Chapter 6

That Saturday afternoon, Willow put the Yamaha in its box, added the support frame and her old seat, and Ashley carried the keyboard to the club, where they stored it in the stage storage area, telling Malcolm that it was on loan.

Back at the house, Willow spent the rest of the day setting up the two-tier support frame and settling the Nord into the lower tier. It took a bit of fiddling with the brackets to have the Casio safely housed, then she went about plugging in the cables. The output from the Casio effectively silenced the speaker, and her headphones silenced the speaker on the Nord, but the output was able to be sent to the computer through the mixing box.

That evening, she played with the new software, recording multiple tracks with different settings. She was in seventh heaven. She was already thinking that once she had learned about drum programming, there must be a unit that she could add to lay down a drum track.

Sunday morning, she stood with her family to sing the hymns while Gina played. Afterwards, they hugged before going over to the club for a hot drink. This was something that Ashley had started and was becoming quite a popular talkfest after the service. The hot drinks were free, but there were remains of last night’s cakes or bags of crisps to buy.

Gina and Willow had a long discussion about the new software and the use that they could make out of it. Willow was planning to record her own songs using it. With a microphone, she could add vocals, violin and clarinet, as well as the sounds she could generate with the Nord.

On Sunday afternoon, the two friends set up the Yamaha next to the piano and worked on the Carpenters songs, with Willow on the piano and singing, while Gina found string or brass accompaniment. The few locals having a drink enjoyed the entertainment. By the time they went home, they had sorted out fifteen songs that would just need Jacob and Brent to add their parts to.

That evening, Willow recorded her own three songs with just the piano and vocal to start with. It didn’t take her long to realise that she would need a good solid-state drive to store the songs on, or else she would overload the drive in the laptop.

Monday morning, she asked Wendy if she could drop into an electrical store and get one for her, brand wasn’t a problem, just the need for two terabyte or greater. The last week of the half-term was mainly going over what had been covered earlier, with them having more time in the library to make photocopies of charts and hand-outs.

Monday evening, she went to the club and set up for the quartet. Gina arrived and Racheal came in with Jacob and his Fender. Five minutes later, Brent arrived with his father, and they all helped carry the pared-down drum kit in and set it up. Brent had decided that the music would need more brushwork and a light touch. By the time that Brent left, they had worked through almost an hour of Carpenters songs, with the few locals entertained, as well as some of the other band members. Gina and Brent spent a few minutes in the storeroom, saying that they were checking on something. They came back with Gina looking a bit flustered. Willow and Jacob just hugged and kissed before he got in the car, with Racheal looking on with a smile.

Tuesday was Gina playing for chapel, and the orchestra session was a straight-forward playing of a few of the pieces that they had been rehearsing. Willow took her clarinet home with her that night. Wednesday was a normal day, and Willow had the organ to play when her choir were singing, giving her a better range to go with the choral piece, which the group was now singing well. Willow decided that they would start on something else next week.

Thursday, the after-school session had the band running through some of the more complicated pieces for an hour, then the rest sat back as the quartet demonstrated what they had achieved, with Jacob playing his own Fender for this. The others were full of praise for the set.

On Friday, the band members were all allowed time in the afternoon to set up in the theatre and get a sound check in. Willow spoke to the guys manning the lighting and organised for the lights to be lowered when she announced the last set. Wendy had asked for an early finish and picked them up. They went home to have a shower and change for the show. Gina and Willow had matching long dresses in a midnight blue, purchased on Saturday, which added a year or two to their apparent age, especially with make-up.

Ashley drove them in, picking up Jacob on the way. It was a squeeze in the back seat, but Jacob and Willow were happy with it.

The band was fed in the lunchroom before the show, with the audience arriving, getting seated and ordering drinks. The meals were being served when the band appeared on stage and got themselves ready. Willow made the welcoming announcement and then they were playing gentle eating music.

As the meals were finished and couples began dancing, they moved into standards for a while, then into more modern music for the teenagers to have fun. They had a short break as coffee and cheese was served, then took it to before ten with dancing and sing-along songs that had gone down well at the club.

Willow nodded to the others, who left the stage, and she made her announcement as the house lights dimmed.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, we will finish our performance with a set of songs that only need the four of us. We will be playing as a quartet tomorrow night at the Stoneleigh Community Club, should any of you enjoy an evening of singing drinking songs. We go by the name of Summer Rose, and this segment is something I call ‘Coventry Carpentry’. Please sing along if you know the words.”

As she said the last words, she was starting to play the introduction to ‘Close to You’, which had her and Jacob singing, with him having changed to his Fender. They played to nearly eleven, with a lot of couples dancing close together and a good number singing along. Willow announced that they we about to play the last song and thanked everyone for coming, which got some applause and cheering. Then they sung ‘We’ve only Just begun’. When the last notes died, there was a lot of applause and cheers, and the audience started to leave.

The quartet had a group hug, then the two couples hugged before they left the stage. The rest of the band, who had taken the opportunity to dance with their boyfriends and girlfriends, came over and they all had a big group hug. The Head came by to tell them that they were all magnificent and that they would be doing it again, during the next term, for all those who had wanted to come but weren’t able to be fitted in.

The film crews were packing up, with big smiles on their faces, and the sound guys were putting their equipment away. They would spend a while to collect up all the microphones they had used and remove all the cabling. Ashley and Wendy came and hugged all and sundry, took the quartet aside and then Ashley took a card out of his pocket.

“Guys, Bruce Miller was here tonight, and while you were doing the final set, he brought Marcus Waddington to our table. Marcus will be in touch tomorrow with a day while you’re on holiday, to record you with the Carpenters songs. He will make a CD of them and then see what the radio stations think, without telling them how old you all are. If the answers are positive, he’ll get enough CDs to sell on-line. There’s no way you’ll be taking the music to any other stages, but who knows what will occur. This last week has been crazy enough for me to believe that you’ll be in the charts, forty years after the originals.”

As the others hi-fived, he got serious.

“Bruce is talking to his friend who could be managing Rick and the Hikers. He will be in touch with an appointment. Brent, if you want to remain part of this, then you had better tell your parents. If they bring you to the sing-along tomorrow evening, then we can sit and discuss the implications. We were given a letter from the big music shop in Birmingham on Saturday. They have offered support and sponsorship for Summer Rose members. If you want to leave your drums at the club, I’ll buy a set for you to use at home. We can take it out of your earnings with the CD.”

“Thank you, Mister Rose. That would be fantastic. Here comes Dad to take me home. By that smile on his face, I think that he’ll be happy to let me record. Gina has my number if you need to get in touch. I’ll say goodnight and thank you for the opportunity to be part of this tonight. I’ve never experienced anything like it before.”

He gave his band members a final hug before going off with his smiling parents. Racheal had brought Jacob’s parents, and he went home with them. Maisie was there, ready to leave with Gina. Which left just Willow and her parents to go out to the car and go home. On the way, Willow was tired but awake enough to speak.

“That was kind of you, Dad, offering to buy Brent a kit.”

“I could see that it wouldn’t work without him, love. The heat that you and Jacob generated on stage was mirrored by the smiles that he and Gina were exchanging. To put it into musical terms, the four of you gave off the same vibes as ABBA.”

“And look what happened to their relationships.”

“That may be so, but they had fun and made a lot of money along the way. You have to remember that they started out a lot older than you and had all been in other relationships before.”

“OK, I’ll give you that point. Did you get some dancing in?”

“We did, and so did a lot of others. What you played was perfect for the occasion, and that final set was inspirational. You even gave out the name of the quartet and the title of the CD. As far as Marcus Waddington was concerned, you’ve done most of his work for him. He will fund the recording, and you’ll only start earning when the sales exceed the costs. He was talking to the Head as well, and I believe that she is getting ready to authorise time in the studio for the orchestra. I expect that it will be during your next holidays.”

There was silence from the back and Wendy glanced behind her. She saw that Willow was asleep. She whispered to her husband.

“You’ll have to repeat that last lot, darling. Our talented daughter has reached the edge of the cliff again.”

When they got home, Ashley carried Willow upstairs and laid her on the bed, noting, for the first time, the set up with the keyboards and computer. He looked at the notes on the desk and realised that she was laying down her own songs. He smiled as he went to the bedroom to undress. Wendy was already in her nightie and was cleaning off her make-up.

“Have we pushed her too far?”

“No, darling. She is gaining stamina with every passing performance. She just spent nearly four hours on stage entertaining about fourteen hundred people of all ages. That’s enough to take it out of anyone. Get into bed and I’ll sort her out. No tiger tonight, please, just slow and easy when I come back.”

Wendy roused her daughter enough to get her undressed and cleansed, then into her nightie and into bed.

“Goodnight, sweetheart.”

“Goodnight, Mum. I love you.”

“I love you too, my darling.”

They let her sleep in on Saturday. When Willow woke up, she was a little disorientated until she started to remember what had happened the previous evening. Then she thought about the club tonight, and smiled when she realised that Jacob would be with her for the evening. She wondered how much Gina’s attachment to Brent would change their own relationship.

When she had been to the bathroom, she put a gown on and went downstairs. Both her parents were only just finishing their own breakfasts, having stayed awake a bit longer last night.

“Good morning, dear. How are you feeling today?”

“Good, I think. Be better with some tea and toast.”

As she was eating, Ashley asked her how much she heard of the conversation in the car.

“I know that I asked you if did some dancing, but then everything went hazy.”

“I told you that Marcus Waddington was going to organise a studio this week, so that you can record the ‘Coventry Carpentry’ album. He’ll see if it flies with the radio stations. I expect that he’ll want the ‘We’ve only just Begun’ track as the lead single. We also need to get in touch with that manager that Bruce recommended. I spoke to Maisie last night, and she’s happy to ferry you around this week if needed.”

“That’s good, Dad. I need to go over to the church as it’s my turn tomorrow. Then, I’ll just relax until it’s time to head for the club. Talking about the Head, did I imagine you saying something about an orchestra recording session?”

“Yes. I said that I thought she was seriously considering it, possibly sometime in the next holidays. She was really knocked out by what you guys did last night.”

“So was I, Dad. It worked like a dream, didn’t it? The rest of the band are all good. It will be hard to keep them together.”

“As long as you keep Summer Rose as the main core, I’m certain that there’ll always be some wanting to join you on stage.”

Willow rugged up and walked over to the church. The Reverend and Edie were sweeping and polishing inside.

“Good morning, young Willow. That was a cracking show last night. You never cease to amaze with the things you come up with. We need to talk about tomorrow. The Bishop will be with us again, but it’s a casual service, with us both in suits. There will be four hymns and then there will be a presentation. Your friend Rick will be joining us with the rest of the band. It’s been arranged for him to give the church a bogus cheque for fifty thousand pounds, with Bruce Miller and others from the press on hand. Of course, the actual money is coming in electronically, so it’s for promotional reasons only. The band gets home-town publicity, the Bishop gets his face in the papers, and we get to have the roof repaired when the weather improves. I reckon it’s a result all round.”

“That’s great, Reverend. It all seems like a dream, after all, I was just here for part of an evening with them.”

“Sometimes that all it takes, my child. Now, I hear that the village choir is moving on to choral pieces.”

“Yes. We have got one item ready for public attention, and I’m going to start them on something a little harder this week, with different voices carrying different lines, rather than all together.”

“And what about you, Willow? That show must have taken it out of you, with another one tonight. Are you more able to last that time in the spotlight.”

“I went to sleep on the way home, last night. In the middle of Dad telling me that Marcus Waddington is going to get us into a recording studio this week. He’ll be getting in touch soon.”

“You make sure that you get as much sleep as you can. A growing girl can’t get enough, so they say.”

Willow looked at the hymns, saw that they were all bright and cheery, and went up to the organ to play them all. When she was happy with them, she went back down and helped Edie set out hymn books and tidy up the information table. She then went home. As she walked in the front door, her mother called out to her.

“Willow, there was a call for you from the clinic. They said that it was time for a review of your case. I told them that you’ll be in on Monday and your father will take you in, then bring you home in his lunch hour. I’ll make him some sandwiches that he can eat at his desk.”

“Thanks, Mum. It is getting towards three months since the last time, and I’m a bit itchy under the boobs. I’ve just been talking to the Reverend. We’ll have the Bishop with us tomorrow, and there’ll be a presentation of a cheque from Rick and the band. There’ll be press there, as well as Bruce Miller.”

“We had better look good then, won’t we?”

“It’s not about me, Mum. It’s between the band and the church.”

“And you don’t think that you won’t be dragged into the photos? You’re the one that played the organ, so we’ll need to be up early enough to glam up.”

Willow was struck with a thought and went up to her room to write some lyrics about a girl who was caught in a whirlwind of events that seemed to spiral out of her control. She was deep in trying to get a suitable tune when Gina knocked on her door.

“Hello, friend. Hiding away from the world in your cocoon of creativity, are we?”

“Not hiding, friend. I was just writing another song but can’t figure out how to finish it. How are you after last night?”

“I’m good, really. It was lovely when we played with just the four of us.”

“My Dad told me that we reminded him of ABBA, you know, the two couples bit.”

“Now that’s funny. Mum said the same thing on the way home. I hope that the Head won’t give us detention for being too lovey on stage.”

“I think the Head is all for it if we sell the merchandise. It will be good to see what the cameramen caught. That will take a couple of weeks before we see that. I was told that we’ll be in a recording studio sometime this week, laying down a ‘Coventry Carpentry’ album. That will be crazy.”

“Why crazy? You heard the singing last night. An awful lot of people know the words as that band were huge in the seventies. I think that the world is crying out for some soft rock instead of all this violent rapping. We may just be at the head of the game.”

“I suppose it depends on how it’s put out there. When we see Marcus, it might be good to mention the school had filmed our show. Then he can put one of the tracks out as a single on YouTube, with a link to buy either a download album, or the real thing. The school may even be able to tag along with that set as a live recording on DVD. A lot hangs on what can or can’t be done. That’s for brighter minds than mine to sort out. Are you ready for tonight?”

“Yes. Are we going with what we did at the last sing-along?”

“I think that we might add some Carpenters, seeing that we’ll be performing as a four-piece for the first time.”

“I didn’t think of that! We could smooch our boys in our breaks, that will be ten minutes every ten minutes.”

“You wish!”

“You bet. Now show me more of what this new machine can do that the old one couldn’t.”

They spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the Nord, with Willow learning more about it as they tried all the knobs and sliders. They only stopped for a bite to eat and were surprised when Wendy called out that it was time to start getting ready for the show. Willow showed Gina the dress she intended to wear before they parted.

Ashley joined them as they walked to the club. Willow brought him up to date on the church service in the morning. At the club, they were joined by Jacob, who had his parents with him this time. A few minutes later, Brent arrived with both his parents, able to come in a car without having to transport drums.

Even before the quartet were given a meal, it became apparent that the front of the club wasn’t going to fit everyone in, so the band and the parents helped set out tables in the back room. Wendy went into the kitchen with Edie, who was on her phone to the casuals who helped out at the dances. The customers were helping pull out tables and chairs and the band started moving the instruments. Gina and Maisie went home to bring her Yamaha back as the upright was too heavy to move.

Willow and Jacob pulled out the PA system, two of the Marshalls and set everything up. Gina and Willow would go through one, with Jacob setting the other to suit himself. It seemed like bedlam for a while, but they were able to have a quick snack before going to the back room and up on the stage, to see a good hundred and fifty eager diners waiting to be fed and to listen.

Willow looked towards the back of the room, and Ashley gave her a thumbs up. She spoke into her microphone.

“Welcome to the Stoneleigh Community Club and our regular sing-along. Tonight is so far from our usual audience, and we apologise, in advance, if the food is a little slow. We normally only cater for about fifty on these evenings. We’re Summer Rose, and we’ll start the evening with easy-going tunes to help you drink and digest. Please don’t sing with your mouths full.”

They looked at each other, smiling, and were into the same set that they had started last night with, but pared down to the four of them. It became apparent to the diners that these four musicians really enjoyed being together and entertaining. As the evening moved on, they went to the sing-along pieces that all the locals loved, and that all the new visitors learned to love.

At one point, later in the evening, the house lights went out, plunging them all into darkness. Some wag called out ‘Don’t put the lights out father, wait till we get in bed’. Willow suddenly remembered something in the music classes about the history of pop. It had been said that there was a dirty wartime ditty that used the tune of Colonel Bogey. She repeated the notes of what the wag had said on her keyboard and then went on with the tune. By the time the lights were on again, the crowd were laughing fit to bust, and the teenagers had learned the words. Willow had to grin to herself. The last line tended to resonate with her.

Normally, the sing-alongs didn’t have dancing, as the front rooms had no dance floor. Here, they were able to utilise all the space. The band took a short break, and she found Malcolm, asking if he could get the mirror ball and coloured spotlights going when they returned to the stage. When they were ready again, she spoke into her microphone.

“Ladies and Gentlemen. Being back in this room allows us to play you dancing music. Feel free to take your loved one and circulate. We’ll end the evening with songs that you can dance to, as well as sing along to.”

They started playing the standards for dancing, and the floor filled with couples as Malcolm turned the house lights down and started the mirror ball going. For the band, it was an amazing sight in the flashing-coloured lights.

They ended the evening with the Carpenters set. When they ended, there was cheers and applause. Many of the crowd got ready to leave, some ordered more drinks, and others came over to congratulate the band on a great evening of fun and laughter. Malcolm came over with four envelopes for the band, which he handed out with heartfelt thanks.

Jacob unplugged his Fender, and Gina got her keyboard ready to take home. A man came over to the front of the stage and spoke to Willow.

“Miss Rose, Rick Saxon told me that you were good, but that didn’t prepare me for what I’ve seen tonight.”

He pulled out a card and gave it to her.

“I’m Peter Hodgson and I’m going to be the new manager of the Hikers. I only came this way to make sure I’d find the church in the morning, but the crowds coming in here drew my interest. I believe that I need to arrange a talk with your father. If he’s at the church, tomorrow, I’ll bring the paperwork and save you a trip into Coventry.”

“He’s here, tonight, Mister Hodgson. He is on the board of the club. I’ll take you to him, I think he’ll be in the front bar, pulling last orders.”

Marianne Gregory © 2025

For those of you not old enough to know dirty, wartime ditties, the one mentioned has four lines -
Hitler, he only had one ball,
Goering, he had two – very small,
Himmler was very similar,
But poor old Goebbels had no balls at all.