Sunday, July 21, 2019

When Nick Collins Helped A Die-hard Fan's Friend- Broke His Silent In The Face Of Real Tragedy

When Singer-Songwriter Nick Collins Broke His Silence-And Gave A Die-Hard Fan His Autograph


By Sarah Le Moyne

Sometimes you can’t win and if anybody read my first archival caption on the reclusive legendary singer-song-writer Nick Collins you know that I have been a fan of his since I was a blushing teenage girl filled with romantic notions (still am except as it turned out it was, is for other women) and say his Moonlight Rock (which I am playing in the background as I write this) would drive me crazy. The “sometimes you can’t win” part is that somebody, some evil snitch, fink, stoolie saw the caption when Googling in search of “Nick Collins” for his or her own reasons, maybe romantic, maybe not and told Jenny that I was still all swoony over the guy. Worse picked up on my closing sentiment that I wished that I had an autograph from him.

All hell broke loose between Jenny and me over that one but not for the reason you might suspect. As a result of my plaintive plea somebody e-mailed and told me that she could get me in contact with Nick Collins’ press and publicity agents and maybe they could get me in to see Nick for an “interview.” The idea being that during that interview I could gush out my sentiments and beg on hands and knees for an autograph.

I was all set to go after arrangements, byzantine arrangements by the way at a hotel, a chain, maybe Marriott and not the top suite either, were made by his “fixer man” Jeremy. Jeremy told me that he had gone out of his way to get me the interview after Nick had seen my article about artful Rhonda and her quest, her eternal quest, for that now valuable autograph. And my own plaintive plea for an autograph. Then all hell broke loose at home. Jenny does not understand this long-term infatuation, that it is totally possible to have a schoolgirl crush without[O1]  it meaning anything sexual or otherwise. I, we have never seriously discussed attitudes toward men, but she is probably off of the Nick Collins tirade the first time and now that she has threatened to leave more hostile than I am to the gender.     

Jenny totally discounted how important teenage passions linger as with Nick Collins whom I first heard on the radio at home on some parents gone out Saturday night and I was minding my younger sisters when I heard his cover of To Each This Own, a slow dreamy ballad filled with sentimental longings (of which I was filled with as well more toward the male side then until I got rid of some of my confusion at a Girl Scout camp) and then switching up to Tumbling Down, a classic Collins rocker. That pair along with the bluesy Don’t Bring On Your Love So Strong staples of my youthful infatuation (and still can move me).

I mentioned before this funny story when you think about it. There was, is very little really known about Nick, most of the stuff in the fan and celebrity magazines was, well, bullshit, press agent hand-out stuff or stuff whoever wrote the story made up. Jeremy had a big hand in that especially the recluse build-up like he was some male Greta Garbo. The legendary parties he supposedly threw were real enough but strictly record company or later film company galas-minus Nick. Some  people speculated if his reclusiveness had to do with his slight speech impediment, others his tough Billie Holiday-like upbringing and yet others that he was so strung out on junk that he had to hide, had to hide the pain too I would think or risk arrest or bad publicity exposure when junkies were not well thought of  no matter how good they made audiences feel through their pain.        

Eventually Jenny came home after she did leave for a few days to cool off and I got my interview with Nick Collins at the Best Western dink hotel out by the airport (Nick told me he liked places near the airports in case he wanted to slip away quickly). He turned out to be very personable and flirty a little unlike his publicity maze. He did mention as a cautionary tale to young kids that he had been strung out on drugs for years but he had been clean for about a year. He told Jeremy to keep up the reclusive noise and blather so he would not be bothered while his life was hanging in the balance one day at a time.  Said I could say that information so I guess he is ready for the female crush now. Get this though as we finished with our interview and I was ready to put on my big push for an autograph he reached into the coffee table drawer and pulled out an autographed photograph of himself signed to me. Quirky guy. And no, I will not show Jenny the damn thing.

 [O1]y



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