Oxygen (Catfish And The Bottlemen/1975)

Katie

"I don't wanna play Kiss Ya tonight," Saff suprised us all when she threw her guitar case down and then herself onto the little green settee backstage.

I was sitting crossed legs beside her talking to Noel about something I'd been writing, a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other but now that Saffron was back I felt a little bad for turning my back on the rest of the room.

"What why?" cried Fliss sitting bolt upright.

She'd been on the phone to Van, lying with her head in Jazz's lap, sipping her beer through a straw connected to another straw connected to another straw. Now however she, like the rest of us, was staring straight at our Saffy, a little gobsmacked, a little unsure.

"Its shit," she shrugged, "I don't like it, its silly," she said taking a beer, cracking it open and drinking a little more than a first sip really warranted.

Noel smirked.

"So what?" he asked, "Digsys Dinners proper shit, and really fuckin silly, people love to hear it..."

"Yeah well," shrugged Saff, "thats fuckin oasis for you," she rolled her eyes at him and turned back to Fliss, "come on sugar lamb we've got miles better songs sittin in the archive cant we do one of them instead..."

"Like what?"

"Christ I don't know, fake nice?"

"Not an opener," shrugged Jazz as if it was that simple, which to be fair to him, it was.

"Its a good song Saffy whats gotten into yous, you used like it..." i sighed chewing my cheek, wondering if it had anything to do with something Ben had been saying to me earlier about Bondy. Because apparently he'd been sayin he'd call her. I wonder if he had and if they'd talked and if that was why she no longer felt like playing a song she'd written about him, whether she admitted it was about him or not.

"Its nothin its just, I don't know, not really us... Play one of Fliss's theyre moody..."

"Fake Nice is one of Alices," Fliss cut in, starting to roll a joint shed said she wouldn't smoke until after the show. "What?" she smirked into her phone which she'd wedged between her shoulderblade and her ear.
That was something I'd always wanted to be able to do, the way they do it on TV, somehow they always look more professional, like they know their shit. I just wind up dropping my phone in my tea. "Oh right okay..." she smirked holding it away from her ear and pressing speakerphone surprising us all with Larrys voice.

"Oi Saffron!" he shouted and I smirked when I thought i could hear two others laughing away in the background, "Saffron fuckin Everett if you don't play that bloody song then I'm gonna get Van to follow you around singin it back at yous for the rest of your life..."

"ey that'll be a treat for her actually," grinned Van, their voices crackling down the line, distorted when the two of them started trying to sing it between giggles.

"I watch David Blaine..." sang Van whilst Larry and then Ben started joining in with backing vocals.

"Where would i kiss you, if i could kiss you!" and they carried on and on drawing a giggle from me and a look of wide eyed horror from Saffy until she could take it no more and cried out.

"Alright alright shut the fuck up you noisy bastards!" she giggled all hands over her ears, still horrified despite her smile, "stupid gits," she grinned her grin fading instantly when she heard someone elses voice at the end of the line. The washy look which paled her cheeks confirmed any suspicions i might have had when Johnny Bond drifted in humming her melody, not realising there was anyone at the end of the line to listen in.

"Ey thats catchy that is, whos is that? Is it us?" he yawned painting Saffs cheeks a smirking shade of red.

"No thats that song our Saff wrote!" grinned Van, "remember the one I was tellin yous about!" he said and i wondered whether he was nudging his mate or trying to coax him along because Johnny went quiet and then suddenly gasped.