TURN BACK THE TIME, BABE. BOOK 7. THE WILL TO CARRY ON

RIGHT OUT OF THE BLUE

Montreux, Golden Rose Pop Festival. Le Petit Palais, 12th may 1984.

FREDDIE POV

- Thank heavens it's over. I hate lip synch.

- You don't even bother to move your mouth in synch with the canned sound, Melina -Elton chuckled taking seat with a Pepsi light in his fat hand.

We had opened with Radio Gaga, then Tear it up and finally I want to break free. It was one of those agreements we used to sign and Miami almost forced us to fullfil. It was alright as a starter, as presentation of the next tour within three months. Now I recalled how bad we felt in our first performance in Top of the Pops, having to lip synch and playing instruments we didn't really played.

We weren't those reckless young guys anymore, the experience was a rank in itself and now I only tried to have fun no matter how lousy was my lip synch. I was dreadful at that technique.

But that was a festival and the audience always made me forget any negative feeling. Besides, it was good to be back in Montreux. Eli just adored the town by the lake and meant a lot to us. And it was nice mostly because we would stay only 4 days more till the end of the festival and then we were going back to Munich. I was dangerously hooked to the bavarian city.

- What are you doing drinking that thing?

I pointed out my finger with a chuckle the Pepsi Light can that my friend Reginal Dwight, best known as Elton John, had in his hand. My Sharon.

- My wife tells me I'm putting on weight lately. She's absolutely right. But, what can I say? Marriage is making me look like a monk seal.

I hadn't yet recovered by the news of his express wedding in Australia with that german sound engineer called Renate Blauel on Valentine's day. It was simply ridiculous. He wasn't even attracted to women, what was he doing marrying a woman?

Nevertheless, my friend's heart was a weird cage where he could keep a lot of things and I wouldn't be the one to shake his bars. If he was happy, I was too.

- Renate is a very nice woman. I'm sure she makes you very happy.

- Oh, Freddie. Cut the crap. Whenever a man tells another man his wife is nice what he really means is she's ugly.

- I don't think that.

- And you also think I must be out of my mind on marrying a woman. Right?

- Not crazy but you might be a little... lost?

- I want five or six like that one -he said pointing out Farrokh who finally was sitting playing quietly on the carpet.

- Well, go at Harrods and buy them, you asshole.

Elton burst into laughter.

- If you buy two, you get a nanny thrown in.