Last day in the studio today for Jed and Space Summit. The days go so fast but we have managed to get a lot done, concentrating on drums and percussion which we will build on in the coming months. I have discovered through working a lot in the studio that the whiteboard is your best friend. It tells you where you are at, what you’ve done, and what you’ve got to do, it shows your progress and the work ahead, you know where you are with a whiteboard, the most underrated piece of equipment in the studio.

Hank the raccoon was out today wandering around the garden in the daylight, fearless. I wonder if raccoons are the equivalent of the urban foxes we have in England, a wild creature looking for food in a built-up area. Where do they sleep undisturbed, how do they protect their young in this environment? I suppose they are considered pests, rooting through the garbage (do they do that?) but it’s just so cool to see them. It’s like the ibis in Sydney, exotic and always on the top of a garbage can, Cleopatra would be so disappointed.

We finished at 3 AM with all the percussion and drums done. Jed had an early flight so wasn’t bothering going to bed. I fell into bed feeling battered, I had my ‘eye thing’ beforehand. We had an Uber driver lady from Turkey giving us her perspective on Erdoğan and celebrating his likely win. The most important thing in my life beyond the music is sleep.

I’m not sure why it came up but we were talking about Ian Dury and Jed found a video of Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll on his phone, John and Jason were quite fascinated by it, they’d never heard of him or this song which surprised me but then again Ian Dury is quintessentially English and it might not have translated to America, but I was surprised that what is such an iconic song back home in England had no profile at all in Texas with people who know music.

Music today has been Ian Dury’s debut solo album New Boots and Panties!! (1977), a classic, this album was played a lot in my house when I was 19. Although it is considered a solo album, it featured ‘The Blockheads’ Charley Charles on drums, Norman Watt-Roy on bass, and Chaz Jankel on keys and guitar who would later be credited as Ian Dury and The Blockheads on future albums, mostly because they were a fantastic band of musicians that really took his music to another level.

Note – Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll was a pre-album single that was added to the American release of the album.