The Fall of the Fainthearts

Chapter Twenty-One: The Start Of A Night To Remember

Florence: No, I was never mad at Axel for announcing it the way he did. I know a lot of people criticised him for it and said that it wasn't his place, but I was already starting to show and my close family knew, so it didn't hurt.

We'd spoken about when he was ready to let the world know that he was going to be a dad. We knew that no matter how hard we tried, it wasn't going to be something that we could keep a secret. And we didn't want to, either. It was a beautiful thing and we didn't want to have to hide.

Isabelle Faintheart: I was... a little upset, that his fans knew before we did. But I understood it. Our family was patched up together with glue and sticky tape, it wasn't the strongest support group. And in that very moment when he was on stage and staring out into the thousands and thousands of faces that he desperately wanted to tell, he was ready to talk about it. Not a second before. I understand that.

Derek Barkley (journalist, author of 'Unfiltered: London Revival): So, the question on everyone's lips was: what did this mean for London Revival? Was Axel going to retire to be a dad? He had a tour coming up, would it be his last? Nobody had any answers and everybody was hungry for any hit of gossip they could get.

Through the grapevine, word was going around about a record release party that they were throwing just before they were supposed to go on tour. It was going to be one big celebration of everything; the album, the tour, Vince and Dahlia going public, Axel and Florence starting their family.

The guest list was leaked, and it was star-studded. It was every journalist's dream to sneak in amongst them all and get that scoop. There wasn't one person in the music scene that wasn't nervous for the future of London Revival, and I just had to answer their questions for them. It was career-making. So, I pulled every string I could and extended every branch I had - and I got in.

Kian Cash: Jade threw them a big surprise party for making it in America. She rented out this huge show home, had it decorated with big balloon arches and these fancy light-up letters reading 'Congrats!' There were ice sculptures and fireworks and the pool was littered with neon lights. She pulled out all the stops for them. She wanted them to feel special.

She invited Paradise, The Haig Brother's, Darkwood, Snake. You name any of the top charters from the year nineteen-ninety-three, they were there. My Jade had connections everywhere. She was starting to become a very successful lady.

Axel: Even my family came. I don't know why it still surprised me every time to see them, but it did. Dad was dressed up in this fancy suit, schmoozing with the other artists. He seemed happy to be there, from where I was standing, at least.

Tim Faintheart: That night was the night I was going to ask Axel to come back to Faintheart Records. The party setting was perfect - it was light-hearted and fun, it wouldn't put him in a corner. I was planning on pulling him aside once it was in full swing and feeling out the options. I just had to make sure Jade or Kian weren't within earshot.

Vince: Dahlia looked beautiful. I still remember the dress. It was this sort of crimson-pink, covered in sequins and shook like a flapper dress when she danced. She was so excited to show it off; she felt as pretty as she looked. And I didn't have to stay away from her anymore. I could dance with her all night, because everyone knew she was mine. I felt so proud to say that.

Bentley: I wanted to come clean about me and Jade, but I wasn't sure we would ever find the right time. It just wasn't practical and I knew the band wouldn't approve. Me dating our record producer? It was a weird line you just didn't want to cross. But she meant the world to me.

It started off just a one night thing. I came back to the studio to polish up a few of my recordings because something I wanted to change had been nagging in the back of my head. She was still there, about to lock up and go home. I begged her for just an hour to stay, said I'd finish what I was doing and lock everything up for her as if I was never there. She gave me this little smile, shook her head and told me I wasn't one she could trust.

I was there much longer than an hour. I kept stuffing up my drum solos because she was listening, I just couldn't get it right. After a while, she was sick of hearing the same failed beats over and over and came in to help me out. Jade could play just about anything, and she wiped the floor with me on that drum kit.

It was embarrassing, sure. But it was equally just as exciting. This woman was fire, and she never failed to impress me. One thing led to another and... well, I'm sure you've got a pretty good idea of what happened that night.

Since then we'd just been in each other's pockets any time we could. I'd sneak out of a night time when the rest of the house was asleep and meet her at the studio, or take her out for a 'business' lunch. It was annoying having to sneak around all the time but sometimes it was fun. But not that night. That party was going to be very hard.

Axel: Flo couldn't drink, for obvious reasons, so that made it just a little easier to keep control of myself. I had the excuse that I was supporting her to fall back on if I ever needed a reason to say no.

It wasn't exactly public knowledge about my addiction problems. I mean, sure, you could find out pretty easily if you knew where to look, and the fact this was the first party I've been seen at since we really took off would say enough, but I didn't go out of my way to make it a topic of conversation. Other artists were offering me drinks left right and centre and I realised something.

None of them knew. My past, rehab, Figgy - none of it. I felt like I'd been given this fresh start. I didn't even recognise my life anymore. I was looking around and saw my mum and dad talking with the lead singer of Paradise, Florence dancing with Dahlia, my song that I wrote blaring through the speakers. What happened to my dysfunctional life?

Figgy: That party came at amazing time for me to make my entrance. Enough time had passed for it to be believable that I was reformed and I was more than ready to play pretend.

I called up Jade ahead of time and let her know that I was doing better and would love to thank Axel for getting me the help I needed before he went off to tour. She was more than happy for me, and gave me the details so that I could surprise him - there, that night.

By the end of the night, I was going to have Axel back. It was all planned out. It was perfect. Nothing was going to stand in my way.