Top A-list stars appear to plot secret new project in late night London meeting
AS A-list get-togethers go, this is really something.
On a cold winter’s nice at a hidden-away bar in West London, an unlikely gathering of superstars enjoyed a low-key dinner.
Despite arriving and leaving incognito under hooded coats and behind umbrellas via a back door, I’m told pop star Taylor Swift and Hollywood beauty Cameron Diaz enjoyed a meal in a private booth with Ali G actor Sacha Baron Cohen, fashion supremo Stella McCartney and Girls screenwriter and actress Lena Dunham.
Oh to be a fly on the wall at that table.
The unexpected group sparked gossip at trendy Laylow, a restaurant and late spot also popular with Ed Sheeran - while David Beckham, Stormzy and Mick Jagger have all partied there.
Nestled underneath a grey concrete tower block and alongside an unassuming parade of shops, the venue looks an unlikely A-list haunt, but thanks to an exclusive clientele has become a big draw for the great and the good when in town.
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A source said: “There are always famous people in Laylow — but you don’t normally get such a random mix as that having dinner together. They requested a private booth out of the way, and seemed to be having a bit of a meeting.
“It was obvious they were deliberately leaving separately, out of different doors and using different tricks to conceal themselves. All anybody wanted to know was what a group like that could be cooking up.”
Taylor is busy conquering the global pop charts, while Cameron Diaz recently returned to the spotlight after a hiatus from movies.
And Stella is said to be squabbling with rival designer Victoria Beckham, Sacha recently resurrected character Borat and Lena Dunham got married in 2021 in London’s Soho — with Taylor as one of her bridesmaids.
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Whatever that lot were plotting, you’d back it to be brilliant . . .
Shania top of the box
THERE is no chance of Shania Twain losing signal when she’s watching the box, because it looks like she is wearing her own TV aerial.
The Canadian singer is gearing up to release her sixth studio album Queen Of Me next month and dressed in this kooky look for an interview with InStyle magazine.
It was touch and go whether the record would happen after Shania was struck down with Covid during the lockdowns, inspiring her new track Inhale/Exhale Air.
She said: “I wrote that song right after I had a very bad battle with Covid, and my lungs were filling up with Covid pneumonia and I was losing my air. I survived it, but it was iffy.”
Speaking about how a breathing exercise evolved into the track, Shania explained: “This minister, he just starts breathing in through his nose, out through his mouth. And I’m like, ‘I still identify with this’. And he’s like, ‘Air. What are you going to do with it?’
“It’s free, it’s there, don’t take it for granted. I celebrated it by writing a song about it.”
ED SHEERAN stayed with late pal Jamal Edwards’ mum Brenda and sister for a week after the music mogul died in February.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain yesterday, Loose Women panellist Brenda said: “When Jamal passed, Ed was at my house with me and Tanisha for the whole week, just looking after us.
“There wasn’t anything he wasn’t sorting out and doing.”
Ed has today released a freestyle rap for Jamal’s platform SBTV, which brought Brenda to tears.
She said: “Ed sent me the final edit two days ago. And I’ve been in and out of crying ever since. They’re positive tears. It means so much.”
The full video for Ed’s still-unnamed song is on YouTube now.
Hopes are Gone Direction
THEY haven’t performed together in seven years, after agreeing to take a supposedly brief hiatus in 2015.
But it looks as though all hope is formally gone for a One Direction comeback, as Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horann have officially quit the company which was used to handle their millions.
The lads have all left PPM Music Limited, the firm which the band set up in 2011, according to Companies House.
They had previously been listed as directors.
They are expected to share out the remaining £1.9million left in the company - almost £500,000 each.
Last year Simon Cowell said he was keen for the reunion to happen, while Louis admitted “it would be a shame” if they didn’t.
Earlier this month, bookies Coral slashed odds of a 1D reunion in 2023 to 4-5.
However, with this latest news and Harry being able to sell out stadiums on his own, I can’t see that happening for years.
Arlo and behold
ARLO PARKS is finally returning to music with the follow-up to debut album Collapsed In Sunbeams, which landed her the Mercury Prize and Best New Artist Brit Award in 2021.
The singer-songwriter will release My Soft Machine on May 26 and has given a teaser of what to expect with the first single, Weightless.
She said: “This record is life through my lens, through my body – the mid-20s anxiety, the substance abuse of friends around me, the viscera of being in love for the first time, navigating PTSD and grief and self-sabotage and joy, moving through worlds with wonder and sensitivity – what it’s like to be trapped in this particular body.”
Jacko’s life story in movie
MICHAEL JACKSON’s spectacular life story will be the subject of a new film from leading director Antoine Fuqua.
Production on the film, simply titled Michael, will begin next year, with a producer from Freddie Mercury’s biopic Bohemian Rhapsody also on board.
John Logan, who wrote Skyfall and Gladiator, is on script duties.
But while movie studio Lionsgate said the flick will address “all aspects” of the singer’s life, it is not clear whether allegations of child sex abuse will be included.
Antoine said: “The first films of my career were music videos, and I still feel that combining film and music are a deep part of who I am.
“For me, there is no artist with the power, the charisma, and the sheer musical genius of Michael Jackson.
“I was influenced to make music videos by watching his work.
“His music and those images are part of my worldview, and the chance to tell his story on the screen alongside his music was irresistible.”
Lew's knicker shocker glory
TOM JONES gets pelted with bras and knickers on stage by female fans – but Lewis Capaldi got these huge Y-fronts slung at him.
On stage at the Sheffield Arena for his current UK tour, the Scots singer was quick to see the funny side – holding the kecks up for inspection then slipping them over his trousers and shaking his bum.
His cheeky admirer had written on the front of them: “Call for fun time, big boy” and on the back they added: “She’s a freaky girl!” . . . seemingly next to her phone number.
Lewis later refused to say whether or not he will be taking the woman up on her offer.
Meanwhile, things weren’t quite so funny during his latest show, at Manchester’s AO Arena, when a fight broke out in the crowd as he sang Hold Me While You Wait.
Worried Lewis told the crowd: “They are scrapping in the crowd there.
“Er, we are going to have to get them out.
“We can’t be fighting. What a weird song to fight to.”
KISS rocker Gene Simmons has revealed he is a secret ABBA superfan.
The Crazy Crazy Nights singer was choosing the ten albums that have changed his life when he name-checked their greatest hits record Gold, alongside collections from Led Zeppelin, The Who and The Beatles.
Speaking to Goldmine mag, he said: “If I’m riding in my car and Abba’s music comes on, I turn it up and that’s the sign of greatness. Undeniable songwriting.
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“You just can’t touch it. That’s why I have to pick Abba because it’s just undeniable.”
I know what he will be listening to before Kiss hit the stage for their End Of The Road tour in the UK in July.