The Barrytown Trilogy (6 page)

Deco kept singing.

—I’LL SEARCH FOR YOU DOWN ON THE DOCKS
I’LL WAIT UNDER CLERY’S CLOCK——

They cheered.

Deco stopped.

—Wha’ was tha’ abou’? Jimmy asked.

—A bit o’ local flavour, said Deco.

—Tha’ was deadly, said Derek.

—Yeh said we were goin’ to make the words more Dubliny, said Deco.

—It’s just ——yeh should’ve warned us, said Jimmy.

—It’s good though, said Billy.

—Very soul, said James.

—Soul is the people’s music, said Joey The Lips.

—Only culchies shop in Clery’s but, said Billy.

—Oh yeah, said Derek. —But, hang on. The clock’s hangin’ off the outside o’ the shop. On the street.

—Soul is street, said Joey The Lips.

—That’s alrigh’ then, said Jimmy. —The clock stays.

They walked home. Seven of the ten Commitments worked. Four of them made it into work the next morning.

* * *

The Commitments rehearsed three times a week. After the first few nights they stopped before half-eleven for the last bus.

Joey The Lips kept them on the easier, less frantic numbers. Chain Gang became their favourite for a while.

The girls would lift their hammers above their heads, and bring them down:

—HUH——

And again:

—HAH——

And again:

—HUH——

Derek got to sing too.

He’d growl: —WELL DON’T YOU KNOW before Deco sang:

—THAT’S THE SOUND O’ THE MEN —
WORKIN’ ON THE CHAIN——
       GA —EE —ANG————

THAT’S THE SOUND O’ THE MEN —

WORKIN’ ON THE —
     CHAIN GANG ——

Deco closed his eyes a lot for this one.

—ALL DAY THEY’RE SAYIN’ —

MY MY MY MY MY MY MY
MY WORK IS SO HARD —

GIVE ME GUINNESS —

I’M THIRSTY ——

  MY — Y — Y —

MY WORK IS SO HARD
OH OH MY MY MY —

SWEET JAYSIS —
MY WORK IS SO HARD ——

—HUH, went the girls.

—HAH, went the girls.

—HUH, went the girls.

Derek wrapped it up.

—WELL DON’T YOU———
KNOW.

* * *

Joey The Lips had them standing in a circle.

—What’re we doin’ today, Joey? Dean asked him.

—Well, Brother, said Joey The Lips. —I think we’re going to bring our Soul Sisters to the front.

—Oh Jesus, said Natalie. —I’m scarleh.

—Hang on, said Deco. —What’s this?

—The Sisters are going to sing, said Joey The Lips. —Like the birds of the air.

—They’re supposed to be backing vocalists.

—Ah, fuck off, Cuffe, said Billy. —The cunt’s jealous, so he is.

—Yeah, said Outspan.

—Sap, said Imelda.

—Grow a pair o’ tits, pal, an’ then yeh can sing with them, said Billy.

—Are you startin’ somethin’?

—Don’t annoy me.

—Here! said Jimmy. —None o’ tha’.

The time was right for a bit of laying down the law.

—No rows or scraps, righ’.

—Well said, Jim.

—An’ annyway, said Jimmy. —The girls are the best lookin’ part o’ the group.

—Dirty bastard, said Natalie.

—Thanks very much, Jimmy, said Imelda.

—No sweat, ’melda, said Jimmy.

—What’ll we sing? Bernie asked Joey The Lips.

—You know Walking in the Rain?

—Lovely.

—I WANT HIM, Imelda sang.

—It doesn’t exactly have a strong feminist lyric, does it? said James.

—Soul isn’t words, Brother, said Joey The Lips. —Soul is feeling. Soul is getting out of yourself.

—But it’s corny.

—You’re not singin’ it, Specky, said Imelda.

—It’s wha’ yeh’d call crossover music, Jimmy explained. —It appeals to a wider market. Black an’ whi’e. Redneck an’ Dub.

—An’ it’s good, said Natalie.

—You speak the truth, Sister, said Joey The Lips. ———We need rain and thunder. ——Brother Billy, you can supply us with the meteorological conditions?

—The wha’?

—Rain and thunder?

—I don’t know abou’ the rain but I can give yeh all the fuckin’ thunder yeh want.

He attacked the kit.

—Fuckin’ hurricane if yeh want it.

Jimmy spoke. —Can yeh rattle one o’ the cymbals gently?

—Gently? ——Jaysis, I don’t know. ——How’s this?

—Grand, said Jimmy. —That’s the rain.

—Good thinkin’.

The girls were practising a move. They crossed their arms over their chests every time they sang HIM.

—The wall of sound. Mr Spector’s Wall of Sound here, Brothers, said Joey The Lips. —Brother Outspan, you’re the main man on this one.

—Fuck! Am I?

—Stay cool, said Joey The Lips. —Let’s hear it.

—CHUNGHA—CHUNGHA—CHUNGHA— CHUNGHA—

—Terrif, said Joey The Lips. —Sisters.

The Commitmentettes got ready.

—Rain, Joey The Lips shouted.

Billy gave him rain.

—Thunder. ————A bit less.

He nodded to the girls.

—DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO —
DOOO—

DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO —
DOOOooo—

Natalie, in the middle, stepped forward.

—I WANT HIM —

—Get up!

—That’s not funny, Brother, said Joey The Lips. —We start again.

—Sorry.

—Rain. ————Now thunder.

—DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO —
DOOO—

DOO DOO DOO DOO DOO —
DOOOooo—

I WANT HIM——

AN’ I NEED HIM——

AN’ SOME DAY —
SOMEWAY —

WOO OH WOO O —
O—
      OH —
          I’LL SEE HIM—

Bernie and Imelda stepped up to join Natalie. They sang together now.

—HE’LL BE KIND O’ SHY — Y —

Imelda started laughing but they didn’t stop.

—AN’ REAL GOOD LOOKIN’ TOO —
OOO——

AN’ I’LL BE CERTAIN —
HE’S MY GUY—

COS THE THINGS —
HE’LL——
  LIKE——
   TO——
   DOO——

—Thunder, Joey The Lips roared.

A cymbal hopped off its stand.

—LIKE WALKIN’ IN THE RAIN, Natalie sang.

—LIKE WALKIN’ IN THE RAIN, Bernie and Imelda sang.

Then they were together again.

—AN’ WISHIN’ ON THE STARS ——
UP ABOVE—

AN’ BEIN’ SO —
IN LOVE.

If Outspan had broken one string it wouldn’t have mattered. But he broke two so they had to stop till he replaced one of them and Joey The Lips tuned it.

—Tha’ was smashin’, girls, said Jimmy. —Fair play to yis. They’ll be eatin’ chips ou’ o’ your knickers.

—You’re fuckin’ sick, you are.

* * *

Things were going very well.

There were mistakes, rows, a certain amount of absenteeism but things were going well. Joey The Lips was a calming influence on them. It must have been his age. As well as that, they now knew about his past. They’d seen the photographs of Joey The Lips with the stars:

Joey The Lips and Otis Redding on horses, on Otis’ ranch, Joey The Lips said.

Joey The Lips on-stage lying on his back, behind him James Brown’s legs, one of them blurred.

Joey The Lips, with hair, in the studio, Gladys Knight, headphoned, smiling at him.

Joey The Lips and Marvin Gaye, both in skull caps and caftans, standing in front of a pile of rubble, Detroit.

There was even one of Joey The Lips with B. P. Fallon, Fallon with his arm around Joey The Lips’ shoulders, half of Yoko Ono’s head in the background.

And Jimmy had found Joey The Lips’ name in the credits on a few of his albums. (—Is tha’ our Joey? Outspan asked.

—Yep, said Jimmy.

—Fuckin’ hell, said Outspan.

He read the list to Derek.

—Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Lamont Dozier, Joey Irish Fagan, Steve Cropper, Martha Reeves, Diana Ross and The Lord, Jehovah. ———Who’s he?) When they saw Joey The Lips looking pleased they knew they were doing alright. And Joey The Lips always looked pleased.

* * *

Or, Joey The Lips nearly always looked pleased. He looked shocked when Dean found Natalie kissing him.

Dean wasn’t looking for them when he found them. He was shutting the garage door and they were behind it. He pulled the door in towards him and there they were, Joey The Lips the one up against the wall, which struck Dean as unusual when he thought about it later. Natalie jumped back, leaving Joey The Lips’ right hand holding air. Dean was going to put the door back but Joey The Lips spoke. Natalie had dashed back inside.

—Do I look different? said Joey The Lips.

—No, Joey.

—Good good, said Joey The Lips. —Because you fairly ruffled my savoir faire there, Dean, my man.

—I, said Dean. ———I thought yeh were goin’ for chips.

—I am gone, Dean.

If that was a hint or a plea or an order Dean didn’t know it because he told the lads when he got back inside. He wasn’t ratting. He needed to hear himself saying it. Then he’d be able to believe it.

—FUCK OFF! said Outspan.

—Honest to God, said Dean.

—Where? said Derek.

—Ou’ there, said Dean. ——Behind the door.

—It’s not fuckin’ dark yet.

—I know.

—My Jaysis, wha’!

—Fuckin’ hell!

—HEY, YOU! Deco roared across the garage at Natalie.

Natalie was filling the girls in on how she’d got on with Joey The Lips.

—Were you havin’ it off with Joey behind the door?

—Fuck yourself.

—Were yeh?

—What’s it to you if she was? said Bernie.

—You’re fuckin’ taller than him! Deco shouted.

This went against nature.

—So?

None of the lads could answer that one. It was ridiculous, but it hurt too. Natalie was a good looking, a lovely looking young one, younger than them. Joey The Lips was a baldy little bollix nearly fifty. He wore slippers———

For a few minutes The Commitments broke up.

But Jimmy snapped out of it. It happened when he went from the general to the particular. It wasn’t Imelda Joey The Lips had got off with. It was Natalie. He didn’t fancy Natalie. It was cool.

—It’s a free country, lads, said Jimmy.

—God though, said Derek.

—It’s not on, said Deco.

He hit the wall, not too hard.

Billy looked from one face to the next for some sign of hope.

—It’s like doin’ it with your fuckin’ da, he said.

—Wha’? said Dean. ——Nat’lie, like? ———Oh, now I get yeh. ———Yeah.

Outspan asked Dean a question.

—Tongues?

—O’ course.

—I’m goin’ to be sick.

—That’s fuckin’ cat, tha’ is, said Derek.

—Come on, lads, said Jimmy.

He slapped his hands together.

—Cop on, come on. ——Joey’s one o’ the lads.

—He’s a fuckin’ oul’ fella.

—He’s not like other oul’ fellas.

—He’s exactly like other oul’ fellas.

—Do other oul’ fellas play in groups? said Jimmy. —Did your oul’ fella play with The Beatles?

—My da’s got better taste than tha’.

Dean laughed.

—Look, said Jimmy. ———Look. ——He’s older than us, righ’. But he’s not married, remember. So he’s as entitled to move in on a bird as we are. ——An’ fair fucks to him.

He meant it.

—Jimmy’s righ’, men, said James. —It’s horrible, but true.

—It’s not ——fair though, sure it’s not?

—I suppose it’s not, said James.

—O’ course it’s fuckin’ fair, said Jimmy. —Look, righ’, you could’ve tried to click with her yourself. But yeh didn’t. An’ Joey did. So fair fucks to him.

——Still, though, said Derek.

Deco called across to the girls.

—Did he force yeh to? ———Cos if he did——

The girls screamed laughing.

—Yeh stupid prick, yeh, said Natalie.

—Na’hlie got off with HIM, said Bernie.

They still laughed.

—Why? Outspan asked gently. ——Why, Nat’lie?

—Yeh fuckin’ slut! Deco roared.

They all turned on him. Jimmy pointed a finger at him.

—Take it easy.

James and Derek held Outspan back. Dean helped. Outspan stopped struggling. They let him go. Then Outspan jumped at Deco. They pulled him away. He let them. He’d made his point.

James had a psychology exam coming up in a few weeks.

—You moved in on Joey, Nat’lie? he asked.

—Yeah. ——I did.

The girls laughed again.

—Yis’re disgusted, aren’t yis? said Imelda. —She likes him, yis stupid fuckin’ saps.

—We all like him, said Outspan. —But we’re not queuein’ up to get off with him.

They all laughed. Outspan had to think back to see why, but then he grinned.

Natalie grinned.

—No.

She laughed.

—He’s nice though. ——He’s funny.

—An’ he’s done all those things, said Bernie.

—That’s it! said Deco. —Heh! that’s it. She’s a fuckin’ groupie.

—Well, wha’ did you ever do? said Bernie. —Besides wank yourself.

—Bernie! said Imelda.

—Well! ——said Bernie.

—She’s a bleedin’ groupie. Just cos he———For fuck sake! ——That’s pathe’ic, tha’ is.

—You’d get off with Madonna, wouldn’t yeh? said Natalie. —Wouldn’t yeh? ———Fuckin’ sure yeh would.

—She’s not behind the garage door too, is she? said Billy.

—Or Joan Collins, said Imelda. —She’s fifty.

—Older, said Dean.

—I’d be into Joan in a big way meself, said Jimmy. —I must admit.

—Tina Turner’s a granny, said Natalie. —Yeh’d get off with her, wouldn’t yeh?

—Well, he got off with his own granny, said Billy. —He might as well have a bash at Tina.

—An’ your woman tha’ reads the News, said Imelda. —Yeh’d’ get off with her just cos she reads the News.

—He’d try to get off with Bosco, said Outspan.

When Joey The Lips opened the door they were laughing.

—Soul food, said Joey The Lips.

They stopped laughing, and looked awkward, and away from Joey The Lips.

—————Good man, Joey, said Outspan. —I’m fuckin’ starvin’. I haven’t eaten ann’thin’ since me dinner.

Jimmy grabbed Deco’s arm.

—Not a word, righ’. Not a fuckin’ word, righ’?

Deco freed his arm.

———Righ’.

—You’re a randy little bollix all the same, aren’t yeh, Joey? said Billy.

They laughed through their shock and embarrassment.

—The soul man’s libido, Brother, Joey The Lips explained.

* * *

By now The Commitments had about a quarter of an hour’s worth of songs that they could struggle through without making too many mistakes. They could sound dreadful sometimes but not many of them knew this. They were happy.