Il Divo - Germany, Berlin - 30th April 2006

[Richard]

Thanks for posting the article Dave!

I'm feeling slightly uneasy about this myself, because the stalker on Hayley's UK Christmas tour was almost certainly the person Roger and I encountered at St. John's, Smith Square. The way he was acting anything could have happened, but fortunately Steve Abbott also met him before the show. I remember he said he wanted to give a letter to Hayley!

Richard

[roger]

Very true, Richard, yes her did. In a way, I hope it is the same guy. Better that than to have two of them on the loose.

Roger

[Stuart H]

Hi Richard, Roger, Dave,

Thanks Dave for the article. I have seen several similar articles in the press this week - mainly leading on the people the bodyguard has worked with before.

www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/westenra%20stalked%20by%20german%20fan_28_03_2006

It sounds like Hayley is taking things in her stride - she hasn't stopped meeting fans on the tour and "laughs it off" with jokes about the "hunky man" by her side.

Sadly this kind of publicity is not the sort Hayley would want and it is could be a negative reflection on her genuine fans. Lets hope this guy can be kept well away from Hayley and that she will not need to continue with a bodyguard when the current tour is over.

Stuart

[Joe]

Hi all,

I find this entire stalking lark quite unsettling. Also bewildered at the fact that Hayley was kept uninformed of previous stalking events. Lord knows what runs through those ppl's evil minds. I fully support the employ of a bodyguard whilst Hayley is on tour. I know Hayley is trying to laugh it all off but it must linger in the back of her mind. Don't worry Hayley...we at HWI are your true fans.

[stevemacdonald]

joe said:

I find this entire stalking lark quite unsettling. Also bewildered at the fact that Hayley was kept uninformed of previous stalking events.

There is a lot of truth and fair amount of comfort in the lyric "What you never know won't hurt you." Would it have done her any good to fret about security issues if she was paying someone else to worry about them?

[postscript]

Thanks, Dave, for the quote from The Sunday Express so one knows it is 'official' or 'public' news. Perhaps it will die down one way or another: the character is either put away or his 'passion' tires. After all, why is Victoria Beckham's bodyguard available but that the issue has 'gone away' for her?

It happens, it is the nature of our topsy-turvy world and being openly aware there is always an 'x' factor of additional pairs of eyes when HWI fans are around.

Ironically, it is this very situation that I had in mind when I previously expressed the fear that there would come a time when she would not be able to be as free and easy as she always has been. It is an aspect that she won't like. It spoils things for everyone and we have a duty to make sure it DOESN'T and especially for her!

From the beginning I was amazed at the free and easy way she has always interacted with people after the show and in fact, out of fear of an extraordinary naivete in those around her, I used to have my eyes about me for her safety. In fact, my roving eyes told me that despite the relaxed state there was a hidden alertness in those around her that common sense would expect.

That, of course, is the art of the professional bodyguard (although at the times I'm referring to it was simply her entourage looking out for her), to observe and detect early without spoiling the atmosphere.

What annoys me most about all this is that while the expense should be tax deductible, is it coming out of her hard-earned income or Decca's overall costs? If it is costing her I'm really mad about it. This is one real hard-working girl who deserves every penny she earns for herself, not to be lost on what should not be required in a civilsed society.

Would it be appropriate to suggest that HWI members might show avatars of themselves if they aren't able to have the good fortune to show one with Hayley with them? Having said that, I am aware that many are themselves very young and quite reasonably would not wish to promote themselves in this way, but then, that age group isn't the problem.

Peter

[roger]

postscript said:

Would it be appropriate to suggest that HWI members might show avatars of themselves if they aren't able to have the good fortune to show one with Hayley with them?
Peter

How would that help, Peter?

Roger

[postscript]

roger said:

postscript said:

Would it be appropriate to suggest that HWI members might show avatars of themselves if they aren't able to have the good fortune to show one with Hayley with them?
Peter

How would that help, Peter?

Roger

I was thinking that those who make her concerts but rarely would not only be more identifiable to those of us fortunate to meet up more regularly but also help them to know us. Any other form of unofficial ID would imply exclusivity which isn't wanted and could itself be a security loophole. Perhaps it is just all of us being that extra aware around us is all we can contribute?

POSTSCRIPT: added a few minutes later. Of course, as those of us who do have a regular chance to meet her always bear in mind is that what she is interested in is meeting new and different people on each occasion and making sure we don't hog we have an often long waiting period during which there can be many open eyes.

That factor alone may help to deter and discourage.

Peter

[roger]

Hi Peter,

Unlikely though it may be, the stalker could register as a member of this forum, display his image in his avatar (which is unlikely to be recognised by any of us), and then integrate at signing sessions as "one of us".

...Or have I been reading too many who-dun-its?

Roger

[postscript]

roger said:

Hi Peter,

Unlikely though it may be, the stalker could register as a member of this forum, display his image in his avatar (which is unlikely to be recognised by any of us), and then integrate at signing sessions as "one of us".

...Or have I been reading too many who-dun-its?

Roger

It had occurred to me Roger, but perhaps I have too much faith in the administrators! More importantly, however, would such an individual show his face? Surely, by inference, not and is this the sort of guy with the wit to hold a false email address?

However, perhaps more seriously, other than to be alert, should we not just 'note the news' and pass on? One thing Hayley doesn't want is to spoil what she does and it is in her court.and down to her and her professional advisers. Decca must surely have experience of this type of thing to be able to advise. Maybe, by making too much of it here, how ever well intentioned, we do the one thing Hayley doesn't want and that is to change the way people respond to her; change her way of doing things and in particular, draw too much attention to an 'isolated' problem? It is, after all, not the first time this has happened to some personality, although there have been serious outcomes as a consequence. It is just sad that it has happened so early in her career and that it has happened at all..

Peter

[Richard]

Hello everybody!

Today there is an article at stuff.co.nz.

Westenra hires bodyguard after stalker scare
09 May 2006

The actions of an over eager fan after a performance has prompted New Zealand singer Hayley Westenra to hire a bodyguard amid stalker fears.

The 19 year-old was grabbed by a man as she walked off stage after a performance in Berlin last week, The New Zealand Herald reported today.

"This has really unnerved me, it's put me on edge," the soprano reportedly told the British newspaper the Sunday Express.

"I've spent my whole life on stage and I feel safe up there; it's the one place that is really my space."

Westenra's parents said last night while they were concerned, they were confident their daughter's team would keep her safe.

Her bodyguard has a black belt in tae kwon do and has worked for such celebrities as Victoria Beckham and Mariah Carey, the newspaper reported.

Westenra's mother, Jill, said the Berlin incident followed the antics of a German fan, who got into her daughter's birthday bash on a forged invitation. Guards escorted the man out, but he turned up during a rehearsal for a Westenra show last December.

The man had also posted Westenra sexually inappropriate mail - some of which he sent to her home in Christchurch. Her family and management intercepted it.

---

I'm sure we will all be on the lookout when we go to see Hayley.

Richard