WHO Issue 11, 2022

Like almost everyone across the country on Saturday, March 5, I woke up to the absolutely shocking news that Shane Warne had suddenly passed away, aged just 52. It’s still almost impossible to believe that a life force like his has been extinguished so prematurely. While of course his cricketing achievements will remain unparalleled, my favourite Warnie memory will always be his 2007 appearance on Kath & Kim when he hilariously played a hopeless Shane Warne impersonator called Wayne! What a good sport. As soon as the tragic news filtered through, the whole WHO team assembled over the weekend to plan a 16-page special tribute to a sporting icon and devoted dad, which starts on page 4. Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this heartbreaking time. Elsewhere in the issue,…

“I LIKED LOUD MUSIC, I SMOKED, I DRANK AND I BOWLED A BIT OF LEG SPIN. I DON’T HAVE ANY REGRETS” With a slick of white zinc on his mouth and peroxide blond hair sticking out from a brand new baggy green, Shane Keith Warne burst onto the Aussie cricket scene in the early 1990s and rapidly became its poster boy. At the time relatively unknown, the showy 22-year-old was feared and revered for his bowling skills with his legendary leg-spin. From Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to Lord’s in London, Warne’s global fan base grew as fast as his wickets fell, with Reuters even crediting him as the man who “made the sport of cricket sexy again”. In the 30 years since, Warne became just as famous for his scandalous exploits as his…

For an ordinary bloke, Shane Warne had some extraordinary friends. From rock’n’roll royalty to actual royalty, Hollywood stars to local legends, media magnates to models – Warnie could charm them all. In the often superficial celebrity world, these friendships can appear to be just for the benefit of the cameras or for the sake of convenient self-promotion. But the laid-back larrikin made genuine connections in the celebrity circles he found himself in as he travelled the world as a cricketer, commentator and A-lister in his own right. Warne always had access to the hottest ticket in town and he made the most of his access to other stars, forming instant and often lifelong bonds. The sincerity of the heartfelt tributes showed they were not just farewelling a fellow celebrity, they were saying…

ANDY LEE “I’m lying in bed having just heard the news that a legend and friend has passed. He opened so many doors for me to the sport I loved.” BRENDAN FEVOLA “Words can’t express how I’m feeling right now. You were a true champion, a loyal friend but most of all an amazing Dad.” DANNII MINOGUE “He was such a light and energy in the room. To me, he was just Shane. I can still hear him say, ‘Hey Disco, how are you?’” EDDIE PERFECT “He was everything you hear about him; smart, funny, warm and generous. His life had everything; success, failure, love, loss, scandal, resurrection.” ELTON JOHN “A tragic day for Australian cricket. Two legends passing is heartbreaking. Shane was a magical bowler and such huge fun.” HUGH JACKMAN “I’m grateful to have known him, and to have…

“You were taken away too soon and life is so cruel”-BROOKE His superstar status meant he belonged to the world but to his three children, Brooke, Jackson, and Summer, Shane Warne was simply their dad. As the reality of their father’s death sinks in, they released heartbreaking statements about how they would go on and live their lives honouring his memory. Jackson, 22, addressed his tribute to “my brother, my best friend, to my Dad”. “I don’t think anything is ever going to fill the void you have left in my heart,” he wrote. “But I know all you ever wanted for me is to be happy, no matter what. You just wanted me to be happy, that’s it. So that’s what I’m going to do, try and be happy. I am going…

It’s a tale as old as time: the rocker hooking up with the supermodel. But unlike those before them, Simon and Yasmin Le Bon are still rock-solid, even after 36 years of marriage – and this is the fabulous pic to prove it! Pictured at the NME Awards in London on March 3, Yasmin, 57, and Duran Duran frontman Simon, 63, looked just as in love as they did all those years ago. As the story goes, at the height of the ’80s band’s fame, Simon saw a 20-year-old Yasmin on the cover of a magazine, and fell instantly in love. Just a year later they were married, and by 24, Yasmin had given birth to the first of their three daughters, Amber, now 32, then Saffron, 30, and Tallulah, 27. So,…