Noughties

A NOUGHTIES pop star looks unrecognisable 23 years after his controversial hit, as he braved the rain at a UK festival.

This US singer, now 54, shot to fame in a quirky Detroit rock band – but can you guess who he is?

The star in question is Dick Valentine, who is known for the band Electric Six, which he founded with friends from high school.

The band launched into the spotlight in the early noughties, and were known for their controversial song Gay Bar.

The tune was released in June 2003, and lead singer Dick, who’s real name is Tyler Spencer, has now revealed how he came up with the song.

Speaking in the rain at Download Festival, he told the Academy Music Group: “The real story, I was in a rock and roll bar. Okay, and so there’s ambient noise, there are people talking, there are drinks clinking.

Read more on noughties stars

a little bit more

Noughties Brit pop star drops huge hint chart topping band will reform

TIMELESS

00s pop star, 44, has barely aged since her smash hit in new fan vid – guess who?

“In the background, on the jukebox, right, you’re hearing the song that they’re playing in the jukebox, but you can’t quite make out the lyrics.

“The song on the jukebox was Girl You Want by Devo, where the lyrics are, ‘She’s just a girl, just a girl, girl you want.’

“Those are the lyrics, those are the actual lyrics.”

Continuing with his story, Dick said: “But I thought he was saying, ‘She’s just a girl, just a girl in a gay bar.’

“And so I started singing that, and my friend was like, ‘No, no, no, what are you singing?’

“So then I’ve got this lyric now about a girl in a gay bar, right, I’ve got this, and it hasn’t been used, so now this is mine.

“So that was the genesis of it. It was just a misheard lyric in a pub, and it worked out really well for me!”

When Gay Bar was released over twenty years ago, the track certainly caused a stir.

While the song and music video got a lot of airplay the lyrics mentioning the Iraq war, which was ongoing at the time, were edited because they were perceived to have been offensive at the time.

Meanwhile, Electric Six shot to fame with their first single, Danger! High Voltage, which soared to No. 2 in the UK charts.

Along with Dick, the original line-up included Cory Martin on drums, Anthony Selph on lead guitar, Joe Frezza on rhythm guitar, and Steve Nawara on bass.

Over the years the band has experienced various changes in members, but Dick has always remained at the helm.

Electric Six continue to perform, and are currently on tour right now in the UK.

A LITTLE-known band were left totally gobsmacked after a rock legend turned up in the audience at one of their shows.

The Rolling Stones cover band were playing to a small crowd in a bar when the iconic musician revealed himself as a fan, dancing alone in the bar.

The mystery figure was none other than Noughties nu-metal megastar Fred Durst, frontman of Limp Bizkit.

Fellow punters couldn’t believe their eyes and quickly pulled out their phones to capture the surreal moment as the Rollin’ singer rocked out to their set.

Musician Jenny Teator, who was singing on stage shared the clip on TikTok, writing: “This was unexpected. Get it, Fredddd!! We had so much fun at @GRAYSonMAIN.”

The unlikely scene unfolded at Grays on Main, a bustling music venue and dining room in downtown Franklin, Tennessee – the town Fred now calls home.

rock of ages

Can YOU tell who this 90s rock icon is? Fans say he looks like Richard Gere!

doped up

Shaggy 2 Dope fails as he tries to dropkick Limp Bizkit’s Fred Durst on stage

The star looked almost unrecognisable with a full white beard, although he still sported the signature baseball cap fans will remember from the band’s heyday.

Other diners appeared oblivious to the famous face in their midst, continuing with their meals unaware they were in the company of rock royalty.

One viewer commented: “The people sitting there eating, completely unbothered that Fred Durst is getting down right beside them, is killllling me!”

Fred and Limp Bizkit were one of the biggest bands of the late Nineties and early Noughties, with hits including Break Stuff, My Way and Rollin’.

Their album Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavoured Water debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold over one million copies in its first week.

The singer was also linked to a string of high-profile romances, including rumoured relationships with pop stars Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne. He has been married four times and has two children.

Despite stepping out of the spotlight in recent years, Fred, now 55, continues to record and perform with Limp Bizkit.

Limp Bizkit’s last official UK tour was last year, with the band appearing at the Reading and Leeds festivals.

Besides continuing to tour and perform with the band, Fred has made his mark as a film director with movies like The Education of Charlie Banks and The Longshots.

He also directed the film The Franatic in 2019 which starred John Travolta.

MICHELLE Heaton has opened up about her surprise feud with a rival noughties pop star.

The Liberty X singer held back tears as she discussed the band’s battle with Hear’Say – the winners of ITV‘s Popstars.

Shortly after finishing as runner-ups on the 2001 reality series, Michelle and her bandmates Tony Lundon, Kevin Simm, Jessica Taylor and Kelli Young, were were formed into a new group.

However, despite being friends during filming, Michelle says: “There was a war from the get-go

“We were constantly pitted against each other in a world we were trying to navigate.”

It saw the breakdown of Michelle’s close friendship with Suzanne Shaw.

READ MORE ON MICHELLE HEATON

HEALTH BATTLE

Michelle Heaton reveals she underwent secret surgery for serious condition

CHELLE’S HELL

Michelle Heaton in tears as she reveals depths of alcohol and drug addiction

Opening up to Paul Brunson on his podcast We Need To Talk, Michelle said: “It was evident they wanted us to fail. Not just Hear’Say as a team, but the people around them.

“And so that would have then stirred up the pot with the Hear’Say members in order to add fuel to the fire when they did interviews about how they were bigger and better and we were not so… and that we were running on their coattails.

“It felt really harsh. We didn’t know how to navigate it. It felt like it wasn’t the five people that we met in the audition process.

“And alongside all of this, all I kind of wanted to do was reach out to Suzanne because that’s like one of the people that I got really close to.. and be like, ‘how is it? What’s it like?’

“I really wanted to share that with her. And at no point did I see what we were doing as hanging on their coattails.”

Thankfully, years on from the height of their fame, the pair reconnected.

Proving their bond back in 2016, Michelle wrote in her OK! Magazine column: “Massive congrats to my friend Suzanne who announced her pregnancy in what has to be the sweetest way possible.

“The video she made made me cry and her son Corey’s response was priceless. I loved the video and I love Suzanne. I’m so happy for her little family.”

A NOUGHTIES pop star has hinted he’s quitting fame after 25 years in the spotlight as furiously ranted online.

The 42-year-old took to his Instagram to share some hard truths about the industry and told how he’d rather live a simpler live.

Lee Ryan, a star of the 90s boyband Blue, explained that he’s “been through hell and back” and said he now “hates the public eye.”

The singer found fame in the early 2000s after the band achieved massive success with their debut album All Rise in 2001.

Blue, who have three UK Number 1 Platinum-selling albums, are still going strong, with tours lined up for the rest of this year and next.

Alongside Antony Costa, Duncan James and Simon Webbe, Lee has been taking to the stage but it seems he’s not entirely happy.

SLAM DUNC

Blue’s Duncan James reveals major milestone with new stripper boyfriend

BLUE MY MIND

Stunned American Love Island fans are only just realising Blue are ‘real band’

He posted a picture of himself singing at a concert on Instagram and captioned it with the statement: “As much as I love my career I’ve had for 25 years singing in Blue, sometimes I just want to go home to be a husband and father to my baby’s.

“There’s no place I feel more at peace than with them. This industry sucks you in and spits you out the other end… I’ve been through hell and back in the public eye and I actually hate it now.”

Lee continued: “I don’t like the fame part of this job anymore, it’s fake and quite toxic. People use you and abuse you and use your success as a weapon.”

“Don’t get me wrong I love singing and being creative making music and seeing the fans at shows,” said Lee.

“The rest I could leave behind and never step foot into that space again happily… I have no interest in the industry bs anymore…. Rather be home being a dad and a husband x”

Fans took to the comments to support Lee while some felt annoyed that they had brought tickets and could see he “didn’t want to do it anymore.”

One fan wrote: “I love blue, I still do. But at the concert I feel like I could see that you don’t really want it anymore. It‘s sad because people pay money to see the absolute best of you…”

Another fan said: “Thank you for carrying on and bless us with your beautiful voice. There is no place like home and I am sure your family is forever proud of you.”

A third fan added: “You would be missed, your voice, stage presence and banter is truly in a small minority BUT you have to do what’s best for you.”

Lee’s wife Verity also rushed to support her man. She said: “You get to do both!!! Be a pop star and come back to reality and live on the farm in the sunshine!!! We love you Mr, keep going nearly home time xxx”

The couple, who married in Gibraltar in 2022, share four children together.

Blue took a hiatus in 2004 but later reformed with the original bandmembers in 2011.