Featuring more of John's magic, this was composed when I was still working at the Bristol Hippodrome backstage in the late 90s. After working on the show at the theatre we would set off in a collection of vehicles to Hilary Sowerby's parent's house in Nailsea. There we would unpack the guitars and stay up right through the night, jamming good and generally partying. As I was banging out an E7/A7 riff on my Fender acoustic two girls were explaining how one would get back to Bristol when we were finally ready to leave - that's the chorus! A friend of John's (a ballet dancer named Nicole Tongue) added backing vocals, tapdancing and the bored girlfriend monologue. Listen out for an array of sound-effects throughout the track! Ian Humphreys added drums.

4. Cocktails at Hilary's (3.21)

While dining in the world's finest fish'n'chip restaurant (The Rendezvous in Denmark Street, Bristol) the waitress said how nice it would be to be able to write a song. Her name was Hannah. This is her song. Ian Humphreys on drums; (the) Andy Shephard on sax.

8. Hannah's Song (2.41)

A moderate tempo bluesy type of tune. I wrote this for Caszi, my ex-partner. In the mid 80s I did some film work for HTV, working on props when they were filming 'Robin of Sherwood' (with Jason - son of Sean - Connery; Ray Winstone; Clive Mantle). When Robin first meets the lovely Maid Marian he tells her that she is 'like a morning in May'. I have these two characters in my book 'The Funny Old Game', and Marian's character is based on the way Caszi still looks - breathtakingly beautiful. This tune features Kit Morgan on lead guitar, and Bob Locke from 'The Startled Insects' on double bass.

1. My May Morning (2.52)

A gentle - yet anthemic - tune. My mate, Tony Clothier, wrote & published a book about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. While on Earth they form an 'ultra-metal' band and, in the unpublished prequel, they play a number of gigs. One of the songs they play is called 'New World Coming'. I asked Tony if I could write the song around the title, and Tony came down from Coventry to do the vocals.

10. New World Coming (2.55)

The other tune that features Kit Morgan on lead guitar; Ian Humphreys on drums. Wrote this for a girl I went out with in the early 80s; Rachel Pearson. Born on the same day, we were an item for a while. She left her husband for me (Agrimare being an anagram of Marriage). This started off as a soft folk song, but it got 'beefed-up' by the time it was recorded.

5. Princess (4.34)

A very strange song. Wrote it around the first chord, which I made up. Made me think of the small hours on a warm, Summer night. Make what you will of the lyrics! John Waterhouse added the sampled drums; I did all the other things.

6. The Key (4.06)

Original recording of a song I wrote in 1997 called, A Tear & a Smile. Recorded 1997 in my bedsit in St. Pauls, Bristol; later transfered to digital format. Needs to be re-mastered to reduce background noise.

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