Simon and
Arthur? Well Simon’s doing OK. (We’re back in the Sixties again now)Everything
is ‘weird’ these days. It’s the word of the year. The so-called underground is a
weird thing in itself. Simon certainly looks the part but he seems to have
slipped into ‘the movement’ by osmosis. On one level you get a bunch of freaks
all grooving around stoned out of their pods. If they are political at all they
talk about ‘freedom man’ by which Simon presumes they mean artists and
musicians controlling the means of distribution. A real revolution. Does he
believe that stuff himself? It all sounds a bit Utopian to him. On another
level are the hip-capitalists, the hustlers and the bread heads…the
opportunists looking for personal enrichment. Is he like that? Or does he fit
somewhere in the middle….aware of the dream but keeping one eye on the main
chance.
He’s writing lots of reviews and articles NME, Rolling Stone even one or two in the Guardian. Rock writing has evolved. It’s become more sophisticated. Readers have gone beyond wanting to know their idol’s favorite colour. Now they want analysis. He’s got a few screenplay credits and he gets himself on TV a bit. Being married to Samantha hasn’t slowed him down much.
So Simon balances making money with being ‘alternative’ and he’s gathering material for all the biographies he will be writing one day. Accumulating a nice little art collection too.
The British press helps to keep the ball rolling. They disapprove of all the loose behavior of course whilst giving it extensive coverage. There have been a few high profile drug busts thanks to Detective Sergeant Norman Pilcher. Simon manages to stay out of serious trouble.
Does he ever put a foot wrong? Well there was that time when he worked his way onto the set of Performance and got caught taking snaps of Mick Jagger’s tackle. He got kicked out for that by Donald Cammell. Didn’t do any harm in the long run…..most people hated Cammell (he was one of those Satanic types that pop up periodically like Grigori Rasputin and Aleister Crowley).
Trying to get between Nick Kent and Sid Vicious in the 100 Club wasn’t a good idea either. He got the end of a bike chain on his head and needed a few stitches.
But generally speaking the trajectory has been upwards.
Arthur? Well that’s a different matter. He’s stuck in the sweetshop. He also has an unhealthy wife and a rebellious daughter to deal with.
He’s writing lots of reviews and articles NME, Rolling Stone even one or two in the Guardian. Rock writing has evolved. It’s become more sophisticated. Readers have gone beyond wanting to know their idol’s favorite colour. Now they want analysis. He’s got a few screenplay credits and he gets himself on TV a bit. Being married to Samantha hasn’t slowed him down much.
So Simon balances making money with being ‘alternative’ and he’s gathering material for all the biographies he will be writing one day. Accumulating a nice little art collection too.
The British press helps to keep the ball rolling. They disapprove of all the loose behavior of course whilst giving it extensive coverage. There have been a few high profile drug busts thanks to Detective Sergeant Norman Pilcher. Simon manages to stay out of serious trouble.
Does he ever put a foot wrong? Well there was that time when he worked his way onto the set of Performance and got caught taking snaps of Mick Jagger’s tackle. He got kicked out for that by Donald Cammell. Didn’t do any harm in the long run…..most people hated Cammell (he was one of those Satanic types that pop up periodically like Grigori Rasputin and Aleister Crowley).
Trying to get between Nick Kent and Sid Vicious in the 100 Club wasn’t a good idea either. He got the end of a bike chain on his head and needed a few stitches.
But generally speaking the trajectory has been upwards.
Arthur? Well that’s a different matter. He’s stuck in the sweetshop. He also has an unhealthy wife and a rebellious daughter to deal with.
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