CHARLIE BICK IS COMEBACK KING AS X FACTOR DEFEAT OPENS DOORS
THEY thought it was all over for the singing career of Charlie Bick, the son of Square1 Consulting’s chairman David Bick, who was voted off the Chilean version of the X Factor after just two live performances.
Not for long however, as the next morning Charlie Bick – who this column first reported on on 11 April – was snapped up by Chilean TV network TVN for its teen show Calle 7, perhaps influenced by the fans who started an internet petition demanding Bick be voted back on the show.
Seems the groupies were right, as even though Bick has only done one week presenting on the show alongside his former bandmate Camila, Calle 7 is topping the ratings compared to similar entertainment shows and there is talk of his contract being extended to the end of the year.
So what about Bick’s plans to start at Manchester University in September? Cue a hollow laugh from his dad, who said: “If all this carries on, Charlie won’t go to university this year” – although he insisted he is “cool with it”.
Especially following the vote of confidence from David Pearl, the chairman of AIM-listed companies and former music agent who hung out with the Stones, who watched one performance by Charlie and declared: “I reckon your lad could crack it.”
DEVIL IN THE DETAIL
BE AFRAID, be very afraid, when The Devil’s Derivatives by former financial journalist Nicholas Dunbar hits the bookshops on 12 July.
Dunbar has written a “complete history of what happened” when the banking system failed, and promises to go further than similar attempts by “naming more names” of figures that have so far escaped being implicated in the national press.
Revelations include new details on the Goldman Sachs and AIG saga, and the tale of the German bank that bought credit default swap protection from JP Morgan to hedge its loan exposure to telecoms giant Ericsson.
“My book will fill in some of the gaps,” said Dunbar, who has interviewed more than 100 bankers, regulators and investors to paint the full, unflattering, picture.
WITH NAIL AND I
GAVIN Turk has called his first public sculpture at Land Securities’ One New Change shopping centre “Nail”, inspired by the fact that the modernist development contains absolutely no nails whatsoever.
Casually throwing in references to T.S. Eliot’s The Wasteland, the Young British Artist told The Capitalist how the 12 metre-high, cast bronze sculpture, which will be unveiled to the public on 11 May, is inspired by “absence”.
“The rusty nail talks about the piece of wood that was at one time attached to that nail,” said the former Barbican resident. “I have made something instantly recognisable that gives over its message slowly – that’s how I’d like it to be received, anyway.”
As would the sculpture’s commissioner Land Securities, who spent in the region of £500,000 making sure that rusty nail saw the light of day.
MINER ROYALTY
KATE Middleton was too busy in the run-up to her wedding to become the ambassador for old schoolfriend Ed McDermott’s gold mining business – nor did she send him an invitation to the big day.
So McDermott, the managing director of Gold Mines of Wales, which has exclusive options over the mine that traditionally provides the gold for the Royal wedding rings, went one better and sent an ounce of powdered gold to HM The Queen.
McDermott hopes to get the Welsh mines back into full production within 18 months – but, just in case another Royal engagement is announced before then, the Queen now has a spare ounce to donate to her next betrothed relative. Prince Harry, that means you.