Pity

Posh 'n Becks trying to set up house in Los Angeles after the British

couple arrived here in 2007 so the soccer superstar could play for the Galaxy. First

the young thirtysomethings were refused wine service at a top restaurant because they carried

no I.D.s on them.

Then there was the fame factor — or loss of it: Recognized on sight everywhere else in

the world, David and Victoria “Posh Spice” Beckham drew only blank

looks from waiters, photographers and others who didn't follow soccer or

the careers of former British pop singers.

Waxing romantic: Becks 'n Posh in
Madame Tussaud's/Getty Images

These are some of the gossip-lite tidbits to emerge from The Beckham Experiment, a new book about the English midfielder written by Sports Illustrated

writer Grant Wahl. While it will probably be greeted with shrugs in L.A.,

the book has predictably set the British press buzzing. The Independent U.K. sums up the Beckhams' crimes:

“[T]hey behaved like typical out-of-towners, failing to establish

themselves in the premier league of local celebrity . . . unwisely choosing to hitch themselves to the falling star

of Tom Cruise.”

America

comes in for a lashing too, as a nation “where drinking laws are enforced with a

draconian zeal that is perhaps only rivalled by the Arab world.” The

Independent dwells on the fact that the “thirsty” Beckhams had to endure their

restaurant meal without a bottle of Pinot Grigio, as though this were some form of waterboarding, and described the incident as a “humiliating experience.”

Beckham

arrived here with a $250 million, five-year contract in hand, though

some of his L.A. Galaxy teammates were lucky to be pulling down $12,900 per year.

What the Galaxy didn't seem to know was how accident prone Beckham is,

and it wasn't long before he became an injury magnet and bench warmer. After spending several million

dollars of his own money, he recently

engineered his escape from his contract to return to European competition, though he is

scheduled to play a little more for L.A. before leaving here for good.

Part

of the Random House flackage preceding the tome's July 14 drop includes

promises that Wahl will detail how Beckham's management company “engineered

a shadow takeover of Galaxy.” Somehow we think that will be as

interesting to Angelenos as a restaurant diner's claim to have left his

I.D. at home.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.