1988 – Not Really Being Followed; Briefly Seeing Duran & Screaming Bros Fans

1988 Diary Entries

January 3rd 1988

HEATHROW

Went to the airport for the possibility that Nick would fly in. Duran are doing some big concert in Rio de Janeiro. Turns out Nick is in the Caribbean. Simon told Das that. Only Simon flew in with Yasmin. I’ve done it again. Just met Simon. He gave Das a cuddle and shook mine and Frank’s hand.

Sometimes I really hate Simon!

Friday 29th January 1988

ROYAL ALBERT HALL – STEVE FERRONE WITH ERIC CLAPTON

Steve is drumming with Eric Clapton on tour so me and Das went to see if we could see him.

He came along after Eric Clapton, Elton John and Renate went in. He was really sweet. Gave me a cuddle and kiss, so did Jacqui. I got introduced to Steve’s mum who was really sweet. We also met Eric Clapton’s head of Security, Alfie or Arnie or something!

Anyway, I might go there again on Sunday. Maybe Tuesday. I dunno. I’m fed up with waiting around for people – I’m just a bit pissed off at the moment – I don’t know why.

Steve was really nice to me though. I’m glad he still knows who I am, even though I’m not the most important person in his life – OOH VERY SARKY AREN’T I!!!

31st March 1988

HMV OXFORD STREET – BROS

Me and Das went to see the many Bros fans as Bros were signing their new album Push. It was so funny. Screaming, getting pulled out of the shop, girls on stretchers!

We went after 5 minutes and went to see Dee, the receptionist at Chrysalis. She told us Billy’s sister was running the fan club now. Nothing very interesting!

Then we went back to HMV to check out the Brossies! We were there about five minutes when Bros came. We were killing ourselves laughing, the fans were going potty! Bros waved from the windows upstairs, I think I took two pictures. We were absolutely killing ourselves laughing at the divvy fans!

Me and my crosses. In my living room in 1988 COPYRIGHT MICHELLE COLDWELL-SIMONS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTES ABOUT THIS ENTRY

Yep. That’s it for 1988 folks! One Duran entry in January, that I wasn’t pleased about. (I was still on a Simon Downer. Or should I say Dur-owner!) Then Steve with Eric Clapton. Then Bros. That’s it!

I started to have to get a bit more serious about life in 1988. I had left school, got my first job as a junior secretary at a business magazine so therefore couldn’t do all the following like I did the old days. That and it seemed that Duran wasn’t about that much. Or maybe they was and I just didn’t know about it!

Seeing Steve at Eric Clapton was I think the last proper time I saw him. That is sad as I really liked Steve and felt for a good while like he was part of Duran….I was obviously a bit upset when I wrote that entry as I seem to be coming to the conclusion that I was fed up with all the hanging around, waiting for people in bands who I though didn’t really give a damn whether I was there or not. It is funny that as a 17-year-old girl I was thinking this yet at 40 I still occasionally do the self-same thing! AND come to the self-same conclusion. Sometimes, no strike that, MOST of the time, going to meet bands can be a disappointing waste of time and effort. The only good part was then and is now the hanging out with good friends part! (That and that it is very aDDictive going to meet Duran for some reason!)

I don’t even have those Bros photo’s! I do remember that day though. I was amazed at the level of mania that these Brosette’s caused at the time. I had never really seen this mental fandom with Duran funnily enough. Apart from the odd girl going a bit crazy I had never seen THAT MUCH madness with a band before. I remember the fans climbing on their car when Bros had left it to get nearer to them as they were hanging out of upstairs windows in that HMV store. I remember the stretchers of girls coming out of the store, I remember the screaming! I was starting to feel old – at 17!!!

Heathrow, Heathrow, Heathrow and not a plane to catch! Sept/Oct/Dec 1987

17th September 1987

HEATHROW

Went all the way there for old dog face Simon! So disappointed! It was BORING! Simon said that Steve was doing his own album in LA. Great. So I will never see him again!

18th October 1987

HEATHROW

Went to see John and Renee fly in from Copenhagen. John was okay. Renee was lovely as usual. Both of them looked really good, John was dressed in black trousers and Jacket and Renee in a grey dress and a brilliant black coat! Great Day for Renee!

Renee Simonsen & I Heathrow Airport 18th October 1987 Beauty and the Beast Hair! COPYRIGHT MICHELLE COLDWELL-SIMONS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

29th October 1987

HEATHROW

Went to see Simon fly in from Paris. The flight – the first one that is – was coming in at 8am. So I had to get up at 6am. I didn’t really want to go because it was supposed to be just Simon. But Das said Nick could be flying in too – so oh well!

So around 8am, Yasmin came through. She ignored everyone. She ignored Amy’s calls to her. She looked straight through us. Simon didn’t come through. So we didn’t see him.

So Michael Caine and his gorgeous wife and their daughter – WOW!

3rd December – 5th December 1987

Steve Ferrone/HEATHROW

I got a phone call from Paris where Amy and Sam are to say that Steve was doing the album. So I phoned Jacqui’s parents to find out where Steve & Jacqui were and Steve was there!!!

He was really sweet. We talked about him going to Australia with Eric Clapton, and going to Brazil with Duran. He said he was in the LA earthquake! He said he was flying to Paris on Saturday and asked me to go and see him off and have tea before he goes!

When I got to the airport I was too late and missed the flight! I am hoping to see him when he flies back (if he ever does!).

NOTE

Steve and Jacqui sent me a Christmas Card! I sent them one back!

NOTES ABOUT THIS ENTRY

As you can see these entries spread over nearly four months and they are ALL about seeing them at Heathrow Airport!

At the time there were only three terminals at Heathrow. I am sure that I have discussed Heathrow before in a diary entry but BOY did we spend a LOT of time at that airport! We mostly never knew the flight numbers or even times of flights but we did usually know from WHERE they were flying from. Then we used the powers of deduction to try to meet them from their flight.

We used the free shuttle buses between terminals very often! This excited me because I had never been on a plane and it felt like I was going away somewhere! (Didn’t fly until I was 18!) We would get off one shuttle bus and head for arrivals, wait for a flight to empty and if it wasn’t that flight look up the next one. Then if necessary jump on another shuttle bus to another terminal to wait for that flight! This could happen all day! We spent a lot of hanging around time in Sky Sh0ps, often reading magazines with Duran articles in or fashion magazines with shots of Yasmin or Renee in to pass the time!

I loved Renee. I don’t think there was ever I time that I met her that she wasn’t lovely. I put in this entry the picture of me and Renee taken on that day so you can see the contrast between a smiling/snarling teenage girl and an absolutely stunning supermodel!

Yasmin on the other hand in this entry wasn’t very pleasant and that was unusual as she was normally really lovely. We all have our off days – unfortunately I captured one of Yasmin’s in this entry – sorry Yasmin!

I seemed to miss Steve every time I went to Heathrow! If he thought about it – which I am sure he didn’t – he might of thought that I did it on purpose! I didn’t of course but I was very unlucky and never seemed to catch up with him. So Steve if you ever read this – I did try to see you at Heathrow, several times – I just never got there in time! Blame on the fact that I lived in East London and getting to Heathrow took a bloody long time!

Please note – I was obviously not feeling the love for Simon at this time – calling him dog face! This happened a lot in my time seeing Duran – always falling in and out with Simon. Sorry for calling you dog face Simon…..this time at least!

20th & 22nd May 1987 – Wembley/Cafe De Paris/Heathrow

Wembley Arena 20th May

The concert was great! I had a laugh but my legs really ache. Everything went great, the screens, the sign ‘Hotel No Vacancy’. Everything.

I went to the after show party at Cafe De Paris in Leicester Square. Steve and Jacqui were really sweet to me. I got a kiss on either side of my cheek from them. Steve told me he would be at the airport on Friday at around 11.

Heathrow 22nd May

I missed Steve! I can’t believe it!!!He said ‘Give Michelle a big kiss from me!’ Sweet!

John was nice too. I don’t know what to say – I’m upset! I won’t see Steve again until September – maybe.

John Taylor Heathrow Airport May 22nd 1987 COPYRIGHT MICHELLE COLDWELL-SIMONS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NOTES ABOUT THIS ENTRY

This was the first after show party I had been to. Please note how much I had written about it. HARDLY ANYTHING! Everyone wants to get into these after shows, but in reality they are full of friends, family, industry people, hangers-on and occasionally – FANS!

Sometimes you got to hang out with Duran. This time I hung out with Steve and Jacqui who must have put me on the guest list for this one. I will be writing about other after show parties I have been to – some of which were really fun! This one obviously wasn’t much to write home about! I don’t even remember it! It’s not as if I drank and have forgotten because I didn’t drink then. I am really annoyed at my 16-year-old self for not writing more about this aftershow!!

Getting to the airport and missing Duran happened a lot. We very rarely got absolute definite flight details, so being told by Steve that he was leaving at around 11 was the nearest to getting the flight numbers! And I missed him! At least one of my friends passed on a message from him, which was sweet. I saw John that day but no one else from Duran according to my diary. After this there was a break as Duran must have been on tour for the next four months as my next diary entry isn’t until September…….

15/16/17th May 1987 My First Duran Tour – Birmingham,Brighton & Leicester Square

CONCERTS

Birmingham

In Brum the concert was BRILL! They were really really good. Everything was great. I wasn’t up front but me and G****** just danced all the way through it. Jacqui was sweet and I gave her a birthday card. (These were the tickets that Steve got for me on the guest list). She was sweet and gave me a kiss.

Polaroid given to me of Steve & Jacqui May 1987 COPYRIGHT MICHELLE COLDWELL-SIMONS

Duran had about 32 screens on stage and when ‘The Chauffeur’ started they came down and the video was played on it. Also a sign came down saying ‘Hotel No Vacancy’. Simon looked great and everything sounded good.

Brighton

In Brighton Jim let us in early. We had been hanging around outside on scaffolding at the back of the Brighton Centre. We got in and took up the front row. Then everyone else got let in. It was a nightmare. People kept fainting behind me! Jo got in an argument and someone threw chewing gum at her. It got stuck in her hair and Rocks ended up bringing scissors on stage to cut it out!

A girl fainted right behind me and got pulled out. Her stiletto hit me on the back of the head as she got pulled out and I started crying. Steve was playing bongo’s at the front of the stage and stopped playing saying – ‘Get out, get out!’ but I stayed!

Nick looked like he was enjoying it, laughing a lot today! The concert was good – the crowd were shit!

Leicester Square

Leicester Square gig was one of the worst days of my life.

It was raining. We were on the guest list but weren’t allowed in. When we finally got let in Sam and Jenny got stuck when the doors shut so me being me waited for them but the rest of them ran to the front. When we finally got let in properly the rest let Sam in and me and Jenny got stuck in shitty positions.

We decided to move out so we could dance. Rae got lost. I couldn’t find her anywhere so I had to go home on my own as I had an exam in the morning. Left about midnight.

Today was SHIT!

NOTES ABOUT THIS ENTRY

I remember travelling up to Birmingham that day and being really excited. I hadn’t been there before and I was meeting up with a fan that I had met in Portsmouth whilst waiting for DRUM to come in. We were supposed to be staying at her house that night then travelling home in the morning. We met up with this girl from Birmingham and she was drunk! I was so anti-drink back then that I went to a phone box and called my mum! I told her there was no way I was staying at a drunk girls house and that after the concert I was getting the train back! I remember my dad picking me and my friend G up at around 2am in Euston really annoyed that I couldn’t have just stayed there and come home in the morning! My dad was a miserable so and so – but this was a first. He never came to pick me up from anything before, so he must have been a little worried about me. I should have been flattered!

So then I went off to Brighton the next day – which is where I actually live now! I had never been to Brighton before either – so another adventure! Not that I saw anything of Brighton you understand. There was scaffolding on the building at the back entrance and we just sat there all day, me swinging on them like they were the asymmetric bars in gymnastics! Jim Callaghan let us in early as he knew us. (If you watch Sing Blue Silver he is the guy that offers tickets to  some girls backstage if they named a band member – you know the bit where the silly girl wants to ‘meet Sting OK?’ – well that’s Jim!)

When the rest of the fans got let in there was some unpleasant banter and that’s when Jo got the chewing gum in her hair! Thankfully Rocks was on hand to get it out. This was the first time I had experienced anyone fainting and when someone passed out just behind me it was scary! The ‘Stilly’ (what we called stiletto heels at the time) hitting my head when she got pulled out really hurt! I was secretly chuffed  though that Steve wanted me to get out because I was hurt – even stopping playing his bongos to make sure I was OK! Bless him.

The Leicester Square gig was a late one. I think Nick had put us all on the guest list – must have been around 10-12 of us in all. All I remember about that gig was constantly watching the clock, thinking I’ve got an exam in the morning, can I do this gig and get good marks? Once again being nice didn’t get me anywhere and I ended up not being able to see much because I waited for Sam & Jen. Oh well. I still haven’t really learnt my lesson now to be honest! A word of advice – if you want to get to the front of gigs, being nice gets you at the back!!!!

(I have written that this gig was in Leicester Square – it wasn’t open air in the street it was in a venue – but I haven’t a clue which one it was. If you were with me, or you were there – can you tell me WHAT venue it was!? Thanks!)

 

4th-30th April – April in Paris But I’m At Home & Other Stories

Saturday 4th April

Sam called me from Paris where Duran are on tour at the moment. She wanted to let me know what was happening. The concerts are really great apparently. When they all came on stage at the end Sam said they called to Steve and he said ‘Where’s Michelle?’ They said ‘In London’ Great ay?

STEVE’S BIRTHDAY 25th April – he was 37!!!!!

Wednesday 29th April 1987

I phoned Steve at his hotel in Edinburgh! He was out but I chatted to Jacqui for about 15 minutes. Then at around 10.45 Steve phoned me – after the concert!!!! He and Jacqui are so sweet to me!

Thursday 30th April

HEATHROW

Went to see if Jacqui would come out of the terminal but Simon, Nick, Warren, Steve and Jacqui came out together!

I spent loads of time with Steve & Jac. They were great. I didn’t go near Warren – we have been told some things about him!!! Simon was OK. I was chatting to Nick quite a lot. He was asking about exams and stuff. And about the school fire alarm going off.

Had some pictures done with Steve. The roadie took a Polaroid of me again and again wouldn’t give it back. IFFY!

Steve & I at the Airport 30th April 1987. Check out my big hair! COPYRIGHT MICHELLE COLDWELL-SIMONS

Steve was great. Told me what happened on his birthday a few days ago. He told me he sang! He told me he went with Max Bygraves on tour when he was a kid!!! Really nice day.

John turned up later when most of us had left the airport. Jenny was the only one he saw.

NOTES ABOUT THIS ENTRY

As you can see if you have read my previous entries I am seeing a lot less of Duran by this time. Partly because I was a little older and had to get myself sorted, with exams and revision. Mostly because my mum wouldn’t let me go on the European tour, only allowing me to do some of the UK gigs. So my slightly older friends did a lot of the European leg of what I always called the Notorious tour (Think its official title was Strange Behaviour Tour) whilst I stayed at home, revising!

I have talked before about not having mobile phones and the effort it used to take to get in touch with people back in those days. So I was grateful for my friends doing the tour calling me from time to time to keep me posted. I wouldn’t have just called Steve at the hotel because I was a chicken and not brazen enough to do that off my own back. The girls would have seen Steve earlier in the day to find out if he minded if I called. Duran used to stay in hotels under assumed names, so unless you knew the name you wouldn’t get past reception anyway. So one of my friends would have had to ask Steve what name he was under for me to call him! So it was lovely that he actually called me back after the show – and asked for me during it too. I was flattered!

Looking at that little entry stating Steve’s birthday – now that rocked me! Steve was 37!  Just 3 years younger than I am RIGHT NOW! That was ANCIENT to my 16-year-old self!

Reading my diary for this blog has made me realise what a naive bunch we really were. It is both refreshing and scary JUST how green we were! We were so innocent!

March 28th/29th1987 – All around London Town

Saturday

EVERYWHERE!

Simon was on Saturday Superstore but me’n’Jenny decided to see if we could see him at the Savoy instead. But he wasn’t there.

After trekking round London all day trying to find them we went to the airport where D*** lied her heart out about what Duran were doing tomorrow. Sam got annoyed about the whole lying thing and so they stopped lying and told us all about tomorrow.

Sunday

AMNESTY CONCERT/PALLADIUM/HEATHROW/MAYFAIR HOTEL ETC

Went to the airport to meet John, Simon and Nick from Paris. Met them – JT has had his ears pierced!!! That was OK I suppose. Then we went to the Palladium. I saw Steve and we talked for a few minutes. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and went inside. We then found out that they were staying at the Mayfair hotel, Barclay Square. So we went there to try to see them.

When John arrived I asked him if Steve was coming to the hotel too. He was really high or something. He goes to me ‘I’m Bored. I’m Bored. Are you Bored?’ (He was looking at my badge on my jacket that says ‘I’m Bored’!) Then he said ‘Are you bored of waiting for me to answer this question? Steve has gone with his wife to have Sunday dinner, then he’s going to the pub, alright?’ He was laughing when he was saying it though.

Warren came and said ‘Hi’ like he remembered me. Steve came along later and we had a photo done, his roadie took it on a Polaroid and wouldn’t give it to me! We couldn’t talk long. I was talking to Jacqui about the wedding and giving her my congratulations and everything.

All in all we had a very cold day, a long day and I ended up feeling so starved I thought I was an eethy but I had a laugh!

NOTES ABOUT THIS ENTRY

On the Saturday Jenny and I had traipsed all over London on false leads and hunches. Do I sound like a private detective? Sometimes it was a bit like that. Asking questions, getting gut feelings. We all had ways of feeling if our hunches were true too. If I got butterfly’s in my stomach when we arrived somewhere that Duran were supposed to be, it invariably meant that they WEREN’T there! If I felt nothing and told everyone we were in the wrong place – that meant that they WERE there!

That Saturday we decided not to do the usual and  break into BBC TV Centre, and tried to find them somewhere where there weren’t so many people. It backfired I suppose. Remember these were the days without mobile phones. When you left your house for the day, you left your house for the day! You weren’t contactable on the move. Unless you called home to ask if anyone had called or left messages, you didn’t have a clue what any of your friends were up to. Or if they had left messages to let you know where they were.

On this occasion when we did meet up with D*** and Sam at the airport, they at first attempted to tell us lies about what they knew. This wasn’t unusual. I was getting used to that. But this was breaking point for Sam who had had enough of lying to me. She proceeded to tell me the truth that day and ever since then – 25 years later – we have been the best of friends!

That Sunday was obviously a busy one. Airports, hotels, theatres. I have said that this was an Amnesty concert. They were called The Secret Policeman’s Ball for some reason. On the line up on this show were people like Kate Bush, Mark Knopfler, Dave Gilmour and even the Spitting Image puppets! I didn’t see any of those I’m afraid! Saw Duran at the theatre, left to see Duran arrive at their hotel!

I have implied that John was high in this diary entry. I was only just 16 when I wrote this and I’m not sure what I meant by high. I think I thought he was drunk. But I can’t be sure. I couldn’t tell you if he was on cocaine or anything like that as I had never SEEN anyone on coke before. I had only seen people DRUNK before. I don’t think he was that pleased in me asking about someone other than himself either to be honest! He was being funny with me and my ‘I’m Bored’ badge!  (That badge got a lot of attention! I wish I still had it!)

Lastly I said I was hungry and that I felt like I was an ‘eethy’ Horrible I know, but it was a slang term at the time in my area of London. If you were hungry you said you felt like an ‘eethy’ short for Ethiopian. Horrible I know, but I write everything that’s in my diary and that is  written in my diary, unfortunately!

February 4th 1987 – Conversations with Steve Ferrone

Savoy Hotel/BBC Television Centre

I went to see Duran but spent most of the time with Steve Ferrone! He’s brill! At the Savoy he was so glad to see me I got smothered! At the BBC he was happy to see me again. We went to the reception area and we were waiting for the rest of Duran to arrive for about 25 minutes so we just chatted.

We talked about what I wanted to do as a career, his drums, his girlfriend – who he is marrying next week. He said his kids were doing great. He asked me if I had tickets for the Duran tour and he said he would put me on his guest list! I will be with Jacqui his new wife! We talked loads and he even said he will send my a birthday card in a few weeks!

At reception at the BBC 4th Feb 1987 All of Duran at the time and me with Steve Ferrone. COPYRIGHT MICHELLE COLDWELL-SIMONS

We got into one of the dressing rooms but Simon chucked us out when Warren (the new guitarist) had let us in! Warren was great to us. He said he liked my cross (necklace) and thought my bright red worried looking face ‘becomes’ me!! The make up artist for them was trying to help calm it down by putting witch hazel on it for me!

So Simon wasn’t very nice, John and Nick I don’t really know about as I never really spoke to them, being with Steve all the time. But they said they were supposed to be flying back on Sunday….

NOTES ABOUT THIS ENTRY

I obviously used to get on really well with Steve. He was genuinely interested in what I had to say. I remember telling him I wanted to be a journalist and he was very encouraging – like a dad would be! He WAS old enough to be my dad let’s face it! That’s how I saw him anyway – like a father figure. We chatted for a long while whilst hanging around waiting for Duran to arrive.

I do remember being let into the dressing room by Warren. We didn’t know anything about him at this time. He had only just appeared on our radar around then. We thought he was a lovely man for letting us escape those dreaded commissionaire’s that were chasing us. Simon obviously had other idea’s and told us to leave the dressing room when he got there! Fair enough – I don’t blame him at all! We didn’t get to know more about Warren and his reputation until much later…..

I was very chuffed about getting on Steve’s guest list for tickets. And that he had offered me and not that I had asked him too. The other ‘known’ fans had been on guest lists before but this was new for me! I didn’t take it too to heart though as the tour wasn’t coming to the UK until May and I might have been forgotten about by then! It was just nice to be thought of in that way that Steve would like me as his guest! I was chuffed!

Looking briefly through my diary there isn’t as much written in 1987 as there was in 1986. Further along the years even less! As I got a bit older I obviously had less time to go and see Duran, what with leaving school and getting a job. I still did go and see them as you will see if you continue to read my entries. I hope you are enjoying them still. I enjoy reading your feedback so let me know your thoughts!

NOTE

The picture in this entry features the following people:- Jenny, Ruth, Moraine, Daska, Sam and Jo. If you want the picture removed please let me know.

6th November 1986 – The Boys Are Back In Town

SAVOY/CAPITAL RADIO/SAVOY/AIRPORT!!

I had the day off school today – because Duran are BACK!!!

Them lot went to see them on TOTP but they never told us. (They couldn’t, apparently).

We waited at the Savoy Hotel to get a wave from Nick and Simon as we waited at the wrong exit.

Then we raced to Capital. We missed them going in but they were only 20 minutes or so. John was really moany. So I tried to cheer him up!

'Moany' John & I Capital Radio November 1986 COPYRIGHT MICHELLE COLDWELL-SIMONS

Then we jumped in a cab and went back to the Savoy. We beat them back so when they got there they chatted to us for a few minutes.

Then we waited outside the hotel for them to leave – they were flying to Strasbourg to tour Europe and promote Notorious – the new album. (They are using a new drummer called Jerry. Yesterday Steve Ferrone kept asking for me – saying ‘Where’s Michelle? Where’s my fan’!!)

AND there’s a new guitarist for the tour. Warren. Rae says she’s in love with him! I mean he’s cute, but she has only known him for 5 minutes!

When they came out of the Savoy John got straight into the car. No one went to him – so I did. I kept telling him to cheer up and that if he didn’t by the time we got to the airport I’d kill him! He just kept tweaking my nose!

Then Simon was saying all our names but he had to be told mine because he doesn’t know it! He called me a ‘cute lil thing’!!! He’s gone loopy I swear.

John was really quiet. He said it was because he was tired. I got chatting to him about Billy. He said he liked ‘Man For All Seasons’ and ‘Don’t Need A Gun’ from the album.

Good Day!

NOTES ABOUT THIS ENTRY

I do keep on about how green and naive I was, but I just accepted that John was ‘moany’ and quiet all day because he was tired. But maybe he was on a comedown from drugs? Or badly hung over? I don’t know. I just didn’t see any of the drinking and drug taking the whole time I spent in their company up until this point. I really didn’t. Of course it would have happened behind closed doors and not in front of us, but still. Was I just blind to it and didn’t recognise the signs? Yes to drug taking as up until then I had never seen anyone taking drugs or under the effects of drug taking. But I knew about drinking because my Dad liked a drink! I can’t work out why I was blind to it. Devotion? Not hearing a bad word said against Duran? Probably.

Also, the first mention of Warren…….more of him to come later!

So I took the day off school to go and see Duran. That was with my Mum’s permission I’ll have you know! Mum let me have a day off here and there if I was working hard!

I mention in the first paragraph that ‘them lot’ went to Top Of The Pops to see Duran, and didn’t tell us. ‘Them lot’ were the ‘Known Fans’  and yes, some of them STILL kept information to themselves. But it was getting better.

I was told just yesterday by Sam, who was a ‘known fan’, that she had had enough of keeping things from me and that she thought I was a nice girl and should be told more. Bless! Sam is one of my best friends now, she was my witness at my wedding and we live just down the road from each other on the coast when we are both Londoners! So more than anything, Duran gave me great friends!

26, 27, 28 August 1986 – You Say Duranie, I say Duran Fan

Abbey Road

Tuesday

Today was Okay. John wore my shirt again but it had a stain on it. He gave me a lovely big smile today! Maybe coz he saw I was pissed off. (Coz S*** turned up).

My favourite shirt - AGAIN! August 1986 COPYRIGHT MICHELLE COLDWELL-SIMONS

They kept going back and forth today. Nick went out and did the shopping. They all came out with wives/girlfriends to go and see Julie-Ann and the E-Bab. Then they came back. Then John and Renee went out. Renee was lovely. I said ‘Baa’ like the way I say Bye and she went ‘Baa’ back!

John was in a great mood today. I cheered Nick up a bit by asking after Julie-Ann not the E-Bab. Simon was normal!

By the way we were told that……

The baby has Julie-Ann face.

Nick’s lips.

Has tufty brown hair.

Weighed 8lb 11oz.

And Julie-Ann and baby Tjarner, Tatjana (don’t know the spelling!) are doing well!

Wednesday

Steve Ferrone turned up! I love him! I told him I never did get a drumstick from him so he is going to give me one. He slapped my bum and tickled me before going in.

Today I never saw Nick but Simon was OK. He was being pestered by this girl called D***** – a girl who thinks she knows everything about Simon.

John was lovely! He walked up to me and said ‘Heeellllo’ breathing all over me. Had a photo done. Lovely day!

Thursday

Today Steve gave me drumsticks. He gave them both to me but I gave B***** one of them.

Simon was lovely today. He signed autographs and had pictures done, me and B**** had our done together. He was really lovely.

John, however was in a foul mood. Rae burst into tears like a Duranie because she couldn’t get near John and she is soooooo upset about Andy. SOB! He just went into the studio’s. Boring. We all have our off days I s’pose!

NOTES ABOUT THIS ENTRY

I put these three together as it was the last days of Abbey Road. As you can see there was lots of too-ing and fro-ing over these few days as Julie-Ann had just had Tatjana and the band and girlfriends were visiting. It was nice of someone to let us know what the baby looked like wasn’t it!? It’s amazing that Nick didn’t have any real time off because the baby had only been born a few days before but he was back in the studio! Workaholic!

(I called babies E-Babs back then as you can see. There was a phase of talking in a silly language called ‘Back Slang’ where I lived. You would put ends of words in front of beginnings to form a language that not many other people could understand. That’s the reason for the E-Bab references!)

I think it is funny that I thought that John was lovely to me  – breathing all over me! That was the day that S*** had turned up. The first time after she stole the Prince tickets off me. I remember that no-one talked to her. She stood on her own. She didn’t really come near Duran either. I think that was the last time I saw her with Duran. I still saw her at school, but she wasn’t my friend anymore. Sad isn’t it? See kids – don’t try to impress people by stealing something – it doesn’t work and loses you friends!

I don’t seem to have a camera on the Abbey Road days. My nan must have been on holiday this summer as I didn’t own my own camera – just borrowed my nan’s disc camera! I had pictures done on these days but I don’t have the pictures. I must have never gotten copies of them. If you were with me on these days and still have the pictures – get in touch!

Not sure about the part where Steve slaps my bum and tickles me…….erm. Not saying anymore!

Final thought. Back in those days in the UK we didn’t want to be called Duranies. Back then if you were a Duranie it meant that you were a screaming, crying fan. The group that I followed Duran with would NEVER want to be called Duranies. That was a derogatory term back then – to us anyway. We were called Duran Fans. Pure and simple. I think that maybe it was just a British thing. Whenever Duran were in the newspapers in the 80’s and they talked about fans, they called them Duranies and showed pictures of weeping hysterical girls. We weren’t like that! I know that now there are fans that are OK with the term Duranie. But I am a Duran Fan. It’s just something that has just stuck from those days. No offence to people calling themselves Duranies. That is absolutely fine with me! This is why I so scathingly put that Rae was behaving like a ‘Duranie’ because she cried when she couldn’t get to John. It meant she was crying and hysterical – something that a Duran Fan would never do!

14th August 1986 – The Ticket Snatcher

ABBEY ROAD AND WEMBLEY AGAIN

Saw Duran go into Abbey Road then went to the Prince concert again at Wembley.

We met Steve Ferrone outside the gig and he gave me two tickets to join him and his girlfriend Jackie. GREAT! Then S*** snatched the envelope with the tickets in out of my hand and ran through the turnstiles! SHE’S A BITCH!! It meant that me, Das and Rae couldn’t get in and were left outside. I couldn’t believe it. We were so annoyed at S*** that we went back to Abbey Road and TOLD THE BAND!!!!

Nick was really lovely. He was quiet and didn’t believe a friend would do something like that!

John Taylor August 1986 Only have one photo of Duran at Abbey Road for some reason. This was taken the week before at Maison Rouge. COPYRIGHT MICHELLE COLDWELL-SIMONS

John said ‘Really? Who did it? Who did it?’ He really cheered us up. He said ‘You show me who it is next time you are here and I’ll do something about it!’

Steve (who had come back from the concert) told me to ‘Kick her up the arse!’ He was lovely and told us not to sleep on the streets tonight. (We were staying at S*** house that night).

They all told us not to sleep rough. Renee was saying to John ‘What are we going to do? We can’t let them sleep out all night?’ But John just said we’d be fine. Renee was so lovely.  (Simon wasn’t around, I think we must have missed him)

NOTES ABOUT THIS ENTRY

I haven’t named the girl who did this, but she was one of my closest friends at the time. I got on really well with Steve Ferrone and I was so chuffed that he would give me his spare tickets to the gig. Steve knew I was a fan of Prince. A crowd of us had gone down to Wembley, some had already seen the Prince gig a few days earlier. So it was nice to be singled out for some attention!

In those days Wembley had turnstiles. You just turned up, handed your ticket to the attendant and went through the turnstile. S***, who snatched the tickets, gave the spare one ticket to Sam then ran through the turnstiles! Sam was part of the group I called the ‘known fans’. I think that S*** was trying to become part of the ‘known fans’ little group so she did something to try and win them over – steal my tickets! It backfired on her big time though because the people who witnessed the snatch couldn’t believe it and thought she was terribly mean! S*** tried to come back to the studios a few times afterward this incident, but I wasn’t talking to her and the other fans thought her nasty, so she stopped coming in the end.

We didn’t actually sleep on the streets that night. We still slept at S*** house. We just didn’t talk to her. For the whole journey to her house. The whole time we were in her house. And we never talked to her again. Her silly act cost her some good friends. And the chance of going to see the band she liked. Silly really.

The funny thing about this story is that apart from Renee, who was really concerned, the rest of Duran didn’t seem that bothered that a bunch of 15 year old girls were prepared to spend the night sleeping on the streets! I think that it was a case of out of sight out of mind for them to be honest, we were forgotten about as soon as they drove away!

I finally got to see Prince in concert a few years later. Wished it was that tour though. Still gutted about it 25 years later!