Not so much embarrassing as completely ignorant. You need to know that I have always preferred music from the American Jazz Age, when African American musicians were drifting away from jazz. To give you an idea, look up one of the best exponents of that time, one Big Joe Turner. He it was who sang the original version of: "Shake, Rattle & Roll."
It was the early 1990's, the biggest thing on the music scene was a band called: "Take That!" Or so I later learned. This was at a time when the cell phone was still expensive and the internet was just getting started.
The practice at the time to contact the office was to carry a pager, when it went off you knew that the office wanted to get in touch. Go to a pay phone and call in reversing the charges.
I had been trying to get hold of my salesman all morning, so frustrating when they don't answer the pager. The phone was ringing off the hook, all the staff were taking calls, so I picked up the phone and the operator said: "Gary Barlow is calling you, will you accept the charge?" Gary who?
I shouted above the noise of the office: "Have we got an agency driver out today, name of Gary Barlow?" Silly grins all round. What have I said that's so funny? At that moment I heard the salesman's voice over the operator's. "Paul, yes operator, we will accept the charge. Paul, what's with all that Gary Barlow nonsense?" Paul said, "you really don't know, do you?" "Not a clue," I told him, we conducted our business and that was that.
I didn't have Google back then but I did have a switched on secretary who was my age but she had adult children. She explained that Mr Barlow was a singer with the band Take That and that there was something of difference between him and fellow singer, Robbie Wotsits. All news to me, I couldn't even name The Beatles.
