THE flamboyant American entertainer, Liberace, never did anything by halves - a habit extended to his wardrobe.
When he arrived in Glasgow in June 1960, prior to a three-week run at the Empire Theatre, he chatted to reporters over breakfast in his hotel suite. The fact that it was midday did not go un-noticed. He said he had brought no fewer than 40 suits with him to wear during his 22-week-long season in Britain. After all, he reasoned, those 22 weeks would take in three seasons of cold, mild, and hot weather. His “walking-out” suits were each worth between $200 and $300; he also had stage suits - the average price of a stage jacket was $1,500. His most expensive stage suit? That would be the suit of tails with diamond buttoning, worth about $10,000.
The Empire, incidentally, had just declared its intention not to hold any more rock ‘n’ roll shows following disturbances at a recent show featuring Gene Vincent and Billy Fury. Ashtrays and whisky bottles had been flung at the stage during Fury’s set. Three ashtrays just missed him; the compere, Billy Raymond, who was on the stage at the time, was quoted as saying that he believed that the men who threw the missiles were “jealous of the girls screaming at the boys.” The show was stopped 30 minutes early. Vincent thus did not appear, and this generated angry protests outside the venue. Seven arrests were made.
It’s probably safe to assume that there were no such rowdy scenes at Liberace’s concerts.
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