no, as it happens, i wasn't there. offers were made, look you see, but i declined. all of it felt quite strange, somewhat dislocating and my destiny. oh, that of which i speak is of the entirely unexpected and ultimately quite confusingly brief (for now) reunion of one of my most beloved bands of all time, the great Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
when the rumours commenced of it being so, i went no, surely not. they simply, really don't, as a collective (although on an individual basis it's different), get along. also, due to the infamously sided towards the label record deal they signed, any sort of reunion would likely cost them more than was brought in, making certain other parties even richer off their art. but within just a few weeks north of a month, it was indeed a done deal - Frankie were to be back together, "performing" at the opening concert for Eurovision, being held in their home town of Liverpool. where just the one of them, Nasher, still remains a resident. hey ho, it's not like any Beatles live in Liverpool still.
certainly i was, to put it (exceptionally) mildly, excited and interested. but then details emerged. this was not to be a Frankie Goes To Hollywood concert, per se. no. they were to be doing one (1) song, in the form of Welcome To The Pleasuredome, and it would be live vocals over a backing tape. oh. well, if we are fair, the latter is understandable based on how quickly this all came to be. i had precisely no, as in zero, interest in the other acts "performing". despite the kind offers from at least two friends, and yes there is some surprise in me having so many, i declined to go. destiny surely intended for someone other than moi to have the chance. i, after all, saw them in 1987. for decades there have been fans just as devout as me yet never so fortunate, whatever ticket i may have used was surely meant for them, to see the impossible become real.
it all looks like my chums, and Frankie fans i know of who came from far to be there for it (a big shout out to the one from America) had a sensational time. most got to meet 80% of the band, and you can guess the 20% who(m) did not hang around to meet and greet. but no, je ne regrette rien, i don't believe i should have been there.
fascinating reviews and reports from it. comments from the crowd for this Eurovision launch party have been sensational to the point of inspired. one or two commented that the Frankie fans appeared to all be quite "a bit rowdy". no kidding. the single best comment i saw, presumably from someone there purely for the not so covert ethos of all things Eurovision, was one who complained "some of them [the Frankie fans] clearly weren't even gay". i was not aware such was a prerequisite for Frankie fans or for the Eurovision itself. being a fan of both, i don't believe i am gay, but haven't checked my passport for a while, so who knows. still, shout out for the unusual reverse prejudice, no matter how innocent.
easily the most baffling aspect of it all was the abject, surprising lack of coverage (or interest) in it all off of the BBC. sure, the same night as the gig they had long since already gone big on planned coverage of the concert in celebration of the coronation of HMKC3(PO). you would have thought they might, especially considering (a) how much they have rammed Eurovision down everyone's throats and (b) exactly how much of a big f*****g deal this reunion was news wise, have put it on a different channel or at the least broadcast it on that iPlayer they advertise every 15 minutes, but no. instead they showed limited highlights the next day.
some have questioned their choice of a one and only song to perform. realistically i doubt there's any of the others they could have done. for a start, well, let's not forget why, exactly, Eurovision is being held in Liverpool instead of Ukraine, so that's Two Tribes off the list. indeed Relax may have been appropriate for all sorts of reasons, but one feels that, individually and all together, they tire of being linked with just that one song, as proud of it as they may be. the most obvious would probably have been to do The Power Of Love, but that famous string arrangement might have seen the band stood around doing nothing. one suspects that a back up plan, had a reunion not been possible, might have been to have just Holly doing that one.
as good (no, great) as they were, any of the three (3) singles off of their second album, Liverpool, probably would not have gone down so well. so, thus, or therefore, by default we are left with their 4th single which should have been number one but was blocked by despised and disgraced war criminal phil collins, which is also the name of their sensational debut album. which celebrates it's 40th anniversary next year, and if they can all get on might be a thing to celebrate with a far more expansive reunion.
just why, if we shall never know the how, did all of them agree to this? for most of the band it would have been an immediate yes. the trick, or key, would always be Holly, though. he was absent from the ill-fated but not disastrous attempt to get back together in the early 2000s. let me not sound too cynical or presumptuous, but how handy on the timing, for just a day (or so) after this reunion (and the inevitable headlines) Holly announces a quite rare pair of live shows (solo), which of course sold out by all reports. indeed i should be at one of them.
reviews have been pretty much unified in celebrating the performance, in particular the buzz and excitement caused by it all. but then speak of the frustration that it was so bewilderingly short. also some, with possibly a fair dose of truth to it, speculated that five or so minutes was the maximum the five of them could be together without a fight breaking out. calls for more are certainly there, but shall they be heeded, and will there be enough interest for them to get along with each other enough for some more fuller shows? remains to be seen.
yes, it remains so that this is a century i don't particularly understand or care for. it is, be fair, meant as an era for my children and their generation to do with what they will. but still, so far it is a century, or time, which has delivered two impossibles - a Stone Roses reunion and now an actual proper Frankie reunion, or if you wish to be pedantic a second Frankie reunion. not sure how long, exactly, i shall be part of this century, but it does seem to have things of interest now and then.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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