The Fall of the Fainthearts

Track Eighteen: Don't Burn That Bridge

Derek Barkley (journalist, author of 'Unfiltered: London Revival): Axel has always spoken publicly about his rocky relationships with his family. He never shied away from paparazzi who frankly overstepped the mark when it came to trying to pry a good story out of him. I think everyone can remember the infamous Mona Italia incident.

He was leaving the restaurant with his then-fiancé, Florence. Very nice place, not a lot of security. The press had only just caught wind of the engagement and they were around every corner looking for their next scoop. As he left, they completely swarmed him and tried to block the exit to his car which was just outside. In hindsight, I don't think Axel realised that he'd crossed the threshold into needing his own personal security and bodyguards.

Axel: Bodyguards and security aren't exactly very rock and roll, are they? Come on.

Derek Barkley: They were hitting him with questions left-right and centre, trying to get details on the wedding. Have you got a date, where is it going to be, who's coming, have you got a baby on the way? One was being particularly invasive, and tried to caught Axel off guard into answering his question. He asked him, "You say your father doesn't approve of you but you've found such success - is it your taste in women that drove a rift between you?"

You can just see Axel change like a bull seeing a red flag. Suddenly all the attention was on that one reporter and Axel staring him down. He grabs hold of the camera, smashes it to the ground and the video cuts off. There's so much speculation about what happened next; whether he had an altercation with the reporter or whether they all backed off and allowed him to get Florence to the car safely. Depending on what you think about Axel Faintheart is what version of the story you believe.

Many still debate whether Axel was in the right that day, whether he was just being another diva rockstar. My personal opinion? Axel has been chipped away at for years behind closed doors, and that was the moment he finally snapped.

Axel: The rest of the night at my parent's house was... good. I can't say I was expecting it to be as positive as it was, actually.

Isabelle Faintheart: Tim changed. I don't know whether it was the realisation that he could have his son back or the fact we had a guest, but he changed and that was good enough for me. He's still too proud to tell me what happened, but I don't need to know. As long as my boys were happy, that's all I cared about.

Axel: After dinner, mum took Florence away to try to get me and dad to talk by ourselves. We sat at either ends of the dinner table, staring at empty placemats, neither of us knowing how to even start. But it didn't feel hostile - it felt like both of us wanted to say something but just didn't know how to put it into words. It took a long while for either of us to even attempt it, we didn't want to make matters worse.

Tim Faintheart: After a while, Axel asked me whether I truly hated his music. I knew it was a loaded question and much more than about my personal music taste. After all this time, he still wanted my approval. He still wanted to know whether I was proud of him.

Axel: He said no. He didn't elaborate any further, but he'd said no.

Tim Faintheart: He smiled at me. For the first time in... must've been more than five years. Way, way before he left home. Maybe closer to ten, since I'd seen a genuine smile.

Axel: He stood up and gestured for me to join him out on the balcony. He lit up a cigar, passed it over to me. We looked at the stars in more silence before he finally let out a deep sigh and turned to me.

Tim Faintheart: I was never any good with my words, but I say what I mean. And what I meant to say in this moment wasn't all that bad, so I said it.

Axel: He told me he was proud to see how far I'd come. He said he was sorry for doubting me. Maybe he wasn't my biggest fan, but they were out there, and he didn't give me a chance to find out.

I knew how much it'd taken him to say that. I don't think I've ever heard the word 'sorry' come out of my dad's mouth my entire life. And while it wasn't exactly a moment where we felt like we wanted to hug - or whatever the fuck you do in heartwarming moments - the silence that followed got a lot more comfortable.

Tim Faintheart: I was happy to see my son again. I'd pushed him as far to the back of my mind as I could, but I couldn't escape him. His songs were on the radio every time I drove to work, my employees would always tease me about how I could've been an even richer man if I had just given him a shot. At the time I'd get angry, turn the radio off and drive to work in silence, shout at them for being inconsiderate pigs. But inside, every time it happened, I was reminded of how far away from reach he really was. And it did make me sad, I think. I didn't dwell on it much more than I had to.

Florence: When I managed to break away from Isabelle to check on Axel, because I really didn't like the idea of leaving them both alone together in the first place, he was different. He wasn't guarded or defensive. He seemed lighter, happier. I felt relief wrap around me like a warm blanket when I realised what'd happened.

Axel: Our relationship was far, far from repaired. We still had too much hanging over our heads. But, for now, I was happy with it.

Tim Faintheart: I wasn't going to ask him to come back to Faintheart Records yet. It would seem too much like I was using him. He was always a smarter boy than he seemed and I didn't want to burn the bridge before it had even begun construction. We had much more work to do on the family before we worked on music again.