Before they were famous

A clip from US TV from 1978 reporting on the “Rocky Horror” craze features a young Michael Stipe in drag. Stipe later of R.E.M fame, of course.

Stipe is not the first celebrity to have pre-empted their fame with a media appearance. Others include Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page playing guitar in a skiffle band on a TV show and telling the presenter he wanted to “go into biological research”.

A young David Bowie, at the age of 17 still known as Davey Jones, and then with flowing blonde locks was interviewed by Cliff Michelmore about his long hair and his foundation of The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-haired Men. Leave it aaht, daahlin’

The best Phil Collins could muster back in the days when he was a drama student was a lovely knitting pattern, although he did play the Artful Dodger in the stage production of Lionel Bart’s Oliver. It’s almost as if these people had put themselves into a position whereafter they might eventually become famous…