It’s a long time since I was able to make any releases of new material. As you know, my voice problems remain, and limit even the amount of time I’m able to talk quite severely. That doesn’t mean I haven’t wished to be able to. And one of the most frequent comments I get on my social media posts is ‘I wish I’d been able to see her ‘live’!’
How ‘Echo’ came about
In 2022, I was helping Cherry Red put together a deluxe version of the Monsoon album ‘Third Eye’, and discovered a copy of a Monsoon radio session (the only one ever) in a drawer full of tapes in my attic.
That summer, during one of my rare conversations with a close friend, I mentioned all the other ‘live’ reference tapes I had in my attic. He’s a serious music fan and collector, and remarked what a treasure trove they would be, if my fans could hear them. Since then, I have tracked down all the radio sessions, concerts, workshops and launches I sang, whoever they were owned by, in order to assess them. And I’ve collected the best of them for you to hear, on a new album called ‘Echo’ (released on vinyl and digital with Real World Records).
Story of the title
Echo, as you probably remember, was the nymph whose voice the goddess Hera cursed, so that she could only repeat the last word said to her. Then Echo found Narcissus leaning over a mountain pool, transfixed by his own reflection. She fell in love with him immediately. Unfortunately, he thought she was mocking him, when all she could do was repeat the last word he said. Spurned by him, she mourned and disappeared into the hills until only her voice was left.
Putting together all these performances from various sources and trying to balance them, I found that the ‘shape’ of the running order was starting to mirror Echo’s emotional journey, and realised, with its reference to a woman who has lost her voice, that it was the perfect title.
‘Echo’ is released on 25th September 2026
25th September 1992 was the last date I was able to give a performance with a strong and flexible voice. My emergency eye operation a week beforehand, had already done damage I was unaware of. A tear to one of my vocal cords, which occurred while I was being intubated, was already building up the scar tissue that would come to create a permanent twist in my larynx when I produce any kind of sound at all. Thankfully that concert was recorded, and some of the performances from it are included on ‘Echo’.
Digital pre-release tracks from ‘Echo’
Real World Records are releasing four pre-release digital tracks from ‘Echo’.
- 29th July – Ever So Lonely/Eyes/Ocean (Live)
- 26th August – Lament of McCrimmon/Song of the Banshee (Live)
- 9th September – The Blacksmith (Live)
- 25th September – Speaking in Tongues II (Live)
There will also be six digital-only extra tracks released alongside the vinyl on 25th September 2026.
Buy the early releases, or pre-order the whole album plus the six digital-only extra tracks, here.
Happy listening!