Bret Michaels between a bus and the Hard Rock

It takes all kinds, as they say, and most of them were at the Hard Rock Cafe Tuesday, crowding the front of the stage to get a glimpse of Poison singer Bret Michaels.
There was a diabetic goth girl who told us she prostitutes herself to pay her medical bills, a suburban mom who was hoping Bret would sign her breast with a Sharpie, a trio of tattooed young women whose favorite TV show is "Rock of Love," and Ann Durkin, a waitress with curly locks like Dee Snider who said she never misses a chance to meet Michaels, even if it means driving from Worcester.
"He's so genuine," said Durkin, dressed in tight white jeans and a black sleeveless T-shirt. "I met him for the first time in '88. I've been in love with him ever since."
Michaels, whose band played earlier in the night at the Comcast Center, didn't perform at the Hard Rock. In fact, it looked for awhile like he might not even get off the bus that was idling outside the club. This was just a meet-and-greet, an opportunity for admirers to have their picture taken with the bandana-wearing rocker every woman - or at least the bottle blondes on "Rock of Love" - wants. And a few minutes with Michaels weren't cheap. Fans paid $30 to get in the door, and another $5 for a black-and-white beefcake photo that Bret signed.
"He's even more beautiful in person," said Kathy Collins, a nurse from Winchester. "He said to me, 'Thanks for coming' and then he told me I looked beautiful."
Busy as he was signing bosoms and backsides, Michaels didn't have time to talk to us. But it was clear that the singer, accompanied as always by his burly bodyguard Big John, has mostly recovered from his mishap at the Tony Awards, when a prop dropped from the rafters and hit him on the head, breaking his nose.
"So many celebrities are mean and nasty," said Joel Scott, who drove from Connectict to meet his rock n' roll hero. "But not Bret. He doesn't rip you off."
Michaels certainly didn't cheat his fans, hanging around the Hard Rock until 1:45 a.m. Women wanting a little extra attention were likely disappointed when Michaels got back on his tour bus - alone - and promptly fell asleep. But every thorn has a rose: Word is Big John arranged to have a few lucky ladies meet him back at the hotel.

Caption: Bret Michaels of Poison geeting fans at the Hard Rock Cafe, including Melissa Rizzo. (ARAM BOGHOSIAN FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE)

Here's Bret at the Tonys: