Welcome to the latest Snippet Series within The Prodigal Band Trilogy, Controversial Topics! In the previous post I mentioned two of the most controversial topics within the trilogy, evolution and indentured servitude, both topics relating to two of the prodigal band members. But I will begin the series with a topic that does not get a lot of play within the trilogy, politics.
Here is one definition of politics: the activities associated with the governance of a country or other area, especially the debate or conflict among individuals or parties having or hoping to achieve power. (Source: Bing search engine)
I chose politics as the first in the series not only because of the mess regarding the recent presidential election in the US—and I did not vote for either Trump or Biden as I do not support either one, nor am I Republican or Democrat, nor am I left-wing or right-wing…and in my opinion what was defined as left- or right-wing back in the 60s and 70s has changed greatly over the last twenty or so years. In other words, I am apolitical. As for who will actually wind up in the White House next month, I have to hand it to George Wallace (his awful racism aside), who said this truth—“There’s not a dime’s worth of difference between a Republican and a Democrat.” (Note: Wallace was Democrat, which today would seem extremely contradictory since he really was racist and today’s Democrats act like “social justice warrior” types (but I still think they are closet racists…what exactly have they done for blacks other than keep them in poverty? The nation’s poorest blacks all live in Democrat-run cities like Baltimore and Detroit!).
Well, enough of “politics”! BTW, I hate politics! It’s all about power, after all.
No matter what definition I use for politics, it is the ‘ruler’ over the politics that remains hidden to most voters or otherwise. In some nations this ruler is the one with the most money, or rules over some dictator, or rules over some general, or is seemingly an oligarch or bankster or criminal even. Some nations are monarchies like the UK that have governing bodies like Parliaments and some are ruled by religious types or are backed by religious leaders (think Iran and Israel here). In my novels, the seeming ‘rulers’ are extremely wealthy bankers and oligarchs and aristocrats, within Britain (do I even mention the Royal Family? Hardly…but these books are fictional, after all).
Instead of a few short snippets I am now going to post one long one as it all works together in ‘sub-snippets’ using different time-frames all within the first novel in the trilogy, Battle of the Band, from Chapters Three and Four. The ‘rulers’ within the novels, Novordo Club members Baron Torquay-Lambourgeau, the Duke of Effingchester, media moguls X and Y meet to discuss just how are they going to deal with and use to their advantage the ‘prodigal band,’ Sound Unltd, whom they recently had banned from a music hall venue for ‘obscene stage antics.’ Yet they believed they could control this band that was being promoted as ‘youth idols’ so that these evil men could turn the world’s youth to debauched nihilism to ‘please their god, Corion’ (the Satan character of my trilogy). After all, Torquay’s rebellious son, Joe Phillips, was their manager as well. So that, while they planned to use Sound Unltd to do their dirty work, that ‘prodigal band’ had its own agenda according to their collective egos and to heck with what the ‘rulers’ wanted! Part of that band agenda was to set up their own record label called ‘Foray.’ That way, the band would have greater control over what they produced as well as more financial control. Well, this would not be tolerated by their ‘overlords’! Therefore, the band had to be ‘put in their place’ with a plot to have them banned from their country for their ‘rebelliousness,’ not against Christian morality, but against their overlords. So that, around the time the record label would be set up is when the UK ban would occur, using the fictitious ‘Ministry of Culture.’ And Swami Negran, the evil New Age cult leader whom was guided by Corion, would aid in their plot.
December 3, 1989
Geneva, Switzerland (WorldPress): A spokesperson for the World Youth Cultural Council announced today, “The WYCC has adopted the following position: to support efforts by Indian religious leader Swami Rashnish Negran to establish his holistic and nature-healing Church of the Circle of Unity as a world-wide spiritual force to replace the outmoded—and war-promoting—traditional religions.” Also in the statement, the WYCC person said, “We are also of the opinion that, with their phenomenal mega-success in less than a year, Sound Unltd appears to be the hero-idols the world’s youth are searching for, despite their Music Hall banning over obscene stage antics.”
Before returning to their homes for the Christmas holidays, four luminaries of the Novordo Club—Baron Torquay-Lambourgeau, Messers. X and Y and the Duke of Effingchester—met secretly in the drawing room of Effingchester’s castle.
“It’s not that I banned Sound Unltd in the name of Christian morality,” the Duke told the others. “I had them banned to disgrace my idiot cousin, Joe Phillips. He’ll bring the Torquay-Lambourgeaus down one of these days. With all due respect, Baron, your son has absolutely no interest in furthering our world community designs on our planet’s youth.”
“He has been a disappointment,” Baron Torquay said, settled back in his plush leather chair as if he already owned the world. “But our five, now six, young men haven’t. Their greed, their egos, and their desire for greatness and glory in their quest to be the best rock band ever are driving them right into our hands. The younger generation is already suckered into following them with their ungodly stage antics. Our Lord Lucifer has deemed it so. I’m not worried, Effingchester, about their lewd morality. I’m worried about recent disruptions in the band’s united front. Discord between the new one Keith and Bryan. Their dislike for one another could spell split-up. Put that together with enmity between Mick and Tom, and our chosen youth leaders could disappoint us and Our Lord as well. We have to make Sound Unltd feel that their coming achievements in money and power outweigh their individual desires.”
“It doesn’t help,” Effingchester said, “that their success, which we have brought about, is causing them to massage their own egos, as is happening. I think they need to be put in their places, don’t you, Torquay?”
“In due time. That particular plan needs some details worked out.”
Mr. Y sat up. “The plan to ban them in the United Kingdom? Do you really think they can recover from that with their popularity intact?”
“Of course. When the six do recover, the world’s youth will know for sure that Sound Unltd is the legendary ruler of youth culture they seek to follow. But we have to throw these boys off balance in the meantime. Such uppity young whippersnappers, believing they are the ones responsible for their great success. Indeed!”
“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about them seeing the need to stay together,” Mr. X explained. “Sound Unltd’s success provides for them their uppermost desires that wouldn’t be satisfied by being split up. For Erik, it is untold fame and especially wealth without the guilt of knowing his partners weren’t also sharing it. For Jack, it’s a chance to rule a band into glorious legend as he ran the gang. He can’t let go of that gang-leader position he knows the others accept—though Bryan sometimes makes a farce of trying to foil it. For Mick, it’s a chance to be the spiritual leader of the world’s most exclusive cult. When he becomes their producer, he’ll ram his Corionic ideas into their music. For Bryan, it is having a super-mega-star band to play his new instrument for and having that band help him market the thing. For Tom, it is having a youth authority position to spout his own Marxist-World Community ideology with impunity and to be among the jet-setters that lavish upon him anything he desires. For Keith, it is the grand possibility that he can have his cherished Code and eat it, too. Having promised his ex-lieutenant Charlie that he’d uphold that Code, he can now whittle it away with women, drugs, and pleasures he’d never have as a factory drone and still maintain the façade that he follows it.”
“Right,” Torquay said. “Effingchester, I suggest you take charge of banning our sextet, say, the middle of next year.” He then turned to Mr. X. “You said before the meeting that you knew of a man who could steer our boys away from disharmony if the need arose. I want you to get in touch with him. Make him see that he must get in very, very tight with our lads, and Jack in particular. Jack will be a problem because he’s so brainwashed by the Code, and he keeps himself away from mysticism. You might want your man to work on Erik first. If he could get our singer to see the fallacies of the Code while knowing the pleasures of Corion concepts, the egotistical vocalist will probably drag Jack, and maybe even Keith, into the spirit realm as well.”
“It’s done, Torquay. I’ll contact Swami Negran. He can steer them into the World Community Artists Foundation first.”
Overhead, the Demons nodded their approval.
(Later: At a NYC arena concert in June, 1990)
Swami Rashnish Negran heard the passion in the music and how the fans ate up what the six dished out; he saw the power and charisma from the fanaticism in the audience. He said to himself, “This is the greatest rock band ever! They will lead the youth, and they will even lead their colleagues. I must know them!”
Yet with all the Torquay-Lambourgeau power and influence behind him, Negran couldn’t convince Bryan’s big and brawny biker security that his backstage pass was real. Head roadie Chet Lesley told him once and for all, “Screw this pass. They don’t go for you guru types. On your way, mate.”
The pony-tailed swami returned to his New York Church of the Circle of Unity convinced that Sound Unltd had enough personal power to be its own Corionic sub-cult under his divine influence.
A cult? A television news magazine explored the question. As a portion of a Sound Unltd concert appeared on TV screens across America, a commentator for the Sunday night program said, “Their stage presence suggests almost religious proportions, but are they merely the world’s foremost rock band, or a cult? Their guitar-synth player and producer, Mick Pordengreau, is a leader of a Druidic-Corion cult, and is rumored to be a devil-worshiper. All six wear the earrings of The Corionic Cross, considered Satanic. Do the incessantly licentious stage antics, often bordering on the obscene, signal the beginning of the most shocking era in popular music history?”
The commentator didn’t know it, but Britain’s Prosecution Service was about to ensure that all the ‘incessantly licentious stage antics’ signaled was the end of Sound Unltd.
Joe had notified the six of a hearing on September 1, 1990, under the Obscene Publications Act—for the content of Dripping Gold and a subsequent product that contained two songs promoting what the government called “school gang violence and cannibalism”—and the Obscene Business Act—for the content of the feature-length video, Banned At The Hall—to see if Sound Unltd broke any laws for which they could be banned permanently.
In Mick’s hotel suite the following day before performing in Chicago, all six, as well as their road manager, several groupies and other friends watched the six o’clock news show on which the hearing was reported.
“Look,” Mick cried. “It’s Ally Foxworth! What she doing at a hearing to ban us?”
“If you’d shut up, Skinny, we’d find out.” Tom turned up the volume on the TV.
The gathering heard Allyson Hallsey-Foxworth tell the prosecutor, “Mr. Pordengreau did entice me with all sorts of naughtiness and drugs to join his Slake of Satan cult.”
Mick jumped off his bed onto the arm of Peaches La Crème as he yelled at the TV. “Screw you, bitch! Liar!”
The red-head yelled, “Get off me!”
Erik finally shoved Mick off his East Coast love.
Peaches waxed sarcastic. “That’s okay, Mick. I didn’t need that arm anyway.”
Jack sniped at them. “Shut the hell up! Listening—”
“Shhhhh!” Snapped his own lady, Artesia, a nubile young black woman.
The TV reporter was heard to say, “The Court ruled that the Prosecution did not present enough facts in evidence to set a trial, and the case was thrown out.”
The following night, Mick told a Chicago reporter during a press party back stage, “Sound Unltd is like six gigantic egos, waiting to explode. We’ve been vindicated. Our unity of expression has smashed the plot to break us.”
The Duke of Effingchester heard the guitarist quoted on the six o’clock news. “That’s what you think, Mr. Pordengreau.”
On the evening of September 4, 1990, to the surprise of the other news watchers, the anchorman reported, “Sound Unltd has been banned from conducting business and performances in the United Kingdom and sales of all recordings are also forbidden as of today. A spokesman for the Ministry of Culture said that the ban should send a warning to performing artists to tone down what he called the degenerate morality exhibited by some acts.”
It was later discerned that the biggest reason for the ban was to delay the setting up of Sound Unltd’s new independent record label, Foray. For Colin Hedgely of EpiGram Records refused to renew their recording contract in June, 1990. He considered Sound Unltd too controversial to re-sign what was EpiGram’s hottest selling recording act.
Inwardly angry, band manager Joe Phillips lounged in his TV chair smoking a cigarette. That damned Duke cousin of mine! And it’s all my fault. Effingchester’s only getting back at me for choosing my own life instead of joining him in his world domination designs. The devil take him!
(And then the ban was suddenly ended, on the elite’s own schedule)
February 11, 1991
“We can no longer justify the ban against Sound Unltd on enforcement grounds,’ The Ministry of Culture announced at noon today, in response to continued floods of protest from law enforcement units hampered in preventing smuggling efforts. At two p.m. today, the government rescinded the so-called Infamous Ban. Joe Phillips, manager of Sound Unltd, told the press that, ‘My boys expect a public apology from the Ministry, and, should their recovery of sales standing be irreparably damaged, the band will sue for monetary damages. But for now, we’re glad it’s over.’” The New York TV news anchorman also stated, “None of Sound Unltd have been available for comment.”
Whether you are into politics or not, you might want to purchase any of the novels at the Bookstore link above from Omegabooks, or purchase the whole trilogy at the bookstore links. Plus you can download The Prodigal Band FREE PDF at the download FREE PDF link above.
The Prodigal Band Trilogy © 2019 by Deborah Lagarde, Battle of the Band © 1996 by Deborah Lagarde, The Prophesied Band © 1998 by Deborah Lagarde and The Prodigal Band © 2018 by Deborah Lagarde. Permission needed to copy any materials off this page.
Photo of crown above copyright © 2009 Deborah Lagarde (taken at a museum in Washington, DC.)
OmegaBooks 
One thought on “Snippets of The Prodigal Band Trilogy Controversial Topics Series: Episode One-Politics”