The Fan Poem by David Lewis Paget

Adam Sadd was the frontman for
A group called ‘Rising Star',
They said he came from a gypsy clan
And he played a wild guitar,
He wore a couple of bracelets
And a ring, or maybe two,
His hair was black as a raven's coat
And his eyes a piercing blue.

He'd written the anthem ‘Metalman'
That soared on up the charts,
The group had only played dance halls
And a clutch of seedy bars,
But once their records were charting
They were called to go on tour,
And suddenly they were in front of crowds
That yelled and screamed for more.

And down in the auditorium
Was a girl with bright red hair,
She screamed and cried, and she fixed her eyes
In a wild and crazy stare,
The frontman saw her at every show
And began to ask his fans:
‘Who is that crazy redhead, she's
Beginning to bug me, man! '

She followed the group from state to state,
From one gig to the next,
And Adam said to the other guys:
‘I think I'm being hexed!
All I can see is flame red hair
And a pair of piercing eyes,
How can she get to every show?
She makes me fluff my lines! '

She stormed the backstage more than once
With a hundred of her kind,
But couldn't get past the bouncers ‘til
The van left them behind,
‘Maybe you ought to let her in, '
Said the bassman, Charlie Jones,
‘Then you can say you hate red hair
And she might leave you alone.'

Back home again in his city flat
She was there, outside his wall,
She hung right over the garden gate,
Would stand and stare and call,
He'd have to leave by the laundry door
And jump a fence or two,
Just to get to the supermart
Or share a drink with the crew.

One night, returning in darkness
She waylaid him in the hall,
Swung him round by his collar, then
And pinned him against the wall.
‘What do you want, you crazy bint,
You're there at every show,
One thing I hate is redheads! There!
I thought you ought to know! '

‘What do I care? ' the girl replied,
Whose name she said was Eve,
‘The reason I go to every show
Is to see the drummer, Steve!
And there at the front in every show,
All I can see is you,
The drums are up the back of the stage,
And you keep blocking my view! '

Now when you go to see ‘Rising Star'
You'll see there's been a change,
The frontman stands away to the left,
The drums are in centre stage,
A redhead beams with her piercing eyes
While Adam scans the crowd,
A bevy of blondes and black haired girls
That would make a gypsy proud.

9 March 2013