This post is about the most amazing thing I've ever done...
I hired Prides to DJ at my friend, Tracey Faye's, 25th birthday party!
To be honest, when I first made email inquiries to try to arrange this, I never thought it would be possible. It was actually when I was in the queue to see Prides at Manchester last month that I got email confirmation that they'd agreed to do the party, it was the most incredible moment of my life!
My free time during the rest of the tour was spent getting the contract confirmed, which was not very easy when reliant on a slow hotel computer, and I had to go to an appointment at the bank wearing my tour clothes (a Prides sweater) but I managed to get it all done!
After the tour, the next week and a half of my life was spent planning the party and getting everything organised. I had to hire some very specific DJ equipment which I knew nothing about except what it was called, but a very helpful company got it all booked and arranged for me.
I even got a dress specially for the party. I don't usually wear dresses, but I wanted to fit in with everyone else and look the part, so I bought a plain black dress and had 'I heart Lewis Prides' printed on it. The people at the printing shop remembered me from when I'd had my Lewis t-shirts made!
Tracey's party was on Saturday 4th April, but I went up to Glasgow on the Thursday beforehand to get everything ready. I wanted to keep Prides DJ'ing a secret from Tracey, so it would be a lovely surprise for her. Of course I had to tell her some things and that I was planning something big, in order for me to get everything in place, but I managed to keep the most important things a surprise.
Thursday was a fun day spent with Tracey and her friends in Glasgow. I gave Tracey her birthday present, which was a triangle, because a while ago on Twitter, Prides said that she could be their triangle player! She said it was the best present ever!
Then on Friday I spent the day at Tracey's house, getting everything ready. She was busy cleaning the house, while I was having a last minute panic about things getting stuck in closed depots and other such worries!
That evening we went to Asda to buy essentials for the party, ie lots of alcohol! Also I'd been asked to provide some specific stuff for Prides.
On Saturday, I got up early to go to Tracey's house. I couldn't believe the day was finally here! I was so stressed, expecting everything to go wrong. And in my heart, I already feared the worst, and the worst did happen. But I was the only person upset by it, and as it was a party for Tracey, not me, the party was not ruined.
Basically, when I first had the plan to hire Prides, the main reason I wanted to do it was to make Tracey happy and to thank her for being there for me when I was at my lowest. But I am not going to lie and make myself out to be some saintly character that I'm not. I was equally motivated by selfish reasons, I wanted to see Lewis DJ. Also, as I had caused a lot of stress to Prides in February, I thought that by hiring them and obviously paying them, it could maybe be a way to try to make things up to them. I know the money is a small amount to members of a famous band, but it was a lot to me, and I hoped they would see that I was trying to say sorry for what I'd done.
But I found out on the afternoon of the party that Lewis would not be DJ'ing. I had already suspected this would happen, as ten minutes after I arrived in Glasgow he tweeted that he was sick, so it was not a huge surprise, but it just broke me and I burst into tears. It was explained to me that Prides usually only DJ as a pair, so there was no guarantee Lewis would even have been there if he'd been well. But I was so devastated. I had spent several thousand, including the hiring of all the equipment. But I have only myself to blame. I knew the risks and craziness of spending so much money on a couple of hours. I just thought it would be once in a lifetime and would be so worth it.
Also, I am at fault because I did not check with the agency exactly which members of Prides would attend. It had crossed my mind that I should do this, but I was trying to keep my correspondence with the agency professional sounding, so they wouldn't realise I was just a fan. They probably knew this anyway, and of course Prides knew who I am. I really should have checked and been less concerned about what people thought of me. That is something I can only learn from.
So please, do not think I am in any way criticising Prides or the agency for what happened. And I am certainly not criticising Lewis. It is not his fault he was ill, and I really hope he is ok now.
Once I got the news about Lewis, I had a complete meltdown. It was then that there was a knock at the door and it was the delivery of all the DJ equipment. So I had to meet the delivery driver in floods of tears which was really embarrassing, but he was really nice and it was all ok.
After that, the rest of the preparations went really well and everything fell into place. The marquee got assembled, the equipment was set up, people started arriving and everyone was so excited. I was really happy for Tracey and everyone, I just couldn't stop crying and I felt so bad because I didn't want to bring anyone else down.
Tracey and her friends were all so kind to me and tried to make me feel better. They are such lovely people. And I'd invited 3 of my own friends to the party; when they arrived they were all so sweet to me and looked after me. Such lovely kind people, I will never forget what any of them did for me.
We weren't sure what time exactly Prides would arrive, but we knew it would be sometime between 6.30 and 7.15pm. So me and my friends went out into the street to wait for them. And then a car drove round the corner and I could see Stewart and Callum, and it all felt so surreal. They both gave me a hug. Callum's lovely girlfriend, Claire, was with them and she gave me a hug and said she liked my dress. There was also someone else with them, Scott, who used to play bass in Lewis and Stewart's old band, Midnight Lion. I'd met him a couple of times before at gigs and festivals, but I'd never known who he was, although he had taken lovely photos of me with Lewis before!
Anyway, we went inside with Callum and Stewart, and I gave Tracey's friends the code word 'pug' so they knew to get Tracey downstairs. When she came downstairs and saw Stewart in her house, I think she nearly died of shock!! As soon as I saw her happy face, at that moment I knew it was all worthwhile, despite Lewis not being there.
Everyone went out into the garden and to the marquee and the party stated. I went and hid upstairs and had a bit of a cry, but it was still lovely to look outside and see everyone having so much fun! My friends kept trying to get me to come and join them, nobody wanted me to be left out, but it was difficult for me. I was so happy to see everyone else so happy, and it was so amazing to have 2 members of my favourite band there and to know that it was because of me that they were there! But I just couldn't get past the fact that Lewis wasn't there. Any of you who've read my blog, will know how much he means to me. This should have been the best night of my life, but it was the opposite and I didn't think I'd be able to get over it.
Later, I did go down to the party for a bit, and it was lovely to see Stewart and Callum DJ'ing.
Then they played a song by Foster The People, and my heart broke. The second time I ever met Lewis was when Prides supported Foster The People at Manchester, and it was one of the best times I ever had with Lewis. I had stood with him for most of Foster The People's set, and we'd spent so much time talking. So it was all too much, and I went back upstairs again. The next song that came on was a song that Lewis had tweeted about liking recently, so that made me cry even more.
Then one of my friends came upstairs and she stayed up there with me for like half an hour. I felt so bad that she was missing the party because of me, but she was so kind and just wanted to make sure I was ok. Sophie if you read this, I will never forget you were there for me.
We did go back down eventually and it was fun. Tracey's friends kept trying to get me to dance, and it was so sweet of them, I just didn't feel like it though. Then Callum's girlfriend, Claire, came over to me and gave me a hug. She asked if I wanted to talk and we went inside and she was so kind to me. I won't repeat a private conversation, but she said some really nice things, and the fact that the girlfriend of a member of my favourite band would take the time to care about me and look after me, it means the world. Then we went back to the marquee and Callum came over to talk to me and he gave me lots of hugs and he said some nice things too.
Shannon and Callum
Claire and Callum
Me with Claire and Callum
Me with Claire and Callum (and Stewart and Scott photobomb!)
Then I was sitting by myself, and Scott came over to talk to me. He was really kind too and reassured me, and I found it really easy to talk to him about stuff like my mental health problems. He gave me some really good advice and was really nice and understanding and it meant so much to me.
I actually am so overwhelmed by the kindness of so many people at the party, I don't think I have ever felt so loved and appreciated by so many people in all my life.
And most importantly, Tracey was having the time of her life! It made my heart so happy to see her dancing and smiling so much and having the party of her dreams!
And it was so lovely to see everyone there having such a lovely time. So many people said to me it was the best party ever, which it was!
Here are a few short videos I filmed of the party...
When it was time for Prides to finish DJ'ing, Stewart made a speech and wished Tracey a happy birthday. He thanked me too, which was nice. Then Tracey got everyone to chant 'we love Greer' and it was so sweet and meant so much to me.
I videoed this speech too...
I got a photo with Stewart before he left.
And I said goodbye to Callum and thanked him for always being so kind to me. He said 'I always am', which is true, he was really nice to me on the recent tour when I felt so nervous about everything.
I had bought Easter eggs for all of Prides. Tracey had given Callum and Stewart theirs, and I gave Lewis' egg to them to give to him. Unfortunately I was unable to get him his favourite chocolate, but I hope he liked it anyway.
The night didn't end there. Several of us went on to O2 ABC for the club night there, which was good and I enjoyed the music and had fun with Tracey and friends.
We spent most of the evening in the upstairs room, then I noticed a man wearing a certain very distinctive hat and it was Callum! Tracey went and said hi to him and he said we could come and drink with him and Stewart! I thanked him for being so kind to me again and asked if I could be 'Callum Prides Fan' now and he said yes! I'm not really going to be though, I love Callum so much, he really is a genuinely kind person, but Lewis will always be my idol.
So Tracey and I went to the downstairs room, and Stewart was there and so was lovely Emily and Claire, and it was so nice to see them all.
I didn't try to drink with them though or anything. I don't think that would be appropriate. I'm just a fangirl, I'm not trying to be friends with anyone, and I think if you see your favourite band in their private time, it's lovely if they say hi and let you have a photo, but you have to know and respect the boundaries.
I must say, when I heard we were going out in Glasgow, my first thought was, I hope Neil from
The Wild Curve is there, and yes he was! Always so lovely to see him, he is the nicest guy ever! He asked me if I was ok and I was like no! I told him what had happened and he was so nice about it all, and gave me a hug.
And much to my happiness, someone else very lovely was there,
Alice Bentley who I saw support Prides in Inverness on their February headline tour. I couldn't believe that she actually recognised me! She gave me a hug and she said it was so nice to actually meet me this time! She is lovely and beautiful and such a sweet kind person, I was so excited to get to talk to her!
And then I couldn't believe it, there was
KLOË too! She gave me a hug and I said it made my night to see her and she said it made hers to see me! She is so lovely and so stunning and it was so exciting to meet her again!
So I think everyone I love from the Glasgow music scene was in that room, except Kieran from The WildCurve and of course Lewis!
Tracey had a nice time too. We stayed till nearly the end of the night and I said goodbye to Callum and Stewart and thanked them again for the party.
As we were leaving we saw Neil and Alice again! I had another chat with them, and I thanked Alice for still following me on twitter despite some recent things, and she was so kind and understanding about it all. Neil gave me a big hug and a kiss on the cheek and I asked him to release my favourite Wild Curve song 'Foreverever' and he said they will do. I ask him this every time I see him and I tweet it to Kieran all the time too! I just need those trumpets in my life!
Then me and Tracey left, and waited for a taxi at what we thought was a taxi rank but was actually a disabled parking bay! But we got home eventually, tired and emotional but we'd had an amazing time!
Although the party was not what I'd hoped for, and for me personally, it was the biggest and most expensive disappointment of my life, I am still glad it happened. I am so happy that I made my best friend and other friends and so many Prides fans happy. I also heard that Callum and Stewart enjoyed the party too, and that makes me happy. The money was a lot, but it's gone now, and it brought a lot of happiness to a lot of people. What more could I hope to achieve? And I do have fond memories and I spoke to so many lovely people, and it was such a big event that I managed to organise, so I do feel quite proud of that.
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