Positively Patsy Part 7

On the Wednesday evening there was a party, hosted by Annette and Maxine L’Estrange so, of course, all the girls had to look their best. We all were taken to the new building which was now fully equipped for the production of high fashion and cosmetics. The group now included Peggy, Marion, Libby and Janet as well as Angela and Mary. We were all stripped, provided with underwear, new make-up, shoes and evening dresses to die for.

Of course, there was a price to pay and, as we were ready, we were paraded in front of a green screen while Alexi and his team took pictures. I gathered that these would eventually form the basis for a special catalogue. We went straight from here to the party venue which was filled with more of the well-heeled but more genteel members of high society as befitting of Maxine’s customer base.

One interesting facet of the evening was that there were plenty of copies of the spring fashion catalogue as well as copies of the summer one; all with pictures from our photo shoot earlier in the year. We were posed with customers for pictures and our dresses were commented on. All we could say was to ask Maxine as we had only been put into them today. One of the guests, a well-known billionaire, commented to me on how the sisters had turned the fashion business on its head by using current pop stars as models.

The shows went well and the Monday interviews were again split into two camps, the women’s shows wanting to talk about the fashion and the men wanting to talk about the tour. On Tuesday we flew the short hop to Montreal for another three-night, sell-out, gig and then it was across the water to our first European show, a two night gig in Madrid. As Europe was the fan base of Grog and his band, we were shifted a bit sideways but it was a relief not to be hounded by the press for a while.

After the two shows where we wore our Spanish inspired outfits, it was a different matter, with the women interviewers picking up on our modelling. Tuesday we flew to Paris for our first four day sell-out gig with shows Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The female press had, by now, picked up the fashion side of our show and was running with it. This threatened to burst when we played the Paris shows in our evening dresses from the New York Party with the guys in suits. Even Marion, Janet and Libby wore theirs which looked somewhat strange against their bands metal gear.

I knew that Maxine had her tongue firmly in her cheek when she put these in for us. It was a smack on the nose to the Paris designers and it certainly gained us column inches in the local and European press. The next gig was three nights in Rome, another fashion city and the bubble was carried along with us. There we were shown the Ferrari factory and we girls were photographed in, or draped over, various cars. I swear that some were so low I could use them as bar stools.

Our next two European cities were heavy metal heaven, Berlin and Oslo. The four nights in Berlin was like standing in front of a barbarian army with more chains, studs and tattoos I have ever seen. They loved ‘Primal Purge’ and really loved the jamming finale, which we extended to over a half an hour, just for them. After Oslo it was over to the UK and the final section, starting with Glasgow for two nights and then on to Liverpool for three, Birmingham for three and Bristol for three before the final show, four nights in London.

This was to be Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We were now in the first week of October, having been on the road since the end of April. I was getting ready to stop but part of me didn’t want it to. I spoke about it to the rest of the band and they all felt the same. It would, however, be nice to spend some nights in my own bed, for a change. We had given Grog the CD with the final finale and had managed to get a few hours in a quiet room with him to run through it. Before the London shows he announced that we wanted us to follow the Seattle example and not have an interval. We were to do a few of our additions and they would join us for ‘Dancefloor, do a few extras themselves and get us back for ‘Pillsplitter’.

This went well on the four evenings and the crowd was very happy, while the press was full of our ‘fabulous show’. At the end of their set on the last show, we were called back on to the stage and Jake had the special Fender strapped on. We did ‘Pillsplitter’ and I saw that Grog was a bit emotional when Jake let loose on his old guitar. At the end the crowd went wild as usual and Grog unstrapped his guitar and gave it to Kyle to hold and went out to the front of the stage and held his hands up for quiet. When he got it he said “Friends, fans and music lovers; it has come to the end of our farewell tour.”

There was a loud groan at this. “I have asked Patsy, here, to write me a little song to say how much I love you all and I ask that you allow us to sing it for you. It is not as loud as the songs you have just heard but the message is clear.” I started with the opening chords and he started singing “Don’t be sad, when you see me walk away”. At the first verse about his early career in rock and roll he smiled when Jake nailed the killer riff and the crowd roared. In the second verse about his time playing blues the crowd roared again when Jake replicated a very famous passage. For the third verse I had written about his supergroup days and, again, there was a killer riff that brought the expected response. The fourth was about his time back in rock and roll when he did some solo records. There were many to choose from here but we had picked the most famous and the riff nearly brought the hose down. The fifth was about the heavy metal and my turn to play the riff. Of course, we were playing quieter so we had got the audio to turn me up for the riff, which I thought sounded just like the real thing.

After this he sang out the final chorus while Janet and Libby came to stand on each side of him. As he sang the last line “As a heavy metal icon – I’ll see you in Hell!!” they guided him to the back of the stage where he turned and waved to the audience before disappearing down the stairs. The crowd went wild, I looked at his band who were standing there gobsmacked. We sang the chorus line again and played the final chord as the lights went out. It took nearly half an hour for the crowd to settle down enough to start leaving. We were all completely drained with the emotion. Kyle came over to Jake and said that he had sounded almost better than Grog with the riffs. What he then said made Jake stop and think. He said “you know, by letting you have that guitar he has anointed you as his successor, and a worthy one. I am sure the music press is going to have a field day with that last little song, I know I was crying as it played through.”

We did our final gathering of buds and mics for the satchels and made our way to the hotel and a shower, I was soaked through from the stress. After my shower I was in my nightie and in bed asleep almost as my head hit the pillow. While we were not going anywhere else, Monday morning was full of interviews with Jake getting grilled on his being the ‘anointed one’ and many questions about the final song. I was asked if it was to be released and I told them it was a one-off which may turn up on social media from the audience but was never to be performed again. “It is Grog’s farewell and is his to keep.”

Jake was amazed later in the week to be on the front cover of ‘Guitarist’ in full flight with the Fender. I saw that the photo was taken by Roger. We hung about London for a few days trying to get our heads back together and I got a message from Maxine to go and see a friend of hers in the trade. When I got to the address I was shown into the office of a well-known dress designer and asked if I would grace the cover of her next catalogue. So that’s why I stayed in London when the rest of the band flew back to Nashville by normal airlines, the 747 having been given back to the charter company. I did a photo shoot that was over a couple of days in settings around Cambridge and was not surprised when back at my hotel I was visited by Peggy.

Part 8

Peggy greeted me like a long lost friend, with a big hug. “Patsy, it is amazing what I have gone through since I met you. My life has been just crazy with experiences. I knew what you were planning for Dad on the last night but I just did not expect to be so moved by it. It was pure artistry. Where I was sitting by the mixer board I could see fans howling their eyes out. The pathos after the high energy set was totally unexpected. The rest of his band just didn’t know what to make of it. Dad sent me to tell you his heart-felt thanks for the event and to also thank Jake for his playing.”

I said that I was happy to have been able to provide the moment. She went on “Dad wants you to come to the Cotswolds with me for a few days at the house. He wants to speak to you alone before you go back to the states.” I said I could do that as I was free at present and had not booked a flight yet; so I packed up my luggage and checked out of the hotel. The Rolls had been replaced with a less ostentatious Mercedes which she drove herself. On the way to the house I asked her if she had any plans for her own life now she was independent. She replied that it had crossed her mind that she didn’t need to but still wanted to sing. I told her that she would have a good career singing with a band and that she could pick and choose venues as she did not have to turn a profit every time. She told me she liked the songs I had sung in Geneva so I dug the Nashville CD out of my purse and we listened to them during the trip.

At the mansion the security opened the gates for us and closed them again when we were inside the grounds. I remarked that it was being kept tight and she said that there had been reporters and paparazzi lurking about for days. She said there would probably be a picture of us arriving in one of the magazines next week as the ‘mysterious guest’. When we got to the house we were greeted by Grog, who looked a bit worse for wear. He saw me notice and told me that he had been ‘artificially’ enhanced by painkillers on the tour and the medical staff had kept him going. He did say that he would not have missed it for the world. “Just playing with ‘Amazon’ was a real blast as you are all so professional and quick thinking.” He then said “Patsy, I have asked you here as a special favour to me. You are, believe it or not, the first person outside the medico’s and the staff to see me since that London show. I intend to keep it this way as I do not want photos of gaunt Grog in the magazines. I will be getting gaunt as that is the way of my illness. Peggy, here, is fully aware of what is to come and I praise the day you brought her to me as she will be my rock.”

He led the way into a small drawing room with easy chairs and indicated that we should sit. He offered tea or coffee and I asked for coffee so he rang a little bell and a maid came in and took the order. He told me that the butler will have taken my bags to my room and that Peggy would show me where it was later on. When our drinks arrived I sipped on mine and waited for him to tell me what he needed me for. He thought for a while and then said “Patsy, my wealth is not as great as all this indicates. I was a bit of an expensive addict when I was younger and I now realise I should have invested a bit more wisely than the next high. Mind you, the tour has realised quite a bit of income from tickets and album sales so it will be significant when I die. I know that this house is far too large for Peggy after I have gone and I know she would prefer something a little easier to maintain. My thoughts have been that it would make a grand country residence for children from a disadvantaged background. I saw the work that you and Riordan do with the homes in the USA and I was wondering if I could do something here. There is already a medical centre in the house as well as a gym and about twenty bedrooms, most with ensuite”

“There is also a fully equipped recording studio and ball-room so it could be run as a live-in music camp. I wonder if I could impose on you to look into a worthy organisation that could do it justice.” I said that I would be happy to assist in such a worthy venture and would talk to Riordan about any input she may have. I asked Peggy if she was all right with the concept and she told me that it was all good with her as she certainly could not live here afterwards. Grog looked pleased but started coughing badly. Peggy rang a bell and some medicos came in and took him away. “Sorry about that” she said “but he does get that from time to time. They will calm him down and put him on a drip for a few hours so I had better start being the hostess.”

She took me out of the room and down a corridor. Just before the end we turned a corner; Peggy indicated the door at the end and told me that this was the medical centre and Grogs’ own rooms. Along the wing of the house were several large bedrooms to the outside and to the inside was a library, music room, ballroom and the studio. Next to the studio was a room with about fifty guitars in it. “I think that Dad will give these to Jake in his will” she said “he has got a real soft spot for him and thinks he will be the next big thing.” I asked what she thought of Jake and she blushed. “I don’t know yet. I will have to see what he thinks before I can be certain.” She added “We did get on very well during the tour but he may have been just friendly.”

Moving around to another wing we looked at the dining room, which I had already seen, the kitchens and the utility area. It all looked big and professional enough to cater to a crowd. Upstairs were about fifteen bedrooms and storage rooms. Peggy slept in a corner room with a great view over the rolling hills and she had put me in the next door bedroom. She pointed to a door opposite and told me that this was the back stairs directly to the kitchen and that I could ask for anything to be brought up. I told her that I was perfectly capable of going down to get my own and she said “Good, that is what I do.” We went down these stairs to the kitchen and I was introduced to the cook and her daughter, the maid. Peggy asked if we could eat in the kitchen as she was overawed by the dining room and we sat there and had a very nice evening meal. I needed to think so I said I was a bit tired and retired to my room. I unpacked some clothes and had a shower, dressed in my nightie and sat in a very comfortable bed to think. In the morning I knew that I was going to have to talk to Riordan and Julia and find out if their pet organisation knew of similar ones here in the UK or whether I may have to raise the funds myself.

In the morning Peggy showed me around the grounds. There were several out-buildings, as befitting the history of the house. There was a fully equipped stables and dressage arena. I asked Peggy if she knew when it was last used as everything was dusty and she said that it had not been used since Grog bought the house some fifteen years back. There was new garage with quite a few cars in it under covers and a self-contained cabin for the security team. The thing that got me was a large glass-house with an associated cabin for the gardener. The entire estate was almost self-sufficient for vegetables and there was an herb garden as well. I commented to Peggy that the house could be used as a live-in music school; a live-in cooking school or a riding school or, maybe, rotation of the three on a four month basis.

I asked her if she would consider being the headmistress of the music school, given her qualifications, and she just looked shocked at the concept but did not immediately say no. We strolled around for most of the morning; it was great to be in the open air and able to relax. After lunch I called Riordan in New York and told her about the house and Grogs’ idea for it after he had gone. When I explained about the big kitchen, the stables and the garden she became quite excited and told me that she would talk to her contact at the care home and get back to me later. She told me that she had been in a meeting with Simon and that we had made good money from the tour with pay-outs to be made in a couple of weeks. She told me to expect about twenty five million as my share! She also told me that Nina had been in the studio putting down tracks for a solo album of cabaret songs, some of them the ones Minh and I had written for her, which was to be released before Christmas.

Marianne G 2020