BETWEEN ROCK AND A HARD PLACE.

CHAPTER ONE continued


'Where did the band name come from and who thought of it?'

'The name came out of my love of the HARLEY DAVIDSON that Reece turned up on one day. He was a mechanic and was riding it after fixing something on it. Really it was an excuse to ride it. But he knew I had a love for HARLEY'S. We were sitting around one night after a rehearsal winding him up and then one of the lads said hey that's it. Why don't we call the band HARLEY and the name stuck.'


'Who wrote the songs in the band?'

'The song writing at first was down to Dean and then as time went on I started to add my own songs. But the bulk of HARLEY was down to the lads and their musical talents.'

Dean thought about those early days, when he and Maxi would spend all night sitting up in her flat, writing lyrics together.


'Do you think that HARLEY contributed to the golden Guitars on going success?'

'I would like to think that we had a small hand in the success of the club yes. My father created the place and it was already a success by the time the lads came along. But we were the biggest rock band around East Barclay at the time. I think we did a good job keeping classic rock alive as long as we were together.'


'When did it all start to go wrong?'

'Let's just say that sometimes it is better to keep friends and love separate from work.
We had been going for five years and in that five years we had come along way, going from a group of musicians who were friends and had relationships. But things got complicated and though it was hard to carry on, we did because we had something special as a band. Work and love should never be mixed.'

'That's a fair point,' Bob said, picking his tea mug up.
Dean looked up at him from the article, then looked at Reece, who didn't volunteer a comment until Dean said,
'We messed up didn't we?'
Reece sighed, 'We did. But it's history now. Nothing can change the way things turned out mate. Read on.'

'How did the split happen?'

'We were rehearsing for the set we were doing for Eddie and Melanie's wedding. Let's just say that it didn't go too well. There was a lot of tension and everyone was arguing.
A lot had happened in ten years and I think it just all came to a head and blew, unfortunately on the night of the wedding and for that we are all sorry. The only thing we did agree on was that our relationships and friendships were being torn apart. It was time to move on for all of us.'

Dean stopped reading and thought back to the night of the wedding. The night that changed all of their lives.
'Suppose she's right,' Bob said.
'Truth hurts doesn't it?' Reece added glancing at the pair of them.
'Are you gunning for a row?' Dean snapped.
Bob rolled his eyes, 'here we go again,' he muttered.
'No. I am just saying the truth hurts, that's all.' Reece said.
'Well best include your part in the row that took place on that night then aye?'
'Here we go again' Reece said raising his voice slightly, 'none of this was your fault was it Dean? It was always mine or Bobs or someone else's.'
'Shut up the pair of you!' Bob bellowed, 'calm it yeah?'

Reece snatched the magazine and began to read the rest of the article himself out loud.

'So it had become apparent that 'HARLEY' was more about the members of the band struggling with the complications of being human, rather than what they had started out to be. A Rock band with huge potential and bags of talent all rolled into one?'

'Yes. We had lots of fun, I won't deny that. There was a lot of love and we were like a little family. But equally, there were so many arguments and so much tension. We just got to the point that whenever we were together, we couldn't be together. Goodbye was the only way.'

'Tell us about the 30th anniversary celebrations. What is happening?'

'We are having a party at the club. It is going to be a mixture of old and new bands. There will be some of my fathers old band mates coming along. It should be a great night.'


'Is there going to be a special performance from 'HARLEY'?'

'All I can say is the members of the band have been invited. Whether they come or not, we will have to wait and see. It would be lovely if they all came, but Gayle is in America working with her new band and probably won't be able to make it. The lads we have not heard from, though I know they are gigging again and Eddie and Melanie are busy with their children, Matthew Boyd is the only one I know for sure will be there as he is our bar manager now.'

'How does she know we are gigging again?' Bob asked.
'East Barclay is a small place Bob,' Reece replied.
'She will know from Daniel,' Dean added, 'cos he comes to the 'Treble Clef' every now and then to see how we are getting on.'


'What have you been doing musically over the ten years since 'HARLEY' broke up?'

'I moved to Cornwall for six years and took a break from singing and from East Barclay. I came back in 2006 when my father had his heart attack and took over the entertainment side of the club. I sing occasionally now in the club, but I also give vocal lessons privately.'


'There have been rumours that there are going to be changes at the club this year. Can you enlighten us?'

'We are launching a new upstairs bar and dedicating it to 'HARLEY'. It will be called the HARLEY Bar. We wanted to do something to say thank you to the members of the band, even though things ended the way they did. They are apart of the clubs history and my father wanted them to be apart of the celebration.'

Reece stopped reading and slid the magazine back in front of Dean and sighed.
Dean pushed it back across the table to Bob, looking down at his sandwich that was now cold. He no longer felt hungry.
'Do you think maybe we should call her?' Reece asked quietly.
'Call who?' Dean replied.
'Maxi of course!' Bob said, unsure of the response he was going to get.
'Why would I want to do that?'
'Only you and the expression on your face have the answer to that mate!' Bob replied.

*