On stage in front of wall of joy
SHIRLEY recalls Pepsi’s first time performing on stage with Wham! in this extract from their new book…
NO matter how many times I heard the Young Guns intro, I’d always get a shiver when the first beats dropped.
I glanced over at Pepsi. There is nothing that can prepare you for performing in front of thousands of people. Really, the numbers lose all meaning. You have no idea of how many people are in front of you.
It’s just a wall of joy.
I knew these girls were screaming for George and Andrew, but they were screaming, they were having the time of their lives and we were part of that.
And Pepsi was in her element. Her moves, her body, her posture was pure “cool girl at the club”, but in her eyes, I saw something else: she looked as though she had come home.
I felt exactly the same way. I’d never get used to that magical feeling or take it for granted. I’d spent so much of my life feeling scared, or self-conscious, worrying that I was in the wrong place.
Being surrounded by happy faces, beside my best friends, I knew I was just where I was supposed to be.
We were barely off-stage when the three of us ran to Pepsi, desperate to share the magical feeling. “Did you love it?” cried Andrew. “You were brilliant!” said George. “Isn’t it amazing? Isn’t it great? I added. Pepsi nodded, beaming.
It was as if light was pouring out of her eyes – we were in a dark, gloomy corridor, but she made it glow. From that moment on, she was with the band.