20080706

Tribute Act

by Jonathan Pinnock

A fly buzzes in the warm indoor air. The only occupant of the room lies dead on the floor. Next to him are two empty bottles: one of vodka, one of pills. By his limp right hand there is a music magazine, open at a page containing an unflattering picture and a damning review that describes him as a low-rent Hendrix tribute act. So it is perhaps appropriate that he has died by choking on his own vomit following an overdose. A fly buzzes in the warm indoor air.

6S

Jonathan Pinnock was born in Bedfordshire, England, and - despite having so far visited over forty other countries - has failed to relocate any further away than the next-door county of Hertfordshire. He is married with two children and a 1961 Ami Continental jukebox. His writing has won a number of prizes, short-listings and long-listings.