I’m a day late but happy birthday to David Hockney, 87 yesterday.
As readers know, because I’ve told the story several times, Britain’s most famous living artist (and smoker) was responsible for the best day of my working life.
It took place in September 2005 at the Labour conference in Brighton after the great man accepted our invitation to speak at a fringe event opposing the Labour Government’s plan to ban smoking in all enclosed public places.
Chaired by Claire Fox (now Baroness Fox), other speakers included musician Joe Jackson and the late Sue Carroll, a much-loved columnist for the Daily Mirror.
Brighton 2005 wasn’t the first time we had met Hockney because the previous year he had joined a handful of guests including Oscar-winning screenwriter, the late Sir Ronald Harwood, for a private dinner hosted by Forest at Boisdale of Bishopsgate.
On that occasion he arrived direct from Heathrow, having received our invitation from his manager when he flew in from Sicily. (I had sent it several weeks earlier and had assumed he wasn’t coming because we hadn’t received a reply.)
The following morning we spoke on the phone and he surprised me by describing the evening as a “life-enhancing experience”.
It turned out that doing things on a whim was David’s modus operandi, and although it was frustrating from a PR perspective we just had to get used to it.
Brighton, for example, was notable for the fact that we were given less than 48 hours’ notice that he was coming and we couldn’t promote his appearance until it was confirmed.
PR wise it made things more difficult than they might have been. On the other hand, it was arguably more exciting.
In 2008, on the first anniversary of the smoking ban in England, David attended another Forest event, a party at Boisdale of Belgravia.
Three years later, in July 2011, he spoke at a Save Our Pubs & Clubs reception we organised on the terrace at the House of Commons.
It’s no exaggeration to say that on each occasion we had no idea he was coming until he actually turned up.
During the Noughties he was living in Bridlington in Yorkshire, but in 2012 he returned to California where he had lived previously and where he painted many of his most famous works.
For the past six or seven years he has lived in Normandy and although we’ve continued to invite him to events via third parties, I’m not certain that our invitations have ever reached him.
Most recently, before our ‘Beat the Ban’ lunch in May, we were told, ‘Please know he is deeply engaged in his painting and responding to few invitations at this time.’
My hope is that Forest can host a special event to celebrate his 90th birthday in 2027. If he could join us for that, that would be something.
See also: Unforgettable - David Hockney at the Labour Party conference
PS. Asked by The Oldie, ‘Do you still love smoking?’, Hockney replied, ‘I think tobacco is a great gift to the world.’
Above: David Hockney with Sir Greg Knight MP on the terrace at the House of Commons, July 2011; below: Hockney (and me!) at Boisdale of Belgravia, July 2008.
