THE DECADE OF LOVE AND THE SHADOW OF STAY
I remember where I was that fateful morning. I think anyone old enough in September 1997 will remember where they were too. It just came so out the blue and took everyone by such shock. It was such a poignant moment, how could anyone forget it?
I was in the car with my mother when I heard it. We sat in silence, shocked, not knowing how to take it in. My mother gradually slowed the car and we pulled up into a lay-by, hazard lights flashing. As we ground to a halt I could see a solitary tear trickling down her face, her hands were visibly shaking, it was that sort of moment. I knew I had to say something to break the silence but I didn’t know what to say, how could you put it into words? I was only 10 at the time, soon to be 11, but somehow I already knew the social significance of what had just happened.
‘Stay’ conquered the Canadian dance chart for 4 weeks at number 1; no one could get close to it. Its domination continued throughout Europe too. It bullied its way straight in at number 19 in Switzerland and crashed into the top 40 in Austria, Belgium, Ireland and Italy while in England, it triumphantly sat pretty at number 2 for numerous weeks in the UK chart. It also reached number 10 in Germany.
With the production team Sash! originating from Germany some interpreted it as a delayed reaction from the nation; a final peace treaty almost for all the bloodshed and sorrow this great country had caused during the past century. A “sorry for World War I, and World War II. Please accept Stay by Sash, I hope it can go some way to help heal the physical and mental wounds that we have caused. Now here’s the to 21st Century.” It seemed to work.
With the September release of Stay by Sash!, a new culture was born. A new era had begun. It was a defining moment and the perfect end to the 20th Century. What we didn’t know is what was to happen next.
It’s now 2016, almost 19 years after Stay was released. But where are we now? In hindsight it’s clear to see where we went wrong and also the deadly part that Sash! played in it. We as a nation and as a planet, we got greedy. We never thought the Stay bubble would burst, and why should we? No one could foresee it coming. How could they. The initial rush and cultural revolution was dramatic, like a tsunami crashing through every city and country, leaving a trail of euphoria in its trail. In England particularly, this period was known as the ‘Age of Plenty’. To the beat of Stay, the economy boomed, unemployment continued to fall and the feeling was one of hope and prosperity. Then something odd happened.
On 23rd November 2007, just more than 10 years after its release it all changed. I remember listening to the radio in the morning. I was 20 by this time and most definitely part of the Stay generation. My morning routine run like clockwork. My radio alarm would go off at 6:55AM every morning. For 5 minutes I would stir and slowly wake. At 7:00AM the hourly news roundup would take place and then be naturally followed by Sash! — Stay. 7:06AM every morning, bang, good morning London! It was a Friday too, which naturally increased everyone’s mood further. But that particular morning was strange. “I had a dream last night. You held my hand…” ‘Great, here we go’ I thought to myself. But it never did, it just never got going. The song played through and ended and I was still lying in my bed, if anything my eyes felt heavier than before, it made no impact on me. The song finished and the radio fell silent; I could hear frantic muttering between the DJ’s off mic and then suddenly the song kicked in again. But again, the song ended and nothing, I felt nothing. The DJ erupted with a confused and maniacal laugh, his voice became frantic with a sense of anger and fear embedded within each breath, unsure of what to do next. I called in sick from work that day. I phoned the office to say I was ill but no one answered, I left a voicemail but never heard back.
In early 2008 the global financial crash happened. Bankers were blamed for throwing money into investments that wouldn’t be profitable and were extremely risky, like they had no care in the world. The world was bought to its financial knees, superpowers like America and similarly smaller countries like Greece and Ireland were flat broke. Morale was at an all-time low, a far cry from 10 years ago, when their musical charts promised otherwise. A lynch mob was formed in Canada, the country which believed in Sash! most. A television crew followed this lynch mob for several series while they hunted Sash!. Series 8 episode 3 was the moment when they finally got their man. This didn’t solve anything though and all members of the lynch mob, one by one, lynched themselves to death in public acts of insolence. In reaction to this, the UN globally banned Sash — Stay from public radio and all television.
This period was known as “In the shadow of Stay”. How could anything compete musically, culturally, socially or otherwise? We as humans knew that we had reached our peak and all that remained for us now was the inevitable decline. Experts believe that the new craze of pop up restaurants and obsessing over food markets is a direct reaction to this. What can inspire you to try and create? Why try and express yourself? People had given up hope and, while being too cowardly to admit it, under the guise of loving independent food stalls, began to gouge on burgers and other rich foods in a desperate attempt for an early grave, they knew that the summits of Stay could never be reached again.
I’m not sure where we go from here. The world has changed. If you walk the streets of Soho at night you can still find dark pockets dishing out a quick hit of Sash! but the effect is short, erratic and usually induces spouts of vomiting and dizziness. It’s definitely been mixed with something.
In 1963, Martin Luther King had “..a dream”. In 2007, Sash! had a dream last night, we were there, we held their hand so tight, we thought we’d just die. Do you remember? When we used to have so much fun. I used to cry sometimes. But those days are gone. Do you remember?
END