Christopher Horst

Will have more news soon on plans for the Mayor of Sandwell's charity gig 2012, which will be on Saturday 17 March at The Public, West Bromwich. It's a sure bet new track Close to the sun will feature in the set!

In the meantime, I have been rediscovering some old songs from 1992 thanks to my good friend Dave Hackett kindly transferring an old cassette to cd for me. I've always considered 1992 to be a year when my songwriting took a new course, at times awkward and with some lyrics and effects that make me laugh now, but also with flashes of ideas that I'm still proud of today and that remind me of a wonderful time in my life. Martin Firkins, who performed backing vocals back in those days, makes several appearances.

The songs on that tape (for those of you who go back that far with me) are:

1. The old retainer of love (live version from Band Explosion, June 1992)

2. I don't know you, but in some ways it seems that I do

3. Crime

4. Too many chimes

5. Teenage destruction

6. The art of living dangerously

7. Last act

8. Nothing changes (the original six minute pre-studio version)

9. Electro Scrooge/I want to be your lover (just don't ask!!!)

10. A time of magical connections and collaborations

11. The carriage

The other side of the tape contains a few tracks from 1993:

1. Coat of arms

2. Better days

3. Weapons of guilt

4. Maybe I should have, but maybe I couldn't

The question is, to mark the 20th anniversary of these songs, should I give one of them the 21st century studio treatment?