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Is Viv There?

• Stuart Bailie
• 19 Nov 07, 03:15 PM

Here’s another rather strange photo from the archive. It was taken at The Borderline on London's Charing Cross Road, May 1, 1990. The occasion was the launch party of an NME album ‘The Last Temptation Of Elvis’, which found a bunch of name artists performing tracks from the Presley soundtracks.

That’s me on the right. I had volunteered, after a few refreshing drinks, to sing ‘Return To Sender’ on the karaoke machine. After the first verse, the stage was invaded by a large bearded man in a paisley shirt, who started to bellow enthusiastically. His name was , former member of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, narrator of ‘Tubular Bells’ and author of Sir Henry at Rawlinson End. A legend.

And so he jumped and barked, as was his practice. Finally we were joined by NME’s News Editor Terry Staunton, who rightly sensed that there was something brilliantly silly going on. We took our applause, and regrettably, I never saw Vivian again. Five years later and he died in a house fire in Muswell Hill, caused by faulty wiring. The date was 6 March, 100 years after the death of the proper Sir Henry Rawlinson. Bless ’em both.

Stu Bailie presents The Late show on Radio Ulster, every Friday from 10pm until midnight. See his playlist here.

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