International hip-hop singer Cream turned up in east London last night to help raise cash for Macmillan Nurses charity at a packed Victoria pub at Mile End in memory of his best pal who died from cancer.
He topped the live entertainment while a treasured jacket once worn by George Michael was the ‘cream’ of an auction at the venue to help organisers bust their £1,000 target.
The Grove Road pub was packed out from the afternoon onwards with fans queueing to see Cream whip up numbers from his latest album, Next Level.
“Macmillan Nurses is a great cause and I try to do as much as I can for them,” Cream told the East London Advertiser between stints on stage.
“My best friend Paul Goodison who was a famous bare-knuckle fighter, died of cancer four years ago—I took a year off from touring to look after him.”
He performed free as a favour to singer Jody Stone, who organised yesterday’s gig with East End fundraiser Beverley Straker.
They won’t know till after the weekend if they beat the £1,025 raised at a Macmillan charity bash at Whitchapel’s Blind Beggar pub in October, organised with former model and Krays family friend Maureen Flanagan.
Beverley, whose mother died of cancer 11 years ago, said: “We used Macmillan Nurses a lot—so we owe them a lot.”
Flanagan’s daughter Chanelle Herley got the auction off to a start modelling George Michael’s jacket with his name in silver studs that he gave her mum at his 2008 Earl’s Court concert.
The famous mum—Britain’s top Page 3 pin-up in the tabloids in the early 1970s who now runs South Hackney’s Paragon Trust charity shop in Wells Street—blagged gifts from shops in the Roman Road to put up for auction.
Goodies included jewellery, perfume, champagne, whisky, vodka and even a tray of fresh meets.
She also got Pellicci’s in Bethnal Green—haunt of East End gangland’s Kray twins who she knew well—to donate a free meal for two.
Heaven forbid anyone should refuse Violet Kray’s former hairdresser for 40 years. But all in a good cause.
Other items on auction included souvenirs from former Krays henchmen—Freddie Foreman and Chris Lambrianou both donated signed copies of their autobiographies.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here