I can't wait to listen to the Youtube links. This story made me incredibly sad. Those first loves are everything. I still have my first love in my heart as well. He is still alive and very married to a horrible catholic woman. And me? I live in the USA with a dog, a cat and my boyfriend of 8 years who, it seems, will never marry me. What a relief that is! I am so sorry you lost Terry. I would love to hang out with Yoko and meditate. What great stories your life has. Love, Lizzie
I did have some astonishing moments. Funny, I did not know who Yoko was when I chatted with her. It was only later, when John Lennon came over to speak to her that I saw they were an 'item'. Later, seeing her attacked for being the 'other woman' I felt very sorry for her. She was so gentle and sweet with me, a nosy teenager!
This is a very touching entry regarding Terry. His death almost certainly changed the trajectory of your young life. There's something about him that feels so in the moment and yet futureless and it is like you picked up on this independent energy from him. I think unexpected deaths especially of the young force upheavel and change from within. Thank you for writing about it. It's not a life lived in vain...
Hi Fran, your writing skills are so good I am feeling inadequate . As you know, I am trying to write my story. I have all the factual stuff, time line and desire to make my attempt readable. Filling in with "feeings" and "atmosphere" escape me entirely. You are inspirational,
I really don't want you to feel inadequate, Peggy! You have your own special skills and I have mine.
Ooh speaking of which.... I am buying a new swimsuit and enrolling at the local gym in an effort to get some sort of fitness back. I hope you will come back to England next summer and we can do our canal trip. That would be fantastic, especially if I can actually walk about a bit by then!
So many people have said that my life story in general would make a great film or series. That is such a huge compliment to my writing, really it is.
Who knows what will happen? I just wanted to write for my grandchildren at first but as it developed I realised that they would have to wait to read it until they are adults. It is such a roller coaster - too much for kiddies!
What a poignant story, Frances. You write beautifully. I don't want to jump ahead in the autobiography, I want it serialized so I can absorb and treasure each element. And listen to Frampton who I haven't heard in decades!
This episode pre-dates the serialised Autobiography. After completing the book I suddenly realised that there were a number of major events which I had neglected to include. So I have written them up as supplementary chapters which I have added onto the end of the Autobio links list which you can find in the pinned comment above.
Quite amazing, Frances...Took a bit; but you rose from the ashes and ventured into the world to become what you are. Odd...How so much in life always seems to revolve around a tragedy; as key to suddenly beginning to see and learn OR results with one remaining trapped for life at the maturity of the moment of the occurence of heart-rendering loss.
Am I missing something here...That for a bit you became a 'Groupie'? Hanging with all the musicians at just the right time in London for the transformation with the Global Cultural Revolution which is probably more accurately identified as 'Subversion'? Spent a bit of time at 17 yrs. in the same way...JUST HANGING WITH THE MUSICIANS. Learned a lot of about real life and while fun...I don't regret going on to University and into a more traditional path of life. YOU'RE A SUPREMELY INTERESTING PERSON.
No. I was much too young to be a groupie. I was simply a regular at the Marquee Club, as were the people I named. We were all teenagers then, they were not famous.
My idea of a 'Groupie' is what it was at the time...To hang at the Club with all the muscians and regular crowd defined by those simply showing up regularly. That is what I meant...Not the women travelling around with them and providing all kinds of bennies best left unmentioned. Yes...Aerosmith, Little River Band out of Australia, Bob Seager, Crosby/Stills/Nash/Young...Hung with a few of the names and don't regret knowing those people as they added a dimension to life helping to seed creativity in new directions.
My Mom said it was good to know other kinds of people in the world and she, herself, was a popular musician with the 'Tea and Crumpets Crowd' with Piano and after shows she played with the Jazz and Blues Bands going through Chicago. For Farm kids insulated from the happenings of cities...She thought it expanded understanding of the world. That's the connection for me.
Didn't mean to insult, if that's how what I wrote sounded. If so, forgive me.
Hanging out back stage is not exactly audience...And, it isn't what we now know the 'Groupies' at the time to have been. Odd, never knew what was really going on as when one is too young to know one is too young to know. I now wonder how many of those young people were molested as children since they so sexually knowing at such young ages.
OK. Look. The people I named were teenagers like me. They only got to play after they begged for a chance. There was no 'back stage' at the Marquee Club in Wardour Street. We were the AUDIENCE for big bands like Gladys Knight and the Pips or Fleetwood Mac or Led Zeppelin.
Phil Collins was the same age as me. Peter Frampton was one year older. The Who members were not more than 17 at the time. David Bowie was an art student who dressed a bit girlie and everyone took the piss out of....
NOW do you get the correct picture? We were kids in the audience and some of us went on to become musicians LATER.
Oh-h-h, I get it. For us, Mom was the adult and the others were adults. We were the young teens in the back with Great-Grandma waiting, worshiping and glorifying in the musicians already making it.
Slightly different and still contributing to a very rich life of experience and networking making us all what we've become. It's wonderful. Am so glad you had that after such tragedy...Similar to what my youngest daughter and one of my sisters has known. Accidental Death can be devastating for such young people and it's a good thing you rose from it with a bit of help from some friends.
Wow. Just...I want to leave a comment but your story has left me speechless. Thank you for sharing these life-changing events and experiences that shaped you into the warrior woman you are. ❤️
I love your stories so much, Frances! This one is particularly poignant. What a huge loss you endured at such a tender age. Thank you for sharing. Have always loved "Hey Jude." XO
After rehearsing Hey Jude 15 times I was sick of the sound of the damn thing! I was amazed when it shot up the music charts and even stayed high in the USA for months!
One thing - I would be one rich bitch right now if we had been paid just one penny per use of our recording! lol
He was totally disinterested in school but was actually extremely smart. I loved him a lot. Our teachers found him very annoying! I thought he had enormous potential because he could fix things, build things and had the daftest sense of humour (usually at my expense!)
I keep bitching about my childhood, but moments like reading this is what helps me to put it all into perspective. I had hardship, but life spared me the big traumas until I was able the handle it.
Wow. The first post, Abortion, is shocking. Living through such dangerous times it is a miracle you and your mother survived at all. I was also surprised that you had a Substack account in 2013! I didn't know that this platform existed until 2021!
It is a great shame that I could not comment on the post itself, due to the settings being open to comments from paying subscribers only.
Not to worry. I found the post enlightening and so I moved onto the next post on your list....
I moved to Substack only last April. I migrated the content of my Wordpress blog that I started in 2012. My very first post with an Xray of my broken clavicle was also very personal 😊
saying that you cannot comment is strange, as I did not yet turn on the paying option (and I won't until I hit 1K subscribers. Thanks for letting me know, I will try to find out what's happening
Yes, it certainly was. It damaged me profoundly and it was very hard to understand why it had happened to such a popular, fun-loving person before he had time to mature. I was devastated, as were his entire family. One of his sisters never came back to school and after I moved away to the other side of Romford I never saw any of our old friends again.
I have seldom spoken about the events around that and writing this was very raw but cathartic. Thanks for following along, Diane xx
You can read all the episodes of my autobiography here:
https://francesleader.substack.com/p/my-autobiography
I can't wait to listen to the Youtube links. This story made me incredibly sad. Those first loves are everything. I still have my first love in my heart as well. He is still alive and very married to a horrible catholic woman. And me? I live in the USA with a dog, a cat and my boyfriend of 8 years who, it seems, will never marry me. What a relief that is! I am so sorry you lost Terry. I would love to hang out with Yoko and meditate. What great stories your life has. Love, Lizzie
I did have some astonishing moments. Funny, I did not know who Yoko was when I chatted with her. It was only later, when John Lennon came over to speak to her that I saw they were an 'item'. Later, seeing her attacked for being the 'other woman' I felt very sorry for her. She was so gentle and sweet with me, a nosy teenager!
This is a very touching entry regarding Terry. His death almost certainly changed the trajectory of your young life. There's something about him that feels so in the moment and yet futureless and it is like you picked up on this independent energy from him. I think unexpected deaths especially of the young force upheavel and change from within. Thank you for writing about it. It's not a life lived in vain...
Hi Fran, your writing skills are so good I am feeling inadequate . As you know, I am trying to write my story. I have all the factual stuff, time line and desire to make my attempt readable. Filling in with "feeings" and "atmosphere" escape me entirely. You are inspirational,
I really don't want you to feel inadequate, Peggy! You have your own special skills and I have mine.
Ooh speaking of which.... I am buying a new swimsuit and enrolling at the local gym in an effort to get some sort of fitness back. I hope you will come back to England next summer and we can do our canal trip. That would be fantastic, especially if I can actually walk about a bit by then!
Just this chapter in your life would make an incredible film!
So many people have said that my life story in general would make a great film or series. That is such a huge compliment to my writing, really it is.
Who knows what will happen? I just wanted to write for my grandchildren at first but as it developed I realised that they would have to wait to read it until they are adults. It is such a roller coaster - too much for kiddies!
What a poignant story, Frances. You write beautifully. I don't want to jump ahead in the autobiography, I want it serialized so I can absorb and treasure each element. And listen to Frampton who I haven't heard in decades!
This episode pre-dates the serialised Autobiography. After completing the book I suddenly realised that there were a number of major events which I had neglected to include. So I have written them up as supplementary chapters which I have added onto the end of the Autobio links list which you can find in the pinned comment above.
Very sad ,! But you were a wild child !
It was sad, that is true. I think I was only as wild as the city I grew up in.... if you were not a bit wild you were not going to survive it.
Quite amazing, Frances...Took a bit; but you rose from the ashes and ventured into the world to become what you are. Odd...How so much in life always seems to revolve around a tragedy; as key to suddenly beginning to see and learn OR results with one remaining trapped for life at the maturity of the moment of the occurence of heart-rendering loss.
Am I missing something here...That for a bit you became a 'Groupie'? Hanging with all the musicians at just the right time in London for the transformation with the Global Cultural Revolution which is probably more accurately identified as 'Subversion'? Spent a bit of time at 17 yrs. in the same way...JUST HANGING WITH THE MUSICIANS. Learned a lot of about real life and while fun...I don't regret going on to University and into a more traditional path of life. YOU'RE A SUPREMELY INTERESTING PERSON.
No. I was much too young to be a groupie. I was simply a regular at the Marquee Club, as were the people I named. We were all teenagers then, they were not famous.
My idea of a 'Groupie' is what it was at the time...To hang at the Club with all the muscians and regular crowd defined by those simply showing up regularly. That is what I meant...Not the women travelling around with them and providing all kinds of bennies best left unmentioned. Yes...Aerosmith, Little River Band out of Australia, Bob Seager, Crosby/Stills/Nash/Young...Hung with a few of the names and don't regret knowing those people as they added a dimension to life helping to seed creativity in new directions.
My Mom said it was good to know other kinds of people in the world and she, herself, was a popular musician with the 'Tea and Crumpets Crowd' with Piano and after shows she played with the Jazz and Blues Bands going through Chicago. For Farm kids insulated from the happenings of cities...She thought it expanded understanding of the world. That's the connection for me.
Didn't mean to insult, if that's how what I wrote sounded. If so, forgive me.
I am not offended. However there is a big difference between a groupie and a member of the audience.
Hanging out back stage is not exactly audience...And, it isn't what we now know the 'Groupies' at the time to have been. Odd, never knew what was really going on as when one is too young to know one is too young to know. I now wonder how many of those young people were molested as children since they so sexually knowing at such young ages.
OK. Look. The people I named were teenagers like me. They only got to play after they begged for a chance. There was no 'back stage' at the Marquee Club in Wardour Street. We were the AUDIENCE for big bands like Gladys Knight and the Pips or Fleetwood Mac or Led Zeppelin.
Phil Collins was the same age as me. Peter Frampton was one year older. The Who members were not more than 17 at the time. David Bowie was an art student who dressed a bit girlie and everyone took the piss out of....
NOW do you get the correct picture? We were kids in the audience and some of us went on to become musicians LATER.
Oh-h-h, I get it. For us, Mom was the adult and the others were adults. We were the young teens in the back with Great-Grandma waiting, worshiping and glorifying in the musicians already making it.
Slightly different and still contributing to a very rich life of experience and networking making us all what we've become. It's wonderful. Am so glad you had that after such tragedy...Similar to what my youngest daughter and one of my sisters has known. Accidental Death can be devastating for such young people and it's a good thing you rose from it with a bit of help from some friends.
Wow. Just...I want to leave a comment but your story has left me speechless. Thank you for sharing these life-changing events and experiences that shaped you into the warrior woman you are. ❤️
I love your stories so much, Frances! This one is particularly poignant. What a huge loss you endured at such a tender age. Thank you for sharing. Have always loved "Hey Jude." XO
After rehearsing Hey Jude 15 times I was sick of the sound of the damn thing! I was amazed when it shot up the music charts and even stayed high in the USA for months!
One thing - I would be one rich bitch right now if we had been paid just one penny per use of our recording! lol
Captivating! I read this out loud to my dad.
You learned a lot of hard stuff very young, my dear pal. That Terry sounds like quite a guy... I bet he loves this post, too. ^_^
xo xo
He was totally disinterested in school but was actually extremely smart. I loved him a lot. Our teachers found him very annoying! I thought he had enormous potential because he could fix things, build things and had the daftest sense of humour (usually at my expense!)
He sounds like ME, lolololol. But mai fur is not curly in any way-- straighter than an arrow pointing at a Squirrel Rally...
I keep bitching about my childhood, but moments like reading this is what helps me to put it all into perspective. I had hardship, but life spared me the big traumas until I was able the handle it.
Tell your stories! I write to inspire my readers to open up! 😉
Thank you Frances, I am doing that already 😉
...... and I will dive deeper as time goes on. I take my tag-line: 'politics is personal' quite seriously. To get a taste, try looking at:
https://zorkthehun.substack.com/p/abortion
https://zorkthehun.substack.com/p/my-story-finally and my book review of the collector
https://zorkthehun.substack.com/cp/139134864
Wow. The first post, Abortion, is shocking. Living through such dangerous times it is a miracle you and your mother survived at all. I was also surprised that you had a Substack account in 2013! I didn't know that this platform existed until 2021!
It is a great shame that I could not comment on the post itself, due to the settings being open to comments from paying subscribers only.
Not to worry. I found the post enlightening and so I moved onto the next post on your list....
I figured out what happened!
Nobody (but I) can comment on my imported posts! Arrrrggghh!
I moved to Substack only last April. I migrated the content of my Wordpress blog that I started in 2012. My very first post with an Xray of my broken clavicle was also very personal 😊
saying that you cannot comment is strange, as I did not yet turn on the paying option (and I won't until I hit 1K subscribers. Thanks for letting me know, I will try to find out what's happening
This is so deeply touching. Thank you for sharing. 🤗
Wow! What a traumatic childhood event. Thanks for sharing.
Yes, it certainly was. It damaged me profoundly and it was very hard to understand why it had happened to such a popular, fun-loving person before he had time to mature. I was devastated, as were his entire family. One of his sisters never came back to school and after I moved away to the other side of Romford I never saw any of our old friends again.
I have seldom spoken about the events around that and writing this was very raw but cathartic. Thanks for following along, Diane xx
I'm glad you experienced writing about it as cathartic, Frances. It can be so difficult trying to heal from these experiences.
💔
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Incredible story teller. I am always fascinated , and more and more intrigued by you and your life. You have the ability to bring forth every emotion.
Love to pour through your words! You write in such an easy style to get lost in.
Thank you for sharing. ❤️
You are very welcome! I am so glad you like my work! xx