Memories of Tina Turner and a ‘Fishing Expedition’ that Went Awry

May 25, 2023 Alan Feiler, Editor-in-Chief

My only claim to fame — if I even have one — is that I once was rejected by Tina Turner.

Yes, you read that right. The “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” who sadly passed away on Wednesday at the age of 83, once rejected me outright.

It hurt, but that’s OK because I still love Tina. And as she and Bryan Adams sang in an old ‘80s hit, it’s only love and that’s all.

Decades ago — not long after Tina reestablished herself as a music industry powerhouse and became a symbol of perseverance after courageously sharing her story of surviving life with Ike Turner — I was working as an editor for a media company located on North Charles Street.

With the cruel passage of time, my memories are a bit hazy. But as I recall, I was at my desk pounding away at a computer keyboard when one of my younger colleagues came over and breathlessly reported that the great Tina Turner was lunching at Lisa’s, a swanky bistro a couple of doors down.

At first, the sentence didn’t make any sense at all in my head. Why would rock and soul icon Tina Turner, the former Anna Mae Bullock who dazzled the planet with her amazingly soulful voice and long legs and boundless energy and million-watt smile, be noshing on Charles Street?

But then, I vaguely recalled hearing that she performed the night before at a local arena. My colleague told me he learned from buzz on the street that Tina was dining with a bunch of suits who looked liked music industry types.

I reached into my desk drawer, grabbed a pad and camera, and said to my buddy, “OK, let’s go try to interview Tina.”

The youngster gave me a quizzical look. “Wait,” he said, “is Tina Turner Jewish?” (We were working for a Jewish community publication.)

I shot back, “No, she’s a Buddhist. Didn’t you see the movie?! But how often do you get a chance to meet Tina Turner? We’ll improvise and see if we can just ask her a few questions. Maybe she has a Jewish manager or cousin, or something like that.”

With a couple of other co-workers, we hustled over to Lisa’s, where a crowd was already forming under the restaurant’s awning and a long, black limousine was parked in front. I opened the restaurant’s door and saw my friend Vlad, a co-owner of Lisa’s and the maître d’. Vlad glanced at the pad and camera in my hands and didn’t look particularly pleased to see me.

In the distance, I spotted Tina, looking gorgeous and just like she did in all of her videos, seated at a table with a bunch of men in suits, gabbing away. No one else was in the restaurant.

I exchanged greetings with Vlad, who was a young, tall guy with a powerful build. “You can’t go in, man,” he immediately said to me. “Tina doesn’t want anyone bugging her. They rented out the whole restaurant. This is just a business meeting. Sorry.”

I nodded and said I completely understood but politely inquired if he would mind asking Tina if my colleagues and I could just pose a couple of innocuous questions after her meeting and before she fled the scene. Vlad looked a bit irked, but he contemplated the idea for a moment and then nodded.

Watching him walk over to the table, my younger colleague whispered excitedly in my ear, “I can’t believe it — we may actually interview Tina Turner!”

But when I saw Vlad whisper into Tina’s ear and then a quick shake of that famous mane of spiky blond hair, I knew it wasn’t meant to be. I’d been rejected by Tina Turner. Big wheels keep on turnin‘.

Vlad came over and offered a doleful expression. “Sorry, man,” he said. “I tried.”

We went outside and hung out with the gathering crowd standing on the sidewalk outside the restaurant. About 15 or 20 minutes later, Lisa’s doors suddenly burst open and Tina sprinted out to the open door of her limo, waving to all of her fans and blinding us with that dazzling smile.

The rabble of North Charles Street screamed and swooned. The moment was surreal. Then, Tina’s limo sped off into the distance. My colleagues and I hung our heads and went back to work.

A few hours after the international media reported yesterday that Tina passed away, I heard from my former colleague, who now lives in Israel, via Facebook.

“Hey, remember that time we saw Tina Turner in that restaurant on Charles Street?” he asked. “She looked terrific, so put-together. I don’t know what we would’ve asked her if she had agreed to an impromptu interview. Talk about a fishing expedition!”

Lisa’s closed its doors about a year after Tina dropped by. I don’t know what ever happened to Vlad. I haven’t worked on North Charles Street for decades. My younger colleague made aliyah and started a family. Tina eventually retired from the music business, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and moved to Switzerland. Life goes on.

But I’ll always be able to honestly say I was rejected by the great Tina Turner. May her memory always be a blessing to those who know what love’s got to do with it.