I think the last chapter should be 36, not 35.

Keep going, I'm enjoying your story.

Chapter 37


"And a good afternoon to you all... I'm Tom, and I'll be with you for The Afternoon Show. Got a couple of special guests for you too..."

So, our girls are about 30% the way through their tour, and have a few days break in London, before they go over to mainland Europe later on tomorrow evening. Ziggy flew back home to Aberdeen to sort her life out, and will fly down to join the rest of the team tomorrow morning, while Linda is being looked after (well, 'spoiled' is probably a better description!) by her parents and another paid helper. Originally, the plan was for the bands to fly back to London, but Linda decided that, whilst it would take longer, she'd be more comfortable on the bus than getting special stuff done so she could fly.

Last night, Carol and Tom had gone to the mansion, and spent the evening with Jenny's family, which is where the idea for todays interview had come up.

"So, my first guest is Carol! It's always good to have you on the show, Carol! She is, of course, in the middle of a European tour with both CJDL and Northern Girls. So, Carol, what's it like to have a couple of 'days off'? I know it's been pretty full-on with your tour."

"Yes, nice to sleep in my own bed! And have more than just one day off. But the tour isn't quite as full-on as you might think, we have a day's break between venues, so it's not quite so bad."

"I guess the first thing I need to ask about is... how is Linda? Maybe you can explain what actually happened?"

"Linda is doing well, she's currently being looked after by her mum and dad. So yeah, we were up in Aberdeen, and Linda and Dianne had gone into town to do some shopping and have an early dinner. They were on their way back to the Arena in a taxi when a big van smashed into them..." Carol went on to briefly relate the rest of the story.

"You decided not to cancel the tour then?"

"No way! That would be a sure-fire way to upset our fans. We've had to make a few changes, but our fans have been amazingly supportive."

"So what has been the response to you tour so far?"

"Well, everything I've seen is pretty positive. We've been quite surprised how positive our fans have been about the 'extras' in the show."

"Extras?"

"We have a few 'fun bits'. Crew Karaoke, where one of us sings with one of the crew. Then there's 'Linda's bass riffs', where Linda, and maybe some others take a song with a strong and well known bassline. The most popular has been 'Walk on the Wildside'. I mean, the stuff she plays is nothing like ours or Northern Girls music, but our fans seem to like it. We also have a 'solo spot', and when Jenny played the Tequila Song on her sax, they loved it!"

"The Tequila Song? You mean THIS one?" asked Tom, and he played the original track.

"Yup, that's the one. Now imagine a tropical backdrop, and we all come on with silly cocktails and that sort of thing. I will admit, we all enjoy doping the 'extras', because it so different."

"So are you playing 'Give Me Cereals' again? That is is a song based on the Baby Metal 'Give Me Chocolate, it's lead by Linda, and involves a bit of running around the stage.. which is a problem right now!"

"Yeah, Linda was gutted about that: clearly, with her leg in plaster, she can't run around! We dropped it for a few nights while we worked out what to do... So now we have our dancers moving Linda around... so not quite as boisterous as it was, but at least we're playing it. By the way, I have to give a big thanks to our dancers, they are doing some excellent stuff.

"When we talk about you guys being on tour, I think people forget the huge army of people you need to make things work..."

"Yeah... whilst you might think 'surely the four of you can put your own clothes on?', when you have to do it fairly quickly, and make sure you're putting on the right bits of clothing, you need someone to help. Same with our hair, make-up and so on. And all made more fun by Linda having her leg in plaster! Also, we need people to keep an eye on the time, to make sure we're back on stage at the right time. And that's before you think of all the stage crew, who make the actual performance happen."

"Which nicely brings us to our second guest on the show today. Why don't I just let you introduce yourself?"

"Hi there Tom, I'm Callum Stevens, I'm Jenny's little brother, and part of that tech team."

"So what is it you actually do?"

"I'm the sort-of liaison between the bands and the various members of stage crew..." replied Callum.

"For us, it's nice having someone we know well, who understands us, to sort out any issues... things like an in-ear monitor playing up, or a guitar string breaking.... we just go to Callum, he then organises getting it fixed." added Carol.

"So you're very much a techie person then?"

"Yup. Back at 'the CJDL mansion', I look after all the kit, sort out any issues, do recordings and that sort of stuff."

"Ok, and it sounds like you're happy to 'stay in the shadows' whilst the girls are out there centre-stage!"

"Absolutely! I mean, I can play a bit of guitar, sometimes play along with the girls, but I'm not a musician in any way!"

"So, last night, Carol and I joined you all for the evening and I spotted the way you and Jenny interacted... little looks, comments, leg-pulling. It's very clear you two are very close, and I thought it would be interesting to find out a bit about you, Jenny, and the relationship between you. Plus, of course, it would be interesting to find out more about what it's like working with eight lady musicians. Anyway, lets play a record, then we can start to chat..."

Tom had built up a good relationship with the members of CJDL, and had chatted with them on air many times. He'd also interviewed the Northern Girls, as well as met them on several occasions now. He'd had less involvement with Brian, Lisa and Callum, Jenny's family, so he was looking forward to learning more about Callum.

"So, Callum, you are Jenny's younger brother... two years, isn't it?"

"Yes, that's right, I'm the little baby of the family, Jenny is two years older than me, and Mike is four years older than Jenny."

"So, I get the feeling that you and Jenny are very close, how does that compare with your relationship with Mike?"

"Oh, that's a very different sort of relationship."

"Any idea why?"

"I think it's a different sort of relationship between an older brother and younger sister, compared to an older sister and younger brother. Then add in the wider age gap - 4 years - plus Mike is quite a different personality to both Jenny and me."

"In what way?"

"Well, he's a lot more serious, a much better 'scholar'. He went to Uni, got a degree, now has a 'proper' job." Callum laughed quietly when he said that: he know that Jenny earned FAR more than Mike did, in his 'proper' job. Mind you, HE probably earned more than Mike too!

"So I'm guessing you didn't 'interact' with him in the way you did with Jenny?"

"Well, put it like this, when I started primary school, he started at secondary. When I started secondary, he was already at college. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love Mike, but with a six year age gap, it's just a very different sort of relationship."

"Ok, so back to you and Jenny... I guess, when you were very young, Jenny was always there: what's your first memories of Jenny?"

Callum smiled as he remembered. "Playing with me. Singing to me."

"Singing?"

"Yeah, mum would sing us silly songs, and while mum was busy, Jenny would repeat the songs, which kept me happy and quiet. I'm talking kids songs."

"So how old would you have been then?"

"Maybe two or three."

"So, a four or five year old Jenny singing... was she a good singer at that age?" Callum smiled.

"I don't really remember, but she certainly wasn't bad. We both used to love listening to music on the radio too."

"So I guess when you were three, she went off to school?"

"Yes, which let mum have a bit of on-to-one with me for a few hours, but Jenny would play with me when she got home."

"Did things change a lot when she went to school? I'm thinking that she must have made friends, so she maybe didn't have as much time for you?"

"Sometimes she'd play with someone else after school... I guess she was probably six or seven then, but when her friends came around, they always tried to include me."

"Do you remember how musical Jenny was at school?"

"Oh, she loved singing, always had a solo in the school concert."

"What about musical instruments? Did she learn to play anything at primary school?"

"Not at school, but she found Mike's recorder, and once mum showed her the basics, she loved to play it."

"I'm guessing Mike isn't as musical?"

Callum chuckled. "Chalk and cheese! Just like dad. I don't think either of them have a musical bone in their bodies!"

"So, she started on the recorder... what was next?"

"Hmmm... so when she was... must be about 9, I remember visiting Uncle John: he'd given our cousin, Trevor, a small guitar. She was playing it within the hour. Needless to say she got one for Christmas!"

Callum paused, and a lovely smile appeared on his face.

"Callum has a huge smile on his face right now... what you remembering?"

"Well, not only did she sing 'normal songs', I remember her making up silly songs too... more the tunes than the words. Words never were Jenny's strong point!"

"Ok, lets have a short music break, we'll be back chatting with Callum soon..."

....

"So, you were just telling me that Jenny got her first guitar aged about 9. Did she play anything at school?"

"No, not till secondary school."

"So was that when she started playing keyboards?"

Callum giggled. "No, that was a few years later.  At school she learnt the trumpet."

"The trumpet? I never knew that... Does she still have it? And was she any good?"

"Yeah, she still has it somewhere. She was ok, but I don't think she liked it as much... the problem is that, at school, if you want to play music, then it's the school orchestra.... and the orchestra doesn't do guitars! So she played trumpet in the school orchestra for a year or two."

"I always think of Jenny's main instrument as being the keyboard, so when did that start?"

"About year 10, you got to learn things like keyboards in the music lessons, so that's when she started. And she was good, she just seemed to 'understand' what keyboard music was about."

"No doubt she got a keyboard that Christmas?"

"Birthday, actually!"

"So, Carol, I know you first met Jenny at secondary school: how old were you?"

"It was probably in year 10, so was about 15. We were both studying for music GCSE, but we were in different classes, so we never met in class, just at lunchtime."

"You got on well?"

"Well, to be honest, we were in different social groups, so whilst we were aware of each other, we never got to know each other all that well: that was later, when we both went to college."

"Ok, well we'll come back to that in a moment. So, Callum, was Jenny composing songs at that point?"

"She mainly just played stuff from the charts, singing along. I remember she did a solo in the end-of-year concert. But she used to 'play around' on the keyboard, experimenting, working out for herself what sounded good. So not really songs. Besides, by year 11 she was busy doing exams."

"Ah, the dreaded GCSE's! How did she do?"

"Well, an A+ in music, of course, but she did well in most of her other subjects too."

"So, she then went to college, and studied... what?"

"First year it was Music - of course, plus Music Tech, Drama, Computer Sciences and Media Studies. She dropped the Music Tech and Computer Sciences for the second year."

"Carol, you said you met Jenny at college: what did you study?"

"Music, but of course, Drama, Media studies, History and Computer Sciences"

"Computer Sciences... an interesting mix with music..."

"Not as crazy as you might think: we use computers a lot when creating music, Callum can probably tell you more."

"Yeah, I did Computer Sciences and Music Tech all the way to A-Level, but the girls use computers - and often tablets now - to compose, to play back what they compose, create multi- part arrangements and all sorts of things. Diane's new electronic drum kit effectively contains a computer, which she can use program up , and save settings for dynamic recall. Jenny's keyboard can also work with her laptop, same sort of thing. So having a good working knowledge of computers helps them all a lot."

"Ok, so I'm guessing Jenny met Carol and Dianne fairly early on at college?"

"Yes, they did. All three of them enjoyed music, they started playing and singing together, so would usually end up at one of their places after college, and mess around together."

"Mess around?"

"Yeah," replied Carol, "music, games, girl-stuff, TV, just hanging around. At college, the teachers realised how close we were, and tried hard to keep us apart, but after a few months, they realised - at least as far as music was concerned - that we three seemed to know what we were doing, so started to encourage us, as a trio."

"What was it like for you, Callum, seeing these three girls together?"

"I helped them set up some drums, guitars, keyboards, and computer in our garage, so they could play together. Which let me spend time with them all too. It was fun to watch them: they were all determined to try and be able to play all of the instruments, and play them well."

"Yes, Carol told me about that, how they'd be on different instruments for different songs. But, Carol, you don't do that so much now."

"No, we kinda settled down on our favourite instruments... but it's helpful to have a good knowledge of each others instruments.."

"So, Callum, I guess you were around, making sure their tech stuff worked?"

"Yes, and once they started to actually perform, I ran the mixer for them." Callum laughed. "I remember once, we had a bit of a... 'disagreement'. I walked off, so someone else had to do the sound for them. I believe they were rather unhappy with how they sounded that night. They now all respect their sound team."

"You were at secondary school together for... three years. How did that work out?"

"I was 'Jenny's brother' for the first couple of years, but I didn't mind."

"Was she popular at school?"

"Reasonably so, yes. Whilst we never sought each other out, if we did meet, there was never any issues: she was always big sister, I was her little brother!"

"So, Jenny is at college, you're still at school: you still got on ok?"

"Yeah. In fact, because we saw less of each other, I think we appreciated our time together more. She was spending a lot of time with Carol and Dianne, but I always felt welcome."

"I think we all liked having Callum around. He was 'one of the gang', I think we all just treated him like a brother." commented Carol.

"Carol told me about their final concert at college. Were you there?"

"Oh, yeah, I did their sound. They called themselves 'Just Three Girls', and they opened the show, which is never an easy thing. But they didn't let their nerves get in the way: good training for the future. I guess I don't need to say that they pretty much stole the show!"

"I guess you were both doing exams at the same time? Must have been hard."

"Yeah, that was hard for us both, and I think we were all glad when it was over. But the concert was a month or so before exams."

"So, they all then went on to spend a year at Music School: at this early stage, did you think they really had it in them to 'make the big time'?"

"I would say a bit of yes and no. They all had determination that they wanted to become musical performers, but back then, they were still a bit... how do I say this... 'rough around the edges'."

"Yes, I think Callum is right: we wanted to make it, but we still hadn't finished our training."

"Was it easy for your parents, being asked by their teen daughters, to support them in their dream?"

"From what I've heard since, Mum and Dad, and Carol's parents were both in a financial position to back them, but I think Dianne's were a bit more worried - still - that it's not easy to make a living from music."

"So, they all went to Music School: what happens there, Carol?"

"At college they teach you about how to play music, all fairly simple stuff. But what they don't - and probably can't - teach you is how to actually perform. There's been a few TV shows about how K-Pop stars are trained... they spend several years learning singing, dancing, acting, performing... we got less than a year."

"So Callum, you're watching the girls through that year...?"

"Yes, and it was interesting watching them develop. Through the year they did small gigs, which I of course mixed, and I could see their actual performance skills getting better, they were playing and singing together better, 'tighter'..."

"Tighter?"

"Yeah, they were consistently improving their timing: so the piano and drums in better sync, ending the song crisply and all together, that sort of thing."

"So, a year later, the same question: did you think they really had it in them to 'make the big time'?"

"Hmmm. Certainly much more so. I think at that point they just needed to 'do their apprenticeship'... go out and get used to performing, writing together, and so on."

"Were they earning enough to survive at that point?"

"Definitely not, but our three lots of parents got together, and agreed to fund them for a maximum of two years. And that's when dad offered to be their manager, he didn't want to see them get ripped off."

Tom took another break, and played a record.

"So the girls were starting their 'work life'... what were you doing at this time?"

"Well, immediately they left Music School I was in my A-levels year, but still making time to look after their needs. The year after, I did various things: I was able to 'roadie' for a few local gigs - paid for! - but also did temporary work. And of course do the sound for the band."

"You must have had faith in their abilities to invest so much time with them?"

"Jenny was... and is... my sister, and I so wanted her to succeed. I would have done anything I could to help her, along with Carol and Dianne, to make her dream come true."

"What about your dreams?"

"Oh, I wanted to work with a band, so whilst I wasn't earning anything, I was starting to fulfil my dreams too."

"I can feel a lot of love there between the two of you..."

"Yes, there was, and still is."

"So then what happened to the band. When did they become CJD by the way?"

"Oh, that was when they were at music school: it was felt that 'just three girls' had a bit of a negative feel to it, and were told to think of a new name. They came up with all sorts of stupid ideas, I think it was Jenny who came up with 'CJD'"

"If she invented the name, how come it isn't JCD.... oh yeah, ok.... maybe not so clever!"

"And I think there was a certain amount of ironic humour in the final choice, a sort-of in-joke."

Callum went on to describe how the girls worked at a 'Holiday Camp' for a season.

"Oh, yeah, that was just soul-destroying, but it gave us a regular income!" added Carol.

"Then they stepped in at last moment to work on a cruise ship for a couple of months. I wasn't with them, for obvious reasons, which let me earn some money, but when they returned, I could feel that they had 'finished their apprenticeship'. Soon after, dad, got them a record contract, which helped a bit with the cash-flow, their first song was one written by someone else, but they didn't have an instant hit, which knocked them back a bit. But at the same time, made them more determined to do better. Jenny spent a lot of time working on her music writing, Carol and Dianne on the lyrics. Sadly there wasn't a lot I could do to help..."

"Oh, come on, Callum," interrupted Carol, "you were always there for us, making sure our tech worked, even just doing things like making coffees... just 'being there'!"

"So how long was it before they had that first 'hit'?" asked Tom.

"Amazingly close to the two-year mark. I hate to think what would have happened if that one had also bombed. Ok, it didn't make the top ten, but it WAS in the top twenty, and that started to give them the exposure they needed."

"At what point did you start working for them? Paid I mean!"

"They did a tour, and I ran the PA system, and got paid for it! Pretty small venues, nowhere near what we're doing now. But it was such a joy to sit there and watch them doing what they were good at: performing their songs to an audience!"

"Well, I just heard that we have a phone call... hello, who's there?"

"Hi Tom, it's Jenny... Jenny Stevens..." Her voice sounded fairly soft, maybe a bit emotional.

"Hi there, Jenny, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I'd just like to say something to Callum..."

"Go ahead..."

"Callum, I've been listening to what you've been saying, and just want to tell you that I love you so, so much! I'm so lucky to have such a caring brother!" By now, Callum could hear some tears in her voice.

"Hey sis, thanks, I love you loads and loads too." At this point Carol whispered into Tom's ear.

"Tell you what, lets take a bit of a break there..." said Tom, and went to an advert break and a song. By the time he got back to the phone, just moments later, Jenny had hung up.


[46/7987]

Chapter 39


Eight girls with braces, another extra girl with braces too, three car / minibus drivers, and a couple of others.... all arrived at the Orthodontist's office. Could be the start of a good joke, but it isn't, it's just describing the large group that turned up at Archway Orthodontics.

They had a two hour and a half appointment between them. Luckily private orthos not only have large waiting rooms, the surgeries are big too!

"OMG, you brought half your fans with you too!" exclaimed Angela. "Come on through, David is ready for you..."

"Half our fans?" said Carol. "I thought we had at least thirty fans now...." she added, smiling.

"Hello there, everyone, I'm sure you'll all fit in. So who IS everyone?" asked David.

"Well, you know us four, and you met Taylor, Meg, Kate and Erin last time. So, this is my brother, Callum. And my fiancé, Ben - although I think you met him before. Paige here works with us as a... well, she does all sorts of important stuff, today she's driving the minibus. Then we have Zac, Linda's other half. And this is Ziggy, she's helping to look after Linda!"

"Yes, Linda, what HAVE you done to yourself?" asked David. "You didn't fall off the stage like that guy from Coldplay did you?"

"No, I was in a taxi that got hit my a big van. Fractured my leg. Ziggy here is helping me do stuff!"

"Ouch! And hello there Ziggy..."

"Hi!" she replied in her lovely Scottish accent.

"We were hoping that you could do Ziggy's ligs too, today."

"In principle, not a problem. Ziggy, I don't suppose you remember who your ortho is?"

"No problem, I put his card in my purse."

"Oh, that makes it a lot simpler: I'll get Angela to call them, just check if there's any issues, although I don't expect there will be. So, I'm thinkingwe set up a sort of production line: I'll get all of your ligs off, so you'll have plenty of time to give them a really good cleaning and flossing... then we'll check you all out and fit you with fresh ligs. Which does, of course, raise a question: what colours do you all want this time?"

"Well, we've enjoyed the rainbows, but were thinking this time that each of us will just have one or two colours. Northern girls have decided to be bluish and purplish, we're going for oranges and yellows. Sort of corporate branding."

"Ok, well Angela has put all the ligs over near the sink, so take a look as you brush."

By this time, Ziggy had given David her Ortho's card, and Angela had gone to call them.

"So, aren't all our archwires gonna get mixed up, if you do us all together?"

"Oh, ahead of you on that: Angela has prepared a load of trays, with bits of paper with your names on.... Right, who wants to be first?"

"Go on, Linda..." suggested Carol. With some help from Ziggy, Linda lay back in the big chair.

"That's quite a plaster there, Linda!" said David, "so where's the actual fracture?"

"Oh, a couple of inches above my ankle. Luckily, I've not felt much pain apart from the first 2 or 3 days, which has been nice."

David started by removing the elastics that Linda had to her TADs, then removed her ligs. It wasn't long before David had removed her archwires too. In the background, Angela was on the phone to Ziggy's ortho: it seems that Ziggy's ortho was with a patient, but would call back when he was free, which would probably be only a few minutes.

One by one - apart from Ziggy - David removed their ligs, and they went and brushed their teeth. The phone rang, and Angela answered it: it was Ziggy's ortho calling back.

"David, it's Ziggy's ortho, John Smith.."

"Hello John, David Bright here. I have one of your patients here with me, Ziggy Starr."

"Ah, ok, let me just bring her details up. What's happened? Bracket de-bonded?"

"No, she'd like her ligatures changed." David went on to explain that Ziggy was working with the band, that the band was about to go over to Europe on tour...
 
"Did you say 'Eight girls with braces? Weren't they here in Aberdeen a couple of weeks ago?"

"That's right. One of the girls fractured her leg, and Ziggy is helping her."

"Oh, I bet she's enjoying that! So, there's nothing special about her treatment, so I have no problems with her having her ligs changed. Hey, I don't suppose you have a scanner? It would be useful to have an up to date scan of her teeth, see how she's getting on..."

"Yes I do... I'll email them over to you, let me just confirm your email...". He scribbled on a small pad. "Ok, John, nice talking... I'd better go, I have a room full of pop stars who need new ligs fitting!"

"Oh, that feels so good!" said Linda as she got back in the chair, "my mouth feels really clean!". David fitted a lip retractor, and looked at Linda's teeth. If you remember, Linda's treatment was quite minor, compared to Dianne's.

"So, how have you found the little screws? Any problems?"

"No, not really. most the time I forget they are there."

"Well, you've been very good with changing those elastics... how would you like to be rid of them?"

"What, my teeth rotated already?"

"Not fully, but your archwire should be able to do the rest of the job. Let me give you a bit of numbing cream, and I'll do a scan of your teeth while it takes effect." David applied some numbing cream, then did a scan of Linda's teeth: he knew her next appointment with him wouldn't be for over 2 months, so it was useful to have the scan. "Ok, shall we get those babies out?"

Linda felt nothing as David carefully removed the two tiny screws: they looked tiny, but felt a lot bigger in her mouth!

"How does that feel?"

"Weird, I'm so used to them being there! Hey, can I take a pic?"

"Of course! You have to update your fans! So, what colour ligs?"

"I'm going bold, I'll have those neon yellow ones! I want to be noticed!"

"They'll be able to see them from the back row!" said Taylor.

"Sounds good to me!"

"Ok, so who's next?" asked David about 5 minutes later. "Dianne, you'll probably take a little longer, so why don't I do you next. So, how you getting on with the lip bumper and headgear? Managing to wear it much?"

"Yeah, wasn't over keen on it to start with, but I wear it quite a bit when we're alone. A bit less on the tour."

"She's actually been surprisingly good!" commented Jenny, who understood from personal experience about headgear.

David looked at Dianne's mouth, and took a scan. "Yes, things are progressing nicely, and the lip bumpers and headgear are definitely doing their job... so keep on wearing them, and the elastics too. You obviously want to know the timescales: I would say we're nicely on track, and maybe a bit ahead... so well done! And your colour is?"

"Ah, right, my ligs: I fancy the red ones..."

Jenny was next. "Any problems, Jenny?"

"No, not at all. I reckon I must be getting close to finishing by now..."

"Yes, I think there's a few minor tweaks we'll need to do to finish the job, but we'll start those when you're back from Europe. In the meantime, I'm going to make a couple of very minor adjustments to your archwire - I hope you took some pain killers, you may be a bit sore the next couple of days."

"Oh, come on David, I'm a braces professional, of COURSE I took some painkillers!"

"I wish more of my patients were like you! So, what colour you going for?". Jenny chose neon pink, unsurprisingly.

Carol was next: as she wasn't actually having any treatment, after a quick check, all David had to do was fit her with some bright orange ligatures.

"Ok, Ziggy, why don't I get your ligatures removed, then you can have a good brush while I look at the others...". David quickly removed her ligs. Meg was next.

"So, Meg isn't it? How you getting on with your expander?"

"Yeah, it's not a big issue, I'm used to it."

"By the look of it, you'll be done with it soon..."

"Yeah, I stop actively turning the screw in a couple of weeks, but then I know I need to keep it for a bit longer."

"Well, I'm guessing that, when you get back to Amer... sorry, CANADA... you'll be ready to have it removed. But it seems to be doing its job just fine!"

It wasn't long before Ziggy was in the chair again. David scanned her teeth, as John had requested. "You had any issues with your braces?"

"No, I'm pretty used to them by now, my lips and cheeks are used to them now."

"Ok, so what colour you going for today?"

"Well, I'm not bound by their corporate colour scheme, so I fancy light and dark blue, alternating, top and bottom. Hopefully won't show the staining so much."

Finally, everything was done. Along the way, Paula (video camera lady) had been filming them, getting some fun shots of them cleaning their teeth, and smiling for the camera 'naked'.. without their ligs or archwires. Paige had also been taking a few pictures, which they could use on their social media.

As for Ben, he just watched quietly from a distance, thoroughly enjoying the view!




[48/9318]

It is always nice to see an update of this story. And even more, if there are updates to their braces.

Well, the girls are about to start the second, and longer, part of their tour, around europe. There's not going to be details for each place, so instead there will be different things happening in different places.

After Europe, they return to England, where they will play at a festival, and then have their last 3 performances in London, one of which will be special.

Now, if you have your wits about you, you might have already spotted a MAJOR pot hole in the story. I'm just going to skirt around the hole, pretend it simply isn't there, but if you HAVE worked it out, give yourself ten bonus points!!!

Chapter 42

Ben, along with Paige and Elaine, had been checking other important bits out, to make sure that everything was ready for the evening. Being a fairly new place, it was well designed and laid out, so they had a good amount of space backstage.

Ben returned to the stage, to take Jenny a bottle of water. He came up behind her: with her in-ears in, she didn't hear a thing. Ben gently put his arms around her, and leaned forward, giving her a gentle kiss on her neck. He gently removed her left in-ear. "How's it going?" he asked.

"A lot quicker than I thought it would!" said Jenny, turning around and kissing Ben.

Ben was smiling. "I do like your new ligs, they look sexy!" said Ben quietly. "So, you gonna let me her what you've been up to?"

"Yeah, ok, why not... hang on, just need to save things..." Having saved the settings on two memory sticks, she picked up one of the whistles from the small boz of 'bits' that was next to her keyboards, and blew it hard. The hub-bub quietened.

"Hi everyone!" said Jenny, coming through the PA, so everyone could hear. "First of all, big big big thanks for getting all this ready for tonight, there's absolutely no doubt we couldn't perform without you guys doing all this!" She stopped and applauded: Jenny, like the others, knew that them performing was a big team event, but that many people never thought of it this way, so she was always willing to take an opportunity to remind the team of their importance. "Ok, this is the basis of what Tim is singing tonight, so just want to see what this sounds like, compared to the original. So pin your ears back for a moment! John, can you route my phone out to the PA first, so we can hear the original..."

Jenny pressed play on the phone, and the original song played out: she stopped it after 20 seconds.. "Ok, this is what I'll be playing tonight. Don't worry about the vocals, it will be Carol and Tim tonight, not me!" She put her in-ear back in, and started to play, and sang the vocals. It was a powerful song, and it needed to sound good.

It did! There were several thumbs-up from around the stage.

----

"Sounds good to me too!" said Ben.

"In that case, I reckon I've done enough for the moment, so let's..." she looked at the time on her phone. "... let's go grab a coffee, it's still a bit early for lunch! Hey, mind if I put out an invite? I don't imagine there will be many fans on the forum right now who can join us..."

Ben smiled: he knew how much Jennifer enjoyed meeting with her fans. "Yeah, go on..."

Jenny took a picture of herself with her keyboards. "Just finished getting things ready for tonight. Are any of you here at La Défense already?"

It was morning, so the chat was pretty quiet, but one did come up: "Yes, I'm here with my BF..."

"Ben and I are about to go find a coffee, want to join us?" she replied in a PM.

"You kidding? Would LOVE to! Where?" asked a user called 'Tracey27'

"Got any ideas? We're still at the Arena, so have no idea..."

"There's several places just outside the Arena, near that raised walkway: we can be there in 10 minutes..."

"That's the bit we passed, just before we went down the road beside this place" said Ben to Jennifer.

"Ok, it's just Ben and me... give us 10 to 15 mins"

"Don't worry, we'll find you!"

----

Ben and Jennifer turned the corner to be in front of the set of café / restaurants, and started to walk down past them: they saw someone waving, so they walked towards them.

"Hello Jenny! And Ben too! Nice to meet you again! Anyone else coming?"

"No, just us... " said Jennifer.

"Oh, cool! You look kinda different." said Tracey27. "I'm Tracey by the way, this is my boyfriend, Frank!" Tracey was very excited to be meeting Jenny - again apparently.

"Hello Tracey... yeah, I'm not dressed up like I would be on stage, or when I normally go out to meet our fans. You said 'again'... so when have we met before?"

"Oh, ages ago, on your last tour, when you were up in Leeds. A load of us met you all in Hyde Park..."

"OMG, I remember that, lovely place, but didn't it started to rain..."

"Yeah, that's normal for Leeds!" said Tracey with a smile. "Where do we want to go then?" she asked. "To be honest, not been in any of them, but I'm sure any will be ok!"

They chose one of the places, went in and sat down. Having worked out what they wanted, Tracey ordered for them, in French. "We've been here a few days, so I'm getting pretty used to ordering coffees in French!"

"So, I assume you're here for one of our concerts?" asked Jenny.

"Yeah, coming tonight, really looking forward to it! It'll be interesting to see if you've done anything to the show since Leeds."

"You saw us at Leeds too?"

"Tracey is a bit of a fan!" explained Frank. "We saw your opening night at the O2, then Leeds - that's where we're from - and now here. We make a short break of it, as Tracey said, we've been here 4 days, wandering around Paris, seeing the sights. Did the same when we went to London"

"I guess it's no worse than people who go somewhere to watch the F1 racing, or football matches." replied Jenny with a smile. "I'm amazed you managed to get the tickets!"

"Yeah, I think I got lucky, especially the O2 opening night, that was quite a show, no-one knew what to expect."

"Yeah, the O2 was good. Ok, so here's an open question: what do you think about the show? I mean, you've seen it twice now!"

"I must admit, I like the way you guys and Northern Girls work together: your joint music is... well, familiar, yet different at the same time, and I like that!"

"What's your take on our new stuff then?"

"Like anything different, it takes a bit to get used to something new, just like your last tour and album. Hey, didn't I hear that Ben was the cause of that?""

"Guilty as charged, I'm afraid," replied Ben. "Jennifer started listening to my sort of music, and it seemed to adjust her musical thinking."

"Ok, a question: back then, was it the right thing to do? I mean, a lot of fans were expecting us to do another album like the one before..."

"No, I think you took the right decision... it would have been a bit boring to just have the same sort of stuff again and again. And your new stuff, that's Linda, isn't it? Hey... how do I ask this without sounding nasty.... umm, has having Linda writing stuff affected you? I mean, you were the main music writer in CJD, weren't you?"

"Getting Linda to start writing for us has been amazing. If I'm honest, it's been nice to have some of the pressure taken off me. And she's taking us in a slightly different direction again. And her stuff has really inspired me. I mean, Linda and I wrote several of our joint songs with Northern Girls, I wouldn't have been able to do that without her, in so many ways. So you're ok with our new stuff then?"

"Absolutely. 'Friends' is good... quite different, but I think that's what makes it good."

"That was 100% Linda. I'll be honest, took me singing it quite a few times before I was really happy with it... So what about the 'other bits' in the show then?"

"You mean like the 'red button' thing: yeah, that was fun!"

"What about the Crew Karaoke?"

"I was very impressed with their singing, but I guess you'd not want to embarrass them if they weren't good enough. Hey, there was Linda's Bass riffs too... not quite me, but still good, and they all helped break up the show a bit. I mean, without them, it could have been a bit... erm... not boring, but 'samey', if you get what I mean."

"So, what's your most favourite bit of the show then?"

"Got to be your Baby Metal song, Gimme Cereals! Amazing! And the advert, that was clever, saw it on TV too!"
 
"Well, we dropped Gimme Cereals for a few days after Linda got injured, but it's back again, just without Linda running around!"

Tracey smiled. "Hey, any of you been inspired by the tour enough to write something new?"

"Carol was doing something while we were on the train, going under the channel. No idea if anything will come of it. But yeah, I think we're all having a few ideas. But I doubt if you'll hear any results for a while though."

They continued chatting. Jenny enjoyed something like this, when there was just a small group of fans, it meant that she could get to know them a bit. Plus the fans tended to be a lot more relaxed.

"Your smile is looking good!" said Tracey. "Can't be long before you get to see your teeth again!"

"Funnily enough, that's what my ortho said yesterday, when he changed our ligs!"

"You were at your ortho yesterday? Nice colour by the way... So when did you get here?"

"Late last night."

"You going to be able to do any 'touristy stuff' while you're here in Paris" asked Tracey.

"We've lined up a coach tour for the girls tomorrow afternoon, and maybe Jennifer and I can do a bit of sightseeing together the day after." replied Ben.

"The reality of it is" added Jenny, "that we get to go to loads of places, but hardly ever see them, we just don't have the time... although we're taking things slightly less hectically this time, and I think everyone is appreciating that.  In a way, I think that's part the reason we like to meet up with our fans, like you... reminds us that there's still a world outside, even if we don't have enough time to see it properly!"

Now that they were sat down in a café, drinking the nice French coffee, Tracey had completely relaxed. She was with one of her 'heros', almost alone: she could ask Jenny pretty much anything she wanted. Kinda the icing on the cake to visiting Paris, and seeing CJDL perform again tonight.

"Hey, how's Linda doing? She must be getting a bit frustrated, what with that cast on her leg."

"She's actually coping amazingly well. And not only does she have Ziggy to help her, her boyfriend came over and is with her for a few days."

"Yeah, I heard she had a boyfriend, I hope he's being nice to her..."

"He's ok, is Zac. He was at the same college that we were at, couple of years below us..."

"Ah, of course, you met at college, didn't you?"

"Carol, Dianne and I did. Linda was in the year below us, so we never knew her back then... but she knew about us!"

"So, did you have to make many changes to the show because of Linda's injury?"

"Well, we've tweaked Gimme Chocolate. The other big change is that we're not doing the fun stuff when we do Nut Rocker... you know Ben, that's something we need to do something about."

Right then, Ben's phone rang. "Oh, hi Lisa!.... No, no plans....... oh, ok, that sounds good...... no, we're having a coffee, I guess he's still at the Arena.....ok, see you later!"

"Mum?" asked Jennifer

"Yes, she suggested that we, as in family, meet up for lunch."

"Oh, that sounds nice..."

"We agreed to meet just outside the hotel at 12:15, so no rush...."

"Your mum is here with you too? That's so cool!" said Tracy

"Well, mum and dad are our managers..."

"Oh, yes, of course they are! So, how big IS the team you have, to tour with?"

"Depends how far you go, I guess. My brother, Callum, is a sort of 'technical band liaison' with the stage crew when we're playing, and Ben here is our assistant manager. Then we have Paige, she's our PA, and I don't know how we'd manage without her... and Eleanor looks after the fan club, and has pretty much taken over managing all our merch. Then we have three lovely ladies who between them do our hair, makeup, and look after our costumes... we share them with Northern Girls. They have their own manager and PA and so on. Then we get to the 'tour staff', mainly various stage crew, but also show managers and assistants..."

"Wow, lots of people!"

"We're very lucky, everyone seems to be so good, work well together."

"So, you must have been at the Arena early, what were you doing?"

"I needed to get my synth programmed up with some new stuff, for the next few Crew Karaoke's. The stuff for all our normal music got programmed during rehearsals, ages ago, so just needed an hour or so. Tonight's one sounds really good, and no, you can wait till tonight to find out what is is! Then this afternoon it'll be soundchecks, and rehearsing with Tim for tonight, and then Trisha needs to rehearse with Northern Girls for tomorrow. And we need to work on Nut Rocker..."

"Sounds like it gets hectic on a tour."

"At times, yeah, and that's why I appreciate little 'time-outs' like this. Lunch with mum and dad will be nice too..." Jennifer paused a moment. "Hey Tracey, is there one of those big French supermarkets in the shopping centre?"

"Yeah, there's actually two of them. What do YOU need from a supermarket?"

"Oh, I was thinking we should get some beers and stuff for the crew, that's all, they'll appreciate it."

"Buying your way to their hearts with booze? Sounds good to me!"


[54/10526]

And we still enjoy your Story 

Chapter 45


The girls (and many others too, of course!) were now in Poland, Warsaw specifically. A few days ago they had appeared at a festival in Budapest (that's Hungary), then they played a couple of nights in Bratislava (Slovakia). They had considered playing some dates in Ukraine - to be honest, they would have LOVED to have played there, to show their support - but it was decided, from a simple safety perspective, that it would be better not to.

Brian, Ben and Andre walked into the dressing room at tonight's venue.

"Hey everyone, just had a call from the organisers of the Vixen festival..." said Brian

"Oh, yes, back to England and playing at Vixen... what's that, two, three weeks time?"

"Three and a half. So, I come bearing bad news and good news: the bad news is that Cold Turkey, who are supposed to be headlining at Vixen have had to pull out, some sort of health issues."

"Oh, that's a shame, I was hoping to see them!" said Meg.

"So that was the bad news, what's the good news?"

"How would you guys like to headline at Vixen? Pole spot on the Saturday?" Eight smiles suddenly appeared, revealing eight lots of shiny metal on teeth, along with a variety of coloured ligs. "Apparently they have heard how well the tour has been going, so decided to go with you guys to headline. Oh, almost forgot, you'll be up to 2 hours!"

"Oh, that'll let us do a better show: 90 minutes was going to be tight." commented Carol.

"I'm guessing from your smiles that you'll do it?"

"Stupid question, of course we will..."

----

About half an hour later, the four girls were still in the room, as was Ben, Paige and Eleanor, but specifically Ziggy wasn't.

"Hey, guys, there's something important we need to discuss..." said Carol.

"Oh, what's that then? Whether to complain about the coffee?" suggested Dianne, smiling.

"No, Ziggy..."

"Ziggy: what about her?"

"Well, next week Linda gets her leg off... well, her cast off, that is... which means that we only have her for a week more after that. And I don't know about you, but I actually like having her around. Plus, she's actually been helping us out quite a bit generally, especially in the last week or two, with Linda being a bit more mobile on her leg. Paige, any thoughts?"

"You're right, she's made herself quite useful: she often helps out the stage crew, and I also know they appreciate her doing 'drinks rounds' when they get busy, and that's on top of the many bits she does for us. It would be a shame to have to send her back home."

"And she's helped me with the merch too..." added Eleanor

"So, Ben, can we afford to pay her ourselves?" asked Jenny

"Given the amount of money involved, I don't think it would be a big deal. It might be worth having a word with her agency: it would make sense to employ her directly, like everyone else."

"Ok, anyone against the idea? Linda, you've been quiet - your thoughts?"

"Yeah, she's been really great to me, and as you said, she does fit in well, and doesn't mind a bit of extra work. I'd love her to stay. Besides, I'd love to see her do some more karaoke..."

"Ok, sounds like we need to have a word with her, see what she thinks..."

As luck would have it, Ziggy walked in only a few minutes later.

"Hey, Ziggy, what you been up to?"

"Getting a few teas and coffee's for the crew. Was that a problem?"

"Of course not. However, we need to have a chat with you... grab a drink, and take a seat!" said Carol.

Ziggy looked a bit nervous as she sat down: she was wondering if she was maybe in trouble.

"So, as you know, Linda gets her cast off soon, and that means that the insurance company will only pay for you for a further week..." started Carol

"Yeah, I was going to ask about that sometime. I assume you'll be paying my flight back home?"

"Do you WANT to go home?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, would you like to remain on the tour, with us? Ben suggested we take you on directly, rather than through your agency... so you'll be paid like everyone else is, by us. Are you interested?"

Ziggy smiled, letting everyone see her discrete braces, along with the bright pink ligatures she got on in London: they matched her hair, which was by now an even brighter pink than it was when she started with them.

"Um... yes... definitely! But what would I be doing?"

"Well, pretty much what you do now, except by then Linda should be able to get her own coffees and peeled grapes!"

"Oy, watch it! I've never asked Ziggy to peel me a grape. Bananas yes, but never grapes!" said Linda, smiling. "but yeah, we've all got to like you, and we're hoping you'll stay. However, you might need to 'sing for your supper'".

"Uh?"

"Do a couple more Crew Karaoke's: you were good last time!"


[58/11085]