Claire Prentice in 1998 on Jimmy Savile, Cyril Smith, and Mummy’s Boys

The following article appeared from Claire Prentice in The Scotsman in 1998 – bearing in mind the proximity of the references to Jimmy Savile and Cyril Smith, and the final sentence, was she trying to tell people something?

Claire Prentice, ‘Trendspotter Mum’s the Word for Sons’, The Scotsman, July 10th, 1998

GIRLFRIENDS come and go but there’s one woman who won’t stand you up or desert you for your best mate. Yep, as if you needed telling, mum’s the word. And while we’re not suggesting Oedipal complications, it seems even the most sane and financially secure celeb is not immune to the powerful spell of the matriarch.

Irish crooner Daniel O’Donnell, aged 36, recently made the headlines when he apparently phoned his mum Julia from Tenerife for permission to begin a holiday romance with his new Scots girlfriend. Since potential girlfriend recently received threats of violence, via the tabloids, from someone claiming to be her fiance, Mrs O’Donnell may well be about to reconsider what she’s let her little lad in for.

While O’Donnell is more sensitive new man than unreconstructed Loaded lad, this condition is no mere wussy affliction. East End brothers the Krays were famous for loving their mother with a devotion matched only by their dedication to gangsterism, while the bond between Elvis Presley and his mum Gladys has been well documented. The King lavished cars, homes, money, jewellery and clothes on her, and insisted she and his father Vernon stay with him at Graceland.

Rangers striker and all-round stud Ally McCoist apparently got his hair chopped after mum complained that she didn’t dig the bleached blond look. Sylvester Stallone went even further. Better known for throwing punches, the gruff-voiced Rambo and Rocky star allegedly can’t function without the approval of Mrs Stallone senior.

And while a doting Jimmy Savile was content to refer to his mum as the Duchess, Liberal MP Cyril Smith couldn’t face flying the nest. Despite a successful political career, he lived with his mum in Rochdale to a ripe old age. Comic actor Kenneth Williams used to holiday with his mum, leaving her in the hotel while he went off on talent-spotting trips.

The mummy’s boy, it seems, is far from a rare breed. Just remember Norman Bates and avoid them like the plague, girls.

---