The Pop Shizzle: a week of shenanigans from old-school pop icons
For this installment of The Pop Shizzle we take a look at a bunch of old-school pop stars who’ve been up to good and, of course, no good this week. Roll the drums…
The poor guy had totally lost his marbles.
In his first autobiography, Me, Elton John has gone on to call Michael Jackson “mentally ill”. In the book, John says, “I’d known Michael since he was 13 or 14. He was just the most adorable kid you could imagine, but at some point in the intervening years he started sequestering himself away from the world, and away from the reality the way Elvis Presley did.” John goes on to say: “Every time I saw him in his later years I came away thinking the poor guy had totally lost his marbles. I don’t mean that in a lighthearted way. He was genuinely mentally ill, a disturbing person to be around.” Ouch!
Fans of Debbie Harry and her band Blondie marched out of the middle of an interview with their idols this week during a literature festival in England. A highlight on the festival’s program was to see Blondie co-founder Chris Stein and fellow artist/director Rob Roth interviewing Debbie with some interesting questions. Instead, Roth baffled the audience with his cringe-worthy jokes, leaving them wondering why the hell he was reading Facebook comments from fans watching at home, and arguing that too many of his questions were way long and inappropriate. Then, when taking questions from the crowd, Roth told them not to tell their ‘life story’ despite his own incessant ramblings…
Madonna has officially been given the stamp of approval from Taylor Swift who revealed over the weekend that she is a major fan of the Material Girl. Swift took to Instagram to profess her love for Madge, sharing a photo of her chilling out backstage with Madonna’s backup crew before a Brooklyn gig. After the show, Swift wrote: “M gave it EVERYTHING”, thanking the iconic artist for an outstanding performance. Incidentally, Madonna has scored her ninth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart with her latest LP, Madame X.
Jane Fonda was seen being led away with her hands tied behind her back.
Eighty-one-year-old actress and activist Jane Fonda was arrested over the weekend during a climate change protest on the steps of Capitol Hill. Fonda was seen being led away with her hands tied behind her back, followed by 15 other activists who were also arrested. The Grace & Frankie star recently moved to Washington to host teach-ins and weekly rallies about climate change, saying she made the move after being inspired by climate activist Greta Thunberg.
The remaining members of Queen are pushing for Donald Trump to take down a video from Twitter that features the band’s hit We Will Rock You – posted online by the US president last week. The clip features footage of Trump speaking at rallies while the infamous Queen track plays in the background. Copyright can be a bitch, eh Trump?
“One of his most attractive qualities was his self-deprecation; it was something that was really touching, [that you] really warmed to.”
Ex-Wham! member Andrew Ridgeley has just released a tell-all book about his heady days with music partner George Michael. The autobiography, titled Wham! George & Me, pays respects to Michael while also giving away a few sordid secrets of what happened behind the red velvet curtains. Says Ridgeley of George: “One of his most attractive qualities was his self-deprecation; it was something that was really touching, [that you] really warmed to.” We wait with bated breath for our autographed copy to arrive in this week’s post…
Antonino Tati & Lisa Andrews
CREAM MAGAZINE 
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