Michael Barrymore

If I had been through what Michael Barrymore has, quite honestly, I’m not sure I’d still be here now. It’s a credit to him, and whatever support network of people and organisations he has accepted help and encouragement from, that he has survived what would have made most people give up a long time ago. By his own admission, there have been times when he’s wanted to give up, but he’s still here, and planning live shows in a summer season mostly in Blackpool, as well as a panto later in the year.

So, let’s get the “pool” thing over and done with, because like it or not, that’s what has mostly been referred to whenever Michael has been mentioned in the press since 2001. Everyone assumes they “know” that Michael did or didn’t do this, that or the other. In other words, they believe what the press has said. The press has said a LOT and reported it as fact. People who were never fans of Michael in the first place will understandably have no interest in reading his autobiography, or maybe even interviews with him, to see what he says about the subject, although they’ll be only too happy to read negative pieces and lap up every word. However, one would think, given the press’ continued interest in him, that any journalist worth their salt would at least read his book (which contains transcripts of documents and statements to do with the case), to at least try to get some facts straight.

Let’s de-bunk some myths straight away (others have done this better than I but for the purpose of this blog I’ll briefly do it again) by stating some of the main facts:

· There were 9 people at the party that night, and only 2 of them were gay...Michael Barrymore and his boyfriend of the time, Jonathan Kenney. Amongst the 9 were 3 females. 

· DNA testing showed that Stuart Lubbock had NOT had sex with anyone in the hours prior to his death.

· Kylie Merritt, who claimed that Michael Barrymore had been seen rubbing cocaine on Stuart Lubbock’s gums, was later shown to have been lying, in a lie detector test conducted by a newspaper.

· A brief extract from the lengthy statement one of the nurses at the hospital on the night in question, Stuart Nairn, states: “I believe that I had a very good uninterrupted view of his anus in good light for a significant period. I saw nothing unusual or untoward about it. It was completely normal. If it had been dilated and significantly bruised I am sure that I would have noticed this. Moreover I would have reported this to the doctors”. The police claimed that they could not trace this nurse for the inquest, yet Michael Barrymore’s solicitor was able to trace him from a simple internet search. His statement is at odds with the consistent “reporting-as-definite-fact” that the injuries occurred at the house.

· The same nurse inserted a probe approximately 16 times in order to monitor Stuart Lubbock’s temperature, due to the fact that the medical team were trying to raise it. He also said “...that the probe was causing some trauma and bleeding to the rectum was unsurprising, bearing in mind the number of insertions”.

· The word “horrific” to describe Stuart’s injuries was never actually used by the pathologist(s) in question, but somehow found its way into the media reports and was reported as gospel.

There’s so much more I could have added to that but it would take too long both for you to read and for me to type. This link is a good one, though written a few years ago, but Mark Simpson explains very well how Michael’s been hung, drawn and quartered by most of the UK media, and indeed some of the public who believe everything they read. http://www.marksimpson.com/blog/2006/10/03/tears-of-a-clown-michael-barrymores-trial-by-media/ Simpson mentions the case of 23-year-old Daniel Williams, who drowned in similar circumstances in the pool of another celebrity....

“Unlike the Lubbock case, the press didn’t find Williams’s death mysterious or even particularly interesting. They accepted the results of the police inquiry (which, as with Lubbock, ultimately produced no charges) and the Home Office pathologist’s conclusion was that he had died by drowning. They didn’t splash each day’s (carefully selected) inquest “highlights” across their front pages, printing speculation as scientific fact, or constantly interview Williams’s family and friends. Nor did they lynch his host’s career from the lamppost of public indignation. Instead they treated the death for what it was, a terrible accident.

Why? What was the difference? Was it in part that Williams drowned, accidentally, in a swimming pool belonging to a married film celebrity – the actor Art Malik – instead of a very famously gay and off-the-rails television celebrity called Michael Barrymore?”

Ah yes, the homophobia, let’s not even go there............. but it’s very much alive and with us, in the 21^st century. Jan Moir’s despicable article on Stephen Gately in the Daily Mail also comes to mind here, as another prime example of it.

Anyway, why am I writing this? Why now? Well, I just think it’s only right that Michael be given the fair chance he deserves to be able to make a decent living from the thing he loves best, performing. He has worked, of course, during the past 10 years, his stints in “Surviving Spike” and “Scrooge” being just some examples. That was in the UK, and he performed in successful productions in New Zealand as well to rave reviews. Oh by the way, here’s an example of what a New Zealand journalist thought of his treatment at the hands of the British press:

“I’m just staggered at how the British press have tried to crucify this talented entertainer at every turn. Sure, he’s been through the mill and, sure, he may have done some outrageous things, which he now regrets. But no human being deserves to go through what he’s been through and if the British press have their way they look like they’ll hound him till his dying day. Unfortunately I’ve never met Michael. But I sincerely hope that one day our paths will cross. I’d like to take this opportunity to wish Michael and Shaun every happiness in their new life here in New Zealand”.

His awards from the past speak for themselves – he made lots of people laugh and his rapport with the general public was second-to-none. That kind of warmth cannot be manufactured. If you never liked him, fair enough, but if you did or still do, he is performing in summer season at Blackpool this year, every Saturday from July to October (go to sites like Blackpool Live for links to book tickets) and I’d so like to see it be successful for him because he deserves it. I shall be in attendance and am so looking forward to it. In my opinion his only problem performance-wise at the moment is confidence, but that will come back. Confidence to know when to “go for it”, which produces laughs, and confidence to know when to “take it down” and be yourself, knowing the audience likes you for YOU, producing some “awwww” moments. The mixture of the two in Michael has always provided the unique magic for the audience. He doesn’t need to prove his talent – he did that since he first entered the limelight. Some people “got it” and some people didn’t. We all have different tastes, but I was one of the people who did “get it”. Thank you to Duggie Chapman who has organised all of the artists appearing at the North Pier this year. I think it’s lovely that Michael’s fans are getting the chance to see him live again, and I hope that they take it. Michael, good luck J x