Wild Girl

Chapter 20: The Next 35 Years

I left Duran Duran, but my job didn't stop, after quitting, I decided to move to Los Angeles when I built my bands promotion business. I helped promote bands like The Go-Go's, then Belinda Carlisle as solo artist, The Bangles and many other artists and bands. I tried to focus on female artists, so I wouldn't have any temptations that could ruin my job like it happened with the Duran boys.

I didn't keep in direct contact the any of the boys, only with Mandy Berrow who would call me once a year or so to catch up. However, I was very aware of all the success the band was having and even almost crossed paths with them a couple of times when they were touring the US, but I always tried to avoid it.

I stopped promoting bands and moved my business to producing live shows in the 1990's. I met a lot of people that way, and one of them was who later became my husband, Shane.  We got married in 1997. We got two kids, one boy named Benjamin who was born in 1999, and a girl named Kassidy who was born in 2003.  They were happy times for me, but then my husband got really sick in 2012, and passed away in 2015. 

My life hasn't been the same since that. One of those days, my daughter Kassidy was listening to music on her bedroom and I swore, I could recognize the song. I got closer to the door and my heart fell to the floor: it was Duran Duran. She was actually listening to Hungry Like The Wolf.  I never told my kids about my thing with them back in the 80's but I thought, Kassidy was mature enough to know it now.

I knocked on her door, and she opened it quickly.

- I am going to turn down the volume now, if that's what you want.

- Actually no, I like this song. How do you know about Duran Duran? They were big way before you were even born.

- So? You can discover any kind of music now on YouTube.  A friend of mine posted the video on Twitter, I clicked on it and got hooked. Why?

- Well, darling, there's something you should know about me and Duran Duran.

- Don't tell me; you were a huge fan of them in the 80's, weren't you?

- Kind of.  Actually, I worked for them.

- Shut up, mom! shut up! That can't be true! - she exclaimed in disbelief

- It is honey.  They were my first job. I was their marketing assistant from 1982 to 1983.

- I don't believe it, this is too good to be true.

- Fine, I'll show you.

I kept an album from those years with a lot of pictures. There were pictures of Sri Lanka, of the times we hung up at clubs, romantic pictures of me with Nick and Simon... Kassidy's mouth was almost on the floor.

- OMG, mom! This is amazing! Did you date any of them?

- Yes, I dated Nick and then Simon.

- Two of them? You are my hero!

- I also had a thing with John.

- OMG! John! That's the one I like! Mom, you got to help me meet them.

- Honey, you do realize they are all in their 50's now right? They don't look like that anymore.

- And? I don't care, I want to meet them. Actually, we should go see them in concert. They are going to be playing in Vegas in February.

I panicked a little. I haven't seen Duran Duran in person since 1983. I didn't even know how they look like now and I was nervous about the thought of meeting Simon again.  But, I think it was about time I faced the "demons" of my past and I also wanted to make Kassidy happy so, I bought the concert tickets and even reserved 2 nights for us in  The Cosmopolitan Hotel.