The Face Behind the Fans
By Ria Fontaine
Die hard fans are a vital hard-chore of any band hoping to set their names in the cement of pop history. This week Who-Is-Its fan Lucy tells of her role in the band’s rise to the doorstep of international fame.
"You can’t really call yourself a fan unless you have really suffered."
Lucy (not her real name) agreed to meet me in the day room of the clinic she now resides in. You can almost imagine Lucy in her former glory - her hair is long, blonde and glossy, and her striking appearance and fine bone structure are only marred by the black patch over her left eye...
"My optician advised me to wear this," she laughs nervously.
Smoking her 2nd cigarette in 15 minutes she drums the work-worn fingers of her right hand on the stark formica table that is part of the furnishing of this place she now calls home.
Finally I find my notebook and am ready to start the interview.
"It all started when I was trying to impress Dan the lead singer. He was gorgeous!- A real fit piece with dark curly hair and eyes to die for. Not to mention his lips, and his leather jacket. I would turn up outside the Black Magnolia Bar - that’s where they gigged see - each Friday night with my button badges. I made’em at home and they had the words Danzband on - that’s what they were called back then see - and some had heart stickers. All the girls loved them and I sold at least fifteen or sixteen each week.
"It was all worth it in those days to hear Dan ask me on his way out of the Black Magnolia how many I had sold. I couldn’t believe someone so gorgeous would be so interested in...well me! [draws deeply on 3rd cigarette]
"Anyway next thing you know, they get a recording contract and everybody’s talking about them and they actually get a CD printed. Dan Said I could have a CD if I carried on making the badges and selling them at gigs.. so I get to work straight away. Just 40 or 50 a week or so at first, but then I lost my job at the cake shop, they moaned about my fingers being too blistered, so I spent my whole week just making badge after badge after badge after badge.
"They would always sell especially if I put the price down and Dan would always smile and wave to me as he walked past with some glamour puss clinging to his arm. It was a different girl every gig.
"He didn’t love them. Not properly. I am sure of that. They were just arm candy to him.
"You can’t really call yourself a fan unless you have really suffered."
Lucy (not her real name) agreed to meet me in the day room of the clinic she now resides in. You can almost imagine Lucy in her former glory - her hair is long, blonde and glossy, and her striking appearance and fine bone structure are only marred by the black patch over her left eye...
"My optician advised me to wear this," she laughs nervously.
Smoking her 2nd cigarette in 15 minutes she drums the work-worn fingers of her right hand on the stark formica table that is part of the furnishing of this place she now calls home.
Finally I find my notebook and am ready to start the interview.
"It all started when I was trying to impress Dan the lead singer. He was gorgeous!- A real fit piece with dark curly hair and eyes to die for. Not to mention his lips, and his leather jacket. I would turn up outside the Black Magnolia Bar - that’s where they gigged see - each Friday night with my button badges. I made’em at home and they had the words Danzband on - that’s what they were called back then see - and some had heart stickers. All the girls loved them and I sold at least fifteen or sixteen each week.
"It was all worth it in those days to hear Dan ask me on his way out of the Black Magnolia how many I had sold. I couldn’t believe someone so gorgeous would be so interested in...well me! [draws deeply on 3rd cigarette]
"Anyway next thing you know, they get a recording contract and everybody’s talking about them and they actually get a CD printed. Dan Said I could have a CD if I carried on making the badges and selling them at gigs.. so I get to work straight away. Just 40 or 50 a week or so at first, but then I lost my job at the cake shop, they moaned about my fingers being too blistered, so I spent my whole week just making badge after badge after badge after badge.
"They would always sell especially if I put the price down and Dan would always smile and wave to me as he walked past with some glamour puss clinging to his arm. It was a different girl every gig.
"He didn’t love them. Not properly. I am sure of that. They were just arm candy to him.
"The beginning of the end came when I could no longer afford the bus or train to get to the gigs.
"They were getting quite famous see, and one day on a return to their stomping ground Dan told me, on his way into the stage door, that they had a really special London gig coming up where they were supporting Radioham, a really well known band.
"I was desperate to get to see the gig so I pulled out all the stops and made 40 thousand badges. That was enough for nearly every one in the stadium. I knew that if I sold enough badges I would be able to afford a ticket. I worked day and night, without stopping for food or sleep. Blinding headaches and blisters aside, I had a mission and nothing on this earth would stop me seeing the most important gig ever.
"Trouble was I had to hitch a lift so I was late getting to London and I was just setting up my badge stall when Dan and his latest pop tart come strolling by and she takes a glance at the badges and she turns to Dan and goes 'Danzband? Isn’t that your band’s old name?'
"Old name. OLD name. No one told me they had changed the name. The revelation that I had just nearly killed myself making 40 thousand wrongly named button badges just caused something to snap.
"I grabbed the nearest badge and ran screaming towards Dan intending to jab the badge into the leather of his jacket, but his girl friend managed to trip me up. I put my hands out to stop my face hitting the ground, but I hadn’t reckoned on the impact this moment would have on the rest of my life."
With that Lucy dramatically reveals what lies under the eye patch. There instead of an eye is a Danzband button badge.
"It was all worth it in the end though, I got this lovely Get Well Soon card signed by Dan and the band."
Lucy shows me the card. The name next to Dan’s, probably a woman's, has been scorched away. Probably by a cigarette.
"They were getting quite famous see, and one day on a return to their stomping ground Dan told me, on his way into the stage door, that they had a really special London gig coming up where they were supporting Radioham, a really well known band.
"I was desperate to get to see the gig so I pulled out all the stops and made 40 thousand badges. That was enough for nearly every one in the stadium. I knew that if I sold enough badges I would be able to afford a ticket. I worked day and night, without stopping for food or sleep. Blinding headaches and blisters aside, I had a mission and nothing on this earth would stop me seeing the most important gig ever.
"Trouble was I had to hitch a lift so I was late getting to London and I was just setting up my badge stall when Dan and his latest pop tart come strolling by and she takes a glance at the badges and she turns to Dan and goes 'Danzband? Isn’t that your band’s old name?'
"Old name. OLD name. No one told me they had changed the name. The revelation that I had just nearly killed myself making 40 thousand wrongly named button badges just caused something to snap.
"I grabbed the nearest badge and ran screaming towards Dan intending to jab the badge into the leather of his jacket, but his girl friend managed to trip me up. I put my hands out to stop my face hitting the ground, but I hadn’t reckoned on the impact this moment would have on the rest of my life."
With that Lucy dramatically reveals what lies under the eye patch. There instead of an eye is a Danzband button badge.
"It was all worth it in the end though, I got this lovely Get Well Soon card signed by Dan and the band."
Lucy shows me the card. The name next to Dan’s, probably a woman's, has been scorched away. Probably by a cigarette.