Suddenly we were in the Sunday Times, the Telegraph and various style magazines such as Vogue and Harpers. This was just the coverage and attention we were looking for and everyone loved the songs.  We believed we were on our way, even if our audience was invite-only, the enthusiasm was real and the music was real.

But the record companies wouldn’t touch us.  I was too old and had been around the block too many times.  They were determined not to give me another go, despite the rave reviews and the great songs.  Also there was the legacy of negativity from the Sputnik years, the rise and fall, “fleece the world” etc. headlines, where I had mouthed off too many times and said things that had pissed off the suits and they had not forgotten or forgiven me.

It was a salutary lesson in bridge burning and without the support of the industry, it soon became clear that we were powerless to move to the next stage.

And inevitably, the other Sputnik legacy was being repeated. As the band began to get press and attention, everyone started to get that little bit carried away. It happens so fast; a little bit of fame and attention and suddenly it’s living the high life and wanting more, acting the part, with egos to match -- even though at this point it was still all an illusion of success, artificially created and supported, both financially and otherwise, by Penelope and myself. 

Before you knew it -- as with Sputnik and so many bands in the history of rock and roll -- everyone got carried away.  We hit a wall very quickly because I believe there wasn’t that solid bedrock that fledgling bands have formed, built on years of struggle, mutual hardships and long standing friendships.  Relatively speaking, it had all happened so fast and fell apart just as quickly, the frustrations turned inwards, the fun was gone, there was no history to fall back on and just like that it was over.

When I look back now, I see that the band was formed for the wrong reasons. Even though I loved the music and loved playing with this band, it came to represent something that was not fundamentally real and honest.  It was more about the image and life style than the music, although I stand by the music to this very day. There are some truly great songs on this album and my only regret is that they never really had a chance to get out there.

The idea that a band could represent an image from a Helmut Newton photograph was a strong one and as you can see from the photo of the band, we even looked the part.  But the fundamental, underlying point is that a band must exist because everyone in it believes and wants to go out and play to real people, real gigs and that an audience that is there for the music as much as the scene.  A band has to be built on real fans, not on some gossip column party crowd looking over their shoulders rather than at the stage. I lost track of that part for a while but it taught me a great lesson. There is no short-cut to stardom. You have to pay your dues and put in the work, even if it means playing the toilets!

It was another ten years before I was able to press up a thousand CD’s of these recordings made in that little studio in Manchester, again financing it personally because, as I said, I believe in the music and believe it should be out there. 

Danny and William did a fantastic job with limited facilities.  I can only begin to imagine how lush and huge these tracks would have sounded had we signed the elusive record deal and had access to a professional recording studio to make a real album out of these songs.  I still believe this music holds greatness.

Take a listen and see what you think.

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