It was the morning after your gig in St. Helens. The weather was cold, wet, and windy, but Freddie was a bright spot on such a dreary day. He still hadn't entirely come down from the night before, there was too much energy about him. It seemed as though any second he'd burst into song, and sometimes he did. There was something about the way his voice resinated with the frigid air that made the world seem so much clearer. He made the drab days truly beautiful.
At the moment you were off to the train station. You'd traveled to Liverpool from St. Helens and stopped along the way to collect a few things from Geoff's place on Penny Lane—stuff for the the Kensington Market stall and whatnot. Ken had been caught up with school work at the local college and couldn't exactly act as Freddie's and the band's go-to chauffeur. Besides, much of Ibex had decided to stay up north and so it was only Freddie and you returning to Kensington.
Freddie strutted down the street in his grandiose fur coat, it seemed a bit bigger on him in the cold—the sort of way a cat's fur looks when it's frightened. Every step he took in those boots of his was one taken with more confidence than one might believe any human could muster. This was Freddie, he wasn't about to let anyone stand in the way of where he was going. Of course, he was also very reserved about his gait as well. Yes every step was prideful, but you never got the sense he was taking anything away from the world. He simply seemed to glide smoothly through it, even with a touch of flare.
You arrived at the Lime Street Station at just about eleven. The London train wouldn't be leaving until noon, so you had awhile to relax. The wind was absolutely frightful but just over its whine you and Freddie heard the faint sounds of guitar strings. This peaked Freddie's interest and he went to search out the source of the sound. It was a crowded morning at the train station, everyone going this way and that. Finding the mysterious guitar player was proving nearly impossible, but Freddie was good at the impossible.
As fate would have it, it was Al, Phil, and Ralph. All three of them were huddled up in the cold playing a bit of music for money. Al was singing, Phil was playing the guitar, and Ralph was sort of just taking it all in. You still had a sort of animosity towards Ralph, after what he said about Freddie at The Sink behind his back. He seemed a little less put off by Freddie now, maybe even a little more optimistic about Freddie's path in life, but still you were rather bothered by him.
Freddie was absolutely delighted to be among friends, he considered practically everyone he'd ever met to be his friend.
"Hiya!" you greeted them pleasantly and they smiled, brightening up from the blue sort of hue the cold gave them.
Freddie was very quick to slide in his introduction, he clasped Al's hand and shook it politely. Then he patted him on the shoulder, "Great to see you guys again!" he started off all excited, "Do you remember me? We met before the Sink Club in a pup. I was with Tupp and the rest of the band".
Possibly it was a sign of Freddie's modesty that he always seemed to feel like once someone's met him, he could even be forgotten. As anyone who knows him is aware, it's impossible to forget someone like him.
"Yes of course Freddie!" said Al, standing up and brushing off a bit of the invisible debris that the wind had thrust upon him over time, "How could I ever possibly forget?"
Freddie smiled, feeling pleased. It was times like these were his confidence really blossomed, "Guys, you look absolutely freezing. Come on, let's grab a drink. Y/n and I have got an hour before the London train and we'd love to have you along".
You smiled, funny how Freddie has a way of turning every interaction with friends into a get together. You never minded, it was always very sweet of him. He seemed to rather enjoy it as well.
The boys didn't need any convincing—it was bloody cold outside! Apparently they'd been out there for hours playing away, hurriedly trying to make enough money for the train ride home. Alcohol, however, proved more of a necessity it seemed then a train ticket back. Ralph insisted on paying for yours and Freddie's drinks, maybe a sort of apology. Being nearly entirely broke yourselves, you and Freddie didn't seem to mind too much.
You settled into the back corner of a small pub in the station. Ralph went up to the bar with his hat filled with today's earnings and bought a round of drinks for everyone. Whiskies for the four of you and a gin and tonic for Freddie.
"Thought you were in London man," starts Ralph as he comes back to the table, "What are you doing up here?"
"Just came back from a gig at St. Helens Technical," answered Freddie, "Oh and stopped by Geoff Higgins' place on Penny Lane for a few things".
"Yeah, he and Roger have been stocking up on anything they can for that stall of theirs," you added, leaning on Freddie a bit. He felt toasty on this chilly morning.
"I've been down there," replied Al, taking a swig of his whisky and leaning back in his chair, "But you never seem to be around"
"Oh you know, things to do, audiences to entertain," Freddie said, brushing it off like it was a compliment. Al laughed, "So what about you guys?"
"We're testing the waters, getting ready to move on from the blues," replied Ralph, swirling his glass, "It's all changing. Blues is finished up here".
"Yeah," started in Al, "You've always got to be one step ahead if you're gonna make it in the music business. We're writing our own stuff too," Freddie listened along intently, "Sort of progressive folk things. Neil Young, James Taylor. We intend to make it big".
Freddie looks rather surprised but definitely was keen. You can see the sparkle shine brighter in his eye whenever he gets into conversations about music, "I've heard of them. Haven't we got a Neil Young album hanging around the flat y/n?"
"Somewhere I thought I saw one—'Everybody'-something, I think it's Tupp's" you replied.
"That's the one, thank you dear," answered Freddie with a smile, "So what are your songs about then," Freddie asked, using his tonic to point back to their conversation and taking a swig.
Al and Phil look at each other a moment and Ralph then chipped in, "They're about home. You know, the need to go back and re-engage with your roots and realize what part of the place has played in the development of your character and your life".
You took intrigue on this bit. Part of you thought to yourself, what in your roots made you such an ass Ralph, but you knew you were on the way to forgiving him and not back sliding. This also made you think a bit about your roots. You sort of slipped into a daydream a moment while the conversation continued.
"Hey Fred, We looked Zanzibar up on a map back in the college. Cool place," said Al as you fell back into attention, "You must miss it at times".
"I've got lots of happy memories there," said Freddie, his eyes light up the gloom of the station bar room. He'd been talking about Zanzibar a lot lately it seemed, "Different place to London. Love to go back sometime. Maybe when I'm famous," he laughed at the idea of it, him famous.
"Do you miss America, y/n?" asked Phil, taking you a little by surprise but you were already on the subject in your head.
"Yeah I miss it sometimes," you replied, Freddie's attention turned to your emotion for a minute. You sat there thinking about it and then spoke, "The air, the way sunshine seemed to almost have a smell on cold mornings. I miss the bright green hills of grass in the spring and the way they turned a near-amber in the summertime. And my family too," you stopped. Freddie gripped your hand and gently rubbed his thumb on your palm to comfort you. You shook your head, "But I'm very happy to be here, with Freddie, and with London. Like Freddie said, different place, London. The music alone—my god".
You all sit in silence a moment.
"Freddie?" starts Phil, "Don't I remember you telling me you were in a band as a boy?"
"Oh The Hectics!" Freddie claps his hands together, clearly jazzed. You had put yourself back together plenty and smiled. You enjoyed sing him on the upswing again, "Bruce, Ferrang, Derrick, Victory, and I used to spend hours listening to the radio trying to copy songs and play them. I loved Little Richard, Fats Domino, and Cliff Richard. We used to know all their songs," Freddie daydreamed about that a moment and suddenly he appeared to have an idea.
Quickly he gulped down the rest of his gin and tonic and slammed it back down on the table—maybe a little too hard. He blushed a little and then shook it off, "Listen, y/n and I have got plenty of time before the train goes, why don't we go back out there and do a song together? It'll take me back to St. Peter's," the rest of the group appeared to like the idea, "Do you know any Little Richard?"
"That's a great idea, Freddie," said Ralph, "We can do 'Whole Lotta Shakin', can't we, Phil. It's just G, C, and D—or somethingrather. Same chords as 'Roll Over Beethoven' I think," he got up, took a final sip and set down his glass. The rest of the group did the same, "Come on, let's go for it".
"What am I playing?" asked Al as he put back on his coat, he usually the singer.
Freddie flipped back on his fur coat and stood tall, fixing his pants, "You're on drums".
"And me?" you ask him, he's got a fire in his eyes as he looks at you.
"Why, you're my dance partner," he winks, sending chills through you as suddenly the whole lot of you scramble out of the bar.
Freddie takes you by the hand, and you're flung across the floor, laughing smiling all the way. You headed back towards the concourse and Freddie picked up a large rubbish bin. He emptied out the contents onto the station floor, not a care in the world, and set it in front of Al. The whole station was absolutely bustling with people all around. Shoppers came around off Lime Street had crowded up the area. It's stopped raining and slowly but surely the sun seemed to be coming out.
"Okay," starts Freddie, "I'll take the lead and you guys follow. Just play the single chords intro, follow my prompts, and we'll let it rock from there," suddenly he takes the hat off Ralph, places it on his own head, and takes you out among the crowd, "You ready?" he whispers to you excitedly.
"Ready," you state, reflecting back his same fiery smile.
"Ready boys!" he shouts, "and 1, 2, 3, 4!"
And they were off to the races. Phil played the first few chords and before you knew it, Freddie joined in, being sure to direct them with care. He grabbed you by the hand and danced about with you, attracting the attention of most everyone in the crowd near by.
"I said come on over baby
A whole lotta shakin' goin' on
Yeah I said come on over baby
A whole lotta shakin' goin' on"
He spun you around, the station lights reflecting through the hairs on his fur coat and mirroring the glow of his brown eyes.
"Well we ain't fakin', a whole lotta shakin' goin' on"
He let you go for a second as you twirled and swiftly tossed the hat off his head, letting it land in front of Ralph. The masses of shoppers and traingoers halted all at once to see the show. His effect was absolutely startling. Ralph, Al, and Phil stand in the back desperately trying to keep time with Freddie, but the audience is far too enthralled with Freddie's performance to really care how good the music is.
"Mmm, I said come on over baby
We got chickens in the barn
Whose barn, what barn, my barn"
You both twisted back and forth, smiling in front of the growing crowd. As if by some miracle of a god obsessed with the theatrics of the show, the clouds parted and began to show the sun. Freddie's audience began clapping and tapping their shopping bags in perfect time with his vocals. His crisp voice still resonating perfectly with the cool air, causing the world to take on a crystalline form.
" I said come on over baby
We got the bull by the horns
Yeah, we ain't fakin'
A whole lotta shakin' goin' on"
Al continues to beat the rubbish bin and Phil plays the guitar with a bit more bounce as they really get into the swing of things. Everyone now is smiling wide. A few people even begin dancing along with you and Freddie.
"Well, I said shake baby, shake
I said shake, baby shake now
I said shake it baby, shake
I said shake it baby, shake
We ain't fakin'
A whole lotta shakin' goin' on!"
Freddie is on a roll, everyone is on a roll. It seems like nearly everyone in the station was clapping along now, even the station master came out a moment. Freddie and you sway together, playing off one another, you even begin to sing along with him—being sure not to sing loud enough for others to hear, this was Freddie's time.
"Well, I said come on over baby
A whole lotta shakin' goin' on
I said come on over baby
A whole lotta shakin' goin' on
We ain't fakin'
A whole lotta shakin' goin' on"
Freddie makes his way further into the crowd, twirling around a group of grannies. They seem to be having an absolute ball. He invites them to 'shake it' and one actually does! You can't stop laughing and smiling at this point. One granny takes him up on his offer and then does so almost so obscenely that her tights begin to wrinkle and start to slip a bit! Freddie then leaves the grannies for some middle aged women, and within the knick of time he's got them bumping bottoms—sending the crowd absolutely wild.
"Well my mom-mom-mom
I said shake baby, shake
I said shake baby, shake it
I said shake baby, shake all right
I said shake baby, shake
We ain't fakin'
A whole lotta shakin' goin' on"
This was absolutely insane, but you were loving the absurdity. It seemed too impossibly unreal to be true, but there it all was right in front of you. It was almost straight out of a movie. You then heard honking from the street, taxi cabs had stopped off to join in on the fun. Cabbies were out dancing and honking their horns, one nearly choking on his cigarette as he did.
"Keep it comin' boys!" Freddie called out to Phil, Al, and Ralph, who had the faces of complete disbelief.
"Well, I said come on over baby
A whole lotta shakin' goin' on
I said come on over baby
A whole lotta shakin' goin' on
We ain't fakin'
A whole lotta shakin' goin' on"
The boys pick up the pace and the commotion grows louder and louder—so much so that two police men have showed up. The officers, though holding back a little, join in on the fun. They tap along to the beat and are all smiles. Freddie's back to dancing with you, he's got you by the hand. His entire world in your hand and your entire world in his.
"I said shake baby, shake
I said shake, baby shake now
I said shake it baby, shake uh huh
I said shake it baby, shake, bop bop
We ain't fakin'
A whole lotta shakin' goin' on!"
Freddie's turned the whole concourse into a dance hall. Everyone is dancing. Strangers grabbing each other by the hand, grannies who probably haven't danced in years giggling like teenagers. Never in your life had you ever seen something so utterly fantastic. The hat is bulging with coins and people continue to throw in more and more, letting them hit the pavement in front of you all.
The chorus ran through quite a few more times and you all danced. This was dancing like no one had ever danced before. You didn't want it to end. Never in your life had you seen so much joy. But sadly all things do come to an end, thank god it was a good one.
Freddie turned around just before the last notes, conducting Phil, Al, and Ralph. He nodded at each of them and orchestrated the grande finale. With the last note he turned back to the audience and struck a classic Freddie stage pose, leaving the audience floating.
A rapturous cheer was sent through the crowd. There were shouts of 'More, more!" and people came and dropped more coins in Ralph's hat. One of the cabbies even came over and gave Freddie ten shillings and shook his hand. Freddie was beyond elated. You'd never seen quite so wide a smile on his face.
He pulled you into him, dipping you down into the most wonderful kiss. The audience cheered once more. You felt like a star, you couldn't even imagine what Freddie must be feeling. There was just so much happiness in the air, you couldn't even feel the cold anymore. You and Freddie finally broke free and he stared into your eyes a brief moment and smiled. He then looked onto the crowd and took an exaggerated bow, encouraging you and the boys to do the same.
People still cheered, wanting an encore if they could be so lucky as to coax Freddie into one. Just then Freddie stared at the clock and his face dropped, "Bloody hell! Our train is in two minutes!!"
It was off to the races once more. Freddie then grabbed you by the hand and you were off and running. Everyone seemed to have the slightest look of disappointment, but nothing that would stifle the joy they just experienced. Freddie then stopped a moment and addressed the crowd once more as he stood up on a bench.
"Never stop believing in yourselves!" he shouted, and the masses cheered. You smiled and shook your head, whatever did you do to be so lucky as to have him.
The two of you dashed off into the station, working your way through the crowds that quickly dispersed. You both find your way to the train and climb aboard. You sat at the back to view the sea of smiling faces you both had to leave behind.
My god, there was no one like Freddie Bulsara.
_______
I hope you all liked this chapter, I've been wanting to write it for awhile. This whole story is not well known at all, but it's actually a real thing that happened. Freddie did in fact have a whole impromptu performance of Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On in the middle of the concourse at the Lime Street Station in Liverpool. A few parts of it may have been slightly exaggerated in Phil's description of the event, but much of what I have written here involves direct quotations. Almost all of the dialogue comes from what was actually said. I did not expect that Freddie said "guys" as much as he did back then apparently.
One thing I did change up about this was the timeline of the actual event, this happened about a month and a half later than this in reality. They had a long conversation at the pub about how Miffer had left Ibex (now called Wreckage) and Freddie's thoughts on music. Also Freddie had been living with Geoff for awhile and this train ride back was him coming back to London after being away for a month or so. Also I completely cut out a conversation where Freddie just couldn't contain his excitement about living with Geoff on Penny Lane. It was the Penny Lane, and he was over the moon about it. It's kind of sad after this to learn that this event is what caused Phil, Al, and Ralph to give up on their music dreams. Freddie was just too good and they realized they could never have the drive and spirit Freddie did. They still went on to live good lives though.
Anyways, I hope this brought you as much as a smile to read as it did for me to write. I still can't get over it. Freddie. Don't you just love him to pieces.