Open To Anyone

[alleyalligator]

Everyone who was anyone knew that on a Thursday night The Surgeon on Tottenham Court Road was the place to be.  As the day’s work finished up for the night, the pub would slowly fill so that by the time 8pm hit, it was standing room only and secretaries would be shoulder to shoulder with builders, traders, lecturers, accountants, all waiting for

Comments

[notodette]

Yeah, Jerome. Yeah.

[alleyalligator]

Jerome was cool. He knew how to work a room.

[alleyalligator]

Completely 100% true. I was originally going to put a magical spin on it, so that it was some kind of faery glamour making Jerome cool or everyone have so much fun, but to be honest, the night itself had its own magic that I don't need to add to it.

[alien_infinity]

Like others, I was expecting some twist and therefore the LACK of twist was almost a twist itself.

Very much this! I was expecting the karaoke to steal people's souls or something similar, so I was most surprised when nothing like that happened.

[alleyalligator]

For various reasons, I already knew I didn't want to write something scary or sad this week - I wanted to do something more whimsical and positive. I was going to put a magical spin on it, but it was still going to be with a view to making people happy. I just felt like a bit of a change in tone :D

[m_malcontent]

The easy way out would have been to have Jerome be an amazing singer.

It is more interesting that you made him just someone who loves to sing and is so obvious about it that the joy spreads to others.

A fine entry.

[alleyalligator]

Thank you. That's just how it was. Jerome really couldn't sing, but he was much loved because that's the kind of night it was - everyone was supportive of everyone else and he was such a character, you had to love him, even though his singing was atrocious.

But then, I've always held that the point of music is to enjoy it. Being good is just a bonus. Jerome demonstrated that and then some.

[halfshellvenus]

You know, as a musician I can't actually picture someone who can't sing being anything other than grating or appalling during karaoke night. :0

My imagination just doesn't stretch that far. Offkey or no-key singing might as well be an exercise in torture.

Though I never understood what people saw in Tom Jones either, unless it WAS the singing. He does have tons of charisma, but he is not a good-looking guy. :0

[alleyalligator]

I'm a musician too, but I've always derived a lot of pleasure from seeing people enjoy themselves, regardless of how good they were. I've been converted to quite a few bands I didn't like after seeing how much they enjoyed performing live - and gone off a fair few for lacklustre live performances too.

The thing about Jerome was that, well, he was Jerome. He was really sweet, really unassuming, the kind of guy that would always be passed over normally. But for those few minutes that he was singing, he had women around him, supporting him, and a whole pub willing him to succeed. You probably had to be there, but it was something truly special.

[whipchick]

Neat - I like how the story is operating on both a real and a fantasy level, when Jerome sings and embodies all the qualities of fame that the audience gives him :)

[alleyalligator]

Thanks. This is exactly how it was - Jerome was a terrible singer but a fabulous performer and we all loved him.