#brian talks big but i think we all know this guy wouldn't last a minute in chip's office lmaoo//

[why-is-prethinker-unavailable]

what's your humble opinion on that chainsaw guy teehee

Who, now?

Oh, you must be referring to Mr. Revvington.

That guy.

I can't say we've crossed paths often, though I do suppose I see him at the occasional managerial meeting..?

Between you and I, though, I believe that Suit needs to sort himself out and learn to manage his time better. He's going to give Mx. Esta a run for her money at this rate with how torpid and rude he can be. It's like he doesn't even get any rest...

Not to mention, I've heard word that he's gotten special treatment from the higher ups?! Hmph. I would expect a studious and assiduous Cog like myself to be treated with such high regard... seems as if our bosses can't help but play favorites, huh.

[natromanxoff]

Queen live at Elland Road in Leeds, UK - May 29, 1982 (Part-2)

Fan Stories

“We got a coach from my home town (about 2 hours from memory) and drank an ocean of lager on the way, by the time we got there we needed the toilet so badly we could have exploded! We got into the stadium and waited for the first band of the day. Soon enough a not very well known (to me) American band came on called Heart. They weren't bad but did nothing for me. Then came The Teardrop Explodes who tried and who I reckoned did quite well despite the flying bottles of liquid being hurled at them from the crowd. After them was Joan Jett complete with Blackhearts who got the crowd going with "I Love Rock'n'Roll" mainly because Brian appeared at the side of the stage with his daughter to have a look. Eventually after a long wait the stage lights dimmed and a strange cranking sound started up and then you were suddenly aware of the drum beat to Flash thumping out and spotlights chasing around the stadium. This went on for a minute or so and the excitement was unbearable. All of a sudden in an explosion of smoke, lights, guitars, drums... Brian, John and Roger are there blasting out the opening part of The Hero. Seconds later in a gleaming white leather jacket out runs Freddie and it begins... A moment I will never forget along with many others from Queen shows since and before it. I can't say which show was my favourite as I loved them all but that moment WAS Queen, the sheer power, the anticipation, the fantastic musical ability and above all else the way they gave people what they crave more than anything... wonderful memories.” - whiteman

“29th May 1982 - a really nice warm day. We only lived a few miles away so walked down to Elland Road - I can't believe it - Queen live in my home town at the home of the greatest football team in the country (well maybe not now!). Got to the ground early and were allowed in by security, such a relaxed atmosphere. Saw band's soundcheck - great! So hot sun, never went behind stadium roofs. Got best suntan I have ever had! Heard Teardrop Explodes - not bad. Then you are aware of the beat of flash thumping out around the stadium, the smoke rises and bang - they are on! The greatest gig I have ever seen from the greatest live band in history. God bless you, Brian, Roger and John. Rest in peace, Freddie - we will never forget.” - Michael Quine

“This was my second ever gig, the first being Rory Gallagher the year before (I am sure I once read that Rory was one of Brian May's favourite guitarists). Anyway, being only 14 and not yet in the habit of getting off my face at gigs,I can remember that day very clearly. I am convinced I saw someone throw a hamburger at Julian Cope (Teardrop Explodes were going down like a lead balloon), and just as Julian was opening his gob to sing, he CAUGHT IT IN HIS MOUTH. A huge cheer went up, then they stomped off. Somebody, possibly Queen's manager, came on and told everbody to behave. I also remember a fan getting on stage and Freddie expertly rolling him off the stage. I didnt like the Hot Space album much but was chuffed they were still a hard rock band. I bought the next edition of Kerrang mag and the write up of the gig said STUNNING. Great memory.” - Edwin

“I was 15 years old in 1982 when I attended my first ever concert. Fortunately for me, it was QUEEN's show at Leeds AFC ground in the North of England. I remember when my ticket arrived in the post, possibly 2-3 months before the concert, as was often the case in those days. I stuck my ticket on a cork notice board in my bedroom and could barely contain my excitement over the coming weeks. Every morning, I would wake up and look at the yellow ticket, wishing the days away. I imagined everything that could go wrong would. Queen would cancel the gig, I would break my leg, the family pet would die on the morning of the concert and it would be too insensitive of me to go, the transport wouldn't turn up or would break down, there would be a pile up on the motorway, I'd lose my ticket en route, etc, etc. As it turned out, May 29th 1982 was a hot and sunny day, perfect weather for an outdoor gig. I was CRAZY about Queen and had been since the age of 9 but I really didn't know what to expect on that day. Myself and three friends took a coach organised by my Dad's company from Lancashire across the M62 motorway to Leeds. Our excitement began to really take a hold when we arrived at the football ground and we followed the droves of people towards the turnstiles. To me, this was something on a really big scale and I could already hear the hum of the crowd inside. Not really believing that we were actually about to witness a Queen concert, we found our seats on the West Stand, offering a great view of the stage. I remember marvelling at Queen's new lighting rig and the equipment that adorned the stage, shining in the afternoon sunshine. The ground was almost full at this point and the pitch was heaving with people. The atmosphere was relaxed as people bathed in the sunshine. I remember two guys climbing the fence from the stand and attempting to get a better spot by running into the crowd and losing themselves on the pitch. Their efforts were in vain however as they were quickly located and ejected back into the stand by two security guards. We bought some black Hot Space tour shirts (I wore mine with pride until it literally fell apart) and a programme from a vendor inside the ground and waited for the first band to take the stage. A guy near us shouted and punched his way through Heart's set and then left just as they vacated the stage. Obviously not a Queen fan! The Teardrop Explodes suffered at the hands of the Queen congregation and found themselves battling against a shower of bottles and assorted missiles. Other than that, I don't really remember much about the support bands. I think that Bow Wow Wow were billed to play (an odd choice) but I can't recall if they actually turned up. No matter, we were about to witness what is still one of the best gigs I have ever attended.

As the dusk descended upon us, the giant floodlights were extinguished one by one and the memory of the roar that followed still sends shivers down my spine. Dry ice drifted across the heads of the crowd on the pitch as the intro tape of Flash thumped out of the PA and the strange 'grating' noises added to the recording created a foreboding atmosphere. Two of our party were on the pitch and to this day remember their chests thumping in unison to the powerful rhythm. A sea of hands clapped in perfect time to the beat. To me, this was already an amazing experience. And then the big moment. Freddie, resplendent in dazzling white made his entrance to The Hero and the blaze of the lights. An apt number to start with. Before he had even sung a note, the audience were locked tightly in the palm of his hand. Such an entrance, such a showman. "You're a F***in amazing crowd", he exclaimed after the first rush. The beginning of the gig is, in truth, my strongest memory of the show itself. In particular, the "Flash!!!" vocals cutting through the night air with so much volume. I recall being shocked at the sheer power of Queen's performance and the clarity of the huge sound they harnessed. Morgan Fisher's keyboards during 'Action This Day' sounded bright and hypnotic. Freddie's intro to Fat Bottomed Girls caused quite a response too; "the bigger the t*t the better it is!". I also remember the follow spots darting wildly over the crowd during 'Tie Your Mother Down' and everybody going crazy. Oddly enough (and this is something I still swear by to this day), I was in a Maths lesson at school the following Monday and I swear I had a flashback of this and could actually 'hear' the music being re-played in my head. It was a weird moment and life was never quite the same again. We talked endlessly about our experience for months to come and one of my biggest regrets is not jumping on a train to attend the filmed Milton Keynes show a week later. Having been to so many gigs since, I can honestly say that there is nobody who has been able to top Queen live; I was lucky enough to see the band five times between 1982 and 1986, including Wembley Stadium and their last show at Knebworth. I think that my personal favourite was their performance at the NEC in Birmingham on 'The Works' tour in 1984. People were literally stood there with open mouths, unable to believe how good they were. Leeds is definitely up there too. I recall Brian May stating that he thought it was one of their best performances ever. I can't argue with that Mr May. I've often wondered if an audience shot cine film or even just photographs exist from the Leeds gig. It would be a dream come true to see my memories come to life again.” - Keith Lambert

“I can't believe it was 30 years ago that I attended my first ever gig at Elland Rd Leeds in 1982. I was 17 years old at the time, I was into Queen when I first heard seven seas of rhye, which was so different to all the other stuff around at the time. I'd heard them live on tv, and had Live Killers. Also I used to buy bootleg cassettes of all of their tours from 74 onwards. But nothing could prepare me for that day. They should have played this gig at Old Trafford Manchester, my home town, so I was gutted when the residents opposed it. Tickets were very easy to come by, believe it or not, cos Queen were not seen as a relevant band at that time. Also touring the Hot Space album didn't seem to excite anybody. So, Billy no mates had to go on his own, haha. My memory is a bit hazy, but I will try my best. I got to the ground about 1pm, and was lucky enough to have a pitch ticket. I got right to the front, well about 10 yards from the stage, slightly off centre and to the right. If I told you I never moved from that spot all day and never spoke to anyone, would you believe me? One of the reasons for this is the rivalry between Manchester and Leeds, also I was only a kid, haha. Not sure who was first on, probably Teardrop Explodes, Julian Cope, I remember while they were throwing bottles at him, picked one up and started hitting himself with it and stretching his arms out saying he was an Argentinian bomber or something. It was during the Falklands war, remember. Then Heart came on, not really my cup of tea, and I had a lie down on the tarpaulin and tried to go to sleep. Then Joan Jett, who was better than the rest, but not really exciting. During the band changes, I remember the roadies polishing Roger's drum kit and climbing up ropes and those threepronged lights, which before I saw them move I thought they were cameras. Queen took ages to come on. From my recollection and I might be wrong, they didn't come on until 10pm and went off around Midnight. I heard later that they got fined so much per minute for being late on stage but they wanted to wait until it was dark for the lighting rig to take effect. If you watch the Bowl DVD you will notice it was light when they came on stage there. But that was being filmed by Channel 4. But it was absolutely pitch black when they came on stage at Leeds. Then the floodlights went off, smoke started to appear and strange noises started, which I can't describe, sorry. Then Flash's Theme started, it was loud, very, very loud. I knew they were supposed to be loud and this was the part that scared me. The ground was thumping, the bass just pumping away. The these 'cameras' flicked into life, with men on them. The intro seemed to last for a very long time. Then BANG Brian appears with the first chord of The Hero and a flash of the biggest white light I've ever seen and will never forget and the absolute loudest noise I have ever heard just hit me. The intro was quite in comparrision to this. When I play Live at the Bowl, I tend to repeat the intro and The Hero, virtually every time, because it was definitely a life changing experience for me at that moment, just incredible. Then Freddie appeared in brilliant white again, I was that close, I swear His hair seemed blue because of the mass of white lights. His voice, so loud, so clear, honestly, I can't describe that moment properly. I heard Freddie swear, saw Roger spitting, quite a lot, over his drum kit and onto the stage, I was bewildered.

When they did Play The Game and also Somebody To Love, when Freddie was doing the intros for them and it will sound strange to those that weren't there, but I didn't know what the songs were. I thought they was new unreleased songs. The reason was they was so loud, It kind of deafened you and then kind of sunk in what they were about to play. Then the rest of the gig flew by and I was singing my head off. Everyone was, but you could only hear Queen. Again my memory may be wrong, but I read afterwards that Queen had paid for residents to move out of their homes for the day. These houses were monitored and they said that the sound was like Concorde flying 10 feet over your head... Yep I will buy that. For all that and for all the bad things said about it, The Works tour, which I went to all the 4 origional England gigs they had planned, was the best tour they ever did. The set list was fantastic and the lighting rig was incredible. Not as loud, I also add. I also saw them in Manchester, 86. They had to be off stage by 10pm and noise levels had to be adhered to. I was too far awy to see them and the screens didn't come on because it was too light. Also I couldn't here them properly. I've watched the mMagic Tour gigs on DVD etc, but for me, that was the poorest tour they ever did. So that's it, hopefully some of you can confirm my bad memory, or say I'm wrong. Hopefully not bored you all. But it was the greatest musical experience I ever witnessed and I am proud I was there.” - Paul Wakefield

Part-1

(x)

[dailyaudiobible]

01/28/2020 DAB Transcript

Exodus 5:22-7:25, Matthew 18:21-19:12, Psalms 23:1-6, Proverbs 5:22-23

Today is January 28th, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it's great to be here with you today. Looking at the number, January 28th and just realizing we’ve only got a few more days in this month and I’m still scratching my head about where the weeks have gone because I know I just celebrated Christmas but…but I don't…and…and that happens every year and I don't know why I can’t finally get my…I mean, I’m at this every single day. So, I should be able to mark my days but then I get to the end of January and I’m like, how did that happen so quickly? Anyway, how are you? How's your day going? You’re probably just like right where you need to be. You’re right centered in the here and now, January 28th, you’re not wondering where the month went. You lived it fully. And that's great. I want to grow up to be like you. And, so, that’s why I read the Bible every day to us. And I let's get to it. We’re in the book of Exodus. We have begun to…to get to know Moses who is a major character in the Bible, and we’ll be journeying with Moses for…for a while as I've mentioned. So, we’ll get to know him. He has reluctantly obeyed God and gone back to Egypt and confronted Pharaoh who has essentially laughed him out of the palace and made things much more difficult for the Hebrew people. And we can already tell a pretty big showdown is gonna happen at some point. So, let's take the next step forward. We’re reading from Evangelical Heritage Version this week. Exodus chapter 5 verse 22 through 7 verse 25.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the book of Matthew Jesus brought up a subject that He has already brought up and He was even more direct and forceful with it this time than...than the first time we encountered it because it is, according to Jesus, an irreplaceable component of God's kingdom, and it's a word that…I mean…it can…it can be a tricky work, forgiveness. It's kind of a funny thing because we like the concept of it. We just…we just don't want to have to do it. We want everybody else to have to do it, but we don't have to let go. So, the way that this goes down is that Peter’s just asking like, “okay. I see forgiveness is a part of this story. How many times…like define this for me. If…if somebody sins against me, how many times,  seven? Like do I forgive them 7 times.” Jesus is like, “no, like 77,” right? So, like if you forgive somebody 77 times and you’re counting it up and you get to offense number 78 and you tell that person, “I don't forgive you because I’ve forgive you 77 times” then you probably haven't forgiven them 77 times. Jesus tells a story - a master and a servant. A servant, who…who owes a great deal, an amount he can't pay. He falls to his knees and begs for forgiveness. He begs for mercy. He begs for more time. The master forgives him completely and sends him on his way. But then that person will not forgive his brother, his fellow servant who owes them significantly less. He won't forgive that debt. He throws him into prison. So, just imagine this for a minute. Imagine God saying to you, “you wicked servant. I forgave you all that debt when you bagged me to. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on you?” I do not ever, ever, ever want to hear those words from my Father but I'm quoting Jesus here. “This is what my heavenly Father will also do to you, unless each one of you forgives his brother from his heart.” Like that…that's pretty hard to navigate around. Like, that’s pretty hard to set aside and say, “well it doesn't really mean what…it's...it's not…that's not what it means” because Jesus has taken away the ability to sort like fake it. He said, “from the heart.” So, it's like…it's got to be real and genuine. And this…this can bring up all kinds of things inside of us, because we immediately…you know when we start thinking about forgiveness we have to begin to think about the wounds of our lives and some of them have been fairly significant. Like, none of us…none of us gets out of here without getting hurt in some way and some of us have been hurt pretty bad. And, so, just to even go there at all is a pretty…pretty difficult journey. But to think of forgiveness, you know, it's really easy to be like, “you just don't understand. Like you don't know happened to me, the trauma. Like you just don't understand. I…I…the guy with the microphone…I…I wouldn't…I've been through my own traumas…I wouldn't…but normally we’re not trying to say this to somebody else, we’re trying to say to God, “like I can't do what you're asking me to do because it broke me and I'm fragmented and I don't even know how…how to approach forgiveness when something so wicked has happened. And, so, we can be angry that God would even think about asking us or forcing us into this kind of posture, but let's…let's just pause for second…and understand like, we’re 19 chapters into the book of Matthew and Matthew is the first of the Gospels and for this year anyway, this is first accounting of Jesus ministry and so we’re getting to know Jesus for this year as we go through the Gospels. And we noticed right away there was something different. Like, we saw right from the get-go, and we began to realize is that we’re looking at somebody who is different because they are whole. Their…their heart and their mind and their bodies are not all detached and living in separate realities. Wholeness, the lack of separation any longer inside of ourselves and from God, this is the message of the gospel. And, so, this is what Jesus is revealing in His ministry as He reveals the kingdom of God. And you could be like, “I am tracking with you there. What has that got to do with forgiveness?” Forgiveness can bring wholeness. Forgiveness isn't saying, “alright. I guess it was okay that that happened to me. I forgive them for what they did. I guess I have to do that. It's gotta be okay.” That's not what forgiveness is. And forgiveness isn't. “Okay. I'm not gonna talk about that anymore, that wound anymore. I’m not gonna…I’m gonna forget it. Like, I’m gonna…I’m gonna suppress it down and never visit it again.” That’s not it either. Forgiveness is saying, “injustice in some way was done to me. It happened. It shattered to me in some way. I'm broken because of it. There's poison inside of me like seeping through my veins. It affects my life and it has affected the way my life has gone, and I cannot do this anymore and I cannot get free of this by myself. I've tried to medicate. I've tried everything. I can't do it. And, so, I release this to You God. You are the judge. I release this to You. You handle this. I release them to You. God, I can't handle this anymore. I release them to You. I unchain myself from that person or event and I give it to you.” Forgiveness is one of these things, at least in the ministry of Jesus that is very direct because it’s very important because forgiveness sets us free and unforgiveness does the opposite. And Jesus came to set us free. So, we can hold onto those wounds as if they’ve become a part of our identity. We can hold onto those attachments or things that have hurt us as if we wouldn't even know how to be ourselves without carrying that around anymore, or we can understand this is part of the process of walking the narrow path that leads to life and wholeness. And I realize I’m…I mean I’m talking to lots and lots of people and there lots and lots of stories. There are plenty of things to release. There are plenty of things to let go of. There are…I mean the posture of forgiveness isn't a one-off, it's a lifestyle, it's always on and never off. And at least in my experience, some of the deepest roots of bitterness and awfulness and frank…frankly darkness and evil happen between spouses. Like that's ground zero. Like that is your ultimate union with another person and that union then represents your greater union with God. And the thing that will destroy that out right straightaway is unforgiveness. And we all know it. Unforgiveness leads to bitterness, anger, resentment, you name it, and none of that will bring us to God.

Prayer:

Father, it is to You that we want to be led. It is a growing awareness of Your presence in and around and among and through and in all things, including our lives and our relationships and our marriages. And one of the things that flows through all of that in Your kingdom is the ability to let go, the ability to release, the ability to forgive. And all we have to do is look at our own lives and we can find the places that we've been bound up because of bitterness and unforgiveness. We were talking about our marriages a minute ago Father and all we have to do is look there really to find places that have been walled off and places that have become battle lines and we might count 7 times or we might count 77 times and then we’re done with it. And, so, we begin the slow, steady, methodical process of dismantling and disintegrating our relationships through this unforgiveness. And You've been very clear, very clear in the Scriptures that that is leading nowhere. And, so, Father help us to learn to forgive. Help us to learn to release and let go. And help us to be willing to ask to be forgiven because in one way or another we’re in need of it. Father, it's our desire to dwell in Your presence in Your kingdom and to reveal it in this world and one of the ways that we will do that is that we walk in forgiveness. Come Holy Spirit we pray into this because it's a big thing for us. We ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Song:

Sara Groves - It's Me

Well, it came and caught us off our guard We were just laughing, feeling alright Had such a great time just last night We walked into a minefield undetected You took a tone and I took offense Anger replacing all common sense

Oh, run for your life, all tenderness is gone In the blink of an eye all goodwill has withdrawn We mark out our paces and stare out from our faces Baby, you and I are gone, gone, gone

Incomprehensible layers of isolation Now you're the man with a heart of stone Making me pay by being alone Soon you will justify righteous indignation Now I'm a woman who holds all her pain Looking for somebody else to blame

Oh, run for your life, all tenderness is gone In the blink of an eye all goodwill has withdrawn We mark out our paces and stare out from our faces But baby, you and I are gone, gone, gone

We hold all the keys to our undoing Cutting me down in small degrees You know my worst insecurities I'm making no effort to understand No one can hurt you like I can

Deep down inside the girl's waking up She's going out to the boy she loves It's me, oh, baby, it's me

How in the world can tenderness be gone In the blink of an eye? Oh, how in the world can tenderness be gone In the blink of an eye?

And the girl in me, she's calling out Oh, the girl in me, she's calling out To the boy in you, to the boy in you And the girl in me, she's calling out Oh, the girl in me, she's calling out To the boy in you

Baby, come back, baby, come back to me Baby, come back, baby, come back

[sunnyie-eve]

Somebody To Love (Part 4- Getting Started)

(Ben!RogerTaylor)

Word count: 1,786

Warnings: Nothing to worry about

A/N: I have no cule what I write at times... Enjoy

—————————————————

Over the past year the band has been selling out gigs at all the pubs. We all have built this stronger friendship, but with Roger always going out with new girls. Our friendship is the weakest I would say between me and all the guys. After two weeks with John we clicked instantly and we joke around all the time. At the moment the four of us were on our way to pick up Freddie.

"Why can't we take turns in the front seat?" I ask leaving my seat to talk to Brian. "Because it's our van." He smiles at me and I hit him. "Fine, I like being with John over you two anyways." I stick my tongue out going back to my spot. "Lies, you love me more." Brian looks back at me and I cross my arms. "Nope, not anymore." I smile at him and he grabs my arm pulling me to the front into his lap as we stop to pick up Fred. "You're late." He says walking up to the van. "Sorry that was my fault. We had to stop because I had to pee." I smile as he gets in the back and I sit back there too. "Well then, darling. It's alright." He smiles at me.

After being on the road for sometime, we had to pull over to fix the tyre. "This is bollocks!" I hear Roger complain as I watch John try to fix the tyre. "It's counterclockwise, I think you'll find, John." Brian tells him, who was struggling. "Oh is it? Thank you, Brian. Would you like to do it? Please, feel free." He says making me laugh. "No, no, no. Doing a good job." Brian puts his hands up and I walk over to him leaning into his chest. "We sold out every pub and uni south of Glasgow... and I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere, eating a ham sandwich." Roger continues to complain causing me to look at him and snuggle into Brian's left side. "Trouble is, we're just not thinking big enough.” Fred says. "What you got in mind, Fred?" Brian asks him as I move away from him.

"An album." He says like it was nothing big. "We can't afford an album." Deaky says not looking at anyone. "Oh, we'll find away. How much do you think we can get for this van?" Fred asks and me and Brian look at Roger. "I hope you're joking." He says with his mouth full and Fred looks at him, "No Mate." He says and I see Roger turning red. "Come on Roger, lets walk for a minute." I take my hand into his walking the opposite way from the group. "That's my van." He points back at it making me move my arm with his. "I know, I know. Just breathe and eat your ham sandwich." I giggle patting his back. "Want a bite?" He shoves his sandwich in my face. "Why not?" I take a bite of it.

"Alice, why have you been a tad distance with me?" He asks looking down at me. "Roger, you're always out with your new girlfriends. You're never around to hangout with me, and when I'm with all four of you... You sometimes have your girls with you, so I don't really want to be around you." I tell him truthfully. "I'm sorry, I should think about you sometimes." He kiss my forehead as we walk back to the van. "Let's get going. Fred, you can sit in the front. I want to sit with Alice." Brian says pulling me by my arm into his chest.

~

Freddie got the boys to agree to sale the van and Roger still wasn't happy about it. We were all standing in the hall while they paid to use the studio. "That's three months' wages." Deaky says as Fred handed over the money. "And a perfectly good van." Roger adds. "Don't be so dramatic, darling. You're recording an album tonight. Let's go!" Freddie says walking down the hall. "It's going to be a long night Mary." I say making me and her laugh. "It will be fun." Brian takes my hand into his as we follow Fred.

One of Roger's bloody girls showed up and me and Mary didn't even try talking to her a lot knowing she wouldn't be around for the next day. Both Mary and the girl were asleep on the couch as Freddie was in the booth, leaving me to sit in a small chair with Brian. "Don't you think I sound like shit?" He asks as we listen back. "No, it's good." I tell him. "Can we try it again?" Fred asks. "Yeah, sure." He leaves going back into the booth. "Trying to ignore Roger's girl?" Brian whispers in my ear. "Isn't it obvious?" I say aloud wrapping my arms around his neck. "That's my lovie." He kisses my cheek as we listen to Fred before he comes back.

"Sounds a lot better." Deaky says as we finish listening back to it again. "We need to get experimental." Brian adds and I agree. "Oh, Fred! Trying bouncing you guys left and right." I point at him. "For the ah-ah-ahs." Fred tells RT and he does as he's told. Brian stands up, "Now dead center for the last." He says. "And blast it!" Roger yells standing up. "Good one darling." Freddie places his hand on my lower back and Brian spins me around. "Brilliant!" He shakes me in his arms. "Now let's go in there and make some music!" Freddie leaves the room and the boys follow.

As they mess around in the booth, I smile to myself watching them do something they love. They come back in for a minute, "Do we have time to stacks a few more?" Fred asks. "The studio opens at 8:00 so we got 30 more minutes." RT tells Fred and they rush out. "Alice, Love! Come help!" Fred yells making Roger grab my hand dragging me with them. I help them come up with a few ways to make the music and it was fun. "Okay, try it." I laugh taking a step away with Roger while Brian and John try something new. It turns to shit and the bin fell making me, Roger, and John try to catch it laugh our bums off.

"Alice, since we been busy all night... Do you want to crash at my flat for the rest of the day?" Deaky asks me as we make our way to the cars. "Thank you, Deaky. I would really love that." I link our arms together telling everyone goodbye.

~

"Alice, phone is for you." Poppy calls for me and I take the phone from her. "Hello?" I answer. "Freddie called and said we're meeting his parents today. Plus it's his birthday, so I'm going to pick you up in 10, okay?" Brian asks, "I'll get ready then. Bye Bri." I hang up the phone and run to my room.

"You look lovely, Alice." Brian gets out of his car giving me a hug. "Can we get going?" I hear a girls voice whine. "Oh no, I'm staying home." I say turning around to go back to my flat. "Alice, please. Freddie wants you to come." Brian grabs my wrist. "I'm not sitting in the back with the two." I put my other hand on my hip. "Fine, I'll see if Deaky will sit in the back." He says as we walk back to the car. I smile at Deaky and he knew what I wanted him to do. "Fine, just this once." He hops out and I take his seat.

When we get to Fred's parents flat he opens the door for us. "Darlings you made it. I see Roger you brought a friend." He eyes the girl then looks at me, "Alice, come meet my sister." He takes my hand dragging me with him. "Happy birthday Freddie." I say as he stops in front of his sister. "Kashmira, this is Alice, a friend of mine. She's sorta part of the band and my assistant." He smiles at me. "Hello, Alice. You can just call me Kash." She smiles and we shake hands. "Hello Kash, also you can just ignore the other girl like I do." I smile at her and she nods her head. "Also just a heads up, if the blond starts to talk to you... Just call me and I will save you. I'll be doing you a favor." She laughs nodding her head, "I sure will."

When Mary and her father showed up we all got seated around the table, and I was next to Deaky while Roger's girl was on the other side. "Deaky, you're staring at them." I lean in and whisper to him as he drinks his tea ignoring me. "I used to know a girl who was Zanzibari." Roger says and I look at him. "Of course you did." He glares at me. Freddie's mum gets out picture books and he doesn't want us to see them but we all want to. I get out of my chair and stand up behind Mary and Kash looking at the pictures while Roger takes a seat next to Kash.

The phone starts to ring and Kash goes to get it, then tells Freddie it's for him. While I continue to look at photos I hear Roger talk to Kash. "Kash, What are you doing later?" I look to my right and Kash looks at me. "Alice, can you hand me my glass?" She smiles at me and I bump him with the side of my bum since I was still standing. "Here you go, Kash." I hand her the glass. Roger, you're in my seat." I smile down at him and he shakes his head. "Here, I'll share my seat with you." Kash makes room for me to sit on the chair so I'm closer to Roger. "You're terrible." I whispered to him. "Just making conversation." He says rubbing my shoulder and I shake him off.

"I have an announcement." Freddie says and we all pay attention to him. "One of the A&R men... from EMI saw us recording. Gave our demo to John Reid. Looks after Elton John." He says and we all are shocked. "Mr Reid wants to meet us and possible even manage us.

"Are you joking."

"Oh shut up."

"Oh my god." We all start to speak getting happy and Roger even pulls me into his lap to hug me. "Roger! Let go of me. You have your girlfriend to attend to." I get off him leaving the room to use the loo.

[gefuhl-des-zweifels]

Brian May: Enlightened Monarch

Author: Sacha Reins (Best, №118, May 1978)

It's no secret I'm a Queen fan. So I volunteered for an interview. Now, after a few weeks, when the interview took place, I admit the obvious: these young people have their own cockroaches.

[Sacha Reins, 70s]

It was a series of last-minute and appointed interviews that were cancelled under strange pretexts.

The sirs took a star. On the Sunday before the concert in Paris, their press agent told me to stay at home on the phone, and as soon as one of these gentlemen is ready for an interview, I will call, and I will immediately have to come. What was I supposed to do, send them away?

Then there's this ridiculous party. On the night of the second concert in the hall of a chic restaurant in their honor was a party where they were handed gold discs.

The group arrived ... and locked in a private office, so they wouldn't be disturbed.

Queen is constantly surrounded by a team of security guards-bodyguards-managers who systematically block the group.

As soon as you manage to overcome this dam, you come across charming guys who pretend to be surprised to see you furious at being treated like pigs. They know nothing! I don't believe that.

Queen, in fact, suffer from a complex of Rolling Stones. Like the Stones, they want to be chased by hordes of crazy fans. Alas, this is not so, they are part of a well-known group, but individually do not cause delight in the crowd. And so to create an illusion ... they surround themselves with a whole retinue and security service, as useless as grotesque.

An interview with Brian May took place one day in Zurich. In the evening I had to attend their concert and then have dinner with them. The interview ended, I took my things, called a taxi and went to the airport to go home. I'm tired of their antics. Brian May was very courteous, but his entourage certainly sucks.

Monarchy

– Are you satisfied with your Paris concerts?

Yes, very. For us, these shows were held in a very special way. We were beginning to think we were banned from France. None of our recordings were sold here until We Are The Champions. And as soon as this single was a success, we said, well, it's time to go. The first night we were very nervous. We have been told so many times that the Paris audience is one of the most difficult in the world! We were very careful the first night, almost closed, and I think the audience felt it. The second night was completely different: contact had already been established.

– I attended this concert, and several times you made me think of Led Zeppelin because of the music and the peculiar interaction between you and Mercury.

– This is not the first time when we are compared with LZ in one or another plane. In fact, I think there was a lot more common ground between Queen and LZ a few years ago when we started. But now we have moved away from this form of hard rock, we have developed our own harmonies, a style that belongs only to us. However, LZ and we follow similar routes because, forming as musicians, we were influenced by the same people.

– Is there any stage rivalry between you and Mercury?

– No, we are too close, we know each other too well, we had too many common problems. Freddie is the natural point of attraction of the group, and it's good that he realizes his charisma in this way.

The first person the viewer watches will always be the lead singer and then the guitarist. Therefore, it would be foolish to try to fight with Freddie for power on stage. Especially since he's a fantastic showman.

– No leader in the group?

– No. Whenever we make a decision, whether it's our business or music, we meet all four of us together, have a long conversation, and then decide what we're going to do.

We complement each other. Specifically, John Deacon deals with money. Roger Taylor is responsible for our communications with the outside world, I mean the outside world in relation to Queen.

– In this sense, I found that your behavior in Paris was a little strange. All of these appointed and revoked by the miserable occasions interview. This ultra-twitch security that has built a wall around you. This ridiculous party, when you took a private office with a thug at the door, which blocked access to other guests. As if journalists or promoters were going to attack you! It was all very strange.

– For our image well, that we look as excessively guarded and hard-to-reach group. So even more people will be interested in us. As for the party, I don't remember it very well.

Equipment

– Keep going. Who gave you the idea of this light installation?

– Nobody, we developed it a year ago with the help of our engineer Jerry Stickels.

– So she came before «Close encounters of the third degree»?

– Long time. So this similarity between the spaceship from the movie and our glowing crown is very strange. Americans were struck by this similarity. We receive many letters on this subject.

– You have a lot of stage equipment. This is a device that endlessly reproduces the sound of the guitar, have you been using it for a long time?

– Since 1972. It was necessary for us from the very beginning, but we had no money, we were able to buy it only in 72-m. This is a rather complex device. It took me a long time to learn how to handle it properly, and I also changed it so that it could play two different sounds indefinitely. Now I know it perfectly and can use it to play harmonies, counterpoints, chords.

[Vintage 1970's Maestro Echoplex EP-4 Solid State Tape Delay]

The trickiest thing is to perfectly tune the scene so I can hear exactly how the sound goes and comes back. If for some reason it is hard to hear what is happening, it is a disaster because I do not know how often to put a refund. But this has not happened for a long time, because now we have everything we need on stage.

We are sometimes criticized for the fortune we have invested in our equipment. This kind of criticism is quite inappropriate, because if we spend so much money on equipment, it's all for the audience to be satisfied, both visually and musically.

You see, we're interested in being able to play back what we're doing on the record. Complex harmonies and all that. But there are only four of us. We need the help of electronics, so Freddie and I are using these devices with endless echoes. We don't want to play pre-recorded tracks like some bands do. We don't think it's fair.

– But you use the entry in Bohemian Rhapsody…

– Yeah, but that's different. The BR passage you are referring to is a complete reproduction of a studio recording. We recorded this song as an Opera. Each of us sang about twenty different parts to reproduce exactly one big classical choir. It is absolutely impossible to perform on stage. We tried it a few times, but it sounded really bad compared to the album version, so we decided to play a pre-recorded Opera passage. But to avoid any doubts or misunderstandings, we give these recordings in complete darkness and do not appear until the hard rock part, which we play live. It's more honest.

– Where do you get all these classical and Baroque allusions that your music is filled with?

– I don't know, because none of us have any real classical foundations. I think that all this comes from the depths of our childhood memories, when our parents listened to waltzes on the radio, brass bands in parks on dundays. It must have come from there.

– Your latest album, News Of The World, doesn't have enough references to Baroque.

– Yeah. We went back to pure hard rock. Without excesses. We've come a long way in the Baroque style, a cross between Opera and rock, and I don't think we could have been more successful than with A Night At The Opera. That's why we came back to more unpretentious music.

– A Night At The Opera sold best, so don't you think you've disappointed a large audience who liked these musical tricks?

– We always disappoint someone, no matter what we do. When we started working with the Baroque style, we disappointed our first fans who loved us for our pure hard rock.

– They say you don't take vacations.…

– Yes, we work hard. Every year we lock ourselves in the studio for two or three months, then we go on a two-month American tour, then we spend two months in Europe, two months in Japan and Australia, and when it's over, it's time to go back to the studio for the next album. We have been living in this rhythm for five years.

– Bands like Queen and all the major British bands we've seen in recent years have been getting more and more stage equipment. Now everyone has lasers, bizarre scenes, smoke generators, etc. When will this arms race end?

– Never. Show business will always follow with interest the development of technology in all that relates to audiovisual information, and use it to create even more pompous, beautiful and impressive shows. However, there is a very clear reaction from part of the public (I'm talking about the rock audience), especially in the UK, where most young people want the bands to return to the adequate stage art as it was ten years ago.

I don't mind, but here we are faced with a mathematical impossibility. To play without assistive devices, you will have to work in small halls, even in clubs where your creative energy is in direct contact with your audience. There really is no need for a rotating stage and smoke, everyone is in direct contact with the music. But the famous band will no longer be able to play in small halls.

[News Of The World Tour]

Look at Paris, in two days we performed in front of 18,000 people. In a hall with two thousand seats we would have to play for everyone nine days in a row and eighteen days – in the club. At this rate, it will take us ten years to travel around the world, it is unthinkable. That is the only way to have time everywhere – to play in the huge halls (and believe me, Pavillon de Paris – not the biggest).

[Pavillon de Paris (aka Les Abattoirs de la Villette – "Slaughterhouse in La Villette"); as a concert hall for about 10,000 spectators, the building was used from 1975 to 1980.]

Now, about the question you asked me. I don't know how or when it will end, but I know what the next step is: holography. A hologram is a three - dimensional photo projection in space. It will be possible to create incredible scenery, in a second to project the Grand Canyon of Colorado or skyscrapers of New York in 3D, creating the illusion of full presence. The basic principles are developed, but everything else is still in the process of testing for wide application.

Fantasia

– What about Sex Pistols?

– It's a band that we really like ("we" means Queen) and I'm really sorry that they broke up. But it was almost inevitable.

– Why?

– They were under too much pressure. The British music press (the worst in the world) has made the lives of these guys unbearable, making them both heroes and scapegoats. The British press, to keep circulation, so needs in stars, that fabricates new names for couple of months. And an ordinary boy is not easy to survive the rapid transformation from a young nerd to a star. Most young talents don't know how to handle it. If by a Fluke they stay on the horse and become really popular stars, then the same press that inflated the whole story, smears them on the wall, because it feels that they are out of control and will be able to do without her support.

The British press is destructive, and Sex Pistols is not the first victim. We had a chance to succeed without the press. When we started, we were not written about, and when it did happen, the whole thing was limited to three contemptuous lines. As a result, we were able to gradually and without their help to gain the trust of the public.

– How long will you stay together?

– Hard to say. At the moment, everything is fine, we get along well, we are famous all over the world. Why run away?

– Do you see yourself on the rock scene in forty years?

– Perhaps by that time our music will develop in another direction. Maybe we'll have other ambitions. Personally, I am always guided by some achievable goal, to conquer France, for example. Or something like that. Make a full house in Madison Square Garden or Earl's Court.

If one day we reach the point where all desires are fulfilled, because we have already achieved everything, it will become a serious problem. That's what happens to Elton John.

Everything he could wish for, he had already received. He was not destined to become more famous or rich. He can only go down, because already at the top. He is unhappy because life cannot give him anything new. I don't want to be in this position.

– You wanted to conquer the French public, and you did it. Got a new target?

To lose the French public, so that there is a goal to return it. No, I'm kidding, to compose music so beautiful that animators could create on its basis at least the same beautiful cartoon as Fantasia. And finally take a vacation. Long vacation.

Source: http://queenfrance.online.fr/htm/presse/article3.htm

Translated from French: @gefuhl-des-zweifels

[littleliv1]

I Was Born To Love You- Part Two

Hey guys! I’m getting great feed back from my previous posts and thank you all so much for it! I’m taking requests and prompt ideas so just lmk what you’re looking for!

Summary: Leah and Austin are growing further apart, but she meets the guys today, and becomes their assistant as well.

Warning: slight angst, kissing, but that’s about it

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was weeks later, and Austin started to come home later and later. Always with a different excuse, but backed up by Shelly, and always came home smelling the same. I stared to dread coming home, but I did because I knew I’d get to be with my baby, Lola. Whatever he was going through, I knew it wasn't something I could help with. And it hurt so bad. He stared to get physical. There were marks on my arm from him grabbing me and throwing me against the wall. I started to question who I was truly married to.

I loved work, though. Today was the day that I got to meet the cast. And, from what Mr. Singer has told me, they were excited to meet 'the best assistant that one could have'. It was 5 am. I got up, looking next to me. Austin was passed out. We had a nice night last night, one that was definitely needed. I knew he was getting worse, but I still loved him. I kissed him on the shoulder as I got up to put a shirt on. I grabbed my cloths for the day, my phone, and went to shower.

I wanted to make a good impression on the cast. Being a very hot day in California, I wore navy blue, black, and white shorts, not too short so I didn't look sleazy, but short enough to show off my tan legs. I also wore a low cut, loose fitting tank top with a sports bra, but grabbing a light jacket to cover my arms. I put my hair in a ponytail and let the natural curl do it's thing. I slipped on my tennis shoes and left. It was 7 am. I always left the house at 7 am. I grabbed coffee, the usual, one iced vanilla late for me and one straight black for Mr. Singer. I drank all of mine before I got to the staging area. They hadn't began filming yet, but they were just getting a feel for the vibe of the movie, going over lines, things of that nature. I showed up at 7:45 am. Right on time, like usual. I sped walked into the building, meeting Mr. Singer as he sped walked, handing him his coffee. "What a delight to see you this fine morning, my dearest friend." I smiled at the word friend. Stacy never called me her friend. "You too, Mr. Singer. How was your weekend? You hadn't called or anything on Sunday, I assume you didn't need anything?" I asked him. He laughed a bit. "My darling, why would I have called you on a Sunday?" He asked. "Enough with 'me' talk. Let's talk about the guys." He said, both still speed walking. To where, I weren't sure. I just followed.

"Alright," I said. "I'm asking you this because I trust that you'll be honest with me." He stopped, so I stopped. He turned to face me. "I know you're my assistant. And you're a damn good one, my dear. But there aren't many things I need much help with. So you wouldn't be doing much other than getting food and coffee. How would you feel about also assisting the boys?" He asked. My eyes widened. "As in?" I asked. "As in Gwilym Lee, Ben Hardy, Rami Malek, Joe Mazzelo, as well as Brian May and Roger Taylor. I know it's a lot, they're not high maintenance and they tend to do things for their own, but I'll pay for 6 times the amount we pay you now, one time for each person. I know it sounds like a challenge, but I think you could do it, but only if you want to." He said. I laughed, almost in disbelief. I stuttered at first. "Y-yeah, Yes! Yes! I'd love to! This is amazing, thank you so much, sir!" I said as he pulled you into a hug. "Call me Bryan, love."

I stared walking again. I was staring at the ground, smiling so big. This was amazing. And it was your honor to serve the legends that are Brian May and Roger Taylor. I could only imagine, though, how much of a prick they might be. Wow I'm pretty nervous. He stopped at a door, looking over to me. "Do you need a moment to compose yourself, darling?" He asked, smiling. I kept a straight face, shaking my head. I remembered what Stacy said, that if i didn't remain professional I'd loose everything. "Alrighty, then." He said, opening the door, the six of them stood there.

I had never heard of any of them besides the two. They were all, so, surprisingly handsome. "Good morning once again boys, this is Maleah, your new assistant, also long time queen fan as I've understood." He smirked over, looking at me. My face turned bright red, as I refused to make eye contact. I knew if I did, I'd lose my mind. But there they were. They all shook my hand, introducing themselves. They were all so kind. I noticed a pair of light blue eyes that munched resembled mine. Bryan handed me the clip board, there were a list of things to get done for them, not at the fault of them, of course, but the list was lengthy. I didn't mind, though. "Don't worry about getting everything done today, I want you to spend the next few days getting to know them. You'll find that at the end of the week, you'll have done everything on that list." He said to me, turning to the rest. "As for all of us. Get to know each other. You will all be spending a lot of time together. We start filming next Monday. But, we're flying out to London." That word trailed off in my mind.

'I'm so sorry, Maleah. Your Mum and dad passed in the wreck." I heard the doctor say over the phone. I fell to my knees, crying, as Austin cried with me.

"We are starting at the Live-Aid performance. On your free time, study that performance. Watch it thousands of times. Memorize what your person does, when, and how they do it. Mr. May and Mr. Taylor, please follow me as we will start with our own work" He said to the two older men. I looked up at them smiling slightly. Roger pulled me into a hug. "Welcome, Love. So glad to have you with us." He said, as Brian hugged me as well. "So so glad to have you, dear." He said.

'Holy shit! That just happened!'

I was still in awe until I heard a deep British voice chime in. "Big fan of queen, yeah?" The tall one named Gwilym said. I looked at him, nodding my head, slightly smiling. "Well don't be shy, Maleah, tell us about yourself." The blonde one named Ben said, patting the chair next to him. You sat the clip board on the coffee table, sitting down. "For starters, call me Leah. What do you want to know?" I asked. I wasn't sure of how to respond, it wasn't normal for my bosses to know personal things about me. The one named Joe raised his hand. I giggled slightly as I raised your eyebrows. "Do you have any animals?" He asked. I smiled. "Why yes I do. She's a German Shepherd named Lola." I showed them my lock screen of me, Lola, and Austin. Rami took the phone. "This is too precious. Is this your husband, or brother, or?" He asked. I looked slightly down and slightly shameful. "My, uh, husband." I said. I could feel the tense atmosphere in the room. But Joe broke the tension.

Hours had gone bye and we were cracking up listening to stories of the most embarrassing moments they've had. I started to get slightly hot after laughing for so long, so I decided to take off my jacket, forgetting about the marks on my arm. Ben took notice of it, while the others were laughing at a story Gwilym was telling. Ben and I made eye contact as I slowly pulled my jacket back up. "Well, mates, I'm going to show Leah where all of the important things are, if that's alright with you guys?" He asked, giving a thumbs up for confirmation. I inhaled slowly knowing I'd have to explain to him what happened. They all said it was fine and that they needed a break from laughing so much. Ben and I started walking throughout the studio, walking outside. It was silent for a few minutes.

"So," He started. I looked up at him. "Are you gonna tell me what those are?" He asked, raising an eye brow. I looked down. "I don't know what you're talking about." I said quietly. He stopped me, gently taking off my jacket. "Love, what are these?" He asked, lightly running his fingers over the bruise. It felt nice to be touched in a non-sexual and non-abusive type of way. It made me feel warm inside. Comforted. "I wouldn't suppose you'd believe me if I said birth mark?" I asked, turning my head. "If they were you wouldn't have put your jacket back on. Tell me what happened, if you're in trouble-" "No!" I snapped. He wouldn't  understand that my husband is very ill, that there's something wrong with him, and that I can't leave him. I calmed down. "I'm not in trouble, I just-" I trailed off. "I don't know." I said quieter. He sat me down on a near by bench.

"Talk to me. What's going on?" He asked. I knew he cared, which was nice of him, but it raised slight fury in me; it wasn't any of his business what was going on. "Don't worry about it right now, please. If it because an issue, I'll tell someone, maybe, it's just complicated. Please don't say anything." I begged, gripping his arm. He looked down and smiled at the sight. He nodded, looking back up at me. "I won't. But if I see more after these it's going to become an issue and I'd hope you'd tell someone." He replied. I let go, nodding your head understandably.

After the day was over, I went home, not surprisingly, with no one else there. It was about 8 pm, I was pretty late. I was hungry and didn't want to wait on Austin. So I cooked some Mac and cheese, green beans, and left over spaghetti from the night before. After I finished eating, I watched some TV with Lola. She had her own place next to me with her head in my lap. About 15 after 10, I got tired of waiting for him to come home. I wrote a note to my very late husband saying how I fixed him a plate and put it in the microwave, and how with the new job working for all of the guys now I'll probably get home around 8 or 9 every night now. I signed it 'with love' and went to bed.

I woke up around 4 am to Austin climbing into bed. Unbelievable. I faked being asleep. I could feel his eyes staring at me. Instead of cuddling up to me, he just took more blanket and went to sleep.

Once I got home from work that day, Austin was actually home. I smiled at him. "Hello, darling," I said. He was leaning against the table, something was wrong. I grazed my hand over his back. "Everything alright?" I asked. He gently batted my hand away. He nodded his head. After a moment, he turned to me.

"Can I make dinner tonight?" He asked. "Well, sure, if you want, I really don't mind it," I said. "No, you spend all day everyday working for, men, just to come home to work for another. When only one of those men respects you. I'll make your favorite food." I giggled. "My actual favorite food or my favorite dinner?" I replied, smiling. "Your actual favorite. Popcorn, root-beer, and the newest season of 'say yes to the dress'." He replied, sniffling. I could tell he had been crying. I smiled. "You're so sweet, my love."

I cupped his jaw with my hand, giving him a gentle kiss. "I'm thankful to come home to you." I said. He pulled my hand from his face, kissing your palm. He popped the pop corn as I turned on the tv in the living room. Lola got on the couch to join me, sitting right next to my side, like she had been the last few weeks. I saw Austin coming and I motioned her to get down. The show hadn't started yet, so I decided to take this time to talk to him. "Talk to me, love, anything new going on at work?" I asked, muting the TV.  He shook his head, drinking a beer. "Any new bands about to start their first tour?" I asked. Again, no verbal response, just a shake of the head. "Well, I have some pretty exciting news to tell you," I said. He looked over at you. "I'm going to London next week, and I think we will be gone for 4-6 weeks." I said. I knew it was a shock, but I was hoping he wouldn't be too mad. "That's nice, dear." He said looking at the TV, unmuting it. He finished the beer he had just opened, just to get a new one. I started to feel a pit of shame forming in my belly from the rejection I felt by my husband.

I hope you are enjoying this serious as much as I enjoy writing it. Again, any requests, shoot me an inbox and I’ll get to it! Thank you loves xx

[ready8210]

“Let me in your heart again”

1. He hates me

Vivian

Munich / Germany - Musicland Studios

I nervously pluck my blouse, sitting in the sparing lobby of Munich's „Musicland Studios", as I wait for the first "meeting" with my future „boss", no less than QUEEN.

You've read correctly. QUEEN! I can't get my head around it yet.

The band was searching for a photographer, to document the tour life and studio work of their upcoming "works" album and their following world - tour, which would later lead them - or should I say US - from Europe, over Asia, Australia to America and Africa.

I was one of the lucky ones, the band and management put on the shortlist in late October, last year. A view weeks later, I was informed that it was me, who would attend the band for the next two years.

Two years, I think to myself, wrinkling my brows in disbelief.

At this moment I don't know if I am incredible lucky or should be scared.

I still desperately try to smooth out the wrinkles on my pastel - yellow blouse, as I nervously scan the room. Leaning back in an uncomfortable armchair, I inhale deep as I gaze over my chosen outfit.

Earlier today I was frustrated standing in front of my closet, throwing around varying outfits, unable to decide what to wear for my meeting with the band.

What would one wear when meeting Queen?

I racked my brain this morning, that would change my whole life.

Needles to say I didn't come to an answer.

After one hour of putting on nearly all content of my wardrobe, I decided to go for casual and simple. I really didn't want to look like an applicant for a secretary job.

I wear that pastel yellow sleeveless blouse I already mentioned 2 times (you have to excuse, I'm extremely nervous), paired with light blue skinny jeans and simple pumps. My wavy hazelnut brown hair is put into a ponytail on this hot July summer day.

Fiddling with the strap of my bag, I hear a door open and dull music echoing in the hallways of the oppressive building.

It is QUEEN, I recognize immediately, forming a smile on my lips.

The music reaches my ears as I am leaning myself forward, trying to get closer to the source of sound.

There it is, the mesmerizing voice of the one and only Freddie Mercury, bringing on goosebumps all over my body. I cling to the armrest, on the chair I am sitting in, as the door closes and the sound fades all to fast.

As you can imagine, this last event didn't lessen my massive nervousness.

You now may've recognized for whom of the four bandmates my heart beats.

In certain circumstances this may change within the next hour. But it don't want to anticipate things.

„Miss Kurzmann" a monotone voice behind a to high counter tears me from my thoughts. „Mr Beach will arrive in about 15 minutes. Can I offer you some tee, coffee or water in the meantime?"

„Just water, thank you" I respond barely audible, biting on my lip. I couldn't handle more at the current stage of my tense mood.

15 minutes. Great. 15 minutes unsuccessfully trying to cool down my nerves, to later make a "smooth" impression.

"Here you go, Ms", I hear the monotone voice again, coming closer, handing me my water.

She's a quiet conservative dressed, middle aged woman, wearing her grey curly hair in a shoulder-length bob. The kind of person, you wouldn't expect to work in a studio, with an endless coming and going of superstars.

Otherwise today its me, sitting in that exact same front hall.

I am by all means far from being conservative, but at the same time, even more far from being some "rockstar material".

The reserved type, always taking a backseat and avoiding the spotlight like wolves the fire.

Ok, I have to confess "reserved" is an understatement. I'm hopelessly shy, especially when it comes to situations like today. Not that I would experience something like this every day.

The only possible outcome for today is disaster.

"Ok, time to relax Viv, you already have the bloody job. Get a grip!!" I quietly whisper, trying to convince myself for the remaining time sitting there.

"Still 11 minutes to go" I mumble, as I look at my watch with trembling hands.

"Your first time?" A voice from the other end of the room brings me back to reality.

"Please excuse me, is it your first time working for a band like Queen?" She quickly continuous.

All I can manage as response, is putting on a tortured smile while nodding almost invisible.

"Don't worry Ms, the band is absolutely thrilled by your photographs and barely can await to finally meet you. And by the way, they won't give you a hard time. They're all relaxed, down to earth guys.

Relaxed,.... so the complete opposite of me, it crosses my mind, as I stare at my watch again.

"9 minutes" I whisper, while watching visitors entering the building.

I hesitantly sip on my water, to not look to helpless and lost and to somehow BRIDGE the DAMN REMAINING 9 MINUTES. Please excuse my little emotional outburst.

Ok Viv....

Oh, crap! Now I realize, I haven't introduced myself to you.

I'll cut it short.

I'm Vivian Kurzmann, 33 years old/young (it's up to you to decide), born and raised in Germany, living in London, in the middle of a divorce, freelance photographer with passion and right now on a kamikaze mission.

"Ok Viv. Think about ways to relax!" I tell myself a tad to loud.

"Excuse me? You need something Ms?" It echoes in the room.

"Oh, I'm ...I was just reading something". To cover up my little white lie, I grab the first magazine I can find, from a massive steel table, right in front of me.

Under extreme tension, I flip through the magazine, without even realizing what I'm looking at.

Maybe I find an article about reducing stress in here?

Come on Viv, figure something out. I try to remember while laying back the unhelpful piece of paper.

"Autogenic training!" I mumble. Wrong time wrong place. Don't be ridiculous.

"Smoking?" Yes, I smoke now and than, an awful habit, I know. I decide to quit smoking for today, not wanting to risk to smell like a bilgy ashtray.

"Meditation, Yoga, ...." Google shows me some options on my phone, which I grabbed earlier to soothe my trembling hands.

"Very helpful fuc*** World Wide Web. I cannot possibly roll out my yoga mat in here and do the downward dog." I mutter and shut google down.

Taking a quick look on my phone, I realize: 4 more minutes to go.

Breath Viv, you can do this!!!!! I remind myself over and over again in my mind, that goes absolutely crazy at the very moment.

"Ms Kurzmann, Mr Beach has arrived and will be here in a minute." the nice woman informs me.

Nodding confirmative I gasp a simple "thank you."

Time stretches like chewing gum, as I finally hear a male voice approaching me. "Ms Kurzmann, I welcome you to the "Musicland Studios". I'm delighted to finally meet you in person. I'm already a big fan and admirer of your work." a brightly smiling, effusive gesticulating man surprises me, holding out his hand to me.

"Oh excuse me Ms. My name is Jim Beach."

"Kurzmann, the pleasure's all mine." I babble, while standing up way to fast, almost bumping into him.

Where's the exit? Last chance to do a runner. I helplessly look around. I must look like turkeys voting for christmas, at least I feel this way.

Mr. Beach wastes no time, taking me along the gloomy corridors towards the studio where the band is recording. "I will introduce you to the band to get to know each other and have a quick talk. Let me tell you, you really made an impression." He winks at me walking besides me. "May I ask you to take you to my office afterwards. I would like to discuss the business side and do the paperwork?"

As I stammer a convincing "sure", we reach the door of our destination, noticing, considering the amount of noise and swearing, a heated discussion reaches its peak.

Mr beach opens the door, rolling his eyes while he whispers at me "please excuse this....rockstars at work."

I can't bite back a chuckle, as the door swings open.

"Guys I want to introduce you to Ms Kurzmann." He shouts.

For a split of a second I want to curl up and die.

Much to my reassurance, the band don't even recognize the two intruders and continue their argument.

The man at my side now starts to get uneasy and tenses up, as he screams again. "DAMN GUYS!!!!"

I quickly notice the heat growing in my cheeks, as all eyes lay on us. No, on ME.

Viv, damn, now of all times. Think about ....ice....no, Antarctica, .....uh. FU**

I can only let my gaze wander for a view seconds and take in the room, as a sympathetically grinning young man, with blonde tousled hair and sunglasses - I guess the sun always shines for him, even in a pitch black cellar - room. - sprints towards me, with joyfulness and flings his arms around my neck. "Hi sweetie. Vivian, right? I'm Roger. Roger Taylor, the drummer of the pack." He sputters, as he steps back again, while turning to face the band and rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Taylor." I smile at him bashfully.

"I'll call you Viv...can I call you Viv?" I'm just Roger." He grins, with the brightest smile he can pull of.

"Alright, just Roger ." I joke, unable to suppress a giggle.

"Brian, come over!" He shouts to a large, lean man with a giant mane of brown curly hair.

The shaggy man puts down his guitar, leaning it against the wall and strolls towards me, kindly smiling, reaching out his hand for me. "Ms Kurzmann, it's a pleasure. I'm Brian May."

I like him already. He has this strongly soothing impact. At this moment....priceless.

"Vivian Kurzmann, my pleasure." I reply affectionately.

Viv, you're almost done, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale...it wheels in my head.

Suddenly a shyly smiling man with guitar, is standing in front of me and introduces himself as John Deacon, the bassist of the group. "Miss Kurzmann, welcome to chaos." He jokes.

"I'm very pleased to meet you Mr Deacon." I give him a handshake, a bit to long as I try to interpret his restrained smile.

I think I like John Deacon, he's just like me. Exaggerated shy and reserved. My clone.

I neglect the fact that this man is a music genius!

"FREDDIE, what the hell takes you this long? Take your ass over here!!! I hear the blonde yell behind the mixing console, interrupting my thoughts.

Ok. The time has come. Breeeeath! Don't get hysterical. I internally scream. There's still some hope, this will work out right.

After a while, what seemed like eternity, no less than Freddie Mercury in flash and bone, appears in the room.

Like a tiger on prowl, he paces at me with slow, cautious moves, his lips formed into a devilish grin.

I can swear everything happens in slow motion.

I can feel his eyes - oh yes, his eyes, his beautiful big brown oceans, framed by those incredible long lashes, I could sink into right now - examine every inch of my trembling body as he spits out words, that break down my idyllic world.

"So you're the one to trample on my privacy from now on, like any greedy paparazzi, reporter and journalist out there?" He hisses while hesitating to reach his hand out to me.

I suppose that means FREDDIE MERCURY HATES ME??!!

As he construes my slack jawed and shocked expression, he continues in a dismissive tone.

"I think you know who I am, but what's your name again?

Pulling my hand away that won't receive a handshake from Freddie Mercury today, I stutter "Kurz.....Vi Vivian Kurzmann."

"Kurz Vivian Kurzmann?" he apes me, grinning cheekily, waiting for me to break down.

"This will be fun." He laughs, while shaking his head and stepping back.

STOP! Can we go back please? That's not how I fantasized this!

The thoughts in my head ride a rollercoaster when my stomach cramps at the last spoken words, still echoing in my head.

Everything feels unreal, as I stand there, watching everything in a haze.

Before I can realize what happens, he continues with a disdainfully look on his face.

"To get it straight. I'm not thrilled by the fact someone is chasing me day after day, to document every fucking move I make. I really appreciate my privacy and want you to respect this. No photos beyond the studio and the venues. Got it?"

This will be the most horrible two years of world history. Freddie Mercury hates me.

As he turns round and starts to stroll away and I almost pass out, I begin to stammer

"Mr Mercury I assure that your privacy and the privacy of everybody involved is crucial to me and I..."

„I find this a little hard to believe, considering you do the same like any fucking journalist. Dig around in others life's and take what you can get." he spits at me and turns his back on me.

Bracing up one last time, I start to answer him, as I hear John entering the conversation

"Freddie, calm down. Don't give that pure girl such a hard time."

Freddie disdainfully gazes at me one last time, before he enters the side room.

I can feel a hand on my shoulder, as I come back to reality. „He has his moods. Don't worry, in a view days he will be fine with it and won't cause any trouble." John is trying to calm me.

All I can manage is to nod like an idiot, still standing there, paralyzed from shock.

As I let my eyes wander around the room, Mr Beach stands behind me. He must have left the studio for our short encounter and came back at this disastrous moment.

„Ms Kurzmann, may I walk you out" he asks me politely. „I love to." I answer quickly, in a relieved voice. I just want get out of here. Somewhere far away from the predator, that just rent me.

John, Brian and Roger farewell me, cheering me up by telling me how they're looking forward, working with me.

„Don't worry about our little diva, Viv. He will calm down." Roger nudges me from the side.

„You'll see, he's not that bad." Brian encourages me calmly.

„Unless his shadow follows him." a joking Roger lets out.

„Shadow?" I can manage to ask, confusion washing over my now chalk white face.

„PAUL" they all shout, rolling their eyes in unison, before bursting out laughing.

As I want to dig deeper, Mr Beach interrupts us. „Ms Kurzmann..?" Turning towards him I notice,, he already stands besides the open door, waiting for me to follow him.

I turn to face the boys again. "See you in a view." I wink towards them, as I leave the room.

Disappointed, I couldn't take a closer look to the studio and the band working, I make my way out, following Mr. Beach.

A nice bunch of men, I think to myself, as we walk down the barren corridor, were it not for my new nemesis.

As I told you. Disaster.

Part 2 will follow soon.

Also published on wattpad:

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: 2 Fast 2 Furious

Hi Everyone, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where We Continue Our Look At The Fast And Furious Films By Talking By Talking About The First Sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious...

Taking Place A Few Years After The Original, Former Cop Brian O'Connor (Played By The Late Paul Walker) Is Brought In By The Hard Assed FBI Agent From The Last Film, Wilkins To Help Take Down A Drug Lord Named Carter Verone (Played By Cole Hauser) But To Do This Brian Is Going To Need The Help Of An Old Childhood Friend (Played By Tyrese Gibson) A Sexy Undercover FBI Agent (Played By Eva Mendes) And A Smart Mechanic (Played By Rapper Ludacris) And His Part...Fu...Lo...(I Don't Know What She Is But She's Played By Devon Aoki) To Do It...

So, Let's Dive Into 2 Fast 2 Furious And See If Its As Good Or Bad As Everyone Says It Is...

Before We Start The Film I Think It's Best That I Quickly Go Over The Prelude Short That Was Released With A Special Edition Of The Original Movie And All Releases Of The Second Movie...

Taking Place After The First Movie, We See That Brian Is Officially On The Run After Letting Dom Escape In The Original Movie...

Going To State To State To Try To Dodge The Police, Brian Becomes A Street Racer Getting Money For Winning Wherever He Goes....

Sleeping At A Motel One Night, Brian Sees A Beautiful Girl At A Cafe But Unfortunately Cops Prevent Them From Meeting. Brian Runs Into Her 2 More Times When He's Checking Out Of His Hotel And When He's David Bannering It When Cops Find His Car...

Dropping Brian Off At A Car Dealership, He Gets A New Car, Placing The Right Components In It So He Can Continue Street Racing...

Continuing His Long Journey, Brian Meets 2 Men With Girls On Bikes But Despite Giving Them The...

Look, Brian Isn't Dumb Enough To Race Them So As They're Given Tickets By The Police As Brian Goes Right By Them Unnoticed...

While Continuing His Street Racing Career, Brian Arrives In Miami...

Where The Film Starts...

If You Want To See The Prelude For Yourself It's Right Here...

Now, On With The Film...

Starting In Miami, A Street Race Is Being Set Up By Tej (Played By Ludacris, Who Looked Better In The Sequels Than He Does Here, Seriously, Early 2000 Ludacris, 1970 Called And They Want The Afro Back) With 3 Racers Including Tej's...I Don't Know What She Is...Suki (Played By Devon Aoki)...

No, It's Not Sookie, It's Suki!

Now, As I Was Saying, With 3 Racers At The Starting Line Including Suki And 2 Other Guys Whose Names I Don't Know (So We'll Just Call Them Guy 1 And Guy 2), There Unfortunately Can't Be A Race But With Tej Offering To Bring In A Fourth Racer And Everybody Agreeing To Race Whomever Tej Chooses, He Makes A Phone Call And Guess Who Tej Chooses?...

Yep, It's Brian, However Before He Decides To Join He Wants To Raise The Stakes: $3,500 To Enter And The Winner Takes The Pot, So, With Each Contender Accepting, The Racers Go To Their Vehicles, And The Race Begins!

It's Hard To See Who's Where Throughout The First Half Of The Race But From What I Can Tell Brian Is In Second Place With Guy 1 In The Lead While Guy 2 Is Blocking Suki Who Is In 4th Place...

Brian Takes The Lead For A Second Only For Guy 1 To Take The Lead Again When He Activates His Nos...

Meanwhile, Guy 2 Gets Passed By Suki When She Makes A Wide Turn. Now, All Throughout The Evening, Tej Has Been Saying He Has A Surprise For Everyone Well, It Turns Out That Tej Has Hijacked The Bridge So That The Cars Will Jump When They Cross...

That's Just Awesome!

And So, As They Reach The Bridge, Brian Activates His Nos And Goes Right Over Guy 1...

Meanwhile, Suki Activates Her Nos To Jump The Bridge While Guy 2 Says "Screw This, I'm Not Ruining My Car"

With Brian The Winner, Guy 1 Crashes Into A Pepsi Billboard As Suki Comes In Second. Despite Talking With A Woman He Saw In The Crowd, Police Arrive On The Scene, Brian Manages To Get Away However A US Customs Agent Named Markham (Played By James Remar, An Actor Who's Known For His Role As Richard Wright On Sex And The City But Has Recently Appeared On The CW's Black Lightning As Peter Gambi) Uses An Electronic Weapon That Causes Brian's Car To Stop And Brian Is Arrested By Police...

Being Interrogated By Markham, He Is Soon Confronted By Bilkins Who...Wait A Minute We're Missing A Scene Here, Guys!

Well, We're Here, Now So, I Guess We'll Talk About This. Markham Tells Brian Everything About A Man Named Carter Verone (Played By Cole Hauser) While Saying That Despite The Cartels Being Successful Getting Drugs Into Miami, They've Had A Hard Time Getting The Cash Out. Surveilling Him For About A Year, They've Found Nothing To Put Verone And The Money Together...

They've Even Had An Undercover Agent Placed Inside Of Verone's House That Works Travel And Logistics For Him However Recently, Verone Has Placed Her In Charge Of Finding New Drivers. But Despite Brian Believing That She's Turned Into A Double Agent When Bilkins Say That He Can't Confirm Her Status, Markham Defends Her None The Less Saying That She's Been With Verone For About A Year To The Point That She Lives At A Compound With Him...

But Why Is Brian There You May Be Asking? Well, Turns Out They Need Good Drivers Put Verone And His Money Together So, Bilkins Makes Brian A Deal If He Plays Ball With Both U.S Customs And The FBI, He'll Be Granted Full Amnesty Of Everything He Did In LA...

Teaming Brian Up With A Fellow Agent Named Dunn, Brian Basically Thinks That Dunn's An Idiot When It Comes To Motors...

And That If He's Going To Do This He's Got To Pick The Driver, So, Asking Who He Would Choose, Brian Decides On An Old Friend Of His Named Roman Pierce (Played By Tyrese Gibson)

Visiting A Demolition Derby Where Pierce Works, He's Not Happy To See Brian, REALLY Not Happy To See Brian...

Eventually Placing Roman In A Choke Hold, He Asks Brian Why He's Here And Brian Tells Him That If He Helps Him They'll Take Off That Tracking Bracelet Of His And They'll Clean His Record...

Asking Bilkins If Brian's Deal Is Legit, He Tells Roman That It Is And Despite Acting Like He Won't Accept It, Brian Knows That Roman Will And He Does As They're Both Driven There, But Once There, Roman Is Having Second Thoughts As He Doesn't Trust Brian...

And With The Way Dom Reacted In The Last Movie When He Found Out That Brian Was A Cop, I'm Not Very Surprised...

Arguing With Roman About Blaming Him Ever Since He Got Caught. Brian Tells Roman To Chill Out, Stop Blaming Him And To Take Responsibility...

Entering A Wherehouse, They're Introduced To The Undercover Agent Who's Monica Fuentes (Played By Eva Mendes) And Is The Same Woman That Brian Talked To At Tej's Street Race...

Somewhere In Brian's Head He's Got To Be Thinking...

Telling Them That Verone Is Looking For Drivers And That She Arranged For Them To Join Up, She Even Hired Some Thugs To Make It Look Legit Which Leads Her To Show Them To Their Cars...

And I Can Tell You Right Now That, I Love Roman's Car...

The Purple With The Detail Is Stunning And The Tail Fin Gives It An Added Dash Of Flair To It

Taking Them To Verone's, Fuentes Rides With Brian In The Yellow While Roman, Of Course Takes The Stylin Purple...

While On The Road, Brian Talks With Fuentes About How Long She's Been Undercover But All She Tells Him Is To Keep His Eyes On The Road....

Uh, Hi, People Besides You Are In The Car, Brian I Suggest You Look At The Road Instead Of How Sexy Fuentes Eyes Are!, It's Like Phil Told Hercules!...

(Start At 2:35, End At 2:37)

But Turns Out It's All A Trick That Roman Taught Him Years Ago...

Arriving At Verone's, Brian And Roman Are 2 Of Many That Are Looking For This Job. Meeting With The Big Man After Getting Through His Guards Roberto And Enrique, Verone Tells That His Red Ferrari Was Confiscated Yesterday And Was Taken To An Impound Lot, It Has A Package In The Glove Box That Needs To Be Returned To Him And The First Team To Do That Will Work For Him And So, After Showing Their Licenses To Verone's Guards Its...

(Start At 0:00 End At 0:06)

Racing Off To The Impound Lot, Brian And Roman Are The First Ones There But When Going To Get The Packages But They're Unfortunately Confronted By Markham Who Lojacked Their Vehicles And Believes That Both Brian And Roman Are Trying To Run...

Shooting At Them Isn't Showing Them That You're Not Trying To Run, Roman...

Returning To Verone's, He Gives Verone The Package Where It's Revealed That This Whole Test Was Just To Get A Lousy Cigar!

And If This Is Biggest Punch In The Gut You've Gotten, Guess What He Owns The Impound Lot Too...

(Start Video At 0:25)

If You've Survived Your Mental Breakdown Of How Dumb Verone's Test Was, You'd Know That They Got Verone's Job, Turns Out He Needs Them To Carry Something From North Beach To The Keys, He Won't Tell Them What Just Get There , Don't Let Anybody Stop Them And When They Finish There'll Be $100,000 For Them

While Roman Tries To Negotiate $100,000 Per Person, Verone Invites Them To His Club Called The Pearl At Midnight To Get To Know Each Other A Little Better...

Going To Tej's Garage, Brian Asks A Friend Named Jimmy To Check Out Their Cars While Talk With The Who's Dealing With Jet Ski Racing....

Asking If Roman Can Use A Cot Of Tej's ,Tej Says It's Okay As Brian And Roman Go To Talk With Jimmy About Their Cars And They Didn't Just Lowjack Them They Lowjacked Them To The Max!

Asking Jimmy To Try His Hardest To Make Them Less Inconspicuous And What's Worse, Verone's Boys Are Following Them Which Calls For A Little Distraction...

Wow, That's Racist...

Going In Brian's Car, Roman Drives Off, Leaving Verone's Boys In The Dust...

Going To The Safehouse To Fill Bilkins In On What's Going On, They Find Markham With Him And He's Incredibly Pissed Off...

You Know, Roman Wouldn't Have Shot At You If You Didn't Lowjack Their Cars, Trust Is A 2 Way Street, Markham, Try It, It'll Do Wonders For You...

Anyway, Telling Them That They'll Be Making A Run For Verone, They Just Don't Know When Or Where, They Mention That Verone Bought A Window With The Local Cops, Dunn Offers To Ask Around But Bilkins It's A Bad Idea As They Don't Want To Blow The Operation Brian Also Says That Verone Will Be At The Drop Off. Bilkins Sees It As An Opportunity To Nab Him But Roman Says They Have One Probem And It's Fuentes...

Telling Them That Verone Is Banging Her, Markham Thinks It's Obsurd But Asks What Brian Thinks About Fuentes Being A Possible Double Agent As Brian Would Know Which Is Where Markham Spills The Beans To Roman On What Happened With Dom That Cost Brian His Badge...

Saying That They'll Keep An Eye On Fuentes, Brian And Roman Leave Which Is Where Roman Asks Brian About Dom, But He Doesn't Want Talk About It Which Is Fine But They Have Other Problems Besides Fuentes Being With Verone Including The Fact That Markham Tried To Blow Their Cover And That They Got 2 Wired Cars That Aren't Going To Helpful To Either Of Them, Realizing This Leads Brian To Say That They Need To Come Up With An Exit Strategy...

Knowing That In Order To Do This They're Going To Need 2 More Cars, They Team Up With Tej And Suki To Challenge 2 Muscle Car Drivers They Met When Trying Out For Verone To A Race, Winner Takes The Loser's Cars

With Roman Racing Against Fabio (Which Is What Roman Calls Him) Suki Waves The Flag As Fabio Takes The Lead, With Roman In Second, Turning Around, Fabio Is Still In The Lead, But Activating His Nos, Roman Catches Up Which Leads Fabio To Cheat By Knocking A Sign In Front Of Roman...

With Round 2 About To Begin, Elvis (Which Is What Roman Calls Guy 2) Takes Off When Fabio Crosses The Finish Line And Brian Starting After Roman Crosses, With Elvis Still In The Lead After Making The Turn Brian Decides To Pull A Move Of Desperation By Coming Straight At Elvis...

(Start At 0:28, End At 0:32)

Well, Look's Like He Just Took Your Balls, Pal...

With Elvis Restarting His Car And Brian Catching Up By Using Nos, Brian Manages To Win It By A Nose...

So, They Get The Cars And Fabio And Elvis Go Home With Nothing But Thank You For Playing...

Going To Verone's Club, The Pearl, It Is A Cesspool Of Activity. Running Into Fuentes, She Tells Them That They're Doing Something Right As Verone Never Socializes With The Help...

While Roman Uses The Bathroom, Brian Talks With Fuentes Who's Having A Problem With Roman's Attitude Brian Just Says He Doesn't Trust Cops Before Telling Her Their Backstory, Turns Out Brian Was Only A Cop 2 Months Before Roman Was Busted In A Garage Raid Over 8 Sets Of Wheels In His Possession All Of Them Stolen, Of Course, Brian Didn't Know That The Raid Was Going Down But It Didn't Matter Once He Became A Cop, Roman Saw Him As A Friend Who Became The Enemy..,

When Roman Returns, They Are Brought Before Verone Who Noticed Brian Talking With Fuentes...

Talking With Roman About Lighting His Guard's Car On Fire Near Tej's, Roman Tells Verone That He Has A Problem With Authority Figures To Which Verone Is Right There With Him...

Taking Them All Upstairs To Meet With Lt. Flass From Batman Begins (Actually His Name Is Detective Wentworth, But For The Sake Of My Knowledge Of Comic Book Movies, I'm Calling Him Lieutenant Flass) An Officer On Verone's Payroll Who He Asks About The Window But Flass Has Said That He Can't Do It Which Is Gonna Be Painful For Him...

Placing A Bucket With A Rat On Flass' Body, Verone Tells Him That When The Bucket Gets Hot Enough, The Rat Will Want Out And By Out, He Means Digging Through His Stomach!

I Think I'm Beginning To Miss Batman Going...

(Start At O:30, End At 0:33)

Asking Again For The 15 Minute Window, Flass Tells Him Again That He Can't Do It But Eventually He Gives Saying That He'll Do It...

Verone Warns Flass That If He Betrays Him, He'll Do The Same Thing He Did Here To His Entire Family And Kill Them All...

Wait A Minute! Did They Bleep Verone Out Here?

The Complete Line He Gives To Flass Is "I'll Burn Your F※※※※※※ Eyes Out" Which Could Be Understandable If The Movie Was Shown On Tv And The Network Decided To Bleep It Out That Would Fine But Why Was It Bleeped Out In The Final Cut? Were They Close To An R Rating To The Point That The Only Way The MPAA Would Let The Film Slip With PG-13 Rating Was If They Bleeped Out This One Word In This One Scene? If Anyone Knows Please I Would Really Love To Know Why This Scene Is The Way It Is In This Movie...

And So, With The 15 Minute Window Confirmed, Verone Tells The Boys To Be At Versailles Cafe, 6:00 Am, The Day After Tomorrow, Ready To Drive. Leaving With Fuentes, Verone Kisses Her And Says That If She Ever Touches Another Man, He'll Kill Her...

Returning To Tej's Garage, Brian And Roman Argue About Fuentes' Alligences As They Watch Tej, Suki And Jimmy Play Cards...

The Next Morning, Sneaking Out Of Verone's Compound, Fuentes Sits On Brian's Bed When He Wakes Up To Tell Him That Verone Plans On Killing Him And Roman When They Finish His Job. Roman Enters Telling Brian That Verone's Boys Are Here Possibly Looking For Monica So Roman Decides To Distract Them While Monica Gets Away...

When Brian Gets Out, They Search His Boat To Find Nothing But That Doesn't Stop Roman From Starting A Fight...

When Verone Stops The Fight, He Says That He's Glad Everyone's Getting Along Because His Boys, Enrique And Roberto Are Going To Join Them Tomorrow, Just As Insurance...

Seeing Fuentes At His Compound, Verone Asks Her Where She's Been With Her Telling Him That She Went To Breakfast With Some Friends...

And He Backs Off..

Returning To Talk With Bilkins And...

(Laughing)

I'm Sorry, But That Outfit On Bilkins Makes Him Look Like Magnum, T.C., And Higgins Combined Together To Form One Guy...

Anyway, They Tell Markham And Billkins About The Cop That Verone Threatened Into Giving Him A 15 Minute Window And That Verone Is Driving To An Airstrip Where He'll Fly Off. Brian Also Tells Them That Monica Warned Them That Verone Plans On Killing Them Once He Has The Cash...

Not Being What Bilkins Signed Up For He Wants To Call This Off, But Markham Says That If Anyone Is Calling It Off, It's Him...

Markham Tells Brian And Roman To Do What They Were Brought In For Or They'll Go To Jail, Plain And Simple. So, With Chances Of Survival Being Very Slim, They Decide To Come Up With Their Own Plan To The Point That They Even Get Tej Involved As He Shows Them Hangars At An Airport...

I Think This Calls For A Montage!

With Things All Set, Roman And Brian Go To The Pier For To Talk. There They Talk About Why Roman Is So Interested In Food (Apparently It Has To Do With A High Metabolism) And Brian Tells Roman That If He Could Have Done Something To Get Him Out Of Jail He Would've But Roman Tells Brian That It's Not His Fault And That It's All His Plain And Simple...

The Next Morning, Verone And Fuentes Head Down To The Airstrip, Flass Keeps The Cops Distracted And Brian And Roman Are Led By Enrique And Roberto To A Trailer Park Where The Money Is However It Turns Out That Flass Has His Men In The Exact Same Area, Uh Oh...

Yep, Flass Decided To Double Cross Verone And Send The Cops After Brian, Roman And Verone's Boys..

Well. I Guess He Can Kiss His Family Goodbye Maybe Instead Of Rats Verone Will Use Scarecrow's Fear Gas On Them..

Hearing The Cops, They Pack Up But Before They Go, Roman Plays A Game Called Bowling For Cop Cars...

Strike!

Still Being Chased By Cops, They Head South Down I-95, But The Police Use The Same Weapon That Markham Used Earlier To Get Brian Which Forces Brian To Climb Out The Window To Get It Off...

Succeeding, Brian Throws It At A Police Car Which Causes A Crash Of Police Cars...

With The Police Still Following Them, They Head To The Airport Where They Enter Some Hangars...

But When They Come Out...

The Police Cars Get Hit By Some Trucks So That A Cadre Of Cars Can Come Racing Out Of The Hangars...

And It's Not Just 10 Or 20 Cars, I'm Talking Billions Of Cars!

You're Damn Right To Say That, Lady...

Eventually Finding Brian And Roman's Car, They're Unfortunately Cornered By The Cops Who Discover That Brian And Roman Aren't In Their Cars!

Turns Out Tej And Suki Pulled A Fast One On The Officers And Decided To Take Brian And Roman's Cars While Brian, Roman And Verone's Men Took 2 Different Cars That Managed To Get Away From The Officers...

And It's Here We Say Goodbye To Tej And Suki Though We Do See Tej Again In Future Sequels Along With Both Brian And Roman Suki Never Appears Again And To Her I Will Say The Same Thing I Said To Leon In The Last Movie, We Hardly Knew Ye, Though Unlike Leon I Do Hope We See Her Again In A Sequel In The Future, I Mean If Fuentes Can Appear In A Cameo I'm Sure They Can Get Her To Appear Either In A Cameo Or As A Member Of Dom's Family...

Anyway, Since They're Safe, Brian And Roman Realize There's Only One Thing Left To Do And That's To Say Goodbye To Enrique And Roberto With Their New Ejector Seats!

However Before Brian Can Eject Either Enrique Or Roberto (I Don't Know Which Is Which) The Guy Is Like Get Off At Tarpon Point But Brian Knows That There's No Airstrip At Tarpon Point The Guy Is Like Who Said Anything About An Airstrip...

Okay, Let Me Back Up A Little Here...

While Everything Was Going Down With Brian And Roman, Markham Was At The Airstrip To Get Verone However, When Him And SWAT Covered Verone's Vehicle They Discovered That Verone And Fuentes Weren't There...

Yep, The Location Was A Decoy!

Calling Roman, Brian Tells Him Everything As He Arrives At The Rendezvous With Jimmy...

Arriving At A Dock Brian Sees Verone With Fuentes As They Get The Money Out Of Brian's Car With Brian Telling Verone That The Rest Of His Cash Is On It's Way In Another Car Asking About The Agents At The Airstrip, Brian Denies Everything But Verone Says He Only Told One Person About The Airstrip And That's Monica...

Getting Monica On The Boat, Verone Tells His Henchman To Hide The Car And Kill Brian But When They Hide The Car, Brian Hits The Ejector Switch (Which Doesn't Work, Good Job, Tej) But Luckily Roman Shows Up Which Gives Brian Time To Fight The Guy...

Managing To Subdue The Henchmen , Brian And Roman See That Verone Is On The Move So, Getting In Brian's Car They Follow Him Only To Do A Dukes Of Hazzard Right Into His Boat...

With Brian Shooting Verone In The Shoulder, Fuentes Grabs Verone's Shotgun, One Way Or Another They Got Him...

Telling Them About 3 Bags Of Cash, Markham Promises Them That Their Records Are Clean Which Makes Roman Pop Out 3 More Bags...

Watching Verone Get Healed By Paramedics, Bilkins Tells Them That Suki And Tej Have Been Released From Hold Up And There's A Sedan Ready To Go. And I Would Say That This Is The Last Time We See Monica Fuentes But As I Said When I Was Talking About Suki We See Her Again At The End Of Fast Five So, I'm Not Going To Say Goodbye To Her But I Will Do This...

Walking Off With Roman, They Talk About Opening A Garage In Miami But How Are They Going To Do It Well...

(Laughing)

And That's 2 Fast 2 Furious And It's Not Bad Or At Least Not As Bad Some People Thought When It First Came Out...

When This First Came Out People Didn't Like This Movie They Thought It Wasn't The Same Without Vin Diesel And Director Rob Cohen (Who Instead Of Doing The Sequel They Decided To Make Their Own Film, XXX) To Which When This Film Didn't Do Good, They Brought Diesel Back For A Cameo In The Third Film, Tokyo Drift Which We'll Briefly Talk About Next Week But My Opinions On This Film Are That, I Think The Story Is Good, The Characters Are Interesting, The Cars For What We See Are Well Designed However, The Villain Can Be A Little Dumb At Times But Still I Say See It...

Until Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...