I was asked to put together an 80 ’ s show off the back of it and launched Diane Duran . Yes , I actually used that name ( hangs head in shame ). A frilly white shirt , leather pants and a thin ribbon as a headband across my forehead and I was there . The less said about that the better !
As just ‘ Diane ’ I played pretty much every pub in Wirral , sometimes for hours on end . I remember The Wirral in New Ferry when Philly and Marg owned it playing for three and half hours none stop . Absolutely mad . I played on a ferry across the Mersey with Gerry Marsden , I played at the opening of the Coliseum ( Cheshire Oaks ), I played the Floral Pavilion several times with The Gary Murphy Band , I would get up with bands like Insanity Beach and The Undertakers , I even sang Fat Bottom Girls with Brian from Hush .
I loved every gig ; I loved every audience and I loved every song but undoubtedly the very best times were as one half of ‘ Next of Kin ’ with my daughter Jade .
It was incredible being on stage with Jade . She is not only a fabulous singer in her own right but can drop a harmony on anything . We loved the Queens in Liscard when Jools had it . It was always the funniest night and we would sing until we dropped . The Great Eastern with Alisa , The Argyle with Carole and Terry , The Straw Hat with Doreen , The Sportsman ’ s , The Halfway with Paul , The Olde Red Lion with Jackie and Andy , The Woodlands with Billy , The Farmers Arms with Jackie , I could go on ...
It is all in the dim and distant past and now they are just precious memories . The illness I have had for the last twelve years has taken its toll , although I am trying a new treatment this year and you never know . If I had one very selfish wish , it would be to play one more gig , on my 60th birthday . I would hire a hall , hire a big Ad Lib rig just like the one I had with a Studio Master desk and a mini disc player - I still have all the discs . I would ask Jade to join me and perform a set just as it used to be ... I have a year in October to make it happen . A girl can dream .
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