Page 101 - Student: dazed And Confused

Just another girl

While I was working as an agent, I lived with a guy for a while. It was Jack Sneed; stage
name Jake Smile. I ended up managing him more than his career in the end. Sometimes, it
seemed as though Jake was on some kind of self destruct mission. Anyway, I saw some
things while I was there. Stuff he might not want me to talk about.

See, Jake has always given the impression that he's a very private person but he's
not. If you ask him a question, he'll answer it as honest as he can. But he's a rocker so, you
know, bullshitting comes second nature to him. There are just some things he doesn't want
getting out because, well, because they might hurt other people he said but I've never seen
him do anything to help anyone else. He won't even spring a few hundred grand to get his
sister off the council estate. Not wanting this getting out, he's just covering his own back.
Ever heard the phrase 'effortlessly beautiful?' It was created for Jake. He gets
wasted every night, though his stopped the drugs mostly, and eats either too much or too

little. And he still looks good. He's carrying a few extra pounds, the wrong side of forty,
sometimes rides a motorbike. But he's got shoulder-length brown hair (going silver now),
his muscles are still there and the most winning smile in Britain. He could have his pick of
the ladies to share his bed and he sometimes does. It's not just the fact that he looks great,
he's got a brilliant mind too. He had a few big hits in the early nineties and just went into
retreat when he stopped topping the charts. When he puts his mind to it, he can come out
with the most lovely words and lyrics you've ever heard. But he rarely does that, nor get
back behind a piano. When he does though, it's like watching a teenager who's just found a
new love. I think he loves playing as much as I love listening to him.
For years and years, Jake has done nothing but sit on his fattening backside and live

off royalties and repeat fees (he did a bit of acting back when he was the big thing.)
Occasionally, there were bright days when he might pick up a pen or sit behind the piano
and start churning out the riffs and melodies like he had never stopped, but I don't recall a
single song that ever got finished while I was there. The fact that he hadn't produced any
new material in over a decade didn't stop people from idolising him though. Whether he
wanted it or not, Jake Smile was still famous and people still listened to his music. They
always wanted one more go, to hear him one last time, find out if he's as good as he used to
be. That's probably why he did it.
Somehow, he got himself roped into performing at this charity gig - AIDS or

something like that. He probably heard there was free food.