a witness - the peel sessions

By now I was getting used to being rung up by John Walters or Peel, even though it was still a bit surreal. There was a gap of a year before our third session, which coincided with me having to get a job after two years running the band off my giro and our gigs and the Ron Johnson label going to the wall, so the Peel session came at just the right time, to keep our heads above water and to get some new stuff out. We'd done some 'label nights' around the UK, and Peel compered one which featured us, Big Flame and I think Stump, in Nottingham. Again, very strange having a laugh with a legend of broadcasting who is introducing your band live and reviewing you for the Observer.

The session was good stuff too: only Zip Up had been released, and that on the 12" "One Foot In The Groove" as first Ron Johnson and then distribution network Red Rhino collapsed, so this was a shot in the arm and a switch away from Maida Vale to the Golders' Green Hippodrome. This time Alan was listed as 'Fred Harris' because of his likeness to a popular childrens' tv presenter of the time.

My memories of the fourth session are a bit hazy because of everything that happened subsequently, but there'd been a few developments and we were trying to work round them. Alan had his Great Leap Forward project up and running and wanted to concentrate on that, so this would be his last session for us. Keith was playing with John Robb's Membranes more and more but came over from Liverpool to rehearse the songs, while Rick, Alan and I, who still lived in Manchester, got together at the practice room at Courtyard studios in Stockport to work the songs out. Rick and I had always been impressed with the way Big Flame managed to fit irregular counts into their songs, so Alan shared the secret with us and we incorporated an off-count into "Disposable Razors". I was working towards a second album, and this session - as was most bands' experience - would be a way of demoing the songs. I wrote "Helicopter Tealeaf" walking down the river Mersey near the Stretford Arndale, thus the references to Stretford in that song, which was inspired by a Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan track "Ali Molle Ali Molle Ali Dum Dum". "Prince Microwave Bollard" was a strange almost jazz-like track we'd put together in the practice room and "Life The Final Frontier" was an abstract lyrical look at the lives of people who might have "My Way" played at their funeral.

All in all it was a good session, and came at the right time as we were planning to re-launch ourselves with a new album, a session, the double Peel sessions coming out as an album - a rare honour - and a tour in November 1989 supporting the Wedding Present.

Instead we found ourselves at a funeral, and gathering round radios as Peel announced the news of Rick's death and played "Zip Up" as a tribute. I have done many hard things in my life, but I won't forget having to ring Peel up and tell him that one of my best friends was dead. He was really nice about it. Thanks for that, Peel, and thanks for the sessions. They - and you - made a big difference.

For more information see the John Peel: Artist A-Z on the BBC's website.