Simon Price was born when hippies ruled the world in a hospital that has since burned down. He has no sign of the zodiac. Simon grew up a classic only child at the southernmost tip of Wales, in a bedroom overlooking exotic England. At the age of sixteen, he started writing about music and wearing make-up. Since then, he has worked as a pop critic for almost every entertainments publication in Britain, and been sacked from most of them. Over the years he has had every stupid hairstyle ever invented, and has been interrogated at gunpoint by gendarmes for painting his nails in public. He has worked in the porn industry, but it didn't work out. He has also been a bingo caller and a demolition man. His book, 'Everything [A Book About Manic Street Preachers]', became the fastest-selling rock book of all time and was named "rock biography of the decade" by The Guardian, but he doesn't like to show off about it. Considering himself "a man trapped in a man's body", Simon relaxes by listening to gangsta rap and hitting a punchbag. You can currently read his cruel and vindictive prose in the Independent On Sunday. In addition to Stay Beautiful, he co-runs a 70s disco-burlesque night called Aftershow (http://www.aftershowclub.com / http://www.myspace.com/aftershowclublondon).
"I live in Urban Holloway. I describe rock'n'roll."
TONY MAGGS
Suave and masterful, Tony Maggs is the shady 'Mr Big' behind the whole Stay Beautiful operation. He is Stay Beautiful's very own Tony Soprano, using his Italian ancestry to smooth out difficult negotiations and generally make things happen. As well as our fixer and enabler, Tony can also be seen acting as Stay Beautiful's front-of-house Maitre D', and spinning the wheels of steel. He is listed in the Guinness Book Of Records as possessing one of the world's biggest smiles, which can often be seen welcoming clubgoers as they arrive. In addition to Stay Beautiful, he co-runs an art-cabaret club night called Rockabaret (http://www.rockabaret.co.uk / http://www.myspace.com/rockabaret). RuPaul once said "We are all born naked, and the rest is drag". Tony Maggs once said "We are all born naked, and the rest is a drag."
DAVID RYDER PRANGLEY
Now an official member of the Stay Beautiful team (although he was regularly involved from day one), David Ryder Prangley was previously leader of glam rock heroes Rachel Stamp
(http://www.rachelstamp.co.uk), and now fronts his new band David Ryder Prangley And The Witches (http://www.myspace.com/davidryderprangleyandthewitches). When he isn't to be found meeting and greeting clubgoers and ruling the guest list queue with a clipboard of steel, he's DJing the headline set inside the club (and, on many nights, doing both). As chance would have it, David grew up only 3 miles from Simon, but they never knew each other until they met in London (when he found out Simon was from Barry, he said "I'd better bring a knife"). David owns all the Kiss solo albums, and knows the lyrics to more Prince songs than you do.
CHERRY FOXXX
(text coming soon)
THEY ALSO SERVED...
DAVINA SILVER
Actress, dancer and all-round multi-talented performance artist Davina Silver was Stay Beautiful's glamorous hostess from very near the beginning till early 2008, adding extra sparkle (literal and metaphorical) to the club for many years, in her own unique and inimitable way. She is now pursuing a career in the glamorous world of rock'n'roll management, but she'll always be part of SB in spirit.
SUICIDE ALLY
When glamorous DJ diva Suicide Ally arrived in London from the Grim North, she was officially too young to be at her own club (but ssshhh, don't tell anyone that). After three years of truly magnificent tune-spinning on the SB decks, big hair and bigger shoes, not to mention defining the ambience of the club by taking care of the SB decorations and fulfilling various other invaluable behind-the-scenes roles, co-founder Ally has now left the Stay Beautiful fold to concentrate on other projects, but continues to DJ as a guest at various clubs around town (so keep your eyes peeled). She now has a personal/DJ website at http://www.suicideally.co.uk, and can be contacted for bookings via suicideally@yahoo.co.uk. (Picture by Heike Schneider-Matzigkeit)
MARTIN WALLACE
Martin Wallace was born while Blondie's "Sunday Girl" was at number one in the chart, on the seventh day of the sixth month, 1979. Brought up just outside London in the sleepy Surrey village of Whyteleafe, his life did not really begin until he discovered The Smiths at the age of fourteen. Academically gifted but incredibly lazy, he was once called a genius by his English teacher but spent most of his schooldays dreaming up ways of avoiding Physical Education. After completing his 'A' levels, he decided not to follow his peers to University, instead spending a year working for Ann Summers, taking saucy mail orders over the telephone from frustrated housewives and dirty old men. In 1998, at the age of nineteen, he left Whyteleafe and came to London with a knotted handkerchief tied to a stick, ostensibly to seek his fortune. He has a history of worthy voluntary work that he doesn't like to talk about, and counts one of his greatest personal triumphs as having shaken American TV heavyweight George Wendt by the hand at the Reading Festival in 1998, saying, "I loved you in 'Spiceworld'!". He takes a size ten shoe, and rarely misses an episode of EastEnders. Founding member and DJ Martin left Stay Beautiful after one year. He is now the lead singer of The Boyfriends (http://www.theboyfriends.com). His favourite colour is blue.
