#1985 us tour

[king-krisu]

We talk about this a lot atleast irl, but I can't wait for the day my niece or someone maybe gets into Käärijä in like 15 years, just like kids are now getting into old rock bands, and I can tell them what it was like to actually experience everything as it was happening. Like yes we did have a fucking yogurt with his face on it, he had hairspray, you went to London and saw his cumface ad on a bus stop, around nye you couldn't step on the metro without seeing his face on the vuosi vaihtuu ad, during spring facebook marketplace and tori was filled with any neon green item being sold as "Käärijä toilet brush" or "Käärijä bottle opener", when he lost his bolero on the highway it made national headlines, every week you'd hear of yet another small town filled to the brim as he performed at some tiny festival, during Eurovision we dressed our lantern bearers in Helsinki in giant boleros, a presidential candidate referenced him as like the 8th word in his opening speech, he really was fucking everywhere. Like how crazy that all of us got into this as it all started and we've seen these updates live as they come

#gonna tell my nieces and nephews about the kaivohuone show as if it were queen at live aid 1985 #yeah kids he came to do cha cha cha in the crowd with us!! #gonna recite bojere lore as if its scriptire i swear to god #'so on the original nordic tour september of 2023' and theyll groan like yeah mf we know #käärijä #jere pöyhönen #cha cha cha

[heritageposts]

Ask an older generation of white South Africans when they first felt the bite of anti-apartheid sanctions, and some point to the moment in 1968 when their prime minister, BJ Vorster, banned a tour by the England cricket team because it included a mixed-race player, Basil D’Oliveira. After that, South Africa was excluded from international cricket until Nelson Mandela walked free from prison 22 years later. The D’Oliveira affair, as it became known, proved a watershed in drumming up popular support for the sporting boycott that eventually saw the country excluded from most international competition including rugby, the great passion of the white Afrikaners who were the base of the ruling Nationalist party and who bitterly resented being cast out. For others, the moment of reckoning came years later, in 1985 when foreign banks called in South Africa’s loans. It was a clear sign that the country’s economy was going to pay an ever higher price for apartheid. Neither of those events was decisive in bringing down South Africa’s regime. Far more credit lies with the black schoolchildren who took to the streets of Soweto in 1976 and kicked off years of unrest and civil disobedience that made the country increasingly ungovernable until changing global politics, and the collapse of communism, played its part. But the rise of the popular anti-apartheid boycott over nearly 30 years made its mark on South Africans who were increasingly confronted by a repudiation of their system. Ordinary Europeans pressured supermarkets to stop selling South African products. British students forced Barclays Bank to pull out of the apartheid state. The refusal of a Dublin shop worker to ring up a Cape grapefruit led to a strike and then a total ban on South African imports by the Irish government. By the mid-1980s, one in four Britons said they were boycotting South African goods – a testament to the reach of the anti-apartheid campaign. . . . The musicians union blocked South African artists from playing on the BBC, and the cultural boycott saw most performers refusing to play in the apartheid state, although some, including Elton John and Queen, infamously put on concerts at Sun City in the Bophuthatswana homeland. The US didn’t have the same sporting or cultural ties, and imported far fewer South African products, but the mobilisation against apartheid in universities, churches and through local coalitions in the 1980s was instrumental in forcing the hand of American politicians and big business in favour of financial sanctions and divestment. By the time President FW de Klerk was ready to release Mandela and negotiate an end to apartheid, a big selling point for part of the white population was an end to boycotts and isolation. Twenty-seven years after the end of white rule, some see the boycott campaign against South Africa as a guide to mobilising popular support against what is increasingly condemned as Israel’s own brand of apartheid.

. . . continues at the guardian (21 May, 2021)

#israel #palestine #gaza #south africa #i think all of us need to seriously study the history and actions of the anti-apartheid movement #and apply these lessons to the israeli occupation

[gingernutsenthusiast]

a foreigner is a foreigner everywhere (variations on the theme of home)

[ Clementine von Radics, ‘Courtney Love Prays To Oregon’ // The backyard of my family home with my parents’ first dog, in Boda, Hungary, early 2000s // Fatimah Asghar, ‘How’d Your Parents Die Again?’ // Brandon Melendez, ‘How to Write Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle into a Promise to Return Home’ // My dad on the main street of the village I grew up in, 2005 // Melendez, ‘How to Write Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle into a Promise to Return Home’ // Keleti Railway Station in Budapest, 1900 // Melendez, ‘How to Write Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle into a Promise to Return Home’ // The hills of my childhood landscape, the Mecsek mountain range in South-West Hungary // Casey McQuiston, Red, White & Royal Blue // My childhood home in Hungary, 2004 // James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room // My parents’ first house being built by friends and family members, around 1995 // @wvterways on tumblr // The iconic 25-story high-rise building of Pécs, my birthplace, 1985. The building became a ghost town in 2003 (incidentally, the year of my birth) and was then demolished in 2016 // @waitineedaname on tumblr // Uránváros, (a city district in Pécs, Hungary) in 1960, the neighbourhood of my grandparents’ apartment // @ohevoyev on tumblr // Danez Smith, ‘from “summer, somewhere”’ // Hungarian Parliament Building, 1896 // @electraheart2012 on tumblr // Analogue picture of Kőbánya-Alsó (Budapest X. District), the neighbourhood of our Budapest apartment // @cruellesummer on tumblr, lyrics from taylor swift’s my tears ricochet // Barbara Cassin, ‘Odysseus and the Day of Return’ in Nostalgia: When Are We Ever at Home? // Stage design of the 1975’s 2022 ‘At Their Very Best’ Tour // Bohemian Betyárs, Lebegő // The campsite of the summer camp I used to go to as a child, Óbánya, Hungary // Leigh Bardugo, Rule of Wolves // Cassin, ‘Odysseus and the Day of Return’ // Trinity College Dublin (my university), covered in snow, 1994 // Neil Gaiman, American Gods // Esterházy, Péter. ‘A mi a bánat’, Élet és Irodalom, 1996. 51–52.]

#web weaving #parallels #home #quotes and thoughts #web weave #i got a bit carried away length wise but im home for christmas and i have Feelings

[jennyanypenny]

You should do that Weezer album thing but with four different Teazer designs used in different productions

Extremely Big Brain idea !!! :-)

This was super fun to do lol

From left to right - Japan (specifically from the 2000s), Zurich (1991), Canadian Tour (1985), and Hamburg (1986-2001)

#rumpleposting #I was thinking of drawing Australia/Asia rumple and Vienna styled rumple but #theres only 4 spots #I wanted to do some I don’t see as much stuff of #and also wanted to try some new things! #Canada Rumple was SO FUN! #theres like 4 pictures of her out of costume #quesostuff #rumpleteazer #cats the musical

[sixth-light]

*slides you money* I heard you were three seconds from a treatise on David Lange and Mururoa and the Rainbow Warrior?

BY POPULAR DEMAND (ok you and like three other people asked)...

The core fact that you gotta know if you want to talk about New Zealand and nuclear weapons is that campaigning for nuclear disarmament and maintaining a legal nuclear-free zone in our territorial waters has been the core of our independent foreign policy as a country for nearly forty years, since the mid-1980s. This developed over the 60s and 70s from a popular groundswell of anti-nuclear sentiment focused around continued atmospheric nuclear testing in the Pacific by France as well as visits from nuclear-powered (and potentially nuclear-armed) American warships. It evolved into government action; left-wing governments took France to court to demand an end to testing and sent naval frigates to the nuclear test area to protest with Government ministers on board.

This was crystallised in 1985 when a photographer was killed in the state-sponsored terrorist bombing of the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship conducting protests at the French nuclear test site of Mururoa. The bombing was carried out by French spies who were decorated when they returned to France (after France promised they would be jailed) and led to a prolonged diplomatic rift between New Zealand and France. The subsequent passing of nuclear-free legislation in 1987, banning nuclear-powered or armed ships visiting our waters, led to New Zealand's suspension from the ANZUS (Australia, New Zealand, and the United States) military alliance. David Lange, the Prime Minister at the time, opined famously that "The only thing worse than being incinerated by your enemies, is being incinerated by your friends." The ban still has such wide bipartisan support that it's simply not on the table now for even our right-wing parties; infamously, in the early 2000s one Leader of the Opposition told an American congressional delegation that the ban would be 'gone by lunchtime' if he became Prime Minister. This wasn't the DIRECT cause of his eventual toppling but it certainly didn't help. Nobody else has gone near it since.

I am, however, excrutiatingly aware that while our nuclear-free stance is viewed internally by New Zealanders as central to our national identity - there's a well-known song and it was even controversially used this year in a beer ad as a signifier of national pride - nobody else remembers. Particularly the Americans and the French. Seared into my brain is Scott Brown (yes that one) arriving here as the new US Ambassador in 2016 and going on the radio to talk earnestly about how Kiwis didn't realise that nuclear fallout wasn't restricted by national borders, c.f. North Korea, as if anti-nuclear campaigning wasn't...well...see all of the above. READ YOUR GODDAMN BRIEFING PACKETS ON THE PLANE, SCOTT, IT'S A FOURTEEN-HOUR FLIGHT.

So what does that mean for the Locked Tomb books?

As the linked article about the beer ad notes, anti-nuclear protesting has been a site not only of national identity formation but specifically Indigenous protest in the Pacific. It is Pasifika peoples who have borne the brunt of nuclear testing and much of the early anti-nuclear movement in Aotearoa was led by Māori and Pasifika, and closely tied to the anti-apartheid movement which focused on the removal or restriction of Māori and Pasifika rugby players on tours to apartheid South Africa.

In Nona the Ninth, it becomes clear that John (a Māori man) and G- (whose ethnicity is not specified but 'reads' as most likely Māori or Pasifika in context), as well as their friends, blackmailed the US government for a suitcase nuke and eventually used it to bomb Melbourne, with John then causing nuclear armageddon around the world. This is, uh, emphatically not the same thing as "Twitch streamers [John & co] nuking New Zealand", as chill as I generally am with the eliding of detail for joke posts. This is a Māori man from and in New Zealand nuking first Australia and then the rest of the world.

This is, obviously, if you're coming from the historical context, hugely transgressive in a way I can only describe as a...horror of agency? The horror of saying, what if we were willing to do the thing that we identify ourselves as a nation as being against under all circumstances? What if instead of standing nobly against nuclear weapons, for reasons of moral indefensibility, we were the ones to pull the trigger? What if our culture and our people survived the apocalypse because one of us started it, instead of us surviving by virtue of being so small, so on the edge of the world, so carelessly left off world maps?

And as to why it matters that it's Melbourne - New Zealand has a...complicated relationship with Australia that's hard to directly parallel to anywhere else (it's sort of like Canada and the US but also not like Canada and the US in any way that Canadians or Americans ever interpret that statement in my experience). In particular, there is huge anxiety in Australia about New Zealand as a source of non-white (and specifically Māori and Pasifika) emigration to Australia. Australian immigration policy, while technically retaining free movement between the two nations, has grown more and more restrictive over the last twenty years. Right now the central point of conflict is a policy of deporting mostly Māori and Pasifika New Zealand-born prisoners back to New Zealand on completion of their sentences, regardless of how old they were when they came to Australia, resulting in a large body of traumatised people with zero community ties being dumped back here and - no surprises! - frequently turning to crime. There's A Lot Going On There. Added to which the Christchurch mosque shooter deliberately travelled here from Australia to carry out his terrorism. And yet also, hundreds of thousands of us live there and many more have relatives and friends there.

And Melbourne? Melbourne is like....the cool Australian city, if you're a New Zealander. Sydney is too big (the same population as our whole country!) and too...everything, Brisbane and the Gold Coast are tropical and so kinda weird, Adelaide and Perth? we don't know them, but Melbourne is aspirational. Melbourne is the kind of city Wellington and Auckland would like to be when they grow up, maybe. They have laneways and culture and a working tram system. But it's also a very...white kind of cool. The kind enjoyed by rich Pākehā who can afford to go on weekend shopping holidays there.

So yeah. John and G- and the crew nuke Melbourne and it's a nexus of all these tensions old and new, of who we think we are as people and as a nation, of how we relate to Australia which is our friend and nearest neighbour and our rival and our scapegoat (because they're the really racist ones, aren't they? If we say that loud enough, does it drown out the sounds of our own sins?)

It's a fantasy of power and a horror of it at the same time. I hope someone right now is writing a monograph on this, there's so much to dig into. But it deserves to be framed as what it is, as a response from a Kiwi author to our own history and identity. It deserves to be understood in context.

#the locked tomb #ntn spoilers #new zealand #history #nuclear disarmament

[munsons-melody]

the russian starlette (prelude)

summary: after taking a job at starcourt, you accidentally get entangled with russians underneath the mall who decided to experiment on you, causing you to gain telekinetic powers

pairing: female!henderson!reader x eddie munson x steve harrington?

cw: none

word count:  1.0k

a/n: this part of the fic takes place in s3/the summer of 1985 and follows the storyline of s3 closely

✰ part one: the prelude

✰ part two: the experiment

✰ part three: the return (coming soon)

masterlist

i do not consent to having any of my works republished, translated, or posted to any other site except here. if you see my works anywhere but tumblr, it has been republished without my knowledge, consent, or permission

。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

god you wish you never took that stupid job at starcourt mall, but steve was a little too convincing...

"c'mon y/n, we'll go in, apply to a couple of places and if we hear back that's great and then you can save up for a car and i'll save up for college or whatever" steve explained as you sat in his car outside the mall

the engine was turned off, leaving you to contemplate in the silence, your head leaning against the window and your body facing him in the drivers seat

"i don't know steve... a job at the mall?" you questioned and he looked at you with eyes sweeter than honey

"look, you've been saying yourself you feel bad i'm driving you everywhere and that your mom would meet you halfway on the price of a car" he said, using your own words against you

"yeah and eddie's not around to drive me too" you said sadly

you sighed

okay fine, part of the reason you didn't want to get a job at starcourt was because your boyfriend eddie was touring around america with some new band called guns n' roses and it made you feel like the biggest loser that you're stuck in the the middle of nowhere indiana working at a mall

but you knew steve was right, and that you couldn't depend on eddie to drive you to school anymore, and that you felt bad that steve had been driving the two of you around the past few months

you knew you needed the independence so you sighed, and got up, your back cracking a little in the process

"fine, let's go get a job but i'm not dealing with anything with food" you said as the two of you got out of the car and shut the doors

"yeah i'm sorry but you really just can't cook for shit" steve laughed and the two of you started walking inside

。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

after a month at working at the gap, and seeing your paycheck, things weren't too bad working at the mall

steve got his job at scoops ahoy and luckily, his schedule somehow coincided with yours so he would drive the two of you

you had talked to eddie a few times over the past week, last time you guys spoke he said he was somewhere on the east coast and he was very happy for you and your new job

of course, you still felt like a loser working at the gap in hawkins while your boyfriend is an actual rockstar but steve made the mall bareable

plus, you finally became friends with robin, a girl you would always see around school but never talked to

the three of you would hang out constantly, and you were just happy in your little life of sneaking into the movies with them, or when steve would finish up before you and bother you in the store by trying on random clothes to keep you entertained till you left an hour later

that was until dustin came home from summer camp

you had finished up early at your shift at the gap, and walked over to scoops ahoy to bother steve and robin for the remainder of their shifts

it was nearing dinner time, meaning, most people weren't getting ice cream to eat, leaving the shop empty but you heard the three of them bustling around in the back

you rang the bell, and steve opened up the small window that separated the back room from the front counter

"oh hey y/n, we're just uh- doing stuff back here..." steve said, glancing behind him and then back to you

"wait it's y/n?" you heard dustin say and suddenly his face appeared next to steve's

"come back here, quickly and calmly, i need to tell you something huge" dustin said and you did as you were told

a few minutes later, dustin had explained how he picked up a russian transmission, and that they were trying to crack a secret russian code

hours after hours, you continued to listen to the same message over and over again till eventually you all figured out they were talking about the mall

which led you to the next problem, getting past the big scary russian with a big gun guarding the door

"or i could take him out" steve said nonchalantly

"take who out?" robin questioned

"the guard?" steve replied

"did you forget the part about the big gun?" dustin asked with an annoyed tone

but that guy was the least of your worries

after the secret elevator plummeted down to a crash on the bottom floor, and all five of you slipped through the elevator doors, you were on to finding more of the russians underneath starcourt

after walking for what seemed like miles, you all stumbled upon the hub full of russian guards, scientists, doctors, along with the comms room

and of course chaos ensued again

once in the comms room, you were taken aback by seeing someone in the room with you

robin tried to say the code to the russian man before steve started screaming and charged at the man, knocking him out

"you did it! you won a fight!" dustin exclaimed before a bigger issue caught your eye, the russian's were attempting to open the gate with a large machine which instantly made your stomach drop

alarms started blaring when the guards noticed the five of you, causing panic to ensue and everyone started running

your heart was pounding as everyone scrambled to outrun the guards, steve knocking over giant steel barrels in attempts to slow them down when you all ran into a room, slamming the door behind you

steve pressed his body against the door to keep it shut

"help me!" he yelled as the you and robin ran to him, pressing against the door with all your might

you watched as dustin and erica climbed up stairs and started descending into a hole in the floor

the weight of the guards pushing back seemed to be getting greater and greater

"i'll never forget you!" dustin screamed

"go!" you all screamed in unison as dustin shut the hatch

the guards eventually pushed open the door, causing everyone to go flying

it all went in slow motion as they opened the door, the weight of the push had sent your body flying to the wall, knocking you into complete darkness

to be continued…

#stranger things #eddie munson #munsons-melody #steve harrington #dustin henderson #eddie munson blurb #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson smut #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x henderson!reader #eddie x y/n #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x y/n #steve harrington x y/n fluff #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x you #steve harrington x reader

[magentagalaxies]

"I may have been born yesterday, but I still went shopping!"

Happy 16th birthday to Charles Budderick "Buddy" Cole, born 64 years ago, yesterday.

Image/quote sources are under the cut:

Opening sentence of Buddy Babylon, written by Scott Thompson and Paul Bellini

Frame from "Buddy Cole Origins part 1", Scott Thompson's first video as Buddy Cole. Entirely improvised by Scott Thompson, filmed by Paul Bellini in 1985.

Still frame from the Buddy Cole sketch "Buddy and Bobs", filmed for the Kids in the Hall on CBC/HBO but never released

Photograph taken by Jessamine Manchester backstage at Scott Thompson's Philadelphia show during his KING tour on February 10th, 2024

Buddy Babylon, page 2

"Buddy Cole Origins part 1"

Buddy Babylon, page 131

Photograph taken by Jessamine Manchester in the green room of Scott Thompson's Atlanta show on the KING tour, February 16th 2024

Buddy Babylon, page 198

Scott Thompson quoted in "An oral history of Kids in the Hall's unabashedly outspoken Buddy Cole played by Scott Thompson" written by Vanja Mutabdzija Jaksic June 9th 2021.

Frame from "Buddy Cole Origins: Uncle Sappho" filmed by Paul Bellini in September 1986.

Photo taken during sound check at City Winery Atlanta by Jessamine Manchester February 16th 2024

Buddy Babylon, page 167

Buddy Cole in "Stand Out: An LGBTQ Celebration" on Netflix. June 2022.

Vulture article "The Kids in the Hall’s Scott Thompson Used Gay Provocateur Buddy Cole As an Essential Megaphone" written by Abraham Josephine Riesman on February 9th 2017.

Photo taken by Jessamine Manchester in the green room at Scott Thompson's Boston show during his tour of KING, February 7th 2024

"Behind Buddy Cole" written by Jaffe Cohen, published in the New York Native on January 8th 1990

Photo taken by Jessamine Manchester February 2024

Scott quoted in "An Antidote for a Sickening Era", written by Eve Kucharski May 30th 2019

Frame from Buddy Cole monologue "I'm Canadian", from Kids in the Hall Season 1

Photo taken backstage at Mouth Congress's performance at PhilaMOCA in May 2022 by Anne Hoskins

Scott Thompson quoted in "The Persistence of Buddy Cole: Scott Thompson Discusses His Most Iconic Role" written by Brock Wilbur on May 30th 2018 for Paste Magazine

Frame from Scott's first Buddy Cole monologue "Love at First Sight" from the Kids in the Hall Pilot, 1988

Frame from The Lowest Show on Earth (2001, possibly 2002) encore in which Buddy Cole appears in a fursuit and makes love to a woman live on stage

Frame from Buddy Cole monologue "Finding Love", from Kids in the Hall Season 3

Frame from Scott Thompson's appearance as Buddy Cole on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, 1997 or 1998

Vulture article "The Kids in the Hall’s Scott Thompson Used Gay Provocateur Buddy Cole As an Essential Megaphone" written by Abraham Josephine Riesman on February 9th 2017.

Frame from Buddy Cole monologue "Paris" Kids in the Hall season 3

Frame from Buddy Cole monologue "Montreal" Kids in the Hall season 5

Buddy Babylon, page 159

#i spent so long on this you have no idea what i went through to put it together #happy birthday #buddy cole #kids in the hall #scott thompson #kith #queer #paul bellini #the kids in the hall #queer history #mouth congress #webweave

[archeolatry]

Go take a look at this beautiful trove of old SparkSound magazines someone is selling on eBay. For the price they might as well be made out of gold, but the seller's been nice enough to take big, largely readable photos of so many of the issues. Is there a similar digital hoard of scanned versions? I'd love to see more! (I've seen photo pages in full but only snippets of the rest.) The absolute like... raw, sloppy, fanzine chaos of these as as official publications from a major label band is blowing my fucking mind, even if it is just for the fan club. It's literally their mom cutting and pasting and cramming mentions from both Melody Maker and TV Guide onto an A3 sheet of paper, layouts be damned. The apostrophe on her typewriter is broken for a couple issues but she carries on with an asterisk. She's also around 60 by this point and banging this out to an audience of hundreds or thousands like it's a local Kiwanis club newsletter. But she's doing it with gusto, by gum, and it's punk as hell. The best thing about it is that the lack of style is made up for by the absolute top-tier access to the band, and her being surprisingly on top of pertinent details.

For those of you who weren't in a fandom before the internet, those behind-the-scenes photos were like your favorite band's proof of life. There was no Instagram or Twitter, or anything that proved they existed between national TV appearances and touring in your area (besides those mentions in Melody Maker anyway). If you were lucky, your fandom had the capacity to trade videotapes and people in Scranton could see local TV appearances in Los Angeles and vice-versa. If you were really lucky they weren't all copies of copies with potato quality sound and video. Likewise, if you wanted the 12" extended European dance mix of a song with a B-side unavailable in the US, you had to either special order it somewhere and pay through the nose, hope it was in the imports section of a record store (and still pay through the nose), or you had to trade cassettes or burned CDs and hope the other person didn't flake on you. The fact that she's saying "Don't go running to the import section yet, the single will be out on ____ record label on this date with this track listing" is WAY more info than we usually got from our official sources. All "Mary Martin" needed to do for exclusive content was take pictures of her sons on vacation. On one page she's absolutely dunking on Russell them in wry cut-and-paste captions and on another she is the perfect hype man, telling people shows at The Greek Theater are gonna sell out so get your tickets early (but hold your horses on travelling- they're working on Japanese dates for September so you may not need to fly to the US). The personal thank-yous! The CARE! *slams fist on table* If any other band had their mom as the head of their fan club it'd be the most contrived shit in the universe, a complete lie, or both. I fucking love these guys.

#sparks #sparks band #Like…even the seminal punk rock fanzine Slash was typeset #And Mary over here is taking care of business between games of canasta #be quiet an old hipster is speaking #i'm a part time sparks blog now

[steddieunderdogfics]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/41086575/chapters/102982446

Weakened Like Achilles, with You Always at My Heels by @hmslusitania

Incredible fic. Drives me crazy. 11/10.

Weakened Like Achilles, with You Always at My Heels by HMSLusitania

@hmslusitania

Rating: Mature

53,969 words, 9/9 chapters

Archive Warning: Chose Not to Use

Tags: canon complicit, Slowburn Fix-it, slowburn romance, Flashbacks, Questionable Coping Mechanisms, Steve Harrington is Dustin Henderson's Brother, Steve Harrington & Maxine "Max" Mayfield Have a Sibling Relationship, Steve Harrington Has a Bisexual Awakening, Found Family, Hallucinations, Undead Eddie Munson, Vampire Eddie Munson (sort of), High School Reunions, Angst with a Happy Ending, everyone is very traumatised, Disabled Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Some poor mental health, Ghost Eddie Munson (sort of), Survivor Guilt, past steve/nancy, Fall in love with the thing that’s haunting you

Summary:

The graduating classes of 1985 and 1986 invite YOU back to West Hawkins! Welcome reception Friday, May 24th at 7:30pm. School and town tour to follow on Saturday morning. Memorial service Sunday. * If you are a graduate of the class of 1985 and need driving directions to West Hawkins, please RSVP * Due to current government restrictions, we are not currently able to offer a site visit to the Hawkins Exclusion Zone -- Steve Harrington goes home for his ten (well, eleven) year reunion with a nagging secret that's slowly ruining his life. In the ten years between, he finds the family he always wanted and, unfortunately, the person he wanted to share it with.

Thanks for the rec!

Know a fic that deserves extra love? Submit through our asks or the submission box!

#steddie #steddie fic recs #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie #stranger things #canon compliant #rated m #angst with a happy ending #slow burn #fix it #found family #vampire eddie munson

[l44serbeam]

now i wanna, be your dog

eddie munson x metalhead!fem!reader summary: five times Eddie knew that he was undeniable head over heels for the leather wearing hellcat that rode into his life and rattled him in his boots (and by boots i mean doodle littered converse). a/n: okok so i've seen plenty cheerleader x eddie munson fics but i've seen like ONE metalhead x eddie fic which is much needed. Im talking like motorcycle riding, eyeliner wearing, beer shotgunning, motley crue enjoying bad ass bitch that can outsmoke eddie like theres no tomorrow. So, i made one :) this is literally the fluffiest of fluff, a bucket of sexual tension, and smut thrown in a basket and tossed back at you with a pink ribbon.      ❀ warnings: afab and she/her pronouns used, fluff, smut (number where smut occurs in bold) [riding, fingering, cum eating, pulling out] , drug use, under 21yo drinking, smoking (weed and cigarettes), cursing, y/n is said to wear heavy makeup, tiny little reference to blood, y/n is also said to have facial piercings. y/n is 18 here and in her senior year and Eddie is 19. ❀ poc friendly

Not responsible for your media consumption choices but preferably 16+ from here on down ;)

There was no doubt that from the second Eddie Munson laid his eyes on the new y/n y/l/n, she had him wrapped around her little ring covered finger.

With heavy black eyeshadow and lips blood red, the moment she stepped foot into Hawkins, he was right behind her, chasing her like a lost puppy.

Y/n had just moved to Hawkins, rumors of "the new girl" were circulating around the town like a wildfire.

Eddie didn't think much about the fact a new girl was around, only that it wasn't going to affect him much but on the first day of school he was proved extremely wrong.

1.

The very first day of the new school year, Eddie jumped out of his van and was in the process of locking his door when he heard an unfamiliar roar of a motor behind him.

He turned around and caught a glimpse of a motorcycle driving into the student parking lot, much faster than allowed. The motorcycle in itself was what initially had him reeling. It was a Suzuki Katana, painted a dark red. So dark it almost looked black when the sun wasn't hitting it. All his years in the treacherous highschool and in this horrid town and never once had he seen that bike.

On it, was what he last expected to be riding it. A woman? Now, it's not that Eddie had any issue with it, but here? In Hawkins, Indiana?

There was no way that wasn't the new girl because trust me, Eddie would have noticed her before.

The second thing that caught his attention as he walked in the direction of where the girl was pulling into, was her shirt. It was baggy and the sleeves had been torn off, the sides of her black bra showing when she lifted her arms. It was dark grey and had a white design, the words 'Iron Maiden' large in the front and in the back had all of the dates and places of their 1984-1985 'World Slavery' tour. It was one of Eddies favorite bands.

As she parked the bike, turning off the engine and throwing her bag over her shoulder, some kid jumped up besides her.

"That's a beautiful ride ya got there." He said. Caught by surprise, she flashed the boy a smile, the brightness of it contrasting the darkness of her eyes.

"Thanks. Fixed her up myself." She said, patting the seat.

After a beat of silence, Eddie stuck his hand out towards her.

"Eddie. Eddie Munson, but you, can call me whatever you please." He said, a smile much too sly on his face.

y/n couldn't lie, he wasn't bad looking. He was rather attractive. He didn't look like the jock kind. With hair almost as wild as hers, rings of skulls and gargoyles, patches and pins of various metal bands she was familiar with sewn into his jacket and converse completely covered in doodles of the most outrageous of things, he seemed just like her kind of person.

"Y/n y/l/n and i think i'll decide what to call you while you walk me to first period." She replied, walking past him and avoiding his hand which was still stuck out.

From then on, Eddie knew he was in for it.

2.

"Dude this is the worst shit i've ever fucking smoked." the girl giggled as she laid on the floor of Eddies van, her legs mounted up against the door of the van and her back on the ground.

"It's not that bad." Eddie slurred from his place in the beanbag.

They were parked out front of Eddie's trailer, using the van as a more convenient place to hotbox.

"There's no fucking way Rick doesnt have better shit to offer you. I mean your like his best... busboy. Where's the better shit? I think we should interrogate him." y/n muttered, bringing her legs off the wall and sitting up against it.

Eddie merely snorted at her struggle to sit up. Her eyeliner had smeared a little, now intense and under her eye. Strands of hair stuck onto the piercings on her face, causing her to swat them away, then lightly whine when her aggressive actions pulled on her piercing harshly.

"What are staring at, freak." y/n said playfully, looking up to Eddie who gazed at her from the beanbag, his eyes half opened and hair wild.

"You." He said. Thats what y/n liked about him. An honest man. Only one she'd ever met.

"Why don't you come here and get a little closer, maybe you'll see better." She lited, tilting her head to the side and smiling a smile so innocently titillating that made the boy swallow harshly, sitting up and leaning towards her.

His face was now mere centimeters away from hers, air hot and still reeking of pot. Her smile faltered slightly, now just a smirk.

Eddie was mesmerized. His lips parted as his breaths came in quiet pants. His eyes lazily flickered back and forth between her eyes and her lips.

If he were sober, he would've sealed the gap ages ago but now, countless puffs in and all he could think about was how soft her lips looked, the now faded crimson color looked so delicately venomous. Like one kiss would kill him but oh how endearing that one kiss would be. Almost as if he leaned in, hed never get to lean away and right now, he had no problem with that. So instead of closing the small space between them, he just stared into the abyss that was her lips.

"Why don't you get some Motley playing before i decide to do something dumb like jump your bones, Munson."

3.

The crowd at The Hideout was fuller than usual. A few unrecognized faces littered the crowd. Mostly middle aged men with beards and bandanas.

Eddie was crouched by the back of the stage area, plugging his amp into the wall. Next to him, Jeff and Gareth argued over some stupid cables and which go where as if they hadn't done this millions of times.

"You're a fucking idiot Jeff. That's the XLR cable, not whatever the fuck you're saying. That goes into the amp not the wall." He whisper shouted, making Eddie roll his eyes.

"Then how would the mike turn on, Gareth." He replied, dramatically placing his hands on his hips.

"It connects to the amp that AMPlifies it considering that's what an AMPlifier does. Then the amp goes into the wall. It's not fucking trigonometry. I mean shit, Eddies had to retake highschool like a hundred times and he gets it."

Eddie raised his arms and turned to look at them "I'm right here dumbass." He said annoyed, being dismissed with rolling eyes and waved hands. "I need a beer." He mumbled before making his way past them and up to the bar.

"Luke, can you gimme a Busch?" He ordered, placing the cash on the counter and receiving a nod from the bartender.

"Make that two." A voice rasped behind him, followed by the scent of cigarettes and vanilla.

He turned to welcome to sight of his now bestfriend (and occasional fuck buddy) looking like she just came out of a Rolling Stones magazine. Just a black lace bra as a top, black leather pants, two chains attached to the belt loops and a dark weathered denim jacket thrown over, oversized and the sleeves bagging.

He was holding back any and every urge to immediately fall to his knees at the sight of the y/n y/l/n. The girl that had grabbed the boy by his shoulders and shown him what the world is like outside of the wretched town. The girl that had shown him what it's like to truly have the rug pulled from beneath him and a heavy boot wearing damsel step on his throat.

"On you, of course." She chuckled, jumping onto the bar stool besides him and leaning her forearms onto the sticky bar counter.

"Oh of course. Can't have the punk rock princess pay for her own drinks." He laughed, making y/n laugh at the rhyming but slightly cheesy name he'd decided to give her.

"Would that make you the metalhead macho? Or shall i say, the iron maiden." Y/n laughed at her own joke, making Eddie bark out in laughter as well.

The bartender placed the two bottles before them and Eddie slid him the money for the second one and made his own seat on the barstool next to him.

"So, what brings you here at this treacherous hour of the night?" Eddie asked, never having had seen her at his gigs before.

"Got stoned, bored, and remembered it was tuesday. Plus they don't ID here. Why, don't want me here?" She asked playfully, placing her chin on her palm and elbow on the counter.

"No no no that's not why. I mean definitely it's wonderful you're here, you just didn't have to come if you didn't want to. It's not like we're all that."

"Im playing with you Eds. Came to support my metal monarch and hope he plays some Stooges. Nowhere else i'd rather be." She said, punching his shoulder lightly.

Y/n's words made him blush, followed by his endless hopes that she didn't catch onto that.

"Your wish is my command because as a great poet once said, 'i wanna be your dog'." He said in a fancy voice, grabbing his beer and jumping out his seat to make his way back to his band who now looked about ready to begin playing, but not before bringing his hand up to her chin and swiping it with his thumb lightly, an act of admiration he'd grown used to doing.

"Go get em tiger." She cheered before chugging down her beer.

4. smut belowwwww

Eddie was already deep in the waters of adulation even before the sex began but now, a cigarette in between her lips and legs over his hips, what he felt was near worship.

Riding him with a frevity and hunger that Eddie never knew one could have, he felt like he was orbiting saturn, his hands gripping the skin of her hips as he helped (barely) her motions. Leaning her head back and exhaling the smoke, she looked like an angel to the man beneath her. Or more fitting, a fallen angel.

Because nothing of the things she could do and did do to him were anything near holy. The way she made Eddie feel whether if it was with a simple movement of her body, a knead of her hands, or a lewd comment that dripped out of her lips like the sweetest of honeys was anything but sanctified.

"Fuck y/n. I- i can't. To good. Fuck." Eddie muttered, his words falling incoherent.

"Hold on there pretty boy." y/n moaned, bringing her hand down to his shoulder for support. "I'm close too."

A symphony of the most obscene of moans clouded the room, mildly covered by the heavy guitar of Push and Stomp by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts bouncing off the thin walls, the creaking of Eddie's bed loud and just as incriminating as the very sounds that left their lips.

"Fuck, im gonna cum." Eddie groaned, pulling y/n off of him, ropes of white liquid squirting onto his abdominals.

"I can help with that." y/n mumbled, stuffing her cigarette into the ashtray on Eddies nightstand before grabbing her hair out of her face and leaning her face down to his stomach area, boldy licking him clean.

"Shit." Eddie hissed at the sight. His eyes rolled at the entire scene.

When finished, y/n kissed and licked her way up to his neck, then his jaw, then finally, his lips. He groaned into the kiss, his hands coming up to her waist and flipping the two of them over, now him on top.

"You didn't get to finish." He said, barely letting himself finish his own sentence before muffling it in her neck, biting and nipping at her skin. His hands found its way to her core, fingers gently brushing through her wet folds, pulling a sultry moan from her lips. He made his way down to meet his mouth with her pussy, licking and sucking like a man starved.

Between his fingers and his tongue, he pumped in and out of her, watching from below as he body arched and her eyes squeezed closed. He bathed in pleasure when she gripped onto his hair, pulling on it with authority and possession.

He was hers and there was nothing anyone could do to change that.

5.

The last song Eddie couldve ever expected to have brought y/n such joy was the one that had her on the bed besides him sitting on her knees, in nothing but her black lace panties (which had a tiny rip in the lace trim due to a little impatient man with long black hair) and his hellfire shirt, her arms close to her chest as she swayed with the song.

"OH ONCE IN YOUR LIFE YOU FIND SOMEONE!" y/n sang the lyrics of Heaven by Bryan Adams dramatically, emphasizing the emotion behind the melodic piano and moving instruments.

Eddie laughed at her antics, the haze of the early hour of 3 a.m and the wearing off of the pot they'd smoked earlier made everything so cohesive and the moment so endearing.

"WHO WILL TURN YOUR WORLD AROUND!!" She continued, now theatrically "falling" on top of Eddie, arms still swaying with the music.

Brain fuzzy with laugher, Eddie looked down at her, singing the lyrics to the cheesy song he had no idea was even on her radar, considering it was so out of her character. The dim light of his lamp illuminated her, shadowing her features perfectly.

Once the theatrics were over, instead of rolling off of him, y/n decided to remain on his chest, head tilted up and looking at him and legs intertwined.

He looked down at her, indulging in all her beauty.

"You missed some." He said, his thumb coming to the area right below her eye to wipe off a bit of excess eyeliner that hadn't come off with the makeup wipes, frowning when it didn't come off.

"It's that new waterproof shit i bought. Gotta scrub it off with every bit of strength in me to get it all off." y/n laughed lightly, clearly not showing any sign of her actually getting up to do it.

Eddie reached over to the nightstand and grabbed the packet of makeup wipes shed left on there and grabbed one.

He gently grabbed her face so her chin was on his chest and he sat up slightly against the pillows, y/n closed her eyes and he began wiping around her eyelid and lower lashline, ever so gently and lovingly. Almost like he was scared to hurt her if he got to rough.

As he laid here, he thought to himself about how he could do this every night for the rest of his years. He thought to himself about how he'd finally found a person who got him. Without instruction or persuasion or the need to change, she just got him. From the minute she rode into the oh so boring school of Hawkins High where Eddie felt like he was imprisoned, she graced him with a ground shaking beauty and freed him, gifting him a sense of self and new found enjoyment of his life here in Hawkins. And he wished that when his life here in Hawkins ended, she'd be with him for whatever next life was to come, making a mess of it with smeared eyeliner, smudged nail polish, and lips so dark just the sight of them could make a saint profane.

"thank you." y/n mumbled, eyes still closed as Eddie wiped.

Eddies motions stilled and he stared at her tranquil face. He felt something, something which he had to get out.

"I think i love you." He said quickly and without thinking. A spring of fear blossoming in him. All his worries eased when she let out a soft chuckle, opening her eyes and looking dearly at him.

"i think i love you too, freak."

#ˋ°•*⁀➷ ꜱᴏꜰɪ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇꜱ #eddie munson smut #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson #stranger things smut #stranger things #st4 #st4vol1 #st4vol2 #st4 vol 2 #stranger things season 4 #eddie munson headcanons #eddie munson x metalhead!reader #eddie munson my beloved #eddie stranger things #eddie munson stranger things #eddie x reader #i love eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #stranger things season four #eddie munson x female reader

[laurolive]

Paul and Linda, a collection of PDAs: Part 1 - Kisses

In our walk down the memory lane of Paul and Linda’s love story, which still captivates the romantics and the expressive artists out there, we start with an excerpt of an interview.

Rolling Stone cover June 17, 1976: “Yesterday, Today, and Paul.” In this interview, Paul says something interesting:

I mean, I kissed Linda onstage the other night, and for me, that’s kind of, ‘Wow, I must be getting real relaxed,’ ’cause I can’t do that in public, normally. I’m a bit kinda shy.

Paul McCartney shy about showing affection? Well, artists are certainly a different breed. He can sing a heartfelt love song in a venue full of people, but has to work up the courage to give his wife a little kiss? As photos will tell, he soon got over that quirk.

And even before this RS interview, he could certainly be demonstrative when a photographer or videographer was around, whereas the average person would be more guarded knowing that their tender moment would soon be out there as a picture in a magazine or a video clip on TV (we’re talking pre-internet days here).

RS Interview from The Paul McCartney Project

The 1970s: Not Exactly in Public, but There Must Be Someone Holding The Camera

1970 or 1971. Aww, so sweet.

June 1971 The video for the song “Heart of The Country” was made in Scotland. Is that a kiss? We might have to examine the still pic below. 

June 1971 A still image from the “Heart of The Country” video. I’ll count this as a kiss.

1974 In the garden of their house with baby Stella between them. It’s a published pic, so I’m counting it as a public kiss. (An “almost-kiss” but close enough.)

1974 Photoshoot for the Apr. 7, 1974, issue of New York News magazine. The cover story was "Just an Old Fashioned Beatle: An Exclusive Visit with Linda and Paul McCartney." Aww, lips softly touching the cheek is something I’m going to classify as a kiss.

Magazine article: @johnflyons.beatles on instagram

Post-1970s: Now We’re Really in Public

Sept. 21, 1982, at Linda's first photography exhibition in London. Photo © Robert Rosen. Rosen talks about the snap in this excerpt from an interview with I-D magazine:

What's one photo you're really proud of? Robert Rosen: I love the shot of Paul and Linda McCartney kissing. As soon as I had it developed I just thought, wow, I did that. I sent them a print but didn't hear anything more until a few months later, when, Paul and Linda turned up to a gallery event I happened to be at. At one point, Linda tapped me on the shoulder and said, 'Are you ignoring us?' She gave me a big hug and told me they loved the photo. That obviously meant a great deal to me.

From The Guardian archive, 21 September 1982: First London exhibition for Linda McCartney

I-D Interview with Robert Rosen Sept. 20, 2017

November 26, 1982, in Paris, France during photography month. An exhibition of Linda’s photographs was part of the event. Okay, his lips are just grazing her hair, so I’m going to call this a “hair kiss.”

Feb. 8, 1983 The 1983 British Record Industry Awards. Paul gets a congratulatory kiss from Linda after winning the 1982 British Male Solo Artist award and the Sony Trophy Award For Technical Excellence. The Beatles won the Outstanding Contribution to Music award.

More pics: The Paul McCartney Project

The same 1983 British Record Industry Awards. Two kisses in one night! Paul can’t hide his surprise.

Nov. 28, 1984 Another congratulatory kiss from Linda as Paul is presented with the Roll of Honorary Freedom of the City of Liverpool.

October 16, 1986 British Video Awards at Grosvenor House Hotel, London.

Rupert and The Frog Song awarded the Best Selling Video of 1985

April 4, 1989 Ivor Novello Awards at The Grosvenor House Hotel. Paul wins, Linda gets a kiss (so they both win 😊).

July 29, 1990 Backstage during the Paul McCartney World Tour 89/90 at Soldier Field Chicago. Linda is bidding farewell to Paul as she heads for the dressing room and he to the press tent.

From I Saw Him Standing There, Jorie B. Gracen, 2000. @thebeatlesofoz2 on Instagram

April 27, 1994 Press Conference for Linda's Home Style Cooking at Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Paul comes out to endorse Linda’s book, and greets her with a kiss.

Video clip of Paul’s entrance from CelebrityFootage.com

1997 from the video for the song “The World Tonight”

1997 A kiss in the studio, from the documentary In The World Tonight.

Let’s see the whole sequence of that kiss, right from the beginning:

Bonus: Wedding Kisses March 12, 1969

You go Linda! Give your groom a kiss like the cameras aren’t around.

Everyone’s relationship dream: Get someone to look at you the way Linda looks at Paul here.

#Youtube #paul mccartney #linda mccartney #linda and paul #paul and linda romantic #paul and linda mccartney #paul and linda forever #linda louise mccartney #linda mccartney and wings #linda eastman mccartney #paul and linda #lovely linda

[johns-prince]

I told him: “You know you love your own company. Even Cyn says you go days without speaking to her. She feels a million miles away from you.” John replied: “Ah, but she’s not, is she. She’s in the kitchen putting the kettle on.”

—Tony Barrow, Beatles Book Monthly Magazine, No. 149 (Sept. 1988) [×]

¶

There’s one line in the lyric I don’t really mean: “Well knowing you / You’d probably laugh and say / That we were worlds apart”. I’m playing to the more cynical side of John, but I don’t think it’s true that we were so distant. 

—Paul reads from his new book, The Lyrics (2021). [×]

¶

“I’m kind of expected to say, ‘[John] was a saint, he was always a saint, I remember him as a saint’, but it would be a lie. He was one great guy and part of his greatness was that he wasn’t a saint. He was a great guy but he was pretty sacrilegious. He was pretty up front about it. But it was half the fun.”

—Paul McCartney (c. 1984) in The Dream Is Over: Off The Record 2 by Keith Badman [×]

¶

“John is neither a saint, nor is he a sinner. He was just human, like the rest of us.”

—Cynthia Lennon, answering the question “John Lennon: saint or sinner?” The Independent, July 1999 [×]

¶

“Seeing Lennon focus on Ono rather than him[Paul] was as devastating as it would have been for Cynthia Lennon to witness the couple making love.”

—Peter Dogget, You Never Give Me Your Money. [×]

¶

“Then also we were like married, so you got the bitterness. It’s not a woman scorned this time, it’s two men scorned — probably even worse. And I had to make way for Yoko. My relationship with John could not have remained as it was and Yoko feel secure.”

— Paul McCartney, Interview by Duncan Fallowell in the Chicago Tribune, October 14th, 1984 [×]

¶

“Apart from giving me the courage to break out of my stockbroker belt... Yoko also gave me the inner strength to look more closely at my other marriage. My real marriage. To The Beatles, which was more stifling than my domestic life. Although I had thought of it often enough, I lacked the guts to make the break earlier.”

—Skywriting By Word Of Mouth by John Lennon (pg. 17) [x]

¶

“I still think at the back of John’s mind was this fascination of wanting to get back with the first girlfriend, if you like, and that was to get back with Paul, who he had so much history with.”

—Tony Barrow, The Beatles’ press officer, on the Lennon/McCartney reunion that was never to be [×]

¶

“I mean, I think really what it was, really all that happened was that John fell in love. With Yoko. And so, with such a powerful alliance like that, it was difficult for him to still be seeing me. It was as if I was another girlfriend, almost. Our relationship was a strong relationship. And if he was to start a new relationship, he had to put this other one away. And I understood that. I mean, I couldn’t stand in the way of someone who’d fallen in love. You can’t say, “Who’s this?” You can’t really do that. If I was a girl, maybe I could go out and…”

—April 3rd?, 1985 (Soho Square, London): Paul talks on German television show exclusive about the breakup of the Beatles and his personal breakup with John. [x]

¶

“But Paul was his own man and not afraid of John. In fact, musically and personally, the two were beginning to go in separate directions so perhaps Paul’s visit to me was also a statement to John.”

—Cynthia Lennon, John [×]

¶

“Paul, who believed strongly in the family and in family values, told me that he felt as if it was the Beatles themselves who were heading for divorce, not just John and Cynthia.”

—Tony Bramwell, Magical Mystery Tours [×]

I wanted to end this post with a quote from Cynthia, whether it was from a book or was an answer to a question, about how she simply misses lying in bed with John, and just the two of them talking. This quote from her book John [x] is relevant, but unfortunately I couldn't find the exact quote I wanted.

To accompany the sentiment from John's first wife though, is this quote:

“If John Lennon could come back for a day, how would you spend it with him?” “In bed.”

—Paul McCartney answers questions for Q magazine, 1998 [x]

#anthology of mclennon #mclennon #paul mccartney #cynthia lennon #john lennon #it's not much but it's what i felt i needed to do #point is cyn and paul loved and lost #the meeting of wives #husband and wife #parallels it's the dots I've connected

[riaaanna]

Montreux Part 5: Ask Phoebe and Meet Greg Brooks & Jim Jenkins - 2 Sept 2023

The main afternoon sessions of the Official Freddie Mercury Birthday Party in QSE brought out some special guests. Phoebe was back with a special Q&A session, with each session consisting of 10-12 people. We all sat round in a secluded makeshift room and each gets one question to ask for Phoebe.

I transcribed the Q&A session as best as I can below! I only lost a tiny bit but it didn't reduce the content at all. Some things he talked about was living in Garden Lodge, babysitting for John and Roger, and his thoughts about the Sotheby's auction.

I didn't prepare a specific question, but with the majority of audience demography of this entire event in mind, I had an agenda to ask about Jim Hutton to highlight in the discussion about how important he was for Freddie. Transcript under the cut!

ASK PHOEBE

Q1: I always wanted to know, there is this picture of Brian and Roger at Live Aid talking with Princess Diana, and I always wondered why wasn’t Freddie there, why didn’t he reach out as well.

A: He just didn’t want to be there, because he felt that it was… it would be used as promotion, and he just wasn’t prepared to be used.

Q1: Okay, but was he nervous like John or just didn’t want to…?

A: No. Just – he preferred to be out with friends backstage rather than sitting there… and do what? So that’s it.

Q2: Did Freddie ever meet Queen Elizabeth?

A: Queen Elizabeth, no, I don’t believe he did. The only person he sort of met and talked to and spent time with was the disgraced royal Prince Andrew.

Q2: (laughter) That’s great.

A: But he did offer to take Prince Andrew to Heaven nightclub, but even Prince Andrew thought he’d better not be seen there. (laughter) I mean, the best story, though. There was a gala, and Freddie was there and Prince Andrew was there and their staff, and they’re talking… and Freddie looks at Prince Andrew and says to me, “Phoebe! Take that plate away from him, look, he’s finished.” ‘Cause it was strawberries and cream and he just wasn’t going to eat it. So I took it away. And then, Prince Andrew said, “Well let me return the favour.” And he took Freddie’s scarf out of his champagne glass and wrung it out. (chuckles) So… in the days when he was… a good man.

Q3: Um, I know that he liked Prince and he liked Aretha Franklin… Like, out of today’s artists, do you think he would’ve liked Lady Gaga or Kelly Clarkson – somebody who has like a real soulful voice? Maybe Bruno Mars?

A: Probably. Probably. Um… the thing is he would be prepared to listen to a good voice, but it would be a good voice on his terms. The majority now, I don’t think he would spend time on. And the thing I find totally ridiculous – I saw the news yesterday that Warner Brothers in Germany has signed their first AI artist. So Warner Brothers is going to release Artificial Intelligence music. I mean, what is happening to this world? Where are – what’s happening to the people who can sing? It’s ridiculous. But that’s my opinion! Anything I say in here is my opinion!

Q4: As you have told, Peter, in interviews, we know how your relationship with Freddie was. But how did you get along with the rest of the group? Roger, Brian, John, and Mary Austin?

A: Fine! Fine, fine, fine. Particularly in the beginning when we were all on tour. I was on tour from 1979 until 1985. I mean, I was babysitting John’s children on the tour, and even back in London I was babysitting Felix Taylor. We were all a big group of people together, so we all just got on. Even to this day – I mean John, I haven’t spoken to since 1997, when he was asked to play with Queen, ‘cause I was there for that show in Paris. And… but the others – I mean, I live in the Czech Republic. Czech Republic is home for me, and they live… anywhere else in the world. But if I go to a show, then we’ll all sit backstage and we can talk for 3-4 hours. I remember one show not too long ago, I went backstage, they’ve done a 2 hours show, I went backstage and we sat and talked for 5 hours. So, you know, um… we still have a relationship. And Mary, for those 12 years, everything was fine. Um, she was part of Freddie’s life, I mean, we were all part of Freddie’s life. So, for Freddie, we all got on together. Because everything, everything all of us did was for Freddie.

Q5: How did you feel or what was your reaction when they told you that Freddie had a disease?

Well it was Freddie himself who told me. Um, he went and had a biopsy from a mark he had. And, that was… in March 1987. In May 1987, Freddie asked me to come to the kitchen. He made sure that Terry had gone out to do something and that Joe had gone out to do something. Cause he told each of us privately on our own. And he came down to the kitchen and he said, “Look, I’ve got something we have to talk about. You know I am sick.” I said, “Well, yeah I know you’re not too well… yeah.” He said, “You really, actually – you know what it is.” And I said, “Okay, I… I think I know, but… I hope I don’t know.” He said, “I have AIDS. This is the last time we will talk about this, because I have a life to live.” And in those four and a half years, […] the most brave, courageous man in my life that I’ve ever met, because he never let anything get him down, he never wanted sympathy from people, he never wanted to walk into a room and people go, “Oh Freddie, you must be tired, here’s a chair-“ He never wanted anything like that. While he could stand on his own two feet he was going to. And that’s how he faced his disease. And at the very end, it was him who was in control, because he was the one who decided he was not going to take any more medication that was going to keep him alive. He knew he was going to die from this, but it was under his terms, not the terms of the disease.

Q6: What was it like living with Freddie at Garden Lodge?

Amazing! (laughs) What else can I say? I mean, there was laughter, there was fun, he loved a good time. The thing is, Garden Lodge is a big house. It’s a very big house, but, it was a home. While Freddie was alive, the bricks were warm, there was a soul to the house, and it was home. And he said – I remember we were on the minstrel’s gallery and he said, “Look!” He realized, “This is your home. You are living here. This is home.” And that’s what it was. And it was a home full of fun and laughter. But, I mean – saying it again, and I don’t want to keep going back to it – literally minutes after Freddie died, it was just bricks and mortar. It was just a house. A house with beautiful things in it. Because it was him who made that thing. And he was the life and the soul of that place. And, on contrary to what you see in the film, he was really happy, and he enjoyed his life.

Q7: What do you think about the decision of Mary Austin to sell all these things? Honestly?

Mary Austin is selling her things. That’s it. Freddie Mercury decided he wanted Mary to have everything 32 years ago. So, they are Mary’s things. Um, she could – over 30 years, she could be selling something here, sell something there quietly, nobody knows anything about it. But no, she took care – and think of the memories that must have stirred in her. And she kept everything there for 32 years. And now, she has said to the world, “Here is Freddie.” Of what Sotheby’s had done with it is incredible. Because I guarantee anybody who has seen it or will see it that – the Freddie you knew, at the beginning when you walk in the door, is not the Freddie you will know, when you walk out the door. Because you learn so much more about Freddie. And even if you look at the catalogues online, you can see – you get more of an idea of Freddie in person. Because for me, you all know the amazing musician, the performer, the composer, this giant. But I want you to know a little bit more about the person who created all of this music, and performed, and what he got out of it. Because he performed for all of you. He performed for the public. He wanted every pair of eyes on him, so that he could give himself to people.

Q8: (A boy asking/talking with his mum in Italian, his mum translates roughly) He is just saying how you were his best friend.

A: I was a good friend. There were many best friends. But thank you.

Q8: (The mother apologizes for him interrupting Phoebe, explaining that he’s autistic)

A: Yeah, no, no, no, that’s fine, that’s fine, that’s fine. The fact is, he’s here. There is no – for half of you, you could not have seen Freddie performing live. But you’re here. And he – look at him! He is here! He is the next generation that will carry on Freddie for the next 30 or 40 years. And then probably his child will, because of the passion. So thank you. Thank you very much.

Q9: My question is probably a bit different – I want to ask about one of the people closest to Freddie, who was Jim Hutton, who I understand was his partner in the last few years of his life. What was he like as a person, as a partner to Freddie in your perspective? Any stories or memories of him?

A: The thing is I knew Jim long before Freddie knew Jim. I was working in Selfridges, I was 19 years old, I was an assistant manager of a restaurant in there. Jim worked in gentlemen’s bespoke wigs, and he would come in the restaurant every morning for coffee. So we were sat, we would chat – so I knew him. That was in ’72. Then Freddie met him in 1985. And I could not believe – I was going round to Stafford Terrace ‘cause Freddie was still there, and I knocked on the door, and Jim opened the door. ‘Cause I hadn’t seen him for so many years! (recalls in a low voice) “…What are you doing here?” “Oh, well… Freddie…” (imitates a shrug, a “you know” gesture) “Uh-huh. Okay.” Um, Jim… was very protective of Freddie. He was never jealous of Freddie, but he wanted to protect Freddie from any harm. Sometimes, it came across as just (gestures a tight hug to himself) not letting anybody near, you know? But it wasn’t really like that. Jim loved Freddie. He did. That I have no doubt. And he wanted to do things that would please Freddie, so he always took care of the garden, he even bred koi carp for him, you know? Because you take the eggs out of the fish pond and put them in the tank at the back with aerated water and grow the eggs into, you know, little fish and everything, so they could put the fish back into the pond. He would do those things for Freddie. There was a genuine relationship there.

Q10: In your knowledge, is there a concert that Freddie was very proud of that he did?

I think he was most proud of the Budapest show. Because he was performing in front of an audience that had very, very, little chance of seeing any big bands. So the reception that he was getting from this huge massive crowd filled his heart. He was a performer, you know – the more the audience gives him, the more he could give them. And there was these thousands of people. And also the fact that there were 26 cameras filming the whole thing. And so, he was so proud of that video, you know, the Budapest Live, the video. But also, he – he “learned” (sighs, in a fond mocking tone “as if”) – he wrote on his hand that song to sing! You know, um… yeah, he was really, really happy with that show.

Q11: Is there anybody living in Garden Lodge now?

A: Not now cause there’s no furniture in Garden Lodge. No, the thing is Mary hasn’t lived in Garden Lodge for a few years. Because with Garden Lodge came the mews, and she was living in the mews and she bought more in the mews and made a bigger house there. So, at least she could keep the memories of Garden Lodge in Garden Lodge. And she employed someone to keep coming in every day, to clean everything –

Q11: And the Christmas tree, as well?

A: No, I don’t think the Christmas tree –

Q11: In the garden.

A: Ah, in the – ah, yes, yes, yes. But she kept everything going for all these years. And the thing is, if you think about it, she’s 73 now, and if something happens to her, she’s got two children – two boys, in their thirties – who have no idea what to do. At least Mary has some knowledge of these things, so that she can give them with that knowledge. The children would have nothing. And who knows what would happen then. So, that’s why again I think it’s the right thing that she’s done. She’s made it ready for everybody. I know not everybody can afford it, but there are cheap… (“as if” tone) cheap… better-priced things. There are accessible things. But when it comes to the auction itself, who knows what will happen.

End of Phoebe's Q&A! The whole session was about 30 mins long.

Bonus - as we all went out I saw Greg Brooks and Jim Jenkins in the main QSE room. They were offering visitors the chance to take a picture with Freddie's microphone (part of the costume exhibition that I posted here) with proceeds donated for the MPT. So I had my picture taken with the mic and stopped by to chat with them and took pictures with them as well!

There will be one more post for the afternoon session in QSE before the big party, and that will be dedicated for the Mixing Desk session with the legendary Justin Shirley-Smith!! Thanks for reading this far!

#queen band #freddie mercury #brian may #roger taylor #john deacon #montreux #Ri goes to UK #Ri goes to Europe

[sichore]

Ok! A follow-up headcanon to my pre/earlyklok headcacon: SNAKES 'N' BARRELS

Pickles was recruited after filling in for the vocalist and guitarist for a Cheap Trick cover band. Initially, the execs were just going to use his vocals for the albums and have someone else be the face on SnB since he was just a kid – but Pickles did turn 17 not long after and turns out he's kind of a musical genius.

So the guys took him in, showed him the good life – as well as the bad. Pickles had already been exposed to some rough things on the streets, and the SnB guys are the ones who really got him onto hard drugs. And the more Pickles grew into his role as frontman, and grew increasingly stressed with the constant touring, recording, *and* seeing that the guys just did as they were told but didn't really work at the music like he did – it got really bad. And with no one to quell his habits, Pickles became just as much of an addict as the others. He was just functional enough to perform.

But there were some good points, like getting to meet all kinds of other celebrities and do some collabs and features, like the one with Shayla Puss. With glam rock dying off, SnB had started to display a darker image and a heavier sound to match their heavier lyrics – the philosophy of which Pickles would take with him when the band fell apart.

It was during this time in the late 80s - early 90s that he drifted around and remade himself, giving up the svelte twink look for someone a bit harder for the growing hard rock, metal, thrash and grunge scene. He met Magnus during this time as they were at similar points in their careers, and we all know what happened after that.

A lot of his loneliness came back even after Dethklok got big when it started to feel the same – he had literally everything, but also nothing at all. This desire to feel on top of his game and in control of something was part of his driving factor behind doing the SnB reunion, which, of course, was a disaster. Again, he had to carry the whole project, which is why he tried to sue for the name, because it's his band.

Except legally, it isn't. Those bad contracts he made as a kid who didn't know any better came back to bite him, so especially after the stint with Rikki Kixx, SnB is in legal hell and possibly indefinite hiatus, as much as Pickles would still like to continue it with fresh talent.

I personally have SnB's active years from 1985-1989, to overlap a bit with the rise of Guns N Roses, and also mirror the time of the latter band's most active and chaotic years.

#metalocalypse #pickles the drummer #mtl headcanons #i had to get this mental timeline together to have a solid reference when i write #ty for coming to my TED talk

[realreulbbrband]

man over there do be vibing though

From the season five premiere episode of the tv series ‘Fame’ 1982 - 1987. Cast of cats us tour 2 photographed with Gene Anthony Ray.

Derryl Yeager as Alonzo, Leigh Webster as Cassandra, Serge Rodnunsky as Coricopat, Phineas Newborn III as Pouncival, Adrea Gibbs Muldoon as Tantomile, J Kathleen Lamb as Victoria, Gene Anthony Ray, Thom Keeling as Skimbleshanks, Kenneth Jezek as Tumblebrutus, Edyie Fleming as Bombalurina, Sheri Cowart as Demeter. 1985.

(source)

#I didn’t see this clip around tumblr so might as well #cats the musical #Fame tv #Cats us tour 2 #sorry for the lack of uploads recently btw #alonzo (cats) #cassandra (cats) #Coricopat #Pouncival #Tantomile #victoria the white cat #skimbleshanks #tumblebrutus #bombalurina #demeter (cats) #gene anthony ray

[fuckyeahgifheaven]

Interview, Entertainment Tonight, 1985

Nice man: “Why does The Firm not perform any songs from Bad Company and Led Zeppelin on the tour?”

“It would be stupid of us – having been off the road for so long to come back and sort of establish yourself as a nostalgia, entity. Would have been stupid. Neither of us could have done that, really.”

"Once you got into a tour, I think there’s a lot of pressure off the road with all the sort of business aspects and the actual playing, of course. If you’re just down to playing the music, it would be, you know, be utopia, really."

'Radioactive', The Firm, 1985.

Jimmy wore his beautiful butterfly jacket for the shoot.

#Jimmy Page #The Firm #Led Zeppelin #1985 #Interview #Gifs by Fuckyeahgifheaven #Transcript by Fuckyeahgifheaven