It has been almost a year since I first met LaXuLa. A difficult first interview as I suppose she was a little nervous. But she had moved me with her uncompromising sense of where she wanted to go. I say ‘moved’, although ‘shoved’ may have been a more accurate description. But I realised that it was just the flustered reaction of a shyly feisty newcomer, unprepared for my searching questions. However, we had made a connection of some sort. As I watched her heels disappearing up the stairs, continuing on her upward trajectory to become a star, I knew that our paths would meet again……
Twelve months on and a lot had changed. While mother Earth had ground out another lonely lap around the solar system, LaXuLa had become a star in her own right. Past the stage of being a White Dwarf, but not yet a Red Giant, she had created her own gravitational field and was surrounded by rings of journalists and musicians. And I was about to come within her orbit again. With an email inviting me to join her as her personal guest, I was launching myself back into the world of pop star interviewing. Destination: London. Star date: now.
As I approached the Islington Academy, the venue for our chat, I walked past the waiting crowds, queuing all the way back to the bus stop. I was heartened to see her career taking off in such a spectacular fashion. ‘Press’ I said to the young woman behind the desk, adding that I was a personal guest. Too shy to ask for my autograph, she found my name on a list of visiting dignitaries and quizzically looked behind me. ‘And fiend?’, she asked. ‘It says “and fiendâ€