Headphones On The Train

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. LIVING ROOM - 08:45

6. 
   

7. A rattling, half-lit morning. The windows breathe with condensation. Rain tracks down the pane in uneven lines. PETER sits on a sofa, scrolling through FB on his phone. His thumb stops.

8. 
   

9. PETER (V.O.): Ten Forgotten 60s Songs Only Real 60s Kids Remember!

10. 
    

11. He taps the link. The first song appears: A Lover's Concerto - The Toys

12. 
    

13. PETER (V.O.): I remember this. But the MV is one I've never seen.

14. 
    

15. He watches. His expression one of mild curiosity. Another video plays. Kind of a Drag - The Buckinghams. Then, A Little Bit of Soul - the Music Explosion.

16. 
    

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They sound familiar.

18. 
    

19. Other clips follow. I'm Telling You Now - Fredie and the Dreamers. Dissy - Tommy Roe. Judy in Disguise - John Fred and his Playboy Band. Tracy - The Cuff Links. Gimme Gimme Good Loving - Crazy Elephant. Get Together - the Young Bloods, Build Me Up Buttercup - The Foundations.

20. 
    

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I remember all these.

22. 
    

23. Peter leans back. He closes his eyes, the memory is vivid.

24. 
    

25. Act 2

26. 
    

27. FLASHBACK

28. 
    

29. EXT. X'MAS VARIETY SHOW, SHUNG TAK COLLEGE - DAY (1970)

30. 
    

31. The show ends. Peter (16) and his BANDMATES pack up.

32. 
    

33. PETER (V.O.): This is the end of it.

34. 
    

35. He looks down at a guitar and rests his hand on the strings.

36. 
    

37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I can't be a rockstar. It's a fantasy,

38. 
    

39. Pausing.

40. 
    

41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My public exams are less than six months away...

42. 
    

43. He nods.

44. 
    

45. INT. MASTER BED ROOM, PETER'S NT HOME - NIGHT (1986)

46. 
    

47. The bedside radio. The dial is tuned. A warm, smooth voice of Uncle Ray fills the room. Peter (32) lies in bed, listening.

48. 
    

49. PETER (V.O.): I won the Foreign Office scholarship, and I'm furthering my legal studies in UK soon.

50. 
    

51. We hear songs of the 60s from the radio.

52. 
    

53. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Apart from Sharon, I'd miss this radio programme. Uncle Ray is the only one who plays the music I loved.

54. 
    

55. INT. ROYAL ALBERT HALL - NIGHT (Late 1986)

56. 
    

57. Not full. Peter watches the HOLLIES performing live.

58. 
    

59. PETER (V.O.): The first time I watch one of my most favourite British bands of the 60s performing live.

60. 
    

61. EXT. WALES - DAY (Easter, 1987)

62. 
    

63. Peter and SHARON (32) are motoring. The car's cassette player is on. We hear songs of the 60s.

64. 
    

65. PETER (V.O.): In our last X'mas motoring, we just focused on the sights.

66. 
    

67. RETURN TO PRESENT

68. 
    

69. INT. MTR TRAIN - 18:45

70. 
    

71. Peter sits on a priority seat. Faint and tinny sounds of songs of the 60s escape from his headphones.

72. 
    

73. PETER (V.O.): Years ago, I found the Hong Kong internet radio "Apple-Fm". All the old songs. All the time.

74. 
    

75. Listening.

76. 
    

77. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So now, I take the train. I take the coach on holiday. And I plug in.

78. 
    

79. Listening.

80. 
    

81. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I didn't become a rockstar. I became a lawyer. I wear a suit. I raise a family. I am a good man.

82. 
    

83. He closes his eyes as the music swells his ears.

84. 
    

85. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I have these headphones on, I'm 16 again. I don't mind I chose the life I did.

86. 
    

87. Listening.

88. 
    

89. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The music is always there. It's the only thing that doesn't have to change.

90. 
    

91. Peter gets off to change to another crowded train.

92. 
    

93. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Uncle Ray retired at the age of 96, on my birthday anniversary in 2021. He died on 13 Jan, 2023.

94. 
    

95. Standing. Peter holds tight.

96. 
    

97. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Peter King, who succeeded Uncle Ray's programme format, died in 2024.

98. 
    

99. No seated PASSENGERS, including the young ONES on priority seats, would give Peter a seat.

100. 
     

101. Act 3

102. 
     

103. INT. BEDROOM - 22:00

104. 
     

105. Peter uploads an image to a set of headphones to a draft on his laptop.

106. 
     

107. PETER (V.O.): The train moves me forward through the city. But headphones on the train move me backward through the years. I arrive at my stop twice - once in body, once in memory.

108. 
     

109. Thinking.

110. 
     

111. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The tracks rattle, the annoucements blare, the passengers scroll and swipe. But with headphones on the train, I hear the same tambourine shake that I heard when I was 16.

112. 
     

113. Reflecting.

114. 
     

115. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Seventy-two years on this Earth. Forty thousand commutes. One pair of headphones. And a thousand songs that never forget me, even when I almost forget myself.

116. 
     

117.  The END

118. 
     

119. FADE OUT