Who’s pulling the strings?

The Puppeteers is a story told in fragments—memories, whispers, moments that slip through your fingers. These ten tracks by Phil Dutton & Les Corlett explore what it means to be shaped by forces we can’t always see—grief, love, regret, and the slow unraveling of control.

It’s personal. It’s political. It’s poetic.

Listen for what’s said—and what’s left unsaid.

Highlights: If Only for a Second, Shadows, This Is My Life, Stevie Drove a Taxi, The Puppeteers.

THE PUPPETEERS

Soundbite City

Slaughter
‘thoughts and prayers’
urban death young blood
‘our hearts go out to you’
fragmentation human 
destruction annihilation
chorus of crows 
and that’s how it goes ….

Why is it happening?
lets get to the cause -
because I can’t stand the encores of the crows’ caws

Soundbite City (photo JJ SHREV)

When I received the email asking me if I was interested in collaborating with Dirk from The Gatsbys even  before I heard the track the answer was yes.
When I heard the track I was blown away by the instrumental and the big Rickenbacker sound.
The Rick sound had always been a big influence on my 90s band This Elegant Chaos. So it was a pleasure to be involved writing lyrics and singing on the track .
The song is a true story based on an extremely close friendship that spans from kids to the present day.
And how the dynamics of friends choices  in parters later in life changes how that friendship develops. 
Still always best friends because that we never change but that doesn’t mean the relationship doesn’t.
What’s ever said and done and when there’s nothing left to defend you will always defend them to the end. That’s just how it is. 

 Nothing Left To Defend (Lyric’s) 

V1
We don’t see each other like we used to do 
She as your location keeping  tabs on you 

Bridge 2
We’ve been tight since we were kids
We argued you even broke my ribs
From the boxing club to the paired bout
I swung a right it nearly knocked you out 

V2
To me  you were my mothers other prodigal son
She loved you like her own called her son of a gun 

Bridge 1

We layed down the gloves and then we hugged 
Walked straight out of that  boxing club 
Swore never to fight each other again
And save ourselves from jellybrain 

Chorus 1
When there’s nothing left to defend 
I will still defend you to the  end 
When there’s nothing left to defend 
Like brothers in arms we bare the scars 


V3
From the rowdy pubs to the mirrorballs hanging in  the night clubs
You attracted trouble wherever ever you stood 
I wouldn’t change a thing we had the world at our feet 
And if it was a movie I’d play it all  on repeat 

Bridge 3

God I miss you & those nights out
When life was more than a roundabout 
And now it’s just one of those things
It was Never To Much  we would sing 

Long Chorus 
When there’s nothing left to defend 
I will still defend you to the end 
When there’s nothing left to defend 
I will still defend you to the end 
When there’s nothing left to defend 
It’s blood brothers  to the end 
When there’s nothing left to defend
Like brothers in arms we bare the scars

Nothing Left to Defend by Gaz Brownie & The Gatsbys

Too Much Fun

acoustic kinda sound but definitely Country music, with an ambiguous vibe in many ways.

"I FALL T0 PIECES" 2024 (my late Mum's stage song 🥰) Country Cover sung by tom mcguinness

Original track by Phil Dutton & Les Corlett
Lyrics...

Last night I threw my back out,
Dancing like I did in '92.
I guess I wished for something better. 
It's not down to my age,
But my brand new shoes.

You smell of cheap perfume and cigarettes,
You haven't got style and your hair's a mess.
I got sober and I got fixed,
You haven't got a potion in your little bag of tricks,
To ever make me wanna waste my time on you.

I spent my day in quiet reflection,
I spent what little time I had,
To show you the real affection.
Now isn't that kind of sad?
As always I am lying to cover up the pain,
You're beautiful my dear and I must be insane.

You smell of cheap perfume and cigarettes,
You haven't got style and your hair's a mess.
I got sober and I got fixed,
You haven't got a potion in your little bag of tricks,
To ever make me wanna waste my time on you.

Well pardon me for being so forward,
I've been wanting to ask you,
Are you feeling lonely?
Well so have I but that's too bad.
I can sometimes feel a rush,
That comes to me from out of nowhere.

I'm rambling on like a force of nature,
I'm talking too much,
Am I starting to bore?
If I could hold on for only a moment, 
I'd tell you, Id tell you the truth,
I couldn't love you, I couldn't love you more.

The Puppeteers

I Couldn't Love You More

I COULDN'T LOVE YOU MORE

Original track by Phil Dutton & Les Corlett
Lyrics...

Completeness of the sweetness is a bitter pill to take, 
Feel the earth move in loves embrace.

I was thinking to myself, 
how good it really felt.
To wake up in the morning,
When the cards were dealt. 

I hung up the phone,
I turned my back
One fatal moment,
When the deck was stacked

The sunshine was golden,
Your kiss lifted me.
Out of my slumber,
You rescued me.

As the warmth of our bodies,
Merged into one.
We lay there for hours,
In the rays of the sun.

You can keep your diamonds,
You can keep your cash.
I found my piece of heaven,
That's so much better than that. 

The sunshine was golden,
Your kiss lifted me.
Out of my slumber,
You rescued me.

Completeness of the sweetness is a bitter pill to take, 
Feel the earth move in loves embrace.

I lived in denial,
I starved myself of true love.
I prayed for the moment,
And to the heavens above.

I coasted through,
A lifetime of regret,
so  scared to take a chance,
and I never slept.

The sunshine was golden,
Your kiss lifted me.
Out of my slumber,
You rescued me. Rpt…

Sunshine Was Golden

SUNSHINE WAS GOLDEN

Original track by Phil Dutton & Les Corlett
Lyrics...

It doesn't mean that much to me anyway,
Wearing the same clothes I had on yesterday.
And I just can't believe it,
Even though you say it's true,
While in the meantime this is my life.

I woke again this morning with an aching in my chest,
Was it just a broken heart or simply loneliness?
I wished for pleasant weather,
To brighten up my day.
While in the meantime, this is my life.

When they tell me I'm too old, That I should know better,
No ending has a meaning,         If the stories never told.
I show what I can do, With smile upon my face,
and I'll sing you a song…  like lovers do.

MIDDLE 8ISH GUITAR BREAK

If you take me away from the place I want to be,
Show me a valley of green as far as the eye can see.
Fall asleep in your arms and dream of what might be.
But in the end my love…. I just have to leave.

It doesn't mean that much to me anyway,
Wearing the same clothes I had on yesterday.
And I just can't believe it,
Even though you say it's true,
While in the meantime this is my life.

This is my Life

THIS IS MY LIFE

My take on a Joni Mitchell classic, "Both Sides Now" - using the orchestral track from her 2000 album by the same name (downloaded backing track from Paris Music), with my guitar melody/improv overdub. Guitar work played on a PRS Mark Holcomb SE, through my Line 6 Helix.

Both Sides Now (cover)

Original track by Phil Dutton & Les Corlett
Lyrics...


Time slips away like grains of sand,
Memories fading, slipping from my hand.
Youthful dreams, they're now just ghosts,
A life once vibrant, now shadows close.

In the mirror, lines etched deep,
A roadmap of moments, promises to keep.
The ache of bones, the slowing race,
As life's swift river slows its pace.

Getting old, it's a bittersweet song,
The days grow short, the nights so long.
Friends and lovers, they fade from view,
Leave behind echoes of "I love you."

As loved ones, depart, like ships at sea,
We learn to let go, we learn to be free.
In fading echoes, a wisdom lies,
A silent understanding that never dies.

The world spins on, but we stand still,
Grasping at moments, trying to fill,
The void left by those who've gone ahead,
Leaving us to follow the paths they've tread.

Getting old, it's a journey alone,
As those we cherish find their way home.
Each goodbye, a tear in the soul,
Reminding us of life's ultimate toll.

So let the years roll on, let the stories unfold,
For in the heart of getting old, there's a beauty untold.
A tapestry woven with threads of gold,
As we embrace the journey, of growing old.

Shadows

SHADOWS

#instrumental #techno #beat #bandlab #frenchtouch

-_.InsTincT._-

Original track by Phil Dutton & Les Corlett
Lyrics...

Oh What it was,
Oh What a shame,
We could have been.
One and the same.
With complications,
When things go wrong.
My paranoia,
Is growing strong.

In my confusion,
I kept on losing'.
My bad decisions,
Got in the way.
I kept on lying,
I kept on trying.
The only reason,
I'm here to stay.

I looked the wrong way. 
I took the wrong way.
My sense of purpose,
Was stripped  away. 
I never found out,
Who pulled the ground out.
From under me,
From under me.

You're never going to hear me say,
I love you,
You're never going to hear me say,
I care.
What the hell am I supposed to do now?
My days grow long whenever you're not there.

I looked the wrong way. 
I took the wrong way.
My sense of purpose,
Was stripped  away. 
I never found out,
Who pulled the ground out.
From under me,
From under me.

Oh what it was,
Oh what a shame.
We could have been,
One and the same.
With complications,
When things go wrong.
My paranoia,
Is growing strong.

I looked the wrong way. 
I took the wrong way.
My sense of purpose,
Was stripped  away. 
I never found out,
Who pulled the ground out.
From under me,
From under me.

Repeat…

One and the Same

ONE AND THE SAME

Keyboard and electronic love song with shoo wahs.  Youtube link below.

https://youtu.be/E1ARua74wls?si=1GRkzsqaSnlwtEAF

My Candy Man

Call on

En egen låt som vi verkligen, uppskattade att få spela in. Hoppas att ni också uppskattar låten. Ha det nu så gott. Rock on!    

That girl turned me on

Wonder

All links now active... 🎵 Original Music from Wirral, UK | Phil Dutton & Les Corlett AKA The DC Sound Project

The DC Sound Project. Eight albums deep and still going strong. It usually starts with a good old-fashioned jam session, then somehow ends in a coffee-fuelled recording marathon. We write songs about love, politics, heartbreak, and those occasional “what the hell is wrong with the world?” moments, all brewed fresh on the Wirral. Press play… it’s music therapy with better side effects!

We’re an independent duo creating everything from raw folk ballads to gritty blues-rock. Every video is carefully crafted with free footage and, sometimes, AI-generated visuals to tell the story behind the song.

💿 Albums: 
Snaggletooth (2025)
Addiction (2025)
Black Ice (2024)
Yellin’ at the Clouds (2024)
The Puppeteers (2024)
Burning Bridges (2023)
Rattlesnake (2023)
Melancholy Blue (2023)

🎶 Listen: SoundCloud • Spotify • Apple Music • Amazon • Facebook • Instagram • Twitch

Thanks for joining us on this journey, it’s all about the love of music! 🎶✨

SHADOWS

The DC Sound Project

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