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The Inn On The Prom. Not exactly, Wembley Stadium then. Or even the 100 Club. But a few known bands have played there; Nine Below Zero, UK Subs, The Vibrators. All admittedly on their last legs but legs nonetheless. The anticipation was immense, the nerves were jangled, the lights dimmed, the cheers rose as the band took the stage for their debut gig as the pop sensation that is FRAGILE. Neale spoke into the microphone, "Hello we're Fragile". He thought it was best to introduce ourselves, just in case anyone thought we were The Bay City Rollers. Then "1..2..3" and into a blisteringly fast "I'm Not Here To Make You Happy". Neale's vocals soaring into the stratosphere, Steve's powerhouse drumming keeping rhythm, Rob with his long hair swaying to his throbbing bass and Mark's cutting Rickenbacker chords carving a pathway to the hearts of the audience. Before the crowd could gasp in awe at the furious and abrupt end to "I'm Not Here To Make You Happy", three snare hits signalled the intro to "I Remain" - a classic jangly pop song in which Mark sings of his woes. The hits kept coming... "Wednesday's Child", "Some Day", "Ever Love You", "Gnashville", "Haunted", "Goodbye", "Don't Mention Her Name". As we jangled through the ten song first set we built up to the climatic finale which would be be "Alone". Regimented guitar crunches clattered across the room, and the drums and bass joined in the syncopated rhythm. Neale's impassioned vocal crying out... "What am I to do... without you.." and as he reached the second line an almighty mesh of noise startled the assembled throng before settling into the heart-rending song. The first set was a nervous triumph. After a short break, we were ready to assail the audience once more. A crashing G chord from Mark signalled the start of "Don't Turn Away" with Neale's backing vocals twisting with Mark's main vocal into a fine pop moment. Then "I Need Help" starting with the descending riff and ending with a noisy climax! More tunes followed "With God On Their Side", "I Hate The Kids", "Write The Wrongs", "Turn Your Love Away", "Change", "Miss Me", "Jangly", "There Is No One". Finally we played a rousing version of "Weak" with Mark and Rob jumping off the stage, leaping about and Rob even laying on the floor! All in all, a very successful evening, part of which was videoed, with one member of the audience declaring, "It changed my life!"
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