6 comments/ 14436 views/ 2 favorites Blues Fusion By: Cromagnonman "Hey Mike, can I come to your band practice this afternoon?" Mike played bass in this garage band that was working towards stardom, at least that was what he told everyone. "Why?" "I heard Huw talking to a couple of his friends and they seem to think that you're pretty good." What I didn't tell him was that they all thought the lead singer was a 'babe' and that the rest of the band was sort of okay. "Okay, but don't get in the way." He was packing his bass and amp into their cases ready to load them into his car. It wasn't a long drive to the warehouse that they used for band practice and there were two other cars parked outside. I carried his bass while Mike lugged the amp, Leon the drummer was making minor adjustments to his setup while Simon the guitarist was tuning his instrument, there was no sign yet of Vanessa the lead singer. Apparently she was usually late. Five minutes later she strolled in and took her place at the mike, there was no apology for her lateness, and she just looked at them and said, "I want to run through 'Don't Leave Me Now' ." She waited for the intro and then began to sing in a sweet voice. It sucked. The lyrics were about a girl trying to stop her boyfriend from leaving her and she made it sound like a love-song. I think she got the gig because she was a babe and, as she sang she swayed like a babe. The rest of the band was blinded by her beauty. "Where did you find Vanessa?" Mike and I were on our way home. "She's Simon's cousin, why?" "Oh, it's just that, you know, she's got a nice voice and she's got the dance moves down pat, but it's just that what she does doesn't fit the songs. You guys have written great lyrics about really deep issues and the music fits that, sort of soul/blues fusion, and she's singing pop songs." "I suppose that you can do better." "Oh, I don't think my voice is as pure as hers, but your stuff doesn't need pure, it needs a raw edge to it." I launched into my take on 'Don't Leave Me Now'. He said nothing until I'd finished. "Wow! Don't put yourself down Fee, (short for Fiona) that's exactly how that song should be sung. Do you know any of our other songs?" "I know them all, but don't get any ideas about me singing for the band, I'm going to finish my studies and that's an end to it." I was serious and nothing was going to stop me completing my media studies, the music industry was a fickle one at best and many singers and bands have given their all only to find that tastes change and they end up with nothing. I wasn't going down that path. Robbie Burns once said; 'The best laid plans of mice and men will often go astray', well what he actually said was, 'The best laid plans o' mice and men do oft times gang a glee.' And my best laid plans were scuttled by my scheming brother. First he rings Simon and Leon telling them to come over and that he had a surprise for them, and then he set up a backing tape of 'Don't Me Leave Now' without Vanessa's vocals. When the others arrived he explained that he thought that I had a better voice for their songs than Vanessa and that they should listen to me sing. When they agreed he came to my room and literally dragged me to his room and thrust a mike into my hands. "Sing 'Don't Leave Me Now' exactly like you did on the way home." "I don't think I can, I've never sung in front of people before." "Just forget all about them, they don't exist, it's just you and me." "I'll try." He pushed the play button on the tape deck and I sang. I was a little shaky at first but then I got into it and by the time I was half way through the song I had forgotten all about my fears of singing in public. There was silence as the music stopped, the three of them looked at each other then Simon broke the silence. "Wow!" That was it, just 'Wow!' Then they all started talking at once and the general gist of the conversation was about how soon could I be ready to sing and how were they going to ease Vanessa out of the band. "Look guys, before you get carried away, I've already explained to Mike that I want to finish my studies before I think about any career choices and that includes the music industry, so forget it." "What if you defer your studies for a year and if we haven't made it by then you can quit and go back to them?" "No." I was putting my foot down on this. "How about this, we have a gig coming up on Saturday week, you do that for us and see how you feel after that. If you still don't want to join us then that's okay. There'll be no hard feelings if you decide not to." "I'll think about it, okay?" "How do we dump Vanessa?" I heard Mike ask Simon as I left the room. That was their problem, dealing with her fragile ego, I didn't envy them putting up with the inevitable tantrum. We had three band practice sessions leading up to the gig and I had to admit that the reception that I got from the guys as I worked my way through the repertoire really built my confidence. My opinion of the music scene was confirmed on Saturday night. We were the warm-up act for the headliners. Shank's Pony was a group that had been around for several years and that had even had a top ten single and an album that charted in the top twenty's. They were head-bangers of the old school and I was scared that their fans mightn't like our stuff. Oh well here goes. The MC yelled into the mike, "Ladies and gentlemen, would you give it up for Blues Fusion!" Silence descended over the crowd as we launched into our first song; 'The Last Train' all about a guy who was returning from a deployment overseas and was heading home to his family only to find his girl with someone else. He just managed to catch the last train out of town. At first the audience was looking at each other as if to say 'what the fuck is this crap' but as we got into it the mood changed and by the end of the song they were with us. By the end of our twenty minute set they were yelling and screaming for more. I felt good. Shank's Pony ambled onto the stage to rapturous applause from their die-hard fans and the whole place vibrated to the sounds of their first song, but there was something wrong, the loudness couldn't quite hide the fact that they weren't in time and the lead singer was slurring his words. There was a smattering of applause at the end of their first song and by the time they had finished the third the silence was deafening. A voice from the back of the crowd started it; "Get off you has-beens!" The lead singer reacted angrily. "Fuck off! You wouldn't know good music if it bit you on the arse!" He stumbled and almost fell of the stage. "You're pissed or stoned or both. We paid good money to hear the old Shank's Pony not some broken down piss pots. Get off!" They tried again but it sounded as if they were all playing a different song. The sound system was turned off and the MC came onto the stage. "Let's hear it for Shank's Pony!" While this was going on the manager had stopped us packing away our gear. "Can you guys do another set for us? There's going to be blood on the floor unless we can give the punters their money's worth." So we went back on and did another set followed by yet another plus encores. It was close to midnight by the time we had finished and my throat was telling me to stop. I gave the finger across the throat sign to tell the guys that I couldn't go on and we finished with 'Don't Leave Me Now' for the third time. The crowd wanted more but the MC could see that we were spent. He jumped up onto the stage with his hands up for silence. "Will you give it up for Blues Fusion! It's way past their bed time but in a fortnight's time they will be back!" The noise was deafening. "What's that all about?" I asked. "I only agreed to do the one gig." "Fee, without you we're nothing."Simon said. "But that's the first time I've heard of another booking." Just then the manager came in. "You guys were great, you saved my life out there. Now, Saturday week I want you back to headline." He took a wad of notes from his pocket. "The amount that we agreed on for tonight was five hundred dollars." He peeled off five hundred dollar notes from the wad. "And for coming to the rescue here's another fifteen hundred. In two weeks you'll get two thousand for a forty minute set, is that okay?" "Sure." Simon took the money. As we packed up yet again Simon came over to me. "Fee, you were great out there tonight, if it wasn't for you we wouldn't have been asked to do the extra sets, please, we want you with us full time." "I'll think about it and let you know." "You'll have to make a decision soon or else we'll have to find a new singer or cancel." "All right, I told you that I'll think about it, don't push me for an immediate decision, I need to think seriously about this. I promise that I'll have a decision soon." Mike was quiet on the drive home and after we got home and I had just got out of the shower, he came into my room. "You really were good tonight, and I'm not just saying that because you're my sister." He held up his hand to stop my interruption, I knew what was coming next and I wanted to stop him before he started on the high pressure. "I know that Simon and Leon agree with me on this, we want you to continue with us, Simon has another reason, he's got the hots for you. Oh he hasn't mentioned it to us but I can see the way he looks at you that he fancies you big time. I don't want to be the one to give you advice, just let me say, be careful." "I'm not interested in him in that way, I was before I joined the band but relationships between band members have a habit of turning nasty. We're not Fleetwood Mac and I'm not Stevie Nicks, so while ever I'm in the band there will be no relationship with Simon, or Leon. If Simon wants a relationship with me He'll have to sack me, it's his call." I decided to do the next gig with them and it was better than the first, the crowd was bigger than the last one and they had come to hear us. The noise as we walked on stage was deafening and when we started our set with 'Don't Leave Me Now' the roof was just about lifted off. Each song was greeted with applause as if the crowd was already familiar with it and when we finished the set they wouldn't let us go, demanding 'Don't Leave Me now' yet again. We unplugged after that and left the stage. The manager came back to see us with another man. "Guys, I know that you've only just started out and you don't have a manager yet, so let me introduce you to Floyd Winter, a friend of mine who is in the industry. He wants to represent you, what do you say?" There were handshakes all round and we sat down to listen to what he had to say. "You guys are good, I mean it. When Rod here told me about what happened here a fortnight ago I just had to come and hear you. He wasn't wrong, you're great and Fiona, you have the voice of an angel." He saw the look I threw at him and modified his statement. "I don't mean that it is sweet or anything like that, it's just that it is a perfect fit for the music that you play. Have you got a demo that I can take to the record companies?" "No, but we will have a recording of tonight's gig if that's okay." "No, it will have to be a studio cut, there'll be too much crowd noise in tonight's recording for it to be much use. I can book a studio for next week if you can set a time I'll have the recording engineer ready and waiting." "How about Thursday guys, can you make it?" Simon looked to us for an answer. I wasn't going to do it but the unspoken pressure was too much so I agreed. The recording session was almost a disaster. We took the recording of our last gig along to give Phil the engineer some idea what we were about. He listened to it and fiddled with some controls and played it again. "You guys are good, you're really tight, no wrong notes that I can hear and Fiona, you stay in tune the whole time, amazing." But when we tried to cut the demo it didn't sound right at all, it was as if we were all self-conscious and listening to ourselves and not the whole band. I felt as if I needed the crowd to feed off and I wasn't getting that at all. "Stop guys." I pulled back from the mike. I looked toward the control room. "Do you think that you can feed our tape to me through the cans?" "Sure thing, what about the rest of you, do you want it too?" "It's worth a try. It would have to be better than this." Simon said. It got better from there and we got through a couple of takes of three of our songs before everyone was satisfied. Phil was listening to the play-back when we gathered in the sound booth after we'd finished. "You guys make my job easy, I've listened to the cuts of each of the tracks and there's no difference. I could take any of them and use them for the demo. With most other bands I have to sample the takes to produce a usable demo. You've got the studio and my services for another hour, why don't we run through the rest of your repertoire, who knows we might be able to cut an album for you." That was how our first album came to be. I was stretched out on my bed listening to the studio cut and comparing it to the live cut, my preference was definitely for the live version, when Mike and Simon came into my room. Simon was bursting to say something. "Hi Fee, do you want the good news or the better news?" "Start with the good and work up from there." "I just got off the phone with Floyd, he has a record deal almost stitched up and it looks like we'll be booked out for a couple of months at least. He wants to put together a tour for us, what do you think?" He was looking straight at me waiting for my reaction. It wasn't a long wait. "I suppose that you're waiting for me to finally make up my mind whether I'm going to become a full-time musician or dabble at it while still studying. I'll defer my studies for a year and at the end of that year we'll see what happens. Okay?" Simon came over to me and dragged me off the bed and gave me a huge hug. It started off as a hug and ended with him kissing me and it wasn't a kiss between friends, this was serious. I pulled away from him. "Let's get this straight, I am not getting into a relationship with you because the history of bands will tell you that these never end well both for the individual and the band. I do have a boyfriend you know." At least I hoped that I still had a boyfriend, I hadn't seen Huw for some weeks now and although we talked on a semi-regular basis whenever he calls me, we haven't been what you would call close. Maybe I should remedy this deplorable situation. After Mike and Simon left to speak to Leon I rang Huw. "Hi, it's me. What do you mean who me? It's Fee, look I need to see you now, I have some news and I need to discuss it with you. Yours or mine? Okay I'll see you when I get there." Huw lived in one of those nineteenth century terrace houses made from convict made sandstock bricks not far from Uni, they cost a fortune but he didn't have to share because his parents were filthy rich and bought it for him. His BMW was parked out front when I parked my ten year old Ford Laser and he answered the door almost before I rang the bell. "What's the news that you've got that couldn't wait?" "You know that I'm in a band with Mike and a couple of other guys?" "Yeah, I seem to go to all of your gigs but you never seem to have time for me after the show." "You've been going to the gigs? Why didn't you come back to the dressing room after?" "The goons wouldn't let me, they're big and mean and I wasn't going to argue with them." "Okay, next time you come to a gig let me know and I'll organise a pass for you to go backstage. Now, what I was going to say before I was rudely interrupted was that the band looks like it has taken off big time, there's a record deal in the pipeline and our manager wants us to tour as soon as possible. As a result I have decided to defer my studies for a year to see what develops." "So that means that I'll see even less of you than I have of late. Lucky I've become very familiar with my hand these past weeks." I kissed him and while I was close I put my hand over his cock and stroked it. "Has he missed me?" "Any longer and he would have forgotten you." He took my hand and led me to familiar quarters, his bedroom. Once there he took me in his arms and kissed me firstly on the lips and then worked his way around my face while he unbuttoned my shirt so that he could kiss his way around my breasts and nipples, his favourite spot apart from my pussy. I suddenly realised that I missed this contact and with that came the desire for more, so my hand found the zipper of his trousers and, once inside, went over the top of his jocks to find his already hard cock. There was a pause to take off our clothes before I found myself on the bed and on my back, with his head between my legs and his tongue deep inside my already wet pussy. I grabbed his hair and pulled him away. "I want you inside me right now." This was the first time that I had to actually encourage him, normally I would be trying to slow him down. I felt the head of his cock pushing between the lips of my pussy so I pushed down hard on him forcing him deep inside me. He got the message and began to pump in and out of me while at the same time he was kissing my nipples and fondling my breasts. "God that feels good, come on fuck me, fuck me hard, I want you to come deep inside my pussy." I could feel myself heading for an orgasm of monumental proportions. "Oh God, oh God, oh . . . . . God!" I lifted him off the bed when I came before collapsing back onto the bed. "That was the best." He must have come sometime about the time that I did because I could feel it oozing out and running down over my arse-hole and onto his sheets. By the feel of it he really had been saving it up for a while. And it didn't stop there. He came to the door to see me off many hours later. "I suppose that's going to have to satisfy me for some time to come." He genuinely sounded sad about the prospect. "What about me, this life isn't about sex, drugs and rock and roll you know, it's about a lot of hard work and commitment to my craft." "Yeah and I can see the way that Simon keeps looking at you, if he hasn't already, he believes he's in there with a chance." So that's what this is all about. "Look, you don't have to worry on that score, there is nothing like that between us and he has been told that there never will be." I hoped that would settle his concerns, but I somehow doubted it. "I promise you that any time I'm in town and you're free there will be more of what we just had, much more." The record deal was signed and within weeks the single of 'Don't Leave Me Now' was released along with the studio album. We arranged for a private printing of the live album for sale at the gigs. The first run of a thousand was about all that we could afford initially and after the first couple of gigs we realised that this would not be enough. The record company was a little pissed because the live album outsold the studio one and they soon came to us with a deal to release it alongside the other. Life got a bit hectic; there was a capitol city tour that saw us playing to packed houses in medium sized venues. There were promotional interviews on local radio as well as morning TV talk shows. Slowly it became apparent that the interest was in me and there was pressure put on me to be somehow controversial but I resisted this strongly. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't dull and boring, it's just that my answers to some of the most stupid questions from vapid hosts were telling them that I, we, the band, were serious about what we were doing, and no, we didn't do drugs, drank very little and smoked not at all. We wrote all of our own material and insisted on creative control of our output. One presenter started to ask personal questions that I didn't want to answer and wouldn't take the answer that I wasn't there to discuss my personal life with him. "Do you have a boyfriend?" Blues Fusion "Are you really all that interested or is this a fishing expedition and you're hoping for an opening so that you can make a pass at me?" "No, I'm interested in how you can combine a relationship with your workload?" "It'd hard but not impossible." "So the rumours of a relationship between you and your lead guitarist aren't true?" "That rumour has been going the rounds since we first started and it is no truer now than it was then." You'll notice that I didn't actually deny the truth of the rumour. "What does your boyfriend think of that?" "The same as he did when the band first started out." Nothing to hang his hat on there. What he didn't know was that my Media Studies course has a section on it that teaches us how to answer tricky interviewers. He was just about to cop the statement that I had already answered his question and had no intention of going round and round in circles in the hope that I'd get bored and either get angry with him or slip up and give him the answer that he was looking for. He eventually got back to the reason that I was there which was to publicise our upcoming gig. There was another side of this and that was the seemingly never-ending stream of guys who thought that they were God's gift to me and that I should be flattered that they were offering their services as a stud. I crushed many egos in an effort to keep up my image of a person who was wholly devoted to her music. I even went as far as thinking of inventing a lesbian lover to discourage them but decided that the front-on approach was the better one, I didn't want them blaming my lesbianism for their failure to score. The other downside of this was the stream of Facebook heroes all claiming to have fucked me and that I was your typical self-obsessed rock slut. I closed my Facebook site because there was getting simply too much crap posted on it. We had just finished our first tour and everyone was pleased with the result both in positive exposure and of course money, we were now able to command a much higher price for our appearances than when we first started. Then came the bombshell. Floyd had been hinting for some time that I should undertake a solo project. His argument was that I was the star and the others were holding my career back. What he proposed was to send me to the States to record with the best musicians and the best record producers available. He had sent demos over their and he told me that there was considerable interest being shown in me. My first reaction was; "No, I won't betray the band by going behind their backs to do this. We started together and I meant for us to stay together." "Listen to me Fee. The promoters don't want the band, they want you, they are prepared to put together the best backing musicians and vocalists and really give your career the kick-start that it needs but can't get while you are stuck with the band." "I don't care about that, it's the band or nothing. I am prepared to walk away from this career tomorrow if you try to split us up." "You'd be prepared to throw everything away just because of some sense of loyalty to a couple of second-rate musicians?" "Friends, you forgot that they are also my friends." "In this business you have to look after number one. Do you think that the band would hesitate in giving you the flick if a better singer came along?" That was a low blow, he must have found out about the band flicking Vanessa so that I could join. "Okay, you've pitched this to me so let me take a little time to think about it and get back to you in a couple of days." "Don't mention this to the band, they probably won't understand." "I don't understand." I needed to talk to someone outside the industry to get a different take on this problem. Huw! An hour later I was seated on his sofa telling him all. He actually listened to what I told him without trying to get into my pants, well he listened after I stopped him when he first tried and after I convinced him that this was a serious problem. "Fee, you asked me because you wanted an opinion from someone outside the music industry, Okay I'll give it to you, but if you'd asked me for an un-biased opinion I wouldn't have been able to give you one because I'm in love with you and that would have affected my opinion. What is the most important thing in your life? Is it the music and if it is you will need to define what part of the music is the most important? Is it you performing as an individual or part of a group? Do you think that you are better than the group and that they are holding you back as Floyd has told you, or do you feel more complete performing as part of the group? What are your goals as an individual and what are the goals of the group? Are those goals compatible or mutually exclusive? Will you feel that you have betrayed the band if you pursue a solo career, and if that's how you feel, could you live with that?" "Wow! You make the decision more complicated, but I guess that you're right, these are the things that I'll have to work through before I make the decision. Help me please." "Being a normal red-blooded man I would suggest that what you need is to take your mind off the subject for a while, and being a normal red-blooded man I would, naturally enough, offer my services. But, as I'm also the sensitive type, that's not what you need right now so, starting from the beginning, what is the most important thing in your life right now?" "It has to be the music. Having said that, I'd give it up tomorrow if I felt that staying in the industry was going to hurt Mike and the band." "Okay, I'm upset that you put it above me but I can live with that. What part of the music is the most important, what would be the hardest for you to give up?" I had to think about that. While I liked singing solo I got the most enjoyment from singing with the band in small intimate venues because that's what our music was best suited to. If I were to go solo I would lose that. Sure I would probably become more famous and make more money, much more money with a solo career, but at what cost? "Where I am now musically is based on a type of music that's best suited to a group performance in a small venue, I think that I'd lose that by going solo. Money isn't everything, integrity, both personal and musical is. As for your question; do I feel I'm better than the group, no I don't. We as a group have worked to achieve the sound that has made us popular. If I'd tried to make it on my own I doubt if I could, because of the support that I got from them in the beginning. And I doubt if the best session musicians in the world would understand that and be able to capture that." "What are your goals as a group and you as an individual?" "As I group we are happy where we stand, I have heard the others discussing whether to continue doing what we are now in the same type of venue as we are now or to move on in the direction that Floyd wants us to move. The consensus is that they'd rather stay as they are. My goals as an individual are consistent with that of the group, I realise now that I wouldn't be happy splitting from the group. They have no idea of what Floyd has put to me." "How would you feel if you went ahead with a solo career?" "Like shit, I owe the group and I'm not about to turn my back on them, I don't think that I could live with myself if I did." "Okay, so what will you do now?" "I'm going to make one phone call and then I'm going to allow you to show me just how normal and red-blooded you really are." I grabbed my mobile and called Mike. "Hi Mike, can you get the band together tomorrow at say, eleven o'clock, we need to have a very serious discussion. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow, see ya. Now where was I?" Where I was was in his arms and being smothered by his kisses. Then I was in his bed being caressed to within an inch of my life and then I was the subject of some of the best and most intense loving that I have ever experienced. Much later I was sleeping the sleep of someone who has finally come to terms with what she wants to do with the rest of her life. What a miserable looking bunch the group looked when Huw and I walked into the warehouse the next morning. Simon looked at Huw as if he would have little hesitation in killing him. "We think that we know where this is heading. Fee, if you want to pursue a solo career don't let us stop you. We always knew that we wouldn't be able to hold you back because you have gained more popularity than the band could ever achieve." "Is that what you think this is all about? Okay, this is not about me and whatever ambitions you think I might have, it's about us, Blues Fusion. You have probably come to the conclusion that I called this meeting to tell you that I'm splitting with the group to pursue a solo career. Well you can forget it, and I'll explain why I'm not. Floyd has been pestering me for some time to leave you guys and has even gone so far as to send demo tapes to record producers in the States. He has told me that there is a lot of interest in me over there, but what he has failed to realise is that my musical ambitions are not about me as a solo singer but me as a part of a successful small group. I have to tell you that if we have any ambitions beyond where we are right now we will probably be disappointed because to achieve those ambitions we will lose our musical integrity, and that is what's important to me and I hope that it is to you as well." "Are you sure?" Mike asked. "I have never been more sure of anything in my entire life. I will probably look at completing my degree as an external student part-time so I guess you have me for the duration that is if you want me." "Of course we want you, why wouldn't we? We wouldn't be where we are if you hadn't decided that you could sing better than Vanessa." "We have another small problem, Floyd. He's not going to be happy with my decision just as I'm not happy with him trying to split us up. I think that we should start looking to break our contract with him and find another manager." "I think that I might be able to help you there." The source of that statement was Huw. "What do you propose?" Simon asked. "Part of my father's vast business empire is a firm of management consultants that have contacts in the entertainment industry, I can talk to them and see if they have any advice on how to change your management." "Okay, see what you can do, and thank you." It must have hurt Simon to say that given that he still harboured some hope of landing me. Two days later Huw and I fronted up to Floyd's office. "Floyd, I am not going to split from the group, I am not going to go solo and I am not going to the States to cut a solo album. Blues Fusion will stay as they are to preserve their musical integrity and if you have a problem with that then we will have to look at firing you as our manager and my personal manager." "You can't do that! After all that I've done for your career, the time and effort that I've spent, wasted even as it now appears, on you. If you try to terminate our management agreement you will hear from my lawyers!" "I don't think so." Huw looked him in the eye. "Because we have investigated just how much time, effort and money you've expended on Fee. SFA, bugger all, zilch, zero, not one cent apart from a couple of phone calls to your sleazy third-rate producer friend in the States who you probably filled with stories of how Fee will be prepared to sleep with him just so she can work with him, just like the rumour that you put around here. If you attempt in any way to prevent the group from changing management you will hear from our lawyers, is that clear enough for you?" "Can you really do that?" I asked Huw as we left a shocked Floyd watching his dream of fame and fortune disappear out the window. "As they say in the classics; 'money talks' and when you have as much money as my father it speaks with a very loud voice. By the way, he, my loud voiced father, would like to meet you, we have been invited to lunch at his club." I have never been inside one of these 'establishment' clubs and was suitably impressed with its opulence. We were shown to a table by a picture window that had views over Sydney Harbour to die for. An older version of Huw rose from the table as we approached. "Dad, this is Fiona, Fee, the girl that I've told you about. Fee, I'd like you to meet my father, Morgan Cregan." "I'm very pleased to meet you my Dear." He held out his hand for me to shake. His grip was firm without pressure and spoke of immense confidence. "I'm pleased to meet you Sir." "Please, call me Morgan. My son tells me that you are something of a singer, he even forced me to listen to a CD of your band, I must say that I am impressed, and when he came to me a day or two ago I had no hesitation in offering my services. I hope that everything went as planned with your meeting this morning." "Very much so, thank you." "Not at all, it's the very least that I could do for the girl that my son has high hopes of marrying." "Dad! You promised not to say anything about that." "One day you'll learn not to dilly-dally. If you have something to say then say it. If you propose to propose to Fiona then do it." "Huw, I don't want you to make a spectacle of yourself by getting down on your knee to propose to me here and now, so I'll save you the bother by accepting (your proposal). The getting down on your knee can come later, in private." We sat down and the hovering waiter ceased hovering and came to the table to take our orders. I thought that I'd try the Moreton Bay Bugs (A large crustacean something like a demented lobster with weird shaped head, and as I found out, very nice). Huw ordered a Barramundi fillet with a Thai salad while Morgan ordered two servings of freshwater crayfish with a garden salad. I thought this strange until he looked to the door. "Ah, here she is." He got to his feet to meet one of the most stunningly sophisticated women that I have ever seen. It seemed only appropriate that I stand with the men as she arrived at the table. "Hi Darling, sorry I kept you waiting but I just couldn't get away. Have you ordered?" "Yes my Dear, our usual. I would like you to meet the young lady that our son is so besotted with, Fiona, this as you've probably already gathered, is my wife Myf, that's short for Myfanwy which is why we call her Myf." "I must say that you are every bit as beautiful as our son described you." Now I know why I like Huw so much, his parents, although filthy rich seem just like normal filthy rich people. The food, the wine and the company were perfect and highlighted my humble origins in middle-class suburbia, but that didn't seem to bother Huw's parents, there was no condescension in their conversation and they invited me to join them on Sunday for lunch at their waterfront mansion with the possibility of some sailing on the harbour. Much later I broached the subject of our financial and cultural differences with Huw. We were naked in his bed and coming down from another orgasmic high. "Don't worry about them, they treat everyone the same way and the only people that I've ever seen that responded negatively are those stuck-up bastards that think that their shit doesn't stink. Father tells the story about a plumber working on the ancestral manor who made the comment that, let me be sure that I get this right, 'I've had my hand up enough sewers to know that it doesn't matter how rich you are, or how important that you think you are, in the final analysis the product of our existence smells exactly the same'." "What are we going to do?" "I don't know about you but I intend to keep loving you and supporting you in whatever endeavour you plan. That's the long term plan, in the short term I intend to convince you that the best plan of action for you will to marry me, that will keep Simon in his place and also give me the excuse to attend your gigs to keep the male fans at bay so that all you have to do is to concentrate on your career in music." "There's a certain attraction to that. I still intend to continue my studies, I spoke to the Uni and they are happy for me to study part-time as long as I can keep up with the course requirements. At least I'll have a career to fall back on if and when the band is no longer viable." "That's settled, so what are we going to do now?" "By the way your hand has found its way to my pussy I would hazard a guess that you want to make love yet again, would I be right?" While I was making this superfluous statement my hand was also busy with his cock, priming it for the task ahead. It was now fully erect so I straddled him and fed his cock into my pussy, pushing down on him until he was inside as far as he could go. Having my pussy lips crushed against the base of his cock it was now time to begin the slow process of giving him as much pleasure as I was feeling. The expression on his face attested to my success in this endeavour. God this felt good, it was better than good the way his cock moved inside me was sending me spiralling out of control. My hips had a mind of their own jerking back and forth, and sliding my sopping wet pussy up and down on him. I could feel my juices seeping from me and just when I felt that it couldn't get any better it did. With a grunt he came, driving his cock deep inside me and filling me with his sperm. I collapsed onto his chest, we were both out of breath and gasping for air and as we recovered I could feel his softening cock allowing our combined juices ooze from me. There was going to be a hell of a mess to clean up when we got around to it. Three months later the wheels began to fall off, the arguments started. Simon was still jealous of Huw and questioned why he was always hanging around, even when we were on tour. "It's simple, Huw and I are an item, I love him as he loves me and we plan at some time in the future to get married. Him being with me all the time doesn't affect the way that I perform, at least I don't think it does." "I wasn't going to say anything, but you seem to have lost some of the edginess that is the reason that we're successful. It's only a matter of time before the fans stop coming." I looked at Mike and Leon but they weren't saying anything. As far as they were concerned this was between me and Simon. "I know why you're doing this, it's because you still have the hots for me, and that much is obvious, so you're trying to get me to make a decision, to choose between you and the group, which you know I love, and Huw, who I also love. I am not prepared to choose between the group and Huw because I think, I know, that one has no effect over the other. You are the problem and the sooner that you decide that, for the sake of us as a group, you can live with the fact that Huw and I are in love, lovers, and we intend to stay that way, the better." An article in one of the trade papers brought the whole thing to a head: 'WHERE'S THE CHEMISTRY?' There is little evidence of the fusion in Blues Fusion, it has been replaced by a tension between vocalist Fiona Masters and guitarist Simon Rawlings and this has affected their performance to the point that the fans are abandoning them in the thousands. At one time they played to full houses of rapturous fans, now it is more likely to be half empty houses of the die-hard. Unless this impasse can be straightened out there is no future for what was once one of the best small bands in the country, with the tightness between the members being their trademark. It will be a sad day for all of us if they can't resurrect their fortunes.' We were supposed to be rehearsing a new song but everyone was sitting around unable to get enthusiastic. Simon was reading the article over and over with the occasional filthy look in my direction. "All right, enough." I said. "This has come to the point where something has to be done about it, I for one can't go on like this." I looked to each of them. "In the very beginning I told you that I was prepared to walk away from all of this if it doesn't work out. Well it isn't working anymore, and much as I have loved every moment of it up until recently, I can't go on like this so I'm leaving." I held up my hand. "I'm leaving not to pursue a solo career, I'm leaving this industry totally, no more singing. I am going to resume my studies full time and in two months time Huw and I are getting married, you will all be invited by the way," I looked at all three of them, Simon averted his eyes. "This decision has not been easy for me given how much I love singing with you guys and no, Huw did not force me to give this up, in fact we have spent the last few weeks trying to work out a solution." Blues Fusion What was planned as a 'small private service in the old stone church on South Head' turned into a farce following the leaking of the venue to the tabloids which was subsequently picked up by the glossies. The road leading up to the church was jammed with spectators and a police escort had to be provided when the bridal party approached. Dad and I sat self-consciously in the back of the gleaming black Daimler 420 limousine which fortunately had limo-tint windows, otherwise we would have been blinded by the flashes. The barrage of flashes reached a crescendo when I got out of the car for the short walk to the entrance of the church. It was a simple dress that was designed to highlight my best features, I didn't have Pippa Middleton's arse so that was hidden by the train, but it drew appreciative gasps from those close enough to see it. Dad looked great in his tux and extremely proud of me as he took my hand and draped it over his arm and we stepped into the church. If I thought that the wedding was a farce then the reception on a large private yacht in the harbour proved to be an even bigger farce. Hundreds of boats milled around and helicopters jostled for position in the hope of getting the money shot. At some time during the evening the band that had been playing in the background seemed to disappear and Mike, Leon and Simon appeared to take their place. The MC called for quiet. "Ladies and gentlemen, can I have your attention please. Would you all put your hands together and encourage the new Mrs Fiona Cregan to join Blues Fusion for one last performance. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Blues Fusion!" So there I was in my wedding finery in front of the band singing for one last time 'Don't Leave Me Now'.