Spread Your Wings

Chapter 8

It became a routine. Every time I had free, I dedicated it to performing at that very bandstand for hours on end, until the skin on my fingers began to peel off. When I had lessons at school, I wasn't concentrating on the human body in Biology class, I was thinking about what words rhymed with each other so I could write more songs. I was putting 110% into my music. Even Brian was astonished, he couldn't believe how much I had progressed and had gained so much more confidence in performing.

It was a cold September evening, where I decided to perform Love of My Life. It would've been Freddie's 49th birthday today so I wanted to play this song. A decent crowd of people gathered round and huddled together round the bandstand and sang along with me. There were definitely a couple of Queen fans in the crowd at least. When I finished, they all clapped and cheered. The money was all adding up in the open guitar case, which was good to see even though I didn't care much about it at all. I was happy that people were seeing me as a talented individual, not as the daughter of a famous bass player's wife.

As I was counting the money, I saw someone at the corner of my eye. There was a young woman, in her twenties standing there next to me. She had long black hair, a big coat and red scarf on with high heels. Her green eyes where hidden by her glasses that had fogged up due to the cold temperatures.

"Looks like you're having fun here. I've seen you three times now. You have quite the talent." She commented.

I stood up, putting the guitar strap on my shoulder and looked at her. "Thank you. Means a lot."

She held out her hand for me to shake. "I was hoping to talk to you at some point. I'm Courtney Milne, one of many secretaries for Sony Music Entertainment in the UK."

I gasped, not believing what I just heard. "Sony? As in big company that do pretty much anything Sony?!"

"That's right. We're currently on the lookout for new musicians and I'm interested in what you have to offer as an artist. So what do you say? Would you like to come over for an interview at some point?" She asked, getting her journal out.

I was gobsmacked, me of all people, getting the chance to get a record deal!

"Uhh, yeah!" I managed to get out after 5 minutes of stuttering. "I would love to."

"Great. I'll need to book you in for an appointment of course. What's your name?"

"It's Katherine Jones-Deacon. That's a double barrelled surname." I pointed out as she scribbled down in your notes.

"Deacon? I'm guessing you don't have any relatives in the music business with that surname." She looked at me, suddenly becoming very anxious.

"John Deacon, yeah, he's my stepdad." I announced which made her squeal.

"Are you serious?!" She was amazed.

"Yes, he's been married to my mum for nearly 10 years now." I stated.

"Oh wow! I'm a huge fan of Queen, I cried for days when Freddie died. That's why I especially wanted to talk to you after you sang Love Of My Life, it's one of my favourites!" She fangirled which made me laugh.

After talking about Queen for 10 minutes and when I gave her my contact details, she gave me her business card.

"Okay, if I don't contact you within a week or so, give me a ring and I'll get you to meet one of our finest artist managers. You have a bright future ahead of you, can see it now. Hope to see you really soon!" She called before she walked out of the bandstand before coming back for a couple of seconds. "Oh, and tell your dad I said hi!"

I laughed as I heard her heels clomping on the pavement as she walked away. I jumped up and down to myself and squealed. I was one interview away from a guaranteed record deal!