Testimony in London trial of REM guitarist

LONDON - Witnesses and prosecutors said Monday at his trial in London that REM guitarist Peter Buck overturned a breakfast trolley, mistook a stranger for his wife and scuffled with crew members after getting drunk aboard a trans-Atlantic flight. <br> <br> Prosecution lawyer David Bate says Buck behaved like a ``drunken lout&#39;&#39; aboard the Seattle-to-London flight in April. <br> <br> The 45-year-old Buck denies charges of being drunk on an aircraft, committing assault and damaging British Airways crockery. <br> <br> Bate says Buck, who was traveling to Britain to promote the Athens, Georgia-based band&#39;s album ``Reveal,&#39;&#39; drank about 15 glasses of wine in the first three hours of the flight. <br> <br> As his behavior worsened, Bate says, Buck overturned a breakfast trolley -- sending crockery and food flying -- mistook a hostess trolley for a CD player, claimed a stranger sitting on the plane was his wife and tussled with crew members, covering them with yogurt. <br> <br> Flight attendant Nara Incecchi said she grappled with the drunken guitarist after he announced he was ``going home&#39;&#39; while standing near an exit door. <br> <br> The trial in west London is expected to last eight days.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/3/202783