Chapter 1 – 1984-1986
"All you need to start a band is: a few drinks, a couple of friends, a guitar and a chair," recommends Kirley Duke to anyone who wants to know his key to success, "learn the basic chords and start strumming to a beat." The lead guitarist is self-taught on the guitar and admits to have struggled in the past, "I couldn't do the barre chords so I would often just skip them or pretended I was strumming another chord. I thought of course no one would notice, but that wasn't true. We were [insert insult]. Well, not Donaghan so much, he is still a [insert insult] genius." (Lovegood, 2005)
Duke met Tremlett in 1983 while Tremlett was practicing the guitar during a lunch break. The two boys were in the same house and shared an interest in music. "I remember that Donaghan could do all that picking and stuff, which I couldn't and he promised to teach me some tricks on the guitar. We often skipped a few lessons to practice in secret, but we eventually got caught out by Professor McGonagall and had to leave the music to the evenings." (Lovegood, 2005). Duke got better and better at playing the guitar and eventually played smaller gigs at local pubs; unfortunately, Tremlett was still too young to visit Hogsmeade; therefore, Duke embarked on the adventure alone. Kirley recalls being harassed and assaulted numerous times on stage in the beginning and often thought of giving up his dream. He also suffered from severe stage fright, which he sometimes drowned in alcohol while playing.
"I should have been more concerned about my health back then, but I was so frustrated with how things had worked out that alcohol seemed to be the only alternative. And Merlin! I was only 13." (Weasley, The Downsides of Fame, 2009)Duke was an average student with a passion for Muggle Studies and Charms, but he always thought his future lay in the music business. Although he struggled on his own, he never considered forming a band; he was determined to make it alone.
"One day, there was this bloke, that Slytherin guy, you know. And he must have been just as drunk as me. He stumbled across the bar and threw his drink right in my face. I rolled up my sleeves to punch him, but I was so wasted that I fell off the pedestal and hit my head on a bench. There was blood everywhere and I felt [insert insult] embarrassed, but he kept pissing me off and I pulled all my strength together and almost smashed his head in. He was an ugly sod, "recounts Duke remorsefully. Funnily ,that "ugly sod", as Duke described him, was his soon-to-be bandmate Myron Wagtail. (Weasley, Once Upon a Time... Weird Sisters, 2001)
The fighting men were prevented from killing each other by innkeeper Madamme Rosmerta and expelled from the pub for battery and assault. Angry and bleeding they trudged down the roads of Hogsmeade and ended up singing drinking songs at the top of their lungs and violently strumming the guitar. "It's one of these impossible friendships that on one hand only happen when you're drunk and on the other hand are never likely to happen when you're drunk. You know, what I mean?" Wagtail explained. "It's just one of many wonders of being drunk. That, and always coming home safely." (Weasley, Once Upon a Time... Weird Sisters, 2001)
Previously having befriended Wagtail and being intrigued by his unique voice, Duke introduces him to Tremlett and suggests forming a band. "Usually it's one of these things that you shout after a couple of beers: 'We should start a band!' And then the rest cheers and in the morning you dismiss the idea, but this time it was different. The idea was still there and everyone thought, ' you know we can actually do this'," beamed Duke, who prides himself with the fact that it was him, who initiated the band. (Lovegood, 2005)
The three boys practised very hard having very little experience with playing in a band and it took them some time to fall in time. "Everyone wanted to be the loudest and the best in the band, but I guess that's not how this whole thing works. You've got to put loads of effort into it," acknowledged Duke, "we wanted to be everything at once and ended up being none. Finding your style is so important." (Skeeter, Victory or Defeat?, 1998)It seems almost impossible to think that the band struggled so hard to find their own style since the band's style is so incredibly "distinguished" and "unique" (McTavish, Wizard Rock Wave, 1994).
Their song "Remember, Remember" is among the most recognizable songs in Wizard Rock history and every child born between 1970 and today will know the intro and the famous line: "Remember, remember when we danced all night and let our colours fly" (Wagtail, Duke, & Tremlett, Remember, Remember, 1989)referring to the first fall of the Dark Lord and the night the wizarding community "came out of the closet" (McTavish, Cool Britannia, 1999). "This night was hugely important to all wizards because for the first time in centuries you were allowed to openly identify as a wizard and literally let your colours fly." (McTavish, Wizard Rock Wave, 1994)
The Weird Sisters are the only Wizard Rock band that had never seen war during their time at Hogwarts. Operating in times of peace, their songs often reflect on important events in wizard history like: The fall of the Dark Lord, the Godric's Hollow massacre, the Battle of Hogwarts or the Death Eater cult in general. "I used to be really obsessed with the Sirius Black case for a while, which is why I just had to write a song about it when he died. I was very shocked and disgusted," reports Myron Wagtail in an article about "Askaban's most famous prisoner". (Skeeter, Sirius Black Receives Pardon At Last, 1997)
In the beginning, the band's repertoire however consisted more of cover songs of famous wizard and muggle bands than of original songs. "We only began writing songs in 1986 when we ditched the old band name and officially became the Weird Sisters," tells Wagtail. Yet, many of their first songs didn't get on their first album "Remember, Remember" (1989). "We only wanted songs that everyone could relate to, not the stuff we wrote for our own houses. They might be worth a re-release of the album when we run out of money, though." (Lovegood, 2005)
When they still went under the name The 1984s, they would often play a rendition of the Hogwarts Song, but thought that it would spoil the fun for everyone since everyone had its very private version of the song. "There are songs you should never touch, we made that mistake and we still feel a bit ashamed," confesses Duke, who often plays a cover of WeAreTheDefenceLeague's song The Picture (Corner, 2000), which deals with stepping into the footsteps of the Original Order of the Phoenix. "The first time I listened to it, I thought, this is a [insert insult] masterpiece. The boys are amazing and I am sorry I ruined their song," jokes Duke (Duke, The journey of the Duke, 2013). The line "We've only just begun, but we don't know where we're going/ I hold the picture close to my chest, I'm scared and it's showing/ I don't wanna be a memory, I wanna be the hero in this fantasy," has often been performed as intro to most Weird Sisters concerts (Corner, 2000) since the song's release in 2000.
Wagtails haunting baritone voice adds a whole new dimension to the song. The singer's recently been praised a lot for his versatile singing style and surveys revealed that Wagtail's voice is among the most frequently recognized voices in Great Britain. "He's just lucky he's got this plummy, deep voice like he doesn't give a [insert insult] about people and he does that thing where he always kind of speaks through the nose, you know. He thinks he's so posh," mocks Tremlett during an interview, where in the same draw of breath he stated, "We definitely do not like each other. We hate each other really." (Weasley, The Downsides of Fame, 2009)
Frankly, the first two years were a struggle and it was hard for them to get engagements to promote their music. "We've had our very first gig at a quidditch match in 1884. Donaghan was playing the drums back then; although, he'd never learned them and I was trying very hard not to mess up my guitar solos. Myron would get so frustrated with us sometimes and he went 'how am I supposed to sing this song, if you keep messing things up'. Of course the thought he was the best singer alive, which is probably true, if you ask me." (Duke, The journey of the Duke, 2013)
The band wrote the very first song from their album in 1885, when Duke broke up with his first girlfriend. It is called The Kiss and reached new popularity in 1999, when Kingsley Shacklebolt used it in his campaign against using dementors in Azkaban. The refrain "Help me, I am falling into the pit of my fears / All I hear is your rustling breath / Save me, I am drowning in the lake of my tears/ Let's perform the kiss" (Wagtail, Duke, & Tremlett, Remember, Remember, 1989) has often been used in numerous campaigns against the inhumane use of dementors and/or campaigns that raise awareness for PDSS (Post Dementor Stress Syndrome) sufferers.
"I just felt so drained at that time. You know, like a dementor had just sucked all good feelings out of me. She was so cruel and I didn't think something so good could be so bad," remembers Duke, "I haven't seen her since we left Hogwarts and I am almost certain she's died." (Jordan, 2001)The guitarist has had a couple of relationships in his life, but none of them lasted for very long. "I am not into this marriage stuff and committed relationships, "he confesses (Jordan, 2001). When their band became more established at Hogwarts, and especially after gigs, they'd "pull all kinds of birds" (Jordan, 2001).
"When we were young, we used to keep score with the girls. I daresay, I was a little more successful than the rest of the group. We ditched the scores after a while, when we 'matured' a little, but I can exclusively reveal that Duke is way behind me, "brags Wagtail, who is well known for his public love affairs and foremost the "Amortentia Scandal" (Jordan, 2001). Due to the political situation, Wagtail was never sentenced for raping at least a dozen under-aged girls under the influence of Amortentia in 1996.
"Myron always had a difficult stand with the girls, "claims Nymphadora Tonks, who was a contemporary at Hogwarts, "all girls had a huge crush on him, but he would just use them. Poor Henrietta Belford even drilled a hole in his cauldron to get back at him and ended up with third degree burns, when a brew backfired during Potions." (Tonks, 1997)Nymphadora Tonks belonged to the Second Order of the Phoenix. She was a trainee under Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody and married to the ex-professor Remus Lupin, but she tragically died during the Battle of Hogwarts alongside her husband. She left a son, Teddy Lupin, whom we all know as Harry Potter's godson and teenage heartthrob. Both, him and his mother, stated to have been great fans of the band. Teddy has even occasionally been spotted wearing a "Victory" T-Shirt.
"I love the old stuff that they did: the stuff from the 90s. The new albums are so mainstream and they all sound the same," said Teddy during an Interview with Witches Weekly, "my favourite song is 'Sally is a Deatheater', I don't even know why, I just found this quite tragic." (Skeeter, The Next Generation, 2013) The song is about a girl who joins the Dark Lord during the Second Wizarding War, but soon realises she wants to quit and is eventually killed.
The Weird Sisters never intended to make grim music. Their aim was to bring joy to the people of Hogwarts, but as time got darker; their music became more and more political. Before 1996, Wagtail admitted to be openly pro-pureblood. His attitude provoked much hate among many wizards and often resulted in death threats. "I have a certain way of dealing with politics and all that [insert insult]. I don't force my views onto people and in return I don't want to have to put up with their crap. I'm here to do music," clarified an angry Wagtail at the Quidditch Wold Cup in 1994, "I just think that blood is such an intimate thing and I don't want that to be meddled with, so I'd rather stay pure-blood." (Skeeter, Up and Rising Youngsters to Perform in Hogwarts, 1994). "We never talked about politics within the band because there is no winning with Myron," shrugs Tremlett, who often clashed with Wagtail in their early days, "I'm half-blood, so naturally we've had a couple of differences, but there is a time to listen and a time to ignore." (Duke, Are The Weird Sisters Breaking Up?, 2009)
By 1985, the band had their very first gig outside of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, where they met Stubby Boardman, former singer of the band The Hobgoblins, who had retired in 1980. The singer had always struggled with alcohol and when the boys met him, he was as drunk as two Irish tinkers on St. Paddy's Day. "We'd always been a huge admirer of his music and despite his condition he was still very nice and that's how we got to know a few people in 'the business'. If it wasn't for that night, we wouldn't have become what we are now, "said Duke. Stubby had given them a couple of names they could contact, if they ever considered making an album and "becoming serious" about their art. (McTavish, When Stubby met the Weird Sisters, 1994)
Their concert was a major success for the three boys and allowed them to sell their very first mix tapes at the venue. "We'd recorded a couple of demos on vinyl at that time and were giving them away for free. I bet they'd be worth a fortune by now. Donaghan had stuck them in envelopes and we wrote 'The 1984s' on them with a quill and signed them. We'd only produced 30 of them, but they were gone very quickly." (Skeeter, Up and Rising Youngsters to Perform in Hogwarts, 1994)
"[The concert] was the reason why we pulled ourselves together and really started taking it seriously because there we had all the names of these amazing people and fame seemed just an owl post away." (McTavish, When Stubby met the Weird Sisters, 1994)
Literature
Corner, M. (Composer). (2000). Going Out In Style. [WeAreTheDefenceLeague, Performer] Newcastle, England.
Duke, K. (2009, September 19). Are The Weird Sisters Breaking Up? (E. McTavish, Interviewer)
Duke, K. (2013, Dezember 3). The journey of the Duke. (G. Chittock, Interviewer)
Jordan, L. (2001, June 1). Rock n' Roll Romance. Witches Weekly, p. 23.
Lovegood, X. (2005). Q&A with... Quibbler, 30.
McTavish, E. (1994). Wizard Rock Wave. London: WizardPress.
McTavish, E. (1999, December 31). Cool Britannia. (L. Jordan, Interviewer)
Skeeter, R. (1994). Up and Rising Youngsters to Perform in Hogwarts. Daily Prophet, 11.
Skeeter, R. (1995). Weird Sisters smashing the Leaking Cauldron. Daily Prophet, 2.
Skeeter, R. (1996). Weasley's Wanking Wheezes. Daily Prophet, 2.
Skeeter, R. (1997). Sirius Black Receives Pardon At Last. The Daily Prophet, 1.
Skeeter, R. (1998). Victory or Defeat? Daily Prophet, 11.
Skeeter, R. (2013, September 19). The Next Generation. The Evening Prophet, p. 27.
Tonks, N. (1997, Oktober 23). London Calling. (R. Lupin, Interviewer)
Tremlet, D. (2009, October 24). The Last Curtain Call. (L. Jordan, Interviewer)
Tremlett, D., & Flannery, N. (Composers). (1999). Victory. [T. W. Sisters, Performer] Hogwarts, Scottland.
Wagtail, M. (Composer). (1997). Never Mind The War. [M. Wagtail, Performer] Manchester, England.
Wagtail, M. (2008, May 2). Who Do You Think You Are? (G. Weasley, Interviewer)
Wagtail, M., Duke, K., & Tremlett, D. (Composers). (1989). Remember, Remember. [T. W. Sisters, Performer] Hogwarts, Scottland.
Weasley, G. (2001, May 23). Once Upon a Time... Weird Sisters. Witches Weekly, p. 34.
Weasley, G. (2009). The Downsides of Fame. The Daily Prophet, 11.
Author's Note: Thank you very much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I very much hope to be able to welcome you next week :)
Also special thanks to a guest for leaving a few kind words! xx