In Screw It, Let’s Do It, a recently published distillation of his personal philosophy, Richard Branson confides that he was not always the irrepressible figure we see today. It was Freddie Laker who told the shy entrepreneur back in 1984: ‘Get out there and use yourself.’ Today, Branson’s faith in this strategy remains unfaltering. Only last week, capitalism’s answer to Norma Desmond presented himself for a relentless succession of close-ups, heedless, it seems, of the possibility that some members of the audience might be ready for something a bit different. ‘There are lots of brands with multi generational appeal,’ he insists, in Screw It, Let’s Do It. Or as Miss Desmond tells us in Sunset Boulevard: ‘The stars are ageless, aren’t they?’
In Branson’s case, certainly, even his most idiotic, most nakedly attention-seeking stunts can still find an enthusiastic and, as he says, multi generational audience. A few days ago, News round, the BBC’s current affairs offering for under-12s, led – ‘First look at tourist spaceship’ – with a story about Branson’s Virgin Galactic business, which intends to sell joyrides in space on the democratic principle of ‘making private space travel available to everyone’. Which, even if palpably untrue (‘everyone’ can’t pay £100,000 for a ticket), is clearly a more upbeat story than, say, Peter Hain letting himself down or Ken Livingstone being nasty to a black man for the sake of multiculturalism. Particularly when you think how many of those experimenting with this extremely risky form of travel are likely to be hedge fund managers. Alas, this method of firing them, six at a time, into the indifferent void appears to be very much at the concept stage. News round reported that: ‘The billionaire behind it, Sir Richard Branson, said test flights would start later this year and trips could start in 2010.’
Leave Your Comments