Ricky mania grips the capital
by Tim Cooper

Latin superstar Ricky Martin brought Oxford Street to a total standstill as 3,000 screaming female fans fought for a glimpse of the pop chart's latest idol. Police had hoped to keep the rush-hour traffic flowing. But they had clearly underestimated the appeal of the Puerto Rican singer. And, as his motorcade began to roll down the capital's main shopping street, they were forced to seal the street off altogether. During the wait for his arrival, sexy Latin dancers gyrated on podiums to build the atmosphere up to fever pitch as his chart-topping hit Livin' La Vida Loca echoed from speakers outside Virgin Megastore.

Revving it up: Latin dancers gyrated in Oxford Street to herald the arrival of the 27-year-old superstar in a vintage red Corvette But the music was drowned out by screams when Martin, 27, finally arrived in a red vintage Chevrolet Corvette, followed by his enormous entourage of managers, hairdressers and assistants.

The star grinned and waved to his fans before signing autographs. First to get them, after a wait of almost 12 hours, was a group of six cousins who had queued since 6am.

"We're completely crazy but we love him. He has a nice face, a unique voice and a wonderful personality," said student Raya Nahim, 19. She first heard him four years ago and, after importing all his CDs because they were not on sale in Britain, even started a web-site on him. And is he sexy? The girls blushed. "He is very friendly," said Raya, while her cousin Laura tried to put her finger on his appeal: "He is a gentleman."

Although he has sold 15 million albums in America, he was virtually unknown here until his single shot straight to the top of the charts last week. Enrique Morales was born in Puerto Rico, and now lives in Miami, Florida. He joined his first boy band, Menudo, at the age of 12 but then switched to acting, with roles on Broadway and TV.

He only came to wider fame with a sensational appearance at the Grammy awards ceremony earlier this year, where he won the prize for best Latin act.

He repeated his showstopping routine at the Party In The Park here a fortnight ago, by which time his catchy single was rapidly becoming the soundtrack of the summer.

Instrumental to his rapid success was being chosen by Madonna to partner her in the first duet of her career a sexy number called Be Careful which appears on his first English-language album.

In the flesh Martin turns out to be just as charismatic as in the photographs, although his face bears terrible acne scars. "He doesn't like to be shot close up because he's got very bad skin - he makes no bones about it," a record company spokeswoman explains furtively.

Inevitably, he also turns out to be shorter than the six-foot-four claimed by his publicist even in the four-inch heels he was wearing. At least his English - one of four languages he speaks - is perfect, as he thanks his fans for turning up, although his hearing might appear to have been affected by all that blaring salsa music.

Asked by a reporter if he could foresee any clouds on the horizon, he looked baffled before inquiring: "Cows on the horizon?" The word "clouds" is probably not in his vocabulary at the moment.