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ABOUT
SMILER
>> Star readers
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 Pictured
on the right is Boy George who we here at Smiler affectionately
like to call Georgie Boy! Georgie Boy enjoyed massive success
during the eighties with his band Culture Club. They made
the UK Top Ten no fewer than eight times between 1982 and
1986 with hits like "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me"
and "Karma Chameleon"! His first solo outing "Everything
I Own" topped the charts in 1987. Sadly, nowadays he
is more famous for playing dance records to ravers in London
nightclubs than exercising his great voice.
During
the eighties, Rod was quoted as saying "Boy George is
the best white soul singer since me!" Georgie Boy has
also expressed admiration for Rod on several occasions.
Writing
in his autobiography ("Take It Like A Man", Pan,
£5.99) about the time he appeared on the same bill as
Rod at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, he said "Rod Stewart
sang "Dock Of The Bay" casually and soulfully, which
made us all look like we had white man's disease".
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Pictured on the left is The Duchess of York who is known to
her friends here at Smiler as Fergie! Fergie met Rod
a few years ago when they both attended a party at the Beverly
Hilton in Los Angeles to honour another famous Smiler reader,
Hilary Clinton!
When Fergie isn't busy signing copies of her autobiography
in bookshops or sipping cranberry juice, there's nothing she
likes more than to settle down with a copy of Smiler
and read all about the worlds No. 1 rock'n'roller.
Honest
though, the Duchess of York was really nice to us when we
asked her to pose for this picture and told us: "Rod's
alright!"
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 Pictured
on the right is the worlds second best white soul singer
Paul Young! Paul, who was often compared to Rod in the early
eighties, treated Smiler to a visual impression of
Rod and told us about the first time the pair met. Apparently
it was in a London nightclub, probably Springfellowes, in
the summer of 1983 just after "Wherever I Lay My Hat"
knocked "Baby Jane" from the No. 1 slot. When
we showed Paul photographic evidence of this historic meeting,
Paul exclaimed: "Good God! Look at my lapels - did
I really wear that jacked?".
Since
that first meeting the two singers have become firm friends
and have been to many parties together, as well as the odd
football match!
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Pictured
on the left is the fairly popular American singer Cyndi Lauper.
In 1985 Cyndi dueted with Rod at a Los Angeles AIDS benefit
concert on the songs "People Get Ready", "I
Heard It Through The Grapevine" and "Time After
Time". Since then, the pair have been good friends.
We assume
Rod is able to get more sense out of Cyndi than Smiler
did when we bumped into her - she certainly comes across as
being a few tracks short of an album! She told us Rod was
a jerk and tried to steal the show at the AIDS benefit. She
could have been joking - but who can tell? However, a member
of her crew gave us tickets for one of her UK shows and very
good it was too!
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