*~The One I Love~*
by
Courtney Brown
August 7, 1998

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The first time I met Bush, I fell instantly in love with him.  That dark hair, those deep brown eyes.  His mellowness and great sense of humor.  And that smirk.

You probably think I am talking about Gavin Rossdale, the sexy, long-haired lead singer/songwriter of the British band Bush.  But actually, I'm talking about Dave Parsons, their bass player.  Most girls fall instantly in love with Gavin the first time they see the band.  I'll admit, he is sexy as hell, but I was much more attracted to Dave.

I met Bush through my best friend Gwen Stefani, the singer from No Doubt.  We both lived in Anaheim, California.  We met when I went with a group of my friends to see No Doubt perform live.  I snuck backstage, and was astonished to see the lead singer of this awesome band, which I'd never heard before that night, wearing the same exact outfit that I was!  We were both wearing white tank tops that said "Girl" on them with skater pants and Doc Martens.  We both looked at each other at the exact same time and said, "Nice outfit."  We ended up talking, and we've been best friends ever since. 

Around this time was when Gwen broke up with her boyfriend of seven years, Tony Kanal, the bassist for No Doubt.  Gwen was devastated.  She thought she'd never find another guy as great as Tony.  Poor Gwen, she was absolutely heartbroken.  I even tried to set her up with a couple guys, but she couldn't commit to a serious relationship.

Then, No Doubt got the news that their record label, Trauma Records, wanted them to tour with this British band, Bush.  This was right when ND's album Tragic Kingdom, most of which was written about Gwen's and Tony's relationship, was taking off.  No Doubt were happy to be opening for Bush, who were quickly becoming one of the biggest bands of the decade.

The first night of the tour, Gwen met Gavin Rossdale.  I remember the phone call I got that night.  "Laura," Gwen said.  "I met the most incredible guy."

"Gwen, that's awesome," I said.  "Who is it?"

"Um, you know that band we're opening for, Bush?  Well, their singer, Gavin...my God, he's gorgeous," Gwen gushed.  "I mean, I'm not even really into that type of guy or anything, but he's so nice!  And he's got that accent..aww..."

"Hey, I've got that accent too," I joked, reminding her of my Liverpudlian upbringing.

"You know what I mean!"  Gwen laughed.  "But seriously, all the Bush guys are soooo nice.  Gavin and I hung out all night, and he was really, really sweet to me.  He told me I was beautiful."

"Jeez, Gwen, it sounds like you guys really hit it off," I said, surprised, but really glad for her.

"Yeah, and uh, he kissed me," she said

"What!!"  I said.  "Whoa, Gwen..."

"No, it's cool," she said.  "I think he and I are going to be really close..."

And they've been together ever since. 

Meanwhile, I was back home in Anaheim trying to get a record deal for myself.  I play guitar and some drums, and I was aching to get into a band.

I was also, of course, following the Bush and No Doubt tour.  I started listening to Bush records and stuff, and finding out that I really liked them.  Their music is so raw and full of emotion, it just really struck a cord with me.  I was really anticipating meeting them, and when the tour came to the Pond, I did.

I had anticipated to be blown away by Gavin's persona, and actually, I was.  I had expected him to be arrogant and the typical crybaby rock star, but he isn't, at all.  He is one of the sweetest people I've ever known.  We became friends right away, and now he's like a brother to me.  And he loves Gwen so much.

Through Gavin I met Nigel Pulsford, Bush's lead guitarist.  He is such a great person, and funny.  He's married to Judith Rose, who I'd actually known before because I'd seen her around in London.  Nigel is so talented, I don't think he gets the credit he deserves.

I also met Robin Goodridge, the drummrer.  Gavin has described him as "the drummer from the Muppets" which actually fits him quite well.  He is absolutely amazing to watch perform.  He gives his all to every performance, and comes out exhausted every time.  He's dating Glynis Evans, a very cool and funny person, and they have a beautiful daughter, Ruby Rose.

And then there was Dave Parsons.  Looking back, I think I fell in love with him when I first saw him.  He was so adorable.  And sweet.  He really made me feel welcome, even more so than the other guys.  Too bad he had a girlfriend, Sarah.

The tour ended, and the guys went back in the studio and recorded Razorblade Suitcase, their second album.  This album also had a grueling tour schedule.  No Doubt had also vaulted into the big time with Tragic Kingdom, and had a seperate tour of their own.  It was hard for Gavin and Gwen to be apart, as you can imagine.

Meanwhile, I was at home all alone still waiting, unsuccessfully, for a deal.  I was starting to become quite pissed when I received a rushed phone call from Gavin one morning.

He explained that Nigel was going to be out for five or so dates, because of some family issues.  He didn't want his Bush mates to have to cancel and dissappoint their fans, so Gavin asked if I would tour with them as lead guitarist until Nigel returned.  I agreed at once, of course.

During that time, Dave and Sarah broke up.  I really felt bad because Sarah is a very nice person, but at the same time, I was literally almost leaping for joy, because I liked him so much.

After the five dates, Nigel returned.  I made preparations to go home and wait again.  As I was packing in a motel in New York City, I looked up to see four faces staring at me.

"Hi boys," I said.

"Laura, we have to talk to you," Robin said seriously.  Robin is rarely serious, so I was a bit nervous.  I nodded.

"We don't want you to leave," Nigel said.

Gavin saw my confused look and said, "We mean that, we want you to stay, we want you to be number five."

"What!?"  I said.  They had talked to me about this before, but never with any real committment.

"You've really helped us out on this tour, and you've grown to be part of us," Nigel explained.  "Without you, we would have had to cancel our tour and dissappoint our fans."

"I don't know what to say," I said tearily.

"Say 'yes'!"  Dave replied.

"Yes, Yes!"  I shouted.  We all laughed, and I hugged them all.

There was a press conference to officially recognise me, Laura Wight, as the fifth member of Bush.  We finished the tour and the next year we released a remix album, Deconstructed.

After all the touring and recording non-stop, we were exhausted. Gavin holed up in Ireland for awhile, to write some songs.  He also visited Gwen in LA for a bit to work on No Doubt stuff.  The other guys went home and visited their families, and took vacations to various places.  I bought my own place in London, and just relaxed.

One day while walking my dog, I ran into Dave, who had just returned from New Zealand.  "What have you been doing?"  I asked.

"Camping out with aborigines," he joked, smiling.  He lit a cigaretted.  "You?"

"You're looking at it," I replied.  We laughed.

We talked a while longer and promised to call each other.  But Dave did better than that.  He showed up that night at my flat with a bottle of wine and we both got piss-drunk.

"This is fun," I said, taking a drink.  "I miss all our times, with you and the guys."

"Yeah," he said.  "I'm getting antsy.  I can't wait to go on tour again.  I miss you guys, but especially you, Laura."

"Why?"  I asked.

"Because I love you," he replied.

I looked at him very closely, to see if he meant it or if it was a drunken spur.  He meant it.  His deep brown eyes were totally sober.

"Damn it, Dave, why the hell didn't you say something sooner?  I've been pining away for you for a year!"  I exclaimed.

"Are you serious?"  he asked.  "I was so devastated when Sarah left that I just lost touch with everything.  My God, I didn't even know."

"When did you realise that you felt this way?"  I asked, curious.

"That night in the motel room after you joined us, when you hugged me.  I just knew."

"And you waited this long to tell me?  You bastard!"  I said, punching him in the arm playfully.  We laughed.

"But seriously," Dave said. "Do you want to be with me?"

"God, yes," I replied.  "I've wanted to be with you for over a year now.  I love you."

"I love you," he said, and we kissed.  It led to a lot more.  We woke up the next morning in my bed, but that was fine with the both of us.

A week later, we met with the others to start laying out tabs for the new songs Gavin had written.  The guys' jaws dropped when they saw Dave and I walk into the studio holding hands.

"What do we have here?"  Robin teased.  "It seems that you two enjoyed the holiday."

"Very much," Dave said, picking up his bass.

I said hello to Winston, Gavin's Puli.  He always brings him to the studio.  Then I plugged in my guitar.

"Well, if you two lovebirds can concentrate long enough, we'll start," Gavin said, laughing.

"Oh yeah, just tease," I said.  "Everything Gwen, everything Gwen, I certainly think so!"  I parodied "Everything Zen" and the other guys laughed.  Gavin flipped me off.

"Hey!"  I heard a voice say from the sound booth.  I looked up to see my best friend sitting up there with a look of mock hurt on her pretty face.  I hadn't even known she was in there.  "It isn't all about me," she joked.

"Then who else is it about, love?"  Gavin asked, smiling.

"Why, the love of your life, of couse," Gwen said into the mic.  "Winnie!"

At the sound of his name Winston looked up and grunted, and everyone laughed.

The rest of the day went well, and we laid out several tracks.  Then we went home.

That night, Glynis, Judith, Gwen, and I had a girls' night out.  We went out pubbing, drank a few, and talked out our Bushmen until dawn.

"Robin just hates to change diapers," Glynis said at one point.  "But if he refuses to do it I remind him of all the horrible pain I went through in delivering Ruby.  That gets him going."

"Hopefully Nigel won't do the same thing when we have kids," Judith said.

"I know Gavin will," Gwen joked.  "He's a baby himself sometimes."   We all laughed.

"I don't know about Dave," I said.

"Speaking of which," Judith said, "I could see that one coming."  The other women nodded in agreement.

"What?" I said.

"We could tell you guys had it for each other.  Bad."  Gwen said.

"God, I didn't think it was that obvious!"  I said.  "I even tried to hide it."

"You can't hide love," Glynis said, "love."

"Than why the hell didn't you guys tell us?"  I asked.  They laughed again.

At dawn, I went home.  Dave was there.  I didn't bother to wake him up; he looked so peacful lying there on my couch, where he had fallen asleep watching TV.  I went right to bed.

At noon he brought me breakfast in bed.  We spent the rest of the day there, together.

For the next few days, we concentrated on the new album.  Abruptly, one afternoon when we were finished, Dave pulled me aside.

"What is is, love?"  I asked.

"I'm feeling spontaneous.  Let's go get married."

"Shut up," I said, laughing.

"No, really, let's do it," he insisted.

"We've only been dating a month, dear."

"So what?"  Dave said.  "I love you, you love me.  Who cares?"

"Well, what if six months from now we decide we hate each other?"  I questioned.

"I could never, ever hate you," he replied.  "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

I kissed him and said, "What the hell, let's do it."

So, we did.  Gavin was the best man, Gwen the maid of honor.  We went to a small church in London.  The only other guests were Dave's mother Annie and sisters Trudi and Fleur, and brother Ralph, my parents, Judith, Nigel, Robin, Glynis, Ruby Rose, our manager Dave Dorrell and his wife Claudia, our bodyguard Bone Johnson, and Winston.

The wedding coincided with the release of our fourth album, which created more press hoopla.  But Dave and I didn't care about any of that.  We were too busy being newlyweds to care about much of anything.

We went on tour again; we also won a lot of awards for our best album yet.  Now, we're taking another break.  I have been Laura Parsons for two years now, and Dave and I are thinking of creating some little Parsons.  The marriage bug went around for awhile, biting Robin and Glynis.  That just leaves Gavin and Gwen.  And I'm getting on them.

THE END

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