1968 Conqueror of American Rock - Chapter 185



Only Krnovel

185. Again, Summer of ’69 (9)

oh my god······.

I was overwhelmed by the absurd sight unfolding before my eyes.

It wasn’t just me. Annie, who should have made the audience jump before starting the song, stood still without saying anything.

When I came to my senses and looked around, Jake, Hyunsang, Jungseop, and the rest of Queen except Freddie. Everyone had their eyes fixed on the rose garden, their faces blank.

Freddie’s piano, sensing something strange, also began to slow down and eventually stopped.

It was an unprecedented situation that had occurred for the first time since debut.

I felt like tears were welling up in my eyes without me knowing. It was so dazzlingly beautiful. The black sea rippling under the dark night sky. A field of red roses floating on top of it······.

How much time passed while the performance was paused like that?

– Long, long ago. In a remote part of France, there lived a very handsome young prince in a beautiful castle······.

A narration that wasn’t in the live version flowed out through the speakers. It wasn’t Gerard’s voice.

Jacoop······.

Jacqui was calmly reciting the original song’s narration, step by step. The audience slowly waved their bouquets of roses from side to side, as if they were fluttering in the wind.

Annie had to calm down first.

“Annie. Are you okay?”

“Uh······ Oh, it’s okay. Wow, what kind of unexpected thing is it that impresses people? This is like a rose that blooms at night.”

“Wipe it off. Your makeup will smudge.”

He untied a handkerchief from his guitar strap and handed it over.

“Hey, I’m not crying. I just got some wind in my eyes.”

“Okay. Okay, let’s get started with the show.”

“okay!”

Freddie had already come to his senses and was playing piano arpeggios to Jakub’s narration.

– I’m so lonely.

I’m so lonely.

– I don’t know what true love is.

(I don’t know what true love is.)

-Should I continue to live like this.

(Should I continue to live like this?)

– Fate is cruel.

(Fate is cruel.)

Maybe it was because it was night. Freddie sang the Beast with much more delicate emotions than when he was practicing. How can he sing so well while playing the piano?

Jake and I went to either side of the piano and started a twin guitar solo, where the Beast gradually transformed into a prince as he waltzed with Belle.

Annie grabbed Freddie’s hand from where he was sitting at the piano and dragged him to the center of the stage and started dancing. Freddie, who usually enjoyed ballet, followed Annie’s steps skillfully.

And the two began to spin around. As they continued to spin, they would briefly enter the dark shadows, then emerge into the light. They were still spinning, but it wasn’t Freddie dancing with Annie, it was Jacques.

It was Annie’s spontaneous idea.

Jacqui looked quite flustered, but Annie took care of him and led him by changing the movements to easier ones.

Ha, you really are a crazy girl (in a really good way).

– Our love was much stronger than anything.

(Our love is stronger than anything else.)

– Of those who were older than we~

(More than the love of people older than us~)

– Of many far wiser than we~

(More than the love of those wiser than us~)

-And neither the angels in heaven above,

(So ​​the angels in heaven,)

– Nor the demons down under the sea,

(And the devils under the sea,)

– Can ever dissever my soul from your soul.

(I can’t separate my soul from yours.)

Jacques, who had transformed into a prince, sang passionately while facing Annie with a low-pitched chest voice that was no less powerful than Andrew, who sang the original song. If he had sung it loosely and intentionally in the London smog, he fully demonstrated his skills in this song.

When the two became the main characters and sang, Freddie returned to the piano and continued playing. And then we all became one and sang the chorus together.

And the rippling crimson sea sang along.

– I would do anything for you!

(I would do anything for you!)

-And I would do anything for you!

(And I will do anything for you!)

– Oh, I would do anything for you!

(Oh, really, I would do anything for you!)

This was not an old-fashioned forest castle, nor was there a 120-piece orchestra or guests dressed in medieval costume.

But my heart was pounding so hard that I wondered if there had ever been a more exciting moment. It was a different kind of excitement from when I was filming a music video that I had meticulously planned and prepared for.

It was almost the end of the song. The live had decided to end the story like that. But at the beginning, Jacques did a great job of narrating Gerard.

I looked at Jacqui, and he nodded.

– My darling, my darling, my life and my bride.

(My love, my love, my life, my bride.)

A low-pitched voice with a slight husky tone spread across the pyramid stage. The girls screamed at the new look of Jacqui, who used to sing softly.

“Everyone, please give a round of applause to Queen, who lit up the stage with us, and to Jacoop from the London smog!”

After the Queen left, our show began in earnest.

And on this day, Annie soared for the first time in a long while.

To the rose garden on the black sea.

* * *

“Annie, this stage was too dangerous. Don’t do it again.”

“Hehehe, you’re alive.”

Annie jumped from the pyramid stage into the crowd and got a small cut on her face. Jake took out the first aid kit from the waiting tent and skillfully cleaned and applied medicine to the wound.

“Jake’s right. Are you out of your mind? This is much higher than the other stages. You’re lucky you didn’t dislocate your shoulder or break your leg. Showmanship is good, but think before you jump, Inma.”

“Ahhhhhh, I can’t hear you, I can’t hear you.”

Oh, you damn bastard.

“Robert, the video turned out really well, didn’t it?”

“Annie, James and Jake are right. This time it was too dangerous.”

“I’m sorry. I will refrain from dangerous performances next time.”

Annie apologized to everyone, even director Robert Smith, who joined the cast.

“But the wound is really nothing. It’s just that girls’ fingernails are a bit long······.”

“Annie!”

“······I will never do anything dangerous again.”

Annie snapped. It was the first time Jake had yelled this loudly since the Vietnam War.

Anyway, this is a complete failure, you punk.

It was so funny how Annie looked like a toothless cat in front of Jake.

“Sister, it was still really cool.”

The only girl who came up to Annie and said something nice while she was out in the London smog was a girl.

“Who are you?”

“Charlotte O’Connor, Thomas’s younger sister. Annie was the best in today’s performance.”

“Ah, you’re Charlotte. You’re really pretty, just like I heard. Thank you. You’re the only one who says nice things to my sister, hehe.”

“But I hope my sister doesn’t get hurt either.”

“······Yeah, okay.”

The lynx was completely defeated.

“Thank you all for your hard work today. I’m going back to London to rest for a few days and then I’ll get back to LA and prepare for the August festival.”

“Wow, James, you’re really crazy about festivals.”

“This time we’re going to do it at Bethel Farm. The dates are August 15th, 16th, and 17th.”

“Oh, that was the date of Woodstock in ’69, right? It was also the day we made our official debut in the United States.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“So you’re doing Woodstock twice?”

“You can’t use the name Woodstock Festival.”

I explained the reason to the members.

“Just do as Kevin says. Is Woodstock a word that only they can use?”

“The name isn’t important. What’s important is how much you can relive that day and that moment. Of course, the lineup of participating bands will be very different.”

The hippie ideology is slowly declining. The Altamont concert murders were prevented, but the cult leader Charles Manson, who pretends to be a hippie, is running wild.

I want the proper hippie culture to be passed down to future generations. To do that, we need to create a healthy festival culture. The important thing is not the name Woodstock.

“Then what are you going to name it?”

“Again, Summer of ’69.”

“Oh, that’s intuitive and nice.”

Annie, with a bandage on her face, smiled like an idiot and pretended to play the guitar like Chuck Berry.

“What’s so great about it? Just now you called me a festival-crazy person.”

“Well, I’m also a crazy festival girl, hahaha!”

* * *

KMTV Director’s Office.

“James, I thought you came back yesterday, but you haven’t been resting for a while.”

“I’ve already had a few days of rest in London. And I’ve decided to do what I told you before.”

I told Director Michael Wynne everything I had told Michael Lang in England.

“Lang is that kind of person by nature. It’s strange to see a friend who is naturally a troublemaker working so hard this time, hehe.”

He said he would even mobilize King’s legal team, saying it would be better to keep the symbolism of the name Woodstock.

“Bethel is 62 miles (about 100 kilometers) from Woodstock anyway. I think the summer of ’69 will be remembered more in people’s minds than the name Woodstock. And now that there are about two months left, I hope to make it known on the air.”

According to director Robert Smith, the live performance filmed at the Pilton Festival will boast the best visual beauty of all time. He said that he will cross-edit it with the live performance from 1969 and make a promotional video as quickly as possible.

“Don’t worry about publicity. The chairman has great confidence in James and has asked us to actively support him. Kings will be the biggest investor in this festival. You don’t have to worry about funding either.”

“It’s so comforting. Kevin just got back from his honeymoon in Europe thanks to you, Chairman. He said he’ll probably go to Las Vegas next week to say hello.”

If it’s Kings’ investment, it’s a much safer show than I thought. They’ll be able to mobilize enough security personnel to guard the fence.

Just then the intercom rang.

“Yes, this is Michael Wynn. ······What, what did you say? ······Um, okay.”

Michael Wynn hung up the phone with a stern expression.

“James, we need to get that promo video out there as quickly as possible, even if it’s short.”

“What’s going on?”

“It looks like the Woodstock business is starting to move.”