WITH event organiser Michael Eavis stating that this year's Glastonbury Festival was the best-ever and will have to go a long way to be surpassed, it appears there is a local link to the unforgettable music extravaganza.
Former Herald advertising salesperson Steve Turner appeared on the Pyramid stage on the Sunday as part of the Madness backing band, which he plays with on a permanent basis.
Steve, who plays saxophone, was very much part of the local music scene when he worked on the paper, running a very successful soul band, The Last Word, very much in the style of the Commitments, which played a large number of local gigs.
Steve went on to form a Madness tribute band, the Los Palmas 7, before being invited by Suggs and co to be part of the real thing.
Now, although part of the legendary 2009 event, it does throw up the question: is Steve the first local person to appear on the Glastonbury stages?
I'm pretty sure one of our readers will have the definitive answer, and initial research has already eliminated Shoreham's Leo Sayer from the debate, unless he appeared under a different name.
IT'S now well over a decade since the council PR department managed to get then council leader and his deputy, Tim Dice and Andrew Garrett, valuable air-time on Meridian Tonight to unveil the rebranding of Worthing, including the bright new signs with the tag line "Worthing, a centre for commerce, leisure and tourism".
Perhaps the two gents, now in political retirement and via the pages of this newspaper, would like to respond 10 years on and give their own interpretation of how their ambitious master plan has gone?
And then, in the interests of balance, perhaps the shopkeepers, past and present, hoteliers, current, former and local residents would also like to commit their observations to print as well? HE was the man who famously turned Tom Jones down in 1965, but now, after over half a century in the licensed trade, Tony Hills has swapped pints for ice cream cones.
The former mine host at both the Warwick and the Hare and Hounds, Tony has taken at back seat at his current hostelry, The Last Resort, to take over at Mulloys kiosk at the front of the pier.
As we all are, Tony is hoping for a long hot summer, but his change in consumables has put me in a bit of a quandary, since a young lad I have always been a Macari's man when it comes to ice cream, but also having known Tony for many years I feel almost torn, it appears that the only right and proper solution is to just buy one at each establishment!
As for the Tom Jones story, it came about when Tony ran The Place Club at Lancing, and Tom was at number one in the charts with "It's Not Unusual".
The "voice of the valleys" had a Saturday night late-night booking at the Kings Club at Eastbourne and his manager, Gordon Mills, was looking for a supplementary appearance earlier in the evening.
The agent contacted Tony, offering him TJ in Lancing.
Unfortunately, he also wanted £200, but given the fact that Tony usually paid his Saturday night turns between £10 and £15, he had to say thanks, but no thanks . . .
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