Eddie’s out-Rob’s Still The One!

Rob Astbury

Eddie McGuire

Two decades ago Eddie McGuire at Channel 10 and Rob Astbury with Channel 9 were arch rivals. Both changed the way television sports news was presented especially the coverage of AFL. 

They won many awards for their tabloid style of breaking football stories on television, once the domain of newspapers. At the height of his career Astbury was reported to be the highest paid television sports reporter but in the mid 1990’s their career paths changed dramatically. Eddie became a house hold name fronting the Football Show and later Who Wants To Be a Millionaire while Astbury turned to real estate on the Gold Coast.

Within five years Astbury established himself as the top agent in Queensland with the Ray White group winning a swag of awards for sales and marketing. In 2003 he shocked colleagues by relocating to Thailand where he was instrumental in turning a small real estate agency into the largest property developer on Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard.

During the next seven years he says he made a lot of money for his employers and himself but during the last three years, with the world economic meltdown, everything turned sour. 

Rob told the Shuttle today:“after making a small fortune I ended up with nothing and had two options. I didn’t like the second option so I decided to return to the Gold Coast to resurrect my life from scratch, literally.”

Eddie McGuire’s glittering career has also hit hard times. 

This week the Nine Network has pulled the pin on the sports quiz show Between the Lines. The series launched three weeks ago and fronted by McGuire struggled for ratings outside the southern metropolis.  It is McGuire's third failure this year, after Million Dollar Drop and This Is Your Life.

Queensland's Gold Coast

Meanwhile, three months after returning to the Gold Coast Astbury is kicking goals again. During the past six weeks he has notched up four sales totalling $4.5 million dollars. 

Renowned for his marketing skills Astbury has commissioned half page advertisements in Melbourne’s main metropolitan newspapers published by the Leader Group. Promoting the Gold Coast’s renowned climate and a real estate market undergoing a major price correction Astbury said, “Now may never be a better time to buy Gold Coast property, escape the southern winter and secure an excellent investment.”

The advertisements brazenly feature a photo of Astbury and a slogan once used by the Channel he worked for, “Rob Astbury... Still the ONE… for experience and impeccable service”. The advertisement encourages buyers to click on his personal website www.robastbury.com that features properties ranging from $600,000 to a 700 square metre Penthouse priced at $5,590,000.

Bringing Home The Bacons

Word comes that 2 professional treasure hunters have arrived in the Thai seaside resort of Pattaya intent on investigating the strange case-as exclusively revealed on the Social Shuttle, of the missing Francis Bacon collection of paintings. Apparently they have been making discreet enquiries around town.

The rumor has been the talk of Pattaya since Bacon's lover John Edwards died in 2003

The Shuttle was an occasional drinking pal with Bacon at the legendary Colony Club in London's Soho during the 1980s.  Bacon was a friendly and unpretentious man for an artist whose paintings brought the greatest ever price for a living artist. Although he lived in comfortable circumstances, they were relatively modest compared to the eventual fortune he was to leave his lover John Edwards when he died in 1992:  approximately 30 million dollars.

In his early years Bacon survived by stealing, dodging rent collectors , working as a domestic servant and as a shop assistant.

Born in Ireland with an English mother and an Australian army officer father, Bacon was a descendant of Sir Francis Bacon and it was only in later life he experienced success and indulged in his passions-drinking, lunching and gambling.

Francis Bacon self portrait

He was also fond of 'rough trade'. Several affairs with young men ended acrimoniously. One whom he  discovered breaking into his apartment one day become his live-in lover. Eventually he was to settle down with Edwards whom he doted on.

Bacon would sell a painting  and lavish money on Edward's East End family and bought them a huge house where he occasionally stayed for weeks on end . He treated Edward's to a Rolls Royce with the number plate BOY 1.

When Edwards inherited Bacon's fortune he moved to Thailand and purchased a magnificent seaside penthouse and a country mansion . In 2003 Edwards died in Bangkok.

According to Bacon's original will all his works of art where to be given to the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin and it's said, most where.  But visitors to Edwards Pattaya apartment said that they observed at least half a dozen Bacon works on the walls. When Edwards died one London newspaper speculated the paintings were copies which seemed a bizarre claim when Bacon gave Edwards anything he asked for.  One tale was that Bacon had actually given the 6 paintings to Edwards but told him not to declare them for tax reasons.

Edwards took on a series of young Thai men as lovers although he had an English lover as well. As Edwards became ill from AIDS it's said that he gave his last Thai lover who he had known for a little over 2 years, the 6 Francis Bacon works to store at the young man's family home  near the Chaing Mai area. When Edwards died the young man was away visiting his family and never returned.

Several people who tried to track down the Thai man have been unsuccessful and the tale of the missing Bacon paintings has become a local legend. It's believed that somewhere in the north of Thailand the 6 paintings may be displayed on the walls of a simple farm house without the occupants realizing the true value of them.

A local interior decorator who also has showrooms in London and owns 2 Bacon paintings is said to be the only one who had met Edward's Thai lover and attempted to trace him but then got cold feet because of the implications over the provenance of the paintings.

In 2008 the Russian oligarch Roman Abrovanich paid nearly $83M for Bacon's 1974 work Triptych.
The previous record for one of his works was $53M. This year Bacon's portrait of his friend and artist Lucien Freud sold for $35M.

Lucien Freud

That puts the estimate of the value of the 6 missing Bacon's (if they exist) at a possible $330M !.

Exclusive : "Real Estate God Father is a “Pussy Cat”

Troubles in the world of tabloid television : 

Those with long memories may remember the sad case of an electrician who was pounced upon by the then Kerry Packer owned station and program  A Current Affair over purported dodgy repairs to a radio in 1999 in a classic foot-in-the-door style confrontation. The electrician, a Vietnamese refugee committed suicide 2 days later fearing his life had been destroyed. Kerry Packer was said to be distraught by the matter and privately settled a substantial sum of money on the hapless man's family.

Fast forward to 2009 and the program finds itself in hot water over the alleged  hiring of a hit man by the former Mayor of Waverly and local Liberal Party heavyweight who wanted a male hustler given a hard time, tortured and made to do all sorts of sexual nasties. 

The station thought they had coup and instead have found themselves in the dock with young reporter Ben Fordham charged with breaching the Listening Devices Act for secretly recording conversations with the former mayor. The mayor's counsel says he is suffering from Parkinson's and has lost the plot. His sight must be suffering as well. Those of us who know Ben are perplexed how anyone could think the pint sized presenter could torture anyone. 

little Ben

But ACA is being rivaled in their efforts to prolong a perpetual silly season with an attack upon a popular Gold Coast realtor on the CH7 show Today Tonight :

Former top Ray White Salesman Rob Astbury has described his former boss Gary Gannon, the man at the centre of a Gold Coast real estate scandal as a “pussy cat”. He says the recent explosive Today Tonight report on the Seven network, that accused Gannon of real estate fraud, is a beat up, grossly misleading and unfair. The program can be seen here if you click on Trouble on millionaire's row.

Gannon (pictured left) was accused of being possibly the most feared real estate agent in Australia. Gannon and his senior sales representative Michael Kollosche, formerly Astbury’s assistant, were accused of price fixing, market manipulation and death threats to protect their patch known as Hedges Avenue, renowned as the most expensive street for real estate in Australia.

Today Tonight revealed complaints from two people involved in house sales with Gannon and Kollosche, a seller Adrian Slinger and a buyer Rod Lambert, who described proceedings as a scene straight out of the movie The God Father.

Astbury with a very large award

Both were disgruntled over dealings involving their multi million dollar beach front properties .Slinger  refused to pay the agents commission. Lambert, a former Gold Coast real estate agent claimed he was misled as regards the sales price of a house he purchased for over ten million dollars.

Astbury, who is a property developer now based in Thailand, received the award in January 2000 as Ray White's top selling agent in Queensland with sales over five years totalling $70 million says,

“No matter what the pressure a buyer or seller are never forced to sign a sales contract.” He continued, “The real estate industry in Australia is controlled by very stringent laws and if an agent breeches the rules then he can forfeit his licence.’ 

“For years Rod Lambert was a very successful Gold Coast real estate agent before turning to property development. He knows the real estate industry and the official avenues that are available if he has a complaint. Why he would turn to the media, which has presented a clearly biased account of proceedings, is very disappointing.”

And another award-with his proud mum & Brian White

In a media career that spanned 16 years Astbury worked for all three commercial television networks winning many awards for excellence as an investigative sports journalist before turning to real estate on the Gold Coast..

In an exclusive interview Astbury told the Social Shuttle, “Today Tonight arguable took a large slice of liberty by including a recorded telephone interview between Gannon and a former employee Jade Grech.”.

Astbury says, “The dramatic conversation between Gannon and Grech was recorded by Grech a year prior to the Today Tonight segment which was supposed to be based on the dispute between Rod Lambert and Adrian Slinger.”

Astbury’s remarks appeared to be verified when Grech’s sister Sheree Neal told the Gold Coast Bulletin she was 'shocked' when she saw her brother Jade telling Australia in a 'fake' European accent he feared for his life after being threatened by Mr Gannon. Mrs Neal said that after watching the program, she believed her brother became involved in the Today Tonight feature story because he was motivated by money.

Gannon made the now notorious phone call over a year ago after learning that Grech, who owed him $8,500, was about to leave Australia in June 2008. In the call he says to Grech:   "Give me my eight and a half grand tomorrow mate or you're dead".

Astbury, who worked for Gannon between 1995 and 2000 said, “The telephone conversation certainly sounds threatening but, taken out of context, it is highly misleading.:

"From first hand experience I know how television current affairs television works and this is a classic example where the limits have been stretched. 

Astbury continued, “When the occasion suited, Gary’s abruptness and course language could be alarming and I have elaborated on this extensively in my autobiography “Twice as Hard”, but make no mistake those who really know the man realized under his gruff exterior he is a very generous caring person who would not harm anyone physically. He really is a Pussy Cat. Kick it and it will bite you and that is Gary Gannon.”

According to Peter Jess, who has been appointed to promote Astbury’s soon to be published autobiography called “Twice as Hard” the book has many revelations about real estate, previously untold AFL stories and especially television which Astbury describes as a despicable industry.

“Rob has not spoken to Gannon, Kollosche or anyone from Ray White but his revelations will open a lot of eyes and certainly rock the real estate and television industries.” says Jess.

exclusive-the mystery of the lost Francis Bacon treasure

Pattaya

 The Thai seaside resort of Pattaya, a 2 hour drive from Bangkok carries a reputation of unbridled cheap sex that is a magnet for tourists. It's a much maligned city by the foreign  tabloid media .

Rarely mentioned is that Pattaya also hosts a huge expatriate community from Europe and the Pacific rim, and the holiday homes of the rich upper classes of Thailand including the much loved Thai royal family who have their own wing in the grand Royal Cliff  Hotel.

Chonburi, the province that hosts Pattaya is one of the fastest growing areas of Thailand and now boasts some of the most beautiful modern architecture in Asia. There is a rapidly  growing vista of luxury hotels and condominiums eagerly snapped up by foreigners for probably a quarter of the price they would pay in their homeland. The area boasts dozens of fashionable restaurants and nightclubs. Amidst the sleaze and easy sex for sale is a glamorous lifestyle and  nightlife that rivals anywhere the planet. Tourists  can spend a month at a 5 star beach side hotel and play golf every day on some of the nicest courses in the world when it may be unaffordable back home.

Bacon & William Burroughs-photo by John Minihan

Into this fascinating scenario steps John Edwards in 1995, the lover of the famous Irish born painter Francis Bacon who during  his lifetime become a painter noted for paintings that sold for higher prices than any other living artist.   The last recorded sale of a Bacon painting was in 2008, Triptych, produced in 1976,which sold for almost $US83M.

 Born in Dublin in 1909 to an English mother and an Australian father who claimed to be a direct descendant of Sir Francis Bacon, the Elizabethan philosopher, Bacon became renowned for his half human-half grotesque portraits, often of friends. Margaret Thatcher once described him as "that man who paints those dreadful pictures". He was one of the characters that peopled the now vanished Bohemian atmosphere of London's Soho  and the legendary drinking clubs of the 1970's like the famous Colony Club or Muriel's as it was known.  Bacon's paintings are often violent works, with the subject distorted or in the process of moving. His subjects are committing violence, having sex, taking drugs, or suffering the effects of a life of excess. Bacon did not belong to any art movement. He developed his own style.

When Bacon died in Spain in 1992 he left his estate valued at almost $30M to his last lover Edwards. His artistic works were left to a variety of institutions including the Tate. Edwards got the fortune and they got the art. But did they get all the art ?

It's been long rumoured that Edwards, a handsome young East Ender when he met Bacon, may have squirreled away up to 8 Bacon originals which at today's prices could be valued at up to $600M. In the fairly close knit gay community of Pattaya stories abound of visitors attending parties at Edward's magnificent sea-side penthouse and country estate and seeing Bacon art works on the walls. A local British resident known to tSS and who was a  friend of Edwards confirms seeing different Bacon paintings at his penthouse during visits.

A French interior designer who has showrooms in Pattaya and Paris and has decorated homes for some of the world's top pop stars and Thai royal family members has 2 Bacon paintings bought whilst the artist was alive at more affordable prices. tSS  met the decorator in 2008 in his showroom packed with French antiques and he confirmed initial negotiations with Edwards to purchase one painting reached a point but he withdrew because although he believed the painting to be genuine, he got cold feet about the legal process. He wished to remain anonymous.

Edwards died in Pattaya in 2006 from cancer. He had purchased homes for each of his extended working class family in Britain and lived lavishly in Thailand. He took a number of Thai male lovers but he had one particular favourite lover for the last five years of his life who was devoted to Edwards. It is not known if Edwards ever sold any of the reputed Bacon paintings he still possessed. It's very unlikely he would have  needed the cash. The money Bacon left him was enough to last the 14 years he survived Bacon.

But the rumour persists in Pattaya and several people have set out to uncover the truth.

The tale goes that Edwards, towards the end of his life entrusted 4 Bacon originals to his Thai lover with instructions that he secure them as far away from Pattaya as possible which he did, in the village he came from in Northern Thailand. Those who have set out on the trail of the missing paintings include at least 2 adventurers, a London art dealer backed by a US syndicate who hired a party of local Thai investigators and members of the Russian mafia who have extensive links in every facet of criminal activity in Thailand.

$500M in wallpaper ?

All efforts appear to have drawn a blank. One of the main problems being that no-one, apart from Edwards knew the real name of his Thai lover. That lover vanished after Edwards death. 

Is there, somewhere in the remote regions of Thailand, a  Thai village where in a simple Thai house on stilts perhaps amongst the mangroves, a Thai family- grandparents, father, mother, children  chatting and gossiping the evening away as is their wont over dinner whilst without their knowledge on their walls sits a fortune valued at nearly 500 million dollars ?