Ever met a famous musician…. but not realised at the time?

[Painy]

My wife was a pharmacy dispenser before our kids were born and served Roger Lloyd-Pack. She had to be told after he'd left that she'd just served Trigger and still had no clue as she's never watched Only Fools and horses!
As for me, not quite met as such but once answered the phone at my dad's house to a strangely familiar voice asking to speak to my step mum so I just handed the phone over. My step mum used to manage the Who's official fan club back in the early seventies and still occasionally speaks the man on the phone who was none other than Roger Daltrey!

[Kevin Dean]

When I started out I played in a band with Jon Andersons (Yes) brother & nephews & still do a bit , My first band I got into was The Stranglers ,anyway I had never heard of Yes & I got chatting to Chris Squire at some Birthday gig & I said " You sound just like the bloke from The Stranglers , He must have also been an influence on you"

[Mornats]

I was at the Louisiana in Bristol about 3 years ago and me and a mate just turned up on a whim to see who was playing without knowing who was on. We caught an act called Lionface who were really good (one of my favourite local bands now) and I got chatting to the bass player. Their singer overheard us talking about basses and chatted to me for about half an hour about bass stuff. Turns out she was Kat Marsh, ex-bass player for the The King Blues. Bloody lovely person she is (and I have both of her Lionface albums signed by her now!).

[sunburstjazz1967]

As ever one persons "famous" is the next mans "who?", I wouldn't know most of the people named in this thread before/during/googling/after meeting them, lol.

[FinnDave]

[quote name='sunburstjazz1967' timestamp='1462480601' post='3043477']
As ever one persons "famous" is the next mans "who?", I wouldn't know most of the people named in this thread before/during/googling/after meeting them, lol.
[/quote]
Such is the fickle nature of 'fame'.

[scalpy]

Not me but my mum. She was at dartington college in the late sixties. A nice Indian gentleman used to give her a lift home in his white rolls Royce. She later realised this was Ravi Shankar.

She then went to the guildhall and used to hang around this dingy jazz club. She got chatting to this nice couple, very unusual for the time she thought, one of them was black and the other white. Cleo lane and Jonny dankworth at Ronnie Scott's.

Clueless!

[ChrisF]

[quote name='sunburstjazz1967' timestamp='1462480601' post='3043477']
As ever one persons "famous" is the next mans "who?", I wouldn't know most of the people named in this thread before/during/googling/after meeting them, lol.
[/quote]

Phew!!! Glad it's not just me hahahaha

[AustinArto]

Played a gig at Kenny's Castaways on Bleeker St in NYC once and after we were done I got chatting to this older rocker guy who was good fun had some good stories but he was totally trying it on with my missus. Anyway we let him buy us a bunch of drinks and talked music for a bit, left quite pissed, I think it was a few days later I met up with the band again aid they told me it was Todd Rundgren.

Another time I went to a jam night that our guitarist hosted every Monday, I was leaving the following week and wanted to say goodbye to people, there was this one bassist there who was hilarious - tiny little guy with long blonde curly hair and every time he was on stage he spent the whole time looking at himself in a giant mirror on the back wall. Got talking to him later on and he was very complementary about my playing at first but clearly just wanted to talk about himself and got annoyed that I didn't, so he moved on. Apparently that was Dave La Rue, who I only knew of from guitar magazines I don't think I've ever heard anything he's played on.

[Mickeyboro]

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1462460632' post='3043212']
The first time I met Jenny Haan (Babe Ruth band & early 70s pin-up) she was standing in my kitchen and I had no idea who she was.

To be fair, Sounds used photos that concentrated on her legs and not her face!

After a good 10 ten minutes of to-ing and fro-ing, he said 'do you know who I am?' and then told me...David Frost.
[/quote]

Didn't 'Hello good evening and welcome' give it away Dave? 😈

[Rich]

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1462481395' post='3043496']
Such is the fickle nature of 'fame'.
[/quote]
"Knock knock."
"Who's there?"
"The Jonas Brothers."
"The Jonas Brothers who?"
"Ah well, that's showbusiness."

[FinnDave]

[quote name='Mickeyboro' timestamp='1462506243' post='3043603']
Didn't 'Hello good evening and welcome' give it away Dave?
[/quote]

I probably wasn't paying attention, I was the only person left in the office for some reason, and trying to keep people away from distracting our 'star' (Clive James), who was sleeping in the next room.

[sunburstjazz1967]

Todd Rundgren? Dave La Rue? Nope no idea.

[woodster]

Not me directly but I did a gig supporting Chris 'out of time' Farlowe. There was a film company there who were in the process of making a documentary about him and in the dressing room our clueless singer asked Chris what all the cameras were for.
"They're making a documentary about me", Chris said.

Our singer replied....

"Why? Who are you?"

[Rich]

[quote name='sunburstjazz1967' timestamp='1462517263' post='3043633']
Todd Rundgren? Dave La Rue? Nope no idea.
[/quote]
Seriously?

[Spoombung]

A friend of mine got talking to a drunken guy in a pub who cracked dirty jokes and offered to suck his cock. Being a canny guy and a music fan, after five minutes of chatter with this character my friend became suspicious, recognised him and asked him if he was legendary folk guitarist, Davy Graham. Bingo!

[EBS_freak]

Spoke to Martin Barre without knowing who he is.

And if I met him again, I probably still wouldn't recognise him for who he is.

[sunburstjazz1967]

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1462524967' post='3043705']

Seriously?
[/quote]
Hardly household names are they?

[sunburstjazz1967]

I was getting petrol and Jim lea was in the petrol station, if I asked everyone at work if they knew who he is I doubt anyone would know.

[Norris]

I once stood there, semi-inebriated, talking to a chap backstage where my band were appearing as the main act. There were a bunch of naked blokes on stage at the time doing a balloon dance. We had a good old chat, basically slagging off the dancers.

I found out later that the chap was Dave Edmunds

[Zenitram]

[quote name='sunburstjazz1967' timestamp='1462526747' post='3043730']
Hardly household names are they?
[/quote]

For what it's worth - people in this thread that I hadn't heard of:

Stuart Zender (though I've heard of Jamiroquai)
Mark Chung (though I've heard of Neubaten)
Jim Mullen
Clark Tracy
Cass Lewis
Herman Li
Rob Harris
Jenny Haan
Jon Anderson
Chris Squire
Kat Marsh
Dave La Rue
The Jonas Brothers
Chris Farlowe
Davy Graham
Martin Barre
Jim Lea
Dave Edmunds

[Patster1969]

Used to live in Woking and a load of us were off on the train to Guildford for a night out. As we were standing about while others were getting tickets, this guy is walking past us having got off the train and being a bit crap with names (no memory), I did my usual "alright mate" as was convinced I knew him. As he exited the station, one of my mates said "You did realise that that was Paul Weller, didn't you" - thought he looked familiar. He did say hello back - nice man

Edited May 6, 2016 by Patster1969

[bootleg]

Many years ago I met a bloke introduced to me as Brian to show him around a Victorian observatory I was "renovating" in Northumberland. I had my suspicions at the time, which were later confirmed that it was Mr Eno. A very personable and erudite chap he was. It was around the time of the Bowie Berlin trilogy.

[ChrisF]

Dave Edmunds and Jim Lea are the only two that I have heard of so far.....yeah, yeah I know....I'm an old duffer lol

[ChrisF]

....and Paul Weller obviously

[spongebob]

I once bought a cheap Fender guitar practice amp from Glenn Tilbrook of Squeeze.

(I had no idea who he was, until I was leaving and saw the flight case with his name all over it).

Funny thing is, he'd been telling me about 'playing over the weekend', etc, and I had just assumed he was a regular guy playing part-time!