Top tipsy artist, collectively known as The Whores of Babylon, spontaneously paddled in Marc Quinn’s Rainbow art piece at Cammell Laird at its launching bash. Accidentally dislodging a pipe, Whore Angelina Faulkes gashed her hand on a broken champagne glass. ‘We’d had an opening at the Free Market, and were really stressed and had a few too many tipples,’ said Whore Gaynor Sweeney.
Free-flowing champagne and a lavish banquet had merrymakers cheering the Whores of Babylon on but declining invitations to join them.

Amid gasps of concern, Faulks cut her hand on her glass as she toppled – bottom first, and arms flailing – after kicking a hidden water pipe, and so stopping the rainbow.

Holly Johnson threatened to have them chucked out for ‘harassing’ the caterers for first aid.

Marc Quinn could not, unfortunately, find it in himself to get uptight. ‘They were running around having fun, but I was disappointed they didn’t get their clothes off.’

Saucy Gaynor added, ‘I woke up the next morning going ‘Oh My God’ and getting flashbacks. It makes me squirm that people think it was a publicity stunt. We enjoyed it. The water was really cold, probably what we needed and it woke us up.’

The rainbow, which is created from an enormous spray of special-sized water droplets with adjusted lights shone on to them, was back to its resplendent form in minutes.

‘I’m really pleased,’ says the artist of his creation. ‘If something’s really good, it tells you what it is. This is more delicate and subtle than I imagined. It’s not solid, it reminds you what a rainbow is.’