paused, gulped, and said, Sorry for boring on. Boxing means a helluva lot to me.  What is it to you?

Well, said Geldof, My dad won my mum in the ring, and I was born nine months later.

Lovely.

-- Edited by Scottie at 16:40, 2007-05-19

__________________
Cheers, keep singing, Scottie
"Music is the wine that fills the cup of silence".
http://twitter.com/#!/BobGeldofFans
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