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shieldofiron · 2 months

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Pretty Boy Live in Santa Fe, 1977

Part 1/3 Also on Ao3 here

For @harringrove-relay-race. Very happy with how part 1 turned out, and there will be more to come. Thanks to @foxxtastic for the intro and next up will be something stunning from our fearless Relay Race leader @half-oz-eddie

Rated M / 5k words / Part 1/3

Part 1: Into Hades

Rolling Stone Magazine - May 2002

Billy Hargrove arrived after I did, in his lovingly maintained blue Camaro, the subject of his song, “Lady Blue.” “Lady Blue” was recently named #93 on Rolling Stone’s Top Love Songs of the Century.

“I wrote, ‘She’s the wind in my hair, the rumble in my soul.’ I thought it was so obvious,” He laughed, his blue eyes still boyish. “My niece made it her wedding song, I said ‘Really? It’s about a fuckin’ car!’”

He showed me several pictures of his niece, the supermodel Tyler Sinclair. It seems good looks run in the family. He suggested the diner and he ordered waffles, winking when I mentioned that we’ll be here a long time.

The decades have been kind to him, maybe a few more lines. It’s not hard to imagine him stepping right back onto the stage, as if no time has passed at all.

“A little extra glitter on the eyes,” He said with a smile, “to hide my crows feet. That’s all I need.”

I ask what he’s going to wear to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony for Kaleidoscope's induction and his smile dims only for a moment.

“I think I should pull out some old costumes. You know, the butterfly still fits.”

He was referring, of course, to the sheer butterfly cape costume that nearly had him thrown off the stage in Houston Texas in December 1976. He caved to putting on a pair of silvery shorts rather than the nude underwear it was designed with. He later wore it with the nude underwear on the inside cover of Kaleidoscope, the album that will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in just a few short weeks. Kaleidoscope was his last album with the iconic Glam Rock band Pretty Boy, which famously broke up at the height of their career while touring for the album, onstage.

It’s not often that a band is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and there’s a question if all of them will even show up.

“I’ll be there,” Hargrove said, fiddling with the silver band on his middle finger. “I have no problem with seeing him.”

The him is, of course, the lead guitarist and other lead singer of Pretty Boy, Steve Harrington.

Steve Harrington invites me to his oceanfront house in Malibu later that afternoon.

“I haven’t decided if I’m going to go,” He said thoughtfully, his brown eyes darting around the room.

When I mention that Billy is going to go, he seems surprised.

“He didn’t say he was going to punch me, did he?” Harrington smiled, but it doesn’t seem like much of a joke.

For one of the most famous rock stars of the 70s, Harrington is shockingly low key. He wears a t-shirt and slouchy linen pants, and he jokes that he ought to have shaved when I take out my camera. The house is stunning but empty, with miles of blank white walls and overstuffed white furniture.

“I’m looking for a little peace,” He shrugs, “I used to have all these pictures up, all this furniture… It was too much.”

It was hard not to see him as an artist without a muse. He drifted listlessly, picking things up and putting them down as we talked. So it was a surprise to me to hear that he’s been recording.

“I may never release it but… Yeah,” He laughed, “Music. After all this time. Bet you didn’t know.”

He picks up a rare photo from the piano. It’s from the early days of Pretty Boy, before Billy Hargrove. Harrington has his arm around his bandmate, Eddie Munson. Their drummer Chrissy Cunningham is balanced precariously across their shoulders, laughing and cringing at the same time. Bassist Robin Buckley smirks from the corner of the frame, messy bangs in her eyes.

“Who knew, right?” He asked no one, shaking the frame a little.

There are no pictures of Billy Hargrove.

“That’s a… a long story,” He said, when I asked.

But I have time. I tell him Rolling Stone will pay for it. At least that makes him laugh.

It was just by chance that Pretty Boy’s last concert was filmed.

“We were meant to just film in Vegas,” The director, Argyle Molina-Zapata, sat down with me after a private screening of Pretty Boy Live in Santa Fe, 1977, “But there was a freak rainstorm, and I couldn’t get my camera’s out of the back. The crowd was digging it, refused to leave. I remember when Billy hit the high note for ‘Mother Make Me,’ there was this lightning crack… brilliant.”

Molina-Zapata shook his head, “But the footage, what I got of it, was awful. Awful! So I begged Murray to let me come with them to Santa Fe.”

Murray was Murray Bauman, famed tour manager, who handled the Boys, later Pretty Boy from their first album Starfire, all the way to Kaleidoscope.

“And I was lucky,” Argyle nodded, “They had that extra tour bus.”

The tour busses are featured in the first few minutes of the film. They roll around the corner, one reading Billy Blue (Billy’s original stage name was Billy Blue before he dropped the Blue), and the other, Steve’s Six (Named after Steve’s best friends from his hometown.)

“They were nightmares,” Murray Bauman’s voice crackled over the phone, “Nightmares on tour. Separate buses. Separate hotels. Fuck me, I swear to god at one point they wanted separate stages. And the label caved on almost all of it. Fucking nightmare.”

It’s almost impossible to imagine it when you see them on stage together. There’s something electric that passed between Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington, something that drove crowds wild. They gravitate towards each other on the stage, orbiting like planets until they can share the same mic. They can’t seem to stay apart.

It’s hard to see exactly what happened that night.

“I’ve watched it a million times,” Argyle laughed, “But the only two people who can really say what happened are Billy and Steve.”

What you can see is this: Steve tearing into “Pride & Prejudice”, the lead off Kaleidoscope and the last song of the night.

Billy was trembling, visibly shaking as he sang and Steve harmonized along.

What can I say, if you ask me to walk away?

Baby, there’s no words for you.

Baby. I don’t know what to do.

Billy danced closer, joining Steve, his handheld mic loose at his side.

Can you ever put away your pride?

Is it worth it to not have me at your side?

I guess it must be, because I’m yours,

Regretfully,

Baby.

Billy leans in, sharing Steve’s mic for the bridge.

Is it really a mystery?

What I mean to you, and you mean to me?

Is it really, baby?

Billy shook his head, curls bouncing. He looked into Steve's eyes. He smiled. Steve looks at Billy, and Billy looks at him. It almost looks like Billy mouths something, but bootleg footage also has appeared where it looks like Billy just nodded. Steve goes a little shell shocked, hand freezing on his guitar, falling out of sync.

And then Steve turned away and left the stage, handing his guitar to a stagehand. Billy turned to the crowd, his expression strangely triumphant. He was always magnetic on stage, but this moment transcends that. It somehow feels like he’s getting everything he wants.

So I guess I’m losing you,

You promised me you would and it’s true.

Baby, there’s no words for you.

Baby. I don’t know what to do.

Steve Harrington hasn’t performed in public since 1977.

“None of us knew what was going to happen that night,” Chrissy Cunningham curled up next to her husband, Eddie Munson, on the large white couch of their Seattle home.

They’re a handsome couple still, draped in rock and roll finery. He toyed with the edge of her scarf, and she curled his long hair around her long fingers.

“We had some of our own shit going on at the time so…” Munson shrugged, “Maybe we were distracted.”

Their living room was crowded and verdant, every spare flat surface covered in plants. Their partner, former record executive Jason Carver, puttered in the kitchen in an apron that read Plant Papa.

“Yeah,” Chrissy smiled, “We had some stuff going on at the same time. But still… It seemed like they were getting better. Didn’t it seem like they were getting better?”

Munson shrugged, “The thing about Billy and Steve… they were soulmates. You don’t write music like that and not… it was like they had a second language, just for them. They were soulmates, I really believe that. Everything they did, everything that happened… they could only hurt each other that badly if… yeah.”

When I ask what they did to each other, Eddie and Chrissy just scooted closer together, like teenagers in a slasher, hiding from the killer. She laid a hand over his leg, her two stone diamond ring catching the sunlight.

“Steve never wanted Billy to be in the band,” Eddie shook his head, “but Jim had a soft spot for Billy. And Steve had… I mean Jim was…”

“Jim was like a father. To all of us.” Chrissy’s knee jiggled.

“We were this little tiny band from Nowhere, Indiana,” Eddie nodded, “And Jim believed in us.”

“I was just a junior exec at the time. I was put on the Kaleidoscope tour in case of catastrophic failure, which by the way it was,” Jason Carver is making risotto while we speak, the steam curling the lock of hair that falls over his face. “But it wasn’t my fault although I was high as hell on coke half the time. I guess I deserved to get fired. But Jim was the real deal. Gold records out the ass, best wife in the world, and his daughter, I mean… she was something else.”

They’re referring, of course, to Jim Hopper, producer on Kaleidoscope as well as Billy Blue and The Boys’ records, and the father of pop superstar Eleven aka Jane Hopper.

“Jim was…” Steve Harrington’s eyes always got a little misty talking about Jim, staring out over the ocean. “Yeah, I guess he was a little like my dad. My own parents were always gone. Which is like… I grew up so privileged so like I’m not saying… I just mean I grew up mostly by myself. And we were just so lucky he even agreed to listen to us when we got to LA.”

“I remember that night,” Joyce Hopper’s voice was raspy, cigarette-y in the way only old movie stars are. She’s a gorgeous woman in jeans and a gardening hat, speaking to me while she tends to her garden at her home in Castellammare. “He came home and said, ‘I have the next ones, the next big ones. Fuck, Joyce, they’re brilliant. Unpolished, but brilliant.’”

When I ask about when Jim discovered Billy Hargrove she just laughed.

“If Steve and the rest of The Boys were unpolished, Billy Hargrove was a fucking ten carat diamond,” She said. “But Steve’s band was Jim’s, and he could polish them up how he wanted. And then when he thought they were just right for it… he set the diamond.”

Jim Hopper was a big man, larger than life both in appearance and in personality. His fingerprints are all over some of the best hits of the decade.

Watching him on old interviews, there’s an immediacy to his presence that leaps off the screen.

“My daughter is the one who really found him. She snuck out with her sister and wandered God knows where. And she just… found him. Called me the next morning, saying ‘Dad, you have to hear this guy.’ He was playing in this… terrible club,” Jim said, tapping his cigar on the table of Merv Griffin’s set. “Absolute shithole, pardon my french. And he’s got a great voice, you’ve heard his voice, right?”

“I have,” Merv said.

“I had to get him out of there. He was a star.”

Billy Hargrove was a teenage runaway from San Diego when he came to LA in 1971.

“I had a girl’s backpack from my stepsister, eight dollars, and an extra pair of underwear. By the end of the next week? I had two more dollars,” Billy laughed. “But I got lucky. I met Heather.”

Heather Holloway was a showgirl at Wildwoods, a nightly revue. She found Billy at the backdoor, and took him to her apartment.

“She saved me,” He frowned. “Whenever I needed her most.”

Heather Holloway, Billy Hargrove’s first and only wife, died in 1979.

“I got a job singing at Sugar, this great gay club downtown. It was in the late afternoons, so I had a crowd of about… two. But those two brought two more,” Billy smiled, “Heather would talk me up to all the promoters. He’s a singer, he’s great, you’ll love him, he’s so cute.”

“He was an instant hit,” Sugar’s manager, Bob Newby, tells me by phone as well. “I did have to keep a couple of creeps off him, when he just started he was only nineteen. But even if you closed your eyes… he was a hit.”

“Guys used to think that because I was a part of the entertainment, I was fair game. And let me tell you, the novelty of that wears off mighty quick,” Billy shakes his head.

He shares a diary entry from his late wife of a night in April 1972. He came to her home with blood all over his face.

“Some guy thought because I was a fag…” Billy’s mouth twisted, but he went on, cradling the little marble notebook in his hand. “He could do whatever he wanted to me. When I fought back… he cracked a bottle over my head.”

He’s not just a piece of meat. He’s a person. I don’t understand these people. I just don’t understand, Heather Holloway wrote. I cleaned him up and he’s sleeping now.

The next diary entry is from a day later. April 12. Billy and I drove to Vegas and got married. When we spoke in the morning he said he was afraid for me too, even though I’m careful with the girls. He’s afraid of the cops trying to bust up the Wildwoods and picking me up. At least this way, he says. He and I can come home to each other. Look out for each other. Always. The groom wore band aids and his great velvet pants. The bride wore lavender. It was perfect.

“And lucky too. Because within a month… I met Jim,” Billy smiled. “And my whole life changed.”

Upside Down Records signed Billy Blue, unagented, in1972 and he spent the next year working on his debut album with Jim Hopper.

“I didn’t even realize, when it happened,” Billy shook his head. “A couple of girls came by after a show, wanting to talk to me, wanting to meet me. That wasn’t that unusual. But they were young, far too young to get into the club. And the little one, she was asking all these weird questions. Did I have an agent? Did I know if I had enough songs for an album? Weird fuckin’ questions. And then she said I have to meet someone. To be honest, I thought she was coked out of her mind when she said, ‘You have to meet my dad.’”

“I was not,” Eleven promised me, “coked out of my mind. But that’s just Billy.”

Eleven aka Jane Hopper, meets me backstage at one of her shows. She’s dressed in slouchy leather pants, to match her sister and drummer Kali Hopper.

“I knew he was something special. My dad was always talking about the IT factor. That thing that made a person something special. But I didn’t get it until I saw Billy Blue singing on that tiny stage,” She smiled. “He didn’t just have the IT factor. He was IT.”

It’s odd then, that Billy Blue’s first album had a surprisingly tepid response. His first single, in 1973, “Let Alone,” came in at only 26th for the month of April on the pop charts.

“People liked it,” Billy shrugs, “But I don’t think they knew what to do with it. You have my songs, these like… little pop love songs and ballads. I wasn’t that strong of a writer at the time. It was like half my songs, half covers. And so they’d book me, expecting fucking… Peter Frampton. And here comes this big queer with glitter on his nipples.”

But the lyrics of “Let Alone” would hint at his later songs, a hallmark simplicity that shone off his raw voice and poetry that hinted at a troubled past.

And if you were meant to care for me

You would, and that’s how it has to be

You said I couldn’t go on without you

Ha, look at me, looking brand new

At the same time, The Boys’ song “Paper Girl,” penned by Harrington, was number one.

She’s my paper girl

Wakes me up every morning, right on time

She got me smiling, got my head in a whirl

Picture perfect, paper girl

“Billy didn’t have much commercial appeal. Sex appeal, yes,” Jason laughed, toying with Chrissy’s hair. “But for sales? That’s where The Boys came in.”

“I hated that name,” Eddie said, “To start with we were half girls.”

The Boys had already had a somewhat successful tour under their belt by the time Jim suggested a collaboration with Billy Hargrove.

“It was a nice, short tour,” Steve Harrington glances away when I ask about the first tour.

“It was a nightmare. Balls to the wall nightmare,” Robin Buckley’s voice is a warm crackle over the phone. “Steve went on like thirty overlapping benders at once.”

Her partner, soap actress Vickie Carmichael cackles behind her, at their home in Salt Lake City.

“The thing about Steve is… well… he’s never found a good way of coping with himself,” Robin huffs. “Music was about as close as he ever got. But in those early days, he just kept looking for more and more.”

“You don’t think it was about-” Vickie asked, just barely into the phone.

“No.”

“It was about Nancy,” Eddie said confidently when I mentioned their first tour. “Nancy, Nancy, Nancy.”

The Boys got their start in the late sixties, beginning with Eddie and Steve. Eddie gave Steve guitar lessons, which turned into some talent show performances. They used to practice at Eddie’s Uncle’s trailer.

“That’s where we got the name,” Eddie nodded, “My uncle used to just call us that, and it stuck.”

“I don’t even remember,” Chrissy said.

“That’s not how we got the name,” Steve shook his head, when I mention Eddie. “It was our first gig, after we got Chrissy and Robin. Robin put it down after the headliner kept asking when ‘you boys’ would go on, and kept addressing it to Chrissy’s chest. She blew him out of the fucking water.”

Nancy Wheeler was there that night, writing about local bands for a tiny column in the school paper.

“She was beautiful. Smart. So smart. Could hear her talk forever,” Steve said, eyes falling.

Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler were married in 1972 after they graduated high school.

“Steve made his own choices,” Chrissy shook her head.

That summer, the Boys plus one drove to LA and Nancy Wheeler took a job at Women’s Day Magazine and later, Rolling Stone. Steve Harrington and The Boys got a “steady gig” at La Bonita Rosa on the strip, playing for drunks every night from seven to eight.

“I really liked playing at La Bonita,” Steve said. “The audience, right there. You could smell the sweat. You could see on their faces if you were bombing. And we used to bomb. A lot. But it was a great place to try things. Experiment. We played there for about a year but… it felt too short.”

Within the year they had met Jim Hopper, who got them into the recording studio and sold their demo nearly on the spot to Upside Down Records.

“They had a great sound. They had got this way of playing. Smooth like a polished stone. Everything sounds good sitting in a frame like that,” Jim said in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1981. “Their songs were… catchy, but basic. But they had the sound.”

Upside Down records set the Boys on a US tour after “Paper Girl,” and “Joy to Love You,” both charted.

“It was like… overnight. One day we’re in a studio, messing around. Kid stuff. I was nineteen,” Steve Harrington shookhis head. “But…”

“That tour,” Chrissy trails off, playing with her ring again.

“I…” Steve Harrington scratched his nose. “I was losing it. Majorly losing it. It felt like we had just moved to LA and we were already neck deep. I mean, I had a number one fucking song. And for some reason I got it in my head to call my mom. She told the maid she wasn’t home. And I could hear her over the phone. My mom. So yeah. I lost it. Lost about half my damn mind on that tour. And people will say it was because of Nancy, because we got married just out of high school, and she wasn’t supportive… but that wasn’t true. Nancy saved me.”

“Nancy never wanted him to be in the band. But… she also didn’t seem to care that much either,” Eddie shook his head, “It’s… complicated. Love is supposed to be. Simple. Like the chords of a song. 1-3-5.”

Jason Carver rolled his eyes at that, “Then what are we?”

Eddie grinned, “We’re a band.”

Nancy Wheeler met me on a Thursday in New York City, slim sunglasses dominating her small porcelain face. We get lunch at her favorite deli shop, and she perches at the counter, loafers dangling. She’s an editor at The New Yorker now, but she still has a soft spot for rock and roll, as evidenced by the Grateful Dead t-shirt under her blazer.

“That tour. I didn’t even know anything was wrong. He just came home with a funny look on his face, saying, ‘We’re headlining.’ So I said, ‘That’s great, Steve.’ He just kept… saying it. It was starting to piss me off, if I’m being honest,” She shook her head. “I should have known something was wrong.”

“I wish she had stopped me. But how could you know right? Hindsight is always 2020,” Steve Harrington said. “I mean, she was my wife. How could she not want me home? But that’s just… sorry. That’s not fair to put on her. I chose to go.”

“I flew out to meet them when they were in Indianapolis, visited my family, and I came a day early to see him,” She smiled warmly, and then it fell. “He was… Well, first, Eddie Munson tried to intercept me at the hotel, so I wouldn’t see him. I told him, ‘I’m here to see my fucking husband.’”

Steve Harrington didn’t add any more details about the tour, just shrugged when I asked.

“He was coked up like you wouldn’t believe,” Robin scoffed. “She walked in on him with two girls and coke all over his… well.”

“I just asked him. Do you want to come home? Do you want to get help? Or not?” She purses her lips. “And so he came home and we found a rehab place near Hawkins.”

“The tour kind of… fell apart. Obviously. We had lost our lead singer and guitarist to fucking… Hawkins, Indiana,”

Everything stopped for the Boys. Upside Down offered to let them out of their two album contract, but Steve couldn’t afford to pay it down.

“Rehab,” He shrugged. “Is expensive.”

Right as it seemed that everything would be over for the Boys, things were looking up for Billy Blue.

“Jim was always saying, ‘the record is selling alright, the songs are getting there but he needs a… push,’” Joyce said. “‘He’s so close. So close. He’s a star.’”

“He always believed in me,” Billy smiled, toying with his ring again. “Always. Even when I threw a jug of milk at his head.”

Joyce laughed when I asked about that moment, “He came home saying, ‘He milked me, Joyce. But he’ll fix the song tonight.’”

“And I did,” Billy said. “And the album was going alright. I did a little tour, socal and the southwest. And then one night, Jim brings me this song. He said, ‘I want you to tell me what’s missing from this.’”

The song was, of course, the Boys’ biggest hit, “Hades.” Steve Harrington’s first version was called, “To Orpheus” and the chorus goes:

Don’t turn back don’t look behind you baby

I’m close, I’m right behind

The future's so bright, and I want you to take me

Wanna be holding your hand when I make it across the line.

“It was fine, but just kind of… nothing. It was supposed to be about Eurydice, but it was so… nothing. She just loved Orpheus and that was it. There were no insides to her. She was going to follow him to her doom,” Billy shook his head. “That’s not right.”

This was not the version that made it to the recording booth, of course. The Boys’ single, “Hades featuring Billy Blue,” came out in 1975. The actual chorus goes:

Turn back on me and I won’t forgive you baby

Don’t want you to see me like this

Up ahead is bright, and I want you to take me

If you’re strong enough to cross that finish line

“‘Hades,’ was a real step forward for the Boys. Gone were the teenybopper tunes,” Steve Harrington’s biographer and personal friend Dustin Henderson wrote in his book The Pretty Boy. “Their first album got the kids dancing. But the second proved that they actually had something to say.”

“Still hate it,” Steve Harrington said. “I wrote that song in rehab. It was deeply, deeply personal to me.”

“He came out, all ready. He wanted to start recording right away,” Robin sighed. “Like I mean the next day. All these songs, just pouring out of him. But the label had lost faith in us. And they certainly weren’t going to let us start recording with a guy who had only just earned his thirty day sober chip.”

“The song wasn’t ready,” Billy shook his head. “But I guess he was. Jim said he needed this. So Jim asked if I would come and like… pitch some stuff as a personal favor. Songwriting credit, that’s all it was supposed to be. Get the songs moving, get them going.”

Steve Harrington takes a long time to continue speaking about it.

“I felt it, writing for that album. I felt proud of those songs. They didn’t belong to anyone else but me,” He toyed with some piano keys while we talked, and then finally sat down and began to play something tuneless and half formed.

“That album was all about Nancy,” Chrissy said. “I mean. I know it. You know it. Nancy knew it. And she kind of hated it. But-”

“You can’t leave your husband right as he gets out of rehab,” Nancy said to me, toying with her wedding ring. “When he writes all these songs about how you’re the only thing… Steve was always like that. Heart wide open. That’s why when he met Billy. I almost thought… it would all be okay. That sounds fucked up but. I thought they could save each other. That the music could save him.”

“It was just a songwriting credit,” Billy raised his hands. “Jim swore up and down. I was just gonna come in there and sit down with this guy Steve. But when I walk into the studio, there’s two mics set up.”

“I was the Boys’ only singer,” Steve Harrington shook his head. “And to be absolutely honest, I was kind of a jackass about it. So to have some guy come in and say he’s gonna sing me my song… well…”

“Steve was the only one who would ever argue with Jim, And he let him have it that day,” Eddie laughed. “He called him the most low down, dirty, rat bitten bastard in California, and that he would die rather than give up his band to someone else.”

“I did not want his band. I did not know his band. And I did not care. And his song sucked. And I told him so. And then I sang it. Better.” Billy smiled.

“Billy was…” Chrissy shook her head. “Incredible.”

I ask Steve what Billy was like that first day in the studio.

“He was,” Something passed over his face. “Alright. He has a great voice, alright.”

“I was good. Better. Best.” Billy smiled.

“But he didn’t understand the song. He wanted Eurydice to… doubt. To think she wasn’t going to get out,” Steve slammed his hands on the keys. “It’s been… almost twenty years. I still don’t understand it.”

I asked why he let Billy stay. But Steve doesn’t have an answer.

“They were like oil and water, right away,” Chrissy said.

“Yeah, but oil on the water can catch fire,” Eddie shrugged.

“Jim asked me to stay,” Billy looked away from me, down at his waffles. “It was a favor to the label.”

“If Billy said louder, Steve said mute,” Robin snickered. “It was kind of great, actually. Finally someone called King Steve on his shit. One day I came in and they were arguing over how close the microphone should be to your throat. Almost got in a physical fight over a fucking microphone. I mean, I love Steve. But he always thinks he’s like… the babysitter. It’s his job to do everything for everybody.”

“Like who was this guy? Really? He came into my studio with no shirt on, most of the time still half smashed from the night before, and he thinks he can make all these changes. But Jim keeps telling me it’s just business, the label thinks it’s good business.” Steve frowned, and then smiled, and then frowned again.

“Yeah, I never wore shirts back then. Or underwear,” Billy said with a grin. “I was a rockstar!”

“Steve fought for every song on that album,” Nancy Wheeler patted her lips primly with a napkin. “He only lost on one.”

“Billy Hargove has songwriting credit and lead vocals on “Hades.” Dustin Henderson wrote.

“Billy was all over that album. He’d make some minor suggestion, maybe this chord instead of that, this word is better. And Steve would flip out, yell at him, yell at Jim, threaten to storm out… and then two days later quietly tell me to change the chord, he’d start singing the new words. Billy was there with us about every single day,” Eddie said.

“Of course, it was our biggest hit,” Chrissy laughed. “Everything but that song, Steve did what he wanted. Oh we had Billy in the studio, making suggestions. But Steve did what he wanted except for ‘Hades.’ Jim said that song is the album, and he wouldn’t cut it.”

“Jim was always right,” Steve closed the piano. “The bastard.”

Hades exploded onto the radio in late 1975. They didn’t have the same distribution as their first record, but the Boys had another hit.

“Billy had this way of singing it. Still does. He broke four mics when we recorded it. Singing so loud I had to keep an eye on the cymbals to stop them from shaking. You can feel him, right in your chest.” Chrissy giggled. “Like he was trying to wake all the dead from Hades. If anyone could, he could.”

“It’s a really, really great song,” Robin said.

This song belongs to Billy Blue, Rolling Stone wrote in 1976. The only question now is, what will The Boys do next?

“I remember that article. Fucking… Harrington said that he basically wrote the whole song. But he said, ‘the label thought bringing Billy in was a good idea,’” Billy gets tense for the first time. “I’m not saying I was like… I just mean. It would have been nice. To treat me like an equal. I’m more than just a singer. I’m not just… a piece of meat.”

“Billy was really pissed about that article. I remember, the day after the article came out, we were getting breakfast at this tiny place off La Cienega. Steve had this car back then, a big maroon BMW, and Eddie had got him a vanity plate when he bought it. Stupid thing it said, ‘BIGBOY.’ Anyway, We’re having breakfast, and we hear this screech outside, like an accident,” Robin Buckley gets uncharacteristically quiet as she goes on through this story. “Billy’s car is parked halfway out of the parking lot, and he comes in like a bull in a charge. Billy… he wasn’t some wimpy guy. He was small, but he was strong as hell… He came right over and grabbed Steve by his collar and lifted him right off the counter. And he said, I’ll never forget it because Steve used to recite it from memory, yell it at me, ‘Tell me I’m not dreaming. Is that Steve fucking Harrington? The lead singer of the Boys. Hey man, I love your song ‘Hades.’ How’d you get your voice to sound halfway decent for once?’”

“I don’t remember that,” Steve Harrington said flatly when I asked.

“And Steve used to be a fucking dick in high school. So he starts getting real bitchy, shoving Billy off him, asking what his problem is, why he’s such a dick all the fucking time, when it’s not even his band. And Billy said something like, ‘No one wants your shit band. Not with you in it,’” Robin paused for a moment. “And they just. Stare at each other. Like… daring each other to do something.”

Billy just shrugs when I ask, “I was pissed. I gave this guy a number one hit, and he still wanted to treat me like some… airhead singer the label brought in as a stunt. I’m not just a singer. I’m not a piece of meat. I’m a person.”

When I ask Steve about that day he’s pretty quiet, deflated at his piano. He only wants to talk about the song. The music. Can’t seem to talk about Billy any other way.

“He sang it like he not only knows Orpheus can’t save him, but that he won’t. It was supposed to be hopeful. A happy ending.” Steve said.

“So you still hate the song?” I asked.

“No, I don’t. It’s brilliant. And that’s the whole problem.”

To be continued...

Next up is Half-Oz-Eddie's piece at 7:00 pm. GET HYPE!

#harringrove relay race #harringrove #billy x steve #billy hargrove #steve harrington #harringrove fic #steve x billy #harringrovefic #harringrovefanfic #harringrove fanfiction #harringrove fanfic #stranger things #my writing #DJATS au #Daisy jones and the six au #tw drugs

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wildlife4life · 5 months

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Seven (+) Sentence Sunday

Tagged by the super amazing @daffi-990 @lover-of-mine @try-set-me-on-fire @fortheloveofbuddie @wikiangela @spotsandsocks @jesuisici33 and @diazsdimples. Thank you all so much and I am super excited for your upcoming works!

Another tag day, another snippet of NFL Buck. Back to Eddie's perspective! This time, we are delving into this au's version of his and Shannon's background and relationship. WOOO! (Every previous NFL Buck post can be found here) Enjoy!

Buck gave Eddie a very befuddled look, "Um, if this is your way of breaking up with me, I think you skipped a few major steps here." Eddie rolled his eyes, "Make sure the equipment manager gives you an extra thick helmet Buckley. All those previous head injuries are catching up to you." His boyfriend gave a half hearted glare, but didn't make a comment, allowing Eddie to explain. "They're for Shannon." "Ohhhh." Evan finally caught on and Eddie can't help but roll his eyes again. "I keep forgetting your un-repressed ass is still married to a woman." The jerk had the audacity to crack jokes and give Eddie a cocky grin. "And that makes you my mistress." Eddie fired back. "Meh." His boyfriend shrugged uncaring. Which is fair because he's the mistress who beat the odds and convinced the husband to leave his wife. Though did it count if the wife left first? Eddie shook his head, pushing aside that thought, knowing it would lead down an emotionally twisted path he didn't want to get into at the moment. Picking up the divorce papers, Eddie returned them to the manilla envelope labeled with only Shannon's name. "Look, with the move to Houston I am obligated to inform Christopher's mother of his whereabouts. I did the same when we moved to Austin, though back then I was hoping that by telling her we were out from under my parents roof, she would return." Buck grimaced, "Considering you showed up for our not-a-date, date, that didn't happen." Eddie nods, unable to meet the younger man's saddened gaze. The hurt and anger towards his soon to be ex-wife, was all twisted up with a healthy dose of guilt and the love he would always have for her. It felt unfair to Evan to still love her. His feelings towards Shannon used to be less complicated. Before Eddie bent under his parents expectations, she was one of his closets friends. Much like Buck, she was easy to talk to, made him laugh, and didn't pressured him to be anything more than himself. Eddie never did express his disinterest in girls to her or how his eyes tended to linger a little too long on some the guys on the football team (he has a type, repressed or not). The subject of girls and dating didn't come up, until his dad made an off hand comment about his son not bringing any dates home to meet. Eddie panicked. And when Eddie panicked, he came up with some awful ideas. Kissing Shannon after his baseball game because he knew she had feelings for him beyond friendship, was one his worst. Back then, Eddie hoped that treating Shannon as more than friend would lead to feelings of actual attraction and romantic love. It didn't. Further expectations, additional pressure lead to more panic and stupid decisions. Then one day during his senior year, Eddie found himself with a positive pregnancy test in hand and Shannon begging him for a solution. He was down on one knee with a ring his mother shoved into his hands two days later (Eventually Eddie would learn the silver band with a small lone diamond was a promise ring from Adriana's cheating ex.) Shannon said yes, Eddie's Uncle Paco ordained their wedding at the local rec center, and Christopher Edmundo Diaz was born May 8th, 2008, just after Shannon took her last final (her water broke as she handed in her math test). When Eddie held his son, he instantly knew, his entire heart belonged to this tiny little boy, but right on the heels of that love came the cold dredges of panic. On May 9th, 2008 Eddie acted upon yet another awful idea and signed up for the Army. Neither he nor Shannon made it to their high school graduation. Instead the first tear in their relationship was being formed with angry shouts, heartbroken sobs, and a hastily packed duffle tossed into an old truck.

I will admit, I am not the biggest Shannon fan, but I am not a Shannon basher either. Her and Eddie both made mistakes, and that will be shown in this au, as Shannon was a big part of Eddie's journey and the mother of his child. Hope you all enjoyed!

Tagging (no pressure): @theotherbuckley @disasterbuckdiaz @devirnis @exhuastedpigeon @bekkachaos @thewolvesof1998 @giddyupbuck @eddiebabygirldiaz @hippolotamus @rainbow-nerdss @spaceprincessem @athenagranted @eddiescowboy @evanbegins @elvensorceress @malewifediaz @911onabc @911-on-abc @loserdiaz @hoodie-buck @ladydorian05 @bigfootsmom @watchyourbuck @thekristen999 @princessfbi @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels @spagheddiediaz @monsterrae1 @rogerzsteven @honestlydarkprincess @bitchfacediaz @buck-coded @housewifebuck @glorious-spoon @buddierights @prosperdemeter2 @lemonzestywrites @gayedmundodiaz @cal-daisies-and-briars @transboybuckley

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happinessismusic · 4 months

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"Tuesday night marked Blake Shelton’s first appearance at RodeoHouston in six years and the sixth time he’s mounted the famous revolving stage in the middle of the stadium. Shelton’s brand of workhorse country has always been aggressively crowd-pleasing.

Shelton started the night with the fiery testimonial “God’s Country” — a sort of “A Country Boy Can Survive” update from 2019. Five years on, it seems to have kicked in the doors for the likes of Jelly Roll and Hardy. Fittingly, the latter has a songwriting credit for it, vibe-checking the Charlie Daniels Band and Bocephus along the way.

Shelton is an elder statesman of sorts in the corner of the pop country world that he inhabits alongside fellow 2024 performers Luke Bryan and Brad Paisley. The aw shucks everyman with a truck bed full of hooks and an earnest twang beating under his sweaty pearl snap Poncho shirt.

To the delight of every beating heart in NRG Stadium, Shelton’s wife of three years, Gwen Stefani, joined him onstage for one of the dynamic duo’s many duets they’ve recorded together — “Nobody But You” and “Purple Irises.” Keen eyes probably knew something was up when a black SUV rolled up near the stage in the middle of Shelton’s set. The recently-released music video for Gwen-centric “Irises” shows the pair clad in couture denim in a vintage living room swooning like Kenny and Dolly. If wedding songs are still a thing, add it to the Spotify playlist.

“Holy hell Gwen Stefani came out here and sang tonight,” Shelton said, looking genuinely flushed and revving up his cover of George Jones’ “Ol’ Red.”

When the towering Okie debuted on country radio airwaves in 2001 with “Austin” he was up against Brooks & Dunn and Lonestar for FM supremacy. The song that broke Shelton open wide made its way late into Tuesday night’s setlist and got the smartphone flashlight nebula treatment, a high honor at RodeoHouston.

“What kind of people come out here in Houston to a stadium to watch a rodeo and then a damn country music concert on a Tuesday night?” Shelton chuckled, launching into “Hillbilly Bone”.

Lock in Houston, this horsey ride lasts until March 17.

Attendance: 59,461

Blake Shelton, February 27, 2024 at RodeoHouston

God’s Country Guy With A Girl Neon Light Sangria God Gave Me You Nobody But You Purple Irises (with Gwen Stefani) Ol’ Red Austin Honey Bee Hillbilly Bone Boys Round Here"

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I like that Blake changed his lineup of songs for RodeoHouston. So happy for everyone who got to witness Blake and Gwen.

#blake shelton #gwen stefani

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valobrajewelry · 2 months

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In 2024, How Much Money Should You Spend on a Wedding Ring?

Your wedding bands in Houston, TX are a symbol of the love and commitment towards your partner along with suiting your personal style, making it an important investment. While most people feel that a ring should cost a lot, this isn’t the case.

It all depends on your partner’s choice along with the type of ring they like, the metal, gemstones, and the overall designs as it can range from affordable to high-end. Here are some things to keep in mind when it comes to shopping for a wedding ring.

Factors that affect the price of wedding rings

Here are some factors that can affect the cost of your wedding ring.

The type of metal

The most popular metals for custom rings in Houston, TX are yellow gold, white gold, and platinum. However, a lot of brides tend to choose rose gold for a chic and romantic appeal and sterling silver for its affordability.

Yellow gold and platinum are quite durable and expensive however they will last you for a longer time. These metals are ideal for brides who are active, outgoing, and work a lot with their hands.

Gemstones

The type of gemstones you choose for men’s wedding bands in Houston, TX are also important. If you are using a natural diamond that is completely flawless versus a beautiful aquamarine, there will be a difference in price. Colored stones and lab-made diamonds are much more affordable than natural diamonds.

Along with diamonds, stones like sapphires, rubies or even emeralds are quite durable and great for daily wear. You can also choose pink or yellow diamonds that offer you a lovely shade along with being tough.

End Note At the end of the day, the cost of an engagement ring all depends on the current market price, what you choose, and where you stay. Larger stores in cities will be more expensive than local stores in towns.

#custom rings in Houston #men’s wedding bands in Houston #wedding bands in Houston

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nazarsandco · 2 months

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Unique Floral Engagement Rings for Unconventional Brides

If you fall into the camp of brides who are searching for diamond rings in Houston, TX that are feminine, elegant, and vintage-inspired, flower rings are the ideal choice for you. These rings are romantic and come in a range of options, making them highly sought-after among the rest.

Flowers offer a sentimental and beautiful meaning in a dark world, which is why a lot of brides tend to prefer it. These rings are highly flexible and quite affordable making them ideal for couples on a budget.

Reasons to love floral rings

One of the main reasons why a lot of brides tend to prefer floral engagement rings in Houston, TX is that they can be tailored to meet your needs.

You can either opt for an engagement ring with a halo around your center stone that looks like a flower or choose two wedding bands on either side of your ring to create the look of a flower.

Stacked bands are an ideal choice and tend to be more versatile along with giving off a unique look. Just make sure to always work with a professional who can offer you a range of high-end pieces at an affordable price.

Flower wedding bands in Houston, TX are usually passed down as heirloom pieces to future generations for years to come.

While flower rings offer more diamonds and sparkles than traditional rings, they tend to be more affordable since the sparkle is spread across multiple diamonds and not just a single stone.

Any stone can be used for a flower diamond ring. Some brides tend to choose a white diamond center stone with a halo of sapphires and rubies. You can also pick a sapphire center stone with smaller side diamonds for a lovely contrast.

Your flower ring is a timeless option and will never truly go out of style. These pieces are ideal for brides looking for something soulful. Make sure to ask your jeweler to certify and appraise the pieces for you before you leave the store.

The Takeaway

Make sure to take your ring to a professional to clean, repair, and maintain it every couple of months so that it looks new and shiny for years to come. Your jeweler will polish the stone, buff the metal band, and tighten the setting to ensure that it stays in good condition for years to come.

#Diamond rings in Houston TX #Engagement rings in Houston TX #Wedding bands in Houston TX

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nazarele · 2 months

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Unique Floral Engagement Rings for Unconventional Brides

Reasons to love floral rings

One of the main reasons why a lot of brides tend to prefer floral engagement rings in Houston, TX is that they can be tailored to meet your needs.

You can either opt for an engagement ring with a halo around your center stone that looks like a flower or choose two wedding bands on either side of your ring to create the look of a flower.

Flower wedding bands in Houston, TX are usually passed down as heirloom pieces to future generations for years to come.

While flower rings offer more diamonds and sparkles than traditional rings, they tend to be more affordable since the sparkle is spread across multiple diamonds and not just a single stone.

The Takeaway

#Diamond rings in Houston #Wedding bands in Houston #Engagement rings in Houston

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carolxdanvers · 3 months

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so you just don't think anybody listens to black artists?

Wondering why you think Black artists are incompatible with anything on that list (other than Slayer, which is a specific real life band with no Black members.)

Do you not know how much Destiny's Child, TLC, Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Lionel Richie, smokey Robinson, Toni Braxton, Bill Withers, Gloria gaynor, Earth wind & fire, Kool & the gang, Snoop, Ray Charles, Seal, John Legend, Jackson 5, Black Eyed Peas, Prince, LMFAO, Fugees, and Whitney fucking Houston all fall into MANY of these categories?

Y'all are incapable of thinking of white couple's wedding guests dancing to Shout, Celebration, Ain't No Mountain High Enough, fuckin Y.M.C.A, Single Ladies (popular before a bouquet toss) or the number of couples whose first dance is to At Last or All Of Me or This Will Be, to the point that it's a cliche

Do you seriously think that Kiss from a Rose isn't karaoke hits? Or I Will Survive? Or September? Or Unbreak My Heart? Killing Me Softly?

Do you think drunk girls don't lose their shit because No Scrubs is their songggggg and so is Boom Boom Pow and so is Party Rock Anthem and Blinding Lights and Mambo No 5 and Hey Ya and Little Red Corvette and Montero and I Wanna Dance With Somebody

Anyway I got shit to do today. My taste in music may be extremely white, but that doesn't mean the musical artists are.

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pacinosgf · 5 months

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barbara ann robinson (née morris, born april 7, 1947) is an american musician, singer, songwriter and producer. she is known for her work as a bassist, keyboardist and vocalist with the band midnight mayhems and as a solo artist.

❝ i was born in a little place called venus. after all these years, it remains a little place. last time i went there was thirty years ago, to solve a problem of my husband's doing, but he has gone there since then. i was my parents' only child, because my mother had such a complicated pregnancy that, after me, she couldn't have any other one. i had the nerve of being born as a girl, at that, but my parents were really fond of me. i had a good childhood. helped them at the farm all day, they looked after me. they were very private people and didn't really engage with the community, so we were the odd ones.

i'd spend the morning running after our animals, helping my mother with the house, my daddy with the farm work, and then in the afternoon i'd go over to my aunt's house to learn how to be a proper lady. she was a war widow of a rich man who came back to town after the war. she'd wrap my hair in ribbons and teach me how to cook, how to sew, how to behave, how to play the piano. we would read romances together. no girl i grew up with had this kind of thing, which didn't help my case, being the odd one. she'd talk about her life in houston as a wife. we'd go there once a month so she could get me new dresses and stuff, i still keep a beautiful hairbrush and some other things she got me.

i was too young to remember when it started, but she always talked about how i had to leave venus and study somewhere else. study to become a teach, a nurse, whatever it was, but study and leave our town. and so i did. that gave people the impression i thought i was better than them, but i don't even know what i thought about it back then. i was just too obedient. relied on my parents and my aunt to know what i could and should do. all i knew is that i should study and leave and marry good and send money back to my parents' every month, never really thought deep about it.

she died when i was 15, which was for the better, because she'd kill me if she was there to witness how i let jim follow me up and down, take me home from the church and all. we wouldn't say a word, just walk. he says that he is in love with me since we were kids, but he's a liar, don't listen to what he says. i started paying attention to him because he was gentle and he'd take me home without making any move and, at 15, i knew i should get some prospects for my future. my parents wouldn't let me leave venus if i was still single. the girls i grew up with already had planned weddings with guys much older than us or the boys we grew up, disgusting men like only a place like that could raise, that could have been my future too. and jim was kind, third of six kids, played the drums for the church band just like i played the organ. it felt safe. one day i stopped him in the tracks before getting home and asked him what he wanted with me. no, i think i said something like i want to study. you can't stop that. i want to leave this place. i won't change my mind. find another girl to take home or bear with me. and he showed up the next day to talk to my parents, so it was official.

after that we finally started properly talking. he had never thought about leaving, but it seemed good. he said i was too smart to not study, so he'd wait and work until then. we would walk through town, the only thing we could do as a non-married couple, taking the longest paths so we could keep talking. i would talk, actually, he'd listen in a way i was never sure if he was paying attention until he showed he was. i told him about how i liked playing music and went as far as saying that i had this fantasy of playing and making music one day. he supported it, of course. said i could do it, started practicing more on the drums in the case i'd ask him to go with me. we haven't changed much since then.

i am a few months older, we got engaged when he turned 18, and i went to houston for nursing school. he'd visit me once a week, under the watchful eyes of the lady that owned the boarding house for the single nursing students, bringing things like his mother's jam, letters, all that stuff. that's when i actually got attached to jim. he would ask me about how i was doing in school, if i had found a place to play. i took him to the vinyl and music store i was a regular customer and we'd share a headphone, we went to one of the nursing school parties and he made me sing. i sang for the girls at the boarding house, i sang for some of my closest school friends, but had never sang to so many people in that context. i remember feeling full that night, so happy that i'd explode.

i got a guitar and played the piano for an old lady and her friends every week. i saved all the money i could to buy a bass, that brand new instrument media was diminishing because it was too dangerous. made girls dance and lose themselves, made men forget who they were. and then i finally went to the store, all happy and mighty, and they denied me one. said i should save more for a piano of my own. the bass guitar was too masculine and dangerous for such a girl.

i wrote a letter to jim about it, how i was mad and feeling down, but i wouldn't give up, of course. i think it only a few lines of the whole letter, of course. he answered me and kept sending letters but stopped visiting me for almost two months. i became afraid that he had found another girl, nicer than me, and i'd have to drop everything to go back home to live with my parents. i was already used to this new future when he came in a random day. he went to pick me up at the school in his brother's car, seemed like he would die at any moment. and then he gave me the bass. a red bass, beautiful bass, that i still keep, of course. said that he really liked me, that he hoped i liked him too. that i made him feel special because i put up with him. that i deserved all good things and that he knew i could get them alone, but he would try his best to give me some too. i wasn't big on physical touch, but i had no idea of what to say. i kissed him. not the first time, but probably the first one i truly, totally, wanted to do it.

we got married in 1967, my last year of nursing school. we were twenty. i left the boarding house, we found an apartment to live in houston, he got a new, less strenuous, job, in the city. we'd work all day, and when i didn't have night shifts, he'd take me to places where i could sing or play. nothing fancy, but still. we'd play with wedding bands sometimes. we'd go home and talk and listen to records. i felt happy. i remember thinking that if the music thing didn't work out, i'd still be happy enough. jim was still nice, he didn't change after getting married, which was my biggest fear.

we had some nice years, going here and there, playing and working, and then we had the bad luck of meeting this awful guy, who you may know as [ . . . ]

@gllianowens

#barbara ann.

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averagewriter-inthedark · 1 year

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Video Killed The Radio Star ⭐️ | Rhett Abbott Headcanon

Link to my Rhett Abbott Masterlist

Rhett dating someone obsessed with the 80s would look like:

The second verse in the song “1985,” by Bowling for Soup literally describes you when it goes, “She’s seen all the classics. She knows every line. Breakfast Club, Pretty In Pink, even St. Elmo’s Fire. She rocked to Wham! Not a big Limp Bizkit fan. Thought she’d get a hand on a member of Duran Duran.” Yeah, you’ve seen all the classics (including Dirty Dancing, Footloose, Top Gun, The Outsiders, The Karate Kid, Terminator, etc) and can recite every line to the point you don’t even need your eyes on the screen when the scene plays. Rhett was amazed the first time he witnessed it and would challenge you during the scenes with a lot of dialogue.

Rhett was well aware of your love for the 80s. The movies, the music, the aesthetic, just everything. The whole damn reason y’all met was because you worked at the record store in town. He’d always admired you from afar and finally got the courage to go in and talk to you. Wearing an AC/DC shirt and smudged eyeliner, you definitely gave off that classic rock look. Sometimes he’d come in and you were more colorful like when channeling Cyndi Lauper or Witney Houston.

After that first conversation Rhett swore he could hear you talk for hours. You spitted fact after fact to him when he asked questions about a particularly band or movie. Like you knew the exact date MTV launched on cable (August 1st, 1981) and the first music video that aired (Video Killed The Radio Star by The Buggles). Other famous events you knew by heart were Charles & Diana’s wedding, the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, the Berlin Wall coming down, and the fact the 1984 L.A Olympics was boycotted by the USSR & their allies.

Rhett could easily pick up on who your favorite bands/artists, songs, movies, and 80s heartthrobs were by how consistently you spoke of them. It amazed him, especially because you were likely either a small child or not even alive when the 80s happened, but everything about you screamed you were born in the wrong decade. “I take it if you could go back in time and choose a decade to live in, It’d be the 80s huh?” “Is that even a question? It’s why I need them to crack the code to time travel so I can go!”

Anytime y’all go on road trips you are in charge of the aux and Rhett has grown accustomed to your choice of music. By now he knows all the lyrics from Def Leppard’s Hysteria and almost everything from Journey and Whitney Houston. Before he met you, all Rhett listened to was country and maybe a modern pop or jazz/blues artist once in a blue moon, now his music taste has broaden to classic/metal rock & techno pop. He personally prefers AC/DC, Guns n Roses, & The Simple Minds and you’ll catch him jamming when he thinks you’re not in the room. “Don’t look at me like that, Y/n.” “I’m just admiring those moves, cowboy.” “Stop right there, or imma have to punish you.” “Does punish involve playing ‘Pour Some Sugar On Me,’ if you know what I mean?”

Not many groups/artists still toured, but the ones that did you guys would try your best to attend the concerts. Together you both saw Pat Benetar, Def Leppard, Journey, & even Rick Springfield a couple times. On your bucket list is to see Mötley Crue, Metallica, Cyndi Lauper, and Joan Jett.

When it comes to birthdays & holidays, Rhett loves to spoil you when he gets enough money too. Merchandise and collectors items are usually what he sets his eyes on to get you, but then he discovered the annual ‘80s in the Sand’ festival that takes place in the Dominican Republic where several of your favorite artists/groups will attend. When he heard about that, Rhett was on a mission. For over a year he saved every penny to book flights, tickets, rooms at the resort before surprising you on your birthday with an envelope. You were a fucking mess at the table when you opened the envelope and read the writing��you couldn’t believe he actually got you tickets for the festival. “What the fuck, Rhett—o-oh my gosh how did you—how did you do this!?” You stuttered between sobs, tackling him to the floor and kissing all over his face as he laughed beneath you. “I love you so much—thank you thank you. This is the best gift ever!!”

The anticipation and working so hard to take you to the festival was so worth it when you guys arrived. The smile on your face never left and Rhett swore you were gonna pass out when Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran waved to you. “I just fucking made eye contact with Simon fucking Le Bon—Rhett!! He waved at me!!” Then after y’all had some drinks at the hotel bar you about shit your pants at the realization Nina Blackwood, one of the five original MTV’s VJ’s, was sitting next to you and had complimented your outfit.

Each time you happened to get the once in a life time chance to meet/interact with the artist/group you spent years fangirling over, Rhett would have a tissue ready to catch your tears (of happiness of course) and capture every picture/video so you could have it forever. He literally was the best boyfriend you could ask for, still in disbelief he had given you such an amazing gift he knew you would cherish till the day you died. It was truly the experience of a lifetime.

That entire trip Rhett fell more in love with you and with your love for the decade. He could see it in your eyes and how you connected with people not only y’all’s age who were there, but also the older folks who grew up during that time. Rhett couldn’t wait for you both to go again the next year, making it a goal to attend annually and working to save every penny to make sure he could see that light in you shine bright in the place you belonged.

#rhett abbott x y/n #rhett abbott headcanon #rhett abbott imagine #rhett abbott x reader #rhett Abbott fluff #rhett abbott fanfiction #rhett abbott #rhett abbott outer range #outer range imagine #outer ranger headcanon #lewis pullman #fluff

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