Clive Davis preps Grammy pre-party

Annual soiree plays host to string of celebs

By LIZ SMITH

DURING THE ASME magazine awards lunch I sat between Tina Brown's husband, Harry Evans and young writer Christopher Buckley. Harry is completing his book "We the People," another U.S. history from this British-born guy who tells me his father could not read or write. Harry has just finished his memoir, to be titled "Paper Chase," coming from Little Brown. He will deal with his American renaissance as a husband and father and his life at the top on the London Times. Brown received the Magazine Editors' Hall of Fame award. ... Chris, the son of Wm. F. Buckley Jr. and the late Patricia Buckley, was front and center with his comic hit novel "Thank You for Smoking" and its subsequent trip to the bigscreen. His next titillating novel will be about a female TV judge from Texas who gets elevated to the Supreme Court and causes a constitutional crisis.

HOTTEST ticket in town: the Encores opener with Christine Ebersole and Kate Burton and Mario Cantone starring in 1970's "Applause," Feb. 7-10 at City Center. Others in the cast: Tom Hewitt, Michael Park, Megan Sikora, Chip Zien, Erin Davie.

ON SATURDAY Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy party has a guest list that includes Josh Groban, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Jessica Simpson, Josh Duhamel, Brett Ratner, Les Moonves, Ben Silverman, HBO's Bill Maher, Larry King, Gladys Knight, John Legend, Kanye West, Eva Longoria Parker, Chaka Kahn, Missy Elliott, Foo Fighters and Velvet Revolver, to name a few. ... Israel is formally apologizing for canceling a 1965 Beatles concert. They have sent letters to Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and to the families of George Harrison and John Lennon saying they want to rectify a historic missed opportunity. In 1965, the government said Israel couldn't afford to host the Beatles but the real story is they feared the group might corrupt the minds of young Israelis.