Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star (2 page)

George Wickham: “Will has always been devoted to Georgie; we all are. But you can’t deny that it was when she was born that his folks suddenly became much more interested in being parents. I’m sure that hurt Will deeply.”
He pauses, shrugging.
“But he never blamed Georgie or took it out on her. They were always as close as they could be.”

Narrator: “With the birth of their daughter, the focus of the Darcy household changed. Anne Fitzwilliam drastically cut her touring schedule, and Walter reduced the time he was away from the family.”

Photo of the Darcy family with a baby Georgiana.

“In an effort to reestablish her relationship with her son, Anne began teaching him classical guitar at the age of ten. Darcy proved to have a natural talent for the instrument and quickly became a prodigy.”

Photo of an eleven-year-old Darcy holding a slightly oversized classical guitar.

Richard Fitzwilliam: “Oh, once Will began the guitar, that was it. He played all the time! Hours! Every day! That was all he wanted to do.”

Narrator: “Anne was extremely proud of her son’s talent, and the bond between them became closer through their music.”

Clip of Anne and a gawky thirteen-year-old Darcy in formal dress playing at a concert in 1996. Fitzwilliam has a huge smile on his face, as his mother embraces him. Freeze on that image.

Narrator: “Then, in the spring of 1997, tragedy stuck. Anne Fitzwilliam was diagnosed with cancer, which ravished her body and left her dead just seven weeks after it was discovered.”

Stephen Fitzwilliam: “The cancer, it was just devastating. It was so quick, it just stole her away.”
He shakes his head, clearly still stricken
. “That was thirteen years ago, but I can still remember it perfectly. It was like we got the diagnosis and the next day she was gone. It was that fast, and we were all, all devastated.”

Richard Fitzwilliam: “When Aunt Anne died, it destroyed Will. It was the one thing he could just not handle, and he retreated into himself.”

Narrator: “Darcy put his guitar away and entered the prestigious and demanding Phillips Academy Prep School. He channeled his grief over the loss of his mother into his studies, graduating at the top of his class in 2001.”

George Wickham: “Will retreated into himself and really cut himself off from his family. He would come home for holidays and summer, of course, but emotionally, he was never really there. I think he was still grieving over his mother.”

Narrator: “During the summer of ’01, Walter Darcy decided to focus on his children to try to improve his relationship with them. He took a leave of absence from his professional duties and took his family on a tour of Europe. The trip was a success. It was during that time that the Darcys were able to overcome their lingering grief and grow closer.”

Photo of a teenage Darcy with his family on a ship.

Richard Fitzwilliam: “Europe changed everything. That was the first time that I think my uncle and Will ever had a good relationship. When Will was a boy, his father was always working, and then, when my aunt died, they were both so depressed. It took them that long to really find each other and develop a relationship.”

Fitzwilliam Darcy (remembering, his face softening slightly): “That summer was critical to me and my development as a person. I am grateful I had that chance to really get to know my father as a person, not just a parent. That trip gave me some of my best memories, ever.”

Narrator: “Recharged from the trip abroad and secure in his improved family relationship, Darcy entered Brown University in the fall of 2001, immediately going to the top of his class. Along the way, he made an important friend: Charles Bingley.”

High school graduation picture of Charles Bingley.

“Bingley was studying business a year behind Darcy. The two soon became fast friends, despite their differences.

“Charles Bingley was born in 1984 to a prosperous family. He lived a carefree childhood in California, dividing his time between the sun and the shore.”

Pictures of Bingley rock climbing and surfing.

“While Darcy thrived on the academic challenge of Brown, Bingley faltered, eventually transferring to the Rhode Island School of Design, where he graduated with a degree in graphic arts. Despite being at different schools, Darcy and Bingley maintained their friendship.

“Then in November of 2004 tragedy struck again. Walter Darcy suffered a massive heart attack and died hours later. Darcy was once again devastated.”

George Wickham: “Oh man! That was a nightmare. I remember getting the phone call from my mom, and I just couldn’t believe it. It was impossible for me to accept it. Mr. Darcy had always been so strong and vital a person and just like that”—
makes a gesture with his hand
—“he was gone.”
Shakes his head and looks away.

Richard Fitzwilliam: “I thought that was
it
for Will. I really didn’t think he would survive that. He had just found his father, had just connected with him, and then he lost him. It was his mother all over again.

“I really think it was Georgiana that kept him alive. I think if he hadn’t had the responsibility of caring for her, he would have been gone.”

Narrator: “With the loss of his father, Darcy threatened to once again retreat into depression. However, his twelve-year-old sister needed him, and he rallied for her.”

Photo of Darcy and Georgiana, both looking haunted.

“He focused himself on his remaining time at Brown, graduating in May of 2005 with dual degrees in business and literature. While he was completing his studies, Darcy turned back to the guitar that his mother had left him to try to express the grief he was feeling.”

Fitzwilliam Darcy (introspective): “I attempted to play the classical music my mother had taught me, but it wasn’t enough. I was hurting and angry and I needed to release that somehow. Then George suggested I let go of my mother’s music and try writing my own.”

Narrator: “That was the key. Unlike the sophisticated, elegant style of Anne Fitzwilliam, Darcy’s own music was anguished hard rock. In the spring of 2005, Darcy gathered together his childhood friend, George Wickham, and his cousin Richard Fitzwilliam to form a band he called Slurry.”

Richard Fitzwilliam: “I did it as a lark at first, really. I had nothing better to do with my time, and I said, ‘Hey, why not?’”
Shrugging
. “Plus my family wanted me to keep an eye on Will, so, you know, I figured it was good as anything else.”

Narrator: “Richard Fitzwilliam was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1980.”

Stephen Fitzwilliam, father: “Oh Richard, his mother and I knew even when he was a baby, that boy would be trouble.”
Laughing
. “He was always fearless, wanting to try everything, and always getting his friends into trouble with him.”

Narrator: “Fitzwilliam grew up in a wealthy home and loving family. Blessed with a charming and easygoing manner, he had perused a number of interests, including college, but had never stuck with anything until Slurry. When Darcy was forming his band, he called on his cousin to play drums.”

Richard Fitzwilliam (laughing): “I was never a serious musician like Will. I had studied drums as a kid in school, mostly because it was a good way to meet girls.”
Laughs some more.
“And it’s still a good way to meet girls!”

Narrator: “For vocals, Darcy sought out his childhood friend George Wickham. Wickham’s father had been a close friend to Walter Darcy, and the two families had spent much of the boys’ childhood together.”

George Wickham: “Will was like a brother to me. I mean, for the longest time, we were practically brothers. Neither of us had any other siblings, and so we bonded.”
He smiles brilliantly at the camera.

Fitzwilliam Darcy (in a light tone): “George and I were very close as children, until my sister was born. Then my family relocated and we spent less time together with the Wickhams, but we would still spend summers together. For most of my life, George was my closest friend.”

Narrator: “Slurry began humbly, as nothing more than an outlet for Darcy to express the music he was writing to deal with his grief. Eventually Wickham pressed for the group to begin performing publicly. The harsh, loud music and stark performance style struck a chord with audiences, and by the beginning of 2006, Slurry had a devoted following in Providence.

“Then Darcy made a life-changing decision.”

Fitzwilliam Darcy: “I realized that a part of me that I thought was long gone was still alive. I found that the music, which I had started as a hobby, had become more important to me than anything else I was considering doing, and I realized that this was what I wanted to.

“It was very hard for me to walk away from my father’s companies. All throughout college, I had planned on working with him. The plan had always been for me to take over when he retired.”
He looks away and shrugs.
“But that clearly wasn’t going to happen. I decided the band was what I had to do.”

Narrator: “Darcy moved the band to New York City, so he could be with his sister Georgiana. Soon the band had dates playing local clubs.”

Photo of the band, all looking very young, onstage.

“It was then that they were discovered by De Bourgh Records.”

Anne de Bourgh, A&R, De Bourgh Records: “I remember seeing them and knowing, right away, that this was a serious group and that they were going right to the top. These guys weren’t just fooling around. They were professionals.”

Narrator: “Their self-titled debut album was released in October of 2006, after several grueling months in the studio.”

Picture of the album cover.

Richard Fitzwilliam (remembering): “That was a really tough time, because Will wanted to go one way, and George wanted to go another way. And those ways were not the same. The album took much longer than it should have because George and Will could not agree on anything. That was when I started to realize we had trouble.”

Narrator: “The trouble did not stop once the album was released.”

John Willis,
Spin
magazine: “You can tell that the band was divided when you listen to that album. All the elements are there, all the pieces, but like a puzzle, it never comes together. There is a great drum section here and some really strong vocals there, but it never meshes into a whole. It was no surprise to anyone when the breakup came.”

Narrator: “Slurry had one moderate hit off their first album that made it to thirty-seven on the top forty, but it was becoming clear to Darcy the band had reached its limit, and he started to feel frustrated.”

Fitzwilliam Darcy: “I wanted to be doing more, but it was like we could just never come together. I had all these ideas, and I could hear, in my head, what I wanted. But we just couldn’t do it. It was a very difficult time.”

Narrator: “The band went on tour in late fall of 2006, leaving the comfort zone of their fan following in New York City to introduce themselves to new audiences. With every concert, the tension between Darcy and Wickham grew.”

Picture of an angry-looking Darcy standing next to a grinning Wickham.

Richard Fitzwilliam (angry, frowning): “That was the tour from hell. It was a
beep
-ing nightmare, and it was all George’s fault. It should have been a triumph, our first tour and all! And George turned it into a tragedy.”
Hits his fist on the couch while looking away
. “Bastard!”

Narrator: “The tension had reached the breaking point when the band played the Ramsgate Festival on the Fourth of July weekend. While no one was willing to say exactly what happened”—
Darcy glaring coldly at the camera
—“that weekend was the end of the relationship between Fitzwilliam Darcy and George Wickham.”

Fitzwilliam Darcy (icily): “We had artistic differences that prevented us from being able to continue to work together.”

George Wickham: “What did Darcy say?”
Listens for a moment to a voice off camera.
“Artistic differences?”
He smirks.
“Yeah, I guess you could call it that.”

Narrator: “Darcy and Fitzwilliam returned to New York City following Ramsgate, while Wickham fled to Florida. For a while the future of the band seemed to be in question.”

Richard Fitzwilliam: “I thought we were done. Darcy was so angry and disgusted; I really thought we were just done.”

Narrator: “Then an old friend entered the picture. In September, Charles Bingley joined Darcy in New York City for a visit. Bingley was surprised to learn about the band’s existence, but he quickly auditioned for the role as lead singer.”

Fitzwilliam Darcy: “I knew Charles could sing, but I never realized he was so talented. What’s more, he could understand what I was trying to do and add to it. It was when Charles joined us that everything came together. I felt I was finally able to express what I wanted to artistically.”