'God' unplugged

Since having to play solo to fill the gap in the bill at the Guildford gig, I have been reminded just how much I enjoy playing my songs on the acoustic. This in turn inspired a recent trawling of my songbooks, which reminded me just how many songs I have that suit this type of rendition. Many of them were of course written on the acoustic, so this isn't really a surprise.

Pocket Rocket also spend a good 2-3 years playing the acoustic/unplugged circuit, which was both fun and challenging. Playing to people who are listening intently. Who are silent. Playing with the audience's expectations. It's a totally different kettle of fish to plugging in and rocking out.

So now, with some encouragement from Colin, I am into the idea of performing this way again, either alone or with an 'unplugged' outfit. And the Sunday afternoon acoustic sessions that I'm promoting at The Libertine will be an opportunity for me to play a few songs between other acts, or even a set of my own. Not just when artists pull out of bookings at the last minute.

Quite conveniently, my newest song would perfectly suit such a performance. Having heard recently from my mate that his ex-partner Rachel had finally died of cancer, I was moved to write a tribute to her. Back when my mate and I met, Rachel was living with him and endured our crash-course friendship and our regular all-nighters, from which she would disengage early to take to her bed with a good book. I always got the feeling that she was doing so to leave us in peace rather than because she couldn't stand to listen to us any longer. Come the morning she would be down to find us still going, but sporadically moaning, and cursing "Oh God" to describe how wrecked we felt. "God" she would say from the kitchen, pausing momentarily to make sure we were listening, "has got nothing to do with it". How right she was.

Around this time my mum was diagnosed with cancer and a few months later she lost her battle with it. Rachel and my mate split-up soon after and our shared emotional turmoil gave my mate and me good reason, we thought, to let all hell loose, in both Abbey Wood and Highbury.

Anyway, that's another story. It's not quite complete but the song's called God Has Got Nothing To Do With It so listen out for it.

Rest in peace Rachel.