Paloma Faith reveals how obsession with weird item secured her multi-million pound Sony record deal
SONY chief Jason Iley was honoured with the Music Industry Trust Award at a fancy ceremony in London on Monday night.
And I was there to watch from the audience as some of his biggest acts, including Calvin Harris and Mark Ronson, paid tribute to their boss.
But Paloma Faith, who was also at the bash with singers including Perrie Edwards, Jade Thirlwall and Rag ’N’ Bone Man,, stole the night with an incredible speech welcoming Jason to the stage.
Revealing she had refused to let anyone see what she had written beforehand, Paloma laughed as she told how the music ace helped make her a millionaire.
“When Jason came to Sony, I was on the end of probably one of the s***test record deals negotiated,” Paloma said. “I was signed for five albums for about £2.50 an album.
“I remembered back in the day those game shows where people would win a giant chair. And I said to Jason, ‘I’m not signing to Sony unless I get a giant chair’.
“Jason said, ‘It’s not very tasteful to have a giant chair when there’s people with no money who would hate to see it’.
“And I said, ‘I promised Jason that if you give me a giant chair, I’ll never post a picture of it ever in the history of our lives’.
“And I haven’t posted a picture, I did think about it, but it is kind of crass.”
I hope it’s comfy, Paloma.
Barry denies edited todger
BARRY KEOGHAN is still having to talk about his tackle – 12 months after that naked scene in Saltburn.
But this time he’s come out, er, swinging in defence of his manhood and denied CGI wizardry maximised his size.
Asked by Louis Theroux if he’d had a digital helping hand, Barry replied: “Enhanced? Who said that? Wow.”
Amazon prime
THE AMAZONS will return with their first album in three years in 2025, titled 21st Century Fiction.
The rockers from Reading will drop the record on May 9 and have today released its first single, Pitch Black.
Pharr’s nugget of truth
IT’S clearly a good thing Pharrell Williams is ace at music because he was fired from his only other job, working at McDonald’s.
The news features in his new biopic, Piece By Piece, which hits cinemas on Friday and is a twist on the usual format, because the entire thing is made out of Lego.
Speaking about his flop in the job, Pharrell told Radio 2: “McDonald’s was my first and only job.
“I got fired three times. I was eating the chicken nuggets. I found the sweet and sour sauce and nugget a pretty alchemical combination.
“It got me in trouble – I got fired three times, but not for the same thing.
“The first two times it was just because I was lazy. The third was like, ‘What are you doing? You’re just sitting there eating nuggets?’ .”
I fear I’d be the same.
Keep cam! Bey’s a big fan
CAMILA CABELLO burst into tears after Beyonce told the Cuban-born star she loves her latest album.
The Havana singer released her record C,XOXO in June and bumped into superstar Bey a week later.
Camila said: “I met somebody who told me something about my album recently: Beyonce.
“She fully was like, ‘I love your new album’ and I was like, ‘You inspire me so much’. I just walked away and I cried.”
It will have come as welcome validation for Camila as, in the same interview, she revealed she sometimes questions why she is still in the industry after online grief.
Speaking on the And The Writer Is . . . podcast, she explained: “I’ve been feeling so vulnerable and fragile. I think I’ve just been spending more time on social media than I usually do, and then I’ll read comments and see something that leaves me f***ed.
“It’s just been really, really hard.”
Ryan and Hugh pool together
RYAN REYNOLDS plans to reunite with his Deadpool & Wolverine co-star Hugh Jackman and the hit film’s director Shawn Levy for a new project.
The actor told the Variety Awards Circuit podcast: “I’m writing a movie for myself, Hugh and Shawn to do that is not Marvel.”
James in Gooner be mad
BEING loaded doesn’t always pay – just look at James Corden.
Friends of mine who went to the fancy Global Gift Gala told me the Gavin & Stacey star was strong-armed into spending £15,000 on a box at Arsenal during the charity auction, even though he is a keen West Ham fan.
Calling me after the bash last week, one pal said: “Everyone was like, ‘What?Isn’t James a West Ham fan?’ but the auctioneer wouldn’t let it rest until he bought it. He kept saying, ‘Come on James – we know you can afford it’. ”
My pal added: “James looked a bit bewildered, but it was for a good cause and he didn’t mind splashing out a huge amount, even for a box at one of his team’s London rivals.”
You’re a good egg, James.
But as a proud Spurs fan, I’d have just donated the cash to charity and told the Gooners to take a hike.