In Sunday's Pendennis column in The Observer I recounted a peculiar meeting with Jamelia.
She had been invited by the publishing house Orion to their annual authors' party. They try to get a celeb or two along every year for the benefit of diarists and photographers ... not to mention book sales. Last year's star attraction was Helen Mirren, who had published a book of photographs of her life with Orion shortly after promising never to bring out an autobiography.
Arriving at the Royal Opera House, I was met by a very nice and only slightly over-excited PR from Orion who couldn't wait to impart the news that Jamelia was coming. The singer's book, a memoir of triumph over adversity (indeed) is to be published this summer. She'll be 27.
A little later, it turns out she's having it ghosted by Jessica Callan, formerly chief of the Mirror's 3am Girls (Lost in Showbiz's absolute heroes). A bit of reading up shows that for the last four years, Callan has been extraordinarily nice about Jamelia in print. How journalism works; or publishing.
Jamelia spends the night chaperoned by Jonathan Shalit, agent and spokesman to stars such as Myleene Klass. For all of ten minutes she was more than 6cm from his side, and very friendly. Delighted to admit she wasn't writing the book and that Callan was; delighted to tell me too that what she really wants to write is a cookbook, if only anyone would give her the chance. She then started to recount her batter recipe. Alas Shalit was back all too soon, and our delightful encounter came to an end.
The funniest thing about the Orion party otherwise is that no spouses are allowed to come. It's a longstanding rule and applies even, so they said, to Harold Pinter. His wife, Antonia Fraser, is one of their stable but he is not. 'If he felt like writing for us, he could come to the party,' said one editor, cunningly.
