Matters finally came to a head after the show that night. In the cramped dressing room, Ken McCluskey, the Bluebells' harmonica player, picked up a plank of wood, walked over to Alan Horne and threatened him with extreme violence if he didn't vacate the room, like NOW! Quaking with anger, it was only the restraining arms of his friends that kept McCluskey from inflicting the awful damage he had in mind for the Postcard supremo.
Relationships hadn't always been so strained between band and manager. After only their second concert as the Bluebells, Horne had burst into their dressing room and told them how great they were. How they should go away and rehearse Lovin' Spoonful songs. Polish their exquisite pop tunes into an efficient, organised form.
Horne knew that Orange Juice, his ace card at the time, would soon be leaving Postcard for a major, and he saw the Bluebells as his last chance. They would record the last ever Postcard single, an EP of three cover songs, plus an original and Postcard could go out in a blaze of glory. The record was never made. Horne had a masterplan and the Bluebells just wanted to take things as they came. Easy come, easy go. Maybe do it tomorrow, maybe not. The result: friction.
Eventually, Horne turned...
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