Demon Barber puts the knife in
Sunday, June 29, 2008 I was quite excited when I heard that Lynn Barber was coming to the Forest party last week. Lynn Barber! Not only is she one of the most famous journalists of the last 20 years (her interviews are legendary), she's also a smoker. And she's on friendly terms with David Hockney, and since he was coming too (and the party went so well, or so I thought) I was convinced we were set for a favourable review.
As it happens I've been in public relations long enough never to count my chickens. But even I was disappointed to read Barber's piece in today's Observer. (The title alone sets alarm bells ringing: 'This party's such a drag'.) Disappointed, but not surprised. After all, one of my favourite articles is Toby Young's 'My interview from hell' in which he wrote:
The question of why anyone agrees to be profiled by Lynn Barber is a curious one. After all, her last collection of interviews was called Demon Barber so it's not as if she makes any secret of her intentions. The hatchet job is her stock-in-trade, yet for some reason there is never any shortage of willing subjects.
According to Young:
"Recent casualties include Boy George, Vanessa Redgrave, Robert Winston, Jerry Hall, Gyles Brandreth, Alan Sugar, Terence Conran, Julian Fellowes and Clare Short, to name but a few".
That was in 2006. I'm sure there have been a few more "casualties" since, and I'm equally sure that Forest won't be the last.
Lynn Barber's Forest/Boisdale article is HERE but the last word should go to Toby Young:
"I did my best to keep my cool. I counted to ten. I tried to picture her naked. But it was no good. Words came tumbling out of my mouth in a torrent of rage. At one point, I even noticed a fleck of spit landing on her taperecorder. I was fucked."
Reader Comments (8)
AS you know, Simon, all publicity is good publicity.
Also, her remark that we are just a raggle taggle defeated bunch, is just the sort of thing to further stiffen the sinews and summon up the blood.
Oh I do wish I had been there! In spite of her appearance, I wouldn't have scuttled off if she had asked me who I was. I'd have told her and asked who she was. I'd have expressed polite disinterest and shown I'd never heard of her, and then complimented her in a slightly patronising way, saying that it sounded like an interesting little job.
Perhaps some did!
I didn't think Lynn Barber's article was quite as condemning as I thought it was going to be. Maybe she has mellowed with the years? I thought she came across as a sort of older, Peter Hitchens, who is just looking for anyone, of any party, or persuasion, to give a good matronly spanking to.
I had to laugh about her comments regarding pipe smokers... Yeuk, was the word she used. Boy did she go in using the iron fist there? Pipe smokers all over the world will probably be shaking in their shoes and putting their pipes in the local council pipe crushing machine after that onslaught.
I cannot understand why she couldn't seem to work out who the "strange Forest people" were, maybe she thought they would be dressed in Lincoln green, and carrying bows and arrows?
To suggest that the men, mainly looked liked "ageing Hooray Henrys, big on cufflinks and jazzy braces" is a damn insult. I never wear braces! But I must say that my wife Frances, did take umbrage to her remark about "the women with bouffant hair and kipper suntans". After all, we had just spent nearly a month in sunny Spain, where it is quite difficult to dodge the sun.
Lastly, I disagree with Ms Barber's remark about us being a "raggle-taggle, defeated army". Raggle-taggle, sometimes perhaps, but defeated, never!
P.S. I am not a spokesperson for UKIP, but I do think that they would also pass, on the possibility of getting into bed with Ms Barber also. I know I would!
I would also have asked Lynn Barber, in the imaginary conversation I was having with her, what she herself was doing about the smoking ban.
Oh what a lovely thing hindsight is!
When the speeches were about to begin I found a seat beside a lady who was sitting on her own. I asked her if she was there in a professional capacity (the notepad and poised pen rather gave it away) and she replied that she was with The Observer. She was, of course, Lynn Barber, completely unknown to me as I'm not a journalist, celebrity, in public relations or an Observer reader! She obviously hadn't heard of Hamish Howitt because, when he was announced, she asked me to confirm his surname, which she hadn't caught. I don't think that she's involved in opposition to the ban.
I think that her raggle-taggle remark actually hits the nail on the head. Now and again the issue of civil disobedience or protest comes up. People cite the example of the hunting fraternity to argue that a protest by pro-choicers would be stronger because of sheer volume of numbers. The problem is that smokers are an incohesive group, we don't have a common strategem against the Antis, there is little dialogue between pro-choice groups, many smokers don't realise that there is opposition or that it's worth putting up a fight and, as Lynn Barber herself highlights, even smokers at a pro-chice party can't stick together. How on earth could anyone mobilise us?
As for her other remarks, although there was, unsurprisingly, an absence of the stereotypical smoker as portrayed by the Antis and referred to by John Reid, there was a mix and of young and old. The unkindest thing that could be said is that the party was designed to be nothing more than a thank you to those who support FOREST.
(BTW, LOL, I don't have either a suntan or bouffant hair).
She would probably be sacked by the Observer if she said anything too positive about smokers as there seems to be a blanket ban in the media especially the BBC.
A rather "Yawn" article which said very little and went nowhere. She's not terribly well informed either and looks like she could loose weight.
Ms Barber was clearly wanting to show off her 'ironic journalism' skills. A dose of snobbish bewilderment here, a sprinkling of dismissive commentary there... What Ms Barber clearly did not realise is that most of us were simply enjoying the rare opportunity to be in a nice place with lots of very nice people, most of whom smoked.This was the first evening out since the ban that I have enjoyed, rather than endured.
Being from the north, where the 'Vicky Pollardesque' depiction of who & what smokers are is unfortunately what you see for the most part, it was a delight for me to be amongst 'a better class of person', non of whom made that wretched 'moue' face and mentally downgraded me to a C3 for being a smoker
Dunhillbabe, no need to go to London to meet a better class of person - just go to Yarm where you might be lucky enough to meet Robbiethesmoggie (complete with Blackberry, no less!!)
http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/topstories/display.var.2369265.0.quarter_of_a_million_quit_cigs_thanks_to_smoking_ban.php#comments