Can we listen to the demo again? It’s often the most asked question in the studio as artists play the long standing recording game of ‘chasing the demo.’ A song has been written and recorded in a fairly rudimentary but Read More …

Just adjacent to Kensington Palace in the splendour of west London is one of the world’s finer hotels. The Royal Garden in Kensington was one of the new hotels of the sixties. In the summer of ’66 it was the chosen Read More …

Of all the benefits of presenting Another Country, by far the greatest is getting to ask questions to song writers about work they have produced. Often I’m gently probing around career paths and trying to persuade guests to explain how they Read More …

One of the many reasons I never liked the video age (perhaps it has passed?) was less Mr Springsteen’s complaint that it was like ‘painting a moustache’ on your favourite painting and more that it took away the piece of Read More …

There were three of us. It was after a family dinner. We’d drifted through to the other room to have some coffee and watch the news. My wife, my mother and myself all half watching the TV and we all found Read More …

I can’t really concentrate on this blog today. This is the second time I’ve started it. My mind is being drawn elsewhere. I hope you’ll understand as I’m trying to do this while also listening to a test pressing of Read More …

In a recent (excellent) interview in American Songwriter, Andrew Combs opined how much he never wanted to rewrite the same song. Having released 3 albums it is always his intention to keep moving forward. Since releasing his second album, ‘All Read More …

There was no blog last week. I took off at the last minute on a sojourn around the north coast of Scotland accompanied only by my wife and our dog, Alf. It was one of the most wonderful weeks of Read More …

Cause I’m a Muswell Hillbilly boy But my heart lies in old West Virginia Never seen New Orleans, Oklahoma, Tennessee Still I dream of the Black Hills that I ain’t never seen Ray Davies 1971 America was a dream for Read More …

If the two years of the UK Americana awards were never to happen again then all of us lucky to have been there would, no doubt, reflect that what we once had was very special indeed. Looking back on both Read More …