Feeling Like A Pop Star

I was on a stage playing bass beside my bandmates. We were playing on a large stage that known acts had played before. There were 2000-3000 screaming females in the audience. We couldn’t do anything wrong. Then we played the only song I sang at the time…Brown Eyed Girl. Again the place went nuts and I was being singled out by a few. shouts of “Hey blue pants  (I had just bought some blue pants at Chess King…give me a break…it was the 80s), look over here!”

I never heard an audience that loud before while performing in my short 6 years of playing in front of people. We were an 80s band that didn’t play 80s music…We played Summertime Blues, Under My Thumb, Jumping Jack Flash, Roadrunner and kept going…we slipped in an original song and they kept screaming. I could barely hear myself play. I thought to myself…wow so this is what it’s like…We played around 15 songs in all.

Before I go on I will tell how and why this happened. Was I dreaming the whole thing? No, I was not dreaming. I was actually playing and soaking this up. I was 22 and I enjoyed every second of it. I thought any guy could get used to this…

I had been playing bass with a guitar friend of mine named Ronald since we were thirteen. He and I  played in a backwoods bar when we were 16 with a drummer and a singer. This band we were in now was not the one we started with but it was talented… but not this talented!

No, we had a gig at a Women’s prison. They wanted to be entertained and they were very appreciative. Bless all of them because they made us feel on top of the world. In the next few days, we thought we were better than what we were (the meaning of believing your own press)…our band broke up soon after…I joined a new one not long after that.

I kept playing for a few more years on weekends in bars, clubs, theaters, and parties. We even recorded in an old studio. I’ve played in front of big crowds again but never again with that much excitement. I had great times and met some great people but for that one day, that brief time,  I was a pop star…or rather I felt like a pop star. I got to see what it was like for a brief amount of time and I won’t lie…it was a great but fleeting feeling.

 

 

 

 

 

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

19 thoughts on “Feeling Like A Pop Star”

    1. It was! I thought I told you before but I wasn’t sure… it was thrilling and would have been easy to get use to… the guard started to point out the different women and said that one did this…. that one held up a …
      Hey it didn’t matter to us lol

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      3. I don’t know how The Beatles survived- I can’t imagine- it was a good thing there was four of them going through the same experience- Elvis and his son- in law didn’t fare well with huge fame. I think over all J P G R faired pretty well.

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      4. It was good sharing it with each other… someone whom they could relate to and talk right then…. George Harrison said it best… we gave the world our nervous system

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      5. Even if you were someone like Neil or Mel- and were there a good portion of the time- there is no way you could feel the full impact unless you were one of the four. One amazing thing to me is- you read about artists having hits- or a writer a big success and then- having a hard time following it up.. imagine the pressure on John and Paul especially to keep coming up with great songs. It would have been so easy just to keep the same sound- but they never did. Always something new and exciting- one step ahead of everyone- fans included.

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      6. The pressure didn’t seem to bother them that bad and the pressure was enormous… maybe it was that Liverpudlian way they had… except when the split happened…that is when it was more noticeable. Together they had each other. They were cocky in a healthy way when they were together.

        They were insulated also by Brian and that helped but yes they could have made a dozen She Loves you and sold for a while…

        It was the ultimate pairing. You had two great songwriters and a good one that had greatness in him waiting to come out. I’m sure that helped George develop by not having to produce on order like Paul and John.

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      8. Ha! Guess what arrived in the mail today? A Beatles trifecta- Vol 1 and 2 of Sir George and the 3rd edition of The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions by Mark.. that was the one Beatles book I lost in the basement in July.

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      10. I had to go get my car worked on was there 4 hours- the positive I read 50 pages of Tune In- come home and there is a big package waiting for me at the door- so not a bad day– glad to hear it moves quickly. .. Tomorrow the new Paul album is out.

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