Page 26 - the NOISE May 2013

b Ugh
bb Eh
bbb Solid
bbbb Gold bbbbb Total Classic
morning. I’m going to do ye a wee favor.” “Breakfast?” Pete asked hopefully, “An egg
and some toast?”
“Maybe next time, ‘appy Jack. Alright, ‘ere’s
the deal: if you can manage to stand and move down the street under the power of yer own locomotion, you get to go ‘ome and sleep in yer bed. If not, I’ve a lovely single room with a cot downtown that says ‘Townshend comma P’ on it. I must warn ye, it’s not exactly the Ritz- Carlton.”
“Can I think it over?”
“It’s a limited time offer, and the clock is run- ning. Tick tock, tick tock. I call that a bargain, the best you ever ‘ad.”
Pete pulled his body into an upright position. He stood and brushed himself off. His head was swimming, but he managed to not fall down.
“I believe I will take you up on that favor, kind sir. Much obliged for the wake-up call.”
“Yer quite welcome. Give my regards to the wife.”
Pete winced. Oh sh*t. Karen.
“Whoops, forgot to call ‘ome, eh? The little
lady won’t be too thrilled when she sees yer condition. Looks like ye had quite a night. Well, good luck!”
“Thank you, officer.” ... wanker, Pete almost added.
As the cop strode off, Pete took in his sur- roundings. Where the hell was he? He looked to his left and saw the Speakeasy’s front. Christ, he had only made it four doors away before col- lapsing. He walked down the street for about five minutes before realizing the tube was in the other direction. He reversed and trudged on. He found the station and went down the stairs. The air was cool underground. He got on the Richmond train and headed home.
After disembarking, Pete asked the lady in the ticket booth to call him a cab. She glared disapprovingly at his disheveled state, then picked up the receiver and dialed. Pete was on the verge of dozing off when he realized she was talking to him.
“Sir, who are you?”
“Pardon?”
“I need to give the taxi driver your name. Who
are you?”
“Sid Vicious.”
Upon arriving home, Pete faced the music. Karen was furious and sick from worrying. He was supposed to have come straight back af- ter the meeting and he had not even phoned. Through his hangover, Pete saw Karen as a car-
Wax Idols; Woolen Men
toon Maggie & Jiggs wife, smacking a rolling pin against her open palm. A grin crept across his face. She was not amused.
“I don’t see what’s so God damned funny. Je- sus Pete, look at your clothes! Where WERE you?”
“Hell. And it ain’t pretty, baby. It’s full of punks and cops.”
Pete disrobed and crawled in bed before Karen could ask about the cheque. Well, THAT suit’s going down the incinerator. Just prior to falling asleep, he had another thought that made him smile.
“‘oo are you, indeed!”
When he awoke hours later, a song was in-
sistently running round his head. He washed up, dressed and went into his home studio. He threaded a tape and scrawled a few words in his notebook. He laid down a synthesizer line and overdubbed some basic guitar and percus- sion. When the demo was tweaked to his satis- faction, he plugged in a microphone and sang over it.
I woke up in a Soho doorway
A policeman knew my name
He said
You can go sleep at home tonight If you can get up and walk away
I staggered back to the underground And the breeze blew back my hair
I remember throwing punches around And preaching from my chair
Well, who are you?
I really want to know
Come on, tell me who are you?
Ah, who the f*ck are you?
It wasn’t exactly “Anarchy In The UK,” but it would do. Not bad for an old fart of 31.
The Who took the rest of 1977 off. They played one show for an audience of invited guests that was filmed for American fan Jeff Stein’s documentary, The Kids Are Alright. They performed poorly, and were forced to do an- other one early the next year.
1977 belonged to The Sex Pistols. Their “God Save The Queen” single caused a tornado of publicity in the spring, and their sole LP, Never Mind The Bollocks, was released in October. They disbanded after a chaotic American tour in January 1978, partially due to Sid Vicious’ misconduct and drug addiction.
The Who’s next album came out in August 1978. The title track, “Who Are You,” became a huge US hit and propelled the LP to #2. No
26 • MAY 2013 • the NOISE arts & news • thenoise.us