IT’S been 17 years since I first shacked up here in Los Angeles, and I remember it like it was yesterday.
I couldn’t wait to spot my first celebrity – and it didn’t take long.
On my first day in the area known as Venice, I clocked one of the Kids From Fame – Erica Gimpel.
She had starred as the wonderfully-named Coco Hernandez in the TV series about the aspiring entertainers, and had performed in The Kids From Fame spin-off music group, too.
Back in 2000 I wanted to shout: “You look exactly the same now as you did then!” because she looked fantastic.
Nearly two decades on I got to finally say it to her – because she still does!
Erica is 53 now and looks remarkable. I spoke to her and the fellow Kids From Fame for a 35th Anniversary Reunion Concert.
She reckons her youthful looks are down to 30 years of practising Buddhism – I was hoping she was going to say it was down to changing which bar of soap she used.
It’s easy to forget how massive Fame was at the time, and Erica only found out it was huge when the cast visited the UK.
“It was when we went to London,” she said. “This was before Twitter and Facebook. We stepped off a plane and there were crowds waiting on us, it was incredible.
“We were on stage at the Royal Albert Hall thinking, ‘Oh my God!’
“We were rock stars.
“We were on stage and I was standing next to Gene Anthony, and he dived into the audience. I was blown away by his fearlessness!”
I also spoke to Lee Curreri, who played keyboard player Bruno Martelli. (Weren’t the Fame names fantastic?)
“I feel like I’m 20 again, I feel like we’ve never stopped working together,” he laughed.
“I remember in the early ’80s in the UK, the choice of food there perhaps wasn’t as plentiful.
“But I remember sitting down and getting my fish and chips in a restaurant.
“I remember there being a bit of decorum in Los Angeles.
“If someone recognised you they would play it cool or maybe they would say hi, and that was it.
“In the UK the owner of the restaurant would want you to sign things, then the staff, then the other diners – then your food would be cold!
“I couldn’t get a meal in the UK!”
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