Caught & Social: Mercury’s star backing groups

It’s not just about the quality of the albums at the Barclaycard Mercury Prize – you can also show your worth as a star by bringing some celebrity cheerleaders too. Among the crowd we spotted Chipmunk and Wretch 32, who were on hand to cheer on Tinie Tempah. Ms Dynamite was in her sometime collaborator Katy B’s corner. Comedian Jack Whitehall meanwhile came independently but when pushed said he was cheering on Adele.

Scene & heard

A Beatles/Rolling Stones collaboration has come to light after Ronnie Wood revealed that he and Charlie Watts recorded with the late John Lennon after meeting him in a New York hotel. “He was banging onmydoor, pair of them standing there in capes, John and Yoko,”he told Absolute Radio. “So we all went down to Atlantic Recording Studios and recorded mad stuff and I’d love to find out what it was.”

“I just suddenly couldn’t see where Agyness the model ended and where I started,”Agyness Deyn explains to Ellewhy she is trying her hand at acting. “It was so enmeshed and I was so busy that that’s all I was doing for ages. I lost my sense of self.” Certainly sounds like a luvvie.

One star with a strong sense of self is Madonna, who was filmed accepting a flower from a fan at a press conference in Venice. Sadly, the gift failed to impress. After saying “thank you”, Madge turned to a colleague and said: “I absolutely loathe hydrangeas… he obviously doesn’t know that.”

Wuthering stars thrill Venice

The British invasion of Venice continues apace. Yesterday it was the turn of Wuthering Heights with Kaya Scodelario and James Howson, the adult Cathy and Heathcliff. Scodelario is a former star of Skins,while Howson’s journey to the silver screen has been a fortuitous one. With no prior acting experience, hewas“spotted”at an open audition where he was accompanying a friend. But director Andrea Arnold has form for such risk-taking – she cast the unknown Kate Jarvis in 2009’s Fish Tank,which won her a Bafta. And judging from online reactions, the gamble on Howsonhas paid off.

Florence makes a quick exit

Model and rumoured royal girlfriend Florence Brudenell-Bruce was one of the guests at The Art of Noir launch party at the Nobu Berkeley restaurant in London. The event was held to raise money for Unicef to support their earthquake relief work in Japan, and succeeded to the tune of £30,000. Florence left early, presumably to avoid any press questions about Prince Harry. Wise move.

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• http://pulse.yahoo.com/_QDVR5BXIGMBQOZDELZM6OKP63U Regina Blanchard

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