Great article, Wendy! Make sure you share it in our FB group! You’ve inspired me to write some J17-based stories now! We must get going on that script too!
What a great piece. Just Seventeen and Smash Hits were my bibles for so long when I was a teenager. I never met any of my favourite bands and I am quite glad in retrospect. Poor Freddie x
Thanks, Katy. Good to know you were a reader. Such good memories of working on Just Seventeen. And we were in the same building as Smash Hits. Lots of overlaps! Interesting times to look back on.
Oh what a story Wendy. Thanks for sharing. There is much you see in hindsight. The reporting of AIDS at the time was horrific so you can only imagine what he was going through.
Thank you, Margaret. Yes, researching this piece cast a new light on everything. And yes, I wonder what Estelle and Helen think, looking back on it now. Maybe they'll see this piece! It was a brilliant prize – a whole fun weekend laid on for them – so I hope they're over the disappointment of not meeting Freddie.
What a great read. I aim to read as many of your articles as I can, as I haven't gotten any deeper the titles on your Stack so far..very compelling. And, "Fire". Yeah girl...I was so thrilled and surprised to see that you included Arthur Brown's classic in this piece. We may be sisters from another mother, as I linked to the same song in one of my stories. Who does that? Reading your story this morning has brightened my day.
Thank you, Ellen. Sisters from another mother! I love that we have the Arthur Brown track in common. I watched that Top of the Pops video several times while writing this piece. Kudos to my grandparents that they didn’t turn the telly off in 1968!
Happy reading! I’ve just found your own piece where you mention Arthur Brown!
It's so interesting reading your stories from those days, Wendy. Magazines like Smash Hits and Dolly (Australia) were a vital part of my teen years in the 80s. I was lucky enough to go to many live concerts. Elton John, Phil Collins, Howard Jones and Michael Jackson were standouts. I never got to meet any of them, but my sister and I thought we were following Phil Collins' limo (we weren't). Exciting times.
Thanks, Ofifoto. Of those, I met Howard Jones at his Sheffield concert! And Jermaine Jackson, but not his more famous brother (though that was all he talked about!).
Oh, that’s a shame it wasn’t the real Phil Collins. Darn.
Thank you, Keris. Absolutely! I remember when Freddie Mercury died, and of course he was older than me, so I didn’t clock how young he was. Now, I think, wait? What? Only 45?! That is properly tragic.
I love how you’ve written this with diary, write up, and reflection. It makes for a powerful and intimate story. So many were lost in those years. There were conversations I wish I could have had with friends no longer here. Thank you for sharing this.
Great reflection, especially to look back and see how hiv/aids were portrayed back then. I’m shocked about the competition , that was really fascinating ! It’s crazy isn’t it. Love how you were the girls chaperone.
It was a bit of a jaw-dropper, re-reading that competition wording.
I also thought it was funny that the girls got more "star treatment", post-show of the 42nd Street musical than they did at the Queen concert. Go Frankie Vaughan! They probably had no idea who he was!
I think it's often better not to meet your heroes anyway. I was a massive Hole fan (I still love them but not in the same way I did as a teenager) and about 15 years ago I ended up in Courtney Love's hotel suite in London with her and a bunch of other people. Because it was a large suite I managed to totally avoid interacting with her, I didn't want to be rude but I also didn't want a real life interaction to ruin listening to some of my favourite albums of all time.
I was not a massive Freddie fan at the time, but really felt for the competition winners, who were. I am more of a fan in retrospect. I appreciate how awesome they were. And how amazing Freddie was. That concert clip of him singing Who Wants To Live Forever brings me to tears.
What a wonderful experience, Wendy, for you and the young girls. Yes, now it’s so much easier to understand the possible reasons for Freddie’s behaviour. A great piece, thank you for the memories it recreates.
You took us along with you, Wendy, on the contest journey, the concert journey, and your writing journey….but most of all, you took us on your journey from annoyance at Freddy’s behavior to understanding. It is not easy to write compassion.
Thank you, Audrey. It was literally between writing the first and second drafts of this piece, when I was reading around the subject, that it dawned. I hadn't known much about the timeline before.
Great article, Wendy! Make sure you share it in our FB group! You’ve inspired me to write some J17-based stories now! We must get going on that script too!
Thanks, Jacqui! I've just shared it on the Just Seventeen facebook page.
What a great piece. Just Seventeen and Smash Hits were my bibles for so long when I was a teenager. I never met any of my favourite bands and I am quite glad in retrospect. Poor Freddie x
Thanks, Katy. Good to know you were a reader. Such good memories of working on Just Seventeen. And we were in the same building as Smash Hits. Lots of overlaps! Interesting times to look back on.
I thought Debbie was going to be Freddie in disguise!
Haha, that would have been a twist!
Oh what a story Wendy. Thanks for sharing. There is much you see in hindsight. The reporting of AIDS at the time was horrific so you can only imagine what he was going through.
I wonder what the girls think now?
Thank you, Margaret. Yes, researching this piece cast a new light on everything. And yes, I wonder what Estelle and Helen think, looking back on it now. Maybe they'll see this piece! It was a brilliant prize – a whole fun weekend laid on for them – so I hope they're over the disappointment of not meeting Freddie.
I bet they have incredible memories of it.
What a great read. I aim to read as many of your articles as I can, as I haven't gotten any deeper the titles on your Stack so far..very compelling. And, "Fire". Yeah girl...I was so thrilled and surprised to see that you included Arthur Brown's classic in this piece. We may be sisters from another mother, as I linked to the same song in one of my stories. Who does that? Reading your story this morning has brightened my day.
Thank you, Ellen. Sisters from another mother! I love that we have the Arthur Brown track in common. I watched that Top of the Pops video several times while writing this piece. Kudos to my grandparents that they didn’t turn the telly off in 1968!
Happy reading! I’ve just found your own piece where you mention Arthur Brown!
Wow. This is terrific.
Thanks, Richard! Glad you enjoyed it.
Shedding new light on a story with some other insights from the teachings of time!
That's so enlightening!
I love this piece and Freddie Mercury too ^^
Thank you, Lise! I love your phrase "insights from the teachings of time". That puts it really well.
It's so interesting reading your stories from those days, Wendy. Magazines like Smash Hits and Dolly (Australia) were a vital part of my teen years in the 80s. I was lucky enough to go to many live concerts. Elton John, Phil Collins, Howard Jones and Michael Jackson were standouts. I never got to meet any of them, but my sister and I thought we were following Phil Collins' limo (we weren't). Exciting times.
Thanks, Ofifoto. Of those, I met Howard Jones at his Sheffield concert! And Jermaine Jackson, but not his more famous brother (though that was all he talked about!).
Oh, that’s a shame it wasn’t the real Phil Collins. Darn.
Oh, I would love to have met him, and Nik Kershaw. *fangirl heart swell
This was a fascinating read. And I’m never not shocked that Freddie was only 45 when he died.
Thank you, Keris. Absolutely! I remember when Freddie Mercury died, and of course he was older than me, so I didn’t clock how young he was. Now, I think, wait? What? Only 45?! That is properly tragic.
Great stuff !
Really shows how different things were then...You couldnt just text Where R U ?
Great story :)
Thank you! Yes - How to find a needle in a haystack in 1986!
I love how you’ve written this with diary, write up, and reflection. It makes for a powerful and intimate story. So many were lost in those years. There were conversations I wish I could have had with friends no longer here. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you, Mike. Sorry you lost people. It’s strange and sad to look back and realise how much was being hidden, how much shame was still around.
Wow ! Love that Wendy , what an incredible story.
Thank you, Francis! It’s really good to share these memories and see what new light is cast on them after nearly forty years.
Great reflection, especially to look back and see how hiv/aids were portrayed back then. I’m shocked about the competition , that was really fascinating ! It’s crazy isn’t it. Love how you were the girls chaperone.
It was a bit of a jaw-dropper, re-reading that competition wording.
I also thought it was funny that the girls got more "star treatment", post-show of the 42nd Street musical than they did at the Queen concert. Go Frankie Vaughan! They probably had no idea who he was!
Excellent piece Wendy.
I think it's often better not to meet your heroes anyway. I was a massive Hole fan (I still love them but not in the same way I did as a teenager) and about 15 years ago I ended up in Courtney Love's hotel suite in London with her and a bunch of other people. Because it was a large suite I managed to totally avoid interacting with her, I didn't want to be rude but I also didn't want a real life interaction to ruin listening to some of my favourite albums of all time.
I saw them headline IW Festival in 2016, with Adam Lambert. Still great musicians, but you couldn’t compare him to Freddie.
Thanks, Sarah. Wise advice, I think!
I was not a massive Freddie fan at the time, but really felt for the competition winners, who were. I am more of a fan in retrospect. I appreciate how awesome they were. And how amazing Freddie was. That concert clip of him singing Who Wants To Live Forever brings me to tears.
What a wonderful experience, Wendy, for you and the young girls. Yes, now it’s so much easier to understand the possible reasons for Freddie’s behaviour. A great piece, thank you for the memories it recreates.
Thank you, Maureen.
Great piece!
Thank you, Rosie!
You took us along with you, Wendy, on the contest journey, the concert journey, and your writing journey….but most of all, you took us on your journey from annoyance at Freddy’s behavior to understanding. It is not easy to write compassion.
Thank you, Audrey. It was literally between writing the first and second drafts of this piece, when I was reading around the subject, that it dawned. I hadn't known much about the timeline before.