MERCURY REV - GRASSHOPPER SURPRISED WHEN REV WERE RECOGNISED

MERCURY REV guitarist GRASSHOPPER had no idea his band was gaining a fervent following - until a conversation with legendary rocker DAVID BOWIE convinced him otherwise.

Grasshopper - real name SEAN MACKOWIAK - struggled for years with the HOLES band to little acclaim, but was amazed to discover Bowie's supermodel wife IMAN knew who they were.

He says, "When David Bowie curated the MELTDOWN FESTIVAL in London he invited us to play there.

"Soon after, I saw Iman in a restaurant near here. I was gonna go say hello, but, you know.

"Then we met David, and I mentioned that I'd seen his wife, and he said, 'Yeah, I know, she told me.' I was like, 'Wow, Iman knows who we are!'"