It came in the form of a Ronnie Lane CD called ‘Kuschty Rye – The Singles’.

Kuschty Rye subsequently became the name of the project and the band. After thoroughly absorbing this recording, I managed to get hold of Ronnie’s first Slim Chance album ‘Anymore For Anymore’.To say that this was the light bulb moment is an understatement. I’d prefer to call it a nuclear explosion.The glow was vibrant and the future looked bright.

I soon decided that the project should be a trilogy which would mirror the three Slim Chance records. The first part of the trilogy being a reflection of the ‘Anymore For Anymore’ album. In order to give the new work a ring of authenticity, I decided to try and enlist the help of some of the original Slim Chance members. As a consequence, I had to do a great deal of research into who all the band members were. I needed to know where they recorded, how it was recorded and what kind of equipment they used. I also recruited rising folk music star producer Andy Bell (Bellowhead, Jon Boden, Martin Simpson) to steer the project.

Initially I found American keyboard player Billy Livesy who gave me some information as to how the songs were recorded at Ronnie’s Fishpool Farm; in the barn, and on the hillside behind the farm cottage. He suggested that I contact Russ Schlagbaum and Benny Gallagher. I was already onto Benny and he regaled me with similar recording tales. I subsequently booked Benny to do a live show at a local arts centre where I cheekily asked if he’d play on the record. He agreed, but his contribution didn’t transpire until much later in the process because of his tour schedule at the time. Meanwhile I had contacted Slim Chance members; Charlie Hart and Steve Simpson. I sent Charlie seven songs. After his initial dismay at how many tracks he had to work on, Charlie agreed to play on what he could because he really liked the material. Steve and Charlie were reunited at Charlie’s Equator Studios and, thankfully, they played on pretty much all of the songs I had sent.

Meanwhile, I  had, by means of a friend, a contact channel through which I could directly approach Ronnie’s old pal, Pete Townshend. We requested permission to send the mixes as they stood and Pete replied positively. After Pete had listened to these mixes, I was overwhelmed by his response. His e-mail to me contained the now legendary quote “this is a killer record….KILLER!” Needless to say, we were somewhat spurred on. What followed was an invite to Pete’s Richmond mansion where he and I sat in his studio as I personally played him the mixes! He was knocked out by the accuracy with which we had nailed the Ronnie Lane sound, and remarked how we’d managed to capture some of Ronnie’s energy and sweetness.