Of the three, the drummer had the most alert face. Big round eyes in a bouncing head, like a friendly children’s puppet. He took a couple of jerky steps over to Neil and held out a hand to shake. ‘Lee. Hiya. So, you’re a pal of Clio’s?’

‘This is the journalist,’ the other one, the guitarist, said. ‘This is the boy that’s coming on the road with us.’

‘Oh, right! That’s you, then. Pretty handy that, that you’re a mate of Clio’s an all, eh? Neil, is it? That’s Sean, there, and the big fella here is Donald. He don’t talk much, but he’s sound, aren’t you, mate?’

Neil just nodded. He honestly couldn’t think of anything to say.

‘Anyway, you’re in with us tonight,’ Lee was saying, trying to invite him in. ‘Pretty cosy arrangement we’ve got! Donald here snores a bit – don’t you, big lad – but you get used to it.’

Neil thought about Clio out there with the straggling autograph hunters, wondered if she was talking to them about politics, or if they’d got bored and gone home. He thought about how small she’d seemed out there on the stage.

‘So. Lee – how did you meet her?’

‘Clio? Oh yeah, yeah. Me and Sean are in a band of our own, see, and she was on before us at this massive poll tax rally in Liverpool – that were the night she got signed, weren’t it, lad? A&R fella was there. We all went out to the pub after and, ah, a few ales were consumed, shall we say, and we’ve all been pals since. Amazing gel, int she? Proper, like. We played some more rallies together, and then when “Rise Up” went all massive she had us come and be her band a couple of times. Did you see Top of the Pops? That were us, eh.’

‘Closest we’ll ever get,’ muttered Sean.

‘Yeah, she looks after her own, that gel. So she said she wanted to do this tour and would we come; well, me and him were doing fuck all in Liverpool, like, and we’ve never been to Scotland before, have we? Sean’s looking forward to the Isle of Skye and Orkney, aren’t you?’

Sean nodded. ‘I’m into ancient monuments, like.’

At this, the older man, Donald, got up and left the room, nodding to them all.