Lenny Kravitz is more than just a distant pop memory for some people, and that’s how he gets impromptu smoking bans enforced at trendy bars.

If you were ‘trendy’ what would you do? Hang out at the Kabaret’s Prophecy club in London, we suspect.

Lenny Kravitz (CDs) was there recently too, celebrating the purchase of a new pair of sunglasses. But Kravitz banned all his guests from smoking.

You needn’t think he was going to put up with some idiot blowing half a pack of Royals in his face though. He’s got a voice to protect; a precious voice of sultry soul and sawdust.

"Lenny doesn’t like to make a fuss," a source told The Daily Mirror "but his voice is his livelihood and he’s prepared to go to any lengths to protect it."

Any lengths precludes not acting like a jerk-off, but permits asking the club’s management to stop anyone else from smoking in his presence. Which they did.

"We threw a party for Lenny and at his request the club banned smoking from all areas except the bar," confirmed a spokesman for the Kabaret Prophecy.

Like they’re gonna care anyway. We doubt Lenny and his chums were knocking back J2O’s all night. Their bar tab probably came to more than McFly’s monthly hairdressing bill.

Mariah Carey (CDs) tried this same ’smoking ban’ trick a few weeks back at a different London nightspot.

On this occasion the management wouldn’t budge an inch on their ‘cancer for all’ policy, thus prompting Mariah to kick arse in the best way she knows how: degradation.

Lenny has clout for getting a smoking ban, no argument. But Mariah getting one of her hangers-on to waft the cigarette fumes away from her face, that’s got class.

[story by Chris Laverty]