Little Spirit

by DaNeo Duran

  ‘GMD, Global Music Development,’ he read aloud. ‘Sounds like a world music workshop.’

  Raphael took the door handle and pushed. Nothing happened. With a withered look he said, ‘A little space please?’

  Obligingly they backed down the steps. Raphael pulled. The door swung outwards.

  Inside Calvin quickly checked his hair and straightened as Raphael introduced himself to a young redheaded girl at a desk to his left and a tired looking man in his fifties to his right.

  ‘You lot some sort of band?’ the man asked with palpable reluctance.

  Hearing the man’s tone Calvin clutched his bass and asked, ‘What gave you that idea?’ He looked around the pokey office.

  The man’s ashtray stuffed with half smoked cigarettes festered beneath ceiling tiles dripping with nicotine. Posters of professional looking bands, none of which Calvin, recognised adorned the walls where bigger labels hung gold discs.

  ‘We wondered if you’d heard our demo,’ Raphael said.

  ‘Little Spirit?’ the man’s voice rasped reading their T-shirts. ‘Grace, have a look back there for Little Spirit’s demo.’

  ‘I’ve got one here,’ Raphael said as the redhead delved into one of two overflowing carrier bags of cassettes.

  ‘Thanks,’ the man said taking a tape. Nodding towards the rehead he said, ‘That’s a month’s worth of uncollected demos.’

  Grace took the tape and soon their music kicked into the office.

  ‘Not too loud love. Don’t wanna disturb our neighbours,’ the man said before looking at the cassette and adding, ‘I recall this, lots of harmonies right?’ The harmonies started. ‘Yes, interesting.’

  With closed eyes the man absorbed the music, ‘Turn it up a touch love.’

  Eventually he said, ‘Not bad. I was a bit thrown by the acoustic instruments when you walked in – thought you were some world music outfit. Name’s Richard by the way.’

  ‘Raphael,’ Raphael said shaking his hand. ‘Pleased to meet you. This is Calvin and Danny.’

  ‘Take a seat lads,’ Richard said pointing to plastic ex-classroom chairs stacked near the door.

  After sitting Richard said, ‘I don’t listen to every demo you know. And normally it goes off after twenty seconds. But I managed a verse and chorus of yours. I’ve heard better but you’ve definitely something there. You’re the drummer?’ Richard asked of Raphael whilst reading the inlay card.

  Raphael nodded.

  ‘Good stuff. And you all sing?’

  ‘All three of us,’ Calvin said.

  Behind them Grace finally recovered the demo they’d posted from the second bag.

  ‘So,’ Raphael started, ‘if you thought our demo was interesting were you thinking of contacting us?’

  ‘Good heavens no. No record company would contact a band on the strength of a demo alone – much less sign a band.’

  ‘How come?’ Calvin asked having believed that’s exactly how things worked.

  Richard looked at him. ‘What response have you had from the heavy hitters, BMG, EMI, Vanquar?’

  ‘Truthfully?’ Calvin said, ‘We’ve scored rejections from all three.’

  ‘Of course you have,’ Richard said enjoying himself. ‘That’s why you’re here. If EMI offered you anything you wouldn’t think of coming here to see if I could better their offer would you?’

  ‘Well …’ Calvin stopped, recognising his point.

  ‘Thing is if you’re not good enough for EMI you’re not good enough for us. Right Grace?’ He looked over but Grace said nothing.

  ‘Apologies for wasting your time,’ Calvin said.

  ‘Not so fast Kevin.’

  ‘Calvin,’ Calvin said.

  ‘Sorry Calvin. We don’t know if you’re good enough for EMI. Not yet. They won’t have heard these songs; at least anyone who could make a difference won’t.

  ‘Yeah, we suspected as much.’

  ‘Frankly demos aren’t worth the tape they’re taped on as far as posting them to labels is concerned. If a band generates enough buzz through gigs, labels wake up and chase them for demos.

  ‘We’re gigging loads and we’ve started busking by day,’ Calvin said.

  ‘So why haven’t I heard of you?’ Richard looked to Grace. ‘Have you heard of Little Spirit?’

  Grace shrugged. She aimed an apologetic expression at Raphael.

  ‘Ze busking is new,’ Raphael said getting up to display the banners. ‘Thousands hear ze songs and see our name every day. It’ll soon be millions.’

  ‘Hmm,’ Richard nodded thoughtfully. ‘You got a manager?’

  ‘We’ve been doing a pretty good job on our own till now,’ Danny said getting involved.

  ‘Dear me lads you need a decent manager and I’m not talking about an old school pal.’

  Calvin said, ‘We have a financier.’

  ‘Can he get passed Island’s gatekeepers?’

  ‘No,’ Calvin said. ‘We supported Bananarama.’

  ‘Brilliant, and their management love you and want you on their books?’ Richard asked hopefully or maybe sarcastically.

  ‘Not that we’re aware.’

  ‘Of course not. Bananarama’s management will be way too busy right now.’

  ‘Okay, suppose we had management,’ Raphael cut in. ‘Would you sign us?’

  Richard sighed. ‘Think of the music business as a pyramid. Everything like full line up, instruments, songs, demos, gigs, image etc is a stage of the pyramid. You guys are higher than rival bands that don’t have those things. With those things and T-shirts to boot you’re at an important stage. The next pyramid level is management. You need management to get from that plinth the next: record deal.’ Richard leant back in his chair putting his feet on the desk.

  ‘So to be of interest to you we need a manager?’ Calvin asked.

  ‘Interest to me?’ Richard asked. ‘You don’t even know if GMD are of interest to you do you?’

  ‘Well …’ Calvin said, ‘You’re a record company.’

  ‘But you’ve no idea how I could further your careers.’ Richard laughed. ‘Okay, brief overview. GMD signs about two acts per year to a recording contract. A recording contract doesn’t get you TV, tours, radio play, whatever. It won’t even get you a gatefold album cover. It’ll get you a beautifully recorded album pressed to vinyl in a plain white cover.’

  After that sunk in he continued. ‘When bands sign to a major company they generally sign three deals at once, a recording contract, a distribution deal and a PR and marketing deal. GMD don’t do distribution or PR and marketing. Distribution gets your product duplicated and placed in the record shops and PR and marketing ensures the nation knows about it.’

  ‘So what happens when bands sign to GMD?’ Raphael asked.

  ‘If we signed you I’d find a producer and put you in a studio. You’d claim dole unless you were very lucky and there was enough money to buy breakfast and a sandwich for the recording period. There’d be no advance or anything that’d qualify as income. GMD just can’t afford that. The flip side is that you start earning real money sooner.’

  Raphael stroked his chin. ‘Real money as opposed to what?’

  ‘Bigger companies advance acts money. Or more accurately: loan money – to record and live comfortably. Bands repay the advance from future record sales. The advance isn’t real money. The band get it before they’ve sold anything, yet they’re living the life of Reilly. With no advance our acts only have the recording costs to repay before they start earning based on records sold.’ Richard winked at Grace who listened on.

  ‘What if they don’t sell enough to cover costs?’ Danny asked.

  ‘If they’ve signed a multi-album deal they crack on with album two. A new advance keeps them in bread, and album two’s sales pays album one’s remaining debt before its own. Assuming that’s achieved the band starts earning. With GMD the mess is smaller and easier to clean up.’

  ‘What happens after a band’s recorded with GM
D?’ Calvin asked.

  ‘Like I say, without distribution it wouldn’t appear in the shops and without PR or Marketing the masses won’t know about it.’

  ‘So why would anyone sign to GMD?’

  ‘Well, GMD gets you a recorded product. You’d bring the album back to me and your management and, assuming we find interested majors labels, we’d sell them the licence to distribute and market the product. Albums sell and with what’s left after the major’s taken their share GMD would recoup the recording costs and we’d share the rest between us. After that assuming you don’t hate each other you’d repeat the whole process with album two.’

  Danny looked around the poky office with the impossibly shy redhead and battered fifty-something year old man and wondered whether GMD could be the answer their prayers – should GMD ever want to sign them.

  Unconvinced he said, ‘We know bands get paid last. It’s rough but what you’ve said makes sense. My concern is that twice we’ve visited and you’ve been closed. How serious are you?’

  ‘The USed Wonz,’ Richard nodded to a poster featuring four roguish figures; two lads and two girls. ‘We signed them a few months ago. Couldn’t get any interest in this country; so we went Stateside. They’ll be big enough in America; Johnny the singer’s very determined. But we’re here now clearing the backlog of work. You’ll probably get a rejection letter along with everyone else in those carrier bags soon.’

  Danny looked at the other posters. ‘I’ve not heard of any of these bands.’

  ‘No? Some have enjoyed chart success but we’ve yet to sign a band that’s gone stratospheric.’

  Richard talked them through the bands he’d signed. Some had let him down either by splitting up or exploded in their own egos. They’d all subsequently signed to major labels for marketing and distribution.

  ‘Okay,’ Raphael said cutting to the chase. ‘Other than management how do we get you to ze point where you’ll want to sign us?’

  ‘Well Ralphy.’

  ‘Raphael,’ Raphael said.

  ‘Sorry Raphael. My interest in Little Spirit is currently limited. But I’m glad you dropped in. You guys have a bit going for you. Most importantly you’re in luck as we’re looking to sign another act. Management is a factor and your profile isn’t high. So we’ll be keeping our eyes open for other acts. Question is will anything grab us more strongly?’

  Danny considered Richard’s words. ‘Can I be frank?’

  ‘You may as well be I’ve got everyone else’s names wrong.’

  Danny laughed. ‘Other labels have described our demo as unremarkable. But we believe we’re better than our demo.’

  ‘You’ll need to be. And yes your demo is unremarkable, but most are. I’d have told you the same thing six weeks ago. When a label tells you that, it usually means they’re not looking to sign new acts; not that many admit it.’

  ‘We’re fantastic live,’ Calvin said.

  ‘You better be. The product is bigger than just recorded music. Everything from hairstyle to your tone when speaking to your audience is relevant. You say you’re fantastic but the moment a band walks on stage to the moment they get off should be entertaining. It’s more than simply playing the right notes in the right order. Everything a band says between songs is part of the entertainment and an opportunity to lose or win the crowd. You seem like nice guys but that often means boring.’

  Richard pointed to another poster; another band they’d not heard. ‘Of course zany out of control bands who are thrilling on stage can be impossible to work with. Those guys got distracted and wasted their recording session.’

  ‘Sounds like you’ve had some bad luck,’ Calvin said handing Richard some flyers. ‘You’ll have to come and see us live. We’ll prove how good we are.’

  ‘We’ll see,’ Richard said looking over the gig list. ‘Can you spare a few more demo tapes?’

  Monday 14th November 1983

  For Katherine the week started with a laborious pub shift. Katherine sighed hearing the phone behind the bar.

  ‘Dog and Parrot,’ she said with forced chirpiness.

  ‘Katherine?’ a female enquired.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Thank God, Katherine, it’s Loretta.’

  ‘Loretta, my God, how did … I mean … wow, how are you?’

  ‘I’m good, still in Saint Tropez, I just had to speak to you.’

  ‘It’s such a relief to hear your voice.’

  ‘You too. I’d hate to fallout with you. Amy gave me your number before the, disagreement. I just spoke to her and she found your work number.’

  ‘You’re not ashamed to have a friend who works in a pub then?’

  ‘Hell no. Elaine’s still mad but she’ll come round.’

  Loretta eventually rang off promising to keep in touch.

  That evening Katherine spoke to her mum. Barbara sounded desperate to visit her in London. Katherine suggested the last week in November.

  Friday 18th November 1983

  At the end of the week Danny nervously tuned his Telecaster and glanced at Calvin who always looked nervous and Raphael who never did. Behind his drums Raphael spun wing nuts on cymbal stands whilst staring into the audience for signs of Richard.

  Twenty minutes later Raphael pressed play on the four-track and joined Danny in the wings.

  ‘You seen any sign of him?’ Danny asked as the intro piece rolled on.

  ‘I see new faces but none are his craggy old one. He might be at ze back. Doubt he’d be head-banging at ze front.’

  * * *

  Later, back in the flat Katherine sat with the sullen boys. She felt sorry for them but struggled to be unhappy given that she’d received a letter from Loretta that day. The lads had taken the roof of The King’s Head but Richard hadn’t seen them or heard a note of the audience singing along to their songs.

  ‘One down,’ Calvin said. ‘There’s still more gigs on the current flyer.’

  Friday 25th November 1983

  Richard didn’t appear at any subsequent gigs. Amy reckoned the only remaining date on the flyer would yield another no show as the poly’s main hall lay miles from GMD’s Camden office. Nevertheless Amy anticipated a fantastic night at her favourite venue. Skiving her afternoon’s lectures she tidied her room thinking Barbara would by coincidence see Little Spirit on the same stage Katherine first had. She changed her sheets. For the next two nights she’d sleep beside Raphael on a camp bed the boys had bought her.

  Hoovering away she hardly heard the phone ringing.

  ‘Can I speak to someone from Little Spirit?’ a raspy voice said.

  ‘They’re busking in London at the moment. Can I take a message?’

  ‘Yeah, tell ‘em Richard from GMD will see them at that polytechnic tonight.’

  ‘Oh hi Richard, they’ll be really pleased. You’ll love them it’s a great gig for them.’ Amy waffled on to an um-impressed Richard.

  She put the worry that she’d discouraged him to the back of her mind when Katherine arrived having finished her shift early.

  Together they set off to Victoria.

  ‘You look fantastic,’ Katherine told her mum as she came down the coach steps.

  ‘A working lady has to be presentable,’ Barbara said kissing her daughter. ‘I’ve given up smoking and been jogging and doing sit-ups every day.’

  Amy noted the extraordinary change. ‘Katherine’s right you look wonderful. Work obviously suits you.’

  ‘Well it’s nice to find people that appreciate it.’

  ‘I’m sure the men of this town will.’

  Amy guessed things hadn’t improved between her and Alan when Barbara checked out the nearest hunk and said, ‘Looks like I’m in for a treat too.’

  ‘Mum,’ Katherine said admonishingly. ‘Come on let’s get the tube.’

  * * *

  A palpable excitement mounted as students filled the poly’s union hall. Earlier Barbara had settled into the flat before the lads came crashing in with instrum
ents and backdrops. Amy introduced Barbara describing her as stunning. Raphael had wolf-whistled agreeing with Amy; Katherine took after her mum. Now Raphael’s attention turned to the music. He noted the high quality of support bands helping the energy but endangering the contrast Little Spirit hoped to exploit.

  As headliners the lads had anticipated a dip in crowd numbers. But when they came to play they’d guessed wrong. The hall kept filling. Richard hadn’t approached them but Raphael, squinting from the wings, figured he could be any one of the faces at the distant bar where the industry types would typically reside; not that he imagined many turning up at polytechnics.

  With one of the biggest audiences they’d played the band should have been buzzed to the max. The intro music primed the crowd.

  ‘A lot of people expecting a good show,’ Danny said.

  ‘With or without Richard we’ll just have to be the best for Katherine’s mum,’ Calvin said as he followed Raphael to the stage.

  In the crowd someone forced their way to the front. ‘Hey guys, good luck. Let’s have a great show.’

  Danny looked down at John out of place amongst the young students.

  ‘Hey thanks John,’ he grinned.

  ‘Did you know he’d be here?’ Raphael shouted from behind the drums.

  ‘No, but he’s completely changed my drive. I’m ready to rock now.’

  Amy had been standing with Katherine and Barbara when John appeared from nowhere.

  ‘Who’s that?’ Barbara asked spotting him amongst the suits who accompanied him.

  ‘That’s John who financed the demo, nice guy,’ Amy said. ‘Check the stage though.’

  Looking over Barbara asked, ‘What’s the matter with Calvin? He looks terrified. Is he going to be sick?’

  ‘He’s fine,’ Katherine said two seconds before the first note when Calvin jumped full force onto the springboard bouncing skyward.

  ‘Wow,’ Barbara exclaimed as Amy’s camera clicked.

  With endless smiles Katherine and Barbara danced with each other like best friends. London released Barbara from Alan’s chokehold and when John sidled up she flirted. The older suits tried winning her attention but Amy saw John had her hooked.

  John’s younger colleagues trying it on with Katherine found themselves brushed off like dust. Amy, new to the art of rejecting boys, found the experience enlightening. She realised she didn’t have to go with the first interested male; turning one away attracted the next.