An original musical based around the legendary 2i’s Coffee Bar,
Old Compton Street, Soho, London, England It’s 1981, 5 minutes to midnight. The 2is is closing for the last time. A young guy is clearing up, singing to Ghost Town on the radio. The CLOSED sign is on the door. A middle aged man in a long Aussie raincoat and leather hat appears at the door and raps on the glass. Over one last cup of coffee he tells the young man the history of the 2is. The scene changes quickly to a fantastic Soho 60’s nightscape. Flashing neon. Tarts in doors. Tourists. Pimps. Hustlers. Music blaring.Slowly basement of 2is appears. “MC: Let’s hear it for the incredible Lonnie Donegan.” Girls screaming ,clapping, whistling. LONNIE and group start singing Rock Island Line. It’s open mike night. Next up is Wally Longbottom.He’s terrible. He can’t play. He’s out of tune. The girls love him. They’re screaming. At the end of the song one of the girls takes of her knickers and throws them at him. “I love you Wally”. He picks them up and puts them on his head. Everybody thinks its hysterical. Sitting at his regular table is “Jinksy” Meyers, manager to the stars. He sees the potential and the next day Wally, now Terry Savage signs a management deal. As a signing on present, Terry gets a session with Tess, a local tart and part time secretary to Jinksy. As life continues at the 2is with Ronnie and Reggie Kray regularly holding court and taking care of their little East End friend, Lionel Bart, Jinksy sets about getting Terry a record deal and finding the first crucial song to record. Jinksy has chosen “To Know Him Is To Love Him” by the Teddy Bears. Terry’s worried about telling a boy he loves him until Jinksy points out that the lyrics will be changed. Jinksy pulls every trick in the book to get the record to number 1 including faking Terry’s death. Meanwhile Terry and Tess are developing a relationship. Act 2 opens up with the 2is bouncer, Peter Grant, trying to put together a new band that will become Led Zeppelin. Terry’s record has broken all over Europe and enters the US charts at 27 with a bullet. US TV is calling. Terry takes his first flight on Pan Am to the states and pulls a gorgeous air stewardess, Arlette. Nobody is prepared for the commotion when they land and Jinksy gets Arlette to take care of Terry while he distracts the press. As Terry conquers America, Jinksy is introduced to Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’ manager. Jinksy is underwhelmed. Tom wants a piece of Terry and shows his power by temporarily stopping Terry’s record’s climb up the charts. When Jinksy returns to the hotel Terry is stoned and partying with Arlette and two girls. Two waiters come in and take scandalous photos. It’s a Colonel Parker set up. Jinksy tells Colonel Parker that if the photos appear anywhere in the world, his client will be taking flying lessons from the top of a forty story building. Jinksy returns to England and the 2is to find that Mods are the latest fashion and a band called The Who are playing. Tess tells him that she and Terry are getting married and not only does she want his blessing, she wants him to walk her down the aisle. Terry drops by to tell Jinksy that he has had a call from Colonel Parker who wants to manage his recording and film career and that Jinksy should take care of tours. Jinksy tears up his contract and tells Terry that he won’t share him with a Yank. He kisses Terry passionately and tells him he loves him and then pulls out a razor and tries to kill him. Pete Grant stops him. After Terry leaves, Pete calms Jinksy down and they agree that all artists are arseholes. Despite this they create a new record label together, 2is Records. Flash forward to 1981. Mario, the waiter, is telling Gino the owner about the last customer, Jinksy Meyers. Gino tells him he must be dreaming and finds an old newspaper clipping. “Judah (Jinksy) Meyers was reported today as having been killed in a car crash just outside Adelaide. He was 42. No other vehicle was involved and nobody else was injured. Police do not suspect any suspicious circumstances. Jinksy discovered Oscar winning Hollywood film star, Terry Savage, and managed him during his early career as a rock singer. After they split up Jinksy went on to form 2i Records with his long time friend Peter Grant and together they enjoyed phenomenal success with many bands including Led Zeppelin, The Who and Fleetwood Mac. Jinksy disappeared suddenly four years ago and there had been rumours of his living in Australia for many years. Terry Savage said, from his Beverley Hills mansion where he lives with his wife Tess and their six children, I am completely gutted. Jinksy was family to me. Like all families we had our ups and downs and we hadn’t spoken for a while but we were closer than brothers. My new picture, Flames of Glory, in which Jane Fonda co-stars, opens nationwide in three weeks.” GINO: “So Jinksy, you old bastard. You couldn’t resist one last coffee eh?” |
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