Chapter 8

On Tuesday morning, we weren’t going out anywhere, so we stayed in our gowns and made sure the house was clean before showering and dressing. I moved the Defender, turning it around, now easy with no chicken coop, and then backed it up to make space for visitors.

It was nice enough to catch up on the laundry and we remade the beds. I took the marinated legs out of the soak and laid them out on a baking tray, ready for this afternoon. After lunch, over the course of the afternoon, we did little chores, finished the sponges, peeled and diced for the dinner for eight, and set up the extra table and chairs, using two tablecloths.

Francis arrived about three, to help out, and the others were all here by four. We sat them at the table with cups of tea and fresh hot scones, with cream and jam, and brought out the two scrapbooks, without the extra page. They took a while to look through them, with us answering the questions that inevitably arose, especially with the police raid. We told them that Tom and Albert had been badly treated while in police hands and left it at that.

When the scrapbooks went back into the cabinet, they took turns to wash their hands and I served up dinner, which went down a treat. Dessert was a choice of the Victoria Sponges and topping. Then, we sat them in the lounge with glasses of wine and showed them the DVD, the first time they had seen Tanya in full entertainment mode.

After that, we showed them the cabinet and the stage dresses. Margaret showed them what they looked like on me. Of course, they wanted to know what I sounded like, so we went back into the lounge, and I sat at the keyboard and serenaded them for nearly an hour, until they needed to leave.

Everyone gave us hugs and told us that we were worthy holders of Tanyas’ legacy. Francis stayed on after they had left, and I made some hot chocolate as I put the plates and pots into a hot, soapy soak. She took a sip of her drink and sighed.

“There has to be more that you’ve held back. Tom had never shown any sign of Tanya when he came here to live. I won’t tell the others, as they didn’t see him as often as I did.”

I went and got the page and gave it to her to read, When she had stopped crying and had settled down, she gave it back.

“This answers a lot of questions. Does anyone else know this?”

“The son of the owner of the nightclub was there when they were released and arranged the hospitalisation. Our parents know, and then just the three of us.”

“It doesn’t have to go any further. If you destroy this, there’s only the scrapbook. Can we eliminate any more people knowing?”

I went to the gas stove, lit a burner and held the page edge against the flame, then holding it over the sink until I had to let it go. When she left, she gave us both heartfelt hugs.

“Thank you for this insight into our good friend. It was lovely to see her in full flight and will give us a good memory to hold on to. You really are the image of her, you know, in talent as well as looks, adding a big touch of Albert as well. I’ll talk to my friend at the Cricketers tomorrow. I’ll ask if he has a space for you, one Friday evening. We’ll also save space for your cakes at the next bring and buy at the church.”

We finished the washing up and tidying, folding the extra chairs and the table for me to put in the shed when it was light. As we were putting the left-over cake in containers, Margaret looked at me.

“That was an interesting dinner party, Toni. There were eight of us, all women, and it was like a birthday party I had once. Never did they treat you as anything but another woman, and you didn’t drop out of character for a second. Will this be you, even when the semi-permanent wears off?”

“I don’t know, sis. It depends on the future of my playing. If Tonya works well, I may as well carry on as I am. If it doesn’t, then we’ll see. For the moment, I’m enjoying the me that I am, accepted and included by other women. It’s as if I’ve grown a personality.”

Wednesday, when I looked in my emails, there was one from the lawyer, with two attachments. One was the court ruling on the probate, and the other was the transfer of a hundred and seventy-six thousand pounds to the account I had given him.

There was another, from the company registration office, and the attachment was my new certificate for TonyaTunes, with a registration number. I printed all of the papers off and sat on my bed in disbelief. Today, I had a business, and money. I now had a house and a car, my motorbike and a future. I did a bit of research and then shut the laptop down.

Once we were up and dressed, and having breakfast, I broached the subject of cars.

“Last night, one of the girls said something about Tom helping out in the depth of winter. From what was said, I gather that our access is too remote for a snowplough, and that he would take Francis to the shops with the Defender. That stopped me contemplating trading it in on a van. If we do get a car that we can both drive, it will have to be a four-wheel-drive so that we can get out of here in the snow.”

“OK, I get your thinking. What do you suggest?”

“There’s a Subaru dealer in Stevenage. Let’s go over there and have a look at what they’ve got. All their models are diesel, and we put that in the Defender. If we see something we like, second hand, we can put a deposit on it with some of the cash we still have. My inheritance has come through, and I can pay the balance from that.”

We went into Stevenage and looked at cars. There was a 2015 XV AWD that was reasonably priced. It was a manual and we talked about trading my Honda on it. We came up with a ballpark figure which I thought reasonable, took it for a test drive, and paid a big deposit from our cash reserve. They would prepare it for pick up in the afternoon.

From there, we went to the cosmetic supplier that we had talked about and got me a full kit. Then, I drove to the Octave shop and picked up the seat that I had forgotten the other day, in shiny black to match the keyboard. I also picked up the rings at the jewellers in Luton. Back home, we had lunch and then I got the Honda out of the shed and removed the extras that I had added. Who knows, I may get another one. While it was warming up, I transferred enough money to my card to pay the extra for the car, then put my bike jacket and helmet on and rode off to the car dealer, registration papers in my pocket.

At the dealers, we finalised the price and I paid the residue, put my jacket and helmet on the back seat, and drove the car back to Lower Green. After the Defender, it was like riding in a lounge room, if a little underpowered.

For the rest of the day, and on Thursday and Friday, I looked through the books on more modern songs that I could add to my repertoire. I had about an hour and a half that I knew, and having one of the books with me would give me another hour. Margaret was singing along as she had the washing machine going with the tablecloths in, the music being much more the background sound of her mid-teens.

On Saturday morning, I had two phone calls. One was from the Cricketers, asking me if I could pop around and play them something on their upright in the bar. They didn’t have a proper piano for the dance area and stage. The other was from Hector.

“Hello, Hector, how are you?”

“Really good. Am I speaking to Anthony or Antonia?”

“Until the semi-permanent wears off, I’m staying as Antonia, Toni or Tonya for short.”

“OK. Tonya, we have finalised the post-production of the session that you recorded. I’ll send you a box that you can take around. Now, a friend of mine, who is with a label, came in while Zacharia was working on it and wants to put it out for general release. What do you think about that?”

“I’m happy with that, as long as they use Antonia Underwood as the name. Will there be anything coming to me?”

“It will be a budget offering, so you’ll get two pounds a sale. I know that you don’t want to sign with me. Is there someone that can manage you?”

“I’ve set up a registered sole trader as ‘TonyaTunes’, all one word with capital ‘T’s, and Margaret will be my manager and make-up specialist. I’ve got to pop into a local pub to do a few songs before they book me. I’m not rushing things as I want it to be at a pace I’m happy with.”

“Get her to register herself as an agent. There aren’t many rules, and all she needs to do if you’re her only client is to keep good books and pay the taxes. Same goes for you. Remember, paying her fifteen percent is classed as a cost for doing business. I suggest that you find a friendly accountant. I’ll still submit your name for an Equity card, as long as you come and play for me when you’re a big name.”

“Do I get to choose how big I have to be?”

“I know that I put you off by being too needy. I spoke to my wife, and she told me off. I’ll be happy with whatever you do. We’ll get a small cut from the album as the recording studio, as well as something from the duets album, which is coming along nicely. It wasn’t until we pulled the recording out of the vault that we realised how similar your singing and playing is. It’s made it much easier to work with. We played my friend a couple of tracks that we had finished, and he wants to issue that too. Your cut will be the same as your album.”

“I’m adding more modern numbers to the set and may run across someone locally who can write something original. I’ll just have to be out there and playing and see who I meet. It’s going to be a whole new world.”

“Have you any pictures of you with Tanyas’ old costumes on?”

“We did have a session with me trying them on. There’s only a couple that would work up here, the rest are more suited to the sort of club Shackles was.”

“Yes, she had to be pretty raunchy there. Mind you, Tanya could do raunchy better than most. I’ll send you the box of discs, as well as a few copies of the video we shot. It should help you find places to play. I’ll include the Equity card as Antonia Underwood as a stage name and a form for you to fill out and post back to me, formally requesting it. It will list me as the issuing agent, but that doesn’t bind you to my agency, that would need a bunch of other forms. Include the banking details when you’ve set it up. Thank you for the chat, I wondered if you had put your London experience behind you as much as Tanya did. I look forward to seeing you in the charts, and, one day, in a guest spot here.”

I spoke to Margaret about what he had said, and we went on the company site and submitted a request for a company registration as a performers’ agent, with the name of Underwood Sisters Agency, with Margaret Underwood as a sole trader. We paid the fee from my account. Then, we looked in the phone book for accountants. There was one that she had met, as one of her school friends was his daughter, and she had been at her house where he worked from home. She rang him up and we had appointments to see him on Monday.

After lunch we took the Subaru to The Cricketers, where I sat in their bar with the upright and entertained the drinkers with a range of the old and new songs in my repertoire. They had a spot for me, a week after the next Friday. I would be the first act of the evening and would be followed by a dance band that I had heard there before. They were called the ‘Trotters’, as in fox trotters, and did old and new style dance music. When I had seen them, they had a singer, guitarist, drummer, double bass, trumpet and saxophone, and had been quite good. They would be setting up on the Friday afternoon, so I was told to get there around two, so that I could claim some space on the stage for my keyboard. They did have a PA and microphones, but I would need my amp.

On Sunday, we took a picture of me in the shimmery fringe dress, with a wig that matched, and fully made up in showgirl mode. While I was changing back to normal, Margaret created a flyer that announced that Antonia Underwood would be performing at the Cricketers, Ickleford. We printed some off as souvenirs and emailed a copy to the Octave and some around to family and friends.

Over the next week, we became clients of the accountant, with him helping us set up accounts for both our companies, seeded with five hundred in each account from the remainder of the cash. I spent a lot of time at the keyboard and the upright, learning a lot of new songs. My exposure to entertaining had given me the impetus to do the best job I could, even if it was for a few dozen locals.

I also spoke to Francis about the Harvest festival, which was now only a few weeks away. I would take the plastic table and a couple of chairs, and she suggested that I make a couple of dozen Victoria Sponges with about four flavours. The venue was an open area, outside the cemetery, and there would be big tents for us. Tom and Albert used to take the dogs when they attended.

Margaret had her driving lessons, and the following week the instructor told me that she was good enough to drive the Subaru, with extra lessons being further apart. She had a pair of magnetic plates, so we put them on and spent much of the weekend going out and about to give her the time behind the wheel without an instructor beside her. After that, we had her driving it whenever we could. If I went somewhere, alone, I would take the Defender.

On the Friday, I took my keyboard over to the Cricketers in the Defender. When I went in, the other band was already there and setting up. They were mainly twenty to thirty years older than me. A couple of the younger ones helped me carry my gear in and set it up on one side of the band, where it looked good. We set up a microphone for me and I sat at the keyboard to do a sound check.

I played through one of my songs and everyone was happy. I stood in the room as they did their own sound check, next to their manager. When they had finished, he showed me their play list and asked me if I knew any of the numbers. I pointed out a few that I knew, and he grinned.

“Lads. Humour me a little. Tonya knows a few of your set. Seeing that you’re both on stage, tonight, why don’t we see what you sound like, together.”

He showed the singer the list with the numbers ticked and urged me to go up on the stage with them. The singer called out the title and they started playing the tune, while I came in on the piano. We did four songs, with me on the piano and also singing duet with the singer. When we stepped off the stage, I laughed.

“That was interesting. I’ve never sung with a backing band before.”

The manager looked surprised.

“Surely you’ve played a lot of other places where they had a band?”

“No, I’ve only played in public once before, and that was an impromptu performance in a nightclub in London. I was there with a guy who had known my cousin when she was a regular on stage. It was her that taught me to play.”

“But you’re so good. It’s hard to believe that this will be your second time with an audience.”

“It’s a long story, and no longer relevant. I’m here, I’ve got my kit and a set that I can play. I’m looking to work the local area in the future, nothing special. I should have some CDs to play for people soon, so they can hear what I can do.”

“You have a CD, already?”

“I recorded some tracks in the studio owned by the man who knew my cousin. He’s got a pal in the industry who’s going to issue it, as well as another which will take my tracks and mix them with some that they have of my cousin, from the nineties, as a set of duets. I haven’t heard any of them yet.”

“Give me your contact details. Here’s my card. When you get some albums, give me a call. Do you even have a manager?”

“My sister will act as manager, as well as my make-up and dresser. This is all very new to me. I didn’t even know I could entertain until a couple of weeks ago.”

“Can you come back on stage, tonight, and do these songs again, with the band?”

“Sure, it’ll be fun.”

The singer went to where he’d left his coat and came back with a sheet of paper.

“This is a list of newer songs that we rehearsed, but they don’t work as well as they should with a guy singing. Do you know any of them?”

I looked at the list and borrowed a pen from their manager, ticking about six that had been in the books that I had been working through. I gave it back to him and he picked one.

“Let’s go back on stage and try this one first. We’ve got plenty of time and all the kit’s in place. I’ve got a bit of an idea.”

We all went up on the stage and got ready. The one that he had picked had a piano introduction, so I led off and they joined me. I sang the song as I had practised it and thought that it was pretty good with the backing. The manager was standing in front of the stage when we finished all of them. He looked up at the singer and smiled like he had just smelt a pile of money.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Tiger?”

“I am. Tonya, we do a lot of places where we need more modern songs, but the ones that work best in dance halls are sung by women. We don’t play that sort of place every week, but enough to give you some regular work. If I mark the ones that we can do, tonight, and you shorten your set by dropping the other songs that we’ll be playing we’ll shorten our set and call you up to finish the evening with us, doing the five we’ve played and another five that we agree on. It should be a memorable evening. If it works well, we’ll have you join us at the bigger dance venues where younger ones come along.”

“How will we work that if I’m not a regular member of the band?”

The manager took out a calculator and ran a few numbers.

“If tonight works out, I’ll give you a list of bookings that would benefit your singing. I’ll pay you as a contractor for each show, at a hundred a show. If your album takes off and you start attracting more customers, I’ll hold out for a bigger payment for the band and increase your take. We don’t have to sign anything, and the deal can be broken by either side with enough notice. What do you say?”

“It will mean that I’m out there and getting noticed. That may help me getting solo bookings. Let’s make it a deal until Christmas, when we can sit down and discuss next year.”

I held out my hand and he shook it.

“Tiger, go and get a photocopy of that list, marked with the songs you want her to play, and we’ll hang around here to make sure that we can live up to our side of the bargain. I’m sure that Tonya will want to go home and get ready for the show.”

I turned my keyboard and amp off and gathered my bag. Tiger came back and gave me the copy. He had put extra marks against five songs.

“See you tonight, Tonya. I know that there isn’t a huge crowd here, usually, but we’ll knock ‘em dead.”

I had arranged to pick my keyboard up in the morning, so took the Defender home. We would be coming back in the Subaru, to allow me to be wearing my stage outfit, with Margaret driving. For much of the afternoon, I looked at the songs he’d marked and tried them out on the upright to fix them in my mind. Then, Margaret removed the wig, and I had a shower, followed by making a light meal for us. After that, I became Tonya Underwood, the singer, while Margaret fed the dogs.

When we left home, I was in the shimmering white dress with the fringes, a pair of impossible heels, and a freshly washed, almost white wig to suit, that went down past my shoulder blades, or over my breasts, depending on how I stood. I had a cardigan that I could use if it was too cold when we finished the show. Margaret had given me a showgirl face, and the paste jewels sparkled. I was ready to rock!

When we arrived, we could hardly get into the car park, finding a space next to the bands’ van in an ‘artistes only’ spot. When we walked in, the place was packed. Before I went up on the stage, we spoke to our parents, Uncle and Aunt, Francis and her husband, the other five girls with their husbands, several of Margarets’ school friends, including one with her father and mother, our accountant. It seemed that people had passed the news on, and they were all keen to see Tonya on stage. On top of that, there were a crowd of regulars, and another that looked like Trotters fans.

It only seemed like minutes before the publican went up on the stage and welcomed everyone to the Cricketers Friday evening entertainment, introducing me as a local lass with a wealth of talent. I went up on stage, carefully in these heels and nodded to the crowd as I sat at the keyboard. To me, it was all too short before I reached the end of the set and stood to accept applause. There had been a lot of dancing, and I was happy with my set. Tiger was waiting to go on the stage and held his hand out to help me down the steps, giving me a smile and a wink. The band went and got themselves ready and Tiger introduced them before they started playing.

I was on a spare seat with my parents and Margaret, finally getting there after being waylaid by a lot of nice people who wanted to tell me how wonderful I was. I had hardly taken a sip of wine when I was asked if I wanted to dance. Dancing and I had never been compatible, but Margaret dragged me to my feet to join her and the lad who was leading her to the dance floor. My partner was Wilfred, or Wilf, and told me that my set had captured his heart.

I had seen my sister dancing with the other lad while I’d been playing and entered into the spirit of the evening. I found that I enjoyed it, as Wilf couldn’t do the old-time dances, so we rotated slowly with my arm round his neck and my head against his chest. He was a lot taller than me. As we were near the stage, Tiger splayed his hand. I pulled my head back.

“Wilf, it’s been lovely dancing with you, but I do need to powder my nose before I go back on the stage.”

“Are you doing another set?”

“I’m joining the band for the last part. It’s a surprise.”

“I’ll say it is! They’ve needed a girl singer for a long time. I’ll hang around until the end. Can I take you home?”

“Sorry. I’m with my sister and we live locally. Maybe I’ll see you at another show, but I haven’t been given the venues. You’ll see what I mean when we close out the evening.”

He took my hand and walked me back to the table and I gave him a kiss on the cheek as I picked up my clutch. Mum went with me to the toilets. I really did need to go, and we stood next to each other afterwards, redoing our lipstick.

“You’re very good in so many ways, love.”

“How’s that, Mum?”

“You play and sing like an angel, you look like a star, and you act exactly as a girl should. Are you going home, now?”

“No, Mum. I’m going back on that stage, and we’ll be finishing the evening as ‘Tonya and the Trotters’, perhaps for just the first time of many, should it all work as we hope. It’ll be a surprise for everyone.”

Marianne Gregory © 2026