Check in October 2007
2 mins with… Victoria Hart
Jazz starlet Victoria Hart has been making waves ever since a gig on George Clooney’s yacht in Cannes, and now she’s brought out an album, Whatever Happened To Romance? Did we mention she’s only 18?
You started to get noticed after playing George Clooney’s party. How was that?
They needed some talent, but nobody famous because they already had the whole cast of Ocean’s 13. Somebody put my name forward. The party was amazing. We were on a massive £80m yacht. Everyone wanted to talk to George Clooney and Brad Pitt and they were so busy, but George came up to me to say: “You’re doing a wonderful job.”
I said: “Thank you, you’re lovely,” and he said: “No, you’re lovely.”
I was like: “No, you’re lovely!”
You grew up in Cannes. Were you used to seeing celebrities around?
Yeah, always. I’ve been crashing Paris Hilton’s annual party since I was 15. She doesn’t notice. She probably gets paid to host it and she invites important people and celebrities. I knew the bouncers, so I could get in and get lots of freebies. I have a whole box at home of bits and bobs I got from her parties.
Why did you want to be a jazz singer rather than a pop star?
I’ve been listening to this sort of music my whole life. I met my producer at a jazz picnic when I was 15. We did give pop a try but I wasn’t really feeling it, to be honest. I’m not size 0 and I don’t dance around.
Do you feel part of a wider retro revival?
Oh, hopefully. It’s fun. I would have liked Dita Von Teese if she wasn’t so rude to me at a party we’d both been invited to. Apparently she’s just really shy and insecure, but I took it as: “Who are you and why are you talking to me?” On stage she smiles, but when she talks to people she doesn’t.
What are your ambitions for the future?
I really want longevity. That means more to me than a No.1 album, which can be hard to follow up. I want to play live as much as I can. There’s all this hype surrounding me and what George Clooney has said about me, but when I’m singing live, it’s where I shine.
Inspect the gadgets
ORANGE CALL ABROAD SIM
Orange has launched a new Call Abroad SIM card that means you can phone friends in other countries on your mobile without remortgaging your house to pay the bill. Ring someone’s bell in China for just 6p a minute, for example. The UK call rates are the usual Orange Pay As You Go prices. It seems mobile companies are finally waking up to the global village – about time!
£49.99 www.gear4store.com
GHD TRAVEL BAG
This travel bag helps you take your hair regime on holiday, with a heat-resistant pocket containing a ghd styler (it’s dual voltage and has an adaptable plug) as well as shampoo, conditioner, serum, hairspray and a thermal protector spray to use with the styler.
£119 www.ghdhair.com
V-10 DIGITAL PHOTO FRAME
Spending more than a hundred pounds on a photo frame does seem faintly crazy, but if you never get around to developing your digital photos, it may be worth the money. This allows you to frame instantly any photo from your camera’s memory card, change the image whenever you want or make a slideshow of your holiday snaps.
£150 www.neovo.com
Why is it that…
STALKING IS NOW OK ASKS SOPHY GRIMSHAW
Remember the days when stalking was a serious crime resulting in court cases, restraining orders and possibly jail? If you’re under 18 you may not, as now it’s our national pastime. We spend our time watching others, and in turn, we love to be watched.
Stalking isn’t just about celebrities, but they’re a good place to start. Now that Heat magazine will pay the public for cell-phone photos of celebs out and about, anyone can be a paparazzo. But with every D-lister already flanked by cameras for their reality show, celebs are cutting the public off at the pass. They even ask to be our friends on MySpace before we ask them, so that they can hawk yet more products to us.
Now, to step the voyeurism up a notch, for the first time a new ‘London Star Map’ reveals the current home addresses of privacy-seeking A-listers including Jude Law and Madonna (www.londonstarmap.com).
Perhaps because celebrities are now so easy to bump into, we’ve turned to stalking each other. We Google people on our Blackberrys before, during and after we meet them. We post photos of ourselves
on social networking sites so that people we haven’t spoken to in 10 years can check out our ruthlessly edited galleries – to see how cool, sorted, thin and happy we are.
Today stalking is such an accepted part of our social fabric that a serious stalker would need to break into someone’s living room and sit right on their lap before anyone batted an eyelid.
Which is where Star Map comes in handy.
WebCraws
Tips on planning a baby-friendly holiday whatever your destination, with advice on everything from what to pack to which restaurants welcome little ones. Especially useful for first-time parents.
Leaving someone furry behind in Leeds or Manchester while you go on holiday? If your cat or dog boards at one of these luxury resorts, where pets have their own swimming pools and apartments, at least you’ll know they’re having a good time too. From £20 per day for a dog apartment.
Before you pack for your trip to Berlin, log on to this fashion blog and check out what people are wearing on the streets of Germany’s coolest city. You’ll know you’re looking good if art students Mary and Benjamin, who run the site, stop you and take your photo.
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