Chapter Text
Six of Crows: The Group that changed modern music.
Written by Joan Zenik.
Dedicated to Matthias Helvar & Inej Ghafa.
Foreword.
In 1995, the band The Six Crows played their last performance in The Royal Albert Hall. The band was said to have been the music of a revolution, standing against the oppressive government of Margaret Thatcher. The band was band up of six members ; Kaz Brekker (singer and piano), Inej Ghafa (bass) Wylan Van Eck, now Fahey (piano), Jesper Fahey (drums), Nina Zenik (guitar and vocals) and Matthias Helvar (sound technician).
This is their story.
Their story begins as many do, with a group of outcasts who were tired of living on the sidelines and being afraid to be themselves and decided to do something about it. It was the lead singer, KAZ BREKKER who pulled the band together in the beginning to create something new. Something that challenged societal norms. Together with the band, their music rewrote what it was to be young, queer, and proud in the 1990s.
The band could be understood as a group of misfits, who would perhaps typically not be seen together. Yet, through a series of interviews, the recurring message from the group was that it was not simply a band but was instead a family.
In 1993, the sudden death of MATTHIAS left a splinter in the group between the two leads, KAZ and NINA. The band was forced into one final performance, a sold-out show at the Royal Albert Hall . The show was the final one before the singer, NINA , walked off stage after performing their most renowned hit, All Flowers In Time Grow Towards The Sun .
The band went on to live a quiet life in the aftermath of their fame. WYLAN and JESPER were the first to marry after years of being together. INEJ and KAZ remained unmarried, however.
The band's first album, No Mourners No Funerals , was a reflection on the feelings and life experiences of the members. At this point, the band was only made up of four members ( KAZ, INEJ, JESPER & WYLAN) with the debut track , Lose Your Soul and Oliver’s Army . The songs were a criticism of the government's failings. Oliver’s Army primarily focused on the use of violence and military influences in Northern Ireland where band member, JESPER, was originally from. Similarly, KAZ had experienced at the government's failings when his brother was killed in the Falklands. The second album, The Heist , was less of a critique of society and more a recognition that whilst things were difficult, there was hope.
It was the second album when the band introduced NINA and MATTHIAS. Both artists brought something new to the band, pulling them away from the original singer-songwriter genre and into the underground/new wave movement.
In the middle of their European tour, MATTHIAS died suddenly of a heart attack in Germany where he and NINA were originally from. The band canceled the rest of the tour and were on the verge of splitting but continued to make their third and final album. In the midst of this, NINA and MATTHIAS ’s only child was removed from the care of NINA and adopted by a family friend. This point could be argued as to when the group divided. Yet, they still kept together to produce their third and final album, Ketterdam .
When asked to explain Ketterdam , KAZ explained it as a fictional place where you think everything and anything can happen but there is always a price to pay for dreaming. It was a conclusion to the story that they had created. Each album played a role in the story; No Mourners No Funerals standing for the outcasts, The Heist proving what they would do to reach their dream, and finally, Ketterdam proving that dreaming costs money, and lives. It left no loose ends in the band's career, drawing a definite line in their time together. In speculation, one could argue Ketterdam was Kaz’s critique of Nina for thinking that love would last forever.
Whilst their music career may have been over, the band remained close together. As previously mentioned, WYLAN and JESPER married when same-sex marriage became legal in the UK. Each member kept in close contact, a family through and through. INEJ moved on to do charity work for victims of human trafficking or forced displacement, and JESPER worked with gambling charities. KAZ himself remained active in the music industry and went on to coach a variety of clients from Hozier to The First Aid Kit.
Ultimately, what has been taken away from the series of interviews conducted was that the band was stronger together than apart. They hold no bitter feelings towards others and live as many families do, with their fights and love.
~
Kaz hummed to himself as he finished the book, setting it down on the coffee table and stretching his leg out in front of him. He winced slightly, feeling the bones click into place again. From the armchair, he saw Cabbage tilt his head, letting out a noise.
“What?” he asked the dog, Cabbage let out a noise, jumping from his spot and trotting over to the window. Kaz followed where the dog went, before getting up slowly and staggering over to the window.
“I swear, if you’ve made me get up for no reason Cabs I’m not giving you bacon tonight,” he muttered under his breath. Kaz pulled the blind back slightly, peering out the window and then tilting his head slightly. He grabbed his cane, shuffling towards the door and opening it.
“Have you read the book?” he asked in lieu of a greeting.
“I have.”
“We truly did well together.”
“Don’t tell me you’re going soft in your old age, Brekker.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Zenik.”
Kaz took Nina in before him, dressed in a simple shirt and trousers. She took a deep breath, opened her bag, and pulled out a photo album.
“These were photos Matthias had gotten. There are a lot of you and Inej, I thought you might like it.”
“Why?”
“Sentimental.”
“I don’t need photos to remember her,” Kaz answered. He took the album anyway, opening the book at random to find a picture of Inej and him asleep on the shitty sofa in their old flat. Kaz let himself smile slightly at that, a familiar warmth creeping into his chest.
“You took Cabbage?”
“Wylan worried I was lonely. Cabbage is a pain in my ass, aren’t you?” he called at the dog, who simply barked in return. “He’s an attitude problem.”
“Pot, kettle,” Nina answered.
Kaz’s lips turned upwards as he stepped out of the doorway. “Don’t stand there, you’re letting the draft in.”
“It’s the middle of summer, Kaz.”
“Tell that to my bones,” he answered back, walking towards the kitchen. He heard the door click and the soft steps of Nina following him into the room. Nina took a seat by the window whilst Kaz found the kettle, and grabbed a little treat for Cabbage.
“Pain in my ass,” he muttered to himself, giving the treat to the dog. He heard Nina snort from her seat.
“Such a softie under it all, aren’t you?”
“No,” Kaz answered.
“You always were, Kaz. There’s no point in denying it.”
Kaz watched the kettle boil, finding two mugs. He still remembered how Nina took hers, black with four sugars. A sickening way to take coffee, if one were to ask Kaz.
He finished the coffee, moved to his seat, and took a deep breath.
“Do you regret any of it?” he asked quietly. Nina paused, blowing softly on her coffee with Cabbage now on her lap.
“I regret all of it but also none of it.”
“A contradiction there,” he teased.
“I don’t regret our memories. I don’t regret how freeing it was to play with you, Kaz. I do regret what became of us.”
Kaz took a sip of his coffee now, letting the words sit there for a moment.
“I don’t regret anything I did.”
“Of course, you don’t.”
“I did what was best, Nina.”
“See Kaz, when you get like that you’re insufferable. Like a dog with a bone, you just won’t let it go. I was so angry at you. Who did you think you were, coming in and taking away my family while you couldn’t even touch Inej? She helped me to understand it though, in the end.”
“And what did she say?”
“She said you didn’t care that you couldn’t touch her. There were days when she wouldn’t even want you to. Under it all, you were just as hurt as the rest of us, and you didn’t want to see Joan become what we had.”
Kaz nodded, taking another sip of his coffee. It had been almost a year now since Inej had died, he still looked for her in the crowds but was always disappointed when he only saw her ghost.
“I don’t think I can forgive you,” Nina said quietly. “But I can understand why you did it.”
“I don’t expect you to forgive me, Nina. I took your child away. I do expect that song though. You still owe me one.”
Nina snorted, shaking her head and resting her chin on her hand, looking up at Kaz.
“Are you lonely?”
“No. Cabbage makes for an amazing crossword partner. I’m thinking of putting him on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire actually.”
“You’re such a shit, Kaz Brekker.”
“You’d be bored if I was anything less, Nina Zenik.”
“Yes. I suppose you’d be right actually.”
Nina opened her bag, pulled out a notebook, and pushed it toward Kaz.
“I wrote you your song. Where is mine?”
Kaz stood, leaning over to his bookshelf and pulling out his own notebook, and passing it over to Nina.
“Happy exchange.”
“Happy exchange,” she answered in return.
~
Wylan let out a hum, tapping the piano key to try and match it. Whilst he loved the piano, it was out of tune and needed some care. He tapped the key gently, trying to get the pitch right.
“Wy? You coming down to greet our guests?” Jesper shouted up the stairs. Wylan kept humming though, tapping the key. It needed to be fixed today, otherwise the world would fall apart.
“Wylan?” Jesper shouted again, standing at the foot of the stairs. Wylan did hear him, but took his hearing aid out and just focused on the piano in front of him. In a matter of minutes, he saw the familiar hand clicking in front of his face.
“Wylan- fuck me. Wylan, put your hearing aid in,” Jesper commanded, standing in front of Wylan.
“I need to tune my piano,” Wylan answered.
“You tuned it yesterday, baby,” Jesper answered softly, crouching down slightly. He lifted the hearing aid, setting it in and turning it on before brushing his lips over Wylans. “You did it yesterday.”
“Oh right,” Wylan smiled, kissing Jesper in return. “We’ve guests?”
“Yes. Nina, Kaz, and Joan.”
“Nina, Kaz, and Joan,” Wylan repeated, standing up. His hand found Jespers, fingers interlinking as he looked at his husband. “Did you cook?”
“Yes. Though Nina is bringing some stuff over as well.”
“And Kaz is coming?”
“We had this conversation, love. They’re working on another single.”
Jesper never lost his patience. He never got angry when Wylan couldn’t remember. He hated it though when the nurses or doctors advised Jesper to write things down for Wylan to remember, it didn’t work. What he did find worked though was writing down musical notes. Their house was littered with random music readings and notes to help Wylan remember.
Truthfully, no matter how many times Jesper told himself, Nina and Kaz, were working together again, he still couldn’t quite believe it.
So, Jesper cut Wylan some slack. Even if one had dementia and the other was just shocked.
Jesper slipped his hand into Wylan’s, leading him downstairs to the sunroom where Nina was serving out dishes of pasta. Kaz with muttering to Cabbage about why he wasn’t allowed pasta and Joan was trying to keep a straight face.
Jesper sat Wylan down, kissing the crown of his head before taking his own seat. He had barely sat when Wylan was up, but Nina caught him that time.
“It’s pasta,” she said to Wylan.
“Why is it not waffles?” he asked.
“A very valid question,” Nina grinned, giving him his dish before sitting down. Jesper looked at his family, his eyes catching on Kaz’s.
Kaz had his usual stoney face, watching everything from afar. Joan sat eating her meal quietly. It still took him a little time to get used to her being here, and her having a relationship with Nina. Kinda.
They were working on it, and that was the main thing.
As the sun slowly began to leave the sky, Jesper found himself standing in the garden with Kaz whilst Nina and Wylan danced around the kitchen.
“He’s having a good day,” Jesper whispered to Kaz quietly.
“He is,” the elder agreed, looking at his friend. “He’ll be ok, Jesper.”
“No, Kaz. He won’t. We both know it’s going downhill.”
Kaz shifted, taking a drag of his cigarette.
“You had a good life together. Remember that. You got to live the life you deserved.”
“And what about him?”
“Every morning he gets to fall in love with you all over again,” Kaz said softly.
“Kaz-”
“He tells me. When I come to visit on Thursdays. There are mornings he doesn’t fully remember you, but then he falls in love with you all over again. What you have, Jesper is something very tender. Just take every day as it comes.”
“I love you,” Jesper whispered.
“Yes. I know.”
~
New single from KAZ BREKKER and NINA ZENIK!
Reviewed by JOAN SUMMERS.
The title track, Home Again , was dedicated to their former bandmate WYLAN FAHEY . The second track, Be Good or Be Gone , was a tender exchange.
The single is a new wave for both artists but still proves that these two artists still have talent and will not be going anywhere soon.
Many have speculated about what this will mean for future projects and whether there could be a potential reunion on the horizon for the three remaining members of The Crows.
When asked about these rumors, KAZ , simply answered that they’re just doing what they love. Whereas when NINA , was asked, she shrugged and said that perhaps there will be something more in the future.
Stay tuned for more news regarding The Crows.