When I finished my daily workout at the gym last Wednesday I switched on my phone to half a dozen messages telling me that pop star Shayne Ward was having dinner at Nandos in Leeds.
He had appeared on Look North and Calendar that evening to promote his UK tour which comes to Sheffield on 16th May and Manchester on 25th May.
I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to meet up with him again so I drove to my office where I had his number.
As soon as I’d text him offering to show him around Leeds he replied and said he’d love to meet up.
We met up in the Greek Street area where there are lots of trendy bars and even though it was a quiet Wednesday night Shayne was really enjoying sampling Leeds’ night scene. He’s been there 4 times before but never on a night out.
We then jumped in my car to drive to my club Mission so I could give him the VIP treatment. It was also close to where he was staying.
He started to look through the CD’s I had in my car and immediately picked out one with eighties music �" “I really love the eighties” he said and proceeded to serenade me at the top of his voice with Vienna by Ultravox. It sounded amazing and I said he should definitely release it as a single. I gave him a couple of eighties CD’s that I had and he was delighted.
My sister is Shayne’s number one fan and when I gave her tickets for Xmas to Shayne’s Sheffield concert in May she was over the moon and couldn’t stop crying. I took her to meet Shayne last time he was in Leeds and she has the picture of them together by her bedside as if he’s her boyfriend. That same picture is on her facebook profile too!
I couldn’t resist phoning her to tell her he was out with me that night and Shayne offered to have a chat with her on the phone and wished her goodnight. I think she was speechless so she text me afterwards to say she couldn’t believe it.
Shayne told me that’s the best part of being a famous pop star that you can have such a positive effect on people and it’s so rewarding.
His next career goal is breaking into the US charts and he has some international tours in the pipeline. In Japan he’s already a huge star and has appeared on loads of their TV shows. Apparently they do lots of crazy things and because he laughs along with them they think he understands what’s going on.
He spoke to me in Japanese and I was really impressed. When translated though it meant ‘Hello good evening, I’m Shayne Ward and I’m so happy to be here.” It’s the only sentence he knows!!
Community Service in Stainland
Michael and I were invited to our local community centre last week to attend their monthly committee meeting and see whether we can get involved in the locality.
I’ve always been fond of community centres as that’s where I started my DJ’ing career at my local youth group in Leeds. It kept me out of trouble and I think it’s such a vital part of every community.
Ours is in desperate need of help as it is an amazing building but struggling financially with repair bills.
We had a great evening and it has given us a sense of belonging to meet more people from our neighbourhood and get to know them.
We’ve agreed to join the committee and with subs of only £10 per year we’re hoping to drum up more support. I’m trying to arrange for my friend, the comedian Alan Carr to come along and host a comedy night which would be fantastic.
Fashion Rocks Mr Gay UK
On Tuesday 15th April last year’s winner of the Mr Gay UK Leeds heat which I organise, is hosting a charity event at the University of Huddersfield’s Student Union.
The event will showcase unsigned bands alongside unsigned designers and all money raised will go to the Laura Crane Trust.
It starts at 7pm and entry costs £3 per person. If you are free that evening please go along and support such a worthwhile cause.