#Ordinary Man & Singer Blues

[lorenzlund]

'Ordinary Man & Singer Blues'

(live in the Akademy)

'61 HIghway Men'

leer sein, entleeren, ausbilden/abbilden, 'Aus dem Rahmen oder Bild fallen', Lehrer, Bildauslöser von Kameras, der Schnellschuss, Schnellauslöser, Bilder herunter-löschen, Bildserien schießen ganze von jemand, der moderne Kamerablitz oder das 'Flashlight', die Lehrschule (auch Kochschule)

'61 Highway men' (live in der AKADEMY). *Cars & Girls. Cars are easier to handle'. German Country. Paderborner Innenstadt. 'Motors return, Girls don't'

'Ordinary Man & Singer Blues'

I ain't never loved but 4 Women in my life. These were my mother and sister, my aunt Liz and my cousin!

'So Honey, when you see me coming, I beg you, as soon as I walk in, right through the door: Put your finest dress on!'

Nobody they say plays the Blues as original like I do! (So ordinary like I do!) An ordinary hard working man is suddenly having the Blues!!

It were only 4 Women all in all, I swear, until you!! Until we met! So Honey, I beg you: Put four finest dress on! When I ring the bell!

(spoken: You could do it for me!)

For I'm just an ordinary hard working man who keeps singing the ordinary man & singer blu-u-u-es! To you-ou-u!!

To you!!!'

(And what I still then said to her was: 'Lorraine, you simply look great in this tonight in my eyes!!')

#neue Country & Blues Alben #With a little help by my friends #Help (Beatles) #The letter came from Tipperay #The Akadamy (Bar) #Musikkneipen #Musikbox (Bremen 4) #70er 80er 90er #Like a rolling stone #Ordinary Man & Singer Blues #Paul (Engländer) #Paderborner Bars #Innenstadt #David Cassidy & The Partridge Family #Er ist ein Kerl ein ganzer Mann Doch sein Zuhause blieb die Autobahn! #der Heavy Metal Fan in der DDR #Darkland (Metal) #Ton Steine Scherben #Karat #Chuck Norris #Eisen #das Schwereisen (auch im Boxen)

[floatyflowers]

Sister Complex| Yandere! Oshi No Ko various x reader| Chapter 2

Chapter 1

You want to scream.

You want to cry.

But, you know that it is no use, and it will change nothing about your permanent situation,  it has been a year since you were born.

After getting stabbed to death by that man,  you got reborn as the daughter of your best friend, Ai Hoshino.

And she kept to her promise and named you, her baby girl, (Y/n).

However,  you are the youngest triplet to two other siblings.

Your brother, Aquamarine,  who is the oldest triplet.

And Ruby, who is the middle triplet.

Their names match their eye colors.

On the other hand,  you have a very unique appearance.

You were born with heterochromatic eyes, your right eye is blue and your left eye is ruby red.

And each eye has a star in it

Adding to that, your hair is purplish like Ai.

What you have in common with your siblings, is that all three of you are reincarnated.

"So, who were you before you got reincarnated, (Y/n)?"

Ruby inquires, pulling the feeding bottle away from her lips.

"(Y/n) (L/n)" you reply while watching TV.

Aqua who wasn't interested in the conversation, is now staring at you with wide eyes.

"No way,  Ai as my mother, and (Y/n) as my sister, this must be a dream come true" Ruby squeals, before hugging you.

Aqua pulls you by the hand to speak to you away from Ruby's ears

"Have you received it?"

"Received what?" you look with confusion at the boy.

"The anime action figure-" you cut him off.

"Wait, you were the one who sent me the expensive action figure? "

Indeed you received an action figure from an anonymous person on your birthday.

But it is not just any ordinary action figure it is (favorite anime character) action figure.

"Yes, that was me" Aqua admits shyly.

"Thank you, it's the best gift I have ever received!" you say, hugging him.

Ruby pouts in jealousy at the affection you are giving Aqua.

"I want a hug too" The girl rushes to you and forces herself between you two.

You chuckle as you hug her back,  while Aqua rolls his eyes.

"So, who killed you, do you remember their faces, (Y/n)? " your older brother demands.

"No... I don't" you lie.

But, you do remember everything about your murder.

The thought of it only brings tears to your eyes.

"Imouto, are you crying? "

Just like now.

"Why did he do that? I thought we were friends"

You mumble to yourself, starting to cry hysterically, attracting the attention of the only adult in the house who is babysitting you and your siblings.

Miyako picks you up and tries to calm you down.

Aqua and Ruby give eachother a knowing look, realizing that you do remember your murderer.

"What is upsetting you, Do you miss your mommy?"

Speaking of the devil.

"I'm home!"

Ai's voice echoes through the apartment.

The famous singer's eyes grew big upon seeing you in tears.

"(Y/n)"

Ai takes you out of Miyako's arms and holds you against her embrace while patting your back.

"Mommy is here now, no need to cry"

You calm down a bit, relaxing in her embrace.

"I'm going to protect you from any danger, my (Y/n)"

Chapter 3

Tags: @thigh-o-saur @yevenle @amanda-akedia @rxsesss @storylaa

#tw: toxic relationships #platonic yandere #reader insert #yandere oshi no ko #aquamarine hoshino #ruby hoshino #Aqua Hoshino x reader #hikaru kamiki #Hikaru Kamiki x reader #ai hoshina #daughter reader

[freddiemercurylegendabovelegends]

Freddie Mercury with his beloved cats over the years

Extract from article

Cat Fancy – Freddie & His Best Friends

By Gail Flug - 2003

In many people’s eyes, Freddie Mercury was one of the world’s most dynamic and charismatic rock frontmen.

Yet for the man who had the love of countless fans, he loved his cats most. Peter Freestone, Mercury’s personal assistant and cook, wrote in his book “Freddie Mercury” that his boss put as much importance on them as any human in his life.

Jacky Smith, who has run the Official Queen Fan Club for 21 years, said, “Most of them were from rescue centers. We have a charity [in the United Kingdom] called The Blue Cross, which takes care of sick animals. Freddie got at least two from them, if not more.”

According to Smith, cat toys were sent from fans to the office from time to time, as the cats’ photos occasionally appeared in the club newsletter. Plenty of fans have also named their own cats Freddie, a gesture that, Smith said, would have flattered the singer.

Mercury’s first cats were Tom and Jerry, who he and then-girlfriend Mary Austin brought in during the early days of the band. She kept them when their relationship ended in the late ‘70s, yet he still considered them his, as the album dedication for “Mr. Bad Guy” proves. Austin, who remained his closest friend, gave him a lovely longhaired bluepoint he named Tiffany.

The most famous feline of the Mercury clan is Delilah, a large, tri-colored tabby who was adopted in late 1987. As the lyrics to her song state, and Freestone’s book confirms, she took over the house and pretty much did whatever she pleased. “She was a real character, that lady!” agreed Smith. “Delilah was just kind of funny. She was a bit of a bully to the others, but was always first on his lap, first for food.” In turn, Mercury favored her as well, picking her up more than the others. She would also fun to him for safety when the other cats would gang up on her. She loved sleeping at the foot of his bed, or in the laundry baskets.

“They were all well-loved and cared for and mostly ‘normal’ pussycats,” Smith said. “They did get ordinary cat food at times, but mostly it was fresh chicken and fish prepared for them. I also remember he used to talk to them on the phone if he was away for a long time.”

Freestone also wrote that each cat got its own Christmas stocking filled with treats and toys. They had full run of the house and were permitted outside during the day to roam the gardens. There were the occasional territorial markings on the soft furnishings for his staff to clean up, and the quick trips to the vet if a cat showed the slightest hint of illness.

No one except for his closest friends knows how long Mercury was aware he was HIV-positive, although both Freestone and Smith believe that his cats knew. Their unconditional love gave him great comfort and company in his final days, and Mercury would never deny them admittance to his bedroom. Said Smith, “Cats have that fantastic sixth sense… I imagine that they knew he wasn’t well and spent more time with him. It’s just the thing cats would do.”

Before Mercury passed away on Nov. 24, 1991, he made sure all of his loved ones would be taken care of. “They all stayed at Garden Lodge with Mary, which is where they still are today,” said Smith. “I have heard reports of Delilah being spotted on top of the wall occasionally.”

It’s clear she still rules the house. Freddie wouldn’t have wanted it any other way

Freddie Mercury with his beloved cats over the years

📸 Photos from Mary Austin’s personal collection

'Delilah Delilah

Oh my oh my oh my you're unpredictable

You make me so very happy

When you cuddle up and go to sleep beside me

And then you make me slightly mad

When you pee all over my Chippendale suite'

🔸 Extract from'Delilah' track by Freddie Mercury

(taken from 'Innuendo' album released in 1991)

Delilah his beloved cat 😻

#delilah #innuendo album #innuendo #1991 #zanzibar #legend #queen #brian may #john deacon #freddiebulsara #roger taylor #queen band #london #freddie mercury #cat #Spotify

[choco-pudding]

Space Channel 5 Part 2: Sugoku Sugoi  Guide Book p. 084-089 (Translation by @lavoszero and myself. Edits and typesetting by myself)

Second part of Report 4.

Imgur link to all of the  Sugoku Sugoi Guide Book translations we’ve done thus far.

Plain text below

p. 84 Channel 5 HQ · Cheerleader Corridor A

Shooting

Ulala’s Hearts: 13 Detecting a lot of cheerleaders… This route's tough when it comes to rescuing everyone, especially if you don't have the tune well memorized. You'll need to drill the input timings into your head. Once the cheerleaders are rescued, there's a secret input right at the "Yeah!" as per usual…  Looks like there are even more secret inputs awaiting you after that. Even more than the Rescue Police’s.

5.

020 🠬 x x x 🠩 x x 021 🠮 x x 🠩 x x x

6.

022 🠬 x 🠩 x 🠮 x x 023 🠮 x x 🠩 x 🠬 x

7.

024 🠮 x 025 🠬 x 026 🠮 🠬 o 027 🠬 🠮 o

Rescue 083: Channel 5 Peon 055: Space Cheerleader 1: Hitomi 056: Space Cheerleader 2: Futaba

-

Sweet! 080

Up Toyota

p. 85

8.

028 🠬 🠮 o 029 🠮 🠬 o 030 🠬~ o 031 🠮 o

9.

032 🠬~ x x 033 🠮~ x x 034 🠩 🠩 o

Rescue 057: Space Cheerleader 3: Mimi 058: Space Cheerleader 4: Yoshiko 092: News Presenter (Male) 093: News Presenter (Female) 059: Space Cheerleader 5: Satsuki 060: Space Cheerleader 6: Moonie 054: Space Cheerleading Captain

Yeah! [8]

-

Sweet! 081

Toyota Toyota Toyota

p. 86

Go! [9] Go! [10] Go! [11] Go! [12] Space [13] Channel [14] 5 [15] Let's Dancing [16] Let's Shooting [17] Sexy [18] Ulala [19] Yeah! [20]

-

Sweet! 082

Toyota Toyota Toyota

p. 87

Second verse, same as the first, repeat for hidden inputs 21~32

-

Sweet! 083

Toyota Toyota Honda

p. 88 Channel 5 HQ · Cheerleader Corridor B

Finale!

Ulala’s Hearts: 1 No, the shutter's closing! Slide with me, baby, when I say!

Doooown!

-

Sweet! 084

Toyota Honda Honda

p. 89 President Peace on: Space Michael, Behind the Scenes

A youthful dynamic singer and dancer. A talented director of stage shows, movies, and other forms of entertainment. Space Michael is truly an inimitable superstar that's transcended the limits of ordinary people. I first saw his actual face three years ago, in 2496, at the Space Woodstock's backstage during the Space National Holiday. I noticed that Michael had a calming aura around him. He was very kind and hospitable to the all people that were invited. "My purpose and goal in life is to give happiness to people," is what I said to him.

When I told him that, he told me a story in return (he was still surprisingly friendly despite having recently lost money). "You may not believe me when I say this, young man, but this happened around 500 years ago (laugh). Anyway, about 500 years ago, I was allowed to play a game that was just three weeks away from completion. I remember it well, because that was a rarity to do in itself. The game was so mesmerizing, that I asked, out of the blue, if I could be in it. The producer of the game said apologetically, 'I'm afraid we wouldn't have that much time. We could give you a small role, if that's okay?' I replied, 'Of course, I'd be happy to!' Because I really loved that game! You know what I mean?"

Michael turned his gaze to the ground as if I'd laugh at him for acting like a mischievous child. A person living for over 500 years? That's impossible! But there was something in Michael's modest smile that made me think that he'd be a person capable of doing that.

-

Sweet! 084

Left

#translations #space channel 5 #ulala #president peace #Sugoku Sugoi Guide Book #Space Channel 5 part 2

[neondiamond]

⛄️ Recently Read Fics - January 2023 ⛄️

These are all the amazing fics I read over the past month (from shortest to longest). Don’t forget to leave kudos and comments to show the authors your appreciation if you read any of these! 💙

⛄️ Bad Move, Just Act Normal by @berzerkshires (600, NR)

Quarterback Harry Styles wore rookie kicker Louis Tomlinson's jersey to a press conference.

⛄️ Little Taste by @wabadabadaba (1k, G)

a morning with little Harry and caregiver Louis.

⛄️ Let’s Get Skating by @wabadabadaba (1k, G)

Harry plans on going ice skating alone but those plans change when a very cute stranger forgets his headphones.

⛄️ (Route)r To My Heart by @itsnotreal (1k, M)

Harry’s upstairs neighbor is loud as fuck. What better way to deal with the problem than by being passive aggressive with his WiFi’s name?

⛄️ sweaty palms and racing hearts by @onlythebravest (1k, G)

A short story of two shy, nervous and blushing boys on a date at the cinema.

⛄️ Falling (For Two) by @louistomlionson (1k, NR)

In the middle of a morning run, Harry loses his balance. Niall and Louis are walking to their car just in time to witness his tumble and, lucky for him, more than happy to help.

⛄️ London by @hellolovers13 (2k, M)

A lazy morning in bed.

Finally home.

⛄️ Odd Dogs by @londonfoginacup (3k, G)

Zayn is not a dog person. Zayn does not understand dogs. He doesn’t know why they do what they do.

Yet here he is, at the doors of the Allegheny Dog Rescue, staring in at an odd dog and a blue eyed boy.

⛄️ Christmas Pretenders by @larryatendoftheday (4k, T)

When Niall convinced Louis to come home with him for the holidays as his fake boyfriend, he never expected he'd run into the loveliest man he'd ever seen.

⛄️ just an (un)ordinary evening by @onlythebravest (4k, E)

Harry and Louis during an ordinary weekday evening, having a somewhat slow and relaxing night together.

⛄️ You Taught Me A Lesson (That Feelings Are Reckless) by @whenyoucallmelover (5k, G)

the one where Harry and Louis live together but like to ignore each other... Until one day, they don't.

⛄️ ‘Sno(w) Joke by @sun-tomato (5k, NR)

The last thing Louis wanted was to get stranded on his birthday.

But perhaps it was exactly what he needed.

Featuring a snow storm, a library, and a very grumpy Harry Styles.

⛄️ The Hour of Us by @louistomlionson (5k, M)

Harry loves her quiet life with her two partners, Niall and Louis. But one day, her magic starts acting up. Will Harry be able to figure out what's happening, how to fix it, and soon?

⛄️ Wanted: Dog Walker by @louandhazaf (6k, G)

Louis needs a dog walker.

Harry answers the ad.

⛄️ All at once, this is enough by @lunarheslwt (7k, G)

Harry, overcome with burn out, wants to nest but he has never nested before, doesn’t know how to. Louis, his best friend, is only happy to help him make a nest and be there for him. Along the way, they find something more.

⛄️ All Shook Up by @littleroverlouis (9k, T)

Memphis, Tennessee is looking to crown the Ultimate Elvis Tribute artist. A majority of the contestants are content to shake their hips on stage, but singer-songwriter Harry is taking it more seriously. He is confident his voice and charisma will send him straight through to the finals.

He is already polishing his crown before even setting foot on stage, until he meets a fellow competitor. Louis is talented, charming, and a natural born performer. He commands the stage— and Harry's attention.

Harry has his eye on the prize and the Ultimate title, but what happens when someone becomes the ultimate prize?

⛄️ It’s Thursday. Let’s Get (un)Dressed. by @bananaheathen (9k, E)

When Louis is peer-pressured into downloading TikTok over the holidays, he fully expects to hate it. And he does hate it. All of it. Well... except for aspiring OOTD influencer, @harrystyles.

⛄️ Behind closed doors by @greenblueish (10k, E)

the one where omega Louis finds a sock on alpha Harry's door handle that causes a big misunderstanding but is also the beginning of something new.

⛄️ Midnight by @kingsofeverything (10k, E)

“Alphas are for fucking and pheromones,” Louis said during their first conversation, when he was moving into the building and Harry offered to help haul boxes up the stairs. “I’m perfectly capable of carrying my own groceries.”

Louis relented when his Omega friend Zayn intervened and asked if he was also capable of moving his couch by himself. All Harry’d wanted to do was be a good neighbor. Now, here he is, half a year later, balls deep and four months into a no strings attached, sex only situation with the Omega of his dreams. He’s still not sure how it happened.

⛄️ Eyes on the Horizon by @uhoh-but-yeah-alright (12k, E)

Freshly dumped, recently fired, and about to turn 40, Harry's friends insist on taking him skydiving to cheer him up. His younger and extremely fit instructor Louis makes him even more nervous than the idea of jumping out of a plane, but both may be exactly what he needs to turn his life around.

⛄️ maybe we could be enough by @liberty-barnes (13k, M)

Harry wasn’t afraid to admit that his wedding...well, his entire marriage, really, wasn’t exactly what he’d pictured.

He’d wanted a big celebration, with family on either side of the aisle, flowers everywhere, beautiful clothes, and most importantly: his loving fiancé waiting at the altar with a heart-stopping smile on his face.

He did not, however, get that beautiful wedding.

[or, five times Harry hated Louis, and one time he loved him.]

⛄️ Your Gift is Wasted On Me by @bravetemptation (54k, NR)

Omega Louis has severe touch deprivation and is averse to touch. But he’s fine. Really.

Alpha Harry is the new neighbor who loves to bake cookies and is very curious about the omega across the hall.

#28th appreciation #mostly shorter fics this month because that’s all i really had time for #monthly recs #fic rec #trackinghome #trackinghappily #tracksintheam #hlcreators

[loneberry]

notes on the singing world

This morning I sat outside on my back porch, drinking my coffee at 7:30am, soaking up the early sun. There was peace in my heart, a peace I wish I could give to everyone in the world. We still don’t know the source of it. I listened to a live recording of the Brazilian singer Gal Costa singing “Baby”—“Você precisa saber da piscina, Da margarina, da Carolina, da gasolina...” The crowd roars with those opening lyrics. You can hear the whole audience singing along, “Baby, baby, I love you...” I wept some tears of joy and wrote in my notebook, “You know, when I die, I will be sad to leave the world behind. I loved this broken world, I loved it truly.” 

Then I read a journal entry from a week ago:

April 13

Today the sky went from sunny to gray sunny to gray. Stepped out of my house, into the blustery air—two pigeons were perched above the commuter rail, their iridescent throats catching the spring sun. Turning down Oxford Street, Kimya Dawson came on over my headphones. I haven’t thought of Kimya Dawson in nearly 20 years, I thought, and was flooded with memories of high school, teenage emotion, so embarrassingly earnest. Once I left a comment on Kimya’s livejournal: “I couldn’t get a ticket to your show...” She put me on the guest list, how sweet of her. “And the road’s still long but you come along...” 

I felt calm. Thought: so this is the calm that follows a long cry. The whole world and its kaleidoscopic array of details were singing to me: the white petals of the star magnolia aloft on the wind, a stranger’s purple sari blowing in the breeze as she crosses the street, the tuxedo cat sitting in the periwinkles, pink saucer magnolia blooms above some blue graffiti, observed through a chain link fence.

I walk to the Charles River and sit on a bench watching the daffodils lining the bank of the river dance in the wind while the sparkling light on the surface of the water twinkles in the background. Once Bhanu Kapil and I sat by this river admiring the daffodils. At sunset we sat with our eyes closed, doing a sun meditation before we walked over to the Houghton Library for her reading with Fred Moten. We wandered around the Harvard campus and she posted a photo of me on her blog doing a peace sign in the Harvard Math Department. On the counter next to the Keurig coffee maker, Ed made an intricate mandala out of sugar packets and wood coffee stirrers. She made a joke about Indians and Russians both loving chess and mathematics. 

Drifting in and out of memories. I observe an old man in a beret taking photos with his vintage medium format camera of the daffodils and the river. He says Hello. I smile and say Hello. A woman is on a blanket in the grass, photographing her dog rolling around on its back. 

I wander around Harvard Square. Through the window of Tasty Burger I see a young black woman and white man (probably undergrads) acting playfully as they eat. She sticks her tongue out. He taps it with his finger. They do this over and over. I go into Harvard Book Store, leaf through some books, and buy a copy of Amelia Rosselli’s Sleep. So many words. I wonder about the books I will write, the people who are on the other end of that strange relationship, the relationship between writer and reader. 

I used to have a dragnet mind, used to walk around in a state of pure awe, my window of perception so wide—it was the world, simple, resplendent, endlessly offering itself to me. I humbly accepted it, that gift of quotidian grace. Ordinary things glowed with a freshness that brought tears to my eyes. It’s rarer now, but still, I cherish the days when I can feel the world singing to me. 

The world. Tell them—tell them, she loved it truly. 

#music #memory #grace #mysticism #gal costa #flowers #spring #daffodils #gentleness

[underthecitysky]

IT was a real family affair when Stella McCartney showcased her autumn/winter collection at LIPA (Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts) yesterday. ECHO Features Editor Jane Haase had a front row seat ...

“GRANDAD,” shouted the little boy in delight as he ran over to the man in the grey suit with the flowery shirt who leant down and gave him a hug.

He might be one of the most famous men in the world but he was just grandad to the toddler who wanted a cuddle.

The McCartney clan were out in force for a special fashion show by Sir Paul’s designer daughter Stella, held just a few hours before the Beatles legend rocked a 36,000 strong crowd at Anfield.

Stella had chosen to unveil her autumn/winter collection at Lipa as a celebration of the city’s Capital of Culture year.

Her children – son Miller, three; 18-month-old daughter, Bailey, and four- month- old son, Beckett – were at the family event, joined by their excited cousin (lol, aunt), four-year-old Beatrice (Sir Paul’s daughter with ex-wife Heather Mills). When not sitting with her relatives the pretty blonde-haired youngster could be seen bouncing on her father’s lap.

Photographer Mike McCartney (Paul's brother), famed for his intimate portraits of The Beatles, was snapping away inside the auditorium.

On the front row were Sir Paul, with his son James on one side and Yoko Ono on the other. Next to her was George Harrison’s widow Olivia, who was in the city for a special tribute to her late husband at FACT on Friday night, as well as Beatles producer Sir George Martin.

They were being watched more than the models on stage by some members of the audience who had paid between £100 to £500 for a ticket for the event, with all proceeds going to LIPA. One keen female fan in the balcony even had her opera glasses out and trained on the A-listers.

Badges saying “Stella” with a shape of a heart and the words “L’Pool” below were given out at the entrance to guests who included Sir Peter Blake, who designed the iconic Sgt Pepper album cover, and number one WAG Coleen McLoughlin.The same message was spelled out in silver balloons suspended from the ceiling above the stage.

Liverpool singer Candie Payne, looking stunning in a thigh- skimming black mini dress, opened the afternoon show. The singer from West Derby obviously impressed Sir Paul who was spotted taking a picture of her on his mobile phone as she performed.

The fact this was no ordinary fashion showcase was evident when the models took to the catwalk. Instead of strutting their stuff these statuesque visions in dresses of varying hues of blue, grey, black and taupe played musical chairs while tottering about in what looked like 7ins platform wedges.

Amid laughter from the 380 seater auditorium, they entered into the spirit of fun as they battled it out to the thumping beat of That’s Not Your name by the Ting Tings.

As balloons descended onto the stage (with “Uncle Mike” retrieving a heart-shaped one for Beatrice) Stella appeared with a present for the winning model and thanked everyone for coming.

She joked: “I seem to have 50,000 members of my family still in this city.”

And proud dad Sir Paul, wearing his trademark suit and trainers and a Stella badge, shouted out: “Three cheers for Stella.”

Before heading off to her father’s Liverpool Sound concert with the rest of the family, Stella explained why it was important to showcase her new fashion range at LIPA, which was co-founded by Sir Paul in 1996 in the grounds of his old school, The Liverpool Institute.

She said: “It’s been a great day, especially with the concert tonight.

“I wanted to do something for LIPA because it’s my dad’s old school and I’m very proud of what he’s done here and the way he’s made the school survive.

“This show was a lot of fun and it’s great to hold it in the Capital Culture year and do my bit for the city.”

Describing her collection as “naturally sexy, naturally confidant and modern”, she added: “I don’t design for one particular woman, but I try to pick up what I think is happening around me and on the streets.

“I don’t get a chance to spend much time in Liverpool but I think Liverpool can compete with other cities.”

And what does the acclaimed fashion designer, who counts Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow as pals as well as clients, think of Liverpool girls’ style?

“I think they are great but I would say that because I’ve got a bit of Liverpool in me,” she laughed.

The Scouse gliterrati were out in force yesterday. Former Emmerdale star Sheree Murphy, wife of footballer Harry Kewell, was there along with friends, Cricket owner and ECHO columnist Justine Mills and celebrity stylist Lorraine McCullough.

Coronation Street star Alison King, who plays Carla Connor, was among the guests as was Radio City presenter Pete Price.

Dance group Flava, who were semi finalists in the TV show Britain’s Got Talent, also performed at the event.

Stella had said she had wanted to do her bit for the city in Capital of Culture year. I think the McCartney clan certainly did that yesterday.

Text copied from ohnotheydidnt on livejournal here

#stella mccartney #LIPA

[randomvarious]

Today’s mix:

The New York Beat: New York's Hottest Club Hits by David Phillips 1987 Freestyle / Dance-Pop

God, it must've been such a fuckin' vibe to pop something like this into your tape deck back in 1987 on a late, balmy New York City night and just cruise down the streets blasting it with your windows rolled all the way down 😎. When done right, freestyle music can be *so* good, man. You load a piece of a vocal into a sampler, chop up a Latin-tinged, pitch-shifted melody out of it, and then lay that melody over some layers of synths and drums and then I'm all yours 🥰.

And you happen to briefly get a couple of those sublime moments in the instrumental portions of the final track on this mix, "I Won't Stop Loving You," by C-Bank featuring Diamond Eyes. C-Bank is an electro and freestyle project that has actually belonged to a handful of producers over the years. In fact, the other C-Bank track that's on this mix appears to have been produced by a guy named John Robie, who had previously crafted some classic old school electro-hip hop jams for Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force—namely, "Looking for the Perfect Beat" and "Renegades of Funk"—and he also plays synthesizer on the group's most famous hit, "Planet Rock." But Robie's C-Bank song, I think, pales in comparison to the other one on here, which appears to have been co-produced by a pair of rookies named Elvin Molina and Mickey Garcia, who'd both go on to make a lot more freestyle tracks after they released this one. And the version that's on this tape actually sounds a bit different than the version that's on YouTube, which I'll provide here.

Because of those instrumental bits with the melodic vocal stabs, that C-Bank track is my favorite tune on here. But the one that precedes it by Bronx trio Sweet Sensation is a pretty quintessential 80s dance tune too; it was their debut single and it hit #64 on Billboard's Hot 100.

But outside of those two tracks, nothing else on this mix really seems all that special. And some of these tunes were actually pretty big hits in their day, like Sicilian singer Nocera's "Summertime, Summertime," which hit #2 on the Billboard dance chart in 1986. But looking back, a lot of these tunes actually just sound kinda simple, formulaic, and cheap 🤷‍♂️.

However, despite the overall lackluster selection, the mixing on this tape is still pretty damn good. And according to Discogs, this appears to be the only mix that this David Phillips guy ever made. Prior to this mix—if it is indeed the same guy—he did an updated 1986 dance remix of pre-Monkees Micky Dolenz's 1967 blues-rock single, "Don't Do It," which he front-ended with a coked-out, uptempo, hypnotically surfy hi-NRG beat. And I gotta say, it's really... something 😅; worth a listen just for the sheer novelty of it.

Really was not expecting this dancy freestyle mix to have just one degree of separation from Micky Dolenz, but there you have it! 😄

Now, I don’t have any links to this full mix, but I managed to record it with one of those cheap cassette-to-mp3 converters, so if you *really* want to hear it, feel free to get at me.

And here’s a short Spotify playlist of some personal freestyle faves of mine; nothing out of the ordinary, but some absolute bangers that span from the early 80s to mid-90s 😌.

Highlights:

Sweet Sensation - "Hooked On You" C-Bank Featuring Diamond Eyes - "I Won't Stop Loving You"

#freestyle #freestyle music #dance pop #dance #dance music #pop #electronic #electronic music #music #80s #80s music #80's #80's music

[caughtupindrama]

*The List*

Current list of musicals I've listened to and/or seen!!

* = seen live (includes high school productions, amateur theatre, etc.) ^ = seen a recording/movie musical version & = listened to multiple recordings or demos !! = performed in (partially or fully)!! ! = was otherwise involved in a production favourites are in colour <3

Hamilton * Death Note Falsettos ^& (March of the Falsettos + Falsettoland) Be More Chill & SpongeBob Squarepants: The Musical *&!! Little Shop of Horrors *& Book of Mormon *^ Mean Girls ^ In Trousers ^& Avenue Q Everybody's Talking About Jamie Heathers ^ Nine ^ The Lightning Thief & Dear Evan Hansen ^ Matilda ^& Spring Awakening *^&!! Junie B. Jones Frozen *^ The Little Mermaid *! Six *& Hairspray ! Adrian Mole Legally Blonde ^& Chess Starlight Express & Emojiland Hadestown Bright Star * Wicked Sophia, Our Beloved 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee * Frankenstein Cats * Charlie and the Chocolate Factory La Cage Aux Folles Addams Family Mary Poppins ^!! Beetlejuice &!! Aladdin ^ Bare: A Pop Opera The Theory of Relativity Little Miss Perfect Curtains !! Lizard Boy Hedwig and the Angry Inch Treasure Island Co-Op Jagged Little Pill A Year With Frog and Toad * The Prom ^& Newsies *^ Carousel & Camelot & Oklahoma 21 Chump Street ^ Ordinary Days Shrek the Musical Bat Boy *! The Sound of Music * A Strange Loop *& Crazy for You Chicago * Goosebumps The Musical: Phantom of the Auditorium Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 Fancy Nancy: The Musical Come From Away Amélie & The Mad Ones 3hree Island Song Snoopy!!! / The World According to Snoopy & Drag: The Musical Flat Stanley Dear Edwina Guys and Dolls * A New Brain Beauty and the Beast *^ Wuthering Heights Meet Me in St. Louis * The Fantasticks [title of show] Cabaret * John & Jen Les Misérables * The Great British Bake Off Musical Into the Woods *& KPOP Shucked Kimberly Akimbo The Lion King Bend it Like Beckham Footballers' Wives Dog Man: The Musical Hats! The In-Between In Transit A Chorus Line The Golden Apple The Love Note She Loves Me Octet Preludes Candide The Music Man Linie 1 Mamma Mia! ^ In the Heights The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Oh Captain! 13 Waitress & Ushers Rats! Spamilton Weird Romance & Juliet You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown * A Very Potter Musical ^ Ride the Cyclone The Three Billy Goats Gruff The Wedding Singer Babes in Toyland Urinetown Dear Pen Pal Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown Finding Nemo Blues in the Night Unfortunate Sole Mates Operation Mincemeat * The Three Little Pigs Anastasia The Phantom of the Opera *^& Arf! Back to the Future: The Musical * Pellets, Cherries, and Lies Rocky Horror Picture Show ^ A Little Night Music * Sunday in the Park with George Pretty Woman: The Musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street & Carrie Fun Home Hello Again Kinky Boots The Full Monty A Man of No Importance The Producers Jesus Christ Superstar 36 Questions The Little Big Things * Jersey Boys * My Son's A Queer (But What Can You Do?) The Dolls of New Albion Band Geeks The Band's Visit Wait Wait Don't Kill Me Diary of a Wimpy Kid Groundhog Day Footloose * Anything Goes * The Trail to Oregon ^ tick... tick... BOOM! Epic: The Troy Saga Leap Day Grease * Duolingo On Ice Nunsense Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Pinkalicious Parade * How to Dance in Ohio Tootsie Something Rotten! !! Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) * The Last 5 Years

#musical theatre #musicals #musical #will update as i continue to listen <3

[ghostwood7]

On the evening of Friday, March 5, 1982, Actor, Singer, Comedian John Belushi got together with several close friends (which included Robin Williams and Robert DeNiro) for a dinner party at "On The Rox", the Restaurant above the famous Roxy Nightclub on Sunset Blvd. After dinner, he invited Williams and DeNiro up to his temporary residence at Bungalow #3 at the Chateau Marmont.. It was while there that, at his urging, he was injected with Cocaine and Heroin (a speedball - now, sadly called a Belushi) by Cathy Evelyn Smith (known to some as "Sundown" see the song by Gordon Lightfoot). His friends left while Cathy remained behind with him. After awhile, John went into the bedroom to lie down for a time, so Cathy left.

Later, John's manager tried to call him at the Bungalow and got no answer, so he went to check up on him. When he entered the bungalow and went into the bedroom, John was blue in the face. Brillstein tried unsuccessfully revive John, but it was too late. John Belushi was dead. He called Police, Ambulance and then the Medical Examiner's Office. Not long after their arrival, the News Media arrived bringing with them crowds of people who looked on as John's body was carried out of the hotel in a body bag and placed into a van. It was at that moment that Cathy arrived back on the scene. When she saw what was going on, she turned her car around and fled.

When Dan Aykroyd got the news in NYC that John was dead, he walked all the way to where John had lived with his wife Judith and told her the news. The Funeral for John Belushi was held in Massachusettes near Martha's Vineyard and he was buried in Chilmark. The funeral was attended by Lorraine Newman, Bill Murry and, of course, Dan Aykroyd of SNL. Dan was in full motorcycle gear.

Sometime later, as a Psychic Medium was trying to make contact with the Dearly Departed in a well known part of Hollywood, she alledgedly came in contact with the spirit of John Belushi, who stated to her that he was just as shocked by his death as everyone else was. Why did he not cross over into the Light? There are several theories, one of which was that he had unfinished business in this life.

A woman and her family had to temporarily move out of their home due to renovations so they checked into the Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood. Due to problems with the renovation, they ended up staying there for over a year. During this time, late at night they would hear their young son (age 2) alone in his room laughing and giggling to himself. They thought nothing of it as the child is a very outgoing and playful child by nature. When they finally did ask what he was laughing at, the child would only say "the funny man". So one night the woman was talking to her friend about all this and her friend mentioned that John Belushi had died in the Chateau and that there were many reports of his spirit still roaming the grounds. A friend of hers did a quick search online and asked her if they are staying in Bungalow #3. She said yes. Apparently the family had been living in the same bungalow that John had died in. Some initial thoughts were to take pictures of various actors and show them to the child to see if he could recognize "the funny man" but, according to the mother, this never came to fruition. A friend of the boys mother visited the bungalow while they were staying there. It was for a birthday party for the boy and while it was a bit creepy, nothing out of the ordinary was said to have happened. Until later. After a time, the boy began to copmplain that he wasn't sleeping well because of the "funny man" who would awaken the boy and want to play with him and make him laugh. The mother of the child was sitting in bed one night she was sitting in bed one night looking at a book about the Chateau Marmont, and her son wandered in. He was very interested in what she was looking at so she told him it's all about the Chateau as she turned the pages ... there were many photos of various celebs that have stayed there over its many years. So the kid would say, "who is that?" And she said, oh that's an actor who was popular when your grandma was younger ... and that's Robert DeNiro, that's Robin Williams ... etc. Then she turned the page. The child got very excited, pointed and said: "Look Mommy, there's the FUNNY MAN!" He pointed right at the picture of John Belushi.

No, they have never shown him photos or Belushi films; in fact, when we suggested it a long time ago she said "no" so this kid has had no prompting whatsoever. But he sure did recognize his "funny man" right away! Although she hadn't been afraid to go to the bathroom alone at night since she was 8 years old, she was very uncomfortable doing so when they were staying in Bungalow 3. She said she would run in and out quickly, and never made eye contact with the mirror; she just felt as if she was being watched all the time. She went on to say that every time she opened the door to the room/area the kid was sleeping in, to tuck him in at night, she felt what she can only describe as a "whoosh!" #Tragedy, #ChateauMarmont, #Speedball, #JohnBelushi, #Hollywood, #Party, #Ghost, #Paranormal, #LastSupper, #LosAngeles, #SoCal, #Singer, #Actor, #Comedian, #Crime

[natromanxoff]

Independent Publication - December, 1991

Credits to Louise Belle and Queencuttings.com

FREDDIE MERCURY

A PICTORIAL TRIBUTE

The Life And Times Of The Most Flamboyant Rock Star Of Them All

INSIDE

IT’S A HARD LIFE

A PROFILE OF FREDDIE MERCURY, HIS LIFE AND HIS MUSIC

INNUENDO

THE PRESS ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT FREDDIE’S SEX LIFE. BUT FREDDIE JUST WANTED TO BE LEFT IN PEACE.

KILLER QUEEN

HE WAS ROCK MUSIC’S GREATEST SHOWMAN. WE LOOK AGAIN AT HIS INIMITABLE SENSE OF STYLE.

BACK CHAT

WITTY, FUNNY AND OFTEN ABRASIVE, FREDDIE CAME UP WITH SOME WONDERFULLY QUOTABLE QUOTES. THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THEM.

THE FINAL CURTAIN

THE TRAGEDY OF FREDDIE MERCURY’S LAST DAYS IS STILL ALL TOO FRESH IN OUR MEMORIES. WE PAY TRIBUTE. AND SO DO SOME OF THE GREATEST FIGURES IN SHOW BUSINESS.

GOING SLIGHTLY MAD

SOME FACTS, BOTH SERIOUS AND TRIVIAL, TO HELP US REMEMBER THE MAN HIMSELF.

ARE YOU READY, FREDDIE?

A LOOK AT THE LIFE AND TIMES OF FREDDIE MERCURY.

QUEEN — A RHAPSODY IN BLUE

AND FINALLY, THIS REALLY COULDN’T BE COMPLETE WITHOUT A LOOK BACK AT THE MUSICAL GLORIES OF FREDDIE AND THE WORLD'S GREATEST ROCK GROUP, QUEEN.

Twenty per cent of all profits from the sale of this magazine will be donated to an appropriate charity

SPREAD YOUR WINGS…

FREDDIE MERCURY 5/9/46 - 24/11/91

It shouldn’t have happened. Not to anyone. But most of all it shouldn’t have happened to someone like Freddie. Someone as talented, as popular and (as we’ll always remember him) so ‘full of life’.

I suppose those are the thoughts that went through my mind on the day I heard of his death. At least, after I’d calmed down enough to think that coherently. At first, all I felt was rage. Rage at the unnecessary waste of a life. Rage at the loss of a major singer and songwriter at the height of his powers. And rage at that blasted disease.

Probably we all felt some of those things. Fans of Queen certainly feel the loss most deeply. When one fan was interviewed on the radio later that day, she described Freddie Mercury’s death as the end of an era. I have to say I think she was right. It is the end of an era in music. And, for many people who have admired and lived with the music of Queen throughout the years, it feels like the end of far more than that. It feels like a personal loss. The end of a part of our own lives.

For most people, the tragic news of Freddie’s death came at breakfast time on Monday the 25th of November, 1991. You probably recollect only to clearly the moment you first learned about it. Whether it was the banner headline in your newspaper or the calm, respectful voice of the BBC radio news reader, the simple finality of it probably struck you with the same horror it struck countless thousands of others.

In fact, Freddie had died the preceding night. Just before midnight on Sunday the 24th of November, a spokesman for Mercury announced, "Freddie Mercury died peacefully this evening. His death was the result of broncho-pneumonia brought on by AIDS."

It was only the previous day that Freddie had released a statement acknowledging that he was suffering from the disease.

Now that the rage at his death has subsided, I still feel a deep sadness at Mercury's untimely death.

But let us never forget that the really important achievements of his life have nothing to do with his final days. We still have his music — primarily his music with Queen, but also his music with partners ranging from David Bowie to Montserrat Caballe. And there is no doubt that his music will live on.

Mercury was not an ordinary singer and songwriter. He was unique. He was wonderful.

The disease that killed him can strike anyone. And I was probably wrong to feel more rage about Freddie’s death than about all the other men and women it has killed and is killing throughout the world.

Let us hope that the outrage thousands of people felt about Freddie's death may develop into an outrage against the disease and its victims in general.

But, while we cannot forget the terrible end to Freddie's life, let us also celebrate the wonderful years and glorious music which preceded it.

Outrage there may be. Sadness certainly. But, most of all, let us remember with happiness, Freddie’s undying legacy.

As the man said, the show really must go on...

IT’S A HARD LIFE

A profile of the greatest rock singer of his generation. Freddie Mercury, missed but not forgotten...

Freddie Mercury was never a shy and retiring kind of guy. Even though he enjoyed his privacy when out of the limelight, once he was on stage or in front of a camera, he truly was a larger than life personality.

He once said, “I am not going to be a star — I am going to be a legend.”

And that is exactly what he has become.

He had all the qualities of a real star. He was incredibly talented, vastly ambitious, hugely egocentric and didn’t mind flaunting it.

Brian May described him as “born figure-head. He loves himself to be used as a figure-head. He knows exactly what’s best for himself. He knows exactly what he wants and how to get it. He's definitely one of the big, driving forces behind the band getting where it is.”

Freddie always intended to be successful. And he had the confidence and determination to make his hopes into reality.

But once he and Queen had got to the top, he felt the inevitable pressures of trying to stay at the top.

“Staying successful at our level is hard,” he said, “But when you’ve tasted success as beautifully as I have you don't want to let go in a hurry.”

In spite of adulation and hero-worship by countless Queen fans worldwide, Freddie often felt that he was unable to establish personal relationships. It probably wouldn't be true to portray him — as the newspapers so often do — as a tragic superstar. He was not lonely, he had many extremely close friends and enjoyed several close relationships. However, there were times, undeniably, when he was alone.

“Success has brought me world idolization and millions of pounds," he said, "But it has prevented me from having the one thing we all need — a loving, on-going relationship. Love is Russian roulette for me.”

The simple truth of the matter is that Freddie enjoyed getting away from superstardom from time to time. When he was not playing with Queen, he liked to try live a life away from the glittering celebrity set.

"I hate mixing with lots of showbiz personalities, “he explained, “I could do a Rod Stewart and join that crowd but I want to stay out of all that. When I am not in Queen I want to be an ordinary man in the street.”

Freddie was certainly aware that the press portrayed him as the lonely superstar. But he didn’t mind that. He knew all about the ways of the press and was a supreme manipulator of the media.

But sometimes the persona he had created became a caricature when it was reported. Freddie was deliberately camp, for example, but sometimes the newspapers would try to camp him up even more…

“Fred’s unfortunate in that he’s been pushed into a mould by a lot of people who've interviewed him,” Brian May said, “He’s found that no matter what he says some people will go away and write ‘Darling’ after everything and generally send him up, which is very irritating.”

It is well known that Freddie had a great fondness for classical music, opera and ballet. His own great heroes tended to beopera singers and ballet dancers such as the Spanish soprano, Montserrat Caballe and the dancer, Baryshnikov.

He once admitted that “When I saw Baryshnikov on stage I felt like a groupie.”

In 1979 Freddie actually appeared on stage with the Royal Ballet when they performed their interpretation of Bohemian Rhapsody and Killer Queen at a charity gala in the Coliseum Theatre.

“I was very brave,” he said, “But I really enjoyed the experience with the Royal Ballet Company. Singing upside down is wonderful.

“I was shivering in the wings with nerves. It’s always much harder when you are put outside your sphere but I always like the challenge. I’d like to see Mick Jagger or Rod Stewart try something like that.”

Later, of course, he extended his repertoire into operatic realms when he performed Barcelona with one of Opera’s great divas, Montserrat Caballe. He had written the song to celebrate Caballe’s home town on the occasion of its election as the venue for the 1992 Olympics.

As his career developed, Mercury tended to shy away more and more from his public persona.

“People are apprehensive when they meet me,” he said, “They think I’m going to eat them. But underneath it all, I’m quite shy.”

When Queen first started out, he had tended to be much more extrovert even in his private life. But he later said that he had changed a good deal since those days. “In the early days I used to enjoy being recognised. Not now.”

At one time, he would deliberately have made a grand entrance when arriving at a party. But later on, he said “Gone are the days when I wanted to walk into a room and stop everyone’s conversation. Being a rock singer is a business now. We’re as serious about our work as a lawyer.”

Anyone who knew Freddie will attest to his seriousness as an artist. They will also tell you that he was a sensitive and funny man in real life.

But for the fans, he will always be remembered as the great, flamboyant performer who could dominate an audience of tens of thousands with the sheer force of his personality.

INNUENDO

What? Who? When? Where? ...they couldn’t leave him alone. The popular press always wanted to dig the dirt on Freddie. Even in his last days, they wouldn't leave him alone. So just what was the reason for so much fascination with Freddie’s private life?

There is an endless curiosity about the sex lives of the rich and famous. About Freddie Mercury’s sex life, that curiosity was tinged with prurience.

From the very earliest days of Queen, there was constant speculation about his sexual preferences. Was he gay? Was he straight? Or was he bisexual?

The old-style Freddie, camped out in silks and satins and too much make-up seemed like a parody. A Queen in the good old fashioned sense.

Later, he changed the image dramatically — adopting another gay stereotype — the macho gay ‘clone’ look, instantly recognisable to the gay community from San Francisco to Sheffield.

And yet, he certainly liked the company of glamorous women, the Queen videos often featured sexy girls — even ripping off Freddie's clothes in the video for Crazy Little Thing Called Love.

“My sex drive is enormous,” he candidly admitted, “I live life to the full.”

In response to all the speculation, he once said, “I’m bisexual,” but added, “I don’t fall in love with a man the way I could with a girl.”

Girls certainly loved Freddie’s aggressively sexy image. Singer and former Page Three girl, Samantha Fox, sums up his appeal: “Freddie Mercury does things with a mike that if a woman did them, they'd ban her. He handles it as though he's a male dominating partner and you think, God, he’s sexy.”

However, if Freddie really was bisexual, most of the stories about his sexual conquests feature other men.

His former personal manager, Paul Prenter, insists that Freddie was primarily attracted to men. He once said, “It was more likely that I would see him walk on water than go with a woman.”

And Freddie himself once said, “It was only when I was in the arms of a man that I felt truly fulfilled.”

Sex he enjoyed in full. But he was never able to find a partner of either sex with whom he could share his life.

“I’ve tried either side — male and female — but all of them have gone wrong,” he said, “The one night stands are just me playing a part. I can be a good lover but after all these years I’m not a good partner for anybody.”

The one girl whose name constantly crops up in Freddie’s personal story is Mary Austin. He lived with her for seven years and described their relationship as “friendship of the highest standard.”

He once joked, “Mary wants my child before it’s too late. But I’d rather have another cat.”

Mary herself is discreet on the subject of her relationship with Freddie. Just how much friendship and how much passion there was remains something she prefers to keep to herself.

“Our love affair ended in tears,” Freddie once said, “My life is extremely volatile and someone like Mary couldn’t cope with it.”

On another occasion, he said that Mary was the only person who meant anything to him. “I don’t want anybody else. Over the years I have become bitter and I don’t trust anybody else because they have let me down so many times.”

Well, Mary found another man to share her life. But Freddie did not forget her. He even bought a £600,000 house for Mary — just around the corner from his own. When she had a son, Richard, in February, 1990, Freddie was the godfather.

Inevitably, Freddie’s sex life has now been resurrected by the newspapers, who are now ghoulishly fascinated by the sex-related disease to which he succumbed.

In fact, several times in the past, some tabloid newspapers have tried to bring the subject of AIDS into reports of Freddie’s personal life.

In October 1986, a Sun reporter annoyed Freddie by asking him if he’s had an AIDS test. Freddie retorted, “I’ve had a wonderful time in Japan. But now I’ve got to put up with this rubbish. It makes me sick. Now go away and leave me alone.”

In May 1987, The Sun wrote, “Freddie Mercury likes men who look as if they could eat a lorry for breakfast.”

Perhaps one of the cruelest things written about Freddie was printed in the Star in 1987: “As he confessed a few weeks ago, ‘I’m scared I could develop AIDS”. I would have thought he's got a jolly good chance. Serves him right too.”

Let us hope that Freddie, and all AIDS sufferers, benefit from a more understanding attitude in future.

[Photo caption: Freddie and long time friend Mary Austin]

KILLER QUEEN

Freddie didn’t believe in dressing down. If it was possible to go further over the top, that is exactly where he'd go. In some ways he was like a throwback to the great days of Hollywood when the stars were extraordinary beings who seemed bigger than life. Could it be that Freddie was the last of the really great showmen of rock?

“When I look back on all that black nail varnish and stuff, I think, ‘God, what did I do?’ I used to feel a need for all that on stage. It made me more secure. But now I don’t. I’ve grown up a bit.”

Queen emerged onto the music scene in the early ‘70s at a time when glamorous costumes and elaborate theatrical performances had become the norm for rock groups. Bowie was wearing satin outfits and Japanese makeup; Alice Cooper was hanging himself nightly; Marc Bolan introduced a generation of teenagers to the simple joys of glitter dust.

But when, a few years later on, punk came along, it seemed that the Glam generation was at and end.

Queen, however, continued to perform hugely spectacular shows. And Mercury in particular, always dressed to kill.

And while most of the punk groups went away again as almost soon as they had arrived, Queen went on and on.

Mercury’s own style was always over-the-top. At first, he wore his hair long, plastering his eyes with shadow and eye liner.

Later, he toyed with more macho images. Tight-fitting shorts, black leather and torn-open shirts. To emphasise the effect, his long tresses were cut to a close crop and that characteristic moustache was added.

Looking back at his earlier, kitsch image, he chuckled as he said, “At this point in time if I had long hair and the fingernails and the whole thing I’d look ridiculous. I mean, I looked ridiculous then, but it worked.”

The leather style he adopted for a time, came, as he hinted, from the leather gay clubs of Germany.

“The influence comes from visiting a number of bars in Germany,” he said, “Of course, I wear it with panache.”

Perhaps only one other pop singer in recent times has matched Mercury's flamboyance on stage — Elton John. Rather cattily, Elton once said, “Freddie’s got no idea how much and egg costs or anything like that, he’s absolutely hopeless — you ask him to buy a pint of milk and he’ll just forget it. He'll be able to tell you the price of nail lacquer though.”

Whatever he happened to be wearing at the time, the image he was portraying was always the same — sex.

“I do deliver sex appeal,” he said, “It’s part of modern rock. I sell sex appeal with my body movements on stage.”

And on that subject, he also insisted that what you saw really was what you’d get!

“By the way,” he said, “I don't wear a hose. My hose is my own — there’s nothing stuffed down there.”

Freddie didn’t play out the part off stage, though. “I’m a jeans a T-shirt man around the house and everywhere else,” he said, “I don’t put a show on any more when I leave the stage because I’m secure in my own knowledge of who I am and what I have.”

BACK CHAT

One thing Freddie was never short of was a few words. His waspish and witty quotes are legendary. Although he was a gentle and kind person, he was also the art of the cutting remark. Here we’ve gathered together a few favourite Freddie quotes which, we hope, show a few of the different sides to his character.

• “To some people I’m still a bitch. I enjoy being a bitch. I enjoy being surrounded by bitches.”

• “Usually all the vanity, outrageousness and temper are associated with me. But you would be surprised what you get from the others in the group.”

• “I’m a softie. I know people think of me as having this tough image which I’ve created on stage. But I’m not like that.”

• Freddie loved Marilyn Monroe films. He once said his favourite film of all time was Some Like It Hot — the film in which Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis get in drag to pose as members of an all-girl band. Mercury thought this was “one of the funniest films ever made.”

• “If I do this I wouldn’t have anything to do. I can’t cook. I’m not any good at being a housewife.”

• “Some of my songs have come to me in bed. But I have to write it down there and then otherwise it’s gone by morning. One night I woke up and a song just wouldn’t go away. I just had to sit down and write it — so I got up and dragged my piano over to the bedside.”

• “If I lost everything tomorrow I’d claw my way back to the top somehow.”

• “I’m just a musical prostitute. My songs are like Bic razors — to be used and then disposed of.”

• “The name Queen lent itself to a lot of things — very grand, very pompous.”

• “I love George Michael. He has a sense of dignity.”

• “To get the high notes I use the Demis Roussos method. You get a pair of pliers under the frock and crunch.”

• “My teeth. I don’t like the way they protrude. I’m going to have them done. Apart from that I’m perfect.”

• “Money may be vulgar but it’s wonderful.”

• “I coped very well with wealth. I spend, spend, spend — that's what money’s for. I’m not like some stars who, after a show, rush home to count the pennies.”

• “You’d be surprised how slippery people can be. A few times when people have got through to me they’ve always betrayed my trust.”

• “Boredom is the biggest disease in the whole world, darling. Sometimes I think there must be more to life than rushing round the world like a mad thing getting bored.”

• “I’m simply dripping in money.”

• “I’m a very tightly-strung person.”

• “I met Prince Andrew when my scarf dangled in a drink. He squeezed it out and that broke the ice. I said, ‘Thank goodness you’ve put me at my ease. Now I can use the odd bit of dirty language.’”

• “When we were on tour in America in 1975 a young American tart came in and pilfered my jewels and bracelets. She was just evacuating the room when I accosted her by the elevator. I pulled her by the hair, dragged her into the room, emptied the contents of her bag and everything but the kitchen sink came out. I retrieved my things and said, ‘Get out, you Seattle slagbag.’” (always a master of discretion, our Freddie!)

• “I have all kinds of paranoia. Being alone is one. I can’t go anywhere on my own. I always have to have someone with me whenever I’m shopping, probably because I don’t like being stared at.”

THE FINAL CURTAIN

[Photo caption: The band celebrate their 20th anniversary this year.]

The Show Must Go On, he said. But without Freddie Mercury, how can it? His death has robbed us of a very special talent. We all grieved when we heard of his passing. And we shall all continue to grieve in the months and years to come. But it is a loss that has to be faced. One thing is for sure, rock music will never be the same again.

The rumours had filled the gossip columns for months. Within the music industry, the fact that Freddie was suffering from AIDS had become widely known during the year that preceded his death.

During his final two years, Freddie had become virtually a recluse. He was seldom seen in public — and he made no official appearances either on stage or on TV. Even on Queen’s videos, he was often represented only by old footage and cartoon-like animation. When he appeared in the flesh as in the video for I’m Going Slightly Mad, he was hidden beneath layers of pancake make-up.

The fact is that Freddie didn’t want to fade away in the public eye. His closest friends invariably describe him as a very private person and privacy was the thing he most wanted during the last months of his existence.

Even so, from time to time he also felt fury at his enforced isolation. He told a friend, “I feel stigmatised, like a leper. I feel as if no one wants anything to do with me.”

UNDER PRESSURE

But for someone as famous as Freddie, privacy was not something that was easy to obtain. Press photographers constantly tried to get photographs of him — the more gaunt-looking the better. Even visits by his doctor were dutifully catalogued in the gossip columns.

Early in November, rumours that Freddie was seriously ill appeared to gain greater credence after he was visited at home by Brian Gazzard, the head of the AIDS unit at the Westminster Hospital in London.

Then, when his doctor, Gordon Atkinson, made no less than three visits to Freddie's house in Kensington, on Sunday the 24th of November, the journalists were in hot pursuit.

After his second visit, Dr Atkinson was quoted as saying, “Freddie has slipped a bit and I shall be staying.”

The news of Mercury’s death was given just before midnight by his spokesman, Roxy Meade, who announced that Freddie had just died of bronco-pneumonia brought on by AIDS.

HIS FINAL BOW

Nobody knows the full story that lead to Freddie’s tragic demise. What we have are a few facts, some informed opinion and far too much uninformed speculation.

Reports have said that three of Mercury’s former male lovers have died of AIDS over the past few years. Even his former manager died of the disease.

Freddie himself was aware of the dangers of promiscuous sex, both with men and with women and had said that he was trying to change his sex life to avoid any unnecessary dangers. “But,” he had said, “You can’t give up sex for ever.”

Five years ago, he said, “Oh God, I pray I’ll never get AIDS. So many friends have it. Some have died, others won’t last much longer. I’m terrified that I’ll be the next.

“Immediately after each time I have sex I think, ‘Suppose that was the one? Suppose the virus is now in my body?’ I jump in the shower and try to scrub myself clean, although I know it’s useless and, anyway, too late.”

In fact, Freddie had an AIDS test as recently as 1989, which, it was reported, proved to be negative. And yet, in those last two years, we know that Freddie deliberately removed himself from the public eye. And we also know that AIDS has an incubation period of many years. More recent reports suggest that Freddie discovered he had AIDS about a year and a half prior to his death.

The fact that Freddie recognised the dangers of AID is well known. He is said to have had thirteen AIDS tests over the years.

SOMEBODY TO LOVE

Right up until his death, the tabloid newspapers were trying to dig up the dirt on Freddie. I don’t care to regurgitate the tasteless stories that tried to smear him with filth.

Don’t get me wrong. I'm not saying that all the tabloid journalists were unfair to him. I’ve read as many calm and balanced stories as ranting and bigoted ones. But the bigoted ones are the ones that often got the biggest headlines.

Not after his death though. At least, by declaring that he was suffering from AIDS, Freddie deprived the hacks of that story. Once it had been made public, it was no longer something that could be dug up.

His statement came on the day before his death. It said, “Following enormous conjecture in the press, I wish to confirm that I have been tested with HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private to date in order to protect the privacy of those around me.

“However, the time has come for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope everyone will join with me, my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease.”

Freddie’s death is still too fresh in our minds to see anything but the terrible waste of it. And yet, there is some hope that his honesty and dignity in announcing his illness may, in the long term, have some beneficial effects.

Dr Patrick Dixon of AIDS care Education and Training has said, “For his hundreds of millions of fans throughout the world it will come as a tremendous shock and will be another sign that AIDS is a real illness, it affects real people.”

Dr Keenlyside of London's Middlesex Hospital also expressed the hope that some positive results could be gleaned from this tragic death. “His death has raised the point that AIDS isn’t going away,” he said, “It’s being transmitted silently by people who don’t have any illness for a very long time.”

When Freddie died, the tabloids suddenly decided to put their dirt-digging days behind them. To many people’s surprise, it turned out they had loved Freddie all along.

How strange it was to see the popular newspapers idolising the man they’d persued so long. The Star announced his death with the massive headline, ‘AIDS Kills The King Of Rock’. The Sun couldn’t quite manage anything so flattering. Even so, beneath the headline, ‘Freddie Is Dead’, The Sun's cover was taken up with a full page, full colour picture of Mercury posing with a Union Jack (the flag so beloved of the patriotic Sun).

By the following day, The Star seemed to have regained its composure somewhat and was closer to its old form when an editorial tried to balance Freddie's enormous public popularity with the paper’s own condemnation of his personal life. “An angel on stage,” The Star editorial said, “He was a sinner in the alleyways of his private life away from the spotlight.”

Ah yes, that familiar old tabloid nonsense about the wages of sin.

Apparently, Mercury had hoped that he would be able to live out his last days far away from the British press in a quiet penthouse apartment overlooking Lake Geneva. He had bought the home in Switzerland and was having it redecorated at the time of his death.

Those people who knew Freddie intimately stood by him to the end, loving him and supporting him throughout.

His closest woman friend, Mary Austin, told reporters “I think we had a loyalty to each other and a certain amount of love for each other.”

Mary was often with Freddie in his final days. “He had terrible suffering,” she says, “Mental and emotional suffering as well as physical, especially in the last few days. He couldn’t eat and he was under heavy sedation.”

He didn’t want his mother and father to see him at the last. It was eight days prior to his death that Freddie's mother last saw him.

“Even though we knew the end was coming it has still come very much as a shock,” Mary says, “I am still finding it hard to find words for myself, let alone to share.

“Over the last few months he came to know the end was coming. He faced it with incredible bravery but he did suffer.

“He kept his sense of humour right up until the end. I don’t think he was lonely, he was just very private. He was surrounded by people that really cared about him.

“I loved him very much and one doesn’t inspire that kind of love from nowhere.”

It says something for the force of Freddie’s personality and the power of his music, that many fans who may never have met him, feel almost as great a loss as his most intimate friends. What greater tribute can there be?

In accordance with Freddie's wishes, donations should be sent to the AIDS support group, The Terence Higgins Trust, PO Box 40, London WC1X 8JU.

MEMORIES OF MERCURY

Stars from all branches of the entertainment industry have paid tribute to the memory of Freddie Mercury. Here are a few of the things they have said...

DJ Tony Blackburn, who was a neighbour of Mercury’s for many years, commented, “All I can say is that I am very, very sad.”

The TV personality and record producer, Jonathan King said, “Freddie was without doubt the most outrageous star that rock ever produced. We could badly do with more like him now.”

Phil Collins had this to say: “This is a tragedy. I had the greatest admiration and a lot of affection for him.”

Peter Straker, a singer currently starring in the touring version of Phantom Of the Opera, said, “We worked together on three of my albums. He was a perfectionist and his inventiveness coupled with a meticulous attention to detail brought me enormous extra satisfaction.”

A spokesperson for Hollywood superstar, Elizabeth Taylor said, “Miss Taylor is distressed that yet another comparatively young person has succumbed to this terrible disease. She has lost so many colleagues to AIDS but is determined to keep on raising research money until it is conquered. Her sympathy goes out to his family and those around him.”

Diana Ross expressed her admiration for Freddie, praising his honesty in admitting to having AIDS. “There is still a stigma attached to the disease,” she said, “And it was wonderful for him to have done that. I have lost a lot of showbiz friends to the disease. I only wish there was a cure.”

Rock singer and would-be politician, Screaming Lord Sutch said, “We have no one else left life him except Mick Jagger. Like Presley, he had the looks, physique, movement and that outrageous voice. It was almost like he had too much talent to pack into one body.”

Elton John said, “Freddie Mercury was an incredibly innovative singer and front man for a band. He was a very dear friend of mine and it was a privilege to have known him for some of his life. He was very funny, extremely outrageous and very kind. And he was a great musician. Quite simply he was one of the most important figures over the past twenty years. I will miss him, we will all miss him, for his music and his humanity. Freddie Mercury was something special.”

Sara Dallin of Bananarama said, “This is so sad, a great tragedy. He was a favourite performer.”

TV personality, Jonathan Ross said, “It’s a great shame that Freddie died this way. I met Freddie two years ago to present him with an award and he seemed a very nice guy. I’ll remember him for We’re The Champions — a classic record.”

George Michael was said to be shocked and saddened by the news of Freddie's death. He said, “Freddie was a huge source of inspiration to me. I religiously attended Queen shows year after year.”

DJ Kenny Everett, said, “Freddie was a genius.” He also commented wryly, “He burnt the candle at both ends — and in the middle.”

Francis Rossi of Status Quo said, “I’m shattered.”

David Bowie said, “We will all miss him a lot. He made a great contribution.”

DJ and journalist, Paul Gambaccini said, “He really gave life and showmanship to the fore. He could hold an audience in the palm of his hand.”

Singer-songwriter, Neil Sedaka said, “If you loved music, you loved Freddie Mercury. He was a stunning showman who will be truly missed.”

Singing superstar, Cher, said, “Oh my God. I’m devastated. It’s such a huge shock.”

Montserrat Caballe, for whom Freddie wrote the song Barcelona, said, “I’m beside myself with grief. I loved Freddie as a friend and I respected him as a musician.”

Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon and Queen’s manager, Jim Beach, released the following statement after Freddie’s death: “We have lost the greatest and most beloved member of our family. We feel overwhelming grief that he has gone, sadness that he should be cut down at the height of his creativity, but above all great pride in the courageous way that he lived and died.

“It has been a privilege for us to have shared such magical times. as soon as we are able we would like to celebrate his life in the style to which he was accustomed."

The ‘60s singer and ‘90s entrepreneur, Ave Clerk was with Freddie when he died. He said, “He wanted his music to last forever. It’s his legacy. His music and wonderful videos will go on and on. It was very peaceful at the end. I am sure he is now looking down on all of us from a peaceful place. there will never be another Freddie — he was a one-off. He was like a rare gem or a rarepainting. there will never be another like him. I’m proud to have called him a friend. We all feel blessed to have known him.” Clerk also commented, “He wasn’t a tragic figure. He kept his sense of humour and would always be making people laugh.”

GOING SLIGHTLY MAD

Freddie led an extraordinary life. Here we list a few facts, both offbeat and poignant, sad and funny. Just a few more things to remember him by.

Perhaps one of the great films that was never made was Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom Of The Opera with Freddie singing the title role. Lloyd Webber had hoped to cast Freddie in a forthcoming film of that musical. He has said, “The whole of Hollywood was desperate for Freddie to take the part. He would have been brilliant. He was a master of his craft.”

Who was Larry Lurex? Well, believe it or not, Freddie Mercury was responsible for the vocals of the Glam Era’s most mysterious rival to Gary Glitter. It happened in June, 1973 when the record producer, Robin Cable, recorded the song, ‘I Can Hear Music’ in the style of the great rock’n’roll producer, Phil Spector. Queen happened to be working in the same studios at the time and Freddie was persuaded to add his vocals to the mix. The song was subsequently attributed to Lary Lurex.

Queen were the first band ever to have four albums in the UK Top 20 at one time. The albums were Queen, Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack and Night At The Opera.

There are so many outrageous stories about Freddie that it’s difficult to tell where the truth ands and the fiction begins. One of the oft-told tales is that he would invite people to bed by explaining “It sleeps six so if we get bored with each other we can send for help!”

Freddie celebrated his 45th birthday on September 5th, 1991. He originally planned a major party but, as his health waned, he changed his plans. The party was cancelled.

Freddie loved Persian cats. His six cats are featured on the cover of the album, Innuendo. He also kept Japanese Koi carp at his home.

Queen gained an entry in the Guiness Book Of Records as Britain's highest paid executives.

In spite of their immense success, Queen has only got to the top of the UK singles charts alone on two occasions — with Bohemian Rhapsody and in January of this year with Innuendo. Their only other chart topping single was the duet with David Bowie, Under Pressure. Queen did get to Number 2 in 1984 with Radio Ga-ga, though. They were kept off the top by Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s Relax.

Freddie has twice been awarded the Ivor Novello award for songwriting.

Mercury was for his lavish gifts and outlandish parties. He once hired Concorde to fly over the Atlantic while he threw an exclusive party inside. One of his parties featured dwarf servants who handed guests cocaine from small bowls. After the Wembley show in 1987, he hired a body painter to paint uniforms onto otherwise naked ‘bell boys’ serving at a party. According to legend, Mercury gave Cartier watches as keepsakes even to lovers of just one night’s duration! And he once gave a £25,000 Mercedes to an air steward who was attentive to him on one flight.

Queen’s Greatest Hits is one of the all time Top 10 best selling albums. It has sold more than one and a half million copies.

Although Queen weren’t the first group to make a pop promotional film or video, there can be no doubt that their stunning video for Bohemian Rhapsody really started the whole pop video craze. Queen were also the first band to release a collection of promo videos as a home video set. This was the Greatest Flix collection.

The video for fat Bottomed Girls featured an estimated 200 naked girls on bikes!

Freddie made no secret of the fact that he had amassed a considerable fortune. Queen has made more than £100 million, while Freddie himself made more than £25 million. His Kensington home is said to be worth around £4 million.

ARE YOU READY, FREDDIE?

They were the band of a generation. Twenty years of glorious music is what they have left us. This is how it came about.

By a horrible, tragic irony, 1991 should have been a year of celebration for Queen. Formed in 1971, the band expected to celebrate their 20 years in music this year. But 1991 was not a year for celebration.

Queen’s 20 year reign was marked by a few tokens of their achievement, however. There was the anniversary album, Great Hits II, the video, Greatest Flix Il and a photographic book, Greatest Pix II — all released on October 28th.

And, there was also their 17th album release, Innuendo. This album came out in February and contains the four singles, Innuendo, I’m Going Slightly Mad, Headlong and The Show Must Go On — this last one being Queen's 40th single release.

Mercury once said, “I think the reason we’ve stayed together so long is because none of us want to leave. If you leave it's like you’re being a coward. As long as the people still buying the music then it's OK. When they stop buying our records then I’ll say goodbye,do something else. Become a strip artist or something.”

He never needed to do that, of course. Because people never stopped buying his music. They are still buying it and will do so for years to come.

So that's the story up to date in 1991. Now a brief look back at the start of it all. Queen formed with their final line-up in 1971. But Freddie's story goes back a wee bit beyond that...

1946

Freddie Mercury was born on September 5th, 1946 in Zanzibar. His real name was Frederick Bulsara. His family lived in India during Freddie’s childhood years and he studied the Bombay Grammar School for nine years.

1958

In 1958, the Bulsara family moved to England and bought a house in Feltham.

1967

He later went to the Ealing College of Art to study graphics and it was here that he met fellow student, Tim Staffell.

Tim and Freddie soon realised that they shared a common ambition — to make their mark in the world of rock music. However, when Tim formed a group called Smile along with one of his old friends, Brian May, Freddie was left out of it! However, a third musician did join the band — a drummer recruited after answering an ad on the college notice board — he is Roger Taylor.

1968

Although Freddie was not directly involved with Smile, he was one of the band’s great supporters. Indeed, with the benefit of hindsight, we can see that Smile was really Queen in the making — even though without Freddie.

During 1968, Smile worked hard playing small gigs around London and began to gain a following of fans.

1969

The first big break for the band came in 1969 when they recorded a single on the Mercury label. They had been given this chance after the American producer, Lou Reizner, had seen Smile perform at the Speakeasy. The single was recorded at the Trident studios, London, and was produced by John Anthony. The A-side was the song, ‘Earth’, with ‘Step On Me’ on the flip side. The single was released only in the States but it was not a success.

The record contract with Mercury was terminated shortly afterwards.

1970

In 1970, Tim Staffell decided to leave Smile and, for a time, joined a band called Humpy Bong.

Meanwhile, Freddie had started performing as a vocalist with a band called Wreckage. Roger and Brian saw him perform on stage and realised that Freddie had both the talent and the charisma they needed to take their band out of the small time and into the big time.

1971

In 1971, Freddie agreed to join them and suggested that they should change the name to Queen. At first Brian and Roger weren’t at all convinced by this name. But Freddie eventually convinced them. And the name stuck.

Queen then advertised for a fourth member for the band — a bassist. After auditioning seven applicants, they eventually decided on John Deacon.

Queen played their first live gig in the summer of 1971 at that glittering venue — the College of Estate Management Hall! About one hundred people turned up. Most of the audience were friends or friends-of-friends of the band. More small concerts are played later in that summer, many of them in and around Roger’s home town of Truro in Cornwall.

1972

During the early part of 1972, Queen spent much of their time trying to promote themselves, let the record industry know they existed and try to get a recording contract.

Eventually, they were spotted by a staff engineer at Trident Studios — a man by the name of John Anthony — the very same man who had produced Smile’s single. While Anthony had seen some promise in Smile, he had not been prepared for the stunning burst of talent he was to see in Queen. He and his colleague, Roy Thomas Baker, were particularly impressed by the song, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’. Scenting a major band just waiting to be discovered, they report back to Trident. Towards the end of the year, Queen signed a contract with Trident and began work on their debut album.

1973

In March of 1973, Queen signed a deal with EMI. However, it wasn’t until July of that year that the band’s first single, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, was finally released. The album ‘Queen’ was released during the same month. Later that year, the band did a tour supporting ‘70s rock heroes, Mott The Hoople.

1974

In 1974, Queen really started to make a big impression, gaining wide public support. Their success was confirmed with the release of the single ‘Seven Seas Of Rhye’ in February. The single made Number 10 in the charts and Queen made their first appearance on Top Of The Pops.

The story had just begun...

QUEEN - A RHAPSODY IN BLUE

The music has been with us for years. And right from the start it was great. It is only astonishing that the glories of early Queen did not eclipse the remainder of their output. But Queen and Freddie in particular — were never satisfied to repeat themselves or bask in the glory of yesterday's successes, they always wanted to do bigger and better things. And somehow, they usually managed to come up with the good too...

When Queen hit the music scene in the early ‘70s, the pop charts were dominated by the so called Glam groups. Artists ranging from the T.Rex and Sweet to Bowie and Roxy Music were loosely described as Glam.

When Queen came along, some people were determined to write them off as just jumping on the bandwagon. They certainly had the necessary image and style. But it didn't take much listening to realise that they also had something completely new.

After various delays, their debut album, Queen, was finally released in March 1973. And the music on it was little short of a revelation. This was not mere recycling of existing trends and fashions in rock music. It was a totally new sound. Hard rock, sophisticated harmonies and, above it all, Mercury's sharp-as-a-razor vocals.

As Glam faded in people's memories and most of the trend followers faded with them, just a few talented performers emerged to take their music in new directions. There was Bowie and Roxy, of course. And there were those Johnny Come latelys — Queen…

Listening to their first single, Brian May’s Keep Yourself Alive, you might think that the song was sure-fire hit. In fact, when it was released in July 1973, it flopped. Perhaps the public wasn't quite ready for Queen then.

That song and a short preview of the next single, the Mercury-penned Seven Seas of Rhye, both appeared on Queen’s debut album. Oddly enough, Seven Seas, in the full version, also appeared on the next album, Queen II.

At the time of the first album, Freddie had only half written the song, it seems. Roger Taylor explains, “We thought it was a nice tail out to the first album. We had the idea of starting the second album with the song. It would lead in nicely. In fact we ended the second album with the song. And it had changed a little since then. We released it as a single. It was so strong.”

In March, 1974, Seven Seas of Rhye entered the singles charts and stayed there for ten weeks. Its highest position was Number 10.

This was the breakthrough the band had been looking for. The second album, Queen II, entered the charts later that month, reaching as high as Number 5. In fact, it was only after the success of the second album that the first album finally got into the album charts too, reaching Number 24.

From then on, there was to be no looking back for Queen. Their third single stormed into the charts and ascended to the Number 2 position. And deservedly so. For this was the unforgettable Killer Queen.

The singles-buying public had never heard (or seen) anything like this before. Smooth, underplayed, theatrical and High Camp, the song was and still is one of the great rock classics. Both musically and lyrically, Killer Queen was precocious — “She keeps her Moet and Chandon in a pretty cabinet” indeed! It wasn’t at all the kind of thing you expected a hard rocking band to be singing about.

And when Mercury appeared on TV wearing furs, eyeliner and black nail varnish, the decadent image was complete!

The fourth single, Now I'm Here, was a creditable follow-up, even though it only got to Number 11 in the charts. But the single that came after that was one that would confirm Queen as one of all time great rock bands.

Released in October, 1975, Bohemian Rhapsody was a revolution in pop music. It merged hard rock traditions with a pastiche of opera. Mercury, naturally, took the romantic lead. His heart-rending vocals captured a doom-laden atmosphere that would hardly have been out of place in a Puccini drama such as Tosca or (more to the point, given the single's title) La Boheme.

The song, around six minutes in duration, was remarkably long for a single at the time it was released in 1975. It entered the charts on November the 8th, stayed there for no less than 17 weeks and deservedly attained the Number One position. It stayed at Number One for nine weeks. No single had achieved this since 1957 when Paul Anka had a massive hit with Diana.

The producer of Bohemian Rhapsody, Roy Thomas Baker, remembers the time he first heard Freddie experimenting with the song: “Freddie was sitting in his apartment and he said I've got this idea for a song,” Baker recalls, “And he sat down and he started playing the song and it was all going along good. Some words were missing and some bits of melody he still hadn't quite worked out but it was just the basic framework of the song. And then he stopped and he said ‘Now, dears, this is where the opera section comes in.’ I said ‘Oh my God!’”

Strange as it may seem, Mercury was originally unsure whether the song should be released as a single. He felt it was just too long. The DJ, Kenny Everett, recalls Mercury asking his advice at the time.

“I said, ‘Oh forget about it, it could be half an hour long — it’s still going to be a No. 1 for centuries.’,” Everett says.

“I remember him being so unsure about this piece of genius. It was very odd when you look at it in retrospect, because it was so great.

“It’s like Mozart saying, ‘I don’t know whether my clarinet concerto is going to take off.’

A string of successful singles followed Bohemian Rhapsody. The next one, still a favourite of many fans, was John Deacon’s You’re My Best Friend. Even so, no song seems to have dominated Queen's musical history in quite the same way as the Rhapsody.

In 1976, the band gave us Somebody To Love. In 1977, they released Tie Your Mother Down and, later in the year, We Are The Champions. The last one spent thee weeks at Number 2, only being kept off the top by Paul McCartney’s dirge-like Mull of Kintyre. It was also the song that helped to make Queen's name in America. It became their biggest hit to date in the US, when it got to Number 4 in the American charts.

We Are The Champions seems almost to have been written as a rallying song.

It’s been sung at rock concerts, football matches and, in 1991, it was even adopted as the Labour party’s official theme song at their party conference.

“It’s the most egotistical and arrogant song I’ve ever written,” Mercury once said.

It’s also one of the best ever rock anthems. When the song starts with Mercury's vocals over a characteristic piano sound, you could almost be forgiven for thinking that Queen was here returning to the pseudo-operatic sound of Bohemian Rhapsody. But soon the song goes in another direction entirely. Even so, like Rhapsody, the song bears the unmistakable hallmark of purest Mercury.

Queen has always been a band of songwriters and each member of the band has his own particular style. Keep Yourself Alive was a classic Brian May stormer, You’re My Best Friend carried some of the typical laid-back Deacon style. Later on in the Queen story, Roger Taylor would pen another major Queen single with the unforgettable Radio GaGa.

But it is perhaps Mercury himself who wrote most of the quintessential Queen songs — Seven Seas Of Rhye, Killer Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, Somebody To Love, We Are The Champions and many more besides.

“The trademark of Queen is that there happens to be four writers who write very different material,” Mercury once said, “And so it pleases a wider span than most other groups.”

He considered his main strength to be in the creation of melody.

“As far as lyric are concerned, I find them very difficult,” he said, “I find them quite a task. My strongest point is melody. I concentrate on melody and song structure and then the lyrics come afterwards.”

The next three singles, Spread Your Wings, the outrageous Fat Bottomed Girls and Don’t Stop Me Now all made their impact on the charts. The live version of Love Of My Life came next, although this only got to the lower levels of the charts peaking at a rather disappointing 63!

The one that followed that more than made up for this failure, however.

According to legend, Crazy Little Thing Called Love was composed by Freddie while he was lounging in the bathtub. It was recorded in around half an hour when the band went to Munich and wanted a song to ‘try out’ a new studio there.

More great singles followed — Save Me, Play The Game, Another One Bites The Dust and Flash — the theme from the modern updating of the Flash Gordon story, a film for which Queen composed the soundtrack.

Crazy Little Thing was one of the tracks taken from Queen's hugely successful album, The Game. This was their third chart-topping album. The first two being A Night At The Opera and A Day At the Races. The album entered the chart in July 1980 and stayed there for eighteen weeks.

There was no new album from Queen in 1981. However, the collection of Greatest Hits was brought out in October 1981 and once again got to the top of the album charts.

And then, in November 1981, Queen recorded a memorable joint venture with David Bowie. Under Pressure was to be only their second chart topper, their first being Bohemian Rhapsody. Not only was this a good Queen single but (some would say) was the best we’d heard from Bowie for many years. Not all Queen fans approved of this venture, it has to be admitted. And you'll either love the song or hate it. Whatever you feel, though, there can be no denying that the song is a unique and remarkable collaboration by two of the greatest rock talents to have emerged in the past couple of decades.

None of the next three singles achieved comparable success. Body Language, Las Palabras De Amor and Back Chat all languished outside the Top Ten. Indeed, of the trio, only Las Palabras even made the Top 20, with a top position at mere 17.

However, then came another massive hit with Roger Taylor’s Radio Ga Ga. Supported by a marvelous video, this single was only kept off the Top Of The Charts by the scandalous success of Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s much-banned Relax.

At about this time, Freddie also branched out on his own, releasing the single Love Kills, produced by electro-disco supremo, Giorgio Morroder.

Later came great singles like I Was Born To Love You and Freddie’s cover of the rock’n’roll classic, The Great Pretender.

There were more unforgettable Queen tracks to follow including John Deacon's marvelous I Want To Break Free which got to Number 3 in 1984, and was followed by Mercury’s It’s A Hard Life.

The album, Kind Of Magic, produced four hits — in addition to the title track, there was One Vision, Friends Will Be Friends and Who Wants To Live Forever.

The Queen Magic continued to develop right up to the latest original album, Innuendo which is packed with telling tracks including the bizarrely moving I Think I Going Slightly Mad and the poignant The Show Must Go On.

Innuendo seems to have been Freddie’s parting statement. It is a fitting way for one of rock’s greatest showmen to take his final bow.

#queen #queen band #roger taylor #freddie mercury #brian may #john deacon #queen scans #queencuttings.com #independent publication december 1991 #mary austin

[byneddiedingo]

Adam Driver and Golshifteh Farahani in Paterson (Jim Jarmusch, 2016) Cast: Adam Driver, Golshifteh Farahani, Barry Shabaka Henley, Rizwan Manji, William Jackson Harper, Chasten Harmon, Sterling Jerens, Method Man. Masatoshi Nagase. Screenplay: Jim Jarmusch. Poems by Ron Padgett. Cinematography: Frederick Elmes. Production design: Mark Friedberg. There have been lots of movies about poets. Some of them, like Jane Campion's 2009 film about John Keats, Bright Star, are even good. But when have we ever seen a movie about poetry, let alone one as good as Jim Jarmusch's Paterson? It's an homage of sorts to William Carlos Williams, who is perhaps the greatest claim to fame for the city of Paterson, N.J., and especially to his minimalist meditations on the quotidian: celebrations of things like refrigerated plums and white chickens beside a rain-glazed wheelbarrow. The protagonist of Paterson (which is also the title of Williams's not-so-minimalist long poem) is Paterson, a bus driver in Paterson. He, too, writes poems about ordinary things such as Ohio Blue Tip matchboxes. His wife, Laura (who, as we are reminded, shares a name with the subject of Petrarch's sonnets), designs textiles with black-and-white patterns and longs to be a country-music singer and to start a cupcake business. They have a funny-clever-mischievous bulldog named Marvin. If all this sounds terribly cutesy, it doesn't feel that way while you're watching it. (No, I shouldn't speak for everyone. Let's just say it didn't feel that way for me.) It's kept grounded by Jarmusch's treatment of his characters, by a tinge of melancholy perhaps, or a sense that we're living in one of Jarmusch's urban constructs -- a Paterson of the imagination, like the Memphis or New Orleans or Cleveland Jarmusch imagined in his earlier films, places that look like the real thing but aren't. There are moments when Paterson gets sentimental, but it never gets mushy -- it gets Jarmuschy. It celebrates the poetic imagination that can find an emotional world in a familiar detail, as when Paterson, on one of his nighttime visits to the neighborhood bar, passes a laundromat where Method Man is composing a rap (or however you say it -- this is not my scene) to a beat provided by the slosh of a washing machine. The film would be nothing without surefooted direction, but it also benefits immeasurably from Adam Driver's sensitive, funny performance and from the delicacy of the interplay between him and Golshifteh Farahani as Laura. Watch, for example, the way Paterson struggles not to offend Laura after she serves him a brussels-sprout-and-cheddar-cheese pie for dinner and tries to beguile him into a compliment on her creation. Nothing really terrible happens in Paterson: A gun is pulled in a bar by a frustrated lover, but it turns out to be a toy; some guys in a passing car warn Paterson, who is walking Marvin, that bulldogs are prime targets for dognapping, but it seems to be just a warning and not a threat; Paterson's bus breaks down, causing him an anxious moment because he feels responsible for his passengers, but help arrives. The big calamity of the film occurs near the end: Laura has constantly urged Paterson to make photocopies of the poems he keeps in manuscript in his notebook, but before he can do this, Marvin, who seems to be jealous of anything not centered on him (he growls whenever Paterson and Laura kiss), chews up the notebook. Paterson is dejected by the loss of the poems, but an encounter with a Japanese professor* who is visiting the city to pay homage to Williams reminds him that the poetic imagination is universal and indestructible. (It also helps that the professor gives Paterson a fresh notebook.) *Played by Masatoshi Nagase, who was the young Japanese tourist in Jarmusch's Mystery Train (1989).

#Paterson #Jim Jarmusch #Adam Driver #Golshifteh Farahani

[frosthidden]

RULES. share four songs  /  pieces of music that represent your chara.  ( repost, don’t reblog )

DEAR GOD - xtc

alice is a former irish catholic. she went to church growing up, and when her mom died, her faith faltered and died with her. alice didn’t understand how a god who was supposed to be merciful could kill someone as good as her mother but leave awful people alive. it didn’t seem fair and it made her question her faith. why would god leave the hungry to starve or the homeless homeless? why would god create supes and not make them all supes? even in the years after she lost her faith, sometimes alice still finds herself hoping there is a god up there who’ll fix things, even when she knows if she wants something fixed she has to do it herself.

i also think that “did you make man-kind/after we made you?/and the devil /too!” is very emblematic of vought making heroes out of people who might otherwise be ordinary, and thus deifying the supes they made, but at the end of the day vought is just a company run and made by ordinary humans. vought made themselves god after they were made and they used their power as “god” to make villains as well.

DEFYING GRAVITY - wicked musical

alice loves musicals and wicked has always been one of her favorites. some of her happiest memories involve baking with her mom and sister and singing along to show tunes.

besides alice having a deep attachment to wicked and defying gravity, i think alice is a lot like elphaba. she’s lived as an outsider all her life, and though what marks her as an outsider is less obvious than what makes elphaba an outsider, alice decides to leave the life she knows and ‘defy gravity’ first when she runs away from home and then when she joins the fight against vought. she’s “through with playing by the rules/ of someone else's game” and wants to make her own life and make her own way instead of embarking on the path vought would have chosen for her.

HOUSE ON A HILL - the pretty reckless

the song is about government control and how one day even the children will be indoctrinated. personalities will be numbed and everyone will conform and then they’ll die. the song is desperate and haunting, but the singer, like alice, insists on keeping her soul and her personality intact in-spite of it all.

VICES - mothica

alice is an addict, she numbs herself to the pain of being alive and alone. with pills, sex and drinking. she knows she’s not okay and she knows the things she does aren’t good for her, but she just wants to “fill up the silence.” it doesn’t work though, and she’s left with her thoughts and herself every time. 

tagged by : stole from @rooftop-blues & @developedniche

tagging: viewers like you!

#death tw #religion tw #addiction tw #alcohol tw #drug use tw #all of these are depressing except defying gravity damn #tired of trying to iron out my creases . . . [ DASH GAMES ]* #a wealth of wasted ability . . . [ META & COMMENTARY ]* #queue don’t know it’s breaking my heart . . . [ QUEUE ]*

[lorenzlund]

He ain't weak. He's a man! And his home was the higway! (Oh yeah? Say, say!!)

The highway was everything to him. The highway took his life!

*original song: 'Er ist ein Kerl Ein ganzer Mann' by Gunter Gabriel (German country in the 70ths).

'Ordinary Singer' (Album: 1st Goodtimes No More Lonesome Blues)

Die 'Operation am offenen Herzen' durchgeführt durch Ärzte. *Von diesem existieren aber immer zwei Formen nebeneinander! (Der Mann besitzt davon immer zwei). Welche würde dann dabei operiert? Könnte der Patient sich dessen dann auch wirklich immer sicher sein, eine zuvor noch vielleicht gemeinsam getroffene Vereinbarung, zwischen Ärzteteam und ihm, welches genau von beiden es auch hier dann wieder sein soll, sie würde dann auch jedes Mal so eingehalten werden?

Wenn es sie je irgendwann überhaupt geben sollte, diese Form einer jeweils vielleicht vorherigen noch schriftlich fixierten und getroffenen Vereinbarung zwischen jeweiligem Patient und seinem Operateur - in Form eines Vertrages oder Vertragswerkes, welcher dann für Bestand für beide Seiten hätte, und an den sich dann so von allen auch gehalten werden müsste!! Denn bislang tut sie es ja klar so auch weiterhin noch nicht! Es wäre dennoch dringend erforderlich, dass es sie bald gäbe, in meinen Augen, diese Form von Vereinbarungen, vor allem in der Herzchirugie!

#neuer deutscher Country #Der Brief kam aus Tipperay #1st Goodtimes No more Lonesome Blues #bald erscheinende neue Alben #Mann und Frau von der Erde #menschliche Medizin #der Mensch #nicht anerkannte Studiengänge und Diplome #Studieren im Ausland #Hochschule der Planeten (Zarat) #Heavy Metal Fans und Bands in der DDR #Zimmerpflanzen #plants & eggs #das angemietete Zimmer (aus dem Bordell) #junges Gemüse und Frischfleisch

[glknight]

I spent too long writing fetish stories

More about venting than it is about confessing.

---

Over the past 6+ years, I spent more time writing niche fetish stories instead of what I actually wanted to do. Mostly because I wanted to see those stories in the world, but partly because everyone points out that writing fetish material is an easy way to get paid.

Over six years, I wrote approximately SEVEN BOOKS worth of adult material. And I didn't even see a fucking DIME. Even when I was pushing a Patreon, no one gave a damn about supporting me. When I was putting installments out week after week after week, giving complex worlds and backstories and more.

Some, I'm holding on to and want to turn into full-on mainstream material.

VERITY - A tall, muscular woman who acts as a Problem Solver for whoever crosses her door. A former Black Ops agent who was called "The Angel Of Death" by her unit, Verity now seeks to live a life just helping people. But when you're a self-touted "Problem Solver", you find yourself caught up in all sorts of battles to protect the lives of ordinary people...

BLOCKBUSTER - Set in a far flung future, a professional Fighter named Marco Mercado is hired to train the daughter of a celebrity. This girl, Brandy Bustamante, is not any ordinary woman. She's the daughter of Braden "Blockbuster" Bustamante, a megastar who is part of a specially made line of 10 ft. tall powerhouse humans called "Geners" (Genetically Enhanced Workers) that were made to work on the most hostile of worlds for the Seven Corporations Of Man before being repurposed for things like Sports Competitions.

But their meeting is more than just circumstantial, kickstarting the unraveling of a millennia old conspiracy involving Corporate greed and the truth about human existence in an Epic Space Opera love story.

I'M WITH THE GODDESSES - Dragged out for another night of local shows, college student Brandon isn't really expecting much. But when he sees the opening act for the All Female fronted show, a group of misfit ladies named The Goddesses, it's closer to a religious experience for him.

Imagine Brandon's surprise when that turns out to be literal, as the lead singer and front woman for the band, a mohawk brandishing spitfire named Layla Scalzi who Brandon gets a very strong sense of deja vu from, tells him he's meant to be their Acolyte. Now pulled into a cosmic Battle Of The Bands called The Ascension Game, he and the odd mix of Punk Rock Pantheon members compete against gods and goddesses from all other genres in a bid for the right to ascend to the position of official gods over all reality.

THE SWORD OF MONSTERS - A professional monster hunter named Ezel heads to a small village where it's rumored that bizarre creatures are slaughtering locals and travelers alike. Once there, he finds that the rumors are not only true, but far more bizarre and deadlier than he imagined. But nothing as bizarre as a white haired waif in a blue outfit named Mazia, carrying a sword bigger than herself, who joins him in his investigation...

---

Outside of these four stories (Blockbuster will become a straight up Sci Fi novel, the others will hopefully become comics), I'm abandoning literally every other story. Stories which include Humanity's struggle for survival against extradimensional aliens who are basically Nazi Terfs, a story about a loving family caught in a very bizarre situation involving gene therapy treatments, one involving a college student and the very strange goddess that is haunting her, an erotic ecological body horror story about a corporation trying to remove a thorn in their side by using his wife and more.

Take it from me, whoever tries to convince you that creating pornographic content is a sure way to earn money is fucking lying to you. People want free shit, and they don't really care when it starts or stops coming in.

#writing #venting #smut #writer #letting go #only making stuff for me now #though the 18+ stuff was also mainly for me #cheapskates #broke #cautionary tale #personal

[stirlingmoss]

Tavern

Cyprus, 1974

The Happy Fig was a popular hang-out frequented by Greeks, Turks, Armenians , Maronites, UN soldiers and visitors to the island who quickly fell in step with the local ways. It was run by two partners, a Greek Cypriot and a Turkish Cypriot, both in their forties. Yiorgos and Yusuf had opened the place in 1955 with money borrowed from families and friends, and kept their business afloat, even managed to thrive, despite the tensions and troubles besetting the island on all sides.

The entrance of the tavern was partially covered with twisting vines of honeysuckle. Inside, solid blackened beams ran the length and breadth of the ceiling, from which hung garlands of garlic, onion, drying herbs, chilli peppers and cured sausages. There were twenty-two tables with mismatched chairs, a carved wooden bar with oak stools, and a charcoal grill at the back from which the smell of flatbread wafted daily, along with the enticing aromas of cooking meats. With more tables out on the patio, the tavern was packed every night.

It was a place with history and small miracles of its own. In here, stories of triumphs and travails were shared, long-standing accounts squared, laughter and tears combined, admissions and promises made, sins and secrets confessed. Between its walls, strangers turned into friends, friends into lovers; old flames rekindled, broken hearts mended or shattered once again. Many a baby on the island had been conceived after a merry evening in the tavern. The Happy Fig had touched people's lives in so many unknown ways.

When Defne, following Kostas, walked in for the first time, she knew none of this. Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, she eyed her surroundings curiously. The place seemed to have been decorated by someone who clearly worshipped the colour blue. The entrance was bright azure, with dangling evil eye beads and horseshoes nailed up. The chequered tablecloths were navy and white, the curtains a vivid sapphire, the tiles on the walls adorned with patterns in aquamarine, and even the wide, languid ceiling fans were of a similar hue. Two columns were crammed with framed photos of the celebrities who had visited the restaurant over the years: singers, actresses, TV stars, footballers, fashion designers,journalists , boxing champions ...

Defne was surprised to see a parrot perched high up on a cabinet, absorbed in eating a biscuit, a short-tailed exotic bird with a yellow head and bright green plumage. But it was what she found at the centre of the tavern that immediately caught her attention. Nestling in the middle of the dining area, growing through a cavity in the roof, was a tree.

'A fig!' An expression of delighted surprise crossed her features. 'Is that real?'

'Oh, you bet it is,' came a voice from behind them.

Turning round, Defne saw two men of medium height and build, standing side by side. One of them, with close-cut hair and a silver crucifix around his neck, doffed an imaginary cap in her direction. 'You should see this tree at night-time, with all the lights on. It looks electrified, magical! This is no ordinary tree -more than ninety years old, but she still bears the sweetest figs in the whole town.'

The other man, probably of similar age, had a well-groomed moustache and a clean-shaven chin marked by a pronounced cleft; his hair fell in long tresses to his shoulders. He gestured towards Kostas and said, 'So this is the f-f-friend you were telling us about.'

Kostas smiled. 'Yes, this is Defne. '

'Oh, she's T-T-Turkish?' said the man, his face changing. 'You didn't say.'

'Why?' Defne asked instantly and, when she didn't get a response right away, her gaze hardened. 'Do you have a problem with that?'

The first man chimed in, 'Hey, don't get upset! Yusuf himself is Turkish.

He didn 't mean anything, he just speaks slowly. If you rush him, you're going to make him stutter.'

Pursing his lips in an attempt not to smile, Yusuf nodded in agreement.

He leaned towards his friend and murmured something inaudible in his ear, which made him chuckle.

'Yusuf is asking, does she always get angry this easily?' 'Oh, she does,' said Kostas with a grin.

'God help us, then!' said the first man. He took Defne's hand and squeezed it gently as he said, 'My name is Yiorgos, by the way. The tree doesn't have a name. The parrot is called Chico. Now I must warn you about him. Don't be surprised if he lands on your shoulder and tries to snatch your food. Terribly spoiled, that bird! We think he must have lived in a palace or somewhere before he found us. Anyway, welcome to our humble place.'

'Thank you,' said Defne, slightly embarrassed by her outburst. 'Now you two follow me.'

He ushered them to a room at the back where they kept boxes of potatoes , baskets of apples and onions, harvests from local orchards and casks of beer. There was a small table in a comer with two chairs, prepared well ahead of their arrival, and a green velvet curtain at the entrance that could be pulled for privacy. 'Not very luxurious, I'm afraid,' said Yiorgos. 'But at least no one will disturb you youngsters here. You can talk as much as you want.' 'This is great, thank you,' said Kostas. 'So what shall we bring you to eat?' 'Oh, we don't want anything.' Kostas fingered the few coins in his pocket. 'Just water.' 'Yes,' said Defne firmly. 'We are fine with water.' She had barely finished speaking when a waiter appeared, carrying a tray laden with stuffed vine leaves, shrimp saganaki, chicken souvlaki with tzatziki sauce, moussaka, pitta bread and a jug of water. 'Yusuf sent you these, on the house,' said the waiter. 'He asked me to tell you to eat!'

A minute later, finally alone in the room, for the first time in months not having to worry about who might see them and inform their families, Kostas and Defne looked at each other and began to laugh. An incredulous laughter, the kind of effervescent lightness that only comes after constant distress and fear.

They ate slowly, savouring every morsel. They talked incessantly, making the most of what language could offer, as if they didn't trust words would still be available come tomorrow. Meanwhile, the smells and sounds inside the premises intensified. Shadows from the candlelight on the table played across the whitewashed walls. Every time the door to the tavern opened, and a new draught of wind fluttered the curtains, the same shadows danced a little dance just for them.

They heard customers arrive. The sounds of cutlery, idle chatter. Then a plate smashing, followed by a woman 's laughter. Someone began to sing in English.

So kiss me and smilefor me, Tell me that you 'll waitfor me ...

Others joined in. A spontaneous, loud, rowdy chorus. They were British soldiers, many of them just out of school, their voices rising and falling, hanging on to each other for support and camaraderie, a sense of home, belonging. Young men trapped in a zone of conflict, stuck on an island where they did not speak the languages, nor really understand the subtleties of the political landscape; servicemen fulfilling orders, knowing one of them might not make it to tomorrow.

Two hours later, Yusuf opened the kitchen door and quietly let them out. 'C-c-come back. We don't always get young lovers here, you'll b-bring us luck.'

As they stepped into the evening breeze, they smiled at their host, suddenly shy. Young lovers! They had never thought of themselves in those terms, but now that someone had said it out loud, of course, they knew, that's exactly what they were.

Fig Tree

And that's how she came into my life -Defne. It was a quiet afternoon. I was dozing off inside the tavern, enjoying a moment of calm before the evening rush, when the door opened and they strode in, slipping from the bright glare of sunlight into the cool shade. 'A fig! Is that real?' That's what I remember Defne saying as soon as her eyes landed on me. The surprise on her face was unmistakable. I perked up, curious to know the person who had made this remark.  Vanity, perhaps, but I have always been interested in what humans see - or fail to see -in us.

I remember Yiorgos saying something about how I looked electrified at night. He used the word 'magical'. I was pleased to hear that. It was true. In the evenings, when the staff turned on the lamps and lit the candles placed at various comers, a golden light reflected off my bark, glowing through my leaves. My branches stretched out confidently, as if everything around here was an extension of me, not only the trestle tables and wooden chairs, but also the paintings on the walls, the strings of garlic hanging from the ceiling, the waiters scooting back and forth, the customers who came from diverse parts of the world, even Chico flying around in a blaze of colours, all of it happening under my supervision.

I had nothing to worry about back then. My figs were juicy, plentiful, soft to the touch, and my leaves were strong and spotlessly green, the newer ones larger than the older, a sign of healthy growth. Such was my allure that I even uplifted the customers' mood. The furrows in their foreheads relaxed, the edges in their tones smoothed out. Perhaps what they said about happiness was true, after all: it was contagious. In a tavern named The Happy Fig, with a blooming tree at the centre, it was hard not to feel hopeful.

I know I should not be saying this, I know it is wrong of me, unloving and ungrateful , but since that fateful afternoon many years ago there have been more than a few times when I've regretted meeting Defne and I wished she had never crossed our threshold. Maybe then our beautiful tavern would not have been consumed by flames, destroyed. Maybe I would still be that same happy tree.

#P96-103 #The Island of Missing Trees: Fig Tree #Elif Shafak