A near-miss with Stephen Duffy

This is one of those stories that sounds almost as crazy to me telling it as it will sound to you reading it. But it’s true.

We never actually got to make a second album/CD. Our label, Siesta, seemed keen; we had a provisional title – “Close Down The Stage Schools and Put Them All in The Army” – and even an idea for a cover image – Emma Bunton in the stocks.

[I now acknowledge that Bunton is actually my favourite Spice and that her groovy-chick 60sy solo album, whatever it was called, was pretty good. Of course, to Proper Indie-ists, having a favourite Spice Girl is, even now, akin to having a favourite Nazi. But still.]

We also had more than enough songs which, as is the way with these things, we felt were a step forwards from those that appeared on Knowing Who Your Friends are.

We had good new songs, with New Ordery basslines, big choruses and even bigger titles. “I Know What I Said But I Changed My Mind’ was one. ‘Who Cares What The Stars Are Called?’ another.

We also thought it would be nice to have a duet on the album. To which end our singer, Gaynor, got in touch with Stephen Duffy, sending him our first CD, and asking if he would like to collaborate on a song with us.

He wrote back and said he would.

And then we never wrote back to him. In fact, we never did anything else at all ever.

How bad is that?

Duffy survived. He found someone else to collaborate with a couple of years later. Robbie Williams.

Thing is, I believe Duffy is Proper Indie and that, money-spinning Robbie album notwithstanding, it’s not crazy talk that he might still find a morning for us in his pop schedule if only we asked again.

Maybe we even will someday.