YORK punk rocker Stevie Ze Suicide has revealed how he worked as a ‘gofer’ to rock and pop stars from Elton John to Diana Ross years after leaving top punk band the UK Subs.

He tells in a new book, ‘Rock & Roll Chronicles', how he found work at studios in London which filmed some of the most famous pop and rock videos of the 80s and 90s.

He tells how he looked after the stars’ dressing rooms, seeing to their well-being and comfort in between shoots, and ended up meeting legendary figures including Freddie Mercury, Tina Turner and Phil Collins, and members of the Rolling Stones, Duran Duran, AC/DC, KISS and Spandau Ballet.

He writes: “It was wonderful fun... and what an adventure! To stand within feet of people like Mick Jagger and Tina Turner for a whole day and study how they perform to the camera was priceless.

“I’ve kept these stories quiet for all these years in fear of sounding pretentious or big-headed - but what an extraordinary time it was and I just wanted to share the experience.”

He says the first video he was involved with starred Elton John, who was using a stunt double for a routine.

He says the double had to wear Elton’s "best blue glasses", which were clearly his favourites at the time.

“It was my sole job to look after these glasses and not let our brilliant dancer/double lose or damage them, as they obviously meant so much to Elton. Nice work if you can get it!”

He says he was a little nervous when he knocked on Elton’s trailer dressing room door but need not have worried, with the star smiling reassuringly and putting him at ease. “He was such a nice person... I guarded those glasses with my life all day.”

He writes that at the end of the day, Elton gave him a bottle of wine. “Elton is a wonderful, caring person. I learned so much about etiquette and professionalism that day.”

Stevie tells how he worked as a stand-in for "the absolute Queen of Rock ‘n’ Soul", Tina Turner, as crews got lighting and camera angles right. “As we are of similar height and with lots of hair, I was perfect for this vacant slot.”

He says he found Tina extremely easy to work and and get on with, and reveals how he decided to add some Kinder Surprise eggs containing toys to the papers, magazines, drinks and fruit he put out in her dressing room each morning. “She didn’t eat the eggs but every day she would build the little toys whilst being made up.”

On another occasion, he reassured Diana Ross when she was worried she might fall off a platform while filming the Chain Reaction video, making her laugh when he promised to catch her.

Stevie also tells of his days as a drummer with UK Subs, after punk rock had arrived in the 1970s "like a breath of fresh air to an industry which had become so stale and elitist", appearing seven times on Top of the Pops with the band, and tells how he also played drums live with bands including The Damned.

*Rock & Roll Chronicles is available on Amazon, priced £11.99.

'Freddie Mercury was stunning...a total rockstar'

STEVIE Ze Suicide has revealed his jokey exchange with Freddie Mercury when the Queen legend and Spanish opera singer Monserrat Caballé created the Barcelona video at Pinewood studios in 1987.

He says in the book that when Freddie turned up, he told him he was in the dressing room used by Roger Moore when the Bond movies were being made.

He writes: “‘Let’s hope he’s hoovered up, then,’ replied Freddie with his usual wit. Everybody laughs and the ice is broken.

“I poured Freddie’s drink as ordered. Don Perignon champagne and Vladivar vodka mixed. ‘Shaken, not stirred,’ I quipped, as I handed it to him. ‘Oh, don’t be so bloody silly,’ he said.”

Stevie tells how Freddie later sought to meet Monserrat in her room, only to find his way blocked by a big assistant.

“I’ll leave this one to Freddie, I think,” he writes. “And Freddie wafts him to one side like a gigantically muscle-bound fly.

“A brilliant moment as he so elegantly walked in with cigarette, alcohol and enough perfume and hairspray to melt the ozone.

“’Darling,’ I heard him say as they had a big hug.”

He said Freddie’s energy and professionalism were second to none. “He was just stunning, utterly charming and extremely funny. A total rock star...

“Freddie Mercury was in a class of his own.”