All talk

Well I thought I’d better update everyone as where we are up to, [oh no not that again] as it all feels so slow sometimes here in the independent outer reaches of musical enterprise. Truth is no soon as I’ve gone ahead with dates and proclamations in the recent past as to when we will have stuff ready, and how we plan to move forward, something seems to come along and change everything; tours get cancelled and hard drives go up in smoke, that kind of thing. Still it would be fair to say that things are brightening up gradually despite the aforesaid disasters. The solo VP album recording with Tim Browne is buzzing along; we’ve had several low profile high energy contributions from a range of sources [I’ll have to get the definitive people list from Tim as I don’t know half of them] on Sax, Flute, Percussion, Stylophone, Toy Box, Melodica and Piano. Hmmmm… so I guess solo album is something of an inappropriate term! Anyway, it’s sounding like a prog-pop record [a description Tim and I are especially taken with] as most of the songs have orchestral sections and recurring themes [they didn’t when I wrote them but they do now!]. King Crimson meets the Partridge Family…kind of. Peter ‘the parrot’ Kenrick is also booked in to play his vintage pedal steel Showbud '74 as he did so wonderfully for us on both Ironing the Soul and Growing up with VP. Just listening to his voice mail last night had me laughing all the way to the Model Boat Builders Club at Crosby Marina. It will be a pleasure to do business with him once again. We are not playing any more band shows until the new album is done. We continue to rehearse and write. The album will be recorded in Blackburn at Joe Fossard’s new studio [though exactly when we don’t quite know yet] but hopefully it will be this side of Christmas [he is putting the finishing touches to the live room as we speak]. Joe has worked with all kinds of luminaries such as Beck and Sonic Youth and did our live sound over the summer. He also did our TV sound when we recorded a live session awhile back. Copies of the DVD have sneaked out of the closet and onto the eBay so someone informed me the other day though I’ve not checked myself. The new Whatever Happened to album is OUT NOW and continues to pick up favourable reviews and airplay [special thanks to Mark Radcliffe who gave it a big plug on his Radio 2 show the other week, he played Jesus stole my Girlfriend…the single that never really was]. Whatever happened to VP? is available from the site as well as from record shops. I listened to it again the other day for the first time in ages and it stands up remarkably well considering; still I would say that now wouldn’t I? My life is still in hock to the NHS and very glad I am too of the part time salaried comfort that enables basic survival. The bill I just got for non sales returns on the last [Two Fat Lovers]single are frightening; still,I guess nobody buys singles anymore do they? The returns are due back soon so let me know if you want one, free to anyone who orders an album. Thats 2 free singles [Two Fat Lovers and Suicide Dad] with every order; I'm not best suited to this business lark, very best, VPx