David Cassidy on the Web
1970s teen idol to rock Silver Reef Casino
July 30, 2008
David Cassidy concert is Saturday at 8 p.m.
by Shana Keen
Record-Journal online
As a 14-year-old, Marie Didricksson sat in her room in Sweden for hours with her two best friends listening to David Cassidy records.
When he announced a world-tour stop in Stockholm, Didricksson said she felt she would die if she did not get tickets.
Thirty four years, two months, three weeks and four days after she first set eyes upon Cassidy in person, the Ferndale resident, now Marie Bowen, will be reliving her teenage years Aug. 2 as she sings along with the artist at the Silver Reef Casino.
"The Partridge Family" star gained the admiration of countless teenage girls even in Sweden, Bowen said, despite the fact that the television show did not air there in the 1970s.
With only one television channel on for a couple of hours a day, Bowen said the Sunday night radio show that played the top hits in all of Europe introduced the teen idol to her rural Swedish life.
Since moving to Ferndale in 1996, Bowen said she has not let on to her neighbors about her teenage love of Cassidy.
During her youth, Bowen had started a little competition between her and her friends to see who could make the best Cassidy scrapbook.
The two-inch thick scrapbook, complete with a Cassidy paper doll she rediscovered while doing a bit of spring cleaning a few months ago, sparked a renewed interest in the musician. She said she briefly thought about selling her work on eBay but decided to keep it.
"I think it says something," Bowen said. "That at some point in my life, when clearing things out, I felt like the scrapbook should be packed away."
Aaron Thomas, director of marketing for the casino, said it was people like Bowen who brought Cassidy to Ferndale.
He said the marketing team listens to guests about who they would like to see at the casino, and Cassidy's name kept coming up, so he was placed on the short list of performers the Silver Reef wanted to invite.
An offer was made and Cassidy is now coming to do a show, Thomas said.
"It's amazing to look at his Web site," Thomas said. "There's East Coast venues and shows overseas. Then there's Ferndale, Wash."
While Bowen's husband was driving about on July 16, he heard an announcement about the upcoming concert and had to call his wife right away to tell her.
Bowen said she was afraid the show might have already sold out, so she called the casino right away and was relieved when she was able to purchase two of the $40 tickets.
Bowen said she has been looking forward to the concert ever since. She plans to get her hair and nails done before the big night, she said.
May 8, 1974, the day of the concert in Stockholm, is a day Bowen recalls vividly.
Three girls -- Bowen and friends -- boarded a bus from their town to Stockholm before getting on a ferry that took them out to the amusement park where the concert was held, Bowen said.
The newspaper clippings in her scrapbook revealed a massive group of screaming girls, some in tears and others being carted away by an ambulance after passing out at the event.
The 8,000-person crowd appeared to be mostly teenage girls.
For the upcoming concert, Bowen said she is expecting it to be a hoard of middle-aged women -- some of whom, such as herself, are dragging their husbands along for the show.
"While I'm really excited about it, it's on a completely different level from before," Bowen said.
Thomas said the fanfare for the show has been larger than expected. He said he now expects the show to be a near sellout crowd.
Since announcing the show July 3, Thomas said his office has received many requests for autographed merchandise, but whether or not Cassidy signs anything is up to the artist.
Bowen's favorite Cassidy song was "I Think I Love You," and she said she hopes he plays it at the concert because it brings back the feelings she had back then.
"Of course, I felt that it was directed toward me," Bowen said, "and not all those other crazy teenagers."
For a month during her adolescence, Bowen's parents had sent her with one of her best friends to stay in England for an English-learning program, Bowen said.
In between her English and sailing classes, Bowen's life became about watching Cassidy on "The Partridge Family" as much as possible and buying Cassidy memorabilia.
"We walked off the plane with six bags of magazines and T-shirts that wouldn't fit in our suitcases," Bowen said. "My mom was appalled."
When Bowen told her mom about the upcoming concert, she said her mom laughed and remembered her daughter's love of the singer.
Bowen said the two-year period of her life devoted to David Cassidy ended as she began high school, where she moved onto Elton John.
Silver Reef Casino event:
What: David Cassidy concert
When: 8 p.m. on Aug. 2
Where: Silver Reef Casino Pavilion
Cost: Tickets are $40 and can be purchased by phone or in person
