Fish & Chips & Football-Tony Crosbie's 1st book. The Japanese title translated to "The red devil from Liverpool".
TONY CROSBIE is form Liverpool and has been based in Tokyo for 23 years. He works as soccer commentator for Fuji TV, a freelance designer for brands like Muji and a stylist for the likes of ZZ Top, Mariah Carey, Vincent Gallo (who stole his hat) and Japanese pop pickers SMAP as well as keeping corporate clients like Nike, Levi's and Budweiser up with the latest trends.
Tony and a ZZ Top.
Tony Crosbie -A Fresh Face at St Martin's 1982.
Crosbie graduated from Saint Martin's School of Art in London with a degree in fashion design. Since then his work has taken him to far-flung locations all over the world. It's also given him an endless string of anecdotes. From rock stars with massive egos to actresses surrounded by an entourage of assistants, this fashion veteran has seen the warts-and-all underbelly of celebrityland more times than he cares to remember. Crosbie moved to the other side of the camera over a decade ago as a presenter and sports commentator on Fuji TV. Most recently he covered the British Royal Wedding.
Sean Lennon and friends with Tony.
Q1. What was the first record you bought and how did it change your life?
TC: 'Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep' by "Middle of the Road" weird almost comedy song bought from Woolworths in Liverpool ............it changed my life in as much as I'm now middle 'o' the road and cheap!!
Q2. You studied fashion at Central Saint Martins and Pulp played at the closing party recently. How do you feel about Saint Martins moving to Kings Cross?
TC: Though not in London for the St. martins S of A moving party I did receive an invitation which arrived in Tokyo on the day of the party! bit sad to move as it was one of the main reason's St. Martins was so fab in the middle
of London on the fringes of dirty Soho ............... great!! I was so impressed with Soho I even had a flat in Frith Street for a while opposite Ronnie Scott's the jazz club as opposed to the numerous jizz clubs in the neighborhood a perfect place to be educated!!
Tony on holiday with Holly Johnson of Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
Tony Crosbie with Tom Ford
Q3. After you graduated Saint Martins you moved to Tokyo to design for Grass Mens and more than 20 years later you still call Tokyo home.
TC: After graduating St. Martins I was offered a 2 week job by a tokyo menswear company called Grassmens they had bought some of my textile design's through Timney /Fowler and wanted a fresh designer to spice up their tokyo collection and after 23 years I'm still here!! originally the women all seemed so exotic, graceful, petit, gorgeous, calm, but now it just seems everywhere else I go in the world is so rude, impolite, filthy, scary almost (though the recent huge earthquake and nuclear meltdown are fairly scary) but politely so there was no looting /rioting for food etc etc everybody was amazingly but expectedly very calm which really help's after such a calamity.
The lovely Victoria Beckham with Tony.
Q4. Every Japanese person that I meet knows you from your television career in Japan. How did you make the transition from fashion designer to television personality?
TC: I had been styling tv shows /tv ad's/films etc for a few years after leaving full time design work and was styling a half Japanese half american famous tv presenter for a sports show on fuji tv one day and the producer noticed me the foreigner and asked where I was from ? "Liverpool" do I like football ? "Yes" what was I doing at 3.30 in the morning on Wednesday .........and I first started about 11or 12 years ago and have digressed from football to almost anything , recently appearing on TBS in Japan commenting on the recent royal nuptials (so glad Kate is so elegant/skinny could of been terrible! phew!!) I noticed she's keeping a few St. Marts ex students in work . My secret of tv work is.....I always have a sneaky can of beer normally asahi before any tv time it just seems to bring the tension up a notch to TV TENSION!
Jack 'Loser' Nicholson with Tony. Who's the loser now eh?
Q5. Can you share a funny story regarding one of the many celebrities that you’ve worked with, either on TV or as a stylist or designer?
TC: A while ago I was styling Eikichi Yazawa (Japanese Elvis/Jonny Hallyday) for a tv commercial shot in L.A. We arrived in L.A. about 5 in the morning on the red eye from tokyo and our STAR suggests in terrible igulishh that he buy breakfast for the whole crew , So someone finds us a diner and he orders "BACONEGG EVELYBODDIE" so the waitress goes around the table asking everyone how they want their egg's easy over etc etc and our STAR when asked how he'd like his eggs ? asked for medium rare....................
Still in the diner our STAR notices me drinking orange juice "chief how's the orange juice?" well Yazawa san it's a bit sour ! so our STAR proceeds to pour honey from a bear shaped pot on the table into my orange juice while murmuring "honey angel na na na na na honey angel........" do you remember that song, he ask's ? yes,yes of course, everyone agrees, only to realize later the song was Johnny Angel and had nothing to do with frikkin' honey......................... bastard!!!!
Tony's 2nd book..... " Iguriss shinchi no onara to gepu" translation " the farts and burps of an English Gentleman"!!
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