Patsy Power Part 1

I made myself at home again, getting myself a cup of coffee then putting my feet up for a little while. I then went up to my room and stripped off to look at myself in the big mirror. My breasts were, to my mind, magnificent and when I turned sideways I thought that my new butt was going to make me get more clothes.

I will have to go back and see Tracy for bras anyway so it may be an expensive trip. My new groin looked, and felt, a bit different to anything I had experienced before. Even having the false vagina was different to this super smooth look. My underwear did fit better now. I took a last good look and went and had a long, hot, bubble bath and took care of any remnants of hair that I could see, and when I got out of the bath I wiped myself dry and put on a new nightie and my robe. I then went to make myself some dinner as Alice had assured me that the larder had been replenished. After I ate I did not feel that I wanted to try to write as the events of the week were still too raw in my brain so I went and got my guitar, grabbed Nina’s copy of ‘Amazon’s Greatest Hits” and had a quiet evening just learning their music. It allowed me to play something different, un-stressful and even quite pleasant. When it got late I put the CD back, put my guitar back in its’ case and went to my soft bed, well, it was soft compared to the one in the hospital.

Saturday morning I tidied up my laundry from my hospital stay and sat quietly, thinking about the car dealership advert. I rang Chris, the movie maker, and asked him how he had got on there. He told me he had a good range of video and was especially happy at some of the footage in the workshop. I then asked him if he knew anyone who had a convertible of the make that they sold and that it did not matter if it was an old one. He asked me why and I said that I thought the last five seconds of our clip could be the Innocent Girls driving off the caryard with waves and big smiles. He said that this would probably work and that he would get back to me. I asked him if he could send me the video he had already taken so I could see if anything was there that would fit my ideas of a tune.

Just after I had tidied up my lunch dishes I heard a car in our driveway and a couple of minutes later Joanne came in, gave a little squeal, and then gave me one of her rib breaking hugs and a full-on kiss. We stopped for air and she said “I’ve missed you all week. I didn’t realise how much I need you in my life. I was happy being with my folks and the old school chums were really happy to see a superstar in their midst but I was getting bored without all the excitement that being here generates.” Then she looked at me and said “You look a bit different, the meditation must have done you good. When Lorraine gets here we will go down and create Patsy again.” She took her bags upstairs and then we sat and chatted about the upcoming tour and the things we needed to do and then Lorraine came in and we hugged and kissed. After she had taken her bags up to her room Joanne said “Now, how did your skin feel after the rest from the add-ons?” I said that my skin was really quite good but some bruising had come out. She said that this could be fixed, told me to go up to my room, change into a robe and meet them in the salon.

When I walked into the salon they had powered up some of the equipment and Joanne said, “Right! Get that robe off and let’s see those bruises”; so I did and had to giggle at the stunned looks on their faces. Joanne was the first to recover and said “If that is what happens when you meditate I hate to think what you can do if you go into a full trance! Now, tell us where you really were last week.” I told them about my instant decision to make Patsy permanent and the help that Alice provided. I asked them to keep it between us as an even more secret fact than the add-ons as anyone who saw me naked in the future would not even think I was ever something else. I did tell them that the changes did not allow me to have penetrative sex until I had full SRS. Joanne got a wicked smirk on her face so I stuck my tongue out at her and we all cracked up.

They gave me the once over and declared me ready to face the world so I asked them if I was ready to face a lingerie shop in the near future as some of my clothes were not fitting properly. Lorraine looked at the clock and declared that we had a good three hours before they shut and that I had better go up to my room and put on something loose and that they would be waiting outside in the car. When we saw Tracy I told her that I had a bit of work done and needed to be refitted top and bottom so I could be comfortable. Two hours later we were back home with me carrying several bags up to my room. After dinner we sat and watched the two DVDs that Alice had given me and I told the girls that we were now going to be nationally distributed, much to their delight. As we went up to our beds Joanne asked if she could visit and I said “Just to cuddle, it’s all a bit sore.”

Sunday morning we were sitting in the lounge chatting when Minh brought Nina home. We had a group hug and, after they had taken their bags upstairs, we went into the kitchen and sat at the table with our coffee. I asked them all to be quiet and listen and then told them all of the things that Alice had told me about now being nationally distributed; then we went into the lounge and I played them all the two DVD’s. Joanne said “Now I have seen those twice I can understand why Alice wants us to do some dance lessons. We move around but it is a normal movement, not really stage performance. It would improve the act.” Nina was a bit quiet and when I asked her what she was thinking she said that she did not know before how good she sounded in her solo songs because she was caught up in the moment at the time. I told her that Alice was sure that she would have a solo career, either alongside the Innocent Girls or maybe completely separated. “The same goes for you, Lorraine” I said, and she looked startled. “But it is just a bit of fun during the act, not serious” she said, “I mean, me being a singing star outside a group, that’s ridiculous.”

After lunch we tried to sort out our priorities for the coming week but realised that it was what we faced when we got to the studio on Monday that would define our activities as none of us had kept in touch while we were off. We then confined ourselves to gym work and ran, rowed and cycled ourselves into lather before getting an early dinner and spending a quiet evening. Monday came around and with it a knock on the door while we were breakfasting. It was a burly chap in a security company uniform with signed papers from Alice who told us that he was the new morning shift security guard. He asked to be shown over the whole house, checking doors and windows, and announced that it was well set up. We had shown him the various camera positions and then he wanted to see the security cabin. He turned everything on and then asked us if there were outside sensors and cameras but we could not tell him about those. “OK” He said “I will check it all out from here, they may be a manual somewhere. I’ll come back to the house and tell you what we have.”

We went back into the house to prepare for the day and, when we were dressed and ready to go he came back to us and said “You have here a split security system. I located the manual and checked out the exterior system which will allow me to monitor any illegal access around the house. The only interior cameras I can access are in the out buildings and the garage. There are alarm buttons in every room that are disguised so I would think that you have not found them yet. If one of those is pressed there is an alarm in the cabin and it also sends an alarm to any phone that has been enabled. We will work on putting a list of numbers together later. It is only after one of those alarms is triggered that I can access the interior cameras and this is cut when the alarm is turned off. So you can go about your daily life without worrying that there could be a peeping tom in the cabin.”

Part 2

We thanked him and he went back to the cabin as we had to go to the studio. He had said that he would show us all of the disguised buttons another day unless his replacement for the evening shift does so. We would be having twenty four hour security now. We were a bit pensive on the way to the studio, wondering what had occurred while we were away. I could now understand why some people never took holidays in case they missed something! After we checked in we went up to the Patsy Office to find Ma and Lucy busy at their desks. They stopped what they were doing to give us all hugs and then Ma told us to go through to the inner office and she would bring us up to date.

She reported that there had been great strides in the release field after the distribution deal was signed. Our debut album was already being stockpiled and there were three songs from it being marketed to the radio stations for playing. The release date would be the following Saturday in New York and that we would be expected to perform some of the songs there. I asked if a modified version of our Mario evenings would do with two acoustic guitars and she replied that this was what was envisioned as it was to be just us Innocent Girls. She said that the ‘Live at The Place’ DVD was already in the shops and selling well; the firestorm of social media posts helping that.

The new video was still in production with our two shows at the theatre being blended into a “Live at the Athenaeum” DVD to be released just before our tour starts. On the home front, the ‘new boys’ had been working all week and Carl had suggested that we do a full show practise of the dance set every afternoon until Thursday to iron out any bugs. We would not have any studio time in the main studio this week as we will be needed to go with Lucy to get kitted out for Saturday on Wednesday morning and on Thursday morning we had appointments at a salon in the city to give us a spa treatment.

This morning there was to be a meeting with Sarah and Alice with all of the extended band members and Tuesday morning we were to be at the music store for a meet and greet session with photo signing. Friday morning we would be picked up to go to New York to meet the distributors before the launch on Saturday. She told us that there would be a small party on Saturday evening and we would be flown back to Nashville on Sunday morning. Beyond that there would be some interviews in the weeks ahead but we should have time to practice both sets before meeting up with ‘Amazon’ in Baltimore towards the end of May to run through the complete show which will kick off in that city on a Monday. It was a good job we had not planned anything ourselves, our lives were being planned for us!

We then trooped off to the artist lounge where we met up with the eight band members and then Sarah and Alice came into the room. ”Right!” said Sarah, ”I know that Ma has just run through the coming events with you this morning, girls; Alice will go over the arrangements with you guys later as you will be going down separate paths for the tours. The girls are going to be at the Album Launch in New York next Saturday; I am sorry but you guys will not be at that because the distributors told us they only needed the good looking ones. I guess they have not seen our dance set band yet! We are pleased to tell you that you have stayed at the number one for requests in the local radio stations and there are reports that you are now being played across the country. I have fielded at least a dozen requests for you to do shows at dance clubs but I have put them off for the moment citing the need for you to work on the tours.”

“This is the point at which it gets truly serious and if any of you have any problems, of any nature, please bring them to me or Alice as we do not want any wrenches in any works from here on in. Do we have anything that needs to be aired right now? “Jake asked about equipment for the dance tour and Alice told him that all instruments would be supplied by the music store and that they just need to go along with the rest of us on Tuesday morning and get signed up as VIP’s after they had picked out their chosen instruments. The music store had already allocated four amp stacks of 500 watt each for them to use which will be freighted to Washington in time for the first performance. She did warn us that there may not be any chance for a sound check there so we should learn to love our audio technician on the mixing desk.

Alice then went over the details of the week and finally asked me about the car advert as Peter had called her last week. I told her that there should be video arriving for me from Chris and that I would like to get together with Ron and Minh during the following week to cut a 28 second commercial. She asked me how much it would cost and I replied that it was a first for us and that she should negotiate with Peter once we had delivered the final product; making sure that the company recouped its outlay and made a bit on top. I told her that when I saw Peter next I would tell him that there is no quote and, if he didn’t like our product, there would only be an ‘at cost’ account, mainly hours spent. I said that he may not follow our ideas as it would be a massive change in his marketing but it would fit the new Peter we had seen at Mario’s.

The rest of the week followed the plan. Monday afternoon we practiced with the ‘new boys’ and Tuesday, after being shown the locations of all the alarm buttons we all went to the music store where the ‘new boys’ chose their instruments for the tour and they, and ourselves, were fitted with ultra-rock buds that cut out 90% of sound and would enable us to last the dance tour with our hearing intact. We also met and chatted with fans and signed a number of photos. The manager asked us if we could do a couple of numbers so Minh and I grabbed acoustic guitars and we did the ‘Mario’s version’ of a few of our songs. Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons we went through the full set with our new buds in place and everything cranked up to number 11. I can say that we did attract a small audience on both days. Wednesday was outfit day and Thursday was spa day and as we were so laid back we gave the boys the afternoon off. Friday morning we were packed and ready when the limo picked us up to go to the airport. It was un-nerving at the airport as lots of people were looking at us as if we were goldfish in a bowl but we finally got on the plane for the flight to New York.

We did not know what to expect when we arrived and we were all surprised when we were diverted to the VIP gate and met by a couple of company representatives who greeted us warmly, took care of our baggage and led us out to a large limo waiting outside the terminal. Unfortunately the windows were so darkly tinted it was almost impossible to see out so we just sat there being glad we were not still in the plane. I am sure that airline seats were designed so that, no matter where you landed, you would be happy being there. At the hotel we were shown to our rooms, advised to freshen up and told there was a buffet lunch for us down in the hotel dining room. As we walked into the dining room there was a smattering of applause from a surprising number of well-dressed people. I was glad that Lucy had outfitted us with specific clothes for specific events and she had forecast that this event would occur.

It looked, to me, that the room was filled with radio interviewers and hoped that there would be one or two with half a brain. My hope seemed dashed when a too blonde bimbo asked me how I found New York and I answered that I didn’t have to as there was someone in the front of the plane who seemed to know where it was already. Her laugh was like tinkling glass and she told me I was naughty. Eventually I did meet a few who had, at least, listened to our music. Finally a pompous ass stood up and welcomed ‘Patsy and the Innocent Girls to New York and into the fold of the family. I asked if that was the band name on the album and he said it was as he said, Patsy and the Innocent Girls. I then told him that this was not the band’s name, we were Patsy and the Innocent Party. He said that the covers were printed and I told him that if he went ahead with that name we would sue him for breach of contract and that he can shove his Album Launch in a place where the sun don’t shine.

That brought a hush to the room and he blustered “You can’t do that” so I said, “Just watch us” and we all tossed our heads and walked out of the room. We were all halfway between laughing and crying in the elevator up to our room where we ordered some decent food through room service and waited for someone to tell us to go home. I rang Sarah in Nashville and told her what had happened and she told me to hold my position because our proper name was on the contracts.

After about an hour there was a knock on the door and we let in a couple of ladies who looked like they meant business. We sat them down and they told us that there were one thousand albums made with the Innocent Girls name on them and that it had been a decision made by the marketing department. I told them that I did not care what bozo made the decision, we would refuse to allow any release that did not have the proper band name as written into the contracts.

They tried to push that we were only up and coming new guys on the block and that we should be happy to go with the flow. I told them, in no uncertain tone, that we were backed by K Beat in our stance and that a breach of contract case would ensue with them being the guilty party. I told them that if they rushed fifty copies of the album with the proper name we would hang about and do the launch but, if they could not guarantee that, I would pick up the phone and we would fly out tonight. “But everything is arranged for tomorrow” one cried “We would lose face in the industry.” I told her that they had better get going and get some albums made with the proper name or else face would be the least of their problems. Finally, one pulled her phone out and talked to her boss.

She related our position and laid the blame on the pompous ass from the lunch. When she told the boss the name we wanted he asked her why we wanted that name as there were only the five of us girls. She related what was asked and handed the phone to me. “Hello” I said, “I am Patricia Meyers; who am I speaking to?” He said that he was Simon Longford, the general manager of the music division. I asked him what his problem was and he said that he was only going by what the manager of the marketing division had told him; that we were a five-girl group of pop singers who went by the name of Innocent Girls.

I informed him that we were, in fact a nine piece band who went by the name of Patsy and the Innocent Party and that the Innocent Girls name was for our use in acoustic sets and that the album we had cut was certainly not acoustic. I reminded him that the name that was in the contract was the name they should use and re-iterated that if he could come up with fifty, properly printed, albums we would happily do the launch and that he should get the stockpile junked so that it can be replaced with correct items. I told him that in this day and age it should only cause a delay of shipping of a couple of days and, if he wanted an excuse, he could always manufacture a problem with the shippers. He said “I was going to ask you who you were to speak to me like that but you have given me an out with the immediate problem as well as a good reason to shed some superfluous dead wood from our office. I will get on to our manufacturing division to do what you ask. Please hand the phone back to the ladies in your room.”

The ladies listened to him for a few minutes and when they hung up one said, “We have been told by the boss to guide you through the rest of the day and to cater to your whims. Do you want to see the Statue of Liberty or any other tourist venue? Do you want to take in a show on Broadway tonight? He told us that we needed to follow your orders.” I looked at the other girls and said “Well, I really think that we would like to take in a few of the shops and have a quiet meal in a good, wholesome, restaurant and then we will get an early night. We do need our beauty sleep.”

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 3

So that was what we did. The ladies were very gracious and took us to a few very good clothing stores and quickly got into the groove of our trying on and selecting; finally, we had a number of bags which our hosts put in a cab to be taken to the Hotel and then took us to a lovely little Italian Restaurant which reminded us of Marios.

The food was good and we were regaled with tales of life in the big apple. The ladies said that we should leave the restaurant early as there was karaoke on tonight and it could get a bit rowdy. We laughed and told them that if we were still in Nashville tonight we would be doing an acoustic set prior to a karaoke competition and that we expected it to be no different here.

One of them said “If I got you on first, would you do a number here?” We agreed and she went off to see the manager. The other looked at us and said “You girls are a breath of fresh air. Not only have you called out the head of marketing today; you have told the general manager what to do; you have junked ten thousand dollars’ worth of product and still remained cheerful and entirely engaging with a couple old fogies like us. I have enjoyed this afternoon and evening very much, it is a relief to be with a group of girls with no pretences or airs and graces. You should meet some of the prima donnas that we have to smile at. What-ever happens tomorrow, I thank you on behalf of both of us for a very pleasant break from reality.” The other one came back and said “You are on in five minutes; I am afraid that the karaoke machine has mainly new pop and rap but I know that there are a few old GirlGroup numbers. However, we do supply this restaurant group with some new music and I do believe there may well be a couple of your songs on it by now.” She said that with a wicked grin on her face and I knew that we were about to make their day.

Five minutes later the restaurant manager got up on the small stage and announced the start of the karaoke competition. He said that the artist who got the most calls for more would be the winner and then said that first up there was five girls from out of town who wanted to show New York how the boondocks did it. There were much catcalling and half-hearted cheers when we got up on stage and took the proffered microphones. We looked at the machine and there was, indeed, the ‘Mall Song’. I expected that they never thought that anyone would pick it but I pointed it out to the girls who all nodded with evil grins on their faces so I hit the go button and, as we started singing it, a hush came over the room.

After the first chorus line I started to get the audience to join in. It was the full band version so, when the guys verses came on, we dropped our tones and sang all of the guys parts as well. By the time we got to the final chorus we had all of the audience singing along. When the song ended we made to leave the stage but the manager called us back saying that we would not be getting away with it that easily. The crowd was calling for more so I found a Supremes number that we did with no difficulty. As the crowd was still calling for more and the manager was not letting us leave the stage I had a look at the song list and saw one of ‘Amazons’ hits. I spoke to Nina to see if she could do it and she nodded so I spoke to the audience. “I am afraid that we have played a little trick on you all tonight. We are the female half of Patsy and the Innocent Party and we are in town for an album launch tomorrow. “

“That album does, indeed, contain the first song we sang tonight. The final song we have chosen is a hit by ‘Amazon’. We have chosen it because Nina here is a great fan of theirs and we will be touring with them over the summer with the final concert being here, in New York. We thank you for your applause tonight but I must tell you that you will have to choose the winner from the following competitors as we will not consider ourselves in the running. Thank you.” I hit the go button on the ‘Amazon’ number and Nina sang it like she was Ashley’s doppelganger. It was creepy to listen to and the crowd fully appreciated it as ‘Amazon’ was a local band and very popular there. Back at the table our companions were open mouthed.

They took us back to the hotel and thanked us for the experience and gave us both their cards, telling us that no matter what the time was they would be happy to hear from us. They bade us good luck for Saturday and we went up to our rooms for an early night. Before I went to bed I rang Sarah and brought her up to date with the events here. I told her that I would ring after the Launch.

Saturday morning we were all up and breakfasting in the dining room when we were pointed out to a tall, and casually dressed, good looking guy who came over and introduced himself as Simon Longford. I introduced our group and invited him to sit down. I offered him a cup of coffee and as he sipped it he looked around at us and said “My staff were very impressed with how grounded you girls are. It is a miracle to find five of you with good voices and such good sense. I can assure you that we have, not fifty, but a hundred of your albums for the launch today and I have just been up to the room where it is to be held and demanded that the signs outside, and a banner behind the stage, be removed as not being the correct name. Since this came to light I have been told about other new bands who had to endure the actions of our, now previous, marketing manager. I was not aware of this and am here to apologise on behalf of my company. I can tell you that I, myself, will conduct the launch today and that alone will catch the attention of the media. Last night I listened to your album and watched the dance club video and I have to say that if we had lost you over this my shareholders would have had my head. My ladies who put out spot fires for me have spoken to me this morning and told me that you not only won over a karaoke crowd, but managed to also plug your album and upcoming tour and they were most impressed by your stage presence. They also told me that none of you drink alcohol but you all like to shop.” He smiled at this and we smiled along with him. I was beginning to warm to his candour. “Do you have anything you want to do this morning as the launch starts with a buffet lunch so you have a few hours to spare?”

Joanne said that she would really like to see Coney Island and we all said that this would be good. He said, “So be it, let’s go and have a bit of fun, I think that I need it myself.” We went up to our rooms and got ready for the outing and when we all got down to the foyer he led us outside to a massive limo and we were off to Coney Island. We spent a laughter filled morning riding some of the rides and especially the Ferris wheel and I even won a kewpie doll at the shooting range. We were feeling very relaxed when we got back to the hotel to be made-up and dressed for the launch. We were led to the room where the launch was taking place and entered to another smattering of applause and Simon stepped up to the microphone and said “Ladies and gentlemen (and members of the press) I am pleased to welcome our guests of honour – Patsy Meyers, Joanne Swift, Lorraine Masters, Nina Parker and Minh Ji Lu – the female members of the new sensation ‘Patsy and the Innocent Party. Today we are here to not only launch their debut album but to launch their stellar careers. I have listened to the album and also watched their dance club video and I can say that we will hear a lot more of these lovely ladies and their backing band in the future. Before the official launch I ask that you partake of the delightful buffet lunch provided and we will attend to the official stuff later. I must say that I looked at the running sheet for the launch and tore it up as the world does not need more pompous speeches. Enjoy.”

We stood around as the usual questions were answered and the lady who asked me how I found New York yesterday came up to me and apologised for such a stupid remark and said that paraphrasing her previous question she now wanted to know what I thought of New York. I answered as truthfully as I could, based on my experiences since that time, and we chatted quite amicably. After a decent period of chatting and eating, Simon stepped up to the microphone again.

Part 4

“Ladies and Gentlemen” he started “I am Simon Longford, the general manager of the music division. I am here today through an unfortunate but serendipitous situation which brought these young ladies to my close attention. I normally do not get involved with an Album Launch of a new band but, having met these ladies and listened to their material, I am happy for the future history writers to associate me with this auspicious event. We have, in our midst, the vocal section of a remarkable band called “Patsy and the Innocent Party’ which is made up of the five you see today who are backed by four of the most experienced musicians that Nashville has nurtured. On the table behind me are copies of their debut, self-titled, album for you to take and critique at your leisure. I am pleased to launch this album and, on the big screen here, I will show you some clips from a recent concert in Nashville which demonstrates what a powerhouse this band is. The clips are raw, one camera, footage and will be part of the next DVD we will distribute later in the year. I will allow the video to run for a while and after that I will ask for Patsy to say a few words.”

So saying he stepped from the stage while the screen started showing clips from the first half of the show. The press quickly hurried to the table and snaffled their CDs before standing around with drinks in their hands watching us perform. The video clips were just ‘Mall Song’, ‘Wait’ and ‘Changing’ and when they had finished he asked me up to the stage. I said thank you for coming and the usual friendly stuff, introducing each of the other girls. I then said, “I was told that we were to perform this afternoon with acoustic versions of our songs. However, although you would be polite enough to listen, I think that when you listen to our album you will hear everything you want to know about us in the pop guise.”

“Some of you may have seen our ‘Live at The Place’ DVD but for those who have not I need to explain that we are a band with a split personality. There are only two and a half of us at present but we do feel more emerging.” There was laughter at that. “The CDs that you take away are our pop guise and it is the one that will open the ‘Amazon’ tour in late May and run through thirteen cities before ending here, in New York some three months later. However, in the same period we will be performing at seven dance festivals which also finish here in New York a week after the last ‘Amazon’ concert. For those appearances we have recruited a completely different backing band of younger guys who can take the pressure of those festivals and will be using our current backing band for the ‘Amazon’ tour. I happen to have a DVD in my purse of what those performances will be like if anyone is interested.”

There was a combined cry of “Yes” so I got the DVD and gave it to the chap in charge of the screen and asked him to play the first and the last two tracks at a high volume when I gave him the nod. I got back up on stage and said “The girls and I are extremely fortunate in having Alice Walker as a boss and mentor. She was known as M’Aleese in her singing days and trialled a song called ‘Bounce’ at a local dance club, or disco as it was then. That evening increased the population of our local hospital by about twenty overjealous dancers and the tune was confined to that single outing. We have revived it as the opening song of our dance set in a more modern version and I give to you now ‘Patsy and the innocent Party’ in a not so innocent but surely ‘Party Mode’.”

I nodded to the chap who started the video at the required volume, much to the stunned members of the press who had come to a genteel pop launch. When the dramatic end of ‘Maximum Dance’ faded, Simon came to my side and said “You certainly know how to shock, girl.” Before going back up onto the stage and said “Ladies and Gentlemen, this, I think, draws the Album Launch to an end with a bang. I am sure you all realise that you will be called back here; in the not too distant future, to attend the launch of a live dance album that even I did not know we were going to distribute until five minutes ago. I thank you for your attendance and I am sure the ladies will answer all of those new questions that I am sure having sprung into your heads. There will be more drinks if you want but remember not to drive home. Thank you for coming and an especial thank you to our five talented guests.”

He stepped off of the stage to be surrounded by the press wanting to know what plans were in place for our future while the others either clustered round us or around the drinks bar. My ever present journalist came up to me and said “I am now going to have to revise my two earlier questions. It is not so much of what you think of New York but more of what New York is going to think about you!” She then told me that she would be at the ‘Amazon’ opening and also try to get to Washington for the festival but would need to convince her boss to give her the budget. “I think I would like to follow you and, maybe get a book out of it.” She gave me her card and I looked at it and said “Thank you, June; I look forward to seeing you. If you want extra access, just call Mae Ellen at K Beat and she will look after you.”

We answered lots of questions as much as we could and, finally, the media was reluctantly made to put down their glasses and leave, with just us, Simon and a few staffers, in the room. Simon clapped his hands and said “OK Gang, how did that go?” One of the staffers grinned and said “Not as it was planned but with ten times more impact.” There were a few other positive comments and one of them remarked that if it wasn’t for me yesterday they would have been stuck with couple of boring speeches from the marketing division and would have missed seeing the fun they had witnessed. Simon said “On that matter, next week I want each of you to put on my desk a resume and the reason you think you can run the marketing better. I refuse to promote all of those ‘yes men’ the previous incumbent had appointed and expect a fresh approach in future.” The staffers all looked stunned and then all smiled, looking at each other and immediately evaluating their own chances of being the boss. Simon then said, “Seeing that we are all finished here I do have to tell you that the little soiree that had been planned for tonight has been cancelled. However, as I have been told that these lovely ladies like a good meal, I have booked a large table at a certain restaurant these ladies have been to already and I invite all of you to have a quiet dinner with me and my two right-hand ladies.”

So it was that the five of us, our two companions from Friday, Simon and four staffers (amazed at having a dinner with the general manager) entered the Italian Restaurant like an invading army. The manager came up to us and welcomed us all and especially the five lovely songbirds and he asked us if we would do a few songs for his Saturday crowd. We said we would and we were all ushered to a big table in the middle of the room. We ordered drinks and looked at the menu and chatted. Our meal orders were taken and Simon raised his glass and proposed a toast to all the others at the table who “Had saved the company from a terrible mistake through quick thinking and dedication to the company”.

Of course, everyone was now feeling quite at home with each other and I could see Simon evaluating his staffers in light of their possible futures. It looked, to me, that he was going to have to make a difficult decision next week. We ate our meals and then the manager came over and asked us girls if we were ready and when we said we were he went up onto the small stage and called for attention. “Ladies and Gentlemen” He announced “Last night we expected to suffer through the usual karaoke ordeal but I was coerced into allowing five girls from out of town the chance to sing for that very combative crowd. Tonight the five are with us again and have agreed to sing a few songs to our karaoke machine. I ask that you not leave now because you do not like karaoke but to remain seated to enjoy a sensation that you will have to pay good money to hear in the future. I give you ‘Patsy and the Innocent Party’ “

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 5

We made our way up onto the stage and took our microphones. I walked to the front and spoke to the crowd. “Thank you for allowing us to sing for you tonight. We are part of a band that is in town to launch our debut album. I am sure that if you like our singing Simon or his staff, on that big table, will be able to tell you where and when you can purchase it.

I believe that there have been some shipping problems so you may have to wait a few days. Luckily, this karaoke machine has the opening number to our stage set and we will start with that tonight. Should you appreciate that we will mine the machines playlist for old favourites that will show you our vocal range. If, after that, you are still interested we will be opening for “Amazon’ in a thirteen city tour ending in New York near the end of summer. We had to stop at three numbers last night because the competition was about to start but tonight we are dependent on your appreciation, we just love to sing.”

I hit the go button for ‘Mall Song’ and we did the full version, including the bloke ones. We had the audience singing along before we had got halfway and they called for more at the end. I picked another Supremes number and we did our best to emulate that great group, including some dance steps and when we finished they called for more. I pointed to an ‘Amazon’ song and Nina smiled so we did our impersonation of Ashley and her band. At the end of that someone, who may have been an ‘Amazon’ fan, called for another so Nina exercised her skill again. Lorraine pointed out a couple of old Doris Day songs so we did those with a more sexy pitch, much to all of the male’s enjoyment. Minh pointed out one of her favourites that really suited her voice so it was a very gleeful rendition of ‘Micky’ for her. Finally Joanne and I sung in a duet on ‘The wind beneath my wings’ and we finished off bowing to the crowd and walking back to the table where our party had joined the other diners in standing and applauding us. We sat down and so did everyone else but there was a distinct buzz in the room. The manager came over and told Simon that our meals were on the house as he had never had a Saturday evening crowd that was so entertained before. He asked us to call if we were in town again and he would ensure that there would be a table and our choice of microphones.

Simon turned to us and told us that he had never seen such a diverse range in a single group. He also said that every one of the staffers at the table had offered to manage the distribution of our individual careers should we decide to go down that path. He finished with another toast saying “I thought I was going to be hosting a thank you dinner tonight after a successful launch. I ended up with, not only a free meal, but a cabaret act thrown in. I thank you girls for a memorable evening.” We all blushed prettily, I think. We then chatted while we had our desserts and coffee while various people came up to us for signatures on their menus and to ask the staffers where they could buy our album. When we stood to go there was a smattering of polite applause and we waved to the room as we left to get into the limo. Simon announced that he would employ one of the staffers as a manager of our output and that they would stay in touch with us and the K Beat Office and would join us on both tours to ensure that everything went smoothly.

Sunday morning we flew back to Nashville and our house. After a shower and change I asked Joanne if she could take me to the nursing home as I had not seen my ‘Aunt Ruby’ for a couple of weeks; so, after lunch, we went there. Walking in to the usual waves and smiles we saw that my mother was in her room and we both gave her a hug and a kiss. She said that she had missed me the previous Sunday and I told her that I had been out of communication for a few days. She asked what had been going on so I sung “Just came down from New York Town; I done my time in Hell.”

She laughed and said “Really, what have you been up to?” I said “Really, Joanne can back me up. We have just flown back from New York where they held an Album launch for our debut album yesterday and I got the head of marketing fired. We also did two karaoke spots at an Italian Restaurant, got our meals for the whole table for free and the general manager of the company took us all to Coney Island and I won you a kewpie doll.” So saying I pulled the little doll from my purse and gave it to her. She said that ‘I shouldn’t have’ but gave me a hug anyway. “What about the weekend before” she asked. I took hold of her hand and said quietly “Mama, I was in a private hospital having enough done for you to say you now have a daughter – or to be safe, a niece – who would be difficult to pick from a real girl; once, of course, after the bruises fade.” “Oh dear!” she said, “what about Patrick?” I told her that she may hear some sad news about him having an accident and should weep when she hears it but that a part of him will remain at her side. Joanne looked at me strangely when I said this as she was not aware of the plan that Alice was waiting to put into place.

I told Ruby that we would be in town, as far as I knew, until the middle of May and then would be back in Nashville for four nights in the middle of June but after that we would not be home until the end of August. There were a few weeks towards the end of the tour where we may have a four day break but I thought that this would be taken up with media calls or invitations to outside events. It would all be up in the air but I would try to keep in touch. I told her that we now had about five weeks to wind up our other projects before we had to go and meet ‘Amazon’ in Baltimore. After we left her we went and caught up with Jim and Roger and a few of our ‘support crew’ who had a laugh when we regaled our stories. Jim told us he knew the pompous ass in marketing before he was promoted beyond his ability and that he wished he could have been a fly on the wall. I asked Roger about getting poster size pictures if the quality was not degraded and he told me that it had already been thought of and there should be some boxes in the office before the end of the week. These guys make our lives so easy!!

Monday morning I looked in my drawers and pulled out all of my Patrick pieces; watch, wallet, credit card, driving licence, student travel pass (well out of date) and a few other trinkets and put them in a bag. At the office I asked to see Alice and in her office I gave her the bag and said that this was all that was needed to identify Patrick; the only other things that were needed was proof of how he got to be where he was. She took the bag and said she would take care of it. Then she told me the sports car was now overhauled and tuned and would be delivered to the house tonight. All I now had to do was get a Patsy licence and that I had a booking to sit for my provisional this afternoon and that she would send an instructor to the house on Tuesday morning to get me some hours in before I go for the full licence. She commented on the events of the weekend saying that I should be careful or else I may get the nickname of ‘job breaker’. She did, though, wink when she said that.

After catching up with Ma and Lucy we worked through some songs and I asked Minh if she could look at the video that Chris had sent for the advert and told her what I was roughly looking for and why. I was then taken to sit for my provisional licence which I aced and was then taken home, arriving an hour or so before the girls got in. I sat in the studio and tried to come up with a catchy whistle of about five seconds and when I did I also crafted it into a short tune and then tried to come up with some lyrics. I had gone onto the web and looked at Peters old adverts which usually ended with the logo ‘Logan Motors, the biggest dealer in town’ I was looking to market them as the happiest dealer in town and the rest of the advert needed to build to that. Chris had left a message that a friend had an early Thunderbird that we could use in return for a hug, kiss and signed photo from each of us – that lad certainly knew how to drive the negotiations!

Part 6

Tuesday I took lessons from the instructor who brought me up on a few faults and sharpened my sense of what was around me on the road. He said he would see me the next day and dropped me off at the office. I got together with Minh and Ron and we went through the video from the dealership. We chose a very photogenic young mechanic and I rang Peter to ask him if we could film a short segment with this lad and also a short segment of us leaving the lot on Thursday evening just after the dealership shut. I asked him if he could keep his sales people back in casual clothing, not their usual suits and told him to have a change for himself as well. The rest of Tuesday we worked with the new band and Wednesday we reminded the old band of their place in the system. Thursday morning I did my driving test and was driven to the office with my new Patsy licence. Later in the morning all of us girls were called up to Sarah’s office and sat in the easy chairs.

She looked at all of us in our eyes and said “I know that you created mayhem last weekend in New York and a certain marketing person got fired but what else went on as I am having a hard time believing what is coming down from there and landing on my desk.” We related the events of the weekend and when we got to the bit about Coney Island she gasped and said “You lot were taken to Coney Island by one of the biggest names in the industry and you didn’t bother to tell me?” We said that he was just being friendly and she snorted. I told her about the launch and the total rejection of the planned speeches and my showing of some of the latest dance DVD and then we had a giggle when we told her about the dinner with Simon and his staff and our little cabaret.

‘Right” she said, “that clears up a lot of things for me. Simon rang me this morning and told me that a very forward thinking lad called Joey was now the marketing manager and had told him, in no uncertain terms, that he should get each of you on to individual contracts to distribute any of your individual output outside the band. He wants these contracts to be for a five year exclusive option for each of you and he said the boss has agreed to a million dollars up front each.” We all gasped at that. She went on “He has also demanded that our original contract with them be amended to only cover the pop output and that we will have a new one to sign at the same rates for the dance output. He also wants to pay for a film crew and sound crew to follow you to all of the two tours this summer; he will organise the logistics for that. He seems very keen to give you the best boost into stardom that you can have.“

I said that it was very exciting but wondered what they wanted in return so Sarah told us that she thought that we had a really good chance to get big nationally and internationally and that this summer tour was just the beginning. She said that she thought that Carl and the old boys would slowly back off and leave us with Jake and the new boys within the year but they had told her that they were extremely grateful for one last blast. “You guys certainly turned New York on its head on the weekend and it has changed the whole dynamic for us. We will be able to put more staff on and fund a new studio with state-of-the-art equipment. I am sure that Ron is going to want to give you all a kiss but will be too gentlemanly to do so. Alice is busy looking for quality talent to compliment your act should we put on a K Beat concert. You, alone, have let us turn the corner from a rural unit to a major player in our own right and for that I am grateful. Now, what do we need to tidy up before the tour starts?”

I told her that we needed to tidy up the advert for Peter and that there may need to be a small performance on his forecourt and that we really needed to properly blood Jake and the boys with either a concert or maybe a cheerio concert at ‘The Place’ if Al wants us back. She told us to concentrate on these tasks and make sure we used the gym as much as we could as we would need to be fit to withstand the tour. “Oh, by the way” she said “I believe that while this tour will be your debut, I have heard that ‘Amazon’ are calling it a farewell one, but not publically, so it will be a milestone for both of you.”

Minh and I worked a while finalising our thoughts for the advert and then we all got into the sedan and went to the car dealership. We met up with Chris and his car-owning friend and we paid his invoice with very proper hugs and kisses and his requested photos. Peter introduced us to the young mechanic who was very flustered so I took him aside and told him that all I wanted him to do was walk across the workshop giving a little whistle and I did the whistle for him and he repeated it a number of times until it was right. “And then,” I said “all you need to do is lean into the engine bay of a car and then pull your head out of it and smile at the camera. Can you do that”? Chris set up his camera and we went through the first scene a few times until he was happy and then did the second scene a few times as well. We let the lad go home and went on to the outside scene. We lined the, now casual, staff up in front of the storefront and all got into the Thunderbird and drove past them waving and smiling, going out of shot with the camera focussing on the salesmen and the façade of the building. We needed to do this a couple of times before Chris was happy and then we thanked Peter and his staff and took the sedan back to the house.

Friday we had our last vocal and dance lessons and then Minh and I got into the main studio with Ron and Chris. They had cut the original video down to about thirty seconds and when we added the mechanics walk to the front and the smile scene and car-lot scene we were up to close to a minute. Here, Ron proved his worth as, with Chris, they pinched seconds here and there and finally ended with the required twenty eight seconds of video that flowed well. Minh and I then added the audio – we got Chris to whistle in sync with the mechanic; we sang a little ditty using the same tune about fixing cars and the end was Chris, again, doing a voice-over saying “I am happy here, working on your cars. I know you will be happy driving them.” We then overlaid the normal logo of ‘The biggest dealer in town’ over the final scene of waving salesmen and then crossed out the biggest and added ‘happiest’ over the top. With it all finalised we put it onto a few DVD’s and I thanked everyone and told them that a cheque may well be in the post. I then rang Peter and asked him if they worked Saturday and he answered that it was the best day of the week. I asked him if he could set up a big screen in the showroom as I wanted him to see the final cut with his staff and let them decide if it works as they were the ones who would have to live with it as long as it was being shown. We arranged for me to be there at 11.30am so that the mechanics could see the video in their lunch period and he agreed.

We did not do a show at Mario’s Friday night as Sarah had thought we ought to stop them in the lead up to the tour so we were well rested when Joanne drove me, in the sports car, to the car dealership. When we walked into Peters office we were met by his wife and two daughters and we chatted a while. His wife said to me “I hope you have come up with something different. His adverts have become boring pictures of guys in suits showing smiling families the cars.” I told her that, if he agrees to buy the advert, it would mean a change in the way the dealership was projected without the huge cost of a paint-up or signage. She was intrigued.

Come midday we went out into the showroom where the mechanics, office and sales staff gathered and I put a DVD in the slot and hit the go button. When it finished there was a silence and then Peter said “Play it again, Patsy”.

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 7

What else could I do but play the half minute advert again. While it was playing I looked around the small group. The mechanics were all smiling, as was the admin staff; the sales staff were clearly waiting on Peter as they were the ones that dealt with him every day. His wife and daughters were trying hard to suppress giggles and a guy I had not met before; in a jacket and tie that screamed ‘manufacturer’s rep’ looked positively stunned.

Peter, himself, did not give anything away by just looking thoughtful. When the advert finished there was a short moment of silence and a voice from the mechanics came loud and clear “She got us nailed, boss, bang to rights!” Then there was a bit of laughter as the mechanics and admin staff left to carry on with their lunch period. Peter looked at the company rep and asked him what he thought. “I must say I thought that I would see something a bit different but I did not expect this, young lady.” He went on “If you take this up. Peter, it would mean a completely different method of marketing; away from just pushing the cars and the deals and into promoting the dealership as a happy place and making the pitch at the customers’ satisfaction. Car sales have always been that we had the right car for you and you had the money for us. It would be a gamble but I am sure that we would back you on this as it could mean a different avenue for the company nationally.”

“Young lady, how much did this cost?” I answered that the main costs were in peoples’ time. There was Chris for filming, Ron for editing and production and K Beat for use of the studio. No-one else was paid. The rep said that I had given his marketing department a swift kick in the nuts and I said that I seem to have a habit of doing that. Peters’ wife finally could not hold herself back. “Peter, this is exactly what I have been saying for a long time. You have been stuck in the male dominated, suited, idea of car sales. You need to move into the new age of a more casual, but smart, look and maybe recruit some female sales staff. This advert has gone further than I had thought about but the idea of going to a happy place to buy a car will give the female half of the population a much better feeling.”

Peter looked at me and said “Patsy, this has been a revelation akin to the one you delivered to me at Mario’s. What do you think I would have to change if I go ahead with this and how much do you think it would cost me?” I thought for a few seconds and answered “Peter, as far as change goes it isn’t much. Maybe some potted plants in the showroom, all of your front-of-house staff in smart casual and attending smile practise; a sign writer to reproduce the ‘not biggest but happiest’ logo on the window. The rest of the place is good, your paintwork is bright enough and you already have bunting out in the lot; maybe a few balloons may lift the spirit there. As far as cost, you can negotiate with Sarah about what this advert will cost you. Compared with what you would normally pay, this will be relatively cheap, but you still will have to get a new artwork for your newspaper advertising and billboards but you would have to do that if you altered the concept anyway. All in all, it does not cost a lot to smile and that is really the only thing we said in this advert.”

He looked at the expectant group around him and said “My business brain is screaming ‘don’t leave me’ but my heart is saying yes. What do you sales guys think?” They generally said yes with a couple of older ones looking pensive. “OK,” he said “I am going to give this a try over the summer. If it bombs we can always say it was just a summer campaign and if it takes off we are going to have to think of some different ways to make winter happy. What we now need to do is put this to air as soon as possible and organise a special launch day. Right, you lot get back to work; Patsy, can you come into my office?”

Joanne and I followed him, his family and the company rep, into his office and one of the office girls rounded up a few more chairs so we could all sit. He asked the rep if the company would come to the party with tee shirts and give-aways for a launch and the rep said yes. He then said that he would get on to his advertising people to look at the video and design some print ads and fliers for a launch. He asked me whether we would be available for a Saturday morning and I told him he would have to talk to Sarah but that I thought that we could do an acoustic set in the showroom if he cleared it of cars for the day.

I said that he needed to work fast because we were due to go on tour in only a few weeks’ time. He wrote lots of notes on a pad and thanked Joanne and me for coming today. I told him that the DVD was still in the machine but gave him a spare for safe keeping, saying that we could supply more if needed. His wife and daughters led me out, leaving him and the rep to nut out a plan of action. His wife thanked me for tipping him over the edge of something she had been pushing him toward but he had been too set in his ways to take the final step. I told her that it had been a bit more work than I first thought but had been satisfying and fun. She, and her daughters, gave us a hug each and I drove us back to the house.

Joanne had been pretty quiet through the whole thing so when we got back and sat ourselves in the kitchen with our coffees I asked her what was on her mind. She thought a bit and then said “This morning has distilled some of the thoughts I had been having lately. I sing because I love it and I organise things because I love to do that as well. You, on the other hand, seem to be a powerhouse of problem solving but, at the same time, you make it fun. I have been thinking of myself as an entertainer but am now think that we deliver fun. It happens at our concerts, it happens when we do karaoke, it happened this morning. You delivered fun and Peters’ customers will receive some of that fun in the future. It is a strange thing that you can weave a spell of fun over everyone and I now realise that it was there in the old school band but you disguised it so well no-one really saw it was you. Some of your songs are about love and drama but none are negative while most are simply fun on a stick. You make me happy, very happy, and you have given all of the other girls a sense of purpose. I know that we will be passing on that fun to thousands of concert-goers over the next three months. Please don’t change as I love you the way you are!” We both stood and hugged and kissed and were still doing so when Nina walked into the kitchen and said “Get a room you two.”

Joanne replied that we already had one, thank you very much and we sat down again. Lorraine and Minh came in and Minh asked me what the individual contracts really meant. I explained that she would be paid the money to ensure that any solo work she did for five years was to be exclusively marketed by Simons’ company and if she did not do any the money was still hers. I did remind them that K Beat took ten percent and advised them to put the remainder aside in an interest bearing deposit so that, if there were any problems, it could be paid back and that any interest would be hers to keep. All the girls nodded at this. Then she asked why there could be a problem and I told her that another company may offer two or three million in a year or two when she is famous and there needed to be leeway for negotiations at that time.

She seemed stunned at that. “But what could I do outside the group that would be so needed?” she asked. I told her to think back to Saturday evening and our karaoke session. “We stood up there on that stage and you sang ‘Micky’ beautifully and we all did numbers that showed that any one of us could be a solo star. Do you think that a canny operator like Simon would not have seen that! I have spoken with our management and it was said that you could provide the ideal vehicle for our Christmas album with some songs built from your work with the church teens. I think it would work well and is something to think about after the summer. We could all go into next year with solo albums as well as the group output. I can see Nina doing an album covering her namesake Nina Simone and Lorraine would be out there giving Doris Day and Marilyn Munroe a shake-up. Joanne can sing as well as any of us but I cannot pidgeon-hole her style just yet but I do know that she and I could do duets. You and I just have to sit down and write more songs aimed at our individual styles, they could be used to round out our group pop concerts as well. We can do anything we put our minds to; the world, as they say, is our oyster.”

Part 8

Sunday I drove the sports car to see my mother and then went for a drive out into the countryside and back to clear my mind. I had to get to grips with the dynamics of a changing situation and get settled before the stress of the tour, as stress was certain to occur with a bunch of people in a pressure situation. More relaxed I drove back to the house and spent the evening in the lounge with my guitar and the girls just doodling with any song that came to mind. Before I went to bed I said “It has come to me that if Peter wants us to appear at his dealership launch, we can do an acoustic set with just a PA system and a couple of the band guys. It doesn’t have to be our stage stuff, maybe we can do some of the old numbers about cars and holidays and gentle folk for an hour.”

Monday we did our gym work before breakfast and went into the office to catch up with Ma, who was in a whirlwind of activity so was a bit hard to catch. Lucy did tell us that the stage costumes were coming along well and that she had arranged outfits for both bands that fitted our looks. Our publicist had a great long list of media people who wanted to see us in each city over the next three months and our music publisher said he had transcribed enough songs to make our first music book for the shops. Tom told us that the logistics were coming along and that he had put together two small crews to do the setting up and transport and had one at each tour qualified to drive a bus for, not only the intercity transport but also getting us to and from airports. When we got back to Ma she had enough time to tell us that we flew out to Baltimore exactly two weeks from Thursday so to make sure we had tidied everything up by then.

I asked her if she could ring Al at ‘The Place’ to see if he would be happy to host a ‘see you later’ concert this Saturday night and, if he could, would she arrange with the ‘new boys’ to be ready to practise the full set during the week so we could play. I told her that we may be asked to do an acoustic set at the car dealership the following Saturday and told her I would arrange it with a couple of the old band and would see if Ron had a small PA up his sleeve. When I caught up with him I explained that it was not set yet but we may have to do a small set at the car dealership and that, to make it easier, I thought that we could have us five girls on stools with Minh and me playing acoustic guitar and, if I could get them to do it, either Carl or Jake also on acoustic guitar and one of our bass players on double bass with one of our drummers just on a snare drum and cymbal.

I then asked him if he could put his hand on a small PA system and enough mics to mic all singers and instruments with a mixer unit to handle all of that so there is one lead into the PA. And, I said, I wanted a separate hand-held radio mic with a receiver plugged into the PA on a separate channel for the MC to use. The gig would be Saturday week if it goes ahead and I will let him know as soon as I did. He said that he was really glad to see that Peter had gone with the advert as we may be able to add that business to the K Beat list when we moved into a new studio. He said he was already looking at equipment and had been really surprised by the technology now available.

I then went to talk to Carl and Jake and outlined what will, hopefully, happen next Saturday night and the following Saturday during the day. I explained the folk group instrumentation that would work at the dealership and Jake commented that I didn’t get stuck in a rut. They said they would put a team together if needed and, when I confirmed the gig, they would organise the instruments from the music store. When I got back to our office Ma told me I was wanted in Sarah’s office so I went to see her. When I walked in Peter and the company rep were sitting by the desk so I said hello and sat down. Peter said “We really have to thank you for what you produced for us. We have been busy planning our changes and would like you and the girls to play at our launch. We plan it for Saturday week and I am here to negotiate, with Sarah here, your fee and also to come to an arrangement to pay for your work so far. We need to verify who needs to be paid for what.”

I listed those who have put work into the advert; Chris spent about two weeks off and on doing the video, Minh and I spent about eight hours composing and that Chris, Ron and me were about four hours in the studio getting the final cut. I said that the car was supplied by a friend who only needed to be paid in hugs, kisses and signed photos and had been already paid in full. Beyond that there was only the studio time. Sarah was making notes and she told Peter that she would have an invoice ready before he left the building. I asked if the two gentlemen would like a small tour as Ron and the guys would need confirmation of the gig and Ron would need to know where, and how many, power points were in the showroom. So that’s what we did. I took them to the Patsy Office to meet all of the other girls (where Ma told me the dance gig was on) and then down to the practice stage to meet the two bands and finally to the studio to meet Ron.

On the way back to Sarah the rep remarked that it was a bigger operation than he thought and I explained that it would be bedlam from today in the countdown to two tours side by side. He asked me where we would be playing and I listed them off for him. He asked me what days we played Detroit and I told him it was a Friday, Saturday and Sunday night but he would have to check with Ma regarding the dates and venue. I said the next concerts were the following weekend in New York and were the last on that tour but we had another festival to play at the following weekend before we could come home. He commented on how hard we worked, and there was him thinking we just sang for a couple of hours a week. I told him to watch out for advertising by ‘The Place’ for this Saturday night if he wanted to see just how hard the work was.

I left them with Sarah to finalise the business and went to grab the girls for lunch and after that we spent the afternoon with the new band going through the dance set. I told Carl that the next week was set aside to go through the pop set and any extra songs we could play if needed and then we went home for a bubble bath, dinner and sleep. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday was much the same, finalising details for the tour and practise with the band. We were now very smooth and I congratulated them on their hard work. We had put together a set to finish with ‘Dancefloor’ and save ‘Maximum Dance’ for an encore. If we played it on Saturday it would be the first time the dance club patrons would have heard it as we had not sent Al a studio copy of the live performance. Friday the guys had the day off and we did a bit of relaxing and talking about the future. In the afternoon we had a salon pampering and had an early night as Saturday would be a late one.

Saturday we did an extra work-out on the gym machines and dressed in jeans for the day. I looked in our larder and went out to the shop to get some supplies then, in the afternoon, Minh and I spent time in the home studio working through new songs, ending with four rough cuts on the laptop. We all had a light meal and then got ourselves dressed in the red leather pants and boots outfit we had used at the second concert and waited for the limo to pick us up. When we got to ‘The Place’ there was a queue to get in and we went around the back to the stage entrance. The boys were already there with the gear set up on stage and I could see that they were excited by their debut in ‘the big time’ so we spent some time chatting and trying to settle them. Finally we were given the nod, strapped on our guitars, put on our radio mics and special buds. I pressed my intercom button and asked if everyone was set and, after they all answered, I gave the stagehand the nod and the curtains opened. It was a blast, the guys were really energetic and the extra volume brought them alive. We did the lot and after ‘Maximum Dance’ faded I called ‘Thank you Nashville, next stop Washington!”

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 9

We were all sweaty when we walked off the stage, shedding our mics, buds and instruments. The buds really worked well as I could hear quite well straight after the show. We all gave the boys a hug and I told Jake that they were awesome.

Al came back to us and told us that everyone out on the dance floor were still buzzing and that he wished we could play there every Saturday. It was now early in the morning so we consigned all our equipment to Tom and his crew and we all went home. It had been a busy week and the success of the new band was very exciting for the festivals. Once again it showed that the higher volume worked well for our music.

Sunday we tried to have a workout but all were so tired we all pulled up short. I took the sports car and went to see my ‘Aunt Ruby’ where we had a good chat and I told her that the next Sunday would be the last for a while. She put on a brave face and smiled when I said I would try to send messages to the ‘support crew’ so they can pass them along. She could send me messages by return if she wanted. She asked me if I was having any trouble being a full Patsy now and I told her that I really did not think about it; I just carried on as me, no matter what I looked like. She told me that I was no longer ‘me’ but a whole new person with a whole new personality but she liked it.

Leaving her I took another drive in the country; stopping at a rural service station for petrol and a bar of chocolate. The young girl behind the counter looked twice at me and then, with a tremulous voice, asked “Are you Patsy?” I said I was and I was pleased to meet her and she told me she had been at the dance club last night. I joked that it was easy to see as the rings under her eyes matched mine. We chatted about the gig and the upcoming tours and she asked me not to leave while she went and got our DVD for me to sign and then to pose with her for a selfie. I drove away thinking that this had been the first real interaction with a fan and contemplated having fans that may not be as polite as this one. In the afternoon I sat with Minh and we talked about the concept of a Christmas album and then drew up a songlist with just content concepts for each track so that we had a Christmassy song followed by a teen song. We decided to work on songs during the tours when we had any quiet times. I said that one track, or maybe two, should be more adult songs that she could sing at our concerts so we decided to concentrate on those first with a view to putting them in the show.

The following week was pretty well a normal with practise of the pop concert with the old band and work on an acoustic set with our folk sound. One part of the week that was not normal on Wednesday when we were called to see Sarah in her office and arrived to see that Simon, Joey and a couple of legal types were there. They had contracts for us to sign and we were each nearly a million dollars richer! Simon said that he was heading back to New York later in the day but that Joey was going to remain in Nashville to see our set on Saturday. I asked Simon if he had seen our studio and he said he hadn’t so we took them on a full tour of the workplace. He was amazed at the practice stage and what he called a small studio. We told him that bigger premises were in the pipeline now. Joey had a good chat with Ron about ‘production values’ and Simon got pally with Carl and the old band talking about the ‘good old days’ when they were all in other bands. All in all they had a good visit. Simon did ask Ron to show him our advert and he seemed impressed by it.

Thursday Alice informed us that our money had come through so we trooped off to our bank to sit down with the financial people and put it straight to work for us. On the way back Lorraine said in a small voice “Guys, we are nearly millionaires. How unreal is that!” We had to agree and I said for them to just let it move to the back of the brain and not let it affect our careers. It was not going to be easy was the consensus. We did ease off that afternoon and Alice told us to take Friday off and go somewhere nice as a group. She suggested a spa complex outside the city and that the company would pay for it, so that filled our Friday. A full day of massage and oiling and beauty treatments was very relaxing; so much so most of us having a little snooze. When we were ready to leave the staff asked us to line up with them for a photo. There are fans everywhere!

Saturday morning we breakfasted, showered and dressed on long skirts with peasant tops and the limo arrived to take us to the dealership. When we got there it was already jumping with families looking at cars, kids on rides and the jumping castle. There were face painters, balloon artists and clowns and it looked like a lot of fun. We were shepherded into the showroom where Ron and the folk group waited for us. We sat on our stools and Minh and I hoisted our guitars. Behind us we had both Carl and Jake with Boss on a double bass and Kevin on the drums. We sang a song while Geoff stood in front of us and Ron set the mixer. That set we all went outside to mingle. Peter was resplendent in a loud shirt and his wife and daughters had very bright sun dresses on. I could see the sales staff by their bright colours and they seemed very busy. Peter said that the advert had been on local TV for the week and there had been a groundswell of positive comments from customers, if not from his fellow city business colleagues who thought he was crazy. The rep was there in a bright jacket but still with the company logo on the pocket. We mingled with the customers and signed autograph books and DVDs that mysteriously appeared from large bags.

Peter’s daughters sought us out and thanked us for turning their father into a real person instead of a manic stress machine. They said that life at home was much better now. Around midday it was announced that the BBQ was ready so there was a rush to the caterer’s tables and everything went quiet for a half an hour. Peter then called for everyone to go into the showroom for the official launch. We went in and found that rows of chairs had been placed there so we went and sat at our stools and Peter took the radio mic and did the official launch of the new look dealership, thanking us for our work on the advert and the car company for backing it. He cut a ceremonial ribbon to applause and the left us to entertain.

I started up strumming the guitar and the others came in before we started singing a number of well-known country standards and folk songs and then a short set of our quieter numbers followed by another group of car related songs finishing with a very odd folk version of ‘Born to be wild’ sung by Carl that had several people chuckling. We stood up and took our bows and the showroom slowly cleared. Ron told us to leave everything as a few of the road crew had volunteered to move the equipment back to the studio. We mingled again and Joey caught up with us accompanied by a very pretty girl who was introduced as his wife. She said that after hearing our music in New York she had bought a set of industrial ear plugs and was very surprised not to need them – but it was a pleasant surprise. I told her to hang on to them as she may well need them if Joey took her to one of the festivals.

When we thought it politic to leave we looked for Peter and found him talking to an elderly gent in a sports jacket. He saw me and interrupted his discussion to tell me again how happy he was at the outcome of my advert and introduced me to his companion who turned out to be his doctor. The gentleman took my hand and thanked me for bringing his patient back from a certain early demise as his blood pressure had come down to almost normal over the past week and his bloods were looking good as well.

On Sunday we all went to the nursing home to see Ruby and thank our ‘support crew’ for their input and every laughed when I told them about Peter and his health. “Wow” said one “we now have a Patsy Pill!”

Part 10

As we were leaving the nursing home Kay said, “You know that you have been dispensing the Patsy Pill here?” I asked her what she meant and she went on “Since this lot have been involved in your band they have improved out of sight. We monitor them regularly and blood pressures over the whole home have dropped and several that showed other symptoms of age or stress are showing much better results. It’s like you brought a wellbeing potion in with you.” I laughed and said that it was a pity I couldn’t bottle it as I would be rich by now. She told me I carried my riches with me everywhere I went as she gave me a hug and then wished me luck for the tour. She told me that Alice had given her twenty tickets for the Nashville Wednesday night in three weeks and that the gang will be there. The rest of Sunday was spent on the gym machines and being quiet.

Monday was taken care of by going over the details for the tours. Carl and the old band were flying to Baltimore on Tuesday to check out the set-up there in plenty of time for the first concert the following Monday. The new band was flying to Washington on Wednesday to get acquainted with the set up there. The road crews both left today; a van with our instruments, radio mics and buds plus a couple of racks of stage clothing plus a minibus with our roadies, beauticians, Lucy and a dresser and with ‘Patsy and the Innocent Party On Tour’ sign written on both sides headed to Baltimore while another minibus similarly sign written with our other beauticians, dressers and road crew left for Washington in convoy with a truck carrying our other instruments, radio mics and special buds plus four amp stacks, dance gig clothing and boxes of new posters. The boxes of photos and posters had already been freighted to the ‘Amazon’ tour organisers.

It looked like nothing was left to chance. Tuesday was spent packing our personal clothing to last a couple of weeks as we would be back at the house when playing in Nashville. We made sure we had all our personal paperwork and our tour identification lanyards for both tours (different colours thankfully) as well as a plentiful supply of headache tablets as per Carls’ advice. Wednesday was a full day in the office with a long meeting with Ma and the publicist; then one with Sarah and Alice. We were instructed to stay teetotal and make sure we did not go anywhere alone as we would be out in the big world and possible targets for ‘crazies’. Alice said “Don’t think we’re exaggerating, we have been there ourselves.”

Thursday dawned early for us as we showered, dressed in casual clothing, breakfasted and waited for the limo. It turned up with a small van for our cases and we were off to the airport to fly to Baltimore. Ma and Alice were there to see us off and we all hugged before boarding the plane. It was an uneventful flight and when we came out of the arrival lounge our bus driver for this part of the tours, Billy, was there with one of the lady staffers from Simon’s office. She introduced herself as Angela and pronounced that she would be our company rep for the entire tour season and would be coming with us to the festivals so, if there were any problems, she could handle them.

We piled our cases into the minibus and got ourselves seated and were off into the city. Angela explained that we had a number of rooms on one floor and ‘Amazon’ were on the floor above while the promotors were above them “Such is the pecking order” she said. We had twin rooms so would share, three rooms for us with her sharing with one of us and two rooms each for the band, beauticians and dressers. We quickly decided that it would be Joanne and I in a room and Minh and Nina said they would share so Angela got to share with Lorraine. It made it easy when we checked in to send the bags to the right rooms.

After we had freshened up we gathered in the dining room for lunch. The rest of our party were there and Carl brought us up to speed on the venue. It was quite a large theatre, seating about two thousand and he said that he was told we were about three quarters booked. He said that ‘Amazon’ would fly in on Saturday morning but their road crew were already in town and had set up the equipment if we wanted to do a sound check today or tomorrow. “Amazon’ had ordered us to stay away Saturday and Sunday so they could practise alone. Nina was a bit upset as she was jumping out of her skin to meet Ashley (“I have her poster on my bedroom wall”) so I told her that there would be lots of time to meet her. In the afternoon we went to the theatre and got onto the stage and did a couple of numbers to get the sound check.

Our mix guy took a note of all of our final settings in his book as we were sharing the mixing board, then we went off for a walk in the city. We had a look in a couple of shops (much to the disgust of the guys) and then went back to the hotel for dinner and a quiet evening. Well, it was meant to be but Angela got a message from our publicist that we had an appointment to be interviewed on a late TV chat show that night and gave the instructions of time and place. So, it was dinner, dress up and get ourselves to the TV station where we found that our publicist was spot on about superannuated twits hosting chat shows but we smiled sweetly and chatted with the host for our allotted ten minutes. He ended by saying “Tune in at the same time tomorrow night when we will be talking to ‘Amazon’”. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that he would be left whistling Dixie.

Friday we worked in the theatre doing our show in the morning, breaking for lunch, and doing it again in the afternoon as well as a few of our emergency numbers. It all sounded good so we went back to the hotel for dinner. At dinner, Angela surprised us by telling us that our album was in the top ten and that both ‘Mall Song’ and ‘Changing had hit the top five in downloads and requests in a number of states so we should expect a good reception from the audiences next week. She also said that a double DVD of our Nashville concert will be released next week with one disc being the first half of the first show and the other, the second half of the second show. It would have multi camera images rather than the single camera raw footage on the discs I had been given. She gave us an itinerary of interviews and visits we were to attend over the weekend and we had an early night. I did not bother watching the chat show. The weekend went as had been planned; we dressed nicely, smiled a lot and spoke well when we met the media and other dignitaries on both days.

Monday was a different kettle of fish. At breakfast in the dining room we were joined by the ‘Amazon’ band minus Ashley and Georgina. We all introduced ourselves and when asked where the other two were we got the answer that they did not get out of bed before midday, if they could then. Anyway we got on quite well with the rest of the band. Riordan was the rhythm guitarist and, she said, the main song writer (“But I never get any credit for it!”). She was the same age as Ashley and Georgina and went to school with them. Together they had formed a singing trio which grew into the band as it was today. The three of them were about ten years older than us girls. The rest of the band included Kurt on bass, ‘VB’ on drums and Julia on the keyboard. All three were about another ten years older still and they hit it off immediately with our older guys. They all left to go to the theatre to check out the situation there and left the five of us with Riordan. Angela excused herself to go and do some ‘business stuff’ and Nina, Minh and Lorraine went up to their rooms to call their folks. Riordan, Joanne and I retired to a terrace lounge and chatted about the upcoming tour.

“Look” she said, “I know that this may be a big deal for you but I have to tell you that Ashley chose you because you are unknown and would not take the gloss off us. However, the way she has been lately I do not know if we can keep her under control. We may have to abandon the tour at some stage!”

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 11

She went on to tell us that when the band was young, Ashley and Georgina were into drink but then gravitated to weed, on to cocaine and was now dabbling with heroin. She, and the rest of the band, were clean and intended to stay that way.

She was worried that the two would go and do something stupid this summer but assured us that the rest of her band would do their best to get everyone to the end. “We think that this will be the last tour of the band but we will try to put out studio tracks in the coming few years. The rest of us are tired of the grunge biker look that Ashley and Georgina insist on for our live shows, it is so yesterday. Oh! I know you have not met them yet but Georgina likes to be called George so you will see why she wears black leather jeans and a biker jacket on stage, as well as most of rest of the time.” She sat back, fully expecting us to break down crying.

I put my hand on hers and said “Riordan, what you have told us is not unexpected. We have heard rumours that this was your last tour but had no details about Ashley. Our Nina is going to be devastated as Ashley is her teenage heroine and has a poster on her wall at home. I am afraid that Ashley is going to be in for a big surprise tonight as there should be a significant number of fans of ours in the audience, seeing that our debut album is in the national top ten and our live DVD has been selling well. I think that you guys are going to have to be well on your game to follow us.”

It was her turn to look shocked. “You’re not complete unknowns from the boondocks? Oh dear, Miss Bitchy and Miss Butchy are really going to have to suck it up when they find that out! I will let our guys know to be on top form tonight if you let your guys know that there could be rough times ahead. I think that you have a much bigger stake in this tour than us.” I asked her if she had been told that we would be going to do shows at the dance festivals as well during the summer and she said that they had been only told that we would open for them.

We left it at that and I went up to our rooms and got Angela and the other girls together. I sat close to Nina when I told them what was going on and held her as she sobbed. “Dammit” she said “when I get home that poster is going to be pasted to some softwood and used as a dartboard!” I asked them to remain calm whatever happens and that we will perform at our best, both on and off the stage. Angela said that she would have to let Simon know just in case we get cancelled, so he could be ready to sue the other management. We discussed the situation calmly now and agreed that the other band members were all right. I said that it should be advantageous that our older guys hit it off with them. We got ourselves freshened up and took ourselves to the theatre.

Carl greeted me when we walked in and said “There is something going on but I have not got a handle on it yet” I asked him to get our entire crew together for a meeting and indicated that we should go and sit in the auditorium, away from the stage. When we were all together, I told them quietly what we had been told earlier and asked that they all act as if they knew nothing but keep an eye out for ructions. I told them to let me or Angela know if there was anything important that Simon or K Beat needed to know but, in the meantime, we should all act as if we would if nothing was amiss.

We did not want to precipitate an argument between the bands and we certainly should not let anything that Ashley or Georgina does get under our skin. If they want to play diva then we act as if they have earned the right. Carl commented that this was heavy stuff so early in the tour and Lucy asked if she should tell Ma. I thought we should hold it to ourselves for the moment as it may all blow over. Yeah, and pigs may fly!! I told them that sound checks would be one or two of our emergency numbers so we did not show our hand too early and we made our way up to the stage to do just that. After lunch we sat in the circle while ‘Amazon’ did their sound check. When they put their instruments down I asked our group what they thought. Nina, of course, said she was disappointed.

The consensus was that they were not too bad, the backing band was solid and Georgina played a mean guitar, if a bit sloppily, while Ashley certainly had a manic stage performance that bordered on being well over the top. We did agree that they would do OK if they stayed out of trouble. We all went down to the foyer to see the concession stands. “Amazon” had a stand selling CDs and posters. We had one selling our debut CD and the original live DVD as well as photos and posters. Our friendly music store had a stand with the guitars we used and a banner saying ‘Sponsors to Patsy and the Innocent Party’. I had noticed that our stage gear had stickers on them from the store and also the Patsy logo we picked for the plectrums. Lo and behold, there was a box of picks for sale at a dollar each. I said to the guy setting up to save me a few as I did not have my purse with me and he told me to take a handful as they only cost half a cent to make but to make sure I threw a few into the crowd as I played.

We went back to the hotel for a light dinner and I gave out picks to all of our guitar players. We then went back to the theatre to dress for our part of the show. Lucy had chosen bright red skirts with black tops that were big enough to move about easily and our beauticians then made sure our hair was good and the make-up perfect and we were ready to go. We had a 7.30pm start time so at 7.15 we went out on the stage and put on our mics and buds. When everyone was ready I keyed the comms button and asked if everyone was right. They all said OK but after that our sound mans’ voice came on asking us to hold off until he said go as the mixing desk settings were all over the place and he was having to reset from his notebook. I could hear the buzz from the audience while we waited and finally he told us we were good to go. I looked at the band and said 3, 2, 1, while nodding at the stage hand on the curtain controls. As they opened we kicked off with ‘Mall Song’. The tour had begun.

I could see that a lot of the crowd was not there especially to see us but they eventually followed the singing of the chorus and by the time we got to the end they were with us. We did our set ending in ‘Wait’ and the crowd called for more so we did ‘Changing’ as an encore then took our bows as the curtains closed. Leaving the stage to let the roadies do the change-over we walked into the wings to go back to our changing room. I did see Ashley looking daggers at us but ignored her. We quickly changed back into normal clothes and Lucy took control of the stage gear for cleaning tomorrow and we went out of the side entrance and took our bus back to the hotel.

We were sitting in the lounge when a guy came in and walked over to us. “Who is in charge here?” he asked. I nodded to Angela who said she was the distributors representative here to oversee our tour and that this would mean that probably, she was. He then told her that Ashley was not happy with the band doing an encore. Angela said that the crowd demanded it so an encore was required. He reiterated that Ashley said that we should not do any more so I said, “All right we will just take a few seconds after our penultimate song and then announce that the next was to be our last. No problem.” He firstly smiled as if he had won and then realised that we would do exactly the same as we had tonight but call it something different. “Just you wait” he said “Ashley will get her way, she always does.” And he strode off purposely. We waited until he was out of the room and broke into giggles. The battle had begun! And it was only the first city.

Next day we did much the same, performed our set, now one song longer, and went back to the hotel. Wednesday was a repeat performance and Friday morning the six of us flew to Washington.

Part 12

At Washington airport we were picked up by Alan, our driver, and taken straight out to the Festival grounds. We were dropped off near the organisers hut and Angela went in to see what they had for us. When she came out she told us the stage we were to use and that there was a preparation tent behind it where the rest of our crew were. We located the stage and the tent and found the band there. Jake told us that we had been originally scheduled for late Friday afternoon but had been moved to early Saturday evening.

This was good so we collected our whole crew and we went to the hotel. We checked in with the same room sharing as before and proceeded to settle down, happy we did not have to play today, after all. Having the afternoon free I asked the hotel if they could provide a tour driver as we had our own bus and he said he could organise one for after lunch. I went up to our rooms and told everyone who wanted that we would be driven, in our own bus, around Washington this afternoon for a sight-seeing tour. Jake said that the band had already done one the day before so it was Angela, our five and one of the dressers who collected the tour driver at the counter after lunch and led him to our bus.

We spent a happy afternoon gawking at the sights and stopping to buy trinkets to take home. Back at the hotel we paid the driver and went up to our rooms to freshen up for dinner. We were all having our meal when a hotel staffer came over to speak to Angela. She excused herself and left the table. When she came back she said “That was Joey, He wanted to know what was going on because he had received a complaint from the ‘Amazon’ management that we were overstepping the bounds of subservience by doing encores every night, and that Ashley had demanded that we stop or she would kick us off the tour.” She looked around the table and said “I told him what was really happening and he asked politely if we could do something to defuse the situation for the next city.” I smiled and said “That’s too easy; we can finish with the same songs but take one out of the middle. Let’s see if she picks it up.”

Saturday afternoon we went out to the festival site and located the new stage we had been allocated. Our roadies were there with the equipment in the truck. It seemed that there would be a band playing on that stage from 5.00pm to 6.00pm and then we had until 7.30pm to set up as another band would be playing on another stage. In fact, there was a band on that stage now. We made arrangements with our crew to assemble at 6.00pm at the tent and went out into the festival site to look around.

There were lots of food and product stalls and we found the one selling our merchandise in conjunction with the music store. The guys on the stall were happy to see us and we were told that there was a sense of disappointment when it was announced that we had been rescheduled but a cheer when it was announced that we were to play tonight. They said that sales had been good, especially the dance DVD and posters of us girls. The music store guy said that he had quoted lots of guitars and amps and had nearly sold out of the picks. He had ordered more to be air freighted to him and should have more for Sunday. We thanked them for their work and stood with them while Angela took several photos on their phones for them.

We stood and listened to the band on our stage for a while and then made our way to the tent. At the tent we were met by Barry, one of the brothers. He told us that the success of our album and DVD had created a huge swell of interest and asked us if we could also play Sunday evening at the same time. I looked at Angela and asked if it was allowed in the contract and she said it was if they paid for it. He agreed and we said we would be back on Sunday.

We had not played yet but were already bumped to Saturday night and now playing at the final night. When the band now on stage finished we waited until they came off and their roadies cleared the stage and our crew got stuck in with setting us up. By 7.00pm we had changed and had been beautified and we then listened to the band on the other stage for a few minutes before putting on our mics and plugging our ears with the super buds. I keyed my comms and asked the mixer tech if he was good. He came back telling me that he had followed the settings from Baltimore that had been emailed to him but trebled the volume. He said he would make small adjustments as needed for this open environment and save the settings.

I thanked him and asked if everyone else was ready and they all came back with a yes. I took one bud out and listened for the other band to finish and, when they did, gave them a short time to get off the stage, said “Let’s go” and we all went up on our stage. There was already a crowd in front of us and more were streaming from the other stage so I turned to the band and tapped my guitar three times and turned back to the crowd as the first bars of ‘Bounce’ nearly blew me off the stage. As we were to play until 9.00pm we did the longer versions of our songs and I could see a writhing mass of dancers in front of us. We finished ‘Dancefloor’ at just 8.45pm so, as the crowd was screaming for more, we did a fifteen minute version of ‘Maximum Dance’ to finish on time. I waved at the screaming horde and we walked off stage to allow the roadies to do their job. I told everyone that they had done a good job and that we can do it all over again tomorrow night. Angela said that she thought the Baltimore concert was good but that this was from another planet altogether.

We got changed into normal clothing and Alan drove us back to the hotel where it was a good shower and bed. At breakfast Angela told us that she had got a call from Simon who wanted me to ring him back, so I left the table and went up to my room and called him. He congratulated me on our Baltimore concerts and told me that our double Live DVD would hit the shops Monday. He then said that the debut album had hit number two in the charts and our singles from it were both joint number one in the download charts. The Live at the Place DVD was also into the top twenty in general charts and in the top five in the dance charts. He then told me that the management of ‘Amazon’ had approached him to buy the rights for their future output.

I told him that it was unlikely there would be any output at all from the current line-up but that Riordan had told me that the rest of the band wanted to make more discs themselves should Ashley and Georgina leave so it was a viable purchase at the right price. I said I thought that the management had been pressured by Ashley to make a last bit of money as I did not think she had much more singing in her. I also told him that, no matter what the sleeve notes say, Riordan was the song writer and there was certainly money to be made if he bought exclusive rights to the name. He thanked me for the information and said he would let me know what happened. Back at the table I told everyone about the chart placings but nothing else.

We spent the morning in the hotel gym and swimming pool. I had my first experience of being seen in a bikini, somewhat un-nerving. At lunch Barry Jackson came up to our table and congratulated us on our performance last night and told us that, because of the success of our Live DVD we presently outranked the other bands so he wondered if we could close tonight starting at 10.30pm and going as long as the crowd demanded. We took a quick show of hands and told him we would be delighted to. Jake said “wow, first big gig and we’re closing the festival; I’m not sure my heart can stand it!” We all laughed and told him welcome to the big time. We discussed plans and decided that we would do extended versions of our best songs which would take us up to about a two hour set so we made a list of those. We then took it easy again in the afternoon before having a good dinner and went up to our rooms to shower and prepare ourselves for a late night.

So we made our way to the festival site for 9.00pm and almost immediately had the stage to set up. There was a large crowd in front of us even then. Come 10.25 the other band finished and there was a rush to be in front of us and we went up onto stage and gave them what they wanted until nearly 1.00am in the morning, leaving the stage after a five minute ovation. Another one put to bed!!!

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 13

Monday morning found us being asked by the publicist to front up to a local radio station in the morning, an afternoon TV chat show and an evening TV chat show with another channel so we had to get our flight altered to Tuesday. The Tuesday flight got us to Cincinnati in the afternoon and Billy picked us up.

The promoters had changed our hotel so that Ashley didn’t have to see us, how nice of them; so we made ourselves comfortable in our rooms and then hit the hotel gym to work out the stress. We intended to spend the week chilling out and doing the shops. We were not playing until Saturday and Sunday so we had a bit of break time.

Wednesday morning we were having our breakfast when Julia from ‘Amazon’ came into our dining room and asked if there was somewhere we could talk. I called a waiter over and asked him if there was a meeting room that we could use when we had finished eating. He went to see someone and came back to tell us there was a meeting room on the first floor that we could use and gave us the directions to find it. I told Julia to meet us there in half an hour and she left us to finish our meal. Angela said “This gets stranger and stranger.” We all agreed. When we had finished our coffee we went and found the room and sat down to wait.

It was not long before there was a knock on the door and when I opened it I saw Julia had Riordan, Kurt and VB with her. They came in and sat down and Riordan said “I have to apologise on our behalf for you being shifted from our hotel. It is not right or even decent. You did upset Ashley and Georgina on the first night in Baltimore by firstly overcoming her little bit of vandalism with the mixing board and then having ‘her’ crowd asking for an encore. She does not like to be upstaged. We are able to be here now because the two of them are so far out of it from last nights’ drinking they will not be surfacing for a couple of more hours.”

“We took advantage of another of their binges on Sunday and flew to Washington to see your dance act as a friend had rung me to tell me that you were closing the show. I have to say that we were all blown away with your talents and with that other backing band you used there. On top of that we saw about five or six thousand fans dancing themselves into exhaustion; it was a very heady experience. We flew back Monday morning and we have spent all day Monday talking about things.” I thanked her for her comments and asked her how we could help them.

Julia answered then “We have got a tip from a friend in our management office that they are trying to sell the rights to the future output of ‘Amazon’. We have no idea what that would mean to us, whether it would include us as we stand now or just Ashley and Georgina. It would all depend on what the new owners will want and it has us all really worried that, if things get out of hand on the tour, our whole future may be shot.” I looked at Angela and said “This may be an opportune time to call Simon”. She took out her phone and rang him. When he answered she gave a brief outline of what had been said at the table and asked him if he had any news from New York. He obviously asked her to put him on speakerphone as she did just that and put the phone in the middle of the table.

Simon said “I am Simon Longford, general manager of our music division. Can all members of ‘Amazon’ please identify themselves?” The band said their names and hello in turn. Simon then said “Riordan, Kurt, VB and Julia, I can welcome you to our company as of 11.00am this morning when I meet with the representative of your management company to take over future distribution and management of ‘Amazon’ but have named the four of you only. You will be part of K Beat once the tour is finished and colleagues of the rabble in the room with you.”

They all yelped and Riordan cried “Thank you Mister Longford, you have taken a crushing weight from our shoulders. We have been worried for months.” Simon said “I will be in Nashville on the weekend to see you play there and will arrange to meet you all. We do have to keep this from Ashley and Georgina, though. They may try to destroy your group before the end of the tour if they find out. I will get your old management to sign a non-disclosure agreement to be in place until the tour finishes in New York where we will have an official announcement to the industry press. You do not have to worry about your future any more. If there is anything that comes up between now and the end of the tour, just call on Angela as she will be your link to me.”

“Now, Patsy, I have heard from Joeys wife that your performance in Washington was a great experience and she thanks you for suggesting that she hang on to her hearing protection.” He then said he was looking forward to Nashville and rang off. There was much chatter and group hugs and a bit of a tear from Riordan and Julia. “Look” I said, “this stays in this room for the moment. We will carry on as if none of this has happened and you must all act as if you are still worried about your future as anything else may alert Ashley”.

Riordan said “I have known Ashley from school days and she will stop at nothing to get her own way. I hope she is not thinking about ways to sabotage your set but you must be alert for the next few weeks. Do not handle anything which looks like it has dust on it and make sure you keep all of your purses secure when you are on stage as I have seen her get rid of a rival years ago by planting drugs and calling the police. I am sure she has something planned for the Nashville concerts as she has that smirk on her face whenever that city is mentioned.” We said that we would be doubly alert and Angela said she would get our security service to put men on to be with us twenty four seven.

After they had left Angela said to me, “Before he was put on speaker, Simon told me to thank you for the heads-up as he thinks that he got the best bargain for years.” We went about the rest of the day doing as we had in Washington by getting the hotel to find us a tour bus driver and take us about the best places in town. Wednesday was another rest day and I took some time to work through some new and old songs. Thursday we went to the theatre to do a sound check with the mixer tech not only writing down the settings but also taking a photo on his phone. Friday we did various interviews for the media and Saturday morning we were in a local salon for a full work-over. Saturday evening we were taken to the theatre in the bus with a security man joining us.

When we got there we were not allowed off the bus until the security guy had searched our dressing room, coming out with a couple of plastic bags. He said, “These were in a couple of drawers at the make-up station. I am going to call a colleague to take them from me for testing and once he gets here we can go in.” His colleague was only a few minutes away and, once he had left with the bags, we went to the dressing room, passing Ashley on the way and she had a big grin on her face. We went about our business and got dressed and ready for the opening. We were a little early so were just sitting there when the door opened and a couple of policemen walked in. One held up his badge and said in a firm voice “No-one move. We are going to check you all for drugs as we have been given a tip that you are users and would have some here.”

Angela said it was OK, go ahead as we had nothing to hide so they proceeded to frisk everyone and then, finding nothing, looked in our purses and all the drawers. Finding nothing the one in charge said “I am sorry for bothering you and I thank you for your co-operation. It was obviously a hoax as, by just looking at you all, none of you are users.” After he left I said “I think we have a show to put on”. We trooped up to the stage and put on our instruments, buds and mics. As usual, I checked that everyone was good and our mixer tech came on saying that he needed to reset again but had done so. The stage hand gave us the sign and we stepped forward as the curtains opened to do our set; admittedly with one song less but finishing on a quasi-encore for a very enthusiastic audience. We took our bows and went back to the dressing room where the security man said that one from the other band had come by wanting to go in our dressing room but he had stopped her. We got changed and I said “Why don’t we get ourselves up at the back of the auditorium and watch ‘Amazon’ so that is what we did.

Part 14

We found ourselves a row of empty seats at the back of the circle and sat to watch. They were quite good and Ashley was obviously agitated but it tended to give her performance a bit of an edge. I watched Georgina, who tended to play as if she was a zombie, and I also noted Nina quietly singing along with the set; maybe she has forgiven the rest of the band but I am sure that there was still a dartboard in the making. We made our way out during their last song and went back to the hotel. Billy, our driver, told us that there had been someone lurking by the bus but had seen him and left. Our security guy immediately told him to pull over and stop so that he could check things. He took a flashlight and looked around all the wheel arches and behind the bumpers standing up with another bag in his hand. Angela said that this was getting beyond a joke as we waited for the other security man to come and take this bag away as well. When we arrived at the hotel, a police car pulled into the driveway as we were going inside, and we all surmised that Billy was not going to put the bus away for some minutes.

He confirmed that at breakfast, telling us that a couple of beat police had been in a diner having their break when a guy, who looked like a hobo, gave them a note that ‘some broad’ had told him to give them. The note said a band bus will pull into the hotel tonight and that they may find something interesting in it. We all silently thanked Riordan for her warning and told Billy to be extra careful, checking the bus before starting in the morning and staying with it while we were not in it ourselves. Angela rang the security company and asked for our detail to double. She put her phone down and said that they were not surprised after hearing the report from their man last night. I suggested that they come into the hotel and check all our rooms considering the lengths that Ashley seemed to going to. She got back on the phone and ten minutes later four guys came into the dining room and took all of our room keys; coming back ten minutes later saying that there were no drugs but there was some very risqué magazines in one of the rooms – did anyone know about it. One of the beauticians put her hand half up while blushing like a traffic light.

The Sunday concert was approached like a military operation, everything checked and searched. We had the security company send a couple of guys to the theatre early in the morning to make sure that nothing happened and when we got there in the evening they reported that the only thing odd was seeing an odd looking chap in biker gear carrying a pair of shears near the main power switches but he had run off when approached. Beyond that we went in, searched, got ready and did our set and, again, watched ‘Amazon’ from the back of the circle. Ashley and Georgina looked like hell and I was worried that one or the other would not be able to finish. They did, however, get to the last number and we made our way, after checking the bus again, back to the hotel.

The Monday morning we flew to Nashville for four days of performances starting on Wednesday evening in the Athenaeum. We were picked up by limos and everyone was taken to their various homes. We arrived at the house to find two security guards there; I was starting to think that this fame and fortune had some downsides to it. Minh rang her parents to tell them she was in town and well; Nina rang hers to ask them to buy some softwood sheet the size of the poster in her room; I rang the nursing home to speak to my mother first and then got their switchboard to patch me to Jim, telling him the highlights of the efforts to discredit us. He was almost beside himself and said he would talk to some of his contacts to see if there were recorded events around previous tours with Ashley.

We did our laundry, had some time on the gym machines and generally de-stressed. We had a bit of a conference around the kitchen table during lunch and agreed that we had done well so far, playing all concert dates so far despite things put in our way. About 2.00pm the phone rang and it was Angela saying that she needed to come to the house and speak to us urgently.

She arrived about a half an hour later with Simon with her. He said that he had decided to spend most of the week in Nashville and it was a good job he had. We pricked up our ears and he went on to say “This morning, when the hotel staff where ‘Amazon’ was staying, went to clean the rooms, they found Ashley and Georgina on the floor of their room. They were not dead but it seems that they had drunk themselves into a stupor and then OD’ed sometime in the night. From what I have been told it is unlikely they will be out of hospital for some time to come, if ever.” He said the other band members had already left the hotel and had arrived in Nashville when they were told. He suggested that we all go and see them to commiserate and try to cheer them up.

We agreed so Angela called up a limo while we freshened up and we piled in to follow their car to the hotel. When we got there we found the other four band members red-eyed and obviously upset. The two may have been evil but they had worked with them for over ten years. We hugged them while they cried themselves out and they finally settled down and Riordan said “What are we going to do now? We have a tour to finish and one third of the group is no longer going to be on stage. We are ruined!” Simon looked at me and said “I seem to remember a certain karaoke session in New York.” Angela started to grin and said “It won’t work, will it?” I knew what they were talking about and said “Riordan, we have a person in our group who, not only looks the part, but sings as well as Ashley.” Nina looked startled at this but stayed quiet. I said “If we can get access to the theatre this afternoon do you think that your band would be able to run through your set with her?” Kurt asked “What about lead guitar?” I told him that I could stand in for the trial as I thought that I had heard and seen enough to look the part; “it doesn’t need a lot of acting to look like a zombie” I joked.

Angela got on to the theatre to see if we could have access and I got onto the music store and spoke to Pierre Roland, asking him if he could get a complete set of equipment to the theatre urgently as we needed to play today but everything was still in transit. When he said he could and asked what was needed I passed the phone to Kurt who listed the gear that they usually used. I asked Simon what the legal position was and that he said that he had called the ‘Amazon’ management who had agreed that the tour was effectively over as of today and that he now had full control of the band. Riordan just looked amazed while Julia said “I have never seen something move with this speed before, it’s like watching a whirlwind.” Simon laughed and said “You haven’t seen Patsy in action before, have you?”

We took them over to their new home base at K Beat to meet Sarah and Alice. Riordan was over the moon to meet Alice as she had loved her songs years ago when she was young. Sarah said she would be allocating a new office suite for them for the future and told them that the whole company was behind them. They were getting more cheerful as time passed and we all then went to the theatre where the music store truck was unloading some amps and instruments. I had picked up my SG from the office so was OK already. Nina took me aside and said in a small voice “I used to sing their songs to my hairbrush when I was young and now you have got me to a point where I will be auditioning for Ashley’s’ spot. I could never have imagined this in my wildest dreams.” I told her that she was perfectly able to take Ashley’s place and even do it better; just to relax and close her eyes and imagine that it was that hair brush in front of her. While everything was being set up the roadies and support staff from ‘Amazon’ turned up to see what was going on, as did some of the staff from K Beat. I saw Lucy and asked her how long it would take, should everything go all right, to outfit Nina in something closely approximating Ashley’s look but, hopefully, more fashionable. “She said that she could put something together for Wednesday evening so I said “That’s good, see if you can do something in black leather for me, but not obviously biker looking.”

Everything got set up, we each said or played something to set the mixer, and Riordan asked Nina what she wanted to sing. Nina looked at me and said “Why don’t we start at the beginning of your set and stop if we mess it up?” So that is what we did; and we didn’t have to stop until we finished the last song.

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 15

When we finished I looked out at the small audience. The ‘Amazon’ crew were standing there open mouthed with all of the girls with tears streaming down their faces. Simon was smiling and Pierre, from the music store said “If I had not seen this with my own eyes I would never have believed it. I have to say that ‘Amazon’ has been reborn!”

I took the SG off and went over to Nina and gave her a big hug; Riordan took her guitar off and came over to hug us both. “You girls are miracle workers, you know that” she said. I looked at the others and they were smiling broadly. Kurt said that he felt the same way he felt when the band was young and at the height of its popularity.

“OK” I said, “how do we work this for the tour. We could lose Nina as an Innocent Girl but I would hate to be without her on stage with us. I could stand in on lead if you think I fit for a short while but you should be looking for another lead player who fits the band name.” Simon said he was happy whatever we did and Joanne asked Nina and me if we could do two shows a night. I looked at Nina and said “What do you want to do, Nina. We could get through the tour doing two shows every night and you could become the singer of the ‘New Amazon’ after that.” I saw Riordan and the others nod at that. Nina thought and said that it would be wonderful and if she had problems in the next few weeks she could always sit out of our sets for a night or two. Everyone seemed happy with things but Angela called out “Ok you lot, once may be a fluke, let’s do it again.” So we did.

We finished well into the evening and, as the music store took away all of their equipment, Simon said he would take us for a meal. Lorraine suggested Mario’s so we all piled into the limos and cars and went to see our favourite restaurant owner. He was flustered to see such a big crowd walk in on a Monday evening but when he saw the Innocent Party he found us a very big table. As we sat down he said “No karaoke tonight, Patsy, so no free meals.” Simon said that it was all right, the meals were on him on his company card.

Simon proposed a toast to his newest band and said that there is going to be some more good years for it if tonight was any guide. I asked Riordan how she was going for new songs and she replied that she had a couple of dozen already written but had not let Ashley know about them. Simon said “So it is possible that you may have a new album ready to go?” She said she thought there may well be one there and Simon grinned at that. It was an animated group that had one of the happiest meals I had been at for some time. At the end of it Angela said we should all get off to bed as the equipment and our crews should arrive by road by midday and we had a fair bit of work to do before the show on Wednesday evening.

Tuesday morning we did our usual gym and breakfast routine. It had been great to be in a familiar bed. Minh took Nina to see her folks and Joanne and Lorraine went to see theirs so I got the sports car out and went to the nursing home. My mother was in high spirits to see me and we sat and chatted for about half an hour before Jim popped his head in the door and asked if I could go to the day room before I left. When I gave my mother a hug and kiss as I left she said “Patsy, you seem to attract some bad things but you overcome it by attracting a lot of good ones. They are going to take me to the concert Wednesday evening and I will see you there.” I went to the day room and found most of our ‘support crew’ sitting around.

I was asked to report the events so far and I told them about the tour so far. They were incensed at the things that Ashley had got up to and totally shocked when I told them of the events of yesterday. “So, ‘Amazon’ now has a different lead guitar and singer?” asked Roger “Can I come to the sound checks today and tomorrow?” I said that he and Chris would be welcome to be the first to photograph the new group but to try and keep me out of shot as I did not intend to stay in the band. Jim said that his friends in the industry had heard of Ashley and Georgina’s activities with various narcotics and had also heard stories of rivals being sidelined but he had never heard anything as blatant as he had heard today. I said we had been very lucky as well as being fortunate to have a security man who knew his business.

I left the nursing home and drove to the mall for a bit of normalcy, however, attracting fans who all wanted autographs or selfies did not seem normal. I managed to calm them down and said that if they were good we could all have a lunch at a burger joint and it was on me. We all entered the burger bar and I told the girl behind the counter to put the order on my card and, when we had all been served, we sat down and chatted like a normal bunch of girls. They asked me much more interesting questions than the TV hosts had ever come up with and I had an enjoyable hour. I told them that I had to leave as we had to set up for the concert and do sound checks.

As I stood to leave, one of the older girls said, “Patsy is it true that Ashley and Georgina from ‘Amazon’ are dead?” I said “Look girls, last I heard they were in hospital but no-one has told me how bad they are. If you are asking because you are going to go to one of our concerts here, there is an old actors saying that ‘the show must go on’ and, if you are at a concert, you will find that the show really does go on.” I drove straight to the theatre where Carl and the band had arrived and the roadies were positioning the amps and other shared gear. I took Carl aside and explained that we may not have Nina at some dates and should rejig the playlist to cover the songs she would have featured in. “But” I said “we can now play a few more ourselves without any worries of upsetting anyone. I have the feeling that the tour concerts are going to finish a bit later at night from here on.”

Lucy had done wonders already and had an outfit for Nina that was not leather but suede with fringes and a short skirt. She had found some black leather jeans and boots for me with a black silk top with ruffles. We fitted in with the usual stage outfits but were different enough to show we were not the original band members. The other Innocent Girls and the ‘Amazon’ band turned up so we talked about what we would do. It was decided to just run through our two sets as they would be tomorrow evening and let the sound people find their setting as we went along so the Innocent Party got its instruments on, miked up and we played our set. We took a little break for a drink of water while the ‘Amazon’ crew set them up and I strapped on the SG and became an ‘Amazon’ for an hour or so while Nina proved, once again, that she had found a new place to be. When we finished we left the gear for the roadies and Riordan asked us to all go back with them to the hotel for an evening meal.

When we got to the hotel we were attacked by the press, who had, finally, heard about the other two band members. There was a barrage of questions and Angela called at a loud voice “Quiet, you lot. I will get us a meeting room in the hotel and we can have a press conference so you can get all of the answers you want.” As she went in through the main doors with her phone to her ear I thought that Simon or Sarah were about to be arriving soon. The hotel desk led us all to a large dining area normally used for weddings and found seats for the gentle folk of the press.

Simon and Sarah came in and Simon took control of the microphone. He announced who he was and said “Ladies and gentlemen of the press. I am going to give you a statement and there will be no time for questions after; so make sure have your notes in order. On Monday morning Ashley and Georgina of the band ‘Amazon’ were found in their bedroom in a hotel in Cincinnati. They had drunk a copious amount of liquor and injected more heroin than they should have. Georgina is presently on life support but I am afraid that I must report that Ashley died this afternoon.”

Part 16

There was a roar from the press and sobbing from the ‘Amazon’ members and Simon held his arms up and called for quiet. He said that the press should respect the privacy of the other band members for a couple of days but that they should be able to talk to ‘polite’ interviewers by the weekend. He went on “I know that the first questions you are going to ask will be about the tour and the future of the band. I can tell you that the tour will definitely be continuing and you will see how that is achieved tomorrow night. As to the future of the band; I can say that ‘Amazon’ has not stopped flowing and there will be a new album released early winter. They now have new management and a new distributor and their future looks very good once they have got over this sad loss. Now, if you could all please leave the room and we hope to see you at the concert tomorrow night.”

The press reluctantly left and we took our time hugging the ‘Amazon’ members until they had got over the shock. It did not take them as long as the sob previous sob session and we all were then taken to a private dining room where we could have a sombre evening meal. Tomorrow would be the turning point for more than a few in this room. Our group gave the others a hug again and went back to our homes. Back at our house Nina was still in a state of shock. “I still can’t believe it” she said “Tomorrow evening I will be in front of ‘Amazon’ as lead singer and there is now no way Ashley can come back. Maybe we should wear armbands for the concert; I think that her favourite colour was blue, or, at least, that’s what the fan profile said.” We all thought it may be a good thought so I quickly phoned Lucy to see if she could come up with enough for both bands and then rang Angela at the hotel to see if she could ask Riordan if would be all right when she saw them at breakfast.

Wednesday started early with us working in the gym before breakfast; then it was shower and dress. The limo picked us up and took us to the theatre where Carl and the boys arrived a few minutes later. We sat and discussed our set and, when Riordan and the others came in, we had a big conference on how we would approach the evening concert. We decided not to say anything about any changes and to surprise the audience when the curtains opened on ‘Amazon’ Riordan said that the blue armbands were a good idea and that both bands would wear them and leave it up to the fans and the press to figure out why blue.

I suggested as we were pretty good with the Innocent Party set we would only do a few songs this morning as a sound check and leave more time during the day for ‘Amazon’ practice. “I don’t want to say anything out of place, Riordan, but we watched a couple of your shows and one thing I noticed was that Ashley was out front and alone while Georgina stood like a statue most of the time. I wonder if it would be a good move to put you and Nina side by side on stage and for the rest of us, who can, to move about a bit more?” Riordan said that this was how Ashley wanted it as she needed to be the star and refused to allow anyone else to ever be in front of her on stage and she thought that it would define the new look for a new band.

We had a short break to freshen up and then our band took to the stage. I saw that Roger and Chris were in the auditorium with their cameras and that there were a few other guys with professional kit also taking video. I also saw Jake and the new boys sitting there talking to Angela and Simon. We ran through a few songs and finalised our settings and took another break so I went over to see them. Jake told me that Simon wanted them to come to town and that we would all fly to Atlanta Sunday morning. He said we would have a bit of spare time as he had been told that we would close the show again on Sunday. Simon said he was coming with us before he went back to New York as he wanted to see us live at full volume. He joked that he had once gone to Cape Canaveral to see a rocket launch so he was well used to loud noises.

I went back up on to the stage as the others collected there. Nina and Riordan were deep in conversation about stage moves and when I had strapped on the SG and walked over to them, Riordan said that she had thought about what I said and that she and Nina would work together and then she said that for the last number she wanted the three of us, and Kurt, to play lined up across the width of the stage to show unity. We all said it was a nice finale and went and took our places. I asked the stagehand if we could have full show lighting and the auditorium lights down so when that happened I nodded to Kurt and we played the opening notes of the first number which started with a bass riff and joined by a lead riff followed by the band and then the singer. Riordan was out front and Nina was standing by the drums and, as we played the intro, she walked forward to be next to Riordan before she started singing. I thought it was beautiful move.

We played the full set with Kurt and I moving around and sometimes standing next to Riordan and when the final number got going we all lined up across the stage with me at one end and Kurt at the other; spread wide enough so VB and Julia could be easily seen as well. When we finished they put the auditorium lights up as there was a reasonable amount of applause and I saw that all of our road crew and both Patsy bands were clapping. We took mock bows and took of our mics, buds and instruments. Angela had arranged catering and we all sat around in the auditorium to eat. There was a lot of good comment about the stage presentation and Jake told me that he had the 'Best of’ album but he thought we had bested that. Roger and Chris came over and Chris said that he had got Simons’ permission for his crew to film at all four concerts as he wanted to produce an ‘Amazon Live’ DVD and that Simon had said he would rush the production so that it was released while we were still touring.

I took a walk out to the foyer and saw that the ‘Amazon’ stand had lots of photos and posters with a sign saying ‘Sell-out Sale. New stock coming soon’ Pierre was busy making sure that the music store stand had plenty of items on display, now including examples of the guitars that Riordan and Kurt played as well as a copy of Julia’s keyboard. “I have done a deal with Simon” he said “and will sponsor both bands for the rest of the tour. I will put our stickers on all of the instruments; it is a marvellous piece of advertising as there is a marked increase in sales in the past few weeks. You may not have been told yet but we will host a morning with both bands at the store on Saturday morning, I am sure that Angela will let you know when she gets the chance. I just put my head in the door while you were playing and I think that the new group is going to be even bigger than the old one; you sounded better than you did even yesterday.” I said it was getting better with familiarity. “Oh, by the way” he said as I turned to leave “our sale of Patsy picks has gone through the roof and I am getting more boxes freighted in for the rest of the tour; they seem to be a collectors’ item.”

I laughed and made my way back to the stage. We put on our gear and played the full set again; it seemed to be still improving. Riordan, Kurt, VB and Julia were positively bright when we finished and Nina was looking radiant in her new role. She told me that her family was coming tonight and she thought they will have a real surprise. “Tell me about it” I said, “my Aunt Ruby will be with the nursing home crowd and I think that they will be a bit agitated tonight as well. Tomorrow there may well be an ‘Amazon Support Group’ there as well.” We all had a chat and then made our way to the hotel for a very large group dinner before the show. Simon stood up and proposed at toast to “Nina, the newest star in the heavens and truly showing us what a great singer she is.” We all had our drink and then he said “To you all, as you all have a part to play in the coming weeks and years beyond.”

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 17

After dinner we made our way to the theatre, entering though the back as there was a crowd at the front. When we got in Lucy came up said she had the arm bands for us all but a little surprise for Riordan and the rest of the band. We went to their dressing room and she showed us a set of stage gear for them that it was similar to the biker grunge they had been wearing but no longer grunge, or even biker.

It looked similar, of sorts, but all were in better materials and cuts. “I thought you may like to go up-market in your new guise; you don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to.” She said. Riordan was speechless but Julia said “Thank you, Lucy, we were all looking a bit dowdy before and this will help us confirm that we still mean business.” Lucy showed Nina and me our kit and then we told the other we will see them in the break and made our way to the Patsy dressing room.

Alice was in our room when we got there and she gave us both a hug and said to Nina “Congratulations girl, this is the start of a stellar career and I know you will enjoy it. Thank you for saving the tour.” We got changed and made our way up to the wings. The stagehand said that the place was packed and the rest of the nights were selling fast from what he had been told. We then put on our mics and buds, kitted up and made our way to our positions. Alice had asked if she should introduce the show and we had told her we were just going to start playing and that it would be the same for the second half.

The clock ticked around to 7.28pm and I keyed my comms button and asked if everyone was ready and when they all replied I nodded to the stagehand and the curtains started to open as we opened our set. There was a roar as we came into view and the audience was into the chorus of ‘Mall Song’ the first time round; they must have been practising. There was applause after every number and when we finished with ‘Wait’ we took our bows and after calls for more, we finished off with ‘Changing’ before taking our bows as the curtains closed to rapturous applause. As we walked off stage Riordan came up and said “it’s a good job Ashley never heard that, she would have walked out of the place. You certainly had a home advantage here.” We walked back to the changing rooms and I said “Don’t worry; they are going to love you too, tonight.”

Back at the ‘Amazon’ room, Nina and I took of our stage clothes and proceeded to put on the ‘Amazon’ kit and sat down for a drink of water. Angela came by with Roger in tow and asked us if we could pose for him so they could get working on new pictures and posters. We all went up to the wings where he had set up a green screen. Nina and Riordan had to stand in various positions while he took shots and then with the rest of us. “These will be only for this tour, we will need to do more when you get a full time lead guitarist” he said.

That done we stayed in the wings and got geared up for the second half. Riordan had a comms mic and just before 9.00pm she checked that we were ready to go and we took our positions. Riordan nodded and Kurt played the opening bass notes and we could hear the roar from the crowd. I waited a few seconds and nodded to him as the curtains started to open and he played them again with me following this time. The roar got louder as Nina walked to be alongside Riordan and started singing. Riordan turned away from the crowd a moment and touched her comms button to ask the sound guy to crank it up and so a much more refined, but louder, version of ‘Amazon’ was launched. We moved about, smiled a lot and generally had a lot of fun before getting to the last number and doing our line-up across the stage. When we finished the applause and cheering was deafening and we took our bows to the sound of cries of more. I guess we had pleased the die-hard ‘Amazon’ fans as well as our own Patsy ones.

Riordan held her hands up and called for a little quiet and the noise abated. She walked to the front of the stage and said “I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, from the bottom of my heart for your acceptance of our new look ‘Amazon’”; there was more applause at that. “On Monday morning I thought that we were finished and never considered that I would be standing here tonight with Julia, VB and Kurt,” there was more applause; “And never in my wildest dreams would I think that we would such a wonderful new lead singer as Nina!” There was more applause, cheering and whistles. “I have to give special thanks to Patsy here, as none of this would have been possible without her insight and drive and army of helpers.” I bowed and blushed. “I know you want to hear another but we simply have not had time to have another song ready, so how about we just do the last one again?” There was a roar at that and she touched her comms button and said “OK for a jam session special?” We all smiled and nodded and repeated the last song but in a way, with extended solos and repeated verses, that was almost a new song in itself. As we walked off stage after taking an extended bowing session, Riordan said to me “I always wanted to do that!”

Back in the dressing room, Lucy took control of the stage kit, asking if anyone wanted any alterations done. Riordan asked if we could have brighter colours for the Miami concerts and maybe brighter again by New Orleans. Lucy said it would be possible but we would just get these clean again for tomorrow night. Riordan turned to me and said “You know, I often wondered what I would do if I was in charge of this band. Now I can lighten us up and get away from that passé biker look. The new songs that I have written were for a brighter version of the band. Are you sure you won’t stay with us after the tour?” I told her that she should talk to Sarah and Simon about auditioning for a tall African-American guitarist as that would fit the line-up and band name better. I said that I expected that we would be immortalised as we are today by a ‘Live at the Athenaeum’ DVD that may well be in the shops before we hit New Orleans.

We freshened up and went out to the foyer where a large crowd greeted us with cheers and we were almost blinded by flickering flashes. We mingled with a lot of very happy people. I saw Kay and went over to her and she said we had been fantastic and the group from the nursing home were so blown away they had to leave early to catch up on their sleep. She said that she had never seen Jim in tears before we had done our second half. She said he was muttering ‘wonderful, just wonderful’ to himself over and over again as he walked to the bus. Carl and Jake caught up with me and they commented that it was going to be a huge tour from here on, something that may go down in legends.

I had just got to Riordan when I saw Peter and his family so I took her over to meet them. I introduced her to them and Peter said that he thought he would never see anything to match a Patsy show but a Patsy Plus tonight was simply amazing. His wife and daughters gave us both hugs and Riordan had to sign a couple of pictures. Peter asked if I could find time to go to the dealership sometime in the week and I told him I would try to get over on Friday morning as I hoped that things may have settled by then. He turned to Riordan and said, “I would be very happy if you could come too; there is a screen that we show Patsy’s advert for us on, it is something to behold.” She said she would love to have a visit and asked if Kurt could come as he was a motorhead. Peter told her to bring along anyone she liked and we said cheerio and moved on to catch up with Sarah and Simon.

Sarah said that she would like to see the ‘Amazon’ members in her office on Friday morning to sign some contracts so I said it would be good as we could pick them up there to visit Peter.

Part 18

Thursday morning we had our usual gym hour and the showered, got dressed and took the sedan to the hotel to have breakfast with the others. We met them in the dining room and all sat down to eat. Riordan stayed quiet until we were on our coffee and then said “It’s strange, I did the show last night and never thought, or said, anything about Ashley and Georgina. It’s as if I have wiped them from my mind after putting up with more than a few years of their bullshit.” The other all agreed that they felt the same way and Kurt said that it would be a test if Georgina makes it and comes knocking. Angela said that from what she had been told, that was unlikely. Riordan asked me “What about the Innocent Party, Patsy, what do you see for the future?”

I thought about it and said “Well, I think that the future can never be foretold, just manipulated. We have two roads we are travelling at present; the pop one is pleasant but not that exciting while the dance scene is, perhaps, too exciting. It is really a matter of what Minh and I write in the next few months. We have the debut album still selling and Sarah wants us to record a Christmas album of nice songs, but that will not take a lot of time as we have most of it written. I doubt if we would go live with that. By the same token, we have a number of songs written specifically for Nina that you can have to play with if you carry on together. I hate to say it but the five of us were put together so we could operate with as low as three so, if we are not rushed into a particular situation where we need all five, I think we could handle it. I am also considered replaceable. I have started to like the sort of music you play since I have been playing it and I wonder if we could move into a sort of medium to hard rock just a bit pulled back from the dance scene. In fact, it would not be hard to put a few peppier versions of our dance numbers into our show now, especially if we get to play any larger venues. Does anyone have any idea of where we play as we go on?”

“Wow”, said Angela, “That is some deep thinking. They have told me never to take you at face value, Patsy, as there is always thinking happening. To answer your question, the original plan the promotors of this tour had was to provisionally book more than one theatre in each city and just announce ticket sales with a venue to be notified. I can tell you that they booked on the premise that the numbers buying tickets would drop along the west coast but probably pick up a bit as you approached New York. I know that sounds harsh, but that is the reality of tour planning. Simon has rung me this morning and told me that as soon as he read the papers this morning he ordered his staffers to see about booking larger venues for all of the future cities. We sold out here in Nashville last night after your concert, mainly from customers wanting to come back for a second look and there is a real possibility we will have to do a matinee on Saturday to cover the demand. I know you have a session booked at the record store in the morning but we cannot do anything Sunday as Patsy and the band are closing the dance festival in Atlanta on Sunday evening.” Riordan said “We’re in the papers?” so Angela went out to the reception and came back with a bundle. “Tuesday’ she said “they were full of ‘famous singer in drug tragedy’; Wednesday it was ‘what will the ‘Amazon’ band do, are they finished?'; today you can see for yourself.” She opened up a paper at page three and there was a picture of the band, on stage last night with big headlines ‘Amazon not only flows on, but floods the senses in Nashville’. The article went on to say ‘that the band was better than it had ever been and the new singer, Nina, was one of the greatest voices around. The show was brilliant and the final encore a knock-out blow to the minds of all who attended.’ “Wow”, said Nina, I wasn’t dreaming as it is in the paper!” We all giggled and Julia said “For once, Nina, it isn’t fake news.”

In good moods we finished in the dining room and went to the theatre. Riordan said she want to do something with the finale and wondered if we could work on a new song that she, and the others, had only practised in secret. The entire ‘Party’ group said it was ok with them so Riordan pulled some lyrics out of her bag and gave them to Nina, apologising for her writing. Then Nina and I looked at the lyrics while she and the band played the basic song acoustically. At the end we asked her to do it again and I tried some notes and riffs while Nina sang the words as written. At the end, Nina made a request for a couple of changes for easier word-flow and we did it again with me a bit more into the music. We then got up on stage and went electric and played it again. It did sound better a bit louder.

We stopped and discussed things and I suggested that as it was a finale it should have a more dramatic end so we tried a few things out. By the end of the morning we had it pretty well sorted, Nina had remembered the words and it sounded good to my ears; and obviously good to Riordans’ ears as well by the big grin on her face. We stopped for lunch and, in the afternoon we did the full set with a less modified version of last nights’ finale (but still somewhat longer than the original) and the new song as a finale. Riordan said she would thank everyone for coming and announce this as one of the new songs on their forthcoming album. Carl and Jake commented that they were privileged to be present at the birth of the next ‘Amazon’ number one.

We wound up at that and made our way back to the hotel. They did have an in-house salon so all of us girls took our turns to get new hairstyles and a make-up upgrade. We all had a light dinner and took our time so that we got to the theatre at about 6.30pm; entering from the back, as usual. I went up to the foyer and peeked through the door to see a mass of fans around the stands. It looked like the picks were still selling well. Back at the dressing rooms we separated and got ourselves ready. Lucy had put together a different colour outfit for us tonight and we looked quite smart. We went up to the wings and kitted up for the show. Right on time the curtains opened and we were off and running again. The set went well and we did our finale, bowed and the curtains closed again with a roar of the crowd echoing in our ears.

While the others went to the ‘Party’ room, Nina and I went to the ‘Amazon’ room where the band was close to being ready. We changed and Lucy took our outfits away while we became ‘Amazons’ again. Riordan led us up to the wings and we kitted up and took our places for the start. I was, once again, waiting to open the set in a different band but we could hear the buzz of the crowd and then the curtains started to open and we were off again. At the last song of the set we did the upgraded version, much to the delight of the diehards, and after Riordan had called for quiet she thanked them for their attendance and for being such a good audience. She then announced that last night we did not have an encore number but tonight they would hear, for the very first time, one of the tracks from the next album. The crowd roared at that and was still jumping when we finished and took our bows. Walking off, Riordan turned to me and said “That went well!”

Friday morning we went into the office to meet up with ‘Amazon’ when they signed their new contracts. We then took the bus to see Peter. He had done some paintwork on the outside of the dealership and it looked more cheerful. He took us all into the showroom where the Thunderbird that had been used in the advert sat gleaming with a big poster, taken from the advert, of the Innocent girls driving off in it, waving and smiling. A big screen was alongside the car with a video of us doing our folk gig. Riordan gave a double take at this and asked to have the sound up a bit. We stood and watched for about five minutes as the set ended and the advert was played then the gig restarted from the opening chords. Riordan looked at me and said, “Did you write that advert?” and when I nodded she indicated the folk group playing and said “Is there anything you don’t do?” I said “I have not done opera yet, but I am still quite young” with a giggle.

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 19

Peter laughed and said “There are no limits to this girl; I would not be surprised at anything she gets up to.” He went on “She wrote and produced that advert in two weeks at one tenth of the cost of my usual advertising people. The folk set was perfect for our launch of the new look dealership, yet I was blown away the other night by both halves of the concert. “

“She made me see what I was becoming, an old fuddy-duddy, at my own birthday party and now even my doctor greets me with a smile. Look around you Riordan, what do you see? There are lots of customers in my lot, talking to smartly dressed men and women salesmen. If you had been here only three weeks ago you would have seen a group of suited men, talking, mainly, to men. Our percentage of women customers has shot up since I hired a couple of female sales staff. Oh! There were a couple of hold-outs among the older sales staff but I bought them slacks and sports coats and they now mainly talk to men and have become our specialists in 4x4 and tradesman’s vehicles. The dealership sales are sliding upwards instead of downwards and even my supplier has taken notice; I have been visited by the owners of large dealerships from other cities. Patsy changes peoples’ lives for the better, where-ever she goes, and it is a joy to see. Now, before you go, there is a bunch of my mechanics who want you to sign a couple of posters.”

Before he went about his business I asked him about the Thunderbird and he told me it was on loan from the owner who was now driving a new loan sedan ‘with a fuel card we take care of’ and that there are often families who want to take selfies in front of it. We gathered up the others and walked into the workshop area to the sound of wolf whistles and cheers and we spent about twenty minutes signing. Before we left, the mechanics quickly got into a group and whistled the ear-worm riff from the advert as we laughed and walked back to the bus, having to sign some more pictures on the way. “That was different” Riordan said as we drove away. “Julia and I have been secretly supporting a chain of care homes for disadvantaged children over the past few years. Do you think that it would be possible to do an acoustic set for them when we are in cities where there are homes? I would never have asked Ashley as it was not her scene at all but, now I have been transformed by the ‘Patsy Pill’, I feel that it is time to be more open to things.” I said that it would be easy, it just needed organising and we would need to work out a set, with variations to allow for the age of the audience; all we would need is the time between concerts and a little time to rehearse.

As we were driving back towards the city I looked at my watch and saw that we had time to visit the nursing home if the others were up for it. I stood up and asked if everyone was good to see our ‘support crew’ and, getting a positive response, asked our driver to take us there. When I sat down Riordan looked at me and said “Support crew?” Joanne leaned over and said “Just wait until you meet them, no fan club has the clout that this lot have. I know that Jim will be happy to meet you.” “Jim” asked Riordan. “Yes, Jim Maxwell, a retired producer.” said Joanne. Riordan looked a bit stunned and said “Jim Maxwell was nearing the end of his career when I was a little girl; he produced records for some of the best bands of the time and it’s the music of my childhood.” She was humming old songs and tapping her fingers by the time we pulled up outside the nursing home. It looked like an invasion as we walked through the doors and Kay called out “They’re in the day room, Patsy, I think they will all be happy to see you all.”

As we walked into the dayroom I called out “Hello everyone, we can’t stop long because we need to be back at the theatre for a sound check but I’ve brought “Amazon’ to meet you.” There was an immediate hubbub and Jim stood up and came to shake Riordans hand saying “It’s a pleasure to meet you” when he was grabbed by her in a big hug as she said “No, Mr Maxwell, it is an honour to meet you. You produced the music that made me what I am today!” Everyone mingled and I went over to my ‘Aunt Ruby’ and asked her how she enjoyed the concert. She said that the first half was even a bit better than the previous concert she had seen but she was amazed by the second, seeing a band she had admired years ago with me on guitar and Nina out front. “And you were so much better than I remembered!” she said as she hugged me. I told her that this was a quick visit and that we may be busy Saturday and that Sunday we needed to be in Atlanta for a dance show. She said “Don’t worry about me, Patsy; it is a pleasure being here now with this lively lot; just look at them now. You brought this to me and I thank you for it.”

I looked around and saw Jim and Riordan in a deep conversation; Julie was talking to a guy that I knew had played keyboards; VB, Max and Kevin were in a conversation with a couple of drummers while Carl, Jake, Dan and Kurt were chatting with some old guitarists and Boss and Paul were chatting to a bass player of renown. The Innocent girls had a group of ladies around them and the room was buzzing. As I looked I was reminded of Carls’ comment about serendipity and thought of the few words I had come up with and had a sudden vision of us, in acoustic mode, as a whole group singing words about chance and luck and good fortune being the result of good works to a bunch of disadvantaged children. That will need some work and input from both Minh and Riordan when we have the time.

On the way back to the theatre Riordan said “Do you know that Jim calls you his ‘Angel of joy’? He is such a lovely man and I am going to have to ring my mother today and tell her I have met him, as well as the ‘support group’. Jim says they will take us under their wing now. He told me that a friend of his from Baltimore had told him to leave after the first half of the concert as he would be disappointed if he stayed but he said that with a dose of ‘Patsy Pills’ he thought that we would be OK by the time we got here. That would sound strange if I had been told that a month ago but now it feels normal.”

We got back to the theatre as the caterers arrived so we sat about in the stalls and ate and chatted. I asked Angela to find out if there were any of the care homes in cities we were going to and told her we may be able to do a short acoustic set at them, or at a nearby hall. She went over to Riordan and got the information about the homes and the person that Riordan was dealing with in New York. After our lunch was cleared away we got up on stage and the ‘Party’ kitted up and we ran through our set. Afterwards I asked Carl if we could do the record version of ‘Dancefloor’ so I changed guitar for the SG and we did that at a moderate level set by the mixer control. Then I kept the SG on and ‘Amazon’ got kitted out and we did the full set with the new song at the end. Riordan suggested that we keep ‘Dancefloor’ as an encore as it was closer to the ‘Amazon’ tempo and would be a good link between halves so we got together and made sure everyone had the same list. We went back to the hotel for a light dinner and salon session and came back to the theatre to wow the audience again with both halves. Everyone was happy.

Saturday morning saw us sitting at long tables in the music store signing posters and photos and even a few guitars. Everyone was very supportive of Riordan and her band and she had a good time. Pierre said to me that his profit margin on Patsy Picks had boosted his bottom line. I asked him if he could put together a set of equipment similar to the caryard set for shipment to use in charity shows at care homes and he readily agreed. I told him that Angela or I would get back to him with the exact set-up needed and the venues when we put something together. I told him it was to be purely an ‘Amazon’ inspired show if and when it happened. He gave me a hug and said “You are such a good person, I am sure there is as much of you in this as the others.”

Part 20

We did, indeed, have a matinee to perform on Saturday afternoon so we left the music store and went straight to the theatre. I asked Angela if she knew how our double disc DVD was going, seeing it was to be released at the beginning of the week. She told me that the stand in the foyer had sold enough to put it into the top ten if she could wangle a way to get them to add the figures but, without them, it was already showing in the top fifty. She said that our other live DVD was still selling well but the figures for the new one seemed to be on a steeper curve. The album had stayed in the top three for a few weeks and was steady.

We did the afternoon show to a nearly full house without problems and went back to the hotel to have dinner and freshen up. Sitting at our dinner we were joined by Jock Watson, the promoters’ representative who thanked us for saving the tour. He said he had flown in this afternoon and would see the new look tour for the first time tonight. We had a quick tidy up in the hotel salon and made our way to the theatre for our final night in Nashville. I must say that it was a blast! We did our full set with the ‘Dancefloor’ addition as an encore and then the rest of the ‘Party’ went off to change and mingle while Nina and I went to do our change. I must say that being in a legendary band so suddenly was getting to me. I, like Nina, had to stop and force myself to breathe slowly. We got into our outfits and hugged each other before joining the rest of the band in the wings. We put on all our kit and went to take our starting places.

Once again I heard the growing buzz of the audience as it got closer to start time. We had decided on a teaser based on the delay in the earlier show so just on time Kurt played the base notes of the first song. The sound on the other side of the curtain grew and he then played it a second time and it became a roar as he played it a third time as the curtains opened and I followed him in with the lead riff. The set went brilliantly; we all moved about the stage so that there was someone close to each side during the songs and, in the final number, we did our line across the stage.

The roar from the crowd was amazing and then there came the stamping of feet to signify the need for another. Riordan held up her arms for quiet and thanked Nashville for being so good to us and that she hoped they would see ‘Amazon’ again in the future. She then said “Nashville has given me back something that had been missing in my life of late. Here, in this town, I have regained my faith in humanity and the joy that having friends around can bring. Thank you, Nashville! Here is a track from the next ‘Amazon’ album”. She turned and nodded to us and we did the new number as the encore. Finishing to an even louder roar as we took out bows until the curtain closed. I was a bit weepy when I got off the stage; must be those damned hormones starting to work! But, when I looked, Julia, Nina and Riordan were as well. I didn’t have to look at VB and Kurt as it is a well-known fact that bass players and drummers never cry.

After we got changed we met up with the others in the foyer where an after show party had been arranged. Everyone was laughing and joking and it suddenly occurred to me that we had not worn our blue armbands since the first show and no-one had noticed. Vale Ashley, indeed. Jock got beside Riordan and me as we walked in and was effusive in his praise. He said there would be a multi-city ‘Amazon’ tour as soon as he could fix it and, this time, he thought it may go international as bootleg clips from the early Nashville performances had gone viral on the internet. After he left, Chris caught up with us. He said that the footage so far had gone well and that the documentary will be fantastic when it went to air. Riordan said “Documentary?” He explained that he had been contracted by Sarah to make a documentary on the birth and rise of the ‘Innocent Party’ and was responsible for the two disc DVD that was for sale this week of “Live at the Athenaeum” He told Riordan to hold for a moment and he went to the stand and grabbed one.

Coming back, he gave it to her and said “This was shot here a few weeks ago. Patsy did two shows and we took the first half of the first, which is basically the pop show you see today, and the second disc is the second half of the second show, which is dance. It was shot with multiple cameras and the audio is a sixteen track digital recording plus an effects mic for crowd noise. Riordan looked at the cover artwork and said “It’s a pity you couldn’t do that for these shows”. I smiled as I knew what was coming. He said “Who says we haven’t”. She said that she had not seen any cameramen and there certainly weren’t tape decks by the mixing desk. “Ah”, he said “that’s because our cameramen are using state-of-the-art small digital cameras with small leads to waist-mounted battery packs and” as he said this he pulled a portable hard drive out of his jacket pocket, “all of the sound is here.”

Riordan still looked a bit bothered. “Run it past me in a bit more detail. You have been recording the first half of the show every day we have played in Nashville?” He replied, “No, we have recorded every half of every show since you started the tour. The audio is tapped straight off the mixer and the hard drive is in a small box under the desk. Your audio guy has never mentioned seeing it. Our guys have attended every show and even some sound checks and practice sessions. They don’t move about much at those sessions so you wouldn’t bother with them. We also do not need guys with cameras on stage because you carry them yourselves. All of the guitars supplied by the music store have a pinhole camera mounted in the body above the fretboard and we can get odd shots from the stage or across the stage as you move about. It may only be a few seconds at a time with a good picture but that’s all that is needed to give the atmosphere. After we have culled out sufficient concert footage we will only need members of the band talking in a casual interview to make the documentary. I expect this would be in two parts of about an hour each and will make great TV."

Riordan put her hand on his shoulder and said in a firm voice “Now, can you tell me you have Ashley’s last shows in multi shot format and sixteen track audio?” He said “Yes, of course but I wouldn’t use it without permission.” She then said “OK, second question. You have similar footage of our shows here?” “Yes’ he said, ‘even the session when you trialled Nina and Patsy; you were going through the mixer at that time as well. It is intended to film and record every show in every city and to be at some of the outside events, such as the music store today. With digital it does not take a lot of space to save a lot of data; this would have been impossibly expensive in the old days or even a couple of years ago.” Riordan put her hands on both his shoulders and said “Now you listen to me and you listen well. Ashley may have been a bitch but she was a friend for a long time and a good singer in her day. I am now owner of the rights to our previous work now that Ashley is dead“.

“ If I give you written permission to use old material as well as any material that you have recorded or will record on this tour; will you make me a documentary; maybe called ‘Death of a legendary singer, rebirth of a legendary band’ tracing her and Georgina’s career with ‘Amazon’ and with footage of her final show. I am sure that part will be hard to watch; it was hard to watch on stage. Perhaps part two could start with that trial session and have footage of us all during the rest of the tour. I think that we will provide some good stuff for you over the next few weeks. I will, with Simons’ permission, give you the go-ahead for an ‘Amazon’ Live’ DVD to be released later in the year. I also have private footage from years ago on 8mm. I will give you everything of mine and there is even some of Ashley’s’ own collection because she sold it to me once to pay her drug supplier. I will pay any extra that you may incur in costs but it must, and I repeat, must, be a documentary about a great singers slide into death through drug use and to emphasise that the current band is, and always has been, clean. What do you say?” Of course, he had to say yes, please.

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 21

Riordan then saw Angela looking at us so she beckoned her over. “Angela” she said “I know that Patsy and her band have to fly to Atlanta tomorrow morning; when does ‘Amazon’ fly to Miami, I know the first show is Thursday?” Angela said they were scheduled out on Monday so Riordan said “I want to reschedule to Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning and I want access to the K Beat studio with Chris here so that the whole band can see some video and audio; it may take some hours to watch.”

Angela nodded and Riordan turned back to Chris “Are you all right with that?” He nodded. She then turned back to Angela and said “Chris here is going to make a documentary of the life and death of Ashley to show what drugs can do to people. He will then make part two of the phoenix rising with the new look band that will be a story about drug-free artists who don’t burn out.”

“I am going to pay for his extra costs but all profit over cost shall go to the care homes. Ashley can do something good with her death if she couldn’t do any good with her life. He will also make an ‘Amazon live’ DVD with footage from the tour and it would be good if it comes out in the speedy fashion that the Patsy double did. I will cover the cost of that as well if need be. Can you get it by Simon and Sarah?” Angela said it would be done and she would see Riordan at the hotel in the morning. She then turned to me and said “You had better get the band together and leave, as you have and early flight in the morning. The limo will pick you up at 7.00am. Tell everyone to pack for a bit over two weeks as we will bring you home for a few days between the Mobile festival and the Dallas dates. Jake and the boys can fly back too as they will not be needed until the Sunday close in Santa Fe”

We gathered together and said our farewells and I gave Riordan a hug and told her she was doing well by her friend for all of the friendly times. We sent the boys to their homes and we went back to the house. Before we went to bed we all gave Nina a group hug and told her she was fantastic. Sunday morning was a rush to be ready but we were packed and set to go when the limo arrived to take us to the airport. There was quite a crowd heading to Atlanta that morning, not only our band but Jock and our festival support crew with lots of baggage. It was a good trip and when we got out of the terminal Alan was waiting for us with the bus. He took us to our hotel and we checked in where we freshened up and had lunch. The festival close was not until 10.30pm but we took the bus out to the site to check out the stage and set-up. Everything was good so we asked Alan, who had been in town for several days, to drive us around and see the sights. We had a good tour and went back to the hotel for dinner.

Following that we changed into our stage gear at the hotel as we would come straight back after the show. Then it was a quick make-over in the hotel salon and back out to the festival site. We were in good time and were able to listen to a couple of other bands before we had to set up for our spot. Come 10.30 we were ready to party and did so with much noise and magic. There seemed to be a sea of moving bodies in front of us as far as we could see with the lights and I think everyone had a good time. At least those who would remember it did. We finished on a high, walked off the stage and left the equipment to the long suffering roadies as usual, went back to the hotel, handed over out outfits for cleaning and dive into bed.

Monday morning we flew to Miami where we were scheduled to play the Thursday, Friday and Saturday. When we got to our hotel Angela was handed a note and she walked off to make a phone call. I gave her a quizzical look when she got back and she said “Tell you all at lunch”. We put our bags in our rooms and went down to the dining room for lunch. We had finished our meal and Angela stood up and said “OK, I had to call our local promoter’s representative this morning and he told me that the demand for tickets to all three shows has been so strong that, as per Simons’ instructions, he has hired a bigger venue for the shows.”

“The only problem being that the only venue he could get bigger than the two thousand seat theatre we had originally booked is a sports stadium that seats six thousand normally but comes back to five thousand after we take up one end with a stage. He has already contracted a stage supplier to erect one. This puts a different dynamic on the whole tour if it continues like this. Even if we don’t fill the sports stadium it will be a different experience.” I said, “We play to those sorts of numbers at the dance festivals so why don’t we get on to Tom and get him to bring the dance equipment here; we only have to get it to Daytona Beach for the next festival spot on Sunday; they can drive overnight. If it looks like we will be getting bigger venues we can get Pierre to ship some big amps directly to New Orleans as the ones that “Amazon’ supplied will not be big enough in a stadium setting. We may need to get another truck on the tour to handle the bigger gear. We will also need a bigger PA so maybe a third truck will be needed”

Angela asked me if I would be the one to ask him so I got a waiter to bring a phone to the table and I rang Pierre. When he was put on I said, “Hello Pierre, it is your own Patsy and she has a problem that may be a little bigger than her VIP card was designed for. We have been bumped to a sports stadium for Thursday evening and it will seat five thousand; our problem is that the equipment that ‘Amazon’ has been supplied is only good for indoor venues and certainly not powerful enough for a stadium. We can possibly get Tom to bring the festival gear here but it will be a problem shifting it between tours if we continue to book big venues. We would need four of your 500 watt amps and a bigger PA if we are going to put on a show plus a couple of trucks to carry them. Can you help, please?” He said that he would do anything for me and to pass the phone to Angela so he could write down the address of the venue. She put the phone down and said the gear would be here on Thursday morning so we won’t have to divert Tom. We will, however, need a bigger road crew so she rang Sarah with the news and Sarah said she would let Riordan know of the venue change and get four more roadies flown in and that Ma would make all of the booking arrangements for them and the extra truck drivers.

After lunch we went and had a look at the venue; it was humungous! The base of the stage was already erected and they were starting to work on the towers. I turned to Angela and asked “Is the tour making enough money for this set-up? It must cost thousands to erect and pull down after?” She told me that if we fill the stadium with five thousand fans we would take between a half and three quarters of a million per night so, yes, it can be afforded. We stood looking out at the now empty seats and I said loud enough for the rest of the band to hear “This is not about us, it is too sudden. It must be the army of ‘Amazon’ fans that have been built up over the last ten years that has caused this shift in demand.” Carl and the boys, who had been around a long time, agreed and Carl said, “It will become the ‘Amazon Revival Tour from here on, we are now certainly the opening act again. They will be the stars again and I am glad for them.” He looked at Nina and said “I am sorry Nina, but I reckon it is time for you to be a full time ‘Amazon’; we can’t afford for you to be burnt out doing two shows a night.” Angela agreed and Nina tearfully said “Thank you all, I will miss being an Innocent Girl and I know I will miss you all after the tour but I think Riordan would be upset if I didn’t keep with them and besides – I know all the words of their songs already.” I rang K Beat and asked to speak to Riordan; when I was put through she said “Patsy, you would not believe how good the video that Chris took is! I listened to the audio of part of a concert and it is good enough to release. I spoke to Sarah and she agreed that we will rush a live album of ‘Amazon reborn’ into the shops in about ten days. This is so exciting we all are jumping out of our skins!”

Part 22

I asked her if Sarah had spoken to her about the venue and she said that she had been told that we had been bumped to a bigger one but that was it. I told her that I was calling her from the stage being erected in a sports stadium and that I was looking out over five thousand empty seats. There was a gasp from the other end. “We only played somewhere that big at the height of our fame about five years ago. This is tremendous!” I told her that we had decided that we would let Nina sing just the ‘Amazon’ set for the future and she thanked me and asked me to hand the phone to Nina. They spoke for several minutes and Nina had tears in her eyes when she gave the phone back so the other girls got her into a group hug while I spoke to Riordan again. “Whatever you said has given her the weepies,” I said. She told me that she had welcomed Nina to the family and that there is a great future for her with the band. I said that we will all have to get together when she; and the rest of the band, arrive, and before I hung up told her that Pierre was sending down four five hundred watt amps for the stadium and if there was anything she, or the other members, wanted added, to get over to the music store and make sure it went on the trucks. “I asked for an outside PA but you, with your experience, may be able to advise him on size and configuration. He is going to send two trucks. Oh! Make sure he puts in enough heavy duty buds for everyone. Ours are with the festival gear.”

While I was speaking to her, Angela was on her phone to Joey. She told me that she had asked Joey to check the presales for the rest of the tour and to adjust venues as soon as he could. That reminded me of something else and got back on my phone to ring Ma. When I was put through I told her about the venue change here and the numbers we would likely be playing to and asked her if she could organise extra merchandise for the rest of the tour. I told her that Nina would now only sing with ‘Amazon’ so the publicist could put together a release when Sarah and Riordan OK it, probably sometime during our Miami dates. She told me to slow down and look after myself. The cheek of the woman!!

When I hung up with a smile on my face the others all looked at me so I said “Ma told me to slow down.” They all had a chuckle. We got back into the bus and went back to the hotel. Gathered together in a meeting room we looked at our playlist and discussed the songs we had. If we took all of the songs that Nina featured on we would be three short. We would also have to take her verse out of the ‘Mall Song’. I suggested that we put all of the quieter ones at the start of the set, so putting ‘Changing’ earlier, maybe even opening with it; and end the set with our three dance numbers that Carl and this band knew well - ‘Bounce’, ‘Maximum’ with ‘Dancefloor’ as an encore. We could bring them back to less than earthquake volume and they would fit well with the second half opening. I told everyone that I had asked Riordan to make sure Pierre put in heavy duty buds for us all. We spent the rest of the day quietly singing the lyrics to the new list so we didn’t make a mistake due to familiarity with the old order. We could not do anything else until the stage was built and the amps had arrived so we had a little holiday in the Miami sunshine and I got less embarrassed wearing a bikini.

Wednesday afternoon the others flew in and we had word that the trucks had arrived so we caught up with everyone over dinner. The crew was going to fit the PA and other equipment over night; I was told that our lighting and sound men were beside themselves with excitement as they were now able to fully utilise their skills in the open air. I think that the lighting man had emptied the K Beat store of strobes and searchlights. What ever happened tomorrow evening it would look and sound absolutely tremendous. Riordan and the others all hugged Nina and welcomed her to the line-up. Riordan took me aside and told me that she was really impressed by the work Chris had done and that she was sure that the documentaries he will make would be a world-wide hit. She also said that they had finalised the mix for a live album and Joey was going to make it happen before the Dallas dates, with an accompanying live DVD a week later.

Thursday morning we all took the bus to the stadium. We all got up on the stage and looked out over the seats. Kurt said “This takes my mind back a few years; it gives me goose bumps just to be here again.” The amps and PA were set and the mixing desk was set up out on the centre line and seats had been put out on the grass. The promotor’s rep was there and told us that they would add about a thousand to the numbers and that he thought we would need them tonight as we were nearly at the five thousand mark already with about four thousand sold for each of the following nights. Riordan pointed out a few guys wandering around and told me they were Chris’ crew. I looked over to the mixer and Ron gave me a wave. I said that they were pulling out all the stops with this one and everyone agreed. We went down the back stairs of the stage and into the changing room area of the stadium. Lucy had organised a set of matching outfits for us and a new set of outfits for ‘Amazon’ including a similar set for me “At Riordans request, she says you are an honorary Amazon for the rest of the tour” she said, “This is the most exciting thing that has happened to me and I can’t wait for tonight.”

We then had a walk around the concession area and were amazed at the size and number of stalls there. I saw Ma and walked over to give her a hug. She said “It’s a good job you gave me the heads-up, Patsy, you can’t do a venue like this with a single stall as the numbers are just too big. We have six each of the band stalls around and there are fifteen food and drink stands who pay a hiring fee and Pierre has sent enough gear and personnel for three music stands. Oh! Come and look at this one.”

She led me to the main entrance and there, on a revolving podium, was the advert Thunderbird with a big picture behind it of the Innocent Girls driving off the dealership lot. She told me that Peter was approached by his supplier to lend it and that it would grace the entry of each venue for the rest of the tour. “I think they have something a little special intended for Detroit” she said, “it seems that their marketing office has taken up the happy concept and has rejigged your advert for other dealerships by simply altering the lot name on the final scene to suit the city it is shown in. I expect you will see some good royalty payments into your account; I know Chris has been walking about the place with some new, and better, clothes on, and that Peter has allowed him to choose a new car.”

We all then gathered back at the stage, kitted up and did a low volume rehearsal of our ‘Party’ set with the new list, followed by a once-through version of ‘Bounce’ at proper volume for our mixer to get a good setting. Then ‘Amazon’ took the stage and did the full set with the final song on full volume for the setting, followed by the encore song quieter. “Don’t want to let the eavesdroppers record this before the show,” Angela said afterwards.

That all done we left the venue to the workers and went back to the hotel for lunch. In the afternoon we all had interviews set up for the local media as well as some national music writers so it was a busy time before we had to call a halt so we could have a light dinner. There was an extra girl at our table that evening and Angela introduced her as her assistant Mary, brought in to lighten her load. Mary said that she was honoured to be with such famous people and we all told her to tell us when she sees some as we collected autographs. After dinner it was the usual hair and make-up in the salon and we went to the stadium, going a back way under the stands. Before we kitted up I took Mary up the back stairs and onto the back of the stage, looking out at people already drifting in. “I’ve never seen anything like it” she said. I answered “Neither have the rest of us.”

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 23

We went back down to the changing room and Angela came up and said,” we have just decided that there will not be a usual type of break between sets. With these numbers a stadium audience is always on the move in and out of the auditorium so we will do a five minute break between sets. I have organised a curtained area for you behind the PA speakers for you to change. “

“We have a local DJ to announce the show and spend the five minutes talking to the crowd so it will all work smoothly as long as we can get you buttoned up”. I asked her if she had seen the outside stands and, as she hadn’t, I suggested she take Mary around to show her just what she has let herself in for and then to park her next to Ron for the show. Riordan came into our dressing room and said “At the end of our set I would like to invite you all on stage for a final bow. I know that you will all be behind the speakers during the set, just as we will during yours. The excitement from the fans is better than sex. Now, having been at this sort of gig before, if I call you on the stage the fans are going to want one more. I don’t think any of our old songs would fit and we don’t know your dance songs; so how about we pinch something, any suggestions?”

We hummed and ah’ed over various tunes until Carl said “I do a mean version of ‘High Voltage Rock’n’Roll’ by ACDC at parties and the tune is dead easy to pick up, it’s just the end that’s messy to co-ordinate.” Just about everyone knew it and Riordan said her band could do it as well so we had decided on an encore after the encore, if needed. We then started to get changed; Lucy had put together a tropical print skirt with bright blue blouses for the girls and the tropical print on shirts over blue slacks for the guys. She said that the ‘Amazon’ kit is bright yellow as requested and that all I would have to do is change into a yellow blouse with yellow leather jeans and boots. The new blouse is button up the back so a dresser can do that for me in the break. I needed to put a plain cami on so that nothing showed through either outfit.

The DJ came in to see us and commented on our songs which had had been playing on his radio show and asked if there was anything we needed him to say. We said for him just to do a plain intro and we would let our music do the talking. I mentioned to him that he needed to be ready after our encore to entertain the crowd for five minutes between sets. He laughed and said that it should be easy. Because of the need to finish well before midnight with an open arena we planned to open up at around 7.30 if the crowd entering had slowed so, just after seven we made our way up to the stage, going up the back stairs and moving around to one wing while the others went to the other. I had to remember to leave the stage that way, I thought. Peering between the stacks I saw that we had just about filled the place and that it seemed that only a few were still coming in. The DJ saw this as well and, after checking we were good to go, walked out onto the stage with a microphone in his hand. We stood there in the wing with our instruments strapped on. Joanne held my hand and said “For once in my life I think I am scared.” I squeezed her hand and replied “I think we all are right now but it will be all right.”

The DJ was winding up his intro to end with “And here is Patsy and the innocent Party and there was a mild roar from the crowd. Actually a mild roar from nearly six thousand is louder than a full roar from two thousand so the next hour will certainly be different. We walked out onto the stage and quickly took up our positions and started playing the first notes of ‘Changing’ and the crowd applauded, the thought crossed my mind that they usually only do that for celebrities. We moved through the set with much singing of the chorus during ‘Mall Song’ and came to the point where we changed into raving monsters. The crowd was really with us and when I unslung the Rickenbacker and gave it to Minh while a stagehand gave me the SG and took her Fender, there was a big cheer. Maybe some had seen the dance video. We hit the first notes of ‘Bounce’ and I could see whole groups of people standing up and dancing.

The roar when we finished was earthshattering and only increased when we did “Maximum Dance’ finishing with wild scenes out there on the playing field. There were calls for more so I called out “Another one?” ‘Yes” came back so I called “Are you sure?” and the yells came back “Yes, Yes” so we hit ‘Dancefloor’ which had been in the dance charts now for about four weeks and the crowd went wild again. Out on the playing field it looked like a dance party and these were mainly ‘Amazon’ fans! Our lighting man had done us proud and there was strobes flashing over us and the crowd and when we hit the final chord he hit the button that shines a whole bank of lights straight at the audience so that by the time they got their vision back we had left the stage.

The others went to the side we had come from and I went to the other while the DJ came out and told the crowd that they had just five minutes before they got the treat they came for tonight. I was busy divesting myself of the shoes, skirt and blouse and put on the yellow top. Pulling up my jeans while the dresser buttoned me up I then pulled on the boots. The dresser hung a necklace of large black beads around my neck and I strapped the SG on again and went over to Riordan as the DJ was nearing the end of his spiel. “Great set“ she said, “You know you have to do better than that now, for us.”

The DJ wound up saying “Come on Miami, give a big welcome to that legendary band – ‘Amazon’ ‘. We walked onto stage to a mighty roar, applause and cries of “Amazon, Amazon.” As we reached our places to start Kurt gave the first bass notes and I think the noise of the crowd could have drowned out a rocket launch. He hit them again and paused – the crowd at the front of the stage were getting emotional, I could see plenty of girls and young women with tears down their faces. He hit the notes again and I joined in with the riff and we were off and racing again. The crowd were vocal all through and I knew that the old amps would not have done this place justice. We got to the last ‘known’ song and the crowd erupted. I had tears in my eyes as well and I could see that Riordan was also affected. She held her arms up for some quiet and then thanked the city of Miami for being so good to us and all of the faithful fans for welcoming us back into their hearts.

She said that there would be a live album in the shops in a few weeks and then told them that we had just one more and it will be from an album of new songs. The crowd yelled ‘yes’ and we did the new song. After several bows she beckoned to the ‘Party’ side of the wings and the other guys came on to stand with up in a big line to take a mass bow. There were calls for more and some stamping of feet so she called out, “We do not have any more of ours tonight but we have pinched someone else’s. This is for all you metal heads out there and Carl started with the rhythm riff of ‘High Voltage’ and the rest of us joined in. With five guitars, two basses, two drummers and a keyboard and two thousand watts behind us it was a surreal experience from our side, let alone for the fans. The lighting guy let his imagination take him to a new threshold and we jammed shamelessly with everyone taking a solo as they could. We watched Carl towards the end and, as he nodded his head, we stopped while he did the final frantic solo with us all playing a final chord as the lights did their flash.

This time, however, when the crowd got their sight back we were lined up across the stage without our instruments, standing in a line holding hands. We all bowed again and gave the crowd waves as we turned away to go down the back stairs to the rooms, Riordan called out loudly “Lucy, the girls all need new panties, please” as we walked into the under-stadium area. We all giggled but she was right. Lucy was there with her teams and we were changed in record time, Angela said there was a long table in the foyer for signing so we followed her through a tunnel that brought us out through a door in the foyer where a crowd had lined up. There was much cheering as we sat down and we spent the next hour and a half signing pictures, posters, album covers and the occasional new guitar. I think Pierre is going to be very happy tonight.

Then there was another half an hour with the Innocent Girls, including Nina, standing in front of the Thunderbird for photos. Peters’ supplier was going to be happy too. With the gear being carried out of the main doors I thought that we must have sold out of merchandise but when I mentioned it to Ma she said not to worry, there were more trucks coming in tomorrow. I the end, we were allowed to go to the hotel and a welcome shower and warm bed. I was asleep the moment my head hit the pillow and the only dream I remembered in the morning was one where I was watching a rocket launch and it became a sea of faces.

Part 24

Friday morning I opened my eyes and saw Joanne in the other bed looking at me. “Thank you for everything” she said “I don’t think I will ever be scared of anything again. That was so awesome.” I agreed on my way to the toilet. Coming back I said that we should get some auto-autograph machines as my fingers were sore after the signing session. I sat on her bed and said “You were all fabulous last night and I think that you will be fabulous tonight and tomorrow. Sunday at Daytona may be almost an anti-climax after this week.” We got showered and dressed and went down for breakfast. Our table had grown some more with addition of Ma, Lucy, Ron, Chris, Pierre and Jock Watson.

When we were all seated Jock stood up and said “Last night I did not know what I was going to see. I knew that Patsy and her band were good but I did not realise just how good they were. As for Riordan and her band, they were always legendary but have now entered the realms of the mythical. The fans who were there last night will tell their friends and I think the final two shows here will be sold out. I have heard from my guy in New Orleans and Dallas that they have already booked stadiums with one being eight thousand with stage and the other ten thousand with stage.”

“We are looking ahead for the rest of the tour but I think we will be breaking a few records on this one. Last night we nearly sold out of some merchandise and more is on its’ way as we speak. There is stock being sent to New Orleans and Dallas to be warehoused and many in the business have popped their heads up wanting in with company displays of clothes and sunglasses and shoes and about everything you may wear. Lucy has told me that there is already a waiting list of companies wanting to market your stage gear and Pierre here has had to order a shipment of SG’s. We still have ten cities for this tour so please take it easy on yourselves, no wild parties and make sure that you never go anywhere alone, any of you. There will be time after the tour to let your hair down. So, congratulations to you all and thank you from the promoters.”

During breakfast I asked Minh and Riordan if they could join me in a quiet room to go over new songs. We would have to wait to work on them with the rest of the bands but we could get some groundwork in. They agreed so after our coffee I went to reception to see if they had a meeting room with café bar and they let me use one on a higher floor near the business centre. I asked if anyone else wanted to join us and Joanne and Julia said they wanted to so we made our way up to the room. I detoured to my room to collect my backpack with laptop in and then went to the business centre for notepads and biros.

We spent all morning in there firstly working on a couple of new ‘Amazon’ numbers and then, for relaxation, some tracks for the Christmas album. Riordan said that if we could do this every day we were free we may have the bones of both albums before the end of the tour. I had recorded each song as we had finalised it onto the laptop with a couple singing and the others humming the tune so burned a DVD for Riordan to keep.

In the afternoon we spent some time at the rooftop pool and just lazing around. In the evening, after dinner, we went to the stadium and did our two sets again to a bigger crowd. On the way back to the hotel, Mary said that she had to keep pinching herself to remind herself that she was here. She told me that the first night next to the mixing desk was an experience that would never leave her. Saturday was more of the same and Sunday morning Alan was outside with the festival bus to take us to Daytona Beach.

The gig at that festival was even more crowded than the previous ones and Jake and the band did us proud. We put on our first dance gig without Nina and, although we missed her, it seemed to go well. We spent the night in a hotel in Daytona and flew to New Orleans on Monday morning for the Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday concerts there. The venue was not humungous, it was massive! I walked around the stalls and it was like walking through a department store. Several stall holders got me to pose for photos which, I am sure, would grace their advertising. The arena did look like it would seat eight thousand and I wondered if we would fill it tomorrow night. We had scheduled all interviews at the venue in their hospitality suite so the rest of Monday was taken up by talking.

It seemed that the music press had picked up on our jam in Miami and we were now on a ‘high voltage tour’. Tuesday morning we did a sound check for each band and rested in the afternoon before going on stage and wowing them again. Wednesday we did our song writing session and concert; Thursday all of the girls spent the day in a spa before the concert. All of the concerts were sold out and seemed to get noisier. Friday the Party Girls flew to Mobile for a two day festival where we played to a monster crowd on both Saturday and Sunday night and the Monday the whole band flew back to Nashville for a few days for a rest.

We had Dallas the following Friday and Saturday and there was a ten thousand seat stadium to fill and the following week we were due to play at a festival in Santa Fe on the Friday and Saturday while ‘Amazon’ played at a casino in Las Vegas on the Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This was now impossible with me in both bands unless we played the morning set, which the promoters were not happy with, so we had to pull out of the Santa Fe gig altogether. The promoters could not complain as they had told us that ticket sales were already forty percent ahead of budget. This would give the other girls and both bands a ten day break while I played in Las Vegas and before we opened the following Tuesday in Los Angeles.

We tidied up the office work, did our laundry, discussed outfits with Lucy and managed to get a couple of hours in the recording studio. We flew out with Carl and the boys,’ Amazon’ and all of our support staff on Thursday afternoon; if the group got any bigger we would need a chartered plane. Checking into the hotel in Dallas we got back in the bus to see the venue. I think I was getting acclimatised to big places as I could look at it with a more critical eye. Ten thousand no longer seemed enough! The stage was already set up and just needed the amps put on the stage tomorrow. Once again I could see that our lighting and sound guys were in seventh heaven.

Friday we all went back and did the sound checks then talked to lots of media people until dinner. The usual salon session out of the way and we were back on stage again, this time ‘The Party’ was in lush red and black while ‘Amazon’ was in bright green. The audience was enthusiastic and the set was good. I had got quite accomplished in my quick change and was well ready for the second half, which went really well. The ‘Amazonians’ in the crowd were very vocal and I was getting more appreciative shouts when I played. The Saturday night was more of the same and while I joined ‘Amazon’ to fly to Las Vegas on Monday, the ‘Party’ group flew back to Nashville.

The Las Vegas gig was a totally different situation. Set up originally as a gentle smaller venue for a legendary but aging band, the organisers had completely rethought the whole scenario without telling us. Instead of a big room in one of the casinos we were now to play in a theatre with about three thousand seats. We had sent the original theatre set of amps which would, luckily, suffice. We still were set down to playing a matinee every day so would do eight sets while we were here. Monday afternoon we checked out the venue and Tuesday was interview day. Wednesday was sound check and a run through while Thursday morning we relaxed before going to the venue after a light lunch. The place was packed with fans, ordinary gamblers and several high rollers; easy to see by their obvious bodyguards. The matinee went well but seemed a bit tame to me being back in a smaller venue. After a light dinner we did the evening show, also packed. The rest of the week went in a similar fashion and Monday morning we flew to San Francisco.

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 25

On the flight to San Francisco I sat next to Riordan. “How do you like being an Amazon” she asked. I said that it was a different feeling but I was sure I could get used to it if I had to.

We arrived at the hotel to find that the rest of the ‘Party’ crew had already checked in. Our concerts started on Tuesday and ran until Thursday then the ‘Party’ flew to Long Beach for a weekend performance at the dance festival before a week in Los Angeles for performances on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

I have to say that the Long Beach appearance was originally set as just a Friday but had been altered. The Los Angeles gig had been just the weekend but had been extended with the Friday set. We all got in the bus and checked out the stadium that was to be our stage for three nights. I was running out of descriptive superlatives as this held at least fifteen thousand. I found it hard to believe that we would fill it. We had a good dinner at a long table and had an early night.

Tuesday morning we all relaxed a bit, hit the salon and hotel gym, had a lunch and went to the stadium for the sound check. Pierre had sent an extra pair of big amps and had upgraded our PA so I think we would have the volume, if needed. The sales stands were even bigger than Dallas and we all walked around, often being given items to ‘wear on stage, please’. The new live ‘Amazon’ album and DVD was on the stalls now, having been rushed through. I had a look at the album and saw it was the first night in Nashville and marked as a collector’s edition at a premium price while the DVD was a film of the first Miami show. The stallholder asked if Riordan and I could sign both and he put them away in his own bag with thanks.

We went back to the hotel for dinner and a salon session and were back in the venue well before the start time. I went up to the stage and could see that it was already filling so went back down to the ‘Party’ room to prepare. Once we were on stage we did our ‘new’ playlist, ending with the dance songs, and the crowd, which I could see was about ninety percent full, was really appreciative. I did the quick change and came back on stage with ‘Amazon’ and we put on a polished performance, much to the pleasure of the audience. Once again, both bands did the mass bow and, once again, we had to do ‘High Voltage’. We were actually getting quite good with it by now.

Wednesday and Thursday were repeats and Friday morning the Innocent Girls flew to Long Beach to play a festival on the Saturday and Sunday night. The crowd here was absolutely huge and they stayed both nights until we finished. Jake and the boys were starting to appreciate being stars as they told me that they had all been giving out autographs during the day. On Monday morning the boys flew to Nashville for a break (there was not another festival booked until Milwaukee); the equipment and crew drove to Los Angeles to boost the gear we were already using; and the Innocent Girls flew there in the afternoon, after some interview sessions.

Once again we had the concerts extended. Los Angeles was supposed to be just the Saturday and Sunday but was now Friday to Monday in another fifteen thousand seat stadium. We relaxed at a group dinner on Monday night and had an early night. As we now had both buses there was a choice in how we would spend Tuesday and Wednesday as we could not get access to the stadium until Thursday morning. The stage builders would have to work around the clock to be ready by Friday evening. A vote was taken and all the guys wanted to spend some time at Venice Beach, no doubt to babe watch; all of us girls said we would like to see one of the film studios. We piled in separate buses to visit our choices. Angela had rang one of the studios to ask if we could have a tour and they were very happy to see us, especially if we allowed their publicity folk to record the event.

When we arrived we were shown into a large room where an executive gave us a brief history of the studio and showed us stills and posters from previous hits. Lorraine was quite animated when she saw a poster for Calamity Jane, a film that starred Doris Day. The executive said that she would be happy to know that they were filming a mid-budget modern version for TV and cable release at the present. We were all sat into a fleet of small buggies and driven around various sound stages, along western streets, eastern alleyways and small versions of almost every part of the world.

We were shown where they did animated films with modern electronics and green screens and saw a clip from a new production in both its original and then finished form. It was very good experience. We finally pulled up at a sound stage and the guide told us to be quiet as filming was in progress. We made our way in through a couple of rooms and out to the sound stage where we could see a couple of western style sets and a full size stagecoach standing on a mock track. As we walked in it seemed that an argument was in progress with a chap with a directors’ monocular hanging from his neck shouting at a couple of guys while a bunch of cowboys looked on. “Oh dear” our guide said, “Elaine’s drunk again”

She realised who she was with and quickly said “I mean indisposed”. We asked a nearby hand what the problem was and he explained that they were rehearsing a scene from ‘Calamity Jane’ where the female star is supposed to sit up on top a fence bar and sing while the cowboys were supposed to do their activities around her but the female star, one Elaine Eternity, a no-talent starlet, was not appearing. Our guide said that it looked like Lorraine would not see her picture being made. Lorraine said “Pity, I could do that scene.”

The guide looked at her oddly and called over a staffer and told him that this group of sightseers were from the two bands performing in town and that Lorraine could do the scene as a stand-in if the director wanted to do a single run-through. The staffer said “I know who they are; I’ve got tickets for Saturday night. I’ll go and see if his eminence would deign to have a pop star sing for him.” He went to speak to the director who was, by now, looking exceedingly red and ready to burst. They spoke for a few minutes and the staffer called us over. “Young lady” the director said to Lorraine, “I am told that you can sing for us while the other actors go through their moves. If that is the case it would mean that our morning is not wasted. I will get you the words of ‘Deadwood Stage’”. Lorraine said she didn’t need them as she had the entire film engraved into her brain!

The director looked startled but sat her up on the fence rail and said, “Now, this is done without the music and we are only filming to get an idea of the best angles. The cowboys will come in from stage right and do some activities and then one will ask you why you are there. You reply that you are waiting for the stage and when I give you a sign you start singing. Got that?” Lorraine said she was good so we all stepped back out of shot and the actors took their places. The director called action and they came onto the set laughing and pushing each other around. One was coiling a rope as he walked up to Lorraine and said “Hey, Calamity, what are you doing here?” Lorraine looked at him and said “Why, Homer, I’m waiting for the Deadwood stage”

I heard the director say “Four, three, two, one, go” and Lorraine started with the lines “Oh! the Deadwood Stage is coming on over the hill” while the cowboys moved around doing various things but all looked at her for the chorus line “Whip crack away, whip crack away, whip crack awayyyyy”. I could see that she was in her element and, with her buxom blondeness really looked the part. When they all finished the song with a loud Yippee and stopped the director looked at us, at the staffer and at our guide; called “twenty minute break” and told us all to follow him. The cowboys helped Lorraine down with smiles and a little too much handling and she followed us to a meeting room with a big screen on one wall. He said “make yourselves at home” pointed to a café bar and a jar of biscuits; “I’ll be right back” and left the room. “This is odd” said Julia and Angela told her that she suspected that it was another case of serendipity in the making.

Part 26

We sat and chatted for about five minutes, Lorraine telling us what a thrill it had been to be on a film set playing one of Doris Days famous scenes. The director came in with another, executive looking chap, and said “I am sorry to have not introduced myself before, it was most impolite, but I was a bit overwrought. I am Anton Brandish and, as you realise, I am the director of the revised version of ‘Calamity Jane’ for TV and cable release. This gentleman with me is Hector Vickers the Third who is the Executive Producer of this, and other movies being made on the lot. I have brought him here to look at the scene that this lovely young lady performed a little while ago.”

“As you know, we were using several cameras and while you were waiting, my tech guys have synchronised the takes so that we can see the viewpoint simultaneously on this screen. Are we ready for a little film show?” We all nodded and looked at the screen. Anton said “Roll it” into a small two-way radio and the screen lit up. We were looking at Lorraine on the fence rail waiting for the start of the scene and then we heard the ‘action’ and we watched the scene play out from six different cameras with one focused on Lorraine’s’ head and shoulders. I could hear the music in my head as she sang at I thought she had done well. At the end of the scene all of us girls gave her a bit of applause and I went over and hugged her, saying, “That was just beautiful.” Anton said “I thought so too.” Hector looked at Lorraine and said “Young lady, how would you like to be a star?” She looked him in the eye and replied “If you come along to our concert this weekend you will see that I already am one.”

Anton then explained his dilemma. “We are only in the early part of producing this movie. We are just playing around with scenes and writing an updated script. This version is to be set on a ‘dude ranch’ with more modern clothing but the ranch is to be one with traditional western buildings and interiors, which is why it looks like a real western on the sets, which are stock items here so lowers the cost. Our female starlet, Elaine, is a good looker and passable singer but is, you could say, unreliable. In fact, between us, she is a lush in the making. We are doing other movies at the same time so this is not an urgent need but I would like you, Lorraine, to take over the role and I am sure that Hector, here, can negotiate a suitable contract.”

Angela stepped up and said “I gather that you do not know who you are talking to here. Lorraine is a member of ‘Patsy and the Innocent Party’ and is only here in LA as part of a national tour with ‘Amazon’. You have Riordan, Julia and Nina from that band here with you as well. She is contracted to sing with the band and has also been put on a five year contract for her solo vocal output, so you would have to discuss this with the company I work for if you want her. That is, of course, if she wants to go into acting. She would not be available for another six weeks until the tour ends in New York.”

Lorraine said “I would like to see if this just a one-off success; can I do some other scenes, maybe with just dialogue and no singing? I may be a failure at everything else and I need to know before I commit to anything.” I said that we could not get into the stadium until Thursday so Lorraine could be free tomorrow if they could set something up. Hector and Anton had a quiet chat and then Anton said “We can put together enough people to do a proper screen test tomorrow with a couple of dialogue scenes and a couple of singing ones. If we send a car to your hotel for 9.00am would you like to spend the day here?” She agreed and Angela asked Mary to go with Lorraine to make sure it was all done properly.

On the bus back to the hotel we got Lorraine to sing her song for us again and then she continued with a couple of others from the film. Riordan was sitting beside me and she leaned over and said quietly “Patsy, this may be a good time for you and me to have a little heart to heart chat. Can you come up to my room this evening after dinner and bring Joanne and Minh with you.”

We got back to the hotel and freshened up for dinner. The boys were all a bit sun burnt but in good spirits. After we had eaten I gathered Joanne and Minh and followed Riordan, Julia and Angela to Riordans’ room. Sitting around on chairs and the bed we waited for Riordan to tell us what she was thinking. Instead, she opened up with a question for me. “Patsy, in all honesty, what is your take on where we all are and where we are all going?” That was a big one from so far out of left field it had been invisible.

They all waited as I formulated my reply. “I would have to give this more thought to say with any certainty but I think that the Innocent Party may turn out to be a one-hit wonder with the type of song that is currently in the charts. I know that my writing, with Minh, has tended towards a more rock genre than the pretty pop song; and our writing for her demographic is more pre-teen. We do have to face the fact that Carl, Dan, Boss and Max have all said that they wanted to properly retire at the end of the tour and without Nina, and possibly without Lorraine, we will be left with just the three of us here as Innocent Girls so I really cannot see where we will go into the future. “

“We do have Jake, Keith, Paul and Kevin as a back-up but they have concentrated on the dance music and I really cannot see them being happy playing ‘Mall Song’ so, if we kept going I would see a more rock oriented band with the dance material thrown in. How does that fit?” Angela put her hand up and said “Before you go any further, I can tell you that I had a call from Sarah before dinner to tell me that the owner of the land where the Milwaukee dance concert was booked has been discovered with a big cannabis crop and other drugs so it is almost one hundred percent probable that the Milwaukee festival will be cancelled. This would just leave the New York one a week after the last ‘Amazon’ gig.”

“Well!” said Riordan, “this flows quite well into what I am about to say. The ‘Amazon’ band lost one third of its’ original members early in this tour and it has not affected its’ popularity one iota; in fact, we have grown exponentially with Nina and Patsy in the line-up. I was intending to just ask Patsy tonight if she would stay on as a permanent member but I will now put to you all a different scenario. Our two oldest members, Kurt and VB, have told me that they, also, are finding the pace of things now a bit too much and I don’t think either of them want to continue. My thoughts are that we get Jake and the band in to learn the ‘Amazon’ material that would have to be played at any concert and they would also be able to learn the new material that has yet to be written with the rest of us. “

“I would stop playing guitar seriously; concentrating on singing in duet with Nina when I can and we could bring Joanne and Minh into the band as backing vocal and individual spots. That line-up would end as two lead singers, two backing vocals, two main guitarists, rhythm, drums and keyboard with Patsy, Joanne, Julia and Minh doing some songs as lead to mix up the vocal range. We could add your dance material to the set as I know that Julia and I are keen on it and we could keep your more up-beat hits, such as ‘Wait’ on the playlist until they fade from the charts. We could all then write material to fit the line-up of younger members and the band may well have another ten or fifteen years’ life. What do you all think of that?”

Joanne said “Are you saying that Minh and I would become instant Amazons?” Riordan said that was exactly what she was saying. I said it sounded brilliant but we had to be sure Jake and the band would be happy with it; “But I really can’t see them knocking this back!” Everyone agreed so then Angela suggested that Riordan, me and herself fly to Nashville on Tuesday morning to talk with the band and Sarah to nut out some details and see what contractual changes would need to be made. We all agreed that because of the already legendary status of ‘Amazon’ the name would stay the same but it would be just a line-up change that we would phase in during the tour, if possible, with the full line-up being in place for both venues in New York . And so the world shifted again for us that night.

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 27

I went to find the band and Riordan went to find hers while Angela went off to call Sarah at home. I found Carl and the boy’s playing cards in the hotel lounge, pulled up a chair and asked them for their attention. “Just a few minutes ago” I started, “Riordan proposed a scenario where ‘Amazon’ almost doubles in size and ‘The Party’ disappears altogether. “

“This will be brought about by her bass and drummer retiring and Jake and the other band coming in when you all go back into the studio. She wants to add whoever is left of the Innocent Girls as backing singers.” I sat back for the arguments but Carl just said “How quickly does she want it to happen? We are all getting to the end of our tether with these big stadiums; its hard work being a rock star. Been there before and recovered then.”

I told them that it would depend on how quickly the new boys could come up to speed on our other songs and how quickly they could learn the ‘Amazon’ set. Max said that last time they were all together in Nashville they had made sure that the other band was good to replace any of them should something happen so it would be mainly the new stuff. Carl pulled his phone out and rang Jake. When the call went through he told Jake that I wanted to talk to him and then handed the phone to me.

“Jake,” I said “I want to know how quickly you and the boys could replace our band here completely.” He said that it would only take a few days to get back up to speed but that they were happier playing the dance set. I said “That may not be as much as a problem as you think. We will be adding more of the dance music to the concerts and dropping some of the more teeny songs as they do not work in big stadiums. The other question I need to ask, in confidence, please, is how long would it take you to learn the ‘Amazon’ set as it stood at New Orleans?”

There was a silence at the other end of the line and he said “Do I hear you right? You are asking me if we could back ‘Amazon’?” I told him yes. He thought for a few seconds and then said “It should not be too hard. We can get the master from Ron and practise with the bass and drums turned down. What about me and Keith, I can’t see the band without you and Riordan?” I told him it would be an expanded line up with two lead and two rhythms. “Hell!” he exclaimed “that would be some kind of sound, it would blow the walls in.” I told him that Milwaukee was probably off and that we needed to start the replacing from the next concert in Seattle. I also said that we were going to set up a meeting in Nashville on Tuesday after our gig here if we could; and that it all depended on management agreeing.

After I rung off Dan asked me what brought this on and I told him that Kurt and VB wanted to retire and that I thought we may lose Lorraine to the movies tomorrow. That added to the fact that they did not want to continue beyond the end of the tour (when the tour was somewhat smaller). I told them that Riordan and Julia wanted me to stay on as the lead in ‘Amazon’ as well. Boss, who was a deep thinker, then said “You know; this is a brilliant idea. You end up with a version of ‘Amazon’ that the fans obviously like, filled with younger members who would have a longer stage life. Not only that, the dance stuff does link with their rock. Music like ‘Mall Song’, while catchy, does not fit the set for these big venues. You really need big rock in these places.”

Just then Angela came into the room and, seeing me with the band, came over. “I have just spoken to Sarah and she said not to bother going to Nashville, she will bring Alice and the other guys here tomorrow and come to our show. She also said that Simon is flying in from New York tomorrow with his CEO, who wants to see what all the fuss is about. I told her we would bring them all up to speed over the weekend. We could also rehearse the set with the other band in the mornings.”

We left it at that for the night and, in our room, Joanne asked me if it was all going to be all right as it was huge step. I told her that I thought so but it would take careful planning to make it seamless. We had a fitful sleep. In the morning we all had an early breakfast and wished Lorraine good luck as she was being picked up. Both complete bands gathered in a large meeting room and Riordan asked if anyone had any negative thoughts about the proposition that had been put forward. We all seemed happy with the concept but that we needed to make the transition as seamless as possible. It would mean that the new large group, when fully formed, would have to carry the whole show. It would mean two halves or could mean one long show. To pull that off we would have to play for about three hours straight.

We talked around the problem and finally decided to wait until we had Jake and the other boys up to speed. We stopped for lunch and spent the afternoon relaxing until Sarah and Simon arrived. Well, the others relaxed but Minh, Riordan and I had a little session on song writing and working out songs for an acoustic set. Angela had come up with three care homes; the one in New York that Riordan knew of and others in Seattle and Chicago. We had decided that they were to be just us with Joanne and using just acoustic guitars with no PA – the old fashioned way!

Late in the afternoon everyone was in the hotel. Lorraine had been brought back and was bubbling with excitement at the screen test. She said to Joanne “Remember we used to watch that sitcom where there was a teenage lad who was supposed to play in a band? Well, the male lead is him, a few years older, and he is still dishy. We did a scene together and I thought the atmosphere was electric. They also got me to sing ‘Secret Love’ with a backing track. It gave me goose bumps. The producer said he would leave a message here before we leave.”

We booked a large meeting room and everyone gathered there. Simon took the floor and asked Riordan to outline her ideas. When she did so he then asked me what I thought so I put my bit in. He then asked the older guys if they were happy in stepping back from the limelight and they all agreed it had been a blast but was getting far too wearing on their old bodies. He asked if Jake and the younger guys could step up and they were all enthusiastic and finally asked the Innocent Girls what they thought. Joanne said she was a bit scared but was in; Minh said she was in for the short term but she saw her long term career in song writing and in childrens’ songs; Lorraine said that if the screen test went well she would love to act but that any singing would still be covered by her personal contract.

I pointed out that we could transition completely between cities and that the advertising for the new band needed to make it sure that the ‘Party’ was no longer on the bill. Angela pointed out that as the Milwaukee dance festival had cancelled, we had a two week break between Detroit and New York to make everything happen. We would need a practise hall somewhere away from the bright lights to perfect the act. Riordan said she would like the set to be without a break but that it could be extended by making the dance songs longer.

Simon asked Sarah and Alice if they had anything to add and Alice just remarked that one band is easier to manage than two, even if they are bigger. Simon finished the meeting by pointing out that there would be a potential for another collectors’ item live DVD of the New York show and that he could almost smell the profit!

We left the meeting room in high spirits and went to dinner. Jake and the band spent the evening with Riordan and her band going over the playlist and noting keys and the riffs that had to be in to make them the legendary songs they were. We all arranged to go to the stadium as early as we could get there and continue our preparations there. My song is coming true –everything IS changing!!

Part 28

Thursday morning we were all up, dressed and breakfasted and took both buses to the stadium. It was a hive of activity as trucks were unloading sound and lighting equipment; the stage erectors had cranes and stacks of scaffold already laid out and the concession stalls had their trucks lined up while the stall holders were erecting their pitches. There was no way we would be doing any playing until tomorrow so we just stood and gazed over the huge number of seats. Jake said that although the festivals were big, the same number of seats was an awesome sight.

I suddenly said loudly “We overthought the problem last night!” “OK Miss Thinker, what is the solution now?” said Riordan. They gathered around me and I explained. “We have Jake and the younger band up to speed with the dance set and Carl tells me they will only need minimal practice to catch up with ‘Party’ numbers so we can have them take over by Seattle. With them already on stage we just need to swap Paul and Kevin with Kurt and VB, bring on Julia, Nina and Riordan and we have ‘Amazon’ on stage.”

“Give it a couple of weeks and I think that Kurt and VB can step back. I already handle the lead so Jake and Keith can come on to the stage and just add to the beat until they find their additional sounds, that should only take a couple of gigs and I don’t think the fans will notice it.” Joanne said “I studied keyboard through high school and beyond, could we set up a second keyboard, maybe an electric piano, and I could be alongside Julia and also contribute? I would not take long as I already have ideas.” Carl said “Why don’t we trial it tomorrow morning with me and the boys; Dan and I could slide off as Riordan and Nina come on and the bass and drums could change as you said.” Riordan then added “OK, it sounds good but I have one more idea. For the big reveal, Patsy and the girls could do about four of the ‘Party’ hits out front to open the show with the new band and then Paul can do the bass notes for our opening ‘Amazon’ number and Nina, Julia and I can come on stage as the beat gets going and we mix the up-tempo and dance numbers into the ‘Amazon’ set while still finishing with the hits.” Julia said that it would be a good theme for the usual future concerts, adding new material in as we went along while dropping off the less popular tracks.

We all felt that progress had been made so left the builders to it and went back to the hotel. We organised a meeting room and went over the three playlists to pick out the best opening songs, followed by some ‘Amazon’ hits, then some dance numbers and finishing off with the usual three or four big hits. Angela commented that, boiled down to this, it looked very doable by Seattle, or at least, Chicago, rather than New York as first thought. We could do it piece by piece at progressive concerts rather than try for it in one hit. We roughly timed the final list at about two and a half hours if we keep the dance numbers to the record version, and about three hours if we did the club versions.

Nina, who had been pretty quiet, suddenly said “Hey! I have an idea. If you make ‘Changing’ the last number of the first set; you could sing the chorus several times getting quieter, while Joanne wanders over to the keyboard setup. You and Minh can unstrap your guitars and while you change to the SG and Rickenbacker Riordan and I can come from each side of the stage singing the ‘Everything is changing’ while Julia gets to the keyboard and starts a sort of space-like note. Once we are all in position she can lift that note to a crescendo and suddenly stop with the last line sung loudly. Then, as the crowd go nuts, Paul can hit the bass notes to the opening number for the ‘Amazon’ show.” We all thought that it was a great idea. Lorraine said “I can see that I am going to have to get that film role as there does not seem to be any room for me in this scenario. We all said that there was always room but it looked like we were banking on her success.

We were a lively lot at lunch. Simon introduced his CEO to the crowd and we all said hello. He was a somewhat older gentleman and I wondered if he had brought a tux with him, seeing that he was going to a concert. Both he and Simon had brought their wives so we all started chatting over our meal. Angela was cool with it but Mary seemed a bit overawed with lunching with the big boss and the big boss’ boss. I suggested to her that she get hold of some industrial ear plugs to hand out when they are seated at the concert for use in the later numbers. We warned Ron to make sure there was a row of seats behind him with reserved signs on for the visitors.

In the afternoon we continued running through the proposed set, singing quietly while mimicking our moves. We did the change-over piece with Julia adding a funny whine and Joanne adding to it and it sounded like it would work. Then all the girls went up to the hotel pool to show off our bodies, leaving the boys to go over the music again. The day had gone well and, at dinner, we were given the news that the ‘Amazon Live in Miami’ CD had hit number one in the second week while our earlier album and DVDs were still selling well. The news also came in that the stage and lighting was finished so we decided that we would all go over to the stadium and check it out.

Piling into the two buses and a couple of limos, it must have looked quite a sight as we travelled across town in convoy. When we arrived we first walked around the concession area, much to the delight of the holders, who were finishing off stocking the stalls. We then went around to the back steps of the stage and all went up to look out over the seating. Our lighting guy was there and showed off a few flashing and strobing effects over the auditorium. Simons’ and the CEO’s wives were absolutely awe struck “You play to this” one said “I feel scared to be here even now.” Angela came up and told us that she had checked with the road crew and that all the instruments were ready if we wanted to do a sound check now. We all said we would love to so we pointed out the seats by the mixing desk and Mary guided our visitors down to be seated for a personal show, pulling some ear plugs out of her bag as she went.

We decided quickly that we wanted to do the change-over piece so I strapped on the Rickenbacker and Minh had her Fender. We had to wait for a few minutes while the drums and keyboard was put in place. I said to Carl and Riordan “We will do ‘Wait’ to set a mood and then ‘Changing’ and rehearse the moves and do your opening number.” We all agreed, so, once we had everything in place, I went out front with the girls and we started with ‘Wait.’ When we finished Ron gave me the thumbs up. The lighting guy had been very measured with the effects and it was soothing. We then started with “Changing’ and we did as Nina had suggested, Minh and I unstrapped guitars while Joanne went over to the keyboard that Julia was now standing behind and bringing up a weird sound; Boss and Max swapped places with Kurt and VB and then Nina and Riordan walked onto the stage.

I had the SG on by now so, when we nodded to Julia she picked up the note and we all sang ‘Everything is changing’ loudly and then there was silence. Kurt played the first bass notes quietly in the silence and then after a pause, hit them again and I came in with the guitar, followed by the rest of the band and then we were off, Nina and Riordan belting out the vocal. I could detect Carl and Dan adding bits into the guitar mix and it all sounded great. When we finished there was a small crowd of stallholders and riggers standing in front of the stage with looks of wonder on their faces. I said for them to keep this under their hats for the moment, in a vain hope that they actually would.

We unstrapped our stuff, thanked the roadies and told them we would be in for practise at about ten in the morning and asked them if they could locate a second keyboard to set at an angle to Julia and to put them on stage for the whole show. We then went down to the playing field area where Simon and his CEO were in a deep conversation and Mary was chatting away with the wives.

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 29

Back at the hotel most of us found the lounge and coffee machine. I was sitting with Joanne, Nina and Riordan when the CEOs’ wife came over to thank us for the experience tonight and say that she was looking forward to the full concert on Friday evening. She said that she, and her husband, needed to go shopping on Friday.

I said “Let me guess, he forced you to pack a long dress and put a tux in his bag.” She laughed and told me I was psychic. Lorraine came over in an excited mood and showed us a message that had come to the reception this evening. It said that the studio heads were very happy with her screen test and wanted her to go into the head office urgently to talk about her future. I told her to get Angela to go with her and maybe see if Sarah or Simon could join them. We could do the sound check without her and, if she was wanted so quickly, we could organise the rest of the tour, after this weekend, by taking out her special songs. She went off to find Angela and I turned to the others and said “Looks like it’s gunna be just us, kiddos.”

Friday morning was bright and sunny, as was our mood at breakfast. Lorraine had an appointment at 10.00am and would be accompanied by Sarah and Simon. Angela and Mary were tasked with keeping the rest of us in check. After breakfast we piled into the buses again and went to the stadium. It was really buzzing and several vendors asked us what last night was about. We asked them to gather everyone together in the middle of the playing area and we would tell them, so that’s what we did.

We told them that we were planning on merging the two bands by Chicago at the latest and that the line-up would be given to them at a later date but to run the entire Innocent Party product out as the new band would still be ‘Amazon’. They were told that this was a polite heads-up but we would like it to be kept out of the media, until it evolved over just one or two weeks. They went back to setting up and we went up onto the stage.

The guys had set it up with two keyboards and all eight of the big amps we now had on hand. I asked Carl if he was sure that Jake and the others would be all right and we called Jake over to go through the play list and point out the ones he thought would be a problem so we pulled them out and still had a decent set, even without Lorraines’ songs. I asked if we could run a practise set with the new band so they got themselves kitted up while Carl and the others went down to sit with Ron. Once we were all ready we started with ‘Wait’ and worked through the four other songs that the band had not done before and they were pretty good. We then did ‘Changing’ which would be the point at which we would move into the dance part of the set. We took a leaf out of last night’s book and did the repeats of the chorus while Minh and I changed guitars, stopped and went into ‘Bounce’, followed by a couple of others and then finished with ‘Dancefloor’ and, after a short break, ‘Maximum Dance’. When we stopped I asked if there were any problems and everyone said that just another run through would be good.

I asked Joanne how she was and if she wanted to play keyboard if we did it again. She readily agreed so we had some water and started again from the top. I could see Riordan, Nina and the rest of the ‘Amazon’ band out front along with our full crew of roadies and support staff. It was interesting to see the guys and girls dancing through our second pass. Joanne added a different sound overall. When we finished Carl called out “Can I go home now?” and we all laughed. We took a break while Lucy showed us the outfits each band would use this weekend. We were in different shades of red for this one; the ‘Party’ shade was muted while the ‘Amazon’ one was really, really bright. I said to her to make sure that she had a complete set for the new band by Seattle, even if we had not perfected the play list.

After our break Riordan asked Jake and Keith if they would stay on stage and just get used to being among the band and to add notes as it took them. She asked Joanne to be on the other keyboard and just work with Julia. Minh was to stand with them and add backing vocals as needed. We did the set straight through and I could hear a difference already; it sounded fuller and the keyboards added a sort of sparkle. Two extra female voices brought out the lyrics and the two extra guitars created a veritable wall of sound. When we finished Riordan turned to us with a big grin on her face. “That’s what I have dreamed of for a couple of years,” she said, ‘this is going be awesome.” She turned to Jake and said “Right, we will do it again and this time I want to hear the skill you show with the dance material. Let’s get this into the next orbit.” We did it again and we took off to Mars.

When we finished the vendors were amassed on the grass and applauded the set, I could see Lorraine back from her appointment standing with Simon and Sarah with big smiles and our crews were leaping about high-fiving. I think we may have sounded good. We rid ourselves of our kit and went down the stairs onto the grass and into a mass hug and handshaking session. One of the vendors told me that we were going to make them a fortune over the next few dates. Ron told me that he had called Chris to tear up his documentary script and start again as this has rewritten the ending to both that he was making. His crew had filmed us this morning but were not present last night so the change-over try-out had not been recorded.

Simon and Sarah came over with Lorraine and Simon told us to meet the latest star to grace Hollywood so we all gave her hugs and congratulated her. She said she could start Monday and wanted to know if we could do this gig without her. We told her that we could manage and that she should take the chance offered. She said that some of the other cast would be at the concert tonight, along with the producer and director and a few staffers so she would sit with them during the show. She would need to find a place to stay over the weekend so she was ready to start work. Simon told us that the son of his CEO went to college with Hector Vickers the Third and he knew the family. They were going to get together on Saturday before the CEO and his wife flew back to New York.

We all stopped for lunch that Angela had organised and discussed the future for the band. We did not have any live dates set for after the tour as the ‘Party’ had been just starting while ‘Amazon’ had not thought they had another tour in them, so there was a bit of a break when we could write new material, get the Christmas Album out and develop the new ‘Amazon’ look and sound to take us into the new year. We double checked our kit for tonight’s show, and had another look around the concessions. The Thunderbird was now in its’ place by the main entrance with the big picture but had now been joined by a couple of new cars and an advert for a Los Angeles dealer describing itself as a happy place to buy cars.

Back at the hotel I got Riordan, Nina, Joanne and Minh together and we sang through some songs that we had chosen for our acoustic outing, including the first run through ‘Serendipity’, my new song about chance and the lows and highs of life and the fact that taking care of details can lead to amazing things. At dinner we decided that Jake and the new band would now be the only band. I thanked Carl and the boys for their support and talents and wished them well in semi-retirement – again! Sarah said they will stay with us for the rest of the tour ‘just in case’. We all toasted Lorraine and wished her all the success she deserved on the big screen and she told us, with her tongue firmly in her cheek, that we could be her backing band for any albums she would release in the future.

Part 30

We girls had our salon session and then we got the buses and went to the stadium, driving under the stands to go up to the changing rooms. Jake and the band were a bit hyper and we tried to settle them down by being very laid back, saying it will be good, just do what we did this morning. Kitted up we walked up the back steps and stood behind the speakers waiting for our start time. Riordan was there to wish us well and then it came time to step on to the stage. Minh and I went out front to a roar of approval, while Joanne took up position behind the keyboard and the band settled in place. I called one-two-three and we were off again into the set. The new numbers for the band went well but once we got into the dance bracket we raged. The crowd was going nuts by the time we finished with ‘Maximum Dance’.

While we took our bows Kurt and VB quietly replaced Paul and Kevin and when Kurt hit the notes for the first number of the ‘Amazon’ set there was an audible gasp from the crowd and a roar as we continued with Riordan coming in from the right, Nina from the left and Julia standing alongside Joanne at the keyboards. It must have looked odd with some of us in a paler red but it made the original ‘Amazon’ members stand out. We recreated our ‘wall of sound’ and the noticeable additional keyboard sound and the crowd got really behind us through the set and were roaring by the time we did our encore number. We lined up to take our bows and the noise was tremendous. Riordan keyed her comms and said “Jake and Keith, I hope you know ‘High Voltage’” and they both nodded so we stepped backward and I started with the riff and we went on a rampage for ten minutes until Jake and I stood face to face and did a very rock and roll finale.

We all waved at the audience and walked off the stage as the house lights came up. “Wow” said Jake, “that was something else again.” Back in the rooms Riordan said “Right, next two days we practise with Paul and Kevin doing the second half and I think we may be able to run with the full band Sunday and Monday. I’m proud of you all.” Lucy said that tomorrow night Joanne, Minh and I would be in the bright red as well with the boys following suit on Sunday. She said she would have a new set for Seattle. We had a signing table in the concourse after the gig so all changed into normal wear and did the tunnel trip to the foyer area where we spent nearly two hours signing and chatting.

Simon came by with the rest of the executives and we did special signatures for them. The CEO was quite smart in LA casual and told us that he had really enjoyed himself and was looking forward to seeing us in New York. He seemed to speak a bit loudly so I caught the eye of his wife and tapped my ear. She caught on and as they walked away I could see her telling him to take his ear plugs out. Lorraine gave everyone a hug and a kiss and introduced us to her leading man who was, as described, quite a hunk. She told us that she had been told about a place to stay and would check it out on Saturday and may move in that afternoon. The director, Anton, told us that he was very glad she was no longer singing with the band as it would save her voice for ‘serious music’.

Eventually we all got into the buses and got back to the hotel. We had to go around the back as there was a crowd of fans out the front. Carl said that he was glad he was out of it now. We bypassed the lounge and all went to our rooms for a shower and bed. I congratulated Joanne on her playing before we went off to sleep.

Saturday morning we all went back to the stadium and did the ‘Amazon’ material quietly with Paul and Kevin playing, with Kurt and VB standing next to them to give them pointers as needed. We did the more difficult numbers a few times and then did the whole set from start to finish a couple of times. Riordan declared that the guys were ready to roll tonight. Over lunch we decided that ‘High Voltage’ had been done to death so we should hold ‘Maximum Dance’ for the encore to the encore.

Riordan thought that we should do the Sunday show with a single colour outfit for everyone and that Monday we should do the changing song after the quiet ones and add the dance music into the ‘Amazon’ set. This would mean that the Seattle show would be simply ‘Amazon’ so we would need to rejig the whole playlist to suit. Angela said she would contact Ma, and the publicist, to make sure the posters would be altered for the next four cities. We had Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Seattle and Angela reported that Ma had found a small industrial shed away from the city which would be able to use from Monday to Friday.

She gave Tom the address and phone number to call to gain access. Tom said that he would airfreight a pair of amps in a half container with the drums and instruments so that they would be there Tuesday afternoon for us. We would have to rent a bus to pick us up so he said that he would leave the rest of the packing and transport to the crew and he and one other rigger would fly directly into Seattle first thing Tuesday. The rest of the equipment should arrive by late Wednesday afternoon and would go directly to the stadium; a truck coming to the shed to pick up the other gear when we were happy with our work. It seemed that we had booked a huge Arena in Seattle and another in Detroit and would finish in New York at Madison Square Garden. New York had been extended by a night either side which would be a five night stay.

The afternoon had been set up with interviews and it looked like everyone wanted to know what was going on so we told them that changes were in train and they would see the results by Monday night and definitely in Seattle. We had dinner at the hotel and went out to the stadium by bus with plenty of time to spare. We got dressed for the show with Minh, Joanne and me in the bright red. We got kitted up and went up to the usual spot by the amps to wait for the start time. The place was packed and the buzz turned to a roar when we went on to the stage to start our set. We finished with ‘Dancefloor’ and took our bows and then Paul hit the magic bass notes and Riordan, Nina and Julia came on stage to kick off the ‘Amazon’ set. We ended with the encore number and, as the crowd wanted more, did a fifteen minute version of ‘Maximum Dance’ with enough solos to please anyone. We made our final bows and waved to the crowd as we walked off. Sunday we took it a bit easier during the day with some practise of the acoustic set and Sunday night we repeated the Saturday show.

Monday was more of the same until we got to the stadium. This time I was only going to do the quieter numbers first and do our ‘Changing’ trick with the dance music mixed in with ‘Amazon’ material. I have to say that, by this time, the ‘Amazon’ music was somewhat different sounding to the ‘Greatest Hits’ album. The fuller sound and double keyboard on top of a five girl vocal output had really spiced it up. The fans could still sing along as the basic lyrics were the same and the basic tune was unchanged. We all were dressed in the same colour and it went well, the ‘Changing’ section running smoothly. Riordan was great with the dance vocals and, of course, Nina already knew them. We ended the night with ‘Maximum Dance’ and waved to the crowd as usual. The crowd was chanting ‘am-a-zon’ am-a-zon’ as we walked off the stage.

Tuesday morning we flew to Seattle and got into our hired bus to go to the hotel. The rest of the day was filled with interviews and Wednesday the bus took us to the industrial shed where a mini stage was set up. We practised our full rejigged set several times and made some alterations to the format. Thursday we did the same and then told Tom it was OK to ship everything to the Arena for Friday night’s show. Friday morning, though, would be a bit different as we had the acoustic set to do for the children.

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 31

Friday morning we dressed in casual clothing and went out to the care home. As well Joanne, Minh, Nina, Riordan, Julia and me, we had been joined by Jake and Angela. We had our acoustic guitars with us but left them in the bus as we visited the premises. Riordan and Julia were welcomed as old friends and they introduced the rest of us.

We chatted with the children and were then shown a large meeting room with some chairs at the end. We went and grabbed our guitars and sat on stools while the place filled. As well as staff and children there were several reporters and photographers. Riordan asked them not to spoil the set with shutter sound and flashes. When the doors were closed the head matron introduced us as members of the great band ‘Amazon’ and left us to it. The media looked a bit quizzical when we started with ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ and some old folk songs. We then did the acoustic versions of some of my songs and a couple of Riordans then finished off with the first outing on ‘Serendipity’, much to the enjoyment of the children. We stood up and took a bow, the matron thanked us and we took our leave, fielding lots of questions from the media.

We went back to the hotel for lunch and then out to the Arena to do a sound check. It was new venue and the facilities were fantastic. Everything looked good; Tom had shipped everything to the Arena and we sounded good as well. Back to the hotel for dinner and then back to the Arena, We were all outfitted in the same colour tonight for the first time and when the time came to start I went out front with Minh and the band formed up behind. We played the quieter set and, ending on ‘Changing’ we did the addition of the rest of the band and played the rest of the set, finishing with the ‘Maximum Dance’ encore. The rest of the time in Seattle we all started on stage and I had the SG on the whole show – we were all now, officially – ‘Amazon’.

The Sunday paper was interesting to see when Angela pointed it out to us. There was an article titled ‘Amazon, the band with three heads’. It went on to talk about the music in the show being slow and frantic and then spoke about our acoustic set as being sweet and lilting. There were a couple of pictures of us in full rock mode and one of a line-up of girls with acoustic guitars in their laps. It seemed that the matron had let it slip that Riordan and Julia were long-term donors to the homes and she was captioned as the ‘Angel of Mercy’. Jake joked that, as I was known to some as the ‘Angel of Joy’ he was sure that we were all safe from harm with two angels in our midst.

Monday morning we flew to Chicago where we ran into a barrage of reporters at the airport, all wanting to know about the evolution of the band and the involvement with the care homes. We answered as best we could and finally got the bus to the hotel. Our two buses were now branded ‘Amazon on tour’ and the one from Seattle was now on its way to Detroit. Our support crews and Carl and the boys were using separate transport for now. Our dates in Chicago had been extended and we were due to play the Thursday through to Monday again. It all went to plan and the fans lapped up the new sound of the old songs and immediately folded the old ‘Party’ numbers into the ‘Amazon’ legend. By the end of our time in Chicago we had honed the set into a fine tuned piece of entertainment and had started to add little bits that built it further. In our off time we were busy writing new material that would arise after New York with an album planned as soon as we could.

We flew in to Detroit on the Tuesday and the, now usual, reporters and interview appointments. It was a good job we no longer needed lots of practise for the stage side of things as we were getting plenty of practise in fielding awkward questions. We had been booked for a care home visit on the Wednesday and, this time, had to get a security guard to limit the number of reporters allowed in the hall. We were introduced and did our little set to lots of laughter and applause from the children, were thanked by the matron and went on our way.

The concert venue was to be a large playing area with attached theme park and amusements. When we got there on Thursday morning we had a quick look at the stage and performance aspect before we were ushered into a large hall that was filled with cars. There, in pride of place, was the Thunderbird with our original picture behind it but all around were new and classic cars with the same picture, photo-shopped with a different dealer name, behind them. A large group of executive types applauded us as we walked in and Peter came over and gave me a big hug. “Patsy” he said “You have no idea what we have achieved since I last saw you in Nashville. The ‘Happy place to get your car’ campaign has taken off and our sales have improved dramatically, especially among female buyers. The company liked your idea so much that they negotiated with Simon to roll it out nationally and all the cars here represent the dealers that are now on board. The company has put strict guidelines in place to ensure that a dealership is actually a happy place and, of course, there are the usual die-hard fuddy-duddies; that I can understand, having been one myself recently.”

I told him that Lorraine was still in Hollywood to pursue a film career but introduced him to Riordan and Julia as the core members of ‘Amazon’. Riordan had met him before and told him it was the visit to his dealership and our video there of the acoustic set that altered her own take on life to be more inclusive and caring. He commented on the article about the ‘Angel of Mercy’ and said he was honoured to be in front of two such talented angels. He then led us over to the executives who shook our hands and some hugged us and the manager of marketing took a microphone and said “Ladies and gentlemen, it is my great pleasure to be here today to honour the group of girls who used to be called ‘Innocent Girls’ but are now part of that legendary band ‘Amazon’, who I am looking forward to hearing tonight.”

“Patsy and Minh, here in front of you, came up with the advert that kicked off our national campaign. I am ashamed to say that they did it in about six months less and fifty thousand dollars cheaper than my department could achieve at that time. I can tell you that my department now have orders to stop taking expensive lunches! The girls are coming to the end of a national tour that has grabbed headlines wherever they touch down and we have taken this opportunity to show off our product here today and to award Patsy and Minh a special bonus to show our appreciation. I will now give them each these cheques to use as they wish.” So saying he shook my hand and handed me a mock cheque made out for a hundred thousand dollars and then did the same for Minh. To say we were shocked was an understatement.

He handed me the microphone and I said “I am not usually stuck for words but I am at present. My rise in the entertainment field has been a series of happenstance events, with things that have happened, people I have met, and opportunities that have been sent my way to make a difference. A small group of us have played acoustic sets at care homes recently and have an appointment to play at another in New York. I have never had the opportunity or assets before in my life to make the gesture I will now make but in following the premise of a little song we perform to the children, I am going to allow this moment of serendipity to pass this cheque to Riordan and Julia, to add to their next donation to the homes so that the children can have a better life.” Riordan and Julia gave me a big hug and I passed the microphone to Minh who just said “Whatever she just said!” and handed hers to them as well, receiving big hugs also.

I took the microphone back and said “We thank you for this, we really do appreciate it but I am afraid that we have a show to prepare for and I know that those who will be in the audience tonight will appreciate it when we get it right!” We said our farewells and made our way back to the stage.

Part 32

We took the long way round to the stage area, passing the vendors stands. It took quite a while as many wanted us to sign albums and DVDs that they stashed away. On some of the clothing stands we were asked to try on tops and jackets and there were many photos taken. At Pierre’s music stand all of us guitarists were given one to hold while a picture was taken in front of the stand and Joanne and Julia were snapped standing behind a keyboard while Kevin had one taken sitting at a drum kit. This was almost the last chance these stall holders had to take some serious cash and they were happy that we could help them.

At the poster stall they had the old band members sign some photos of themselves with ‘Farewell’ which I knew would be collectors’ items as soon as the tour finished. There was even a stall selling ‘Amazon’ Perfumes which all of us tried; some of them were really nice and we were given a bottle each of the ones we liked in return for the usual photo holding our choice in front of the stall. I knew that all of the stall holders paid good money to be here and all of the photos, posters, albums and DVDs were supplied by Simon or Sarah.

So, feeling good and smelling nice, we finally got to the changing rooms where Lucy showed us our outfits for the night. We were in a dark blue and white piping for this city, as our friendly car maker had chipped in a wad of money to sponsor the kit. I thought we all would look fabulous on stage although a bit like a group of mechanics; but I suppose that was the point. At least it did not have the company logo on it, and when I mentioned that, Lucy told me that the ones to be sold to the public did, in fact, have a small logo on the sleeves.

We had our catered lunch and then went up onto the stage to do a sound check. It was just one song and everyone was happy so we got back onto the bus and headed back to the hotel to relax. We all went up to the hotel pool and lay around on loungers chatting or else having a swim. It was very relaxing and we were all happy at dinner. As usual, we had a quick salon session and went out to the stadium to play.

This was the first time we were to do the entire set as ‘Amazon’ so, all clad in the same colours, we went up to the stage and stood out of sight to kit up. When we went out on stage we were confronted by a sea of people, all cheering and shouting, and I went to the front of the stage. Riordan and Keith started the opening notes of ‘Changing’ and the crowd quietened enough for me to be heard. When we reached the end, there was a roar from the audience and then Paul hit those bass notes and we were into ‘Amazon’ hits, mixed with ‘Party’ numbers and building up a beat into the dance numbers to end with the two big ‘Amazon’ hits. We took our bows and waved to the crowd before doing a raging ‘Maximum Dance’ as the encore. More bows and we waved as we made our way off stage. We were now, officially, an ‘Amazon’ tour.

Next morning at breakfast we were told that the car people had a ball at the concert and were very, very happy. Carl and the old band announced that they were now superfluous and were heading back to Nashville while Kurt and VB also announced that they would go home to New York. We all had group hugs and wished them well. I told Carl I would see him when we get back to Nashville in a few weeks. I was not getting homesick but was looking forward to visiting my ‘Aunt Ruby’ and the support group. After breakfast, Minh, Riordan, Joanne, Nina and I found a quiet room and worked on new music for the Christmas album and the next ‘Amazon’ album, only stopping for lunch. Once again, after dinner, we went back on stage and wowed the audience. It was getting easier every show and, by the time we finished the last performance here, we thought we were doing well enough to think about adding material in the future. It was just the New York show to come, and then a dance festival.

We flew to New York on the Tuesday and went to the hotel. Riordan said that she and Julia would normally stay in their own homes but now felt so much a part of the group that they would feel odd to be without us during the tour. As the equipment would not be set up until Thursday afternoon we all spent a couple of days looking around the city and attending interviews. One of the biggest record shops had arranged for us to do a signing session on Wednesday afternoon and I swear we had signed enough albums and DVDs to make it into the top ten. I found it strange to be asked to sign old ‘Amazon’ albums and Nina almost freaked when first asked to sign a ‘Greatest Hits’ one, so much so that Riordan had to give her a hug and tell her that she truly deserved to be doing it as it would have been ending up on a remainders stall if it wasn’t for her. Thursday afternoon we went to the ‘Garden’ and did a sound check and did the rounds of the vendors, thanking them for staying the course. We did, however, have a fair pile of new clothes when we got back on the bus.

For New York, Simon had gone all out to impress. Instead of the bus we had a small fleet of limos to take us to and from the show and we were to wear formal clothing for before and after show parties. So, at five ‘o’clock, we were in long dresses and suits and picked up by the limos. The pre-show party was for company staff from New York and Nashville so it was a pleasant time chatting with old friends. Chris was there and told me that, although he had to scrap an hours’ work of scripts, he was happy to make changes as now we had a unified ending. He said that he was going to do a four part documentary with the first being the rise of the ‘Party, the second part was the early ‘Amazon’ focussing on Ashley and her spiral into drunkenness and drugs. The third was the evolution of the new band with clips from various mixed shows and the change-over segment, while the last would be a live ‘Amazon in New York’ once it had been filmed. I told him I was proud to be involved with an award-winning piece of television.

At six thirty we made our exit and went to the dressing rooms where we had the full salon treatment for all, before getting into our stage gear. We were, for New York, in silver and gold and all took turns shading our eyes as we made poses. All the guys had jackets and the girls all had long skirts so it was a good looking bunch that kitted up and waited for the start time. The show was to start at eight so, by seven forty-five we were ready to go to the staging area. At eight we made our way onto the stage accompanied by much applause and we did our thing. After the show we were taken to another party, this time it was for celebrities and dignitaries then back to the hotel by limo. Lucy took charge of our stage outfits there and we all had a well-earned sleep.

The life of a star was not all easy going! Friday, Saturday and Sunday was much the same. I didn’t know there were so many well-known people who liked our music and I never thought I would ever be in a room with at least twenty millionaires. Monday was, however, a little different. The pre-show party was pretty much as usual but I noticed that there were several other artists on hand who all wanted to chat with the band about music and what we were going to do in future. It was fantastic to be mixing with our peers in such a friendly way. We went off do get ready and I mentioned this to Riordan. She said “There are a lot of people here tonight who we had played with over the years but would never have come tonight if Ashley and Georgina had still been with the band. We now have a more universal appeal.”

We did the show and were loudly applauded and then were ushered into the party room again for the final time. I saw our promoter’s representative talking with a bunch of guys who looked like a band and then Jake, who was walking alongside me, grabbed my arm and said “That’s Primal Purge!!!”

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 33

“I think I have heard of them “I said, “Aren’t they a heavy metal band from the UK?” Jake nodded his head, “Yes, if Carl was still here he would be on his knees right now as Grog is his hero.” “Grog?” I asked, “I thought he was teetotal.” Jake laughed and said “No, I mean the nuggetty guy talking to Jock. His name is Greg Goggins and he has been known as Grog forever. He was rather attached to drink in his youth but has tried every drug known to man. It’s said he is totally clean now.”

We moved into the room and started talking to various other artists who thought that the new ‘Amazon’ was just starting out on a new journey. I was just amazed that these people were here to see us perform. Simon came over and smiled when he told us that his CEO had talked to Hector Vickers the Third and, having found out that the remake of ‘Calamity Jane’ was to be the first in a series of cheap remakes that included remake of ‘Gidget’ movies, had insisted that he, and the company, thought that it would be a waste of Lorraine’s’ voice and they came to an agreement.

It seems that the company now had a controlling share in Hectors’ business and that the films would now be properly scripted and aimed at a general release, rather than hid away on cable TV. After about half an hour Joey came and asked us to join him at the table where Jock was and he gathered up our whole band to go and meet the visitors. Jock said “Riordan and Patsy, I would like to introduce you all to these gentlemen who flew in from the UK just to see you play. I believe they are happy they did. He pointed to each of us in turn and the other guys nodded to us as we were named. The he said, “I would like to introduce the members of ‘Primal Purge’ from the UK”.

“We have Greg Goggins, also known as Grog; Kyle Adams, Plonker Parsons and Bruce Kitson. The members of the band who didn’t make the trip are Marion Batchelor, their keyboard player, and Janet and Libby who are backing singers. I had sent these guys a copy of your dance DVD, Patsy, and they were interested in signing you on as the opening act for their US leg of a world-wide tour but became unhappy when they heard that you and ‘Amazon’ seemed to be merging.” “Aye” said Grog “I wouldn’t share a stage with that pisshead Ashley, she was bad news on two legs” He went on “We were asked to see the way you had finished the merger and I must say I was pretty glad we came. We are more interested in your dance set but hearing such well-crafted new material along with the old ‘Amazon’ stuff was a fine thing to hear.” He looked at Jake and said “You play a fine guitar, lad. You remind me of myself as a youngster.” Jake looked shocked but managed to stammer his thanks.

He went on “We are only in the planning stages at the moment but the idea is to play a series of dates in the USA starting in early spring to include Canada. We will then go to Europe for the summer and down through Asia and Japan; into Australia and New Zealand before finishing in the UK. It will be our farewell tour and we are definitely not asking you to resurrect our careers, young lady!” He was looking at me when he said that. “I expected to need several opening acts as we moved around the world but you can understand that there are difficulties in finding clean, unsullied, bands in the heavy metal industry and that is just what we need. We are all ‘fallen’ but now on the straight and narrow and will do anything to stay clear of temptation.”

Riordan asked “How long is the whole tour planned?” Jock answered her “It will only be about six weeks in the USA. A ‘Purge’ tour has an awful lot of gear to transport so we would be looking at about five or six cities only. Europe would also be about six cities; then we may get a gig or two in India then Tokyo, Sidney, Auckland and then just three in the UK. That’s about twenty dates spread over about six months. If it starts in the middle of March it should finish around the end of August.” Grog then said “We are staying to come to your dance festival next weekend to see your pure dance set as I believe that you will be a bit louder there. Some among us were finding hard to hear what you were playing tonight” he poked Bruce, the drummer, as he said that. Riordan said, “I am sure you will be surprised as much as I will be as neither Julia, or myself, have played one of those festivals before so it will be a learning curve for us as well. We did see Patsy and this band at one early on and were quite impressed but they have improved from that level since we have known them. I, for one, am looking forward to next week.”

We broke into smaller groups then with the guitarists comparing methods and riffs and Kevin having a loud conversation with Bruce; until Bruce found his hearing aid and they were a bit quieter. Grog sought me and Riordan out and guided us away from the others saying “I just want to say that you girls have saved a legend from being a laughing stock. I think that if Ashley had still been around you would have just played your last date and it would not have been here at the ‘Garden’. I am really impressed with your new writing; do you have more to go on with?”

We told him that we had been working on an album of new material during the tour and would go into the studio as soon as we could. I asked him if it was better than 50/50 that we would be chosen and he said that if he heard what he expected to next week it was better that 80/20 so to start preparing for a world tour next year. “So”, I asked, “you will need us to be a dance come loud rock group on the tour?” He answered that it would be a good start for each show to start quieter and to build up, just as we had tonight. “It increases expectation” he said; “we will provide the blast of sound for the whole second half.”

I turned to Riordan and asked her if she was happy with the way this was turning out. She answered that she had always dreamed of playing out of the country but, by the time they had become big enough, Ashley and Georgina would not have been allowed to enter most countries, besides “They were afraid to be too far from their suppliers.” I then asked Grog if we would be allowed to contract our band of vendors for the US leg and he laughed. “I had a quiet walk through your department store this evening. There were goods for sale I have never seen at our shows, they would be welcome to join our happy band if it all works out.” We parted saying we hoped to catch up with them next week and rounded up our band to make our exit, getting into the limos with the cheers of fans ringing in our ears, to drive to the hotel. Before going to bed Riordan and I made arrangements for a band meeting in the morning after breakfast and booked a meeting room.

Tuesday morning, after breakfast, we went to the meeting room. As well as the whole band, we had Angela and Mary and Simon with us. I took control of the meeting and outlined everything that I had heard last night. I asked if everyone understood that we may be asked to do the US leg of the tour and could be in the running for the complete world tour. When they all nodded I said “OK, the point of this meeting is to gauge commitment to the project. In order to cement our chances we need to play well on the weekend at the festival. ‘Primal Purge’ will be going to hear us but I don’t know which show they will see. We can do it badly and miss out or we can do it well and have a chance. What is it to be?”

I looked around and almost everyone was looking keen to do it right. I looked at Minh, who seemed a little unsure. “What is it, Minh, you are not happy?” She looked around and said “I am sorry, guys, the notion of going into hard rock and touring with a heavy metal band is a bit out of my comfort zone.”

Simon took over and told her “Minh, that’s all right, everyone here understands that it is a long way from your preferred music. I am sure that Patsy and the others will be behind you with your Christmas album and anything you do after that and no-one feels you are a wimp for pulling out. It is better to do it now instead of breaking down later.” Minh thanked him and smiled at us “As long as I can help writing the songs and putting out my own style of music I will be happy. I could never lose my links with you guys.” I said “Right, it is Tuesday morning and we have our first show on Thursday night. Angela, can you see if there is a shed we can hire near the festival site to practise the set in?”

Part 34

I then said “Riordan, can you think through your old material to see if there is a song or two we could jazz up in a short time to fill out the set? Mary, can you find Tom to get him to take the equipment to a holding place until we contact him? Are we ready to do this?” Everyone said yes and there were several high fives and hugs.

On the way out of the room, Minh said that she felt that she was letting the Innocent Girls down by pulling out and I told her that it was all perfectly all right and that she needed to concentrate on her own album. “If you stay at the house you and I can use the studio full time once the tour is over. We should get it done pretty quickly and then we can get you in the main studio to record. If you want, the rest of us can be back-up singers just listed as ‘Innocent Girls’.” Nina said that she was going to stay with Riordan in New York so will be moving out of the house but would be happy to come to Nashville for the recording sessions. Riordan said that she would be happy to come down as well but warned me that the ‘Amazon’ sessions will be in a big studio in New York that she had shares in.

It was still only mid-morning and we would not be able to practise until late in the day or tomorrow, so I grabbed Angela and arranged for a car to take us to the ‘Garden’. Just as I thought, the vendors were still packing up their goods and taking down their stands. I spoke to a couple and asked if they could all gather around for a discussion. When they had gathered together I stood on a chair and thanked them for their involvement and hoped that they had all made enough to retire on. I went on “Those of you with Innocent Party stock of CDs, DVDs or photos should send me a list at K Beat in Nashville and I will make an offer to take it all from you. Of course, you may want to keep some aside to sell later as collectors’ items and that’s not a problem. As you now know, we will continue to perform as ‘Amazon’ and I think that you may get a message from us, in the New Year, about another tour. For this one you may need your passports. Your continued attendance at our shows has been a conversation piece among some in the industry and a comment was made last night from a person who had never seen the like, even though they had been on the scene for thirty years or more.”

“The band members do thank you for the odd bits of clothing and the like that you have given us. I hope the photos taken with us wearing it will grace your advertising for a while. Thank you again.” I got off the chair and many came to shake my hand or give me a hug. One guy, who sold mainly photos and posters, asked me about future pictures and I told him that I knew that Roger and Chris had taken miles of film and to get in touch with K Beat to arrange so see a selection. He said that the one of us in Detroit looking like mechanics would be a hit in thousands of car yards and workshops around the country. I then had a look in at the performance area but Tom had completely cleared our stuff and it was as if we had never been.

On the way back to the hotel Angela commented on my way of doing business. I told her that I thought that if everyone knew what was going on it works better in the long run. Just then her phone rang and as she was talking she made some notes. “That was an agent” she said “they have found a shed and given me the address and an address to pick up keys.” Let’s do it now” I said, so we gave the driver a new address to go to and we went to the key holder. They came with us to the shed, which was pretty close to the festival site, and we had a look. We approved the shed for our practise as it was a little remote and the sound would not bother anyone. Angela rang Tom and told him the address and we shook hands with the real estate guy. Angela said she would be in the office later to sign the papers and pay the bill for a short rental. We then called Mary to round up the rest of the band and gave her the address to come to and finally to a caterer to bring out a late lunch and a dinner today as well as a lunch tomorrow.

By 2.00pm we were all at the shed, the crew had unloaded the equipment and set it up and we had finished the catered lunch. Minh had come along to watch. We then looked at our play list again. I asked Riordan if there were songs that she had thought of and there was one that we normally played that she thought would do with a bit of speeding up and lots more volume so that’s the one we tried first. After about six run throughs we decided that it now sounded all right. She then pulled out a portable CD player and put a disc in it of a very early album, chose a track and played it to us. It was called ‘Shakin’ Sister’ and had Ashley in an earlier, and better, voice. It sounded like it would work so she played it again while we all took note of our instrumental parts and Nina jotted down the words.

We gave it a try at the normal tempo a couple of times and then speeded it up until we were happier, then did it about four more times before we were happy with it. That gave us the ‘Amazon’ content and we could fill it out with the other dance music in extended form. Everyone was happy with us finishing the set with the normal two songs. We decided to take a run through the full set and then it would be time for our catered dinner so that’s what we did. After we had all eaten we switched everything off and left a couple of the crew to act as security overnight and the rest of us piled in the bus to go back to the hotel where we relaxed a bit, knowing that we had achieved a lot today.

Wednesday, after breakfast, we went back to the shed. We sent the two security guys back to the hotel to take the day off and we switched everything on again. It was now too late to add any more material so we took our time and ran through the set twice in the morning, making changes as we went on, had lunch, and the once more at stage speed in the afternoon. By that time everyone was thoroughly sick and tired of it all so we packed up, helping Tom and the crew load the trucks, and then locking the place up and going back to the hotel. We detoured to the agent to hand over the keys and thanked him for use of the shed and he said he had a list of quite a few places like that around the country, because of the downturn in the general economy so we took his card and told him we would get in touch if we needed an urgent place to play again. Back at the hotel we just relaxed, got some rest or swam until dinner. After that we all had an early night.

Thursday morning we talked about plans after this weekend. Riordan, Julia and Nina were staying in New York as we already knew; Jake and the band were heading back to Nashville for a few days off before going to Florida to visit the space centre; Angela and Mary would go back to their office jobs and Minh, Joanne and myself would go back to the house to write songs. I knew that Ma would have things for us to do and that the publicist would want his pound of flesh but it all seemed a bit of an anti-climax after the hectic weeks just gone.

After dinner we took the bus out to the festival site and saw a couple of other bands before our stage came available. It was a novelty for Riordan and Julia to have an hour or so to get everything set up but Tom and the crew and the rest of us were old hands at it now. When the previous band finished we started and soon there was a sea of bodies gyrating in front of us until we finished. Then we packed up and went back to the hotel while Tom stored the gear in the trucks. Friday, Saturday was the same over again, with us closing the festival very early on Monday morning and then that was it – tour over. We had not seen any sign of ‘Primal Purge’ but they would have kept their heads well down so it seemed that now it was all in the lap of the gods and let serendipity reign!!

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 35

On Monday we all went our separate ways. Joanne and Minh went back to Nashville with the band; Julia went home; Riordan and Nina left for Riordans’ house; Tom and the crew in the trucks and the buses left for Nashville by road; Angela and Mary and I went into the head office as Simon wanted to talk with me.

When we got to the office building I was amazed at the size of it. I had to get ID before I was allowed past reception but Angela smoothed the process. We went up in an elevator that seemed to go forever to get to the floor where the general managers lived. Simons’ office seemed to be close to the clouds and there were lots of floors above that but the view took your breath away. He welcomed me with a hug and directed me to some seats by the big window. I said that I would think that I would be hard pressed to get any work done with a view like that taking all my concentration. He replied that it was hard when there is spectacular weather but he had got used to it. “Besides” he said “I have other people to actually do the work, I just look at reports and offer advice, usually. I think I have done more actual hands-on work since you came on the scene than I had done in the previous five years.” I told him that he had done it so masterfully, too.

His secretary came in with coffees and gave me a big smile when she gave me my cup. “You have made a friend in Jenny here” said Simon “she is very happy when the boss is away from the office so she can get some work done.” I told Jenny that it had been a pleasure to be of assistance. When she left the room Simon said “Right, let’s get down to business. This company is very appreciative of your input that saved the tour from disaster and also from the continued evolution into a new ‘Amazon’. You all had a bright future as the ‘Party’ but the future as ‘Amazon’ is going to be astronomical. I know you are going to tell me that it is Riordan who is in charge of the band but it is you that can make things happen. I will grill Angela and Mary on their thoughts of the tour and where we could make better arrangements but I have the feeling that they will have a hard time putting the last couple of months into words as it has been such a roller coaster.”

I agreed that it had seemed crazy at times and added that the only thing I could see to improve the future tours is to be certain of venues in advance. A lot of our problems came from continually adding equipment to cater for the bigger venues as we went along and also having to alter play lists to suit the space. I also suggested that every date on a future tour have a dedicated space for the vendors with signage to suit. He then asked me my thoughts on the other members of the group. I had to say that all were first class and I was particularly happy with the way the younger band fitted in.

He laughed when I told him that I didn’t think that Jake had washed his right hand after Grog had shaken it. I told him that Joanne was a good additional keyboard player and that I thought our sound was better for it. I mentioned that Minh was leaving the band to pursue her, more ‘teenie’, music and that we would continue to write together. I said that we think we would have her album recorded in about a month, in time for Christmas, as it would be an ideal present. That could all be done at the K Beat studio. I told him that Riordan had insisted that ‘Amazon’ recordings would be done in New York and that Nina was staying here with her.

He nodded as I said all this. “I can tell you a bit about Lorraine” he said “my CEO has decided that we should get more involved with film and TV distribution so he has registered a new company to market that media. I think that Lorraine will benefit from this as her ‘little TV movie’ has now become a major project for general release and that script writers have been employed to develop a number of films that would feature her singing. We already own her vocal output for five years and I think we will be making a fair bit of profit from the whole deal.” He sat back, taking a sip of his coffee, and then said “Talking about profit, do you have any idea how much the tour made?”

I said I had no idea but we seemed to be spending money like water at times. He laughed and said “It can look that way but the reality is that from Seattle onwards we have made at least a half a million dollars per performance from the figures I have seen, and none of the performances before that made a loss. The takings from the first few in smaller venues were not high but were never in the loss side of the ledger. I saw what you did with the car company money and that may well have been a good move as it puts you on good terms with the IRS but we have put a hundred thousand into your account as a special bonus from K Beat and ourselves. You have deserved it and I know you will use it wisely.”

I was taken aback and said that it was a team effort and he told me that everyone had received a bonus as well, including the support crew. “It was a very successful tour, despite the changes. Sales of the albums and DVDs are on a high and through the events of the tour we now have a supergroup under our banner at, thanks to your information, a bargain price. In fact, it would have cost more than we have paid you if we had signed them a month before or a couple of days after we did. I know we are going to make good money on future tours, albums and DVDs for not only ‘Amazon’ but also Lorraine, Minh and even solo work from Nina. We are winners all around.”

He then told me that Jock had called him this morning to say that ‘Primal Purge’ had been to two of the dance performances and were all very happy with what they saw. “I believe that you may have to put six months aside next year, but we don’t know for sure yet” he told me. “If it happens, the tour you have just finished will seem like a local hop in a town hall. Last tour they did they had nearly fifty tons of equipment that is in two lots, with one leap-frogging to the following venue to set up.”

“They use air freight and have a deal with an international trucking company to be supplied with identical trucks at each venue so the roadies have no problems. The venues will be a minimum forty thousand and the maximum will be as big as we can book it. They have played to eighty thousand and bigger in the past. As this will be their farewell tour I think that almost every venue will be huge.” I was taken aback. “That certainly is a bit different. We were all a bit scared when we played our first stadium but it got better. Funnily enough, the dance venues would have been over five thousand from the start and they didn’t seem scary at all.”

He sat quietly as I finished my coffee and then said “there are a couple of other things that we need to do while you are still in New York. One is to meet with Riordan tomorrow for lunch and then tour her recording studio and meet her sound man. Another is that we have been asked by a couple of big companies to have you visit them with a thought to write an advert for them with a twist, similar to the car company. This will be purely on how you feel when you get there, if there are no vibes then you say no. Jenny will give you the details before you leave. The last is that a large cosmetic company wants you to do a photo shoot with their photographer to see if you would fit as their new face. They have linked this with a clothing company who will dress you for the shoot and also gauge your suitability to be one of their advertising models. Jenny has those details as well.

Again, if you don’t fit, don’t stay. It would be good if you can fit these in before you go back to Nashville as I know you will be lost to the world while you are putting finishing touches on songs.” “Wow” I said “that sounds like three full time jobs alone, without the recording.” He told me that it would only be a few days before each product launch and, maybe, having to attend lots of glittering parties wearing the said product.

Before I left he told me that Mary will guide me out and stay with me for my time in New York and that she has a car and driver at her disposal as well as a company credit card should I want to shop!

Part 36

Mary met me in the outer office and Jenny gave her a folio of information. It seemed that as I was a ‘star’ I was not allowed to carry anything but my purse. We went down in the elevator that, thankfully, did not go as fast down as it did going up. We checked out from the reception and, when I went to hand back my ID lanyard, I was told it was mine whenever I visited the head office. Mary said that I looked like I needed a quiet sit down and something to eat and I couldn’t disagree, so we went, in the car, to a less crowded suburb and a very pleasant Italian Restaurant. We were seated at a table near the window so we could watch the world go by and placed our orders. Mary suddenly said “Just two months ago I was a gofer in the office but was considered young and hip enough to deal with a dying band. I now find myself sitting for lunch with a star guitarist of a legendary group and have just been through the most exciting period of my life. Weird or what?”

I laughed and told her that there was a long time before I would be a star and that I had found the last few months an amazing experience myself. I said that if she stayed with us she may be in for the ride of her life next year and mentioned that Simon equated what we have just completed as a ‘local hop in a hall’ compared with what may be if we were lucky. I also told her that she was in for a grilling from Simon about what went on during the tour and advised her to make some notes of her thoughts as he would be interested in her input. We had a pleasant lunch and looked at the folder she had been given. She rang the cosmetic company and arranged a photo shoot for tomorrow morning and then we got in touch with the companies wanting me to write an advert.

We were able to see them this afternoon so, after our lunch we went out to the first one. It was a large software company that had been using the same format for some time and I thought that there may be some chance that we could come up with something. We left with a DVD of all their previous adverts and a folder of printed matter, including brief descriptions of their products. I told the guys that we saw that I would get back to them one way or another in a couple of weeks and they seemed happy enough. The second visit was a large oil company and the only thing I could tell them was that until they made their processes more environmentally cleaner, there was no way I could come up with any quirk that would revive their reputation and that pictures of dying seabirds trumped catchy songs any day. They were not happy but realistic enough to know the truth. I asked Mary to show me the places that she liked so we had an hour or so looking at small parks and a couple of small cafes. We then went back to the hotel and had dinner, after which Mary left, saying she would pick me up at 9.00am. I had a quiet evening and a good sleep.

Next morning, after breakfast, Mary took me to the address that the cosmetic company had given. It seemed like a run-down factory building but there were several cars and a van outside and the sign said it was a photography studio. We walked in and were amazed by the interior which was totally modern and sparkling. A bearded chap was talking to the receptionist and turned as we walked up to him. He gave us a big smile and took our hands and said that he was honoured to be visited by a pair of angels.

I told him to stop with the BS as neither of us is wet behind the ears and he laughed and said “Spoken like a true rock and roller, Patsy. I am Alexi and I am your photographer this morning. Actually, I would like to include this young lady as well as she has much promise. I think the camera may like her.” Mary protested that she was my assistant and had a good job already but he was adamant that she took part in the shoot. “The way your hair and looks complement each other will be an interesting subject to explore” he said “come along, we haven’t got all day.” Through the tour I had only seen Mary in jeans or the office wear – pencil skirt and blouse – and she always had her ash blond hair up in a bun so I thought that this could be interesting. As he led us through to the dressing room he asked her if she had ever done a photo shoot before and she replied that she had, but from the sidelines with a clipboard in her hand. He muttered that some fool had missed his chance.

In the dressing room he introduced us to Ann, the cosmetic specialist, and Meg, the clothing company’s’ dresser, and left us to their ministrations after telling them that we both needed preparing and he wanted an evening dress shot first. The two ladies would have been an asset on tour as they quickly went to work. Ann got me to strip to my underwear and, draped, sat me in a stylists chair and started to work on my hair. Mary was similarly stripped and was being measured. It seemed that she and I were very similar in size so they would have some clothes to fit. After about twenty minutes I was combed and styled and had been made up to the nines and so we swapped places. Meg tried a couple of dresses on me but decided I looked best in a midnight blue sheath with heels. Mary stood up from the stylist chair and I could not believe my eyes. Standing in front of me was a beautiful woman with her ash blond hair draped over one shoulder. Meg had picked the dress already and very soon Mary stood there like a film star in an off the shoulder emerald green number. "You’ve been hiding your light” I told her and she replied that she had never had the desire to look good as she had always been academically inclined.

We were led to the studio where Alexi clapped his hands and started setting lights. An hour later he was satisfied and we were a bit sweaty. We went back to the dressing room and Meg said that the next shoot was day wear so we took our turns again. Ann cleaned my face and did the make-up for day wear and combed my hair back a bit with a couple of clips and then I was put into a silk blouse and a multi-coloured skirt that was just knee length. It was decided that the shoes I wore into the place would work. In the meantime, Mary had a similar make-up and her hair had been put into a pony tail. She was dressed in a bright red mini skirt with a black camisole and back to the studio we went. Alexi was very professional and we had finished that shoot by midday. He thanked us both for coming and Meg told us we could wear our outfits when we left if we wanted.

Mary said we had lunch with Riordan for 1.00pm at an up-market restaurant and it was agreed that we looked just right. Our original clothes were packed into bags and we went out to the car. The driver had a bit of a shock when we tapped on the window as he did not recognise us. He jumped out of the car to open our doors and stammered “I am very sorry; I did not know it was you. Miss Mary, you look magnificent!” At the restaurant we dismissed our driver asking him to take our bags to the hotel, and walked in asking the maitre’d for Riordans table. We were escorted to a booth where Riordan, Nina and a hip-looking chap with a pony tail sat. They all got up as we arrived and both Riordan and Nina gave us hugs with Riordan saying that we looked like we should be on the pages of a fashion magazine. The chap was introduced as Brendan Rose. As we sat down I remarked that we had, indeed, been at a photo shoot this morning and our current looks were somewhat subdued from the earlier session. We had a good lunch with lots of chat about the past few weeks and then we all went in Riordans’ limo to the recording studio where Brendan showed us around. It was positively huge, with two studios the size of the biggest at K Beat and one that was big enough for a small orchestra. The equipment was all multi-track digital but, like Ron, Brendan had kept a tape machine, this one a thirty six track.

Late afternoon Mary had a call on her phone from the office. They asked her if the two of us could drop in, so Riordan had her driver take us there. We walked into the foyer, putting on our lanyards and went up in the elevator. At Simons outer office Jenny looked at Mary and said “Excuse me, madam, but who are you?”

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 37

Mary pointed to her ID lanyard and Jenny laughed and said “I see now what has got the boss in a tizz. There are two, very high powered, ladies in with him and Angela. I’ll tell them you’re here.” She announced our arrival on the intercom and got a cheery “Send them through and see if you can rustle up some more coffee and biscuits, if you can.”

“Damn skivvy, that’s all I am” she smiled “Just make sure you take him with you next time you tour, I could do with six months respite from coffee making.” We went through into the inner office and Simon, Angela and his guests were sitting by the big window. There was a table set up with lots of photos spread over it that looked like this mornings’ shoot.

Simon stood up and came over and gave both of us a hug, somewhat surprising Mary. “Let me introduce you to these lovely ladies. Patsy and Mary, this is Annette L’Estrange and her sister the Madam Maxine L’Estrange. Together they own the cosmetic and clothing companies that now grace your bodies. Now, Patsy, I sent the two of you into town to do a couple of simple visits and you have done it again! Do you have an inbuilt radar for odd happenings?” Mary said,” I am sorry Mr Longford; the photographer muttered something about other photographers missing their chance and insisted that I take part in the shoot.”

Annette L’Estrange said “And it’s a damned good job we have someone as good as Alexi on our books. If you walked into his studio looking like the photo on your ID he must have had a flash of brilliance.” Maxine said that we both wore her creations well and she was particularly taken with the evening dress shots so we went to the table and had a look at them. Mary exclaimed “That can’t be me!” and I assured her that there wasn’t anyone else in the room when the pictures were taken. Angela, who had been quiet up to now, said “The cosmetics are fantastic in both the day and evening styles and those evening dresses are to die for. When I looked at these for the first time I thought that here were two experienced models, not the girls that I had just spent several weeks tracking around the country with.” I said “All well and good but where does that leave us now?”

Annette looked at her sister, who nodded. “You both fit our requirements for our next lines. Maxine already has her Fall Collection out so we would need to look at Winter, Spring and Summer catalogues straight away. We work together, on occasion; to blend our lines so that one sells the other and you two are the perfect match with the ash blond against the auburn. You are both the same size so we can mix and match your clothing in the adverts which makes the customers think they can also get away with styles and colours they may not, ordinarily, wear.”

Maxine said “I am already visualising patterns and colours that would great on you both. I am so glad we got in touch with Simon, here.” Simon said “Mary, your job here is safe but if you want to pursue the modelling we can give you time off to do the shoots. It would be a feather in our cap to have a supermodel in the building and I know the CEO will approve. I just can’t believe that you hid yourself in office wear for all this time. Patsy, I know you have the writing and Minh’s album to produce but I am sure you will be able to find the time as well.” It was getting all a bit hard to take in so I moved away from the table and sat down, just as there was a knock on the door and Jenny came in with a tray of coffee and biscuits.

We all sat down and I relaxed at bit. “What about the band?” I said “We have an album to produce and maybe some live shows to do. It may get a bit difficult.” Maxine said “Yes, I was looking at the photos of the band members here before you arrived and I am now thinking that we could supply the stage clothing as well. I can see the guys in good clothes but I am having a little trouble seeing Nina and Riordan in the range.” I looked at her and said “That’s easy, just design a separate range to suit tall African- Americans and call it the Amazon Style. You could fit them out with bright colours and frills as they could carry that without problems. You could do the rest of us in colours that pick hues from their clothes.” Maxine looked at Simon and said “Can I steal this one from you?” He laughed and told her I was definitely not available unless he could lease me out.

I then said “Did you have a look at Joanne and Julia, they would be able to look as good as we do with the right cosmetics and you could extend your range to a slightly older market with Julia, if she is interested.” She looked at Simon and told him to prepare a contract as she was now certain that her next collection would be based on our discussion. “But what to call it?” she mused. Angela said “Well the old band is no more so the name ‘The innocent girls’ is now up for other use.” Annette looked at her and said “All right, how many other bright ideas can we come up with today. That is a brilliant name for my next range of cosmetics; if I go for a ‘there – but not there’ look. Can we get everyone together for a three or four day shoot inside and outside in about two weeks’ time; I should be able to put some cosmetics together and I am sure that Maxine can come up with some clothes. Everyone else is going with vamp and prostitute looks at the moment so we would be cutting across the market with an Innocent range and I am certain there are a lot of normal girls out there who find it hard to look like they are on the game, as well as lots of mothers who want their daughter looking normal.”

“What about sizes for the others, if they are interested?” Angela assured her that we had all the sizes on record for stage clothes and would get the list from Lucy. Maxine asked “Is Lucy the one who organised all of your stage clothes for the tour?” and Angela said it was. “Can she come up to New York with the others as I would like to meet her? I have seen these, and other, photos of the band on stage and she does good work. Also, this chap, Jake, he looks like good male model material.” I told her that Jake was destined to become one of the best guitarists around in a couple of years and there would be lots of companies trying to get their clothing on his back.

“OK” Maxine said “what do I call my collection if we are going for a wide range of normal looking girls and young women with clothes to fit any occasion.” Mary looked at Angela and then at me and said "that's an easy one to answer. You can call it the ‘Serendipity Collection’ as it is good for any time, any place.” “Where did that come from?” asked Maxine. I told her that I had been dubbed as the girl to whom serendipity happened and that we had written a song called that to go on Minh’s Christmas Album. Annette put her hand on my arm and asked if she could hear it so I asked if Angela had a clip on her computer that was taken from the care home concert.

While she was searching for it Maxine asked me about the care homes and I explained about Riordan and Julia’s link to them; that Minh and I had donated our bonuses from the car company to them and that we had done little acoustic sets in three of the homes so far. Angela said ‘Here it is” and brought up the last set we had played in New York. She made to fast forward to Serendipity but Maxine stopped her so they could see it all. We sat with our coffee for about the half an hour that it took to play the whole set. When Angela turned the screen off the two ladies looked at each other again and nodded. I could see that they both had tears in their eyes. Annette said “I am about to tell you something in confidence now. We are both married but we are both barren and cannot conceive. Our husbands play golf and harbour mistresses that they think we don’t know about. We too have donated secretly to those homes on a regular basis and your own involvement in them is a revelation to us. We came to Simon to recruit a rock singer but have found an angel or two. Could you take snippets of that ‘Serendipity’ song and make us our TV adverts?”

Part 38

I said that I would say the same to them as I did to others who wanted me to write adverts; give me copies of previous ones and allow me to visit both business’ so I could detect a link and that I cannot guarantee that I would feel the vibes. They agreed and we made an appointment for tomorrow, Thursday, so I could go back to Nashville on Friday. The ladies left with hugs all round and the four of us sat in the easy chairs. Simon said that he never knew what the day would throw at him when he woke up in the morning and I said that this was the joy of life.

We discussed the schedule of events for the next few weeks. Angela said she would get in touch with Riordan regarding a photo shoot and I said I would see Joanne when I got home. Simon mentioned that we would now have two empty bedrooms at the house so Mary could come to Nashville and study the workings of K Beat as well as talk to Pierre in the music shop. He said it would be good if we could see about putting on a show in a stadium there to expose them to the new ‘Amazon’ as they had only seen the small theatre version. Mary said she could look into it. Simon said he would take the three of us to dinner so we tidied up the photos and went off to a nice restaurant. As a cook I had a healthy regard for good food but I knew that I would have to hit the gym every day when I was back at the house.

Thursday morning Mary, still looking fabulous, picked me up with our usual driver who, I think, had developed a crush on her. We went to the cosmetics office and Annette met us and showed us around. Their development labs were in the building but the manufacturing was done overseas. I asked her why the advertising was always done as two separate companies and she told me that she had been operating some three years before her sister and that was the way it evolved. I suggested that, as they were going to, maybe, have a complementary line for three seasons; it may be time to merge the two into one combined company and, perhaps, introduce an underwear line to round it out. She seemed interested and asked me to broach the subject with her sister when I was at the clothing company offices.

We left with a folder of information and went to the clothing company office. This was a real hive of activity as Maxine showed us around. Again, only the design and first trial clothes were produced here and the production was contracted out. Mary and I were greeted warmly by the staff and I saw a few of our shoot pictures on various desks. I asked Maxine about the advertising and she gave me the same answer as Annette. I then outlined what I had said to her sister and told her, that as she may use members of the band, we could provide a TV advert singing in her creations. She told me that the sisters were going to have to have a deep discussion but merging would save money on two buildings and they may be able to move into one big enough for both enterprises. We left with another folder of information and I told her I would wait until they got in touch as any future adverts would depend on which way they move.

Mary and I had a light lunch and I asked to be taken to the hotel so I could pack and hit the hotel gym. Our driver said he would pick us both up in the morning to go to the airport. Mary said she had rung Nina about taking her, or Lorraines’, room and Nina had told her to just pack everything into her suitcases and put them in the storeroom to be picked up later. So I gave Mary a hug and told her to just let the driver take her somewhere nice in the afternoon. So, during the afternoon I hit the gym, swam, packed and had a light dinner before an early night; all the time musing on what the two weeks in New York had brought. I now had at least two albums to do; two or three adverts to devise; a possible modelling career along with a world tour that was becoming a possibility. But first I had to get back to Nashville and my friends and to make sure I visited ‘Aunt Ruby’.

Next morning I was picked up and we drove to the airport. I could see that Mary had a bit of a spring in her step and, after our luggage had been put on trolleys, she gave Andre a peck on the cheek and told him she would call when she gets back into town. “On first name basis, are we?” I enquired as we pushed our trolleys to the business class counter. She giggled and told me that she had followed my advice and they went to Coney Island yesterday and rode a couple of rides together and shared a pizza for tea. She said that they both felt very naughty taking time away from work but they had a good time. I told her that she had been twenty four seven for a couple of months so a few hours off was not going to upset anyone. “Anyway” I said “the next few weeks are going to be full on as well.”

The flight was good and, at the airport, Joanne was waiting to greet us. She gave me a big hug and then turned to Mary and said “When did Patsy wave her magic wand over you?” On the drive into town we related our last few days and told her that she will be due for her own magic wand in a couple of weeks’ time. At the house we lugged our cases up to the rooms. Joanne helped clear out Nina’s room and we left Mary to settle in while I emptied my bags. Joanne helped me put the clothes onto hangers and when we got to the blouse and skirt from the shoot she exclaimed “L’Estrange labels, wow, you must have gone up-market to get these?”

She was amazed when I told her they were given to me after the photo shoot and she had better make room in her wardrobe for her own collection later in the year. We had a light lunch and I showed Mary around the house and introduced her to the security guy. It seemed that we were still popular enough to need to chase away autograph hunters and the paparazzi. We all then went to K Beat and checked in with Alice, Sarah and Ma. Ma was a bit more at ease after the tour and had the time to chat. Lucy came in and we told her we would be taking her back to New York when we go in a couple of weeks and when we said that Madam Maxine L’Estrange wanted to meet her she had to sit down and take some deep breaths. We went down to the studio and saw that Minh was laying down a vocal track overlaying a backing track so we left her to it. Sarah had told us to just do what we needed to until we went to New York so the three of us got into the car and went out to the nursing home.

When we walked in Kay came rushing over to give us a hug each and we went into my ‘Aunts’ room for another hug and a chat. We told her all about the tour and then related our time in New York. I told her I would pop in a few times before we went back and then we went to the day room to meet the ‘support crew’. Kay had alerted them that we were in the building so the whole crew was there. We had more hugs and sat with them for a while. Roger told me that Chris was working around the clock to complete his documentary set. He also said he had lots of photos to work with for any future tours. I told them that we had a big audience of other artists at our last show at the ‘Garden’ and that ‘Primal Urge’ was there. They all had a chuckle when I told them that Grog had shaken Jakes hand and I didn’t think that Jake had washed it yet. Jim asked why they were at our show and I told him that they were in the country to look at various groups to open for their US leg of a world tour and that we were just one of them. We chatted a while and left, going to Mario’s for the Friday evening karaoke. We walked in and Mario fussed over us. I told him that we were all sung out for the moment and wouldn’t grace his stage tonight. He didn’t mind so we had a quiet meal before the competition started and I paid for us as we left.

We decided to have a weekend away so Mary booked three tickets to Memphis while I organised a hotel so Saturday morning we flew the short hop, hired a car, and explored the city and Gracelands, where I was recognised and had to sign some autograph books. It was a pity that the Sun Record Studio had been moved to Nashville already as it would have been nice to take a selfie outside it.

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 39

On the Sunday we went for walks in the city parks but had to get a taxi when someone thought they knew me and was getting a bit too personal. Sunday evening we flew back to Nashville. It seemed that we were better off in a town where everyone knew us and let us be.

Monday morning we accompanied Minh to the studio and laid down three tracks for the Christmas album. Joanne and I also did overdub on another three tracks so the album was looking good. Monday evening I pulled out the paperwork that I had been given by the L’Estrange sisters and the software company. I looked through all of the software company advertising and it was all very formal ‘we make this that does that for you’; but buried among the paperwork I saw a sheet that described a small division that produced anime cartoons.

This led me to think that they could use it to spice up their advertising. I fired off an email to their marketing manager with copies to Simon and Sarah. I told him that the best I could do for them was to suggest they use the cartoon division to create short stories where the heroes use some of the company’s software to solve a problem and that the story could last over a number of ads. I told him I did not expect any payment for the advice but, should the move prove successful, a donation to the care homes would be appreciated. The sisters’ paperwork merely showed that they could save a lot of money if they got together so I left it alone for the moment as we would be dealing with them personally in the near future.

The rest of the week followed on with us finalising our end of the Christmas album with Minh and I ‘dueting’ on ‘Serendipity’ for the last track. All that was now needed was for Nina and Riordan to add their tracks in their own studios after our band had added some quiet backing tracks, although there would not need a lot of that with two guitars and a keyboard track already taped. We did not get involved with that and the following week saw the tape sent to New York. After tracks had been added there, a copy of the master tape was sent back to us to review and, after Minh had given her acceptance, the New York copy was handed to Simon to cut and market the album. The album was to be purely by Minh Ji Lu with ‘backing by ‘Innocent girls and boys’’. In that second week home I got into writing for ‘Amazon’ with a distinct big venue flavour. It was a far cry from the sweet little vignettes of life that I had written as Patrick and made the move to Patsy more real and different.

It was a bit harder to do but I managed to lay down vocal and rhythm tracks on the home studio for three songs. I left them with Ron for the band to work on. We received notification the following weekend that we would be needed to fly to Canada the following Wednesday for a fashion shoot and just to bring casual, warm, clothing. The shoot was to be based at a ski resort near Jasper, in the west of the country and should be surrounded by spectacular scenery. We spent the Monday and Tuesday tidying up loose ends with the recordings and getting ourselves ready. From Nashville we were to fly to Vancouver, collect those from New York, and then take a local flight to Jasper.

It was quite a crowd of us that arrived in Jasper that Wednesday evening; as well as me, Joanne, Mary and Lucy, we had the band, Jake, Paul, Keith and Kevin; and the New York contingent of Riordan, Nina, Julia and Angela so it was a boisterous group that got off the bus at the resort. Alexi greeted us and herded us into a large lounge where a fire was roaring to take away any chills. He told us that the format of the winter catalogue was to have a single model to a page with insets showing the acceptable underwear for the outfit, plus other models in the background. That way they could move outfits around the different body types. The men were also included. He expected us to finalise two or three pages a day outside and maybe four a day inside so we would be here for about two weeks. He told us that we would be woken at five in the morning for beauty and dressing to utilise the morning light so we should all get our rest.

So that’s how we worked; up before the birds, a cup of coffee, make-up and dressing before an hour outside, followed by breakfast. On bright days we did a second outside shoot and on dull days we just worked inside the resort, showing off the wonderful vistas from the windows without having freeze ones butt! There was three complete teams of photographers so we were all doing something most of the day. Most of the collection was winter weight coats, jumpers, leather pants, boots and the like so it wasn’t all bad. The inside collection was jersey dresses, denim skirts, cardigans and the like.

All the guys enjoyed their involvement acting like extras from a Bond movie at times and just trying to look cool most of the time. They had picked a different range of clothes for Jake to show off his rock-god stature and I thought it really suited him. For the underwear shots, all of us girls had to pose with a normal white bra and pantie set and they would photo-shop the various colours to suit different outfits, so we did not constantly have to get our gear off. I soon worked out that there was an underwear company and a shoe company involved.

Annette’s’ cosmetic range was in the barely there area most of the time but was a bit more vibrant for the evening wear shots. Maxine had followed through with her ideas and both Riordan and Nina were given some stunningly stylish, brightly coloured clothing, while Julia was more your successful professional. I could really see the collection being a big hit down the east coast for a start. At the end of the shoot we were thanked by Alexi as being consummate professionals and were allowed to choose one outfit each to take home. I chose a very trendy leather skirt with a fine-knit jumper and a leather bolero-style jacket with matching boots. It was so nice I wore it when I left. We all were taken back to Vancouver and then all boarded a flight to New York.

Riordan wanted us all to spend a few days in the big studio to finalise some ‘Amazon’ tracks and Angela was to take Lucy to see the L’Estrange sisters. Lucy had not escaped being utilised in the shoot and graced quite a number of backgrounds but it had not diminished her excitement of meeting the sisters. We spent most of the week in the studio and finalised the three tracks I had submitted as well as four that Riordan had written. It was decided that we would add the live versions of the two old ‘Amazon’ songs we had used for the dance festival. The final track was to be ‘Dancefloor’ and it did not take us very long to get that one in the can. It now certainly looked like we would have the new album released before Christmas. It was to be called ‘Amazon – the flood of the new’.

In the meantime, a live ‘Amazon at the Garden’ DVD was released and immediately went into the top ten so I would think that Simon would be happy. I know that having three, or is it now four, live DVDs on the market would be overkill but I know that if I were a fan I would have to have the series that redefined the band and showed the changes to the line-up and the music.

When we had tidied up everything we could, Simon took us all out for a good dinner, thanking us all for the year that was coming towards its’ end and our individual input to its success. The next day the boys, Joanne and I flew to Nashville. Lucy and Mary stayed in New York to do further work with the sisters, Lucy almost hyper from being asked to design our general stage gear for the following year, to be supplied by L’Estrange. I had about three months now to just write songs and was looking forward to it.

Part 40

Of course, you know what they say about the best laid plans. I had rested for a couple of days, hitting the home gym in the morning and the home studio in the afternoon. My phone rang and it was Alice wanting to see me in the office; so I had a shower, dressed and drove the sports car into K Beat. When I got there Alice took me into Sarahs’ office and I was told that the agreement with ‘Primal Purge’ was on the cusp of being signed. However, they were presently in a studio just outside of Geneva and wanted Riordan and I, along with Simon and Sarah, to go to Switzerland to finalise the tour. It seemed that they wanted everyone to be happy with the order and the venues. Being close to Christmas I would need to be warm so I rang Maxine and asked her if I could borrow some of the upcoming winter collection for both me and Riordan. When I told her the place and reason, she agreed instantly. It needed the two of us to see her at her new office before we left. I rang Riordan and we arranged to meet in New York. Sarah was going to go directly to Switzerland and Simon would join the two of us from New York.

I saw Ma to get some airlines booked and a hotel in Geneva and then went home to sort out my packing. I told Joanne where I was going and why, and she got excited about the prospect of a world tour. Next day she took me with one fully packed bag and another just about empty, to the airport and I was off to New York again. When I arrived Mary was there with Andre to take me to meet up with Riordan. We then went to the new office of L’Estrange Mode and Cosmetics Company in a spacious building a little out of town. They had not yet moved everything but I could see that there was plenty of room for the four sections of the company to operate and expand.

We told Maxine that we knew we would be near Geneva and there may be some good chances that a signing party would happen so she sorted out two evening dresses for each of us and a range of day wear that would be able to withstand the bit of nippy cold between a heated hotel and a heated car. I had already packed my leather outfit from the shoot. I was able to ensure that my allowance would fit into my half empty bag and we put Riordans over the back seat in between us. On leaving we were handed two envelopes. Maxine told us not to open them until we were in the plane as they were the new catalogue for the winter range and it would keep us amused through the flight. We went to Riordans house and she took her clothes inside to be packed. Andre took me to a hotel to spend the night relaxing.

In the morning I was picked up and taken to the airport where I met up with Simon and Riordan. I asked Simon if there was anything unusual about our trip and he told me that with a tour of this size that would probably turn over in excess of fifty million dollars you did whatever the lead artist wanted to keep face. By mid-morning we were boarded and waiting for our take-off slot so Riordan and I took out our envelopes to have a look at the collection. The production was luxurious and the colours stunning.

We all looked like professional models and I told Riordan that the ‘Amazon’ range for her and Nina was so beautiful I was a bit jealous but eventually agreed that I didn’t have the height to bring it off. Eventually, our oohs and aahs brought us to the attention of the flight attendants who, when asked by other ladies in the first class section what all the fuss was about, told them it was advance copies of the new L’Estrange Collection. I am sure that Maxine knew exactly what would transpire as I started at one end of the first class section with my copy and Riordan started at the other end with hers. Between us we saw a large number of very wealthy ladies who were busy making notes in their diaries and insisting that they would be ringing the office as soon as they could. Of course, they were surprised by the new address and mostly showed happiness when we told them that the sisters had finally got together. We only got back to our seats with about an hour to our landing at Heathrow. Simon just commented that this was why we were such good value!

At Heathrow we transferred to another flight to Geneva where a car picked us up and took us to our hotel. This close to Christmas it was bitterly cold and I was glad I had carried my coat as hand luggage. The hotel was grand in an old-world style and we checked in and then met in the bar for a nightcap. Sarah joined us and we discussed the likely outcomes from the next few days before we all went off for early nights.

Next morning we were having our breakfast when a man in a chauffeur uniform was shown to our table. He gave a little bow and told us that he was Jules and that he had a limo outside to take us to where ‘Primal Purge’ was recording. He said he would wait outside until we appear so we finished our meal and went back upstairs to get ready. When we got outside the hotel we saw the most magnificent Rolls Royce, a long wheel base model. Jules stood by the back door and waved us over so we all slid into this luxury on wheels and he climbed into the driving seat and we were off. It was a very scenic trip away from Geneva and into some hills where we turned through some large gates with armed guards. There was a very long meandering drive and we came into view of a grand house in the French style. Jules said ‘Welcome to the Chateau de La Fleur, the home of the Marquis and Marquise de Rouen.”

We pulled up at the front door and a uniformed butler came out and helped us out of the car. “Welcome, welcome” he said “your host and hostess will meet you in the studio. Please follow me.” Walking through the chateau was like walking through history, the furnishings and artworks were all from bygone days and, even though I was wearing a L’Estrange outfit, I was feeling underdressed. Riordan whispered “I don’t think we are in Kansas anymore.” We eventually moved into a modern addition that was probably behind the main building as the walls were now lined with autographed photos of various bands and solo artists. We were ushered into a large artist’s lounge where a small group of people waited for us. I saw Grog and the rest of the band, as well as three ladies in rock-chick gear who could only be the two backing singers, Janet and Libby, and Marion Batchelor, the keyboard player. There was a couple of audio guys (they tend to keep their headphones around their necks so they don’t lose them!), a few that looked like lawyers and then there was the Marquis and Marquise.

We were introduced to the Marquis “call me Gerome, everyone does” and Marquise “Hi, I’m Stephanie” and also to all the others that we had not met. Gerome said “I am so happy to meet you all today. Simon has been on my radar for some time because of the professional way his company has operated over many years and I have loved the work that you, Sarah, have produced out of Nashville. However, Riordan and Patsy, you are the shining stars for us. We watched how you took a dying legend, added a group of energetic younger musicians, and became a new, and improved, version of the original legend, all while on tour. We had copies of all your DVDs sent here and we watched them on our big screen with absolute amazement. We stand in awe of your skills and will to achieve the best you could under the circumstances, and the best, I think, is really yet to come.”

Stephanie added that she loved the various costumes we had worn and asked us what we were wearing now. I told her we were both wearing items from the winter L’Estrange catalogue and that the company had committed to supplying stage clothes for our future shows. “So that’s where I saw them” she exclaimed “Maxine sent me a copy that arrived this morning and I have only just flipped through it. Now I see that not only are you singers, you both are now international models.”

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 41

Stephanie tinkled a little bell and a maid appeared from a side room. “Yvette, please go to my office and bring me back the new L’Estrange catalogue you will see on my desk.” Yvette did a little bob and went out the room. We all went and sat around a big boardroom table and Gerome offered refreshments. I was finding it all a bit odd but held my tongue.

Grog took control and stood up to say “Thank you for coming to Geneva for this meeting. I know you may find it a bit odd if you don’t know the history behind this studio. It has been in existence for nearly one hundred years in some way or another. Gerome’s grandfather was passionate about classical music and used his money and influence to develop early recordings that are still stored here. His biggest problem was there were never any other places he could have those recordings played.”

“Gerome’s father also caught the bug and rebuilt the studio in the late forties. By this time record players were easily available so his recordings found a ready market through distributors. Gerome built this current studio in 1990 and it has been updated since then. There have been many big hits recorded here but only by artists that have been invited to record. I am proud to say that the last three ‘Primal Purge’ albums were made here and we are currently recording tracks for a ‘Last thoughts’ album that will be released at the beginning of the final world tour. We have planned the final act in some detail but just needed the right band to open for us. We have heard several but only the new ‘Amazon’ comes close in giving us an energetic first half but also has a clean and wholesome image that appeals to a wide demographic. Our own second half will be a mix of early and later hits and is likely to be loud and proud so we needed a little bit of decorum earlier on. So the object of this meeting is to give you the dates and places for the world tour and, if you are happy, we will sign the agreements and contracts before you go back home. Any questions?”

We all shook our heads so he got one of the lawyer types to come around the table and gave us all a sheaf of stapled papers. “This is the proposed dates, cities and venues for the tour. The first thing is to see if you can join and then we can drill down through the detail” said Grog and left us to look through the papers. I started to look through my set and was a little surprised at the sequence, which started right here in this studio. It then went to Athens for two nights, missed India, had two nights in Singapore; three nights in Tokyo; three nights in Sydney and two nights in Auckland. Then it started the US leg with two nights in Hawaii; three nights in Los Angeles; two nights in Miami; two nights in Seattle; three nights in New Orleans; two nights in Saint Louis; three nights in Chicago; three nights in Washington; three nights in New York and three nights in Montreal. Then it was across the Atlantic to Madrid for two nights; Paris for four; Rome for three; Berlin for four; Oslo for two; Glasgow for two; Liverpool for three; Birmingham for three; Bristol for three and, finally, London for four. I was the first to ask the obvious – how did we jig-jag around the place. “Right, the obvious question first” Grog said. “We have two complete stages and sound equipment, each with its own Boeing 747 cargo aircraft. In the US one works up the west coast while the other works up the east. This allows us to play every weekend for the twenty five weeks. For the other weekends they leapfrog venues.”

“We travel by our own aircraft through the whole tour with secure storage for personal items. There are two complete sets of guitars, drums and keyboards plus spares with each stage set. We all use the same amplifier and mixer set-up. Each cargo plane has its own road crew and carries beauticians, dressers and instrument repairers as well as the stage clothing. The clothing can be cleaned in the two weeks between uses. We have done this before and it really works well. Our own 747 will carry the bands, personal assistants, security and media liaison. We will be living somewhat close for six months but we have most of the time in hotels and can relax between venues. “

“Oh! If you look at the venues the smallest is fifty thousand and the biggest is about a hundred and twenty thousand so there will be a lot of bums on seats over that period. I know I am looking forward to it and am trying not to think about the last show when I will officially retire. The rest of the band have already looked at their own futures as solo artists or joining with other bands so we all have secure careers or retirements. I am pretty sure that ‘Amazon’ will be huge by the time we are finished. Getting all of this with about six months to go will allow you to plan your lead up to the start; maybe with a couple of shows, maybe with another album.”

We were given some time to discuss it and Riordan and I were both happy with the timing. Of course, it now depended on the financial reward. When we agreed and then asked that question one of the lawyer types said “It is a simple split 50/50 on the profits. If we do a simple calculation on having full houses we will seat just over five million and with average seating costs of $100US we are looking to take $500 million or more. We generally put the staging costs at four million per venue so we have $100 million there. If we allow another fifty million for band transport and accommodation; this will leave about a hundred and fifty million each. You would have to cover your own band insurance and health costs from this. You can organise supply of your own instruments and clothing but we will need to know details so we can add to the programmes and advertising. Grog has told me about the ‘department store’ you had at venues during your last tour and if you want to organise this and sublease the space around venues you are free to do so. We just reserve the rights to sales of ‘Primal Purge’ items or could sell to your vendors on a no return basis.”

I could see by the smiles on Simon’s and Sarah’s faces it was acceptable to them. Neither Riordan nor I could find fault with the numbers so we agreed there and then. There was much laughter and smiling as we put our signatures to the paperwork. After this Sarah asked to be shown the studio so the four of us followed Gerome into the main room. It was huge and high-tech. The band had its full stage kit there and Gerome said it was how they could record a full sound to give a studio recording that live feel. Sarah told him that she was in the process of designing a completely new studio in Nashville and asked for the names of his designers and builders.

Back in the lounge Stephanie and the girls from ‘Primal Purge’ were looking at the catalogue. They were busy deciding which ones they would like to wear themselves. Stephanie reminded me of the party tonight, saying that all of the local gentry would be here. I said that we had brought our own examples from the catalogue to wear and I was able to point out the one I had chosen. Stephanie pointed to one of the pictures and said “I would love to have one of those dresses tonight; it would give all of the other ladies a real punch in the nose.” I looked at the one she had pointed to and said “Maxine packed two evening dresses for each of us and I just happen to have that dress, with accessories, in the closet at the hotel. What size are you?” We compared our sizes and I was certain that it would fit her so offered to give it to Jules to bring back after he had taken us to the hotel. She would not hear of it, saying she would be coming back with us and trying it on first. We all chatted for a while and had some lunch and then the four of us, plus one, left in the Rolls Royce to go to the hotel. Up in my room Stephanie tried on the dress and shoes. The shoes were a little large but she said she had packing that would solve that problem. Putting it back into its bag she gave me a hug and told me that she was so happy to meet me. She then trotted off back to the foyer to drive off with Jules. With the afternoon to spare Riordan and I had a stroll in the city and along the lake edge while Simon and Sarah spent their time on phones calling the US. This whole business was going to cause a stir in the industry and we were now in the middle of it.

Part 42

Seeing the elegance of tonight’s party, Riordan, Sarah and I spent some of the afternoon in the hotel salon. The four of us then had a light afternoon tea and went to get changed. I took extra care with my dressing and make-up and found myself watching myself in the hotel mirrors as I made my way to the foyer. Jules arrived out front just as I was joined by the others and we slid into the Rolls Royce in very elegant fashion to make our way to the chateau. The car park was filled with very expensive vehicles and I noticed at least one Maybach. We were welcomed by the butler who guided us towards the ballroom where a glittering array of dresses and jewellery greeted us. Stephanie spied us coming in and rushed over, looking magnificent in the gown.

She was quite bubbly and laughing about getting one up on her crowd. She hauled Riordan and me over to her crowd to push the screws further in. There were grand dames of all size and shape and several different nationalities but all were keen to see the latest L’Estrange fashions on the latest L’Estrange models. I had the feeling that many had not heard of modern music, let alone hard rock. I could see Simon in a group of executive types and Sarah was in deep conversation with a middle-aged guy with a pony-tail who could have been a studio designer. I noticed Grog looking quite dapper in a white jacket but a couple of his band had a hard time fitting in with the visible tattoos.

At about nine we were called to be seated in the dining room for dinner and I found myself between the US Ambassador and a French nobleman, both needing my complete attention, the Ambassador with his questions about home and the Frenchman because of his self-propelled hands. The hand problem stopped when the food was served but the Ambassador rattled on for ever. At the end of the dinner it became evident just what the whole day had been about – money! Gerome stood up and proposed a toast to the upcoming tour and thanked all those present who had invested the seed money that made it possible. After we went back to the ballroom a classical quartet played light pieces while everyone chatted until late. The local press was allowed in to take photos of the high and mighty for various magazines and Stephanie made sure there were a few of the three of us in our gowns. I wondered which ones would grace newsstands in the US. Before we left we were exhorted to return the next morning as Stephanie wanted to give us the grand tour of the place.

Standing at the front door waiting for Jules I was joined by Grog. “I don’t know how you do it” he said quietly “It took me a year before Stephanie would even smile my way but you are now well in. I can tell you that she is one very powerful ally to have. He supplies the money and prestige but she is the brains behind the family. I would not be surprised if ‘Amazon’ is recording here very soon.” I thanked him for the opportunity to meet such a fascinating person and said I looked forward to the coming year. I asked him about the first tour date here and he told me that it is usual to record the full show in the big studio, live and in real time, to establish a baseline for timing. It also created a possible recording for a live album that could be labelled from anywhere we play.

He then looked me in the eye and said “Patsy, I can tell that you will keep this to yourself. When we finish this tour I will be heading for a private clinic, probably to see my days out. All of the years of abusing my body have come back to mock me now. For the last show in London, could you please write me one of your sweet songs that the band can play while I leave the stage? I can tell you now that when I do leave the stage I will be going straight to a car and away. I just need you to keep my friends occupied while I disappear.” I promised to put my thoughts to something and I said that it could be as sweet as he wanted. He said we could practise it in private during our off days and wanted to use Jake and our guys to do the playing.

I thought about this when I was in the car going back to the hotel. The plot thickened with every passing day. I knew that I would have to research his life and music and I knew that I would need to consult Jake on this one.

Next morning I wore my leather outfit from the shoot and we all were picked up again to head for the chateau. Stephanie greeted us at the door and gave us all a hug. She was very happy about last night and the effect the three of us made with her friends. She said that she was sure that Maxine was fielding phone calls as we spoke. We were first taken to a drawing room for coffee and a chat and then we were on the grand tour. This took the best part of two hours without touching the studio complex. We finally walked into the conservatory which was a hubbub of chatter from about fifty children. Stephanie explained that she hosted a lunch for the local school once a month and they usually had a little entertainment after they ate.

I could see the meals starting to come out so we turned to leave them to it when a harried lass came over to Stephanie and cried “Madam, the magician has had an accident and broke his arm. What are we going to do?” Stephanie asked if she had tried getting a replacement and was told no-one is available. I asked if the children had good English and was told that it was taught from an early age. I suggested that Riordan and I could sing for them as we had done so for children of a similar age in the US. Stephanie asked “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to impose” and we told her it was perfectly all right. A maid was despatched to the studio area to ask Gerome if he could spare a couple of acoustic guitars and we sat with the children to share their lunch.

They had plenty of intelligent questions as befitting children of impeccable breeding and schooling and, by the time we finished the meal, we were all on a chatty basis. Gerome turned up with two Fender acoustics so we went and sat at the glass end of the conservatory to get maximum carry and started off with ‘Puff The Magic Dragon’. Before we had sung five lines we had been joined by Gerome who sat with us and sang along. We carried on with a mixture of Peter, Paul and Mary numbers and some of Minh’s’ songs from the new album. I sang a very silly version of the ‘Mall Song’, doing all the verses and the children all joined in with the chorus and wound it all up with ‘Changing’ and finishing with my signature tune ‘Serendipity.’

In the morn the sun rises on a new day.
There could be surprises, who can say.
But I know if you show the world who you are,
Then miracles could flow and you could be a star.
Or just yourself be,
Serendipity.

I am smiling to sing this song,
‘Cos I know that if things all go wrong,
There’s a path I could take
The words I could fake
The applause could be just as long.
I let myself be just me
And trust in Serendipity.

When we finished we got up and bowed to the audience and some of the bigger children rushed up to give us hugs, something that completely surprised Gerome. I could tell that he was not used to unfettered contact, something to do with breeding, I suppose.

Stephanie was beaming and gave us all big hugs as the children picked up their belongings to head out to their bus. She said that the story of today’s lunch would be around the locality like wildfire and to expect invitations to other chateaux before we left Geneva. We gave Gerome his guitars back and both gave him a peck on his cheek. I just think that singing PP&M was enough for him. He said to follow him to the studio area as he wanted to show us something. He stopped in the corridor near the studio doors and pointed out a picture taken in the old studio that his father had built. There was PP&M sitting on a bench seat next to the old control room with a young boy at their feet. It was signed ‘To young Gerome, our biggest fan’ by the three of them. “That was the early sixties” he said “they did several recordings here and I was very much in love with Mary. Singing ‘Puff’ today has brought back so many good memories.” I told him that when we are all here we could do a folk session, just for him. We carried on into the studio where I could see Grog and the band working away at a song. The soundproofing was so good you could hardly hear a murmur outside but I was sure that it was ear-splitting inside. We watched for a while and then said we needed to go as we would be flying home tomorrow.

Marianne G 2020

Patsy Power Part 43

We packed our bags and put them down in the foyer for the morning as it was to be an early start. After a good night’s sleep we were all up for breakfast at first light and, after brushing our teeth, gathered in the foyer with our overnight bags. We had a car to pick us up to go to the airport and, after the normal interminable wait in the departure lounge, we were heading west again.

Sarah sat with Riordan and me and asked us how we thought the meeting went. I said that, on the face of it, it all looked good but I wondered what else was in it for the friends of the Marquis. I said that I thought the numbers given were after the take from the seed partners and that we will never know what their return would be. Sarah tended to agree but said that there was plenty left over for the rest of us. Riordan said that she thought Stephanie may well stand up for us now as we seemed to have got her well on our side. I said I would wait for the future to show just how well we connected.

I asked Sarah if she knew about the first date in the studio. She said she had thought it was just a get-to-know-you event and I told her that Grog had said it was a full, real-time, gig recording that could be released as a live album, the studio giving a live feel. I wondered if it may find its way onto the web as a knock-off CD. Sarah said she could research the link between tours and knock off albums. I asked her about the pony-tailed man from the party and was proved right; it was a studio designer. At Heathrow we had a bit of a wait before our flight back to New York so we browsed the duty-free shops. I bought a nice necklace for Joanne and a bracelet for ‘Aunt Ruby’. We all dozed a bit on the way to New York and when we got out of the airport there was a limo to take Sarah and me to a hotel and then Riordan and Simon to their homes. Sarah and I had a quiet dinner and then yet another early night.

Back in Nashville the next day I was just about sick of air travel so wanted nothing but some quiet time to write. Joanne loved her necklace and swore never to take it off. I told her about most of the happenings of the time away and she loved my descriptions of the band of Grande dames that populate the upper crust. We went for a drive in the sports car and found ourselves at the music store. Luckily, Pierre was in his office so I asked if we could have a private meeting. I had my copy of the tour dates and asked him to look it over. He was impressed with the coverage and asked me what part he could play. I told him that we would need two complete sets of instruments for the band plus spares. As all amplification was to be provided by the main band, we were getting off light. He asked about a vendor’s area and I said we had been given the go-ahead to organise one. I was not sure if we could be at every venue but the US ones were certainly possible. I told him we would have to organise a meeting with our listed vendors so they could plan their own activity. I assured him that he was the first to be spoken to and that everything would be done contract-wise after Christmas.

I then broached the idea of a couple of local stadium shows for ‘Amazon’ as lead act with a couple of local bands in the first half. They would need to be finalised soon with the events taking place in February or March so an indoor venue would be best. He liked the idea of promoting a couple of concerts and I left it with him to sort out with Ma and Sarah. We went over to the nursing home and I caught up with my mother (Aunt Ruby) and then took my venue list to the day room. Jim gave us both a hug and asked me how we were going. I told him that I had just spent a few days in Geneva in the company of ‘Primal Purge’ and the nobility.

I showed him the gig list and he let out a whistle. “This is huge, Patsy, this tour will make five or six hundred million. It will be hard work but there is nothing that will hold you back when you finish this. Well done!” He passed the papers to Roger and said “I hope your passport is in order, Roger, this may be the world tour that you have been talking about, without the cruise, tropical islands or tourist hot-spots.” Roger looked at it and asked me how everything was to be transported. I told him about the dual 747’s for the freight and a single one for the bands. He asked if we were taking a photographer and I gave him a peck on the cheek and said “Maybe, if he promises to be a good boy.”

The days passed quietly. Minh was off doing signings of her album, which was selling very well. I suppose that we would have to promote the next ‘Amazon’ album in the early part of next year. Joanne and I put down some new songs with the guitar and keyboard to build up stocks for another ‘Amazon’ album and a different stage set. I had got in touch with Jake and asked him if he could give me a definitive snapshot of Grog’s life and one day he called me up and said he had put some history together. I met him at the house and took him to the studio. Joanne was off visiting her folks so we would not be overheard. I told him that Grog had asked me to write a song that would be performed after the last encore of the last show in London as Grog wanted to thank the crowd as he retired. I didn’t tell him that it was likely to be our last sight of the great man.

I said that I had some ideas about a chorus and opening verse but needed some historical links to his music. I said that he would sing about his old bands and that he wanted our band only to be in on it. This would mean that Jake would have to provide the classic riffs and tunes for each verse. He was a bit amazed that Grog would allow him to do it but said that there was five distinct eras that needed to be highlighted. The first was a ‘shed band’ era of twelve bar rock, the second was a blues based band, the third was more stadium rock, the fourth was a supergroup avant-garde trio and the fifth was the heavy metal that came after a long period of being in a rehab clinic. Each one had very recognisable hits with classic riffs. I asked him to practise these quietly by himself and I would get him in to lay down a track before the tour so we could get the rest of the band to quietly learn it.

Another project I set myself was a group of songs that could become a Patsy Meyers solo album, just as an insurance policy. For this, several of the early ‘Patrick’ works could be recycled with a feminine slant as it would be a soft-rock set, rather than a stadium sound. Over the next few weeks I put together quite a collection. Some, I could see, would suit Lorraine or Nina in solo form but there were several that I liked for myself and sat in the studio on some days learning the new songs, finally ending up with about three quarters of an hour of all new works. I also had about six ‘Amazon’ numbers that I emailed to Riordan to work on. As we got very close to Christmas, the ‘Amazon’ studio album was released and immediately went into the top ten. A couple of our new songs were being played on the radio and plans were put into place for a signing tour over January. It was expected that Riordan, Julia and Nina work down the east coast while Joanne, Jake and I worked the centre and west.

Sarah put on a big party for Christmas with all of our friends, K Beat staff and the ‘support crew’ attending. It was a blast with lots of other artists in the K Beat stable being there and everyone having to do a stint on the microphone. Staying on the soft drink I didn’t enjoy myself as much as some I saw but I was, at least, spared the hang-over. Between Christmas and New Years a group of us performed at the hospitals around town with our evolving acoustic set. Jake and Keith had a good take on folk music and we could sound just like PP&M sometimes. Joanne surprised during this period with a rather good range of Celtic ballads that she had learned from her grandparents that she sang while playing a little portable keyboard. She was really blossoming with her vocal range. We played two institutions a day for a week before we had to refuse more offers as we had a signing tour to do. That was going to be living out of a case and wondering where one was for two weeks.

Part 44

The signing tour was harder than playing. We flew to Seattle in a snowstorm and were taken to a big record store where we were sat at a table with our marker pens. Three hours later we were allowed a light lunch and then were taken to another store where we signed for another three hours. We were taken to a hotel for dinner and then flown to Portland for our overnight stop. In the morning it was another store, lunch and the second store, dinner and a flight out to San Francisco. It carried on in the same vein to Los Angeles, El Paso, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Denver, Oklahoma City, Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Memphis and Saint Louis before coming home. I can’t remember much of the details as it seemed a never ending line of faces and hands with albums to sign.

One thing that did stick out was the number of Innocent Party ones that we signed. Once we got home the three of us just crashed for a couple of days. I then went into K Beat and spoke to Carl and the old band. I told them I wanted to put down a few solo tracks for my own use and asked them if they could do some backing. I played them the tracks I had already recorded and said that I just wanted a laid back backing on them. Carl said it would be good and asked why I wasn’t using Jake and the band. I told him I wanted smooth for these, not rocking. A week later he called me and told me that we could use the studio in the evening and into the night on the next day. Ron was good to oversee the session. The next day I took my electric acoustic into the office and, after an evening meal, we set up in the studio. Over the course of the next four hours we perfected ten good tracks of laid back night club songs. When we wound it up Ron told me that I would have a lifetime on the nightclub circuit with material like that. I told him it was just an itch that needed to be scratched. He dubbed me off a CD and did one each for the guys. I thanked them for their help and went home to a good night of very restful sleep.

We were now into mid – February with just six weeks before the tour starts. Pierre had booked an indoor stadium for second weekend in March and had organised a couple of local bands to open. Between now and then we had a photo shoot of spring fashions and that was just a four day shoot down in Florida so was not a great problem. Having Riordan, Nina and Julia there it was easy back in Nashville to get the band together for just a run through on the K Beat practise stage to make sure we remembered everything and then spent a week going around town advertising the show with spots on the radio and signing sessions in the record store and the music store. Come the weekend of the show Lucy revealed our new stage wear, all very high class but edgy. Jake looked every inch the Rock God and the rest of the band weren’t far behind.

We were to play the Friday, Saturday and Sunday night so it would be a good trial for us. The early bands were quite good and had a good local following but when we got to start the second half we lifted the level several notches. Everyone was happy with the show and the next two nights went as well. We mixed as much as we could with the other bands and the paying customers and I would have guessed that Pierre came out well ahead. I know that Sarah was happy to promote K Beat locally and treated us all to a dinner on the following Monday evening. The other girls went back to New York on the Tuesday to get ready for the trip to Geneva in two weeks’ time.

On that Tuesday afternoon Alice called me and asked me to come to her office. When I got there she told me that the police in Hanoi, Vietnam, had called the office. It seemed that they had found a semi-submerged kayak in Halong Bay and that there was a packet of papers in a waterproof pouch with Patricks name on them and a contact number. As his closest relative that was able to travel, could I go to Hanoi straight away and sort it all out? She told me that I would be contacted by a friend of hers at the airport. “He ‘looks like a pirate’ but is really a pussy-cat” she said, with a wink. OK, now it is time to tidy up some lose ends before the big tour.

Next day I was in first class from Boston to Paris, with a connection directly to Hanoi. I arrived there early the following day, a bit jet-lagged. When I walked out of the arrivals door I didn’t need a sign with my name on it as the man holding it was a shoe-in for Long John Silver but without the parrot or wooden leg. He introduced himself as Pietro and asked after Alice. He took me to a hotel in Hanoi and told me never to drink the water unless it comes from a bottle I have unsealed myself. He bought me a lunch and then we went to the police headquarters. There we were shown into an office where a high ranking officer sat. He stood to shake our hands and thanked me for coming. He had a packet of things on his desk and asked me if I could identify any of it. I could see a K Beat ID with my old Patrick face on it and told him what it was and showed him my own. There was also a passport in his name with entry and exit visa stamps across Europe and into Asia. He asked me what Patrick did with the company and I told him that he was a contractor looking for new artists and, as far as I knew, was planning some time in South Korea at the end of this trip. “That explains something” he said “He has been staying at a local hotel with a night club and had been seen in the company of a singer there. When he did not return to the hotel they packed all his clothing and left it in their storage.”

“The lady is called Peggy Evans and sings in the evenings.” He then looked serious and said “This may not be connected but a body was washed ashore a week earlier but was too mutilated to get any positive identification. We think it may have been run over by one or more of the vessels that teem in Halong Bay. There was only one marking on the body that we photographed before incinerating the remains. I will show you a picture and ask if you have seen this mark before.” He pulled a photo out of an envelope and laid it on the desk. It showed a somewhat decayed stomach with a belly button and a small crescent shaped mark on it.

I looked him in the eye and said, “Yes, I see it every morning in the mirror.” I pulled up my top and showed him the mark on my own belly. “It is a family thing” I said, He clapped his hands and an assistant rushed in. “Identification positive, please prepare a death certificate for this lady and all the paperwork needed to collect the property of the deceased. Thank you, Miss Meyers; you have turned a complicated situation into a very simple task. I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay in Hanoi. The certificates will be available in a day or two so please contact this office and we will let you know when they are available.” He shook our hands and we left the police station. I looked at Pietro and said “I love your work, Pietro. Allow me to buy you dinner. Perhaps we can go to this nightclub where Peggy sings.” He smiled and took me back to my hotel to freshen up and change.

When I came down to the foyer he was waiting for me and looked dapper in a light sports jacket and slacks. He hailed a taxi and we went to the entertainment section of town and pulled up outside a place that was called the ‘Burning Yankee’. “They have a lot of irony, do the Viets”, he said as we went in. We had a very good meal and chatted. I did not ask how the deal was done as I really did not want to know but it seemed that we now had a semi- legal ending to Patrick’s life. About nine pm the band started playing ‘torch’ music and a lovely girl in her early twenties came out singing the sort of music I had so recently recorded. She was very good and I really appreciated her work. I asked the waiter if she could be asked to join us for a drink after her set and she did join us ten minutes after her last song. I asked her if she was friends with Patrick Reece and she told me that they had only chatted as he was in the music business. I told her that he was now legally dead as I had identified the only part of a body that had been found and that I would be coming by to collect his things. I asked her if she would like to come back to Nashville with me as I could see what Patrick had seen and thought she could have a good career with the right guidance. Her face lit up and she said “Could I? I have been stuck here for three months, unable to afford to leave, even with working here. I was on a gap year trip around the world and had all my money stolen here.”

I asked her about her family and she told me that she had been brought up by her grandparents in Cornwall, UK, as her mother had died from an overdose not long after she had been born. I asked her about her father and she said that there was no father shown on her birth certificate but that her grandfather had told her that he was some loser called ‘Grog’!!!

This ends Book Two. Next posting we start Book Three ‘Positively Patsy’.

Marianne G 2020