Real `Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' gravely ill
LONDON – They were childhood chums. Then they drifted apart, lost touch completely, and only renewed their friendship decades later, when illness struck.
Not so unusual, really.
Except she is Lucy Vodden
They are linked together by something that happened more than 40 years ago when Julian brought home a drawing from school and told his father, "That's Lucy in the sky with diamonds."
Just the sort of cute phrase lots of 3- or 4-year-olds produce — but not many have a father like John Lennon, who used it as a springboard for a legendary song that became a centerpiece on the landmark album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
"Julian got in touch with me out of the blue, when he heard how ill I was, and he said he wanted to do something for me," said the 46-year-old Vodden, who has lupus, a chronic disease where the immune system attacks the body's own tissue.
Lennon, who lives in France, sent his old friend flowers and vouchers she could use to buy plants at a local gardening center, since working in her garden is one of the few activities she is still occasionally well enough to enjoy. More importantly, he has offered her friendship and a connection to more carefree days. They communicate mostly by text message.
"I wasn't sure at first how to approach her. I wanted at least to get a note to her," Julian Lennon told The Associated Press. "Then I heard she had a great love of gardening, and I thought I'd help with something she's passionate about, and I love gardening too. I wanted to do something to put a smile on her face."
Vodden admits she enjoys her association with the song, but doesn't particularly care for it. Perhaps that's not surprising. It was thought by many at the time, including BBC executives who banned the song, that the classic was a paean to LSD because of the initials in the title. Plus, she and Julian were 4 years old in 1967, the "Summer of Love" when "Sgt. Pepper" was released to worldwide acclaim. She missed the psychedelic era to which the song is indelibly linked.
"I don't relate to the song, to that type of song," said Vodden, described as "the girl with kaleidoscope eyes" in the lyrics. "As a teenager, I made the mistake of telling a couple of friends at school that I was the Lucy in the song and they said, 'No, it's not you, my parents said it's about drugs.' And I didn't know what LSD was at the time, so I just kept it quiet, to myself."
There's no doubt the fanciful lyrics and swirling musical effects draw heavily on the LSD experiences that were shaping Lennon's artistic output at the time — although many of the musical flourishes were provided by producer George Martin, who was not a drug user.
"The imagery in the song is partly a reflection of John's drug experiences, and partly his love of `Alice in Wonderland,'" said Steve Turner, author of "A Hard Day's Write," a book that details the origins of every Beatles song. "At the time it came out, it seemed overtly psychedelic, it sounded like some kind of trip. It was completely new at the time. To me it is very evocative of the period."
Turner said his research, including interviews with Vodden and Julian Lennon, confirm that she is the Lucy in the song. He said it was common for John Lennon to "snatch songs out of thin air" based on a simple phrase he heard on TV or an item he read in the newspapers. In this case, Turner said, it was the phrase from Julian that triggered John's imagination.
Veteran music critic Fred Schruers said Julian Lennon's reaching out to help Vodden as she fights the disease is particularly moving because of the childlike nature of the song.
"It's enormously evocative but with a tinge of poignancy," he said. "It's the lost childhood Julian had with that little Lucy and the lost innocence we had with the psychedelic era, an innocence we really cherished until it was snatched away."
Vodden was diagnosed with lupus about five years ago after suffering other serious health problems. She has been struggling extreme fatigue, joint pain, and other ailments.
"She's not given up, she's a fighter, and she has her family backing her, that's a good thing," said Angie Davidson, campaign director for St. Thomas' Lupus Trust, which funds research. "We need more people like her, more Lucys."
Davidson, who also has the disease, said it affects each person differently, typically causing exhaustion and depression. When the disease kills, she said, it does so by attacking the body's internal organs.
It has become difficult for Vodden to go out — most of her trips are to the hospital — but recently she and her husband went to a bookstore and heard the song playing over the store's music system. When they went to another shop, the song was on there as well.
"That made me giggle," she said.
Carradine's Family, Friends Dispute Suicide Theory
Los Angeles (E! Online) – Now that he no longer walks the Earth, David Carradine is genuinely missed.
Friends, family and fans are reeling from the news of the sudden, mysterious death today of the star of Kung Fu
"My Uncle David was a brilliantly talented, fiercely intelligent and generous man. He was the nexus of our family in so many ways, and drew us together and kept us connected. I adored him as a child, and as an adult I admired and respected him," actress and Carradine niece Martha Plimpton says in a statement to E! News. "We will all miss him terribly, and are so grateful for everyone's condolences."
Celebrity fans like Kirstie Alley and The Office's Rainn Wilson took to Twitter to celebrate the late actor's legacy.
Thai police say a maid discovered the 72-year-old Carradine's naked body hanging in a wardrobe in his luxury Bangkok hotel suite. There was no sign of foul play, and so far authorities believe the death to be a suicide.
But that theory is being disputed by those who knew him best.
"He was a very strong person, and I don't think it's likely at all that it was a suicide," mother-in-law Betty Fraser exclusively tells E! News.
Despite police statements to the contrary, Fraser says, "I think it was either an accident or a break-in because it was a large hotel and [he was] American."
Fraser says her daughter, Carradine's widow, Anne, was informed of the bad news early this morning and is understandably in a very "fragile" state.
"Anne called us last night in the middle of the night," she says. "She wasn't with him. This was a very short shoot, with a French film company. We only heard that he was going just a week or two before he left."
The family has gathered at the couple's Los Angeles-area home and is in touch with the U.S. embassy and investigators.
Fraser says Carradine had been in good spirits a month ago, when the family got together for the San Luis Obispo Film Festival in central California. "He was great," she recalls. "He loved riding horses. Anne and David came up with the kids and it was really a very nice affair. They put us up in a nice hotel there."
Carradine's rep, Chuck Binder, also flatly rejected the notion that the actor took his life.
"It's all under police investigation. We definitely don't believe it was a suicide," says Binder, adding that Carradine "was a great guy and a great client and a great friend."
And Kill Bill costar Vivica Fox tells PopEater, "I would have never, ever thought that he would kill himself. I find that to be almost unbelievable that he hung himself. He did not seem like the person that would take his own life. It just seems so out of character."
But Carradine did suffer from depression, ex-wife Marina Anderson tells RadarOnline, and the actor himself admitted to having dark thoughts, according to Britain's Telegraph.
The newspaper's website reprinted a 2004 interview with the martial-arts enthusiast in which he said he had grappled with thoughts of killing himself.
"Look, there was a period in my life when I had a single action Colt 45, loaded, in my desk drawer. And every night I'd take it out and think about blowing my head off, and then decide not to and go on with my life. Put it back in the drawer and open up the laptop and continue writing my autobiography or whatever," he was quoted as saying. "But it was just to see."
(Originally published June 4, 2009, at 1:55 p.m. PT)
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Musicians reflect on Bo Diddley's influence
DETROIT (Billboard) – Mention Bo Diddley's name and most everyone thinks one thing -- the beat. Bomp ba-bomp-ba-bomp, bomp bomp. Applied to such songs as "Bo Diddley," "Hey Bo Diddley" and "Wh
It earned Diddley -- who died June 2, 2008, of heart failure at age 79 -- his rightful moniker as the Originator and his spots in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, as well as other lifetime achievement honors. But there was more to Diddley than the beat.
During a career that stretched some four and a half decades, he produced a rich body of spirited, aggressive work that fused a blues sensibility with rock 'n' roll energy and ran far deeper than the well-known hits. Diddley acquitted himself as a progressive bandleader as well as an inventor, not only of the square-shaped Gretsch guitar that was his trademark but also of a variety of effects that subsequently became commonplace pedals and rack mounts for electronic components.
A year after his death he's remembered as all of that and more by other musicians who knew him, admired his accomplishments or both.
Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top): "He hit the scene with that infectious beat he brought to the forefront, but it goes back to when he landed in Chicago and was part of the Maxwell Street scene playing at the flea market on the corner. It was Bo Diddley, Clifton James on drums and Jerome Green on maracas -- and that was it. Who ever heard of a guitar player and two percussionists? And you listen to those early records now, with the knowledge there was no bass guitar, no rhythm guitar, no piano, no nothing except those three guys, but you turn it up and you say, 'Well, I don't miss anything. It sounds like a full orchestra to me.'"
George Thorogood: "No artist has fascinated me more than Bo Diddley. When I got into his stuff, everybody in 1967 was listening to two monumental rock history albums -- one was (Jimi Hendrix's) 'Are You Experienced?,' the other was (the Beatles') 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.' But I had this album, Bo Diddley's '16 All-Time Greatest Hits.' I'd go to Wildwood, New Jersey, and buy maracas by the pound because I was fascinated with this sound and this thing that was Bo Diddley. This was before I got into John Lee Hooker, and I was amazed by the sound of this guy who sat on one chord, maybe two. But, like James Brown, he could do one chord for 15 minutes and it never gets boring. That's where I learned my whole routine from. I mean, what is 'Bad to the Bone' except, really, Bo Diddley?"
Todd Snider: "There are four important things about Bo Diddley that I hope everybody knows. The first, of course, is that he invented a beat. Second, and less known, his song 'Bo Diddley' was a first in that his name was the title and chorus which, in my opinion, makes him one of the inventors of rap. Third, three months before Elvis Presley played (on) Ed Sullivan, Bo Diddley did. He was told to play a different song than 'Bo Diddley' and said he would, but when the cameras rolled he played 'Bo Diddley,' thus inventing rock 'n' roll's attitude. Fourth and most important, he was so sexy that he told Arlene he had a chimney made out of human skulls -- and she still went for a walk with him."
Billy Corgan (the Smashing Pumpkins): "What he really did was bring a rock 'n' roll attitude to rhythm and blues, and that influence is everywhere. Imagine the Stones without the influence of Diddley's swagger, and you can see his true impact. His prime, like Chuck Berry's, was at a time when African-American artists playing rock 'n' roll was more comfortably accepted by a white public if these men were playing nonthreatening observers whose commentary came through in riddles and encoded language. The hipsters picked up on the fact that they were being spoken to. I never thought much of Bo Diddley till I got his boxed set in the early '90s, and I found certain songs struck me like Escher drawings in that the more I heard them the more I saw. His is the kind of music that in its primitive urgency never gets old and in its lyrical narrative will never become outdated."
Joe Satriani: "Bo Diddley gave us so much. He was an essential part of rock 'n' roll. It couldn't have happened without him."
Bonnie Raitt: "Bo's music will continue to influence people as long as someone can beat out that signature rhythm on whatever instrument they can. He was one of the greats and a wonderful man as well."
Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead, Phil & Friends): "That groove is everywhere. It's so fundamental. It permeates. You can hear it in all different kinds of music, and it moves so nicely. Personally I kind of like to do things inside it; I like to take the groove and move it over an eighth note and set up that tension between the thing that starts on the downbeat and the same pattern that starts an eighth note later, and then you can build that up and it's very satisfying. It's very fruitful, shall we say."
Bob Weir (Grateful Dead, Ratdog): "He was famous for that one rhythm, but he was actually a pretty eminent blues artist. He had an amazing sense of dynamics. When musicians get together and they're working up stuff, it's quite common to hear somebody say, 'I want you to play this Bo Diddley,' and everybody knows what that means. It rumbles and rolls, and the notes don't come real fast so you get a little time to be real choosy about what notes you play and it allows you to dance with your instruments. It's a fun rhythm to play, so we tend to stretch it out and live in it for a while."
Nils Lofgren (E Street Band): "That groove, however Bo fell into it, I'm sure he realized he had a gem ... and he called it his own and sold it to us, and it was a beautiful thing and still is. It's a signature beat that you can play against a four-count bar, but you can't lose it. If someone's playing that beat you can improv around it with funk, rock, melodic playing, nasty stuff, pretty stuff -- but not at the expense of the beat. The drummer doesn't have to play it; the guitar player can play it against regular backbeat drums, and it's going to color the entire picture."
John Doe (X, the Knitters): "He came to Los Angeles once in about '83 and played this place called the Music Machine, and everybody was just out of their minds because Bo Diddley hadn't played in L.A. since who knows when. They had put together a group of guys that played the blues OK but really didn't have a clue to what to do with Bo Diddley and, with all apologies, it was terrible. That same night Dave (Alvin) and a few of us went to the owner of the club and said, 'Get him back six months from now and we'll put together a band and it will be great,' and we did. And it was."
Ted Nugent: "Bo Diddley's incredible impact on music and America is immeasurable. As my American blues brother Billy Gibbons exclaimed, accurately, a newborn infant exposed to the Bo Diddley rhythm would begin to gyrate accordingly. We often hear the term 'primal' associated with good rock 'n' roll music, but clearly Bo handed off the purity of primal direct from our aboriginal campfires straight to the masses via his electric guitar grind. It is pure. I was privileged and deeply honored to jam with Bo and actually play bass guitar in a few of his concerts back in 1970. It changed my life. I wallowed in the belly of the beast and was instantaneously moved to better appreciate and more effectively implement the soulfulness of his music into my own. All dedicated musicians, knowingly or otherwise, directly or indirectly, cannot make stirring music without the immense touch of Bo Diddley guiding them one way or another."
Jack Ingram: "One way I look at it is when I listen to Tom Petty, we don't have 'American Girl' without Bo Diddley -- and that could be said about thousands of other classic American rock 'n' roll tunes. Without Bo Diddley, we'd be missing an entire segment of the soundtrack of our lives. My kid brought me a guitar he made in class the other day; he's 3 years old, and in preschool they were making guitars that look like Bo Diddley's. So his influence is bigger than I can fathom. It's bigger than the money he made or the records he sold."
Keith Urban: "In '97 I was in a band called the Ranch. We were opening for Bo at a club in New York City. We finished our set, and I made sure to get out into the audience to see Bo play. After his show, we were packing up backstage, and in walks Bo and he says, 'Hey, boy, was that you just pickin' on that there guitar?' I said, 'Yeah.' He said, 'Mmm, you're a good guitar player, boy,' and then he just nodded and walked away. I remembered this photo that was taken backstage that night; I'd had it on a table in my apartment for years, but when I moved it was packed up. I actually found it after I was asked by the organizers of the Grammy Awards to play with B.B. King, Buddy Guy and John Mayer as part of a tribute to Bo. It really was a full-circle moment for me."
(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)
(please visit our entertainment blog via www.reuters.com or on http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/)
Mastodon joins metal's elite with 'Crack the Skye'
Mastodon, "Crack the Skye" (Reprise)
Mastodon ably stakes their claim among metal's elite with their fourth disc and second for Reprise, "Crack the Skye."
Following their acclaimed major label debut, 2006's "Blood
It may sound like a bit much to the casual listener, but such daring artistry had all but vanished from the metal scene for years until the recent emergence of bands like Lamb of God and the eclectically manic Mars Volta.
Comprised of Brann Dailor (drums, vocals), Brent Hinds (lead guitar, banjo, vocals), Bill Kelliher (guitars) and Troy Sanders (bass, bass synth, vocals), the four piece juxtaposes melodic soft passages with intense time changes, and muscular riffs and licks. The vocals rely less on constant screams than previous efforts but the intensity does not suffer. If anything, it's a welcome adjustment.
The opening trio of "Oblivion," "Divinations," and "Quintessence" set the tone for the album's centerpiece, the mind-numbing four-part suite "The Czar," which may leave you gasping through its 11 minutes. And that's nothing next to the 13-minute closer, "The Last Baron," which is nothing short of masterful.
The disc will lose its punch when taken in pieces — but if you've read this far you know treating Mastodon as anything less than an album band would be a grave mistake.
CHECK THIS TRACK OUT: Offering a touch of everything, from soft vocals and screams to softer guitar harmonics and punishing riffs, the disc's title track will tell you all you need to know about Mastodon.
Sci-fi parody never reaches comic stratosphere
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) – Fans of '50s-era sci-fi movies would be well advised to stock up their Netflix queue with the originals rather than checking out director R.W. Goodwin's technically expert but dread
Encompassing ideas borrowed from a plethora of genre offerings, especially the oft-satirized "The Day the Earth Stood Still," the film -- which Roadside Attractions releases Friday (April 3) -- certainly looks and sounds like the real thing. The proceedings begin with a faux 1957 newsreel documenting the studio scrapping of a finished sci-fi movie called "Alien Trespass," which is then unspooled.
Shot in vivid Technicolor-style hues, the movie depicts the arrival in the California desert of the proverbial flying saucer, which naturally attracts the attention of bespectacled, pipe-smoking astronomer Ted Lewis (Eric McCormack). When he emerges from the ship and returns home, it quickly becomes apparent that Ted's body has been inhabited by an alien. The extraterrestrial, Urp, is attempting to recapture a more malevolent space creature who looks like a one-eyed Mr. Potato Head and who soon starts vaporizing the local townspeople into small piles of goo.
With the assistance of comely waitress Tammy (Jenni Baird), Ted/Urp attempts to hunt down the creature, receiving little help from a world-weary police chief (Dan Lauria) and his gung ho officer (Robert Patrick).
The film recaptures the cheesy dialogue and visual absurdities of its inspirations to a precise degree, and the use of a theremin for the eerie musical score is a nice touch. But ultimately -- despite such clever moments as a theater full of teenagers being scared silly watching "The Blob" even while a similar creature is in their midst -- "Trespass" is too droll and deadpan for its own good.
By the time the tedious proceedings reach their conclusion, one has long begun wishing for a little Mel Brooks-style comic anarchy.
Calvin Klein Works Hard For Your Money
New York – "Subtly sexy," was the theme of the Calvin Klein men's and women's apparel and accessories for Fall 2009, said creative director Kevin Carrigan at the collection's presentation on Thursday
"There's a return to dressing up again," said Carrigan. "We're calling it 'refined eighties,' with good fabrics that are softly sculptured, rather than linear and hard." This is not the eighties of severe angles, touch chic and New Wave haircuts, in other words. Instead, it's the "Working Girl" eighties of loose blazers with pushed up sleeves, high-waisted leather skirts, and splashes of red, "the new pop color of the season," he said.
And get ready to shelve the opaque black tights to make room for a new version of legwear.
"It's all about the sheer hose with a sandal, something we haven't had it in a while," said Carrigan.
The sheer hose is just one of the new offerings from the Calvin Klein Underwear "Black" collections for women, a more sophisticated take on underpinnings for Calvin Klein with all-lace styles made with antique French lace machines. For men, "Black," includes classic underwear silhouettes in lightweight microfiber fabrics while the new "White" collection consists of luxe stretch cotton.
Calvin Klein Jeans, one of the company's signatures, introduced the Body collection, styles for men and women that focus on enhancing the body through a new fit, which Carrigan said they developed over eight or nine months.
"I wanted to launch a sexy jean for Calvin," said Carrigan, who explained that in recent seasons, denim factories have been more concerned with finishes, from embellishments to varying washes, rather than the technology of how the jeans are designed for the body. "It's a study in fit to make her look sexy," he said.
There are significant differences, explained Carrigan. For example, the yoke seam on the back of the jean is reversed. Instead of being sewn inward, the seam curves outward, following the curve of the body. And while the jeans are low-rise, the prevailing style for several years now, a new innovation here is a piece of elastic in the waistband to prevent unsightly gapping in the back, so that the jean hugs the body.
At $79, the designer jean with a high tech fit is a well-priced addition to one's denim closet. Eventually, added Carrigan, they plan to expand the Body jean collection to include a Body jacket, as well as t-shirts, all with a precision fit.
British reality TV star Jade Goody dead: publicist
LONDON (AFP) – British reality television star Jade Goody died in her sleep early Sunday aged just 27, her publicist said, after a very public battle with cervical cancer.
Goody died at her home in Upshire, Essex,
"I think she's going to be remembered as a young girl who has, and who will, save an awful lot of lives," her publicist Max Clifford said, referring to how her battle with cancer has raised awareness of the disease.
"She was a very, very brave girl. And she faced her death in the way she faced her whole life -- full on, with a lot of courage."
Goody, an ex-dental nurse from south London, first found fame on Britain's "Big Brother" reality television programme in 2002.
But her career was nearly ruined when she subjected Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty to racist bullying on the celebrity edition of the show in 2007, referring to her as "Shilpa Poppadom".
The two subsequently made peace, with Goody appearing on the Indian "Big Brother" -- "Bigg Boss" -- although she pulled out after receiving her cancer diagnosis.
Shetty has said she was "sad" about Goody's illness and had hoped to visit her last week while on a trip to Britain.
Goody's decision to live out her final weeks in the public eye prompted many commentators uncomfortable with the coverage to raise questions about the ethics of reality television.
But she won the hearts of many Britons -- and was responsible for a huge jump in the number of young women taking tests for cervical cancer.
Goody married Tweed -- a 21-year-old aspiring footballers' agent who was jailed last year for attacking a teenager with a golf club -- on February 22, nine days after he proposed in hospital following her terminal diagnosis.
Media rights for the lavish ceremony at a country house hotel north of London were reportedly sold for one million pounds (1.1 million euros, 1.4 million dollars).
Goody plus sons Bobby, five, and Freddy, four -- who she had with her ex-boyfriend, television presenter Jeff Brazier -- were christened on March 7, another event captured by a magazine.
The christening was one of her final requests and her publicist Clifford said she wanted to do it so her sons "know about Jesus and hopefully in the years ahead they'll be able to keep in touch with (her) through Jesus".
On Tuesday, her publishers also revealed she would be publishing a diary of her dying days. A percentage of the profits will go towards a cancer charity.
Goody always said she was seeking publicity not for herself, but as a way to make her sons financially secure when she was gone.
Although some commentators found the spectacle ghoulish, others lept to her defence.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown called her case a "tragedy" and the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, said she wanted the last weeks of her life to teach people something.
Her case reportedly led to a 20 percent rise in the number of young women taking smear tests which can detect cervical cancer.
Robert Music, director of cervical cancer charity Jo's Trust, told British media he had "never seen anything like it".
"The Jade effect has been nothing short of phenomenal," he added. "Quite simply, Jade Goody will end up saving lives."
Goody's body was taken out of her home shortly before 8:00 am (0800 GMT) as mourners started leaving floral tributes at the gates of her home.
Speaking outside the house, her mother said: "Family and friends would like privacy at last."
British reality TV star Jade Goody dead
LONDON (AFP) – British reality television star Jade Goody died in her sleep early Sunday aged just 27, her mother and publicist said, after a very public battle with cervical cancer.
Goody died at her home in Upshi
"My beautiful daughter is at peace," Budden said. Goody's publicist Max Clifford added: "She was a very, very brave girl. And she faced her death in the way she faced her whole life -- full on, with a lot of courage".
Goody, an ex-dental nurse from south London, first found fame on Britain's "Big Brother" reality television programme in 2002.
But her rags-to-riches career was nearly ruined when she subjected Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty to racist bullying on the celebrity edition of the show in 2007, referring to her as "Shilpa Poppadom".
The two subsequently made peace, with Goody appearing on the Indian "Big Brother" -- "Bigg Boss", hosted by Shetty -- although she pulled out after her cancer diagnosis.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown led the tributes to Goody Sunday, saying he was "deeply saddened" by her death.
"She was a courageous woman both in life and death and the whole country has admired her determination to provide a bright future for her children," Brown said.
"She will be remembered fondly by all who knew her and her family can be extremely proud of the work she has done to raise awareness of cervical cancer."
Shetty added: "I was deeply saddened by the news, but in hindsight glad she is out of pain and passed away peacefully in her sleep."
Goody's decision to live out her final weeks in the public eye prompted many commentators uncomfortable with the coverage to raise questions about the ethics of reality television.
But she won the hearts of many Britons and was responsible for a huge jump in the number of young women taking tests for cervical cancer.
She married Tweed -- a 21-year-old aspiring footballers' agent jailed last year for attacking a 16-year-old with a golf club -- on February 22, nine days after he proposed in hospital following her terminal diagnosis.
Media rights for the lavish ceremony at a country house hotel north of London were reportedly sold for one million pounds (1.1 million euros, 1.4 million dollars).
Goody plus sons Bobby, five, and Freddy, four -- who she had with her ex-boyfriend, television presenter Jeff Brazier -- were christened on March 7, another event captured by a magazine.
The christening was one of her final requests and her publicist Clifford said she wanted to do it so her sons "know about Jesus and hopefully in the years ahead they'll be able to keep in touch with (her) through Jesus".
On Tuesday, her publishers said they would publish a diary of her dying days.
Even her funeral, to be held at her local church in the next 10 days, is set to be highly public. Clifford said Goody planned it herself and that it would be "very much a Jade Goody production".
Goody always said she was seeking publicity not for herself but to make her sons financially secure when she was gone.
Although some found the spectacle ghoulish, others leapt to her defence.
Her case reportedly led to a 20 percent rise in the number of young women taking smear tests which can detect cervical cancer.
Robert Music, director of cervical cancer charity Jo's Trust, told British media he had "never seen anything like it".
"The Jade effect has been nothing short of phenomenal," he added. "Quite simply, Jade Goody will end up saving lives."
Goody's body was taken out of her home shortly before 8:00 am (0800 GMT) as mourners started leaving floral tributes at the gates of her home.
Speaking outside the house, her mother said: "Family and friends would like privacy at last."
Style stars can be winners at the Oscars too
The red carpet at the Academy Awards is the Superbowl of fashion, with stars emerging after big plays and others sinking after big mistakes.
The stakes are high for actresses and the designers who dress them. Prada began
And do you ever hear anyone buzzing about Bjork these days unless it's a joke about her bizarre swan getup?
An actress' fashion choice for Hollywood's biggest event will follow her around in photos for a lifetime like a glamorous Giorgio Armani train.
This year's lot of best-actress nominees is a group of lovely ladies who now have a chance to put their own fashion stamp on the biggest Hollywood event of the year. The AP asked stylist and Harper's Bazaar consultant Mary Alice Stephenson to make her own suggestions to the stars about what to wear to make the biggest style splash:
_Angelina Jolie in Calvin Klein
Jolie wants people to see her as a fine actress, not a fashion plate, says Stephenson, and that's fine. However, she can still look amazing — thanks to her natural beauty and fantastic figure — while not changing the message.
Simple and sensual is the way for Jolie to go, Stephenson says, perhaps in sleek jersey gown in a flesh tone or smoky gray from Calvin Klein. The gowns designed by Francisco Costa graze the body and look even better moving than standing still.
"I respect the understated glamour, but she also leans to dresses that are very modern, and that's why she's a match for Calvin Klein. In a Calvin, it's about what's not there that makes the dresses really special," she says.
She'd look stunning in an either a plunging neckline or deep, sexy opening in the back — or both — but don't expect her in any sequins, corsetry or bows.
_Kate Winslet in Alberta Ferretti
Winslet has looked great this awards season, especially since she's been accessorizing with all those gold trophies, says Stephenson, but each of her gowns have been dark and highly structured, flaunting her curvy figure.
Now might be the time to be a goddess, Stephenson suggests, picking out a bronze ruffle-back gown with retro-style beading. Ferretti gowns have the built-in corsetry of the more architectural styles Winslet seems to favor, but the outward appearance is one of a softer touch.
Winslet's rosy skin would allow her to wear romantic colors, without looking washed out. Stephenson also likes for her a lilac one-shoulder goddess gown and a teal strapless gown with floral beading and soft tiers of ruffle at the bust.
"I'd like to see her feminine and ethereal."
_Anne Hathaway in Thakoon
Hathaway could become the fashion plate she played in "The Devil Wears Prada," although so far she's played it safe with traditional glamour-girl looks. Thakoon, says Stephenson, would push the envelope just enough — perhaps experimenting with fabric or color — to capture Hathaway's natural "fashion exuberance."
"She's young and she should dress young and wear clothes as fresh as she is. She can take classic glamour and turn it upside down."
Stephenson picks from Thakoon's downtown studio a short, one-shoulder dress made with upper and lower layers of black tulle with silver beading floating between the layers. A one-of-a-kind dress such as this one take about three days to make, the designer says.
It's a less traditional Oscar gown, but it's also dramatic and highly photogenic — and that's as important as looking good in person. "When these actresses hit the red carpet, they have to look like movie stars."
_Melissa Leo in J. Mendel
A lesser-known star nominated for her role in the low-budget drama "Frozen River," Melissa Leo is a stylist's dream because "she hasn't made her fashion imprint yet," says Stephenson. "Melissa Leo is a white canvas, and I want to take her from zero to 100 in a single outing."
Stephenson suggests J. Mendel, a design house known for sophistication, glamour and luxurious details.
In the designer's workroom, she sees a navy dress with all-over vertical pleats that Stephenson says is a dramatic silhouette that a fine dramatic actress can pull off. The other choice would be a more ethereal, diaphanous purple gown that still defines the waist.
"So much about this is about how an actress feels that morning of the Oscars: Does she feel bold or delicate?" Stephenson says.
If she were actually dressing any of these stars for the big night, she adds, she wouldn't arrive with one dress that day, she'd have at least three — whittled down from 30 original choices.
_Meryl Streep in Donna Karan
Streep is the most Oscar-nominated performer in history, yet has never emerged as a style star. That could change, Stephenson says, in a Donna Karan gown straight from the New York Fashion Week runway.
Her two picks would be either an all-over draped gown with a strong shoulder, or a fan-style strapless gown.
Karan's collection was sensual and stylish, while still embracing the dark colors and significant coverage that Streep seems to like. Stephenson says, however, that she might try to nudge both the designer and the star to make a switch to a rich jewel tone color — still dark, but more regal.
"I love seeing Donna Karan on the red carpet because the dresses are chic and sophisticated and ultimately you pay more attention to how glamorous the woman looks," she says. "You notice the woman first not the dress, and isn't that what it supposed to be about?"
Go for gold, silver, bronze at NY Fashion Week
NEW YORK – If the economy hangs over New York Fashion Week like a basic black cloud, designers are seeking a silver — or gold, platinum or bronze — lining.
Metallic dresses melted down the runways Wednesd
Who needs to win an Oscar when you can dress like one?
But metallics weren't just for the red carpet. Marc Jacobs presented eye-catching metallic floral coats and Nanette Lepore dressed down the bling. "We showed metallic dresses in the show with hoodies and jackets to make it casual for day with their modest and simple shape," Lepore said after her runway show.
The hint of flash fit into the space-age theme that also emerged at fashion week, but avoided a costumey feel.
"Metallic dresses are a great option when a woman wants to wear clothes that have impact but she's not a big fan of any particular color," said Hal Rubenstein, InStyle magazine. "Metallic dresses are also perfect for the minimalist because they require little or no accessorizing with jewel. They have their own sparkle built in."
OSCAR DE LA RENTA
The beauty of an Oscar de la Renta design is its luxuriousness. For fall, de la Renta stayed true to his principles and didn't offer a "recession collection," or anything that could be called a "de la Renta lite."
Fur (and lots of it) set the tone, and during the 15-minute show de la Renta did what he could to reassure fashion-followers that everything would be all right as long as they looked good.
The best of the bunch were a contemporary gray broadtail vest and a regal hooded feathered sable coat. His signature beading and embroideries were sparser than usual, but, with his socialite customers dutifully filling the former church on Park Avenue he uses to stage runway shows, that seemed a commentary on emerging trends, not trying times.
MICHAEL KORS
Michael Kors is addressing what he calls "modern times" — designers don't like to mention the economy — by serving up a fall collection of classics with a twist.
Turtlenecks and women's tweed suits have sexy-but-not-skin-baring cutouts around the collar bone, sheath dresses and sweaters both the get the one-shoulder treatment and the overall strong silhouette is fueled by origami-folded shoulders, perhaps a more user-friendly alternative to shoulder pads.
Kors also used origami techniques for some of the best outerwear pieces so far for fall. A black "cashgora" coat worn over a simple white cashmere pullover and gray cigarette pants was the picture of chic that Kors aims for.
MAX AZRIA
Like the sexy cover of the night, Max Azria sent all the models down the runway at the preview of his namesake collection in black catsuits, sometimes under flowing dresses.
The clothes were mostly black with sharp lines, strong shoulders and tough leather trim, but there was a more sultry quality in his use of wool, velvet, lace and other tactile fabrics.
He also figured out an alternative to the shoulder pad that has been so prevalent this season: folding the fabric on the shoulder to create a stiff square that stands away from the body without bulking it up.
In his notes to an audience that included Rob Thomas, Alicia Keys and Rachel Bilson, Azria explained he was exploring "the ethereal seduction of the dark side."
NANETTE LEPORE
Nanette Lepore turned up the heat with layers upon layers of fresh fall styles. She also managed to mine a little romance, something that's largely been missing from this round of seasonal style previews.
Who could argue with a dress that brings the next generation of plaid, with laser cutouts of the usual geometric shapes and layering gold under them to contrast the purple on the rest of the dress?
She showed further attention to detail when she paired a gold pailette top under a V-neck tweed dress and lined with a gold fabric a shiny paisley print dress so that as the model walked, the audience caught glimpses of shimmer. A gold pailette cocktail dress was the a dressier complement to the daytime gold-fabric dress she wore to take her bow.
3.1 PHILLIP LIM
The era of the late 1960s-early '70s seems to be an endless well for fashion inspiration. The new 3.1 Phillip Lim collection borrowed ideas, inspiration and haircuts from the decade's breakthrough music scene.
One model wore an ivory morning coat with tails named "the Hendrix," and another wore a shorter "Sergeant Pepper" topper. A dusty-rose "Bowie" pantsuit with sharp shoulders and skinny legs also made its way down the runway to the live music of the band Lissy Truillie.
Designer Lim also tapped into Carnaby Street, mixing "dandy" blouses with more hard-core rock 'n' roll tight trousers, many of them slung low around the hips. Lim's staple military influences and ruffles were also well represented. "He loves a good ruffle," says Cindy Weber Cleary, fashion director for InStyle.
J. MENDEL
New York Fashion week is no stranger to drama — front-row dustups, shouting photographers, fewer seats than guests — but J. Mendel put drama to a better use: He put it all on the clothes.
Mendel didn't just put fur coats on this runway, which are the brand's heritage, he offered toppers that combined the luxe textures of swakara and mink with leather. And no bow details on the gowns here, instead he used wide black ribbon cascading down the front to create a little bit of art.
Those were the pieces the J. Mendel customer, who appreciates fine detail, is used to. But designer Gilles Mendel also put some untested styles on the runway, more casual — by ladies-who-lunch standards — daytime pieces.
It's part of a plan to broaden the brand's reach, says Susan Sokol, J. Mendel's new president.
BABY PHAT
Somehow "fabulosity" doesn't seem all that anymore.
That means even bling-heavy Kimora Lee Simmons' Baby Phat collection had to be toned down for the fall.
In her notes describing the clothes, Simmons still seemed caught up with the go-go luxury mentality that now is out of touch with reality. She used phrases included "arouse your inner mogul," and described the brand's style as "synonymous with a lifestyle of extravagance."
Yet, many of the looks on the runway signaled she was aware that the world, and especially the retail landscape, had changed from a year ago. Denim dominated the catwalk, with Simmons jazzing up skinny silhouettes with studs, purposeful tears or bleach stains, but it was the dressier styles — something Simmons probably relates to — that were the best.
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