Rocker's town revisited

Or, more accurately: Hoary Old Rock Anecdotes Revisited.

Listening to this morning's Today show, we cringed on behalf of the BBC's man at the Golden Globes. Trying to explain away the anti-climax of the awards not all going to British people - like the BBC had been predicting all weekend - he summoned up Albert Finney's prize for Best Portrayal of a British Prime Minister, and then said "And more good news for Britain - U2 won an award..."

Now, not only is Bono being given a prize in any sense good news, it took us right back to a tale Muriel Gray used to tell about her time as a presenter on the curiously revered Tube. In the hustle and bustle of live TV, U2 got slotted into British bands. By next post came a padded envelope containing the word "Irish" made out of used condoms. Underneath, in biro, someone had scrawled: "That's what U2 are, fuckers."