Taste of Your Love

February 23, 1987

Ric Reynolds was still not used to the concept of a humid February, but he smiled as he listened to his agent complain over the Telecom payphone about the snowstorm that had paralyzed New York City. It was beautiful weather here in Chatswood, almost too beautiful, and he wished he could send some of it back to his freezing agent.

Ric was in the middle of a car park in Chatswood, the same car park where Icehouse had filmed their video for "Can't Help Myself" a few years earlier, back when they were called Flowers. Ric loved the look of the car park when he saw that video, and wanted to film the video for his new single, "Taste of Your Love," in the same location.

The director of the video, Philip Armstrong, wasn't as laid back as Ric. The veteran commercial director was irritated that Melissa-Anne Kennedy, the model and dancer who had been hired to star in the video with Ric, was running late. "This is embarrassing," Philip yelled to no one in particular. "They told me she has a reputation for doing this!"

"It's all right," Ric smiled. "Everything happens for a reason."

"That's bullshit," Philip replied. "Unreasonable things happen, then you've got to deal with them."

Just then, a black Statesman de Ville pulled up to the car park, and a tall beauty with long, reddish-blonde hair and fair skin strode out from the back seat. She wore a tight, light-pink dress that emphasized every curve in her body; Ric, Philip and the crew all stared as the young woman walked to the driver's seat and gave the elderly chauffeur a friendly kiss and a wave.

"Shit," Philip whispered as the young woman approached.

"Phil," Ric whispered, "remember, you're a married man and I'm not."

"Shut the fuck up."

"G'day," the young woman smiled. "So great to meet both of you! Phil, I love all your commercials," she said, shaking Philip's hand. "And you must be Ric. I like your suit!"

"Y--yes," Ric said, trying his best to subtly hide his erection, now pressing against his blue slacks. "You must be Melissa-Anne."

"You guess well," the young woman smiled. "Did anyone ever tell you you look like Lando?"

"Lando?"

"From 'Star Wars'--you know, Billy Dee Williams? Actually, you look a lot better! You must have been fighting to keep the girls away from you once you got here!"

"Well, not really," Ric replied. In fact, Ric had been a bit nervous before he made his first trip over. He had heard any number of old negative stories--about Sonny Clay being kicked out of the country after being caught cavorting half-naked with women in Melbourne, about Clarence Reeves, the "Alabama Kid," being deported even though he had married here and had fathered two children, about the horror in the audience at Rushcutters Bay when Jack Johnson won the world title. Before the filming of the video, he had spent most of his time in the hotel, watching TV, ordering room service and trying to stay out of trouble.

How was he going to avoid trouble now? Melissa-Anne was so beautiful that he wanted to drop to his knees and praise her loveliness. Her fair skin was perfect down to every pore. Her blue eyes were so clear and striking, her nose flawlessly regal, her legs magnificent--every inch of her body was cute. What if his erection was visible on camera as Phil filmed?

The plot of the video was fairly basic: Ric in his car daydreaming until Melissa-Anne knocked on his driver's-side window and enticed him to come out and dance. Ric lip-synched the lyrics, but the vision of her beauty almost made him want to sing the lyrics directly to her live:

"Something 'bout you, baby
Gets me boiling hot
Want to do it to you, lady
Give you all that I've got

"You and I just go together
Like a hand in a glove
Baby, nothing could be better
Than the taste of your love..."

Phil and his videographer, Russell Keane, made sure not to get any shots of Ric's visible erection that were too blatant for MTV, but they couldn't obscure the lust in Ric's eyes, how he was clearly thinking about Melissa-Anne's body and what she would look like nude as he danced with her. There was a glint in Melissa-Anne's eyes that was equally unmistakable; Phil thought that perhaps Melissa-Anne was thinking about what it would be like to have Ric's mouth on her pussy, licking away as his dark hands played with her pale breasts.

After filming ended, Melissa-Anne shook hands again with Phil, and thanked his crew for their work. Then, she walked over to Ric and whispered in his ear. Ric visibly shook as Melissa-Anne concluded her sentence and gave him a quick kiss on his earlobe; she waved at him as she walked towards the black Statesman de Ville, which had returned to the set as scheduled.

As Melissa-Anne's chauffeur drove away from the car park, Phil walked over to Ric.

"What'd she say, mate?"

Ric smiled.

"She said she wanted to know how long I'd be in town," the singer replied. "She said she wouldn't mind giving me a taste!"