Pete Townshend starts putting down tracks on the next The Bookshop Band album.

Last April some of you may remember that we sent out a newsletter directing people to Beth's IndieGoGo fundraising campaign to record a new solo album with her band Beth Porter & The Availables. As part of the process she changed the band name changed to Marshes, but it is now finished!!  The CDs arrived yesterday and the vinyl should appear next week - and we are all about to do a tour to bring it into the world. 

So although th...

No one ever played or sang anything good before 11am in the morning, so recording sessions don't start till then either. (Please feel free to prove me wrong with examples). Beth's dad Tim had offered to come down to look after Molly while we worked, but we all went up to the studio together - Molly toddling around all the precariously balanced vintage microphones, reaching out to twang Pete's beautiful selection of guitars. 

The start to any recording session...

It’s been a ten hour drive so far. Molly’s been amazing and the traffic down the M6 / M5 from Fife has been reasonable. We are 15 minutes away from our destination when - BOOM - our car dies - it literally stops, grinds to a halt at the exit to a major roundabout. With the last few inches of momentum I manage to swerve the car onto the verge out of the way of hurtling lorries and push the hazard lights on. Molly chooses this moment to go for a poo. 

No doubt...