Diamond Dave in small-town Ontario?

[Christien]

This has been fun to follow in our local paper!

First:

Rock star in crisis stuck out like sore thumb
July 09, 2008
The Canadian Press
Simcoe (Jul 9, 2008)

When rock star David Lee Roth was pulled over by provincial police for speeding last month he didn't get a ticket, but it had nothing to do with his celebrity status.

In fact, the police had no clue who he was -- but they did assist him through a medical emergency.

Roth, the 53-year-old lead singer for Van Halen and sometime solo artist, was suffering an allergic reaction to nuts.

Const. Larry Plummer said he doesn't know how word of the incident got out, as police don't comment on medical assists.

The officers who pulled him over in a rented vehicle near Oakland, north of Simcoe, stayed with him until paramedics arrived. "It's something we come across every day," Plummer said.

Const. Chris Thompson, one of the officers who helped, said he felt there was something unusual about the man.

"At the time, I wasn't star struck," Thompson said. "I was just trying to help him. The guy stuck out like a sore thumb. He was wearing a little silk scarf and flashy clothing -- it's not something you see in Oakland too often."

http://www.thespec.com/article/399593

Then:

Rocker's night out ends in Brantford bar
July 10, 2008
Graham Rockingham
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jul 10, 2008)

David Lee Roth lived up to his rock star reputation during his visit to the Brantford area last month.

After being treated in a Brantford hospital for a severe allergic reaction to nuts, the Van Halen singer took two nurses to a nearby bar and performed on stage with St. Catharines-based band Phatstick.

"He came late near the end of the night at about one o'clock with a couple of the nurses from the hospital," said Cheri Welsh, owner of Brantford's Liquid Lounge. "And he actually got up at the end of the night and performed a song with the band that was there."

Welsh said she wasn't there at the time, but met Roth the next night when he returned looking for his cellphone. She chatted with him for about an hour at the bar and smoked a cigarette with him in the parking lot before he left. Welsh said Roth never drank alcohol on either of his visits.

"Once people started to recognize him, he started to get uncomfortable," she said. "He was very eccentric, wearing clothing that you couldn't buy around here -- white shirt, coloured scarves, hat and some kind of alligator white and black shoes that probably cost a couple of thousand dollars."

The rocker's visit to the area hit the news this week when it was learned provincial police caught him driving erratically near the hamlet of Oakland, south of Brantford. The officers discovered Roth was suffering from an allergic reaction to nuts and rushed him to hospital.

Dean Hajas, a local songwriter and record producer, says Roth is an old friend and stayed at his Oakland home for three weeks in May and June. Hajas says he met Roth while working in Los Angeles in 1993.

"Yeah, I gave up the master bedroom for him because I think that's the hospitable thing to do," Hajas said. "He showed up in a navy blue Alfa Romeo car."

Hajas said Roth's visit was a fairly quiet one, although he did visit the surrounding towns of Simcoe, Waterford and Port Dover.

http://www.thespec.com/article/400286

And finally today:

Diamond Dave turns out to be fake
Tale of Van Halen rock star in area takes bizarre jump
July 11, 2008
Graham Rockingham
The Hamilton Spectator
(Jul 11, 2008)

It's a story that circulated around the world: Rock star David Lee Roth saved by two OPP officers after suffering a severe allergic reaction to nuts while driving on a country road near Brantford.

This newspaper even had a followup to the original wire service story about how the Van Halen singer, dressed in flashy rock-star duds, strutted into a Brantford bar with two nurses after spending the evening in Brantford General Hospital. Only problem: It's not true.

The two officers and a lot of other people in the area appear to be victims of a charming imposter.

And the rock star himself issued a statement last night, saying, "I was in Canada only from July first through the fourth for a performance at the Quebec City Summer Festival. I had no encounters or incidents with the police.

"The only thing I'm allergic to is criticism. -- Love, Dave."

His personal publicist, Elaine Schock said, "I don't even understand where (the account) came from. David doesn't drive himself. He has a driver. And he doesn't dress flashy unless he's onstage."

This, of course, came as a bit of a shock to the two OPP officers who entered the name "David Lee Roth" into their report of the May 23 incident and later described his flashy dress to CTV news.

The officers weren't the only ones fooled. Club patrons, hospital employees, hair stylists, music producers and performers all thought they had spent some quality time with Diamond Dave.

"I'm actually trying to figure out what's going on here, myself," said OPP Constable Larry Plummer.

"I've been researching ... I'm finding it hard to believe. The first thing we're going to have to do is identify who this person might be."

Later in the day, Plummer confirmed it couldn't have been Roth whom the two young officers saved.

"On May 23, the day this was supposed to have happened, Roth was performing at Madison Square Garden with Van Halen," he said.

Plummer said the officers never asked for identification when they stopped the Mystery Dave's rented car for erratic driving near Oakland, a hamlet south of Brantford.

"They were too concerned with helping a man who was in medical distress," Plummer added. Police, however, continue to investigate the identity of the mystery man.

After being treated in hospital, Mystery Dave took two nurses to the nearby Liquid Lounge, where he got up and performed with a local band. He even had his picture taken with at least one of them.

Liquid Lounge owner Cheri Welsh was drawn in by the flashy scarves and alligator shoes.

"I can't understand his motives," she said yesterday. "It's not like he was getting free drinks or anything. He was putting money on the table."

Even Phatstick -- the St. Catharines band that jammed out Van Halen's Ice Cream Man with him at the bar -- was impressed.

"We weren't totally convinced at first because so many people come to shows saying they are someone famous or related to a star," said drummer Joe Lavergne. "But in Dave's case, he did pretty well."

The Mystery Dave also went to the U Are Beautiful salon in Cambridge several times for tanning treatments, hair cuts and dye jobs.

"He always paid in cash," said Lesley, who asked that her last name not be used. "He even bought gift certificates."

Lesley said the salon gave him one free treatment when he said he was going on MuchMusic. He gave them a private concert in the salon. Lesley said they were initially suspicious because of a gap in the man's teeth, but he explained he always wore a cap when he went onstage.

And Dean Hajas, a local songwriter and recording engineer, said he's still certain the man who stayed at his house for three weeks is the real David Lee Roth.

"He just phoned me out of the blue and asked if he could come over and do some work," Hajas said. "He's got some of my music ... I talked to him on his cellphone yesterday and he said his publicist would be issuing a press release (today) to clear this mess up."

Roth's publicist admits the bizarre story has helped her keep her client's name in the news.

"And it's not like it's bad press, it's just odd press," Schock said, adding: "He doesn't stay in places like this. Dave is a Four Seasons kind of a guy."

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/401004

FTR, Brantford is a small town of about 90,000 people a little over an hour west of Toronto and about 15 minutes west of here. It's the birthplace of Wayne Gretsky, and that's pretty much what puts it on the map. I've never heard of Oakland, which I guess is a little hamlet south of Brantford.

[Rick Lee]

Glad Diamond Dave is ok.