Diary

MONDAY Paddy Considine says his script with Shane Meadows for their Bartley Gorman movie is done after just 12 days. But it's only the first draft and "it's too early to even talk about it really." Suggest he's adopted Nottingham as his second city after he's been spotted quite a bit but he's baffled at the idea. Before I even get a chance to quiz him on the more high profile stuff - Bourne Ultimatum, Hot Fuzz - we're cut off. Suspect he faked it as he was bristling at being asked about Uma Thurman who he appears with in a BBC drama soon. "People are just people," he insists before "... hello?... hello?... (brrrrrrrrrrrr...)"

TUESDAY Much mirth as a colleague reveals that on a past paper when she interviewed a lot of bands she'd never heard of, she asked the Beautiful South 'what are your day jobs?'

WEDNESDAY Go on Radio Nottingham's morning show with Sarah Julian to talk about my 'guilty pleasures' - Take That, Coronation Street, 80s fashion gaffs and wet wipes - and get to say "penis" on air. Policies have clearly altered over there.

THURSDAY Meat Loaf fans argue on the Post web site as to whether his Arena show was a farce (it was by all accounts) and remarkably whether you spell his name as two words or one. Talk to the guy behind the Americana Festival this weekend - he's had two more heart attacks since last year (that's five in all). He even diverted a heart check up until after this weekend's Stateside celebration in Newark. Madness.

FRIDAY Butthole Surfers' Paul Leary is self-deprecating: "We're old gits" And puts paid to a few Wikipaedia questionables: Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love DID meet at a BS show; he and Gibby Hayes DID sell Lee Harvey Oswald T-shirts after college; Nirvana DID support them on tour ("I didn't take any notice of support bands"); and Gibby WAS playing in a band with Johnny Depp the night River Phoenix died outside the Viper Rooms.
McFly's drummer Dougie admits that when he was asked when their album would be released said: "September the 32nd"

Listening to: Primal Scream; Glasvegas; Fleet Foxes, Subways, Teddy Thompson, Wedding Present, Nick Cave, Micah P Hinson, We Are Scientists, XX Teens

Diary

MONDAY
Tim Westwood's blog on his first Glastonbury proves to be a good opener to the week. Even funnier than the interview itself.
Read it here
Watch the interview below - remembering he's a 50-year-old vicar's son from Suffolk...


TUESDAY
Steve Coogan books a third show in the city with his Alan Partridge Tour, this time at the Arena. Les Dennis admits that his self-effacing appearance on Extras probably helped stop the tabloids hound him as 'Sad Les'. His Eurobeat co-star Sally Lindsay reckons she ditched Corrie because she wanted to "get back to comedy".
Dolly Parton's show at the Arena is too good to be true as accusations of lip-syncing seem to be following the Backwoods Barbie around. hard to tell from where I was sat but some of the showing off playing a variety of instruments with her two inch nails was suspiciously note perfect.

WEDNESDAY
Offered an interview with cutlery terrorist Chris Tarrant but turn it down as too last minute. He's joining Smooth Radio - though he won't even smell Nottingham from where he'll broadcast the show. London probably.

THURSDAY
Kylie picks up her OBE. Christ. A little talent goes a very long way.

FRIDAY
Irvine Welsh admits he'll always be "the Trainspotting guy". Meat Loaf proves to be a sport, agreeing to talk to a mad fan and EG colleague - though nearly trips up and reveals which hotel he'll be staying at.

Listening to: Dolly Parton; Willie Nelson; Glasvegas; Wedding Present.

Meat Loaf

YOU never quite know what you're going to get with Mr Loaf.
"You're in Naddinghairm, the home of Robin Hood," he begins.
Indeed. Did you ever dress up as Robin Hood?
"I have never dressed up as Robin Hood. I dunno there's just something about little hat that they use you know that they use... like the Errol Flynn Robin Hood. That little hat..." he adds rather randomly, ending with a chuckle.
May be you should dress up as him for this gig.
"Nah, that's OK. If I was really going to dress up as somebody I'd dress up as Maid Marian."
With you on that one.
He admits he's nervous about the rescheduled dates on this tour, postponed from last November when doctors found a cyst on his vocal cord.
"I am fine. The doctors said 'you're great'."
He had to keep his mouth shut for 12 weeks while he recovered - the cyst burst so he didn't need the operation to have it removed.
That must have been a struggle, you do like to talk.
"Oh yeah I do like to talk. My Indian name is Never Shuts Up."
At the time of the cancellations of the UK dates in November it wasn't guaranteed that he would honour any of the dates.
"Naddinghairm kind of came up at the last moment. They said 'do you want to go back into Naddinghairm' and I said yeah, sure. It's actually the only one we're actually making up."
Because we're special.
"You are special. And the hotel gave us a great rate."
There is no new album to flog on the tour so it'll be all the hits and more he says. But why call the tour Casa De Carne, which translates as "house of meat"?
"Because when you come to the show you come to my house, doncha?"
Did you realise Casa De Carne is used on prostitute business cards?
"It is?"
Yes, there's a recent story in the Washington Post.
"I didn't know that. But they don't call it Casa De Carne."
They do.
"(Laughs) God. I'm always putting my foot in it aren't I? Maybe I should bathe the stage in red. You know that's exactly what I'm going to do just for you in Naddinghairm."
Last time we spoke I pointed out the impending 60th birthday and you threatened to come up here and give me a good hiding.
"Yeah and I would have if you'd have brought it up again."
I won't then.
(He'll be 61 in September).
He reiterates that there will be no more Bat Out Of Hell albums but will keep on recording.
"I'm not going to retire. To quote Jon Bon Jovi, I'll sleep when I'm dead."
So what will be the next album?
"I don't know. I've changed my mind half a dozen times. I had one producer in mind but changed my mind on that. I'm meeting another producer who might be really good but I'm not going to tell you who that is."
Is it Rick Rubin?
"Nooo. Him and Neil Diamond, they've got a thing going."
What about new film projects? His appearances have been sporadic to say the least. After The Rocky Horror Picture Show in 1975, he's cropped up in a number of movies such as Fight Club, Spice World and Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny.
"I have a lot. One is called Kick The Can about two boys in Texas. A really great script, very witty. They're not very bright kids. They're kinda stupid. One of them's father's in prison and that's who I'm going to play. The second takes place in New Orleans but we haven't finalised that one yet. It's called The Fallen."
Throughout our chat, Naddinghairm's No. 1 Meat Loaf fan, who works at EG HQ, has been listening in, fidgeting nervously at the prospect of putting a few questions to the big man.
"Oh boy," he says.
I reckon she's too scared to talk to you.
"I'm too scared to talk to her."
She's a potential stalker.
"Ah that's OK, I stalk people too."
She wants to know if you've any regrets?
"Oh God, are you kidding? I've made a fool of myself so many times it's ridiculous."
Which of your songs means the most to you?
"For Crying Out Loud, which was the last song on Bat Out Of Hell. That's really what broke the record. It really turned the heads of the people at the record company and that's when they decided they wanted to promote the record."

Pictured with Ellen Foley, 1978

If you were stuck in a lift, who would you want to be stuck with?
"Oh God I wouldn't want to be stuck in a lift. I'm so claustrophobic. You wouldn't want to be stuck in a lift with me, I'd be screaming like a baby. I'm paranoid that it's going to happen. When I get in I'm always looking how to get out."
Oooh, Naddinghairm's No. 1 Meat Loaf fan is braving a question. Go Jan...
Looking back on your life, is there anything you could change?
"Yeah, everything. Maybe... I got a little too crazy on Graham Norton."
But that's who you are.
"I have two speeds. On and off. And when I'm on, God help us."
Are you going to be 'on' when you play here?
"Yeah, that's the only speed I know when we're playing."
When Jan tries to find out what hotel he'll be staying in it's time to manhandle the phone from her grasp and wish Mr Loaf a farewell.
Meat Loaf appears at the Trent FM Arena on Wednesday July 9 with support from his daughter Pearl Aday

Diary

Boyzone, including "The One Out Of Corrie" (second left)

TUESDAY There are times when you get a grounding e-mail from a record company that reminds you of your status in the media pecking order. Boyzone coming to Arena. "Hear you want an interview. How about Mikey?". Mikey a.k.a. "The Other One". As in Ronan Keating, "The Gay One", "That One Out Of Corrie", "The Racing Driving One" and... "The Other One". Fired a moaning email back and was 'rewarded' with That One Out Of Corrie. He reckons they're over the squabbling that split them up because they've grown up and, no there was "no need" for them to wait in the car park and give Ronan a good hiding. It was just a suggestion...


THURSDAY Meat Loaf is sounding his 60 years. A deal more weary than a couple of years ago when he was full of it. Put an in-office fan on the phone to him at the end of the interview for a brief chat during which she tried to get the name of the hotel where he was staying off him. Oh dear...



FRIDAY Splendour Festival line-up is announced. Two days in Wollaton Park in July. Kate Naff, Paolo Nut Cluster, The Charlietones... it's hardly Glastonbury -- or Summer Sundae come to that -- but it's better than nowt. At least Rufus Wainwright is doing the Sunday - but below Paolo in the running order!?

Paolo sent a quote over to use which his management were swift to retract: "Headlining SPLENDOUR this summer will be a great chance to dispel rumours about my apparently ambiguous gender..." Worriseonabout? Apparently calling him "The Scottish James Morrison" set his 'people' off as well. Rather that than "the Chip Shop James Blunt".



Listening to: Neil Diamond, Eastern Conference Champions, Elbow, Wedding Present, REM, James, Glasvegas.

Diary

Gene Simmons of Kiss claims to have slept with the equivalent of two different women every week for the past 45 years

MONDAY: Psychic Sally Morgan on the phone. Eventually. Had a bogger of a job getting through to her on "the other side"... of the country. Her number is blocked from switchboard calls. She was Diana's medium of choice for 4 years but oddly hasn't been in touch with her to find out what happened in the tunnel. Mmmmm...

TUESDAY: Word comes in of two major music events happening in the city. Not talking of a Paper Lace revival here but two new festivals. The first is City Pulse May Bank Holiday, three days in the Square, Hockley and Forman Street with world music, local bands and Athlete, Ben's Brother and Elliot Minor. Not bad for a freebie. The next is much better. To be revealed in EG May 9.

WEDNESDAY: Have word that Lou Reed is up for an interview "but don't talk about drugs." Apparently, despite his grumpy persona, he is a fan of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Spotted: Feeder and Mavericks albums in the pound shop in Skank Marsh.

THURSDAY: Meat Loaf is up for a chat at some point. Last time we spoke he threatened to: "come up there and slap you up the side of the head." My mum could take him.

FRIDAY: Awake at 4am unable to sleep and searching Virgin's On Demand when I happen upon Shrink Rap, that on-the-couch TV pyschology with Billy Connolly's missus talking to Gene Simmons. The Kiss frontman - they're headlining Donington in June - reckons on having slept with 4800 women. He started at 13, is now 58 so that breaks down to two different women every week for 45 years. Mmmmm unlikely Eugene. More interesting is that he was Isreali born and his mum survived a Nazi concentration camp.


Listening to: REM - Accelerate; James - Hey, Ma; Nick Cave - Dig !!! Lazarus Dig !!!; We Are Scientists - Brain Thrust Mastery; plus Glasvegas, Wedding Present, The Duke Spirit, Madness.