Part 7

On Saturday morning, we set out for Shaftsbury. The guy we were going to see was called Steve Harding. He had faxed Dad with directions to his house, and a list of the bands he already managed with a contact number for each one so we could get feedback. Dad had rung a couple at random, and had received good reports.

When I looked at the list, I saw that one of the bands had been on stage at the steam rally, after our show on Friday and also after we had crashed in the caravan. I wondered if this Steve had seen us there.

When we arrived at the address, we weren’t sure that Dad had got it right. The place was a detached house, on what looked like a couple of acres. Undaunted, he drove in and parked in a circular driveway next to the front door. As we got out, the door opened, and a lady came out to greet us.

“Hello, you must be the Gaynor’s. I’m Mary Harding. Steve is in the house and looking forward to meeting you. We were both at that steam rally on the Friday evening and saw your show. We can’t believe that you aren’t managed, yet. Although, on stage, you looked a lot older than you do now.”

“I’m Lucinda. That look was because we had been outfitted by Molly from the Cleopatra team, and had professional make-up before we got back to the rally site. We had spent a lot of the day in their rehearsal room, learning their routine for Saturday night.”

“My, they certainly did a job on you, then. I thought you all looked eighteen, but Steve now tells me that two of you are only fourteen, you’re amazing entertainers to be so young.”

She led us into the house and through to a room that was similar to the rehearsal room in London, just a bit smaller. It had acoustic tiles and there were microphones and amplifiers scattered around. Next to it was a lounging area, with settees and low tables. There, we met Steve.

“Good morning, I’m Steve. I have to tell you, right away, that I’ve only been managing bands for about five years now. I’m an accountant and have created a good business where I can now employ other accountants and step back to follow my childhood dream. I can’t play an instrument, or sing for toffee, so the only way I can be involved is by being part of the back office. It does get me to a lot of shows, and I’ve met a lot of good artists.”

Dad introduced each of us and we all sat down. Mary asked us if there was anything we wanted to drink and then brought us soft drinks. Once we were comfortable, Steve carried on.

“I have the room next door for rehearsals, but we use a recording studio in Bournemouth. We do have an in-house group who do backing, when needed. They were called ‘The Vagabonds’ but are all over having to perform as a group. They can back you in the studio, as well as help you work on new songs, as they’re all solid musicians. Now, when we saw you, the act was all covers, is that how you want to go on?”

Dad looked at me, so I led with the answer.

“The show that you saw was only the second time we had been on stage. We had put it together to help Angelica realise her dream of singing in public. On the Saturday, and the Sunday, we did new songs from the new Cleopatra album. Two of those were played by the radio station when you rang in. We don’t know how we stand with those, at the moment. They have sent us these two CDs, one being a recording that was done on the Saturday afternoon, and the other with a remix of the four new songs, I think that they have been enhanced to give a live feel. Since then, we have put a totally new song on cassette.”

“Very good. Let’s have a listen to a few tracks and then we can talk seriously.”

He had a CD player and put the disc with the four songs in, pressed play, and we listened to the four of them. I could see Mary with her eyes shut, nodding along to the beat. When the four had finished, she was the first to speak.

“Just on that, alone, Steve, I think we should give these girls our full attention. You could hear them come through clearly behind the Manchester accents of Cleo and her sister. Angelica, you were third voice, am I right?”

“Yes, Mary. Jan and Luce were in the background.”

“In the background, yes, but still easily picked out. When I saw you, on the Friday, I was sure that your backing tape had some of the vocals added, but now I can see that it was just the music, and the vocals were all you. Now, what’s this new song?”

Jan spoke for the first time.

“That was written and originally recorded by Luce. After she played it to us, we went into the hut and re-recorded it with Angelica taking the lead. The guitar on it is Luce, who has only been playing for a few months, so this recording is just the first attempt at doing something of our own.”

Steve put the cassette in his player and started it. We sat and listened to ‘Mirror’, with strangers hearing it for the first time. When it had finished there was silence for the longest time. I wasn’t sure what they had thought of it. Mary nodded and then Steve cleared his throat.

“If that’s what you can turn out, in a hut, with a beginner guitarist, I’m not letting you out of this house without getting you signed up. Now, let’s talk business. My cut is minimal, I don’t really need the money but there are overheads, and no accountant can stand a loss. I will give you time with my band, I’m sure that a day will see this track sound good enough to be in the top ten. We can open up a bank account for each of you, with you twins it will be a trust account until you’re sixteen. Angelica, yours will be a normal account which you can access immediately.”

Mary then spoke for the first time since hearing our tape.

“You will find that we can bring a lot of extra help to the table. We can supply a driver, so that you’re no longer a burden on your parents. We will work with you in regard to maintaining your schooling, we wouldn’t want you dropping out on the lure of the stage. Sometimes that leads to lost chances, later on. Both of our children have gone to university, even when they didn’t want to, at first. They both have well-paid jobs in industry. They had no desire to get into music, even though they both studied piano. Now, I have another question. Who taught you those dance moves, they looked very professional and fitted the music beautifully?”

“That was Lucinda,” said Mum. “She’s very good on her feet. All three have been taking dance lessons and are doing gymnastics. I have been told that they’re very good, but we’re waiting to see what they come up with.”

“You never cease to amaze me, Now, come and have something to eat while Steve and Mister Gaynor go to the office to sign the authority that will allow us to manage your underage ones.”

We were taken into the kitchen, where there were covered plates of sandwiches and glasses for us to pour drinks. We sat down with Mary, and she spoke about some of the other bands that they managed. A few were ones that I had heard of, being popular in the Bournemouth area. The others, she said, were up and coming but getting regular work. Then she told us that this would not be the way we would be going.

“You three have hit songs written all over you. Done properly, you won’t have to do the grind of Saturday night dances to get known. You already have the name that the Cleopatra gig has given you. There are friends of ours who have spoken about you as if you were pop stars already. It will just take a couple of good songs to add to that CD of yours, and there will be promotors who will be beating down our door to get you on stage. That way, you can keep up the schooling.”

When we left, we had signed on the dotted lines, all under our parent’s names as our protectors. We had an appointment for the following Saturday in the recording studio, and Steve would be sending a car for us. He had given us back the CDs but kept the cassette for his studio band to listen to. Mum asked us how we felt about what had happened and we all were happy with it. What Steve had set up would prove whether we had the talent to go further, and getting a start with one of our own songs would be a bonus.

We were home in time for me to ring Sandra and arrange to see her on Sunday. Angelica rang Lucy and Janine to go and meet them. Janet just sat down and started sketching outfits, talking to Mum about the right material to look good but wear well. Mum told her to see if she could design several outfits, because what we wore would depend on where we were performing. Somehow, I think Jan is getting excited.

Sunday morning, I cycled to see Sandra. I was led to the kitchen where her parents were sitting, having a drink. I had only met her father a couple of times, as he was a company representative and away a lot. I told them what had happened yesterday, and Sandra immediately asked her parents if she could come with us to Bournemouth. They discussed it and agreed, as long as I was happy with it. I told them that I wanted Sandra to experience something new, along with me, and that she had a good ear for music with her piano playing.

Back home, that afternoon, I caught up with the homework I had neglected the day before, and sat down in the hut with my guitar, and just played odd things and allowed my brain to wander. That’s when I thought that we should have a signature song, something that told the audience who we were, Out of that, some words came to me, and I wrote them down with gathering excitement.

Our life had stalled, we’d lost our motion.
Our journey done, in sad emotion.
We had no soul; no course was set.
No boiler coal, our wick was wet.
And then you came, into our world.
You lit the flame, our sails unfurled.
Within us, you’re our magic potion.
With your love and your devotion.
You get us moving into action.
We can move, we’re Gaining Traction.

I played around with a tune, as much as I could. This one should be a strong beat, as befitting the group anthem. I then added another two verses, retaining the last four lines as the chorus. Then I set up the tape and the equipment to record it. Jan came in as I was deep in concentration, and just stood there until I finished the song and stopped the tape. She then came over to me and kissed my cheek.

“I know this started out for Angel, but you’re the real star of the family. That was fantastic, something we can open a show with. With the leather skirt look, we will come across as the strong girls that we want to be, I can’t believe that you’re so clever at that, and I’m not. We’re supposed to be identical twins but there are so many differences now.”

“I think it could be that we were always together, before, and hadn’t got out much. There was no need to be different then. Now, we have different outlooks on life. You, dear Janet, are determined to be a girl, and that may be your future. Me, I’m not so sure. I can wear the clothes and act like a girl, but I don’t see myself being like this for ever. One thing I don’t want is to take chemicals to stop my normal development. If I start getting manly, then I’ll go with it. Gaining Traction can carry on with other girls. I’m sure that Lucy and Janine would be happy to finally get on stage, given the chance.”

“What about you and Sandra?”

“We now have a shared life. I think that she was just scared of having guys telling her what to do. We do things together and I think that she wouldn’t be totally upset if she was doing them with me in boy mode. She just needed someone to trust, Brenda wasn’t any help, she couldn’t see what was holding Sandra back. Stay quiet about this song, I want to play it next week and see what strangers think of it.”

That week we did all the usual things at school. By now, there were no bullies trying to pick on us. A gang of girls and a growing gang of boys who were our protectors saw to that. With our after-school gym sessions, we started working on a dance routine to go with ‘Mirror’, while the others continued to perfect their gymnastic moves with streamers. It was good that both Jan and I could hear the song in our heads, so didn’t need any tape to bother the others.

On Saturday, Sandra cycled over to our house for breakfast, and joined us for the trip to Bournemouth. Angelica sat in front, and the three of us were in the back, with Sandra holding my hand. The recording studio was a little out of the town, in an old cinema that had been too small to be redeveloped into a multi-screen theatre. That had been built as part of the new shopping centre. Both Steve and Mary were there, and I introduced Sandra to them.

We were shown into a room that had been built where the stalls used to be. Steve explained that it was ideal to be able to build a studio off the ground, and isolated from external vibrations. There was a control room on one side, with an impressive mixing board and several different recorders. Steve said that they could record on eight, sixteen or thirty-two track tapes.

In the studio, we met the guys who would, hopefully, help us shape our sound. They had all been around a while but greeted us as equals. One stepped forward as we went in.

“So, you’re the girls who Steve has been raving about. I’m Jake. I play rhythm. We have Joe, our lead, and Happy Harry, the bass player. We call him that because there’s nothing that can stop him smiling. Last, but the driving force of any band, we have Greg, our drummer. We’ve listened to the songs that the radio has been playing, and we thought that we were too old to be part of this, but Steve gave us that cassette to mess about with, and we can see that you really are new to this game, even if the songs with Cleopatra are so polished. We’ve played about with your song, so, perhaps we can start off by running through it.”

That said, the band took their places, and we were stood in front of a microphone each. Sandra was taken to the control room to watch on, I could see her smiling at me as we prepared to sing, after putting on headphones. Joe led off with a riff, close to what I had tried, but much more bluesy, then the band started the backing and Jake nodded to Angelica to come in with the vocals. I was standing there, eyes shut, as my composition was given body and soul. Angel was caught up in the mood and sang with more feeling. It was good, right from the start, but, when we finished, I had the feeling that something was missing.

I could see Sandra in an animated discussion with Steve, Mary looking on with a big grin. I leaned towards Jake and asked him if there was a piano, or keyboard, in the studio. He grinned and pointed at something with a cover over it. That’s when Steve brought Sandra into the studio.

“This little firebrand has just told me that what that song needs is more body, with organ. My wife agreed, so, if we can try this out, let’s see what an extra member brings to the sound.”

We pulled the cover off the keyboard and powered it up. Sandra tested the notes until she had the sound she was after. It was connected to the mix, and she was given a set of headphones of her own. This was a different Sandra, but one I had seen bits of as we developed our relationship. This was Sandra, coming out as strong as the next girl.

When we were all ready, and Steve was back in the control room. He gave us the thumbs up, and Joe started with the riff, once more. This time it was better, with a fuller sound. Sandra was brilliant, her piano lessons being evident. The band had smiles as they worked with her through the tune, and the three of us went the extra step, just as we had on stage. When we finished, there was complete silence as we all took it in. I think that the band was more surprised than us. Then there were laughs and smiles all round. I could see Mary and Steve in a clinch, so it must be better than I thought.

We did it twice more, and it got better every time. We did have to wait for Steve to call his sound man to come in and run the board, Then we did it again with the result being professionally mixed and recorded to a sixteen-track tape. We went into a lounging area, for a drink and a rest, as the result was played back to us over some speakers. I was sitting on a settee, with Sandra snuggled close as she took in the music.

“You sure showed us old guys how to make music, young lady,” Smiled Happy. “That was the best I’ve felt with a totally new song for a long time. Now, young Lucinda, what else have you got up your sleeve?”

I pulled the cassette out of my bag.

“This is something that came to me, last week. Only Jan has heard it, so far. I’m OK with the words, but I think that the tune has to be stronger. I’m sorry, but this is even more raw than the cassette you heard before.”

“Never you mind, Luce,” Steve said as he took it from me. “I’m sure that whatever you’ve come up with can take a lot of improving, without losing its original concept.”

He took it through to the control room, and when he came back, we all listened to my attempt at a Traction anthem. I was, and I admit it, a little ashamed at this one. It didn’t have the drive I had wanted. Joe looked at me, with a kind look.

“Lucinda - don’t be unhappy with this. It has the bones of a great song; the lyrics are good. What you were aiming at was something you are far too young to have heard. What that song needs is a splash of Bo’s Barbershop.”

Jake laughed.

“Spot on, there. It just needs a shave and a haircut – two bits.”

Happy took pity on us and explained it.

“Kids, a long time ago, back in the late fifties, there was a great guitarist and blues singer called Bo Diddley. He was born in the late twenties, and, if I’m not mistaken, is still alive. He was part of the original movement from country music to rock and roll, and he has influenced a lot of artists from Elvis to the Beatles. He had a signature tune which was hinged on the words “Hey, Bo Diddley” and he had a beat which he called ‘shave and a haircut – two bits’. It is simple – ‘boom tiddy boom-boom – boom-boom’. It can be played around with, say, ‘Boom tiddy boom-boom – tiddy boom-boom’. Your words fit it well, with a little improvisation. When we play it, I think that you’ll realise that it was what you were thinking of. It could, however, mark you out as a blues outfit, rather than a pop group.”

Joe then added. “The beat was used by Buddy Holly on ‘Not Fade away’, which the Rolling Stones covered on their first album, then also used on their song ‘Mona’. If you don’t know Buddy Holly, it’s one of his hits that’s the theme of the TV show ‘Heartbeat’.”

Steve took my copy of the words and went off to photocopy them for everyone to have. We went back in the studio with them and took our places. Angelica smiled at me; I think she was having fun. First, we let the band play us the tune, which I was happy with, as it fitted my idea for the song. I just had not heard that particular riff before.

The first run through was pretty dire, as was the second. It was only when we got the lilt of the words right with the beat that it started to come together. Maybe the band was slightly altering the beat to suit the words. Whatever was happening, it was starting to come together as a recognisable song. After about an hour, we were ready, from the smiles on the faces in the control room, to put it onto tape. By the time we were sitting in the lounge area, I was so flat I knew I couldn’t do any more.

When we listened to the recording, I could hardly believe that this was what I had walked in with. It was bouncy, it was catchy, and it was good. Jan and I had added in ‘Gaining Traction’ after the first chorus, which filled some of the bits in between the lines. Joe had done wonders with his lead work, and it sounded like something you might hear on a classic rock station. Before we left, the sound man had made a CD for each of us, with just the two final tracks on. That was certainly something our folks would be hearing, tonight.

Sandra and I had a hug and a kiss, as Steve and Mary were going to take her home, via their house so that he could pick up a contract, similar to ours, which would need her parent’s names on before she could be signed up. There was no discussion on this, all three of us knew that ‘Gaining Traction’ was destined to be a four-piece. On the way home, I went off to sleep.

I woke up, about halfway home, and found that I wasn’t the only one. Jan was leaning on me and quietly snoring. I asked our driver where we were, and he said that we were now on the road to Crewkerne. I asked him if he could stop there, as I would need to use the toilets. He smiled at me, in the mirror, and said that he understood, with the work that we had put in today. I asked him if he had heard anything of what we had been doing and he told me that he had been doing some admin work in the office, with a feed from the studio to a speaker there.

“You girls are going to be stars, no doubt about it. I believe that you wrote both of those songs. That alone is going to mark you out as an outstanding talent.”

“I don’t feel that talented at the moment, I’m bushed.”

“And so you should be, you kept going when others would have given up. I’ve heard other bands in that studio who don’t have one-tenth of the commitment that you have. The guys in the band haven’t had so much fun in ages. It made them work a bit harder than usual and I think that you may have four die-hard fans there.”

We stopped at place in Crewkerne, and the others woke up as I got out. We all used the toilets and splashed our faces, before checking our lipstick. I was about to leave, as Angelica was re-doing her lips. A thought struck me.

“I just thought of something. If Sandra is allowed to join us, Mum will have to organise more tee shirts. The originals could become collectors’ items.”

She had to wipe her chin and start again, as I giggled and left to go back to the car.

Marianne Gregory © 2024