In New York on one of my
occasional Stateside trips to
visit relatives, I was walking on The
Bowery one balmy evening in
2005, zigzagging across the
street between the gridlocked
traffic.
'Hey man...' a voice called
out from an open car window,
'..hey...Robyn Hitchcock...I
love your music...'
At the time my grey hair was
fairly unkempt and I was
wearing a black & white polka
dot shirt. I'm also quite
tall, so I guess it's a
plausible mistake, not to
mention a flattering one -
I've been a fan of the great
man since The Soft Boys' 'A
Can of Bees' LP in 1979.
I half-smiled in the guy's
direction as the traffic
moved on and then noticed a
small spring in my step. It
was the first time I'd ever
been mistaken for someone
even slightly well-known -
and it was someone I liked!
My second experience as a
doppelgänger (this time of a
different musician) was in
the same city a few years later and in a slightly
more public arena....but
that's another story.
For now here's Robyn in 2010,
performing a pretty obscure
1988 b-side and a long-time
favourite song, Ghost
Ship.
(I met Robyn Hitchcock once
in the late 1990s and neither
of us - or anyone else in the
room - remarked upon any
physical similarities between
us!)
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4 comments:
That's a great story! And a good doppelganger to have! I've fond memories of coming home from work (record shop work) with 'Underwater Moonlight' and playing it to death for some time...
I've never had a famous doppelganger, but seem to have a lookalike in my nearest town - people keep waving, saying hello, even stopping to chat (that gets awkward) in the street and I haven't a clue who they are. At least the person I'm being mistaken for does seem to be quite popular, but I wonder who she is?!
I am married to someone who at various times has been 'mistaken' for Bill Wyman, Marc Almond, Ron Wood... then in later years was told he looked like Bob Dylan! And Gene Wilder!??? I don't know quite what people are seeing but it isn't the same as I see at all!
Ha, nice story....I'm a fat Matt Damon apparently. I'll take that, thank you!
That's quite a band you're married to, C!
I wonder who your lookalike is - and if your friends stop her in the street for a chat?
(On the subject of doppelgängers, do you remember a 1970s Roger Moore film called 'The Man Who Haunted Himself'? Much darker than his usual stuff. Freaked me out when I first saw it as a young lad!)
I'm told that Matt Damon is often mistaken for a slimmer flycasual....!
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