The versatility of these people in terms of style. I played a few shows around London, some solo, some backed by the Sevenball guys, and really started to develop a ‘sound’ and style of writing that was I happy with and I could use honestly as a form of expression.


I returned to York months later, and happened upon a band that had appeared on the scene whilst I was away. Tey were called Cardboard Radio and played a raggle taggle punked up brand of cheeky northern retro R&B. Tey were amazing. We became firm friends fast, and it wasn’t long before I was a semi-permanent lodger in their now legendary band house ‘Cardie Towers’. Tere was always music playing and always a party. No matter when you turned up there you were greeted with open arms, a smile, and by somebody who wanted either play you a song, or have you play one for them. I loved it and we joined forces for while to play some big band (not like the brass guys) kick ass country. Roping in a few other local talents who would also play solo at the open mic night I ran at a bar in town called Dusk. I still run it now, seven years down the line.


We would obsess about The Band’s The Last Waltz and the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and such like, talking for hours and listening excitedly all the while. Each individual brought something new to the table musically, in the way they played and the records they knew. Anyway, the songs I had written were relatively simple musically in their bare form, but sounded so much bigger and better, and more fun to perform, when we joined forces. We cared about the lyrics and we cared about making songs count. They were emotive and yet fun. We played loads of gigs in any place that would have us. Pubs, clubs, bars, festivals, house parties, garden par- ties, the streets, anywhere.


I still did a lot of gigs solo in those days but always missed the band, and felt the songs were lacking when they weren’t there. I think it was more that I had got lazy in my playing because I had anything up to three amazing guitarists ( four if you counted the drummer who also played gui- tar!) backing me. Nowadays, having spent more time playing solo, I have worked on my style, so I am confident playing solo and I am not just ham fistedly strumming my way through songs like perhaps I once was. Or thought I was anyway.


I don’t think I realised how much I was learning from these guys as we went along, or how much I depended on them and


loved playing with them. When for many individual reasons the ‘band’ as it was, (it was more of a revolving door collec- tive really as everybody was doing other things too and couldn’t always be there, so we just made it work with whoever WAS there), was no more, I carried on under the same name Boss Caine, occasionally joined by others along the way.


I made the first album ‘The ship that sailed’ with some of the guys from the band days, and with Sam Forrest at the helm. Recording live vocal and acoustic tracks first for all bar one song (‘Sing for your sins’ for which we put down drums and electric first), and layering up other instruments and more vocals after. Working with Sam is great. I trust his ears more than anybody else’s that I have ever worked with and it is so much more natural than working in a sterile commercial studio environment and feeling the pressure of the clock ticking.


The album got some great reviews, and while I haven‘t listened to it for about a year, I am very proud of what we achieved. The second album ‘Meanwhile, back at the ranch…‘ was my half of a split with Mark Wynn, a close friend, former band mate, and label mate on Little Num Num Music. We have always inspired each other since we have been friends and to make an al- bum of two distinctly different halves in the space of about 4 days was great fun.


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