Chapter 3

The band went back to the Watford shed for a week, putting together a show that should last about three hours. They needed to introduce themselves to the world, as well as promoting the school that nurtured most of them. They went through some of their own back catalogue, picking out a couple of songs that Zara had sung with the G’s, a few of Willow’s with Summer Rose, a few of the Rock’s old numbers, as well as a few that were still being played from the final boxed set.

As Zara was to be out front, and had learned to pull the audience in, she would be the main speaker. The fact that every member had been on that stage before was to be highlighted, with Mac having been there for the school concert of the last charity show. It brought it home when Willow realised that almost four years had passed since that time, with any first years present then on the verge of moving on to higher education or jobs.

Every song chosen to be highlighted was given a blues treatment, Gerry having learned a lot about playing in the intervening years. Starting with ‘I’ve got my Mojo Working’ to set the scene, with each singer taking on a verse, they interspersed the show with blues standards.

The went back to the studio in the last week of June to record the show as a single take, using the school stage as the backdrop. They had decided on denim as the stage outfit, with Zara in a long dress and Willow in a short one. Anthea was helpful in looking after the make-up duties and making sure that they had the song list handy. As she thawed with the established stars, Willow grew to like her and her dry wit.

The album and DVD were available from the end of that week, and they all had their own set. Willow grabbed a DVD for her parents. She and Garry went to stay with them that weekend, relaxing and playing with her brother. On the next Thursday, they joined the others at the school to set up the stage. They did a soundcheck for the current crop of technical students. The Randalls went back to Rising Lane, while the others went to the Britannia for the night.

Friday, they all were in the school and were given a meal in the lunchroom. In the theatre foyer were tables with piles of the new albums and DVDs, as well as the old stock of the earlier school DVDs. With these mentioned through the show, it was thought that some may want to look at them for historic reasons. They would remain covered until the end of the show.

The band were backstage, getting dressed for the show, when Bruce wandered in.

“Hello, Mister Ace Reporter, ready to write another glowing column?”

“Seeing that you’re here, Willow, I’ll make sure I do, as it’s my last. I finally retire next week, and this was the last job I was given. ‘Go and see one of that school’s new bands’ they said. What do I see here? Just a band of established stars that had fun at that party. Is that Mac from the Rocks over there?”

“It is. He doesn’t want to retire, just yet, and we’re the result. You see half of us as ex-Rocks, and the other half are ex-G-Force. Together, we’re ‘Garreth’, and we sing the blues. It’s been a long time since there were good blues bands in the charts, so we may find a niche. There are CDs and DVDs in the foyer, for after the show.”

Bruce went around, getting his interviews before the bedlam that he knew would erupt after the show. He was grateful for this chance to write a meaningful last column. He gave Willow a hug as he left, to see the Head and try to nab copies of the discs.

At seven, they were all in place and waiting for the curtain to open. The noise of the audience quietened as the Head came onto the stage.

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight is rather a special night, as the band you are about to see have all been on this stage before, some many times. Between them, they have a solid history of entertaining around the world. Tonight, sit back or stand and dance, as the Blue Coat School brings you the first public performance of ‘Garreth’!

As the curtains opened, Mac clicked his sticks together and they were into ‘Mojo’, with all taking some of the vocals. From that, they were into some songs that Zara had sung with the G’s on the Paris DVD. Then, they did some from the album, followed by some of Willow’s songs, all in a blues form.

After that, they stopped for a few minutes as Zara introduced them all to the audience, including their links to each other. The last to be introduced was Mac, Garry and Willow, as half of Toxic Rocks. Then they did some Rocks songs, sounding very close to the original. After more from the album and some more blues standards, they finished with the two songs that all had decided. Willow sang ‘Her Day’ as a slow blues, and they finished the set with a wild version of ‘Dummy Splitter’.

It was very close to the show that they had recorded without the introductions, and the manufacturers would be delivering several thousand copies of ‘Garreth at the Blue Coat’ the following week. There was a team of older students in the foyer to sell the album, the DVD, the old stock and to take pre-paid orders for the show DVD. Unsold ones would go on the website for a while before being released by the label as a special issue, depending on the upshot of tonight’s launch.

If the applause was anything to go by, it had been a success, but it would be the reviews that set the tone for later. Bruce was already composing his column as he paid for his copy of the show. He was thinking in terms of a similarity to the old blues masters meeting the Stones.

There were a lot of people in the lunchroom when the band entered, and a lot who wanted to talk to them. They were besieged by reporters and photographers before they were able to catch up with their friends and relatives. The praise was effusive, and the reporters all said that the reviews would be positive, and all asked when the tour started.

Rufus stood next to Garry and Willow in a quieter moment.

“Great show! I’ll be working on a tour next week. Give the reviews a couple of weeks to take hold, and the album to get airplay, and I expect we can get you into big stadiums from the end of the month and through to autumn.”

“That quick! I thought that we may take a bit longer.”

“Never in a million years, Willow. With more than half of you as big names already, with a solid back catalogue, it won’t take much to see you flying high. Mac tells me that you’ve been working on Country Rock numbers. Will they fit the US as well as down under?”

“I think we can do that. Are you thinking of tours?”

“I was thinking that you can play the major cities here, then fly to Australia to soak up the sun for a while, then hit California and tour America in their spring and summer. It would be a long tour, but we have the time to give you all some down time, maybe all shows over weekends with the weekdays off. If you play here to October, you can have Christmas off and fly out in early January. Six to eight weeks in Australia, a week in New Zealand, and then thirty weeks in America, this time concentrating on the more rural areas some of the time.”

“Sounds a bit like wishful thinking, Rufus.”

“Not a bit, Willow, just the voice of experience combined with the fact that some may consider this is a Rocks Revival, while others will be captivated by the new Garreth.”

“Well, it’s just as well that I finished my studies, then. I do have one condition, though.”

“What is that?”

“I’m now qualified to be kept appraised of the details. I want full disclosure of our travel and accommodation plans, as well as updates of the outgoings and income. I need to be able to understand the process.”

“Then what?”

“Perhaps I’ll make you an offer for your business.”

“That may be welcomed. Anything else?”

“I have a friend, Samantha, who has a good band in Australia, called ‘Enlightened’. I would like her to open our shows. They’re good enough to take to America as well.”

“Sounds good. I’ll get on to their manager and see if I can get a demo or album.”

“Thank you. If we can do some more practise, we’ll be ready as soon as you get local dates. When we finish, we’ll have time to rehearse the shows for going east and lay down an album with a video to release. It will be good to be busy with the music, again.”

The party wound up around midnight, with all of the band going to the Britannia to sleep. They were all sitting in the dining room, having breakfast, when Willow told the others what Rufus had said the night before. Mac was all smiles.

“Never thought that we’d be touring so quickly. I was having a lot of fun, last night, and we sounded good. Rufus is a canny lad and must have seen that we have a chance at being big. Do we all have the spare time to make this work?”

They went around the table and spoke their piece. Gerry and Anthea were happy to go along with it. Anthea said she would give up her job to be with Gerry. He had earned enough during his time with G-Force to support them both until the income started coming in. Zara and Geoff were in a similar position, with Geoff having already resigned from his day job to go and live with her. They decided to meet in the Watford shed in a week, to give themselves a few days to sort themselves out.

Unfortunately, Willow had to postpone the Randalls’ attendance for a few days, as the whole family had to go to Cambridge for the funeral of her grandmother. She was sad at how few turned out to wish the old lady goodbye, and both Wendy and Willow ended up with bags full of soggy tissues.

After they got back to London, they spent almost every weekday in the shed, building up enough new numbers for a four-hour show or shorter ones with ability to mix up the playlist. At the end of the month, they had a list of venues that Rufus had organised. The album had been on the market while they were practising and had been selling well, so Rufus was sure that they would be playing to full houses.

The tour kicked off in the first week of August, in Edinburgh, and worked its way south from there. They played in the largest indoor venues, or in sporting stadiums, to packed houses, which became noisier as they worked south. In the Midlands, it was standing room only in a lot of shows, and fans scrambling for tickets for future shows.

When they reached the southern counties, the album was number one, and there were three songs off it in the charts. The final shows were in London, where Rufus had managed to transfer the venue to one of the football grounds to cater for the demand for tickets. They played four nights there and were ready for a short rest afterwards. ‘Garreth’ was a baby no longer!

It was the end of October, and the next tour was already set. Starting in Perth, once more, Rufus had organised weekends in the major cities, with ‘Enlightened’ opening, and then midweek shows in smaller regional centres with expectations that the country album would resonate there.

They recorded ‘Garreth – Just Country Folk’ in the last week of October, and it was released two weeks later across the UK, Europe, Australasia, and America. By Christmas, they were able to gauge the demand for the album. It was selling well in the open areas in the UK, the Highlands, the Dales, the Lincoln flatlands, the Moors. In Europe, it was big in the Netherlands. In Australia, it was top of the charts, while, in America, it was a favourite across the farming and southern states. The songs about a wide-open country had made their mark. Three songs were doing well in the charts everywhere. The titles said it all. ‘Endless Sky’, ‘Never-ending Vista’, and ‘A Billion Twinkles’ were all resonating with the listeners.

By Christmas, they could put on a six-hour show, with a mix of the original and the new material. They all went their separate ways for the holidays, Willow and Garry spending a lot of time with the Roses, again being popular invitees to parties, and seeing in the New Year from Parliament once more, in a glittering group of very influential people.

In the first week of January, they were reunited with the charter jet, now with ‘Garreth on Tour’ on the nose. For Gerry, Geoff, and Zara, this was something very new, although they had now earned enough to be going first-class whenever they travelled. They took it easy on the way to Australia, stopping in Dubai for two days before the final leg. With the level of accommodation in the plane, they could have done it quicker, but were ready to play as soon as they landed in Perth.

They relaxed in the hotel, meeting up with Samantha and her band, and introducing everyone to everyone else. The Australian promoter joined them and gave them the full venue listing with an idea of what to expect during their tour. They would be opening at the big sports stadium on the Friday evening, with the big stage rig, screens and lights that they were used to. That set-up would be transported to Adelaide while they played a regional venue. In WA, it would be Gloucester Park Football Oval, at Margaret River. The venue was close to other, smaller townships, and there would be people traveling hundreds of kilometres to see them for the one performance.

The odd thing, he warned them, would be that it would be a picnic event, with no seating and that the bands would be playing with a smaller set of amps while on the top of a large flatbed trailer. That set-up would be what would be used for a lot of the regional shows. Samantha assured the others that it would be a lot of fun, as her band had played at this type of event before. She laughed and told them it was like playing a large group of friends. They would be staying two nights at the Aqua Resort in Busselton, with the plane landing at the Busselton Margaret River airport.

They had a day to settle, and then did the sound-check at the stadium on the Friday. The shows were Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. All were packed out. Willow was able to help Samantha and her band get over the butterflies of playing to the biggest crowds they had seen. Although they had been in the charts for a couple of years, this was their first tour with an overseas band.

The three shows went well, with enthusiastic audiences who already knew most of the lyrics to the songs. The three songs off the new album were still charting, and even the city folk were taken with the idea of the big wide sky.

They flew to Busselton on the Tuesday for the Wednesday show. It wasn’t a long trip, so they had plenty of resting time on the sandy beach. The show was a bit like playing at a picnic. The oval was packed and there were people around the edge. There wasn’t a marquee to use, as they found out on Wednesday morning, so they dressed in the hotel before going to the venue that evening. Willow loved it. She was close to the audience, with children running around as dancing wildly as they played. The show started earlier to utilise the natural light as there were no spotlights or stage lights. There were no curtains and nowhere to hide on the back of the truck. The crowd were friendly, and both bands spent some time mingling before and after their sets.

Thursday morning, they flew to Adelaide and the three shows at the Adelaide Showground Oval, followed by the Wednesday evening show at the Memorial Drive oval in Broken Hill. Both had the ‘country’ vibe, and the second one was interesting, with a largely male audience in singlets and shorts.

From Broken Hill, they flew south again, to Melbourne, and a proper stadium show at the MCG, three nights in front of over seventy thousand fans. From there, the midweek show was in Launceston, Tasmania, at the University of Tasmania Stadium, which felt like a weekend show. The weekend in Hobart was just Friday and Saturday. That was more like a midweek show, as they played on a temporary stage in an open area of the Domain park, able to look over the heads of the audience to see shipping on the Derwent River. They had most of Sunday clear and relaxed.

Later that afternoon, they flew to the Great Lakes Airfield in eastern Victoria and taken to a hotel in Lakes Entrance. The Wednesday show was at the North Arm Recreation Ground oval. So, they had a couple of days break to rest and recuperate. Some of the guys spent those days on the golf course, while all the girls spent a day in the spa being pampered. Willow found herself in a hot tub with Samantha.

“I really have to thank you, Willow, for bringing me to this point in time.”

“How did I do that, Sam?”

“That first day I met you and Gina. I was a shy little girl, immersed in video games and a worry to my Dad. All of a sudden, I spent a day with the two of you, both my age, and saw you as strong-willed and talented. I gave up the games that day, and Dad bought me a guitar. The other thing was that I spent that morning having fun with a load of kids. It was something that my shyness had robbed me of up until then, and it was a turning point for more than me. Evelyn was almost as strong as you were but has blossomed since then.”

“It also changed Barry. He was being led by his nose up until then. It allowed him to be the man he should be. That was a first for us as well, you know.”

“How was that.”

“Gina had grown up in the village, about the only girl of her age there, and living with her mother and grandparents. I had been terribly bullied before I went to Coventry, so was a loner myself, only immersing myself in music instead of video games. That morning in Luna Park was as liberating for us as it was for you. I had a lot of fun that day.”

“It’s interesting to look back and able to see a moment in time when things changed.”

“We were doing an interview for the BBC. That was when Garry was with G-Force, and I was with Summer Rose. The interviewer asked just that sort of question. Garry told him that it was the day I walked into the school and helped them out by playing Deep Purple on the organ. I hadn’t even started the term at that time. He was the first guy to hug me, and now we’re married. At the end of that interview, we were asked if we could play something and we all jammed ‘Smoke on the Water’, which was what ended that fireworks show.”

“That was a wonderful night. I’d never stayed up so late before. Those two local guys both ended up in a clinic and never went on TV again. When we put the band together, the contacts that I made that night helped us get a record deal and bring us to be opening these shows. I suppose that’s another point in time that I can look back on and see that it was a pivot point, although the effects didn’t show until years later.”

Willow thought about another point in time when she had opened up the garment bag that Hilda Russell had brought around, but that was one she was keeping quiet about.

“What do you think about the shows after we finish in Auckland?”

“Our manager said that we may be still opening for you but was vague about the venues.”

“That’s because they were still being settled. We fly to Hawaii for a week or so, with a show there, and then we start an American tour in Los Angeles, followed by nearly thirty weeks touring. I think that we’ll both be needing to make an album while we’re there, unless they record one of the shows and issue two ‘live’ DVDs in the US market.”

“That would be awesome. We’ve done well in Australia and New Zealand but breaking into the US and UK markets is a different thing altogether.”

Later, that day, Willow rang Rufus, who would be having breakfast.

“Rufus, dear friend. I have a question.”

“Fire away, Willow.”

“Samantha and her band have never played outside of Australia except New Zealand. Have we organised the paperwork for them to play in America?”

“We did.”

“Their manager hadn’t even told her that she was playing there yet. I’m wondering if he isn’t able to manage them when they take off. Do you think that you can talk to him before we leave New Zealand? He may be amenable to an offer to manage them overseas.”

“You really are as wicked as everyone has said. Have you been looking at the reports I’ve been sending?”

“I have. I never thought that the mid-week shows would be as lucrative as they have been. I suppose that the lower costs of staging offsets the smaller venues. Look, I’ve been thinking about Samantha and her future. They are good enough to play in the UK and have the advantage of singing in the right language. Can you set up a tour when we get home, with us doing those good sales areas for the country music?”

“That’s almost everywhere. What about going further and putting on shows in Europe after that?”

“If we do shows at home after we finish in the US, we can have a Christmas break and hit Europe after we’ve all been in the studio again. I’m sure that Sam has ideas for new songs. I know I have.”

“That sounds like a plan. Worked properly, ‘Enlightened’ will be as big as you by that time. Talk to Samantha and I’ll get back to you after I’ve spoken to their manager.”

“Thanks, Rufus. You’re the best.”

“That’s why I allow you to make me a rich man.”

They played the show at Lakes Entrance and then flew to Canberra for three shows at the Manuka Oval that weekend. They were at an interesting venue for the next mid-week. They had two shows scheduled and the stage was set up in one of the huge carparks at the Mount Panorama Car Racing Circuit, in Bathurst, NSW.

They stayed in the Rydge’s Hotel, next to the very long straight, and the audiences were able to camp out in a camping ground, just a short walk away. It was central to a number of larger regional towns and both shows were sell-outs. They played on the Tuesday night, and while they were having breakfast, on the Wednesday, Willow got a call from Rufus. She walked over to look out of the window as she spoke to him. After that, she was smiling as she went to the table where Samantha and her band were sitting.

“Good morning, you lovely people. Do you have anywhere that you really have to be until the middle of next year?”

Marianne Gregory © 2025