November 2011 Archives

Frankie Cocozza, remember him? Me neither. I understand that he was the 'rock 'n' roll' one on this year's X Factor, the one that was supposed to inject some rock energy into the increasingly dull proceedings. Apparently he got sacked for doing something a bit too rock n' roll, perhaps a case of prematurely believing his own hype or just life imitating television.

Likelihood is that he'd have survived if he'd been any good in the first place but they needed the revelations and front-page stories more than they needed his dubious talent. He was one of this year's 'colour-characters', the contestants they keep in the mix to make it a little bit interesting, to stimulate the 'water-cooler' moments, to keep us chatting about the unfairness of it all - as if anyone believed it is a fair and just contest.

The verdict is due today: the one that determines the guilt, or otherwise, of Michael Jackson's doctor. I can already supply the overall verdict; it is that celebrities and the very rich can find people to do anything that they want.

The ethos of this is ingrained in our history whether it's Roman emperors forcing slaves and prisoners to fight to the death in the coliseum, or the retail environs of the nouveau riche promising that they can sell you anything from an aniseed ball to a zebra. If you've got the money or the power (or inevitably both) then you can get anything you want.