OK, I can't add...it's saved in my personal archives as #211, but I
went and sent
yesterday's YM as #212. I think I was listening
to the Spice Girls at the time, and love them as I do, repeated
listenings do
cause your IQ to drop...
And speaking of girl groups, whilst in a lovely shop called The
Beat in Sacramento, I cleaned out
their stock of Pepsi & Shirlie
vinyl. Now I know what Shirlie is up to these days, but whatever
happened to Pepsi?
"Hi
Amanda,
Pepsi has been working in the theatre. She has turned her
performing skills onto the stage, she had a wonderful role
playing
Josephine Baker. George and I went to see her
performance. She was amazing.
Its really strange you know, as I get alot of
mail asking if
Pepsi has been beaten up or even if she is still alive!
Take care
Shirlie"
AND AWAY WE GO...
***************************
lchemists-at-msn.com
(Bev) writes:
--------------------------------------------------
Hi Amanda and everyone!
Now that you have recovered
from the YM weekend and
birthday celebrations (belated Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!), I simply had
to share this intelligent (!)
example of English journalism, from a
Sunday newspaper, with you all..........
"HERE'S GORGE MICHAEL
Looks like pop
hunk George Michael has swapped Fastlove for
fast food during his recent holiday in the South of France.
George, 35 - about to
start work on a new album after a long
break - was showing signs of middle-age spread as he strolled
near his (sterling) 2
million St Tropez hideaway.
The ex-Wham! star calls his luxury holiday home Chez Nobby.
Could it be time to rename it Chez
Blobby?"
Isn't that just lovely!!! Can you detect the sarcasm in my voice?
He looks terrific in the accompanying
photograph, dressed in a
white shirt, striped shorts and shades, with a good tan. Now of
course, if he was judged to be
looking thin, all the AIDS rumours
would start again....and what hope for us if they can't even get
his age right!!!!
So
George - be healthy - be happy - be yourself - and have a great
holiday!!!!!!!!!
I have just spoken to Virgin UK, and this
is the latest news........
You Have Been Loved will be George's next single, due for release
on 1 September.
CD1: You
Have Been Loved
Strangest Thing 97 Radio Mix
Praying For Time Unplugged
Father Figure Unplugged
CD2: You Have Been
Loved
Strangest Thing 97 Radio Mix
Strangest Thing Loop Ratz Mix
Cassette: 4 tracks, titles unknown.
I assume that
this is accurate information....but anything could
happen in the meantime, I suppose!! This is also expected to be
the last
single from Older, but they couldn't help me with tour
dates.........
Love Bev.
***************************
ngendron-at-bunt.com
(Nathalie Gendro) writes:
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Amanda & Yogmaelers,
This
is my compilation of our George Michael Gathering at the
Capital Radio Cafe in London on August 12th. I'm sorry if this
is a
bit long, but we really had a terrific time.
Well, here it is...2 days after our wonderful George Michael
Gathering at the
Capital Radio Cafe in London....What can I say,
but simply TERRIFIC! Indeed, we had a blast, Michelle, Bev,
Lara and her
husband, Eric (I'm really bad with names, so I'm
not exactly sure), Alex, and Bianca. It was so great to meet
George Michael's
fans and above all, EVERYONE WAS
NORMAL!!!Ha! Ha! We all had a deep love for GM's personality,
good looks, lyrics, melody, and
voice and we all could share it
without any bulging eyes and whispering comments. The sweet
and wonderful Michelle had
organized this terrific gathering and
contest, by default. I want to recognize her because she worked
SO HARD, preparing all!
My HAT to you, Michelle, for your
wonderful dedication, it was well appreciated!
While we were waiting for other fans to
show up, we got to talk to
the wonderful and yes, Gorgeous Jason. He worked for Capital
as a Host and he was having a terrific
time, poking fun at our
obsession. He kept asking everyone who came through the door:
"Are you a Fan of George
Michael?" I can honestly say that I
was elated from the moment I met the GANG! I'm sure they will
also attest to it Ha!
Ha! I definitely acted as a 19 year old!! I got
to see the video FASTLOVE for the FIRST TIME inside the
Capital Radio Cafe. Of
course, I had to be noisy and requested
the DJ to play it just for us. I'm telling you I was simply glued to
the Television
screens (there were many located all over the
restaurant/cafe). Here I was, staring into the TV set, dancing in
the middle of
the restaurant while humming all the words... I WAS
IN HEAVEN!!! God, he is SO GORGEOUS & TERRIBLY SEXY
in that video,
especially when he is dancing in the shower. And
YES BEV, especially when he spins around! WOW!! Of course, I
was also the
laughing stock of my new wonderful friends!!! People
in the restaurant just couldn't believe it. They must have thought
I was
completely GAGA. I couldn't care less. I was among people
who understood my obsession/passion and I was walking on
clouds.
At
one point, we got interviewed by the DJ on air. The wonderful
Michelle became our spokewoman and did a terrific job answering
all
the questions. We all were hoping the Great Man would show
up, but we didn't hold our breath. Nonetheless, the idea was to
recognize
each other and support one another. We learned a lot
of terrific tidbits from Bev. My God! This woman is as obsessed
(maybe
even more- she's been at it for over 10 years) as any of
us and she's getting the ALL THE RESPECT about her passion
from her
family and friends. One day, I tell you, I'll get to that
level...Most of my friends & family think (or hope!) it's a passing
moment,
but they have one thing coming.... Just to give you an
idea of where we all came from: Michelle and Bev are from
England, Alex
is originally from Hong Kong, Lara and Eric are
from Colorado, USA, Bianca is from the Netherlands, and as for
me, as you
know, I'm from Montreal, Canada. So there was a
nice mix of culture.
After our lunch, we decided to go to HMV Records and
Tower
Records. We bought all kinds of great CD's. As for me, I bought
the singles from JESUS TO A CHILD, WALTZ AWAY
DREAMING
(first time I ever heard it! It's fabulous!), SPINNING
THE WHEEL, and the great Illustrated book w/ CD interview of
George in
his WHAM! days with Andrew. It's really great, they
were interviewed on Radio in the USA around '84/85. They sound
so young
and effervescent (though George will always have that
maturity that pervades through everything).
Afterwards, we
unfortunately had to say Good-bye to Bev and
Alex. Concurrently, Michelle was helping me get ticket for
"Phantom of the
Opera" which by the way, was AWESOME!!
Thanks, for your help Michelle! After leaving two of our beloved
new friends, we
moved on to another little cafe and had a drink.
God, it was so HOT in London that weekend the hottest that
summer). Michelle,
Bianca, Lara and Eric, and myself sat
around and talked some more about George. I learned so
much from all these guys.
Michelle and Bev had terrific
insights on George. Until recently, I was really a novice at
George's life. As you know, I have
been a fan of his since
FAITH, but an "obsessed fan" since OLDER! So I have a lot of
catching up to do.
I
informed the gang that the previous day, I had been to
HAMPSTEAD HEATH, desperately trying to find his house.
But, of course,
it was impossible. This park is simply HUGE!
IT'S A FOREST OUT THERE. Unfortunately no one knew
where he lived exactly. Bianca
was absolutely dying to try to
look for it, but it was like searching for a needle in a hay stack.
At around 7pm, it was
time to say goodbye...sadly. The
experience was really terrific. It was really like instant bonding
and friendship, something
I had never experienced before...very
moving. Well, I'm sure I've missed a few things here and there,
but overall that was ONE
DAY IN THE LIFE OF PASSIONATE
GEORGE MICHAEL FANS.
As for me, my whole weekend in London can be categorized as
one of
the BEST EVER! I had the most exciting time, from
Friday morning until Sunday night. I'll have to tell you more on
my little
adventures another time. 30 minutes before I left for the
airport, I found 3 bootleg video of George Michael in Camden
Market.
I was estatic!! I have been looking to get any types of
videos for the past year. They cost me a bundle, but I couldn't
care
less. Now I have over 6 hours of pure entertainment and
opportunity to "gush" at GM... God! life is wonderful...
On
the other hand, we missed not having all the others who
wanted to be with us. I know it doesn't help, but we thought of
you.
Next Time, maybe?!
Thanks for listening to my endless causerie,
Nathalie.
(Thank you for sharing! While I have
decided to hit LA Yogfest
again next year, I will be more than happy to help organize a
London Yogfest for the same weekend.
All I need it one local
to help. AG)
***************************
SNAPPING-at-aol.com (Shuv) writes:
----------------------------------------------------
Hi
Yoggers: Here's my trip report. Should have suspected
something when I headed for the Salt Lake City airport and the
freeway
ramp was closed. Had to go miles out of my way to
get there. So my weekend started off leaving the house at
5:45a Friday
morning, arriving in Burbank at about noon.
Picked up car (fiasco - don't rent National) and only got lost
once (or was it
twice) heading for hotel. Checked in after
arguing with them about our "guaranteed" adjoining rooms.
When I tried to
enter one room some guy in his underwear
opened the door - the most exciting thing to happen so far!
Went back to airport
and picked up Amanda, Alicia and Kelley.
Then back to hotel to get messages. We went to the Tonight
Show and were among the
last to get in - thank heavens. This
made me feel things were on our side and as we watched
Michael J. Fox and Evander
Holyfield I relaxed. Back to hotel,
then it was on to Chin-Chins for dinner. Only got lost twice
finding the wrong Chin-Chins
and I do take full responsibility for
this goof (although Yahoo only came up with one). YEP -
THE WORST CHINESE FOOD I HAVE
EVER EATEN! Kinda
funny since we were starving and knew we'd be hungry again in
an hour. Then it was off to get lost again and
finally find Club
7969 on Santa Monica Blvd for the show by Dan. We prowled
the French Market next door and saw some
"interesting"
things in leather and such - then went to stand outside the
club. Guys at door asked if we really
meant to be there on
"drag night" and when we assured him we did - it became
apparent we were not the best dressed
patrons. Finally went
inside and it was a riot! I particularly fell for the guy I named
"Tonto". He had a wonderful
face that could have adorned Mt.
Rushmore - a beautiful flowered dress that was to die for and
great legs! We watched all
sizes, shapes and sexual
persuasions dance for about an hour or so and then the show
started. Dan was the second act and my
heart stopped when
he came out he looked so much like George. He was wonderful!
Some of us went up and gave him dollars -
something I never
though I'd do - but what the hell - this was Yogfest. After the
show we went to Jill and Angel's and as I
followed a white car
out of the parking lot I breathed a sigh of relief - at least it wasn't
up to me to lead the pack and
find the way so I wouldn't get
lost this time! WRONG - I followed the wrong car and ended up
going to someone's house (I
think) we didn't even know. Luckily
everyone else was following us and we got set in the right
direction. Fun at Jill's -
Angel thank you for the wonderful spread
and I loved the cucumbers with lime juice. They have seven cats
and a pit bull puppy
who fell in love with Frank! We looked at all
the George stuff but never did hear the full story of how Jill met
George -
maybe she will post it. Jill had copies of a magazine
for all of us with an ad for Older in them (Thanks again Jill). My
car
went home - they had to drag me out of there! Rest stayed
and I hear they went searching for photo shoots to make sure
they
didn't get lost on Saturday when we were to caravan.
Home and to bed at 4;30am. End of Day 1.
Day 2: Up at 9a (Bullshit, I
was up at 9, no one else moved
until 10. AG) - ate breakfast - and off to Universal City Walk - a
tourist trap in my
estimation but we had to go there and do that.
At least found some WHAM! patches to sew on my jacket.
Back to hotel to meet
caravan - some were hungry so we went
to a drive in and Alicia donated her lipstick to paint slogans on
all the cars - we were
Monogamy - and we also had Explore, I
Want Your Sex and Too Funky. Then it was off to the freight
yard where some of the
pictures on the Older insert were taken
- back on the freeways and cussing all that got in between the
caravan cars. After
taking tons of pictures (thank you Darryl)
we went to tunnel where "Father Figure" was shot and then to
Palladium
where Wham played. "Monogamy" went back to
hotel to change for dinner and one of my fun memories is
Alicia and I
sitting on the bed eating cheese, bread and
grapes before dinner and thinking it doesn't get much better
than this. On to
dinner - only made one wrong turn (or was it
two?). Food was great - Dimitri showed up on his Motorcycle
from Northern
California (caused quite a panic when he said he
was a fan of George Michael and we thought he said he was a
friend) and
Amanda presented the girl from Poland with a
Waltz Away Dreaming CD for coming the longest way. Nancy
gave us all pictures of
George (thanks again) and then we
were off to Dan's house. Fond Memory: Singing Freedom
at the top of our lungs while driving
down the freeway to Dan's
and wondering why George forgot the "uh-uhhs". (Amanda, at
the time in Frank's car to make
a wine run, later explained
they were on the live version). Looked at Dan's George
collection, watched videos and had a real
bonding time. Dan
gave us all a poster of various George's (Thanks again Dan).
Took hundreds more pictures (Thank you Angel)
and then
came time for the trip home. Now I had the reputation of the
"U turn Queen" and was working on three hours
sleep and
really tried hard to concentrate when told how to get back to
hotel - but ended up on an overpass to the freeway
heading
south and looking for the onramp heading north and couldn't
find it. Texas girls and Dimitri were following us and we
finally
decided to call Dan for clarification. Texas took the lead and
only got lost once as we neared another fork in the
road and,
as usual, took the wrong turn. To bed at 430a, couldn't sleep
so we talked until 530a and were up at 830a to head
out for
Disneyland. Found it without getting lost - don't know how!
My son drove to pick the girls up and take them back to
the
airport - thank you Dan (son's name too) - by then I had "get
lost syndrome" and needed therapy.
It took
me about ten days to recover (think that's how long it
takes for adrenaline to leave the body) but it was worth it. One
thing
struck me when I got home - I wanted to live my own life.
It was a ball but chasing around after someone elses aura is a
bit
too fanatic for me and I am now a much more relaxed fan.
Met wonderful people and we were united in love and admiration
for
THE MAN! I probably forgot lots of details but this is long
enough. See ya'll next year - you drive! Love - Shuv the Uey
Oh
- No I did not wash off Monogamy before I returned the car -
just couldn't bring myself to do it! Hope they enjoyed it!
***************************
To
Wrap it Up:
"Hmmm."