Chapter 21

Mister Bamborough looked at Willow with a grin.

“Tell me more, Miss Rose.”

“There was this reporter in Sydney who berated us for playing that nasty pop music when we were such good classical organists. He’d only seen the Berlin concert and had been sent the school orchestra CD with us playing on the second disc. We had to tell him about the other albums we had been involved in. I wonder what he would have made of ‘The Magic Laptop’, or ‘Musk Rat Quest’, as people at the label call it. I wanted to weave the classics into ‘Fireworks’ to show our classical training. Gina suggested some of the threads.”

“Whatever you set out to do, you have created an album that I would be proud to have in my collection. My growing collection, I might add.”

“We’ll just have to see how the public likes it when it’s released. It may go on the market before we tour again.”

“Where to this time?”

“Six venues in Australia, one in New Zealand, one in Japan and one in South Korea. It should be good in their winter, but, if it isn’t, the shops will be open. If the new album is on the market, we’ll have to add a few into the show.”

“I’m sure that you’ll work it out. Are they big venues, or smaller theatres?”

“I’m told that they’re all sports stadiums. Average around fifty thousand with a couple up around seventy thousand. They must be convinced that we’ll fill them.”

Back at the school, they all got out of the coach and made their way to the various cars waiting for them. Willow went to the locker area first and stored her violin case. She checked that she had the two discs that Xavier had given her and went to join Gina to go home.

After dinner, she had a look on her project laptop, to find two projects that she was to submit before the next round of lectures. One was similar to the first project, a company in trouble, while the other was all about the steps you would take in setting up a company and recruiting staff, with an option as to what she wanted that company to do. She got her notebook to start writing notes on what she wanted to say. She would work on them as she could during the tour but expanded on her thoughts over the weekend.

On the Sunday, she and Gina were sitting with Ashley and Wendy when a film crew arrived. The interview was just over half an hour, where the two of them described how well treated they had been at Christmastime, and how much fun they had with the fan club and making the TV show, followed by how much they were looking forward to the tour.

Again, she had to email the lecturer that she was heading for Australia on a tour with the band, and advised the date that she would return. Two days later, he replied, telling her that it had been approved for her to attend Royal Holloway on the Thursday and Friday of the last week of August. The first to do one exam and submit the first project, with the second to do the second exam and submit the second project.

She emailed Jill that she wanted to return to London after the tour, directly from Seoul. That would give her some time to finalise both projects and submit them. She would need extra research in the Senate Library for one, but the second project was already happening in Leicester.

At school again and Tuesday was the performance of the ‘Creation’ in the theatre. She took her black dress with her in the morning as she would be needed to organise the orchestra. Her parents had tickets, as did Maisie and several of the Village Choir, including Margaret and her friends. Willow and the rest of the orchestra had a light meal in the lunchroom, before going to the theatre, checking the seating and then going off to change. Willow did her make-up, thinking about the performance but not really worrying about it.

The performance was as good as it could be. The soloists singing beautifully, the orchestra playing powerfully, and the choir singing lustily. There were the two breaks, with the second being a little longer, and then they took the audience to new heights to the finale. There was a long applause, with many standing, and the orchestra took several bows. Afterwards, they all mingled in the lunchroom, before Willow joined her parents to go home, after changing out of her long dress.

Wednesday was the last lesson on the Tango, and then it was the performances in the Cathedral. As it was just before revision week, the entire ensemble were given the days off, to be at the Cathedral in time to entertain the crowd. Wednesday afternoon, the friends told Sebastian about the arrangements, with him picking them up before the performance and taking them home afterwards. On the Saturday, that would include her parents, with Maisie going with them on Friday.

Willow was up early and working on her projects as soon as breakfast was over, creating two new files to hold the two projects and creating sub-files. Around lunch, she rang the council offices in Leicester, and had a talk with the woman who was in charge of the planning permissions, who she had spoken to when they first started work on the studio. It was a good discussion, and they made an appointment to meet at the site on the Saturday morning.

Later, that afternoon, she was dressed in her performance outfit, with her violin and her bag, waiting at the door when Sebastian arrived. They picked up Gina and went to the Cathedral. The two of them met Mister Bamborough and checked the seating and that all the instruments had been delivered. They were given a light meal in the Chapter House as all of the others arrived. That night, they made the Bishop extremely happy, if the smile was an indication.

Friday was a duplicate, with her working on her project and then playing violin in the evening, this time with Maisie joining them in the vehicle. Saturday, Ashley took her to Leicester in the morning.

There, she showed the council representative around the whole site, explaining what they had done and what she had planned, and the timeline that depended on being reassessed as a commercial site. They started in the office area, where she stated that they used to upstairs office, but that she would be happy to offer the downstairs one to the local Arts Alliance, or similar organisation. In the big shed, she explained how it would be given a laminated floor and soundproofing, to allow for drama, dance, or music rehearsals, with local schools and groups being offered a discounted hire.

She pointed out the extra space when the shed in the carpark had been removed, and then took her into the long shed, saying that it would be resurfaced and have lines for parking under cover. In the studio, the council lady was taken aback by the quality of what she saw. Willow explained that a number of hit albums had been produced here, without a single complaint from the neighbours, as well as two complete oratorio performances, and they spent several minutes looking at the awards.

As she locked up, Willow told her that there would be professional bands invited to record, with an hourly charge, as well as advertising to fill the days in both the studio and shed. Before they shook hands, Willow had one last comment.

“I’m sure that visiting bands will be staying in local hotels. If the group that uses the office is run by adults, I would be happy to pay one to manage the site and oversee the usage and security.”

“I’ll discuss it with my supervisor and the volunteers.”

Ashley took her home again after she had locked up.

“Do you think she’ll bite?”

“Of course she will. There’s an Arts Alliance group who liaise with all the drama and arts groups in Leicester. They operate from offices in the municipal building, and the council has been trying to figure out a way to remove them so they can expand the town planning office. You have to read the council meeting reports on the city website to know what buttons to push.”

“I’m not going to say it, but I’m sure you know what I’m thinking.”

“It’s all about doing research, Dad. You can’t put a new part in a car unless you know if it will work as intended.”

That afternoon, the family was picked up by Sebastian, and then they went to get Gina. When they arrived at the Cathedral, the OB vans were there with cables running into the building. Willow left her parents to go to the Chapter House and make sure that everyone was arriving. The audience was primed that night, knowing that they could be seen on a DVD, if they looked hard enough. The city dignitaries were becoming regulars, along with the local celebrities. The fact that the entire Summer Rose was there was enough to attract a lot of younger fans who would have never gone to a concert featuring a religious oratorio.

The night was a success, and Willow was presented with flowers, along with the soloists. She went out to the audience and presented hers to Margaret in the front row. There was an after-show party in the Chapter House, and a general mingling until those who had done all the work were ready to leave. Gina, Willow, and the Roses slid out and found Sebastian waiting for them. He congratulated the girls on exposing him to yet another beautiful piece of music, and then took them back to Stoneleigh.

On Sunday, Willow looked at her laptop. There was an email from Peter. The early CDs were now almost gone, but the later ones were doing well. Her share, this month, was just on three hundred and sixty-four thousand. She replied to Peter to transfer three hundred and fifty thousand to the WR Holdings account.

The following week was revision time, and Willow spent it revising and working on her projects. The band got together in the studio on Saturday, with Xavier recording, to work through the set for the tour, with more of the earlier hits, making an opening half an hour of Carpenter and Journey songs before getting into the rocking music. On Monday, it was the beginning of Exam week, and everyone had their heads down.

Monday evening, Willow looked at her laptop to see a message from the lady from the council, telling her that the change of status was approved, and that she wanted a meeting. Willow replied that it would have to be Friday evening as she was flying to Australia on the Saturday. On Tuesday, there was an email from the accountant to say that the change of ownership had gone through. On Wednesday, during lunch, she went around to the band and techs, asking for their gate and door keys, so that the site could be made secure.

After the last exam on Friday, she showered and changed when she got home. The meeting had been set to be at the studio and Ashley drove her there after an early dinner. She met with the council lady, the mayor, and two leading members of the Arts Alliance, both older ladies. Willow showed them all around, stressing that the studio could only be used by a trained producer, but the large shed would be all right once it was refloored and soundproofed. At the end of the meeting, she had the details of the Alliance ladies, and they had keys to the gate, shed, and the office doors. They would move their office over the next few weeks.

Willow assured them that the physical changes would take place before Christmas, and to let everyone know that the space would be available next year. On the way home, she asked Ashley if he could get in touch with the locksmith to change the locks on the studio and the back doors while she was away, as there was too much tied up in the studio to leave it vulnerable, seeing that she didn’t have Jacob’s keys. That evening, she sent an email to Wilhelm, telling him what had transpired, and that the upstairs was still useable as the syndicate office.

Saturday morning, she had breakfast with her parents, put her bags out on the porch and hugged them both as the coach came down the road. She didn’t have a lot of luggage. One case with the stage outfits, one case with her own clothes, a smaller case with the project laptop and cosmetics. They would have a dresser and make-up artist on tour, so her appearance will be good every day.

Monday evening, they landed in Perth, after the day in Dubai. The previous arrival in Sydney had surprised with about thirty fans, Perth surprised everyone with about three hundred. With so many, there was no way they could go and talk to them, so they waved happily as they were ushered out of the terminal to a waiting coach, with still more fans outside. That evening, they all relaxed in the hotel and were happy to stretch out on a comfortable bed, as the flight didn’t have enough first-class seats, making them all travel business class.

Tuesday was a free day, to let them get used to the time-shift and settle after the trip. The boys found a games room in the hotel and started a snooker championship, while the four girls were treated to time in the spa. Willow talked Jill into going outside to see if any of the teenagers hanging around were from a fan club, and she came back with three girls who were treated to meeting all the band socially and having dinner with them. When the girls left, their nice tops were covered in signatures.

Wednesday was the first show. The stadium was near-new and could seat sixty thousand. The set-up was their standard stage with the overhead light rig and big screens. The stage equipment was as they usually used. They went there by coach in the morning to get the feel of it, being basically an oval rather than rectangular. There was the usual mixing and visual tent out front, with the older guys from the British tour, but no Xavier and his friends.

Everyone was reunited with their instruments, and they did a sound check to make sure it all worked. They went back to the hotel for lunch, and then lazed around a big swimming pool before a light dinner. They were taken back to the stadium as the opening band was playing and got themselves ready for the show.

When they went on stage, there was a roar, which settled as Willow doodled the opening of ‘Close to You’ on her keyboard. There was good applause as they worked through some ‘Carpenters’, into the’ Journey’ album and then it got louder as they ripped into ‘Homegrown’ and ‘Greenhouse’ tracks. They slipped in the earworm tracks from ‘Magic’ and some new ones from the as-yet unreleased ‘Fireworks’ before finishing with their biggest hit in Australia, ‘Dummy Spitter’.

The following day was a repeat, and they flew to Adelaide on the Friday, for the Saturday show at the Adelaide Oval, in front of fifty thousand. Sunday, they were taken to Melbourne for the two shows Monday and Tuesday. This was at the famed Melbourne Cricket Ground, with each night having seventy thousand. Whenever she could, Willow let the pressure go and sit somewhere quiet to work on her projects.

Wednesday, they flew to Canberra, for a smaller show at the Manuka Oval, with just thirteen thousand fans. So far, every time they had landed, there had been fans waiting for them. This didn’t prepare them for landing in Sydney on the Friday for the two shows there. There must have been a thousand fans waiting for them, many would have skipped school to be there. Barry greeted them with several TV stations having cameras and lights.

When they were all in the terminal, Willow looked at the fans and waved, trying to pick out Evelyn, but not seeing her. They were taken to the coach and driven to Darling Harbour and the hotel. Evelyn and the fan club were waiting for them in reception, having been taken there by coach. There was a happy reunion and some tears. When asked, Barry admitted that the fan club were regulars in his audience for the TV show.

They all had lunch in the hotel, and then the fan club were taken back to school. In the afternoon, Willow was called, in her room, to say that there was a reporter in the lounge to speak to her. She went down and saw the man who had spoken to them before. He smiled when he saw her.

“Miss Rose. I asked my friend in Britain to source that material you spoke about on New Year. I have to say that you, and your band, have gladdened my heart. The depth of your writing is amazing, and the ‘Journey’ album was just beautiful. He sent me that new one that was obviously based on the ‘Magic Flute’. So sublime.”

“That was an idea of Vivienne’s. I think that if you liked that, then the next one is for you.”

She pulled an unmarked CD case out of her bag.

“This is a pre-release copy of the next album. We recorded it in our own studio in Leicester. It’s a follow-on to the ‘Journey’ and was given life by us watching the fireworks last time we were here. The release name will be ‘Fireworks – the Journey Continues.’ Have a listen to it and let me know if you accept that pop music can be enhanced with classical themes. You can keep this so that you can be the first in print with a review.”

“Thank you, Willow. That’s very kind of you, considering what an awful start I made to our last meeting. I do have tickets to the show tomorrow night. I hear that you open with some of the old music, so it should be good. I’ll listen to this and pop by on Sunday to let you know what I think. I ended up not writing a piece last time we met, just letting the others report on your TV show and the fireworks, which was excellent, by the way.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll be here. We’re not dashing all over the countryside this visit, too much to do and so little spare time.”

He held out his hand and they shook, and then Willow went back to her room and her project.

When they went on stage for the first show, the fan club were all in the front row with a beaming Barry, all now local celebrities in their own right. The show was one of the best, so far, with a lot of the audience singing along. Next morning, there was a rare, planned, outing. The whole band were taken to a ferry and across the water to Luna Park, where close to five hundred fans were waiting for them to have fun on the rides in a closed event.

Barry and Bluey were on hand, and the fans must have been told to keep it polite and social, because the band enjoyed a few hours of genuine fun and friendship. Evelyn and Samantha kept close to their friends and there was a lot of love in the air. It was all filmed to cement Barry’s new role as King of the Kids. Some of the fans were invited back to the hotel, and joined the band, Barry, and Bluey for lunch. After lunch, Gina nudged Willow and nodded towards the door, where the reporter was standing.

Willow gave him a wave and he came over and sat with them.

“I’ve listened to that new album, Miss Rose, and it has to be the most polished piece of pop/classic fusion I’ve ever heard. It is magnificent!”

“Thank you, sir. We did our best as classically trained members of an orchestra. There will be a new classical DVD coming out sometime. We performed the ‘Creation’ in Coventry Cathedral a few weeks ago. Hang on, I’ll find out when the ‘Fireworks’ one is being released.”

She went to speak to Jill and came back.

“It’s being released in the UK this week, with the Australasian release in two weeks. That should give you time to put an article together.”

She pulled out her notebook and wrote her email address on a page, handing it to him.

“I would appreciate a copy of the article when you publish, please. My Mum is keeping a scrapbook of important things. Did you enjoy the show last night?”

“I did. Now that I’m looking for them, I’m hearing all sorts of snippets of classics in even the brashest of your songs. You must have had a very deep involvement in classical music to be able to fit them in so effortlessly.”

Evelyn had been listening.

“Willow and the band can do anything, sir. That’s why we love them so much. They’re all top-level students, totally talented, and they’re all lovely people. I met Willow and Gina when they were here before, but never realised that the whole band are so lovely. We all had a ball this morning at Luna Park, and they’ve made a lot of us think that we have a future. Samantha has taken up the guitar after meeting them, and is getting good, as well as getting better marks at school. When you write their names, make sure you put a halo over them.”

Both Gina and Willow gave her a hug.

“That’s very kind of you, Evelyn.”

“It’s true, Willow. After we met you, everyone in the club has worked harder at school. They saw what you can do, at the same age as us, and want to improve their lives. My life has changed. I get to sit in the TV studio regularly, I’m being asked what I think of bands, and what I think about a lot of things. Before, I was just blindly living like a moronic teen.”

“Well, you keep it up, Evelyn. Music and study can take you wherever you want to go. Now, we have to go and get some rest. The playing does take a lot of energy. Are you going tonight?”

“We’ll be in the front row again, ‘Barry’s Band of Babes’. Several of us have an appointment for a fashion shoot in a few weeks. That’s something totally new.”

The band drifted off to go up to their rooms and Willow to go back to her laptop. They had a light dinner and were then off to the Olympic Stadium again for another show. Next day, they were back in a plane, heading for Auckland. They did have a full day off there, and the fans weren’t so thick on the ground, so a few of the band went for a walk. Willow kept at her project, winding up the first one and just needing some information from the Senate Library to finish.

The second project needed some careful handling. She needed to describe the background to her development of the Leicester site without giving too much away about the level of band involvement, but still needed to lay out how she ended up owning a recording studio.

The following two nights they entertained fifty thousand at Eden Park, and then they were flying back to Australia, to entertain another fifty thousand on the Saturday and Sunday evenings in Brisbane.

It was the final parts of the tour, and the newest experiences to come. So far, it had been like playing in Britain, with everyone they met speaking some version of English. The next two venues were in Japan and South Korea, both places where pop music flourished. They played the Wednesday and Thursday nights in Tokyo, and then the Saturday and Sunday in Seoul. Both were big stadiums, and both were packed. It may have been the hotels they stayed at, but they didn’t meet anyone who didn’t speak English.

The band was due to leave for Britain on the Tuesday, but Willow was taken to the airport on Monday morning. She had been booked on a Lufthansa flight that left after lunch, arrived in Frankfurt around six, and then there was another flight that left two hours later to get her into London before nine that night. Total time in the air was over fifteen hours, but it would still be Monday when she arrived, with the added bonus being that she flew first class.

Marianne Gregory © 2025