Page 61 - SpontaneousSuccessMatos

resilient. The music was my shield, my armor, my
protection against the world.
I aced the audition in Lisbon, and soon "A Chave"
was born. With Oscar on keyboards, Jose-Luis on guitar,
Figueiredo on bass, Cyrilo on drums, Jose Prazeres at
the helm as manager, and yours truly, "Nicholas Sharp
direct from London," on vocals. We spent the next year
and a half living the dream. We traversed the country,
playing in clubs, on campuses, recording jingles, and
having the time of our lives.
The sun-kissed Algarve coast was our playground for
the summers of '68 and '69. José scored three-month
gigs at "The Pescador", a swashbuckling nightclub in
Albufeira that was the epitome of cool. This two-story
nautical wonderland was a treasure trove of fishing nets,
lobster pots, and colorful buoys, transporting patrons to
a world of maritime magic.
But it was downstairs where the real action
happened. Our stage became the pulsing heart of the
party, where hundreds of vacationers would let loose and
dance the night away. The music was hot, the crowd was
electric, and the nights blurred together in a haze of
excitement and excess. We were the kings of that
summer, and "The Pescador" was our kingdom.
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