My Thanks To A Porn Baron
This morning I received an e-mail from Good Morning Scotland presenter, Gary Robertson, demanding that I write a blog tribute to porn baron Paul Raymond . I'm happy to oblige.
I've made no secret of the fact that I owe my career in broadcasting to the late Mister Raymond. My first paid job was working for Capital Radio in London in 1987 when, as a trainee journalist, I was asked to spend 24 hours in the Raymond Revuebar in Soho. It was part of a project telling the story of 24 hours in the life of the city.
I pitched up at the Revuebar at eight o'clock in the morning and I was still there at midnight. Between times I recorded material with back-stage carpenters, exotic dancers (wearing nothing but American football helmets) and a string of Japanese businessmen who wouldn't enter the club until they had been given the price-list for the bar.
I'm not sure how much of that material was used in the final programme - probably very little - but it certainly game me something different to put on my C.V.
And, for the record, I kept my clothes on at all times.
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