Paula - New series

[WandaOff]

Channel 4 this week, documentary about Paula Yates.
She was the same age as me and I followed her career from the beginning. Had a bit of a girl crush on her and was genuinely sad when she died.

Bloody hell there are some judgemental people on this thread.

I don't care whether she was a feminist or not. That is not relevant at all.

The fact of the matter is that women like PY exist(ed) because of men.

And some of these posts smack of internalised misogyny.

The fact of the matter is that women like PY exist(ed) because of men.

What does that mean though?

Yes, Paula's career was largely founded on her appeal to men. She actively chose to do it and did very well out of it. But it was never going to last, because that type of thing never does. Which is why it would have been wise for her to seek to diversity. But she didn't.

I don't disagree that choices aren't made in a vacuum, and that women face pressures and judgements that men don't. But I don't believe that women like Paula who enthusiastically choose to trade on their sexuality are passive victims, which is what you seem to be suggesting.

That's not what I'm suggesting at all but I've explained a number of times what my point is.

Because they’re both dead! You literally cannot libel the dead. You can say anything about them and nobody can sue.

I have watched some of this. I am/was a contemporary of hers, I have never liked her but I was curious to see if I could learn more and try to understand why I have such disdain for someone I after all didn't know at all. I did see her on the Tube, and didn't like her. She always seemed really false and petulant somehow. I couldn't watch the big breakfast as it was just a load of shouting in the mornings which I can't stand.

I dunno, need to watch the rest - I ought to be able to just dismiss her but something is nagging about why I don't like her.

If you are her contemporary, like me, you may not like her because she made shitty comments about women who went out to work or expected their partners to help with the kids. You won't be reminded of that in the documentary though.

Yes, she made those comments in the Wogan show about how men are useless and lazy and as a woman, being at home with your kids is so much better than going out to work.

She was promoting a book about the joys of motherhood at the time. Ironic how it all turned out really.

Even more ironic that her daughter Peaches tried to play the same false attachment parenting game when her kids spent half the week with her parents in law. Talking it but not walking it.

Actually as a PP has said, those comments did crop in in the documentary. Maybe if you will (in your own words) only go out with people who can fill a stadium, stay at home motherhood may be a simpler choice.

Maybe I should seek out some of her written stuff as so many people in the documentary praised it.

I think her apparent teetotal stance, claims she never took drugs in front of her children and her telling Robbie Williams that only wankers take coke seem so far at odds with the apparent reality of her life (and sad death) that I don't trust any of her pronouncements.

I really don't get the pioneering feminist narrative that Feltz and Dent were peddling - to me she seemed like Thatcher - not being an actual real woman but playing the game the same as the men.

And of course she did go out to work! Not a 9 to 5 like the plebs of course, but she certainly worked, writing books and presenting TV shows. She didn't need the money and could pick and choose what she did, as unlike most women she was lucky enough to be married to a very wealthy man. But it's not like she was a traditional stay at home, making cakes and having the dinner on the table for when her husband came home. I'm sure such a life would have bored her to tears, though she was quick to advocate it for other women.

@Allmyghosts what does in limmerance with him mean

Infatuated.

He wasn’t a wealthy man though, he is now. By the early 80’s the Boomtown Rats were over and he struggled to repeat the success that they had. She paid the mortgage and he expected her to earn her way. Band/Live Aid was a charity, he would have drawn a salary from the organisation I assume but not immediately. She had to work. All the earth mother stuff was just fluff along with the ball gowns and flirting. They had a very capable and hardworking nanny and cleaners.

Yes the nanny was very close to the children.

I always thought Bob Geldof became super wealthy after he and Paula had split up?

Good point about how the Rats were 'has beens' or close to it by the time Paula and Bob were married. He must still have had some money saved or invested however? The Rats had been very successful in their day, and the money wouldn't have just vanished in a few years. He's a very savvy businessman but yes, he probably only started to make serious money again once he got his production company going some years later.

The Boomtown Rats weren't exactly big stadium fillers though, were they? I think their moment in the sun was quite short-lived. The Clash/Stranglers they definitely weren't!

If he gets the royalties from "I don't like Mondays" that must earn him a few bob😀

I was never a huge fan of Paula, just watched the documentary and I feel sorry for the way she was hounded and treated, specifically around the time of Michael's death and the revelations about her father. I can't imagine losing the love of your life then finding out your father wasn't really your father, all while being hounded by the press. It would break most people.
But I never really liked the persona she had, she always felt like the ultimate pick-me girl. only happy when she had male attention, I never felt like she was a role model to aspire to.
Its a tragic tale

I'd love to know what Bob's take on everything is. I doubt he'd talk publicly about any of this though. Not his style. A lot of respect for him.

I found this. It's old but fascinating.

That’s really sad @Tigresswoods . He seems very genuine.

That's quite a find @Tigresswoods
Didn't know that Bob had given any interviews on the situation; he is very open.

Even more poignant given later events with Peaches

I quite liked Paula and her out-there persona and and how she dressed and everything but even though I didn't have kids at the time I remember it pissing me off that she implied that good Mums didn't go to work and stayed at home with their kids. Great advice from someone who didn't really have to work for a living.