Jamie's Page

A friend was talking to me recently about ‘American Images’ – and asked what it was that first caused me to really become interested in the USA.

I can be surprisingly accurate about the event and the date. It was May 5th 1970. That was when news reached the UK of the shooting dead of four students by the National Guard at Kent State University in Ohio the previous day during a demonstration against the expansion of the war in South East Asia into Cambodia*. If I’m being honest it was probably t… Continue

The once-a-month weekend recording sessions for the Mermaid Kiss - American Images album continue at our favourite rural retreat.

We spent Saturday afternoon listening to, and discussing, the rough mixes – and as is often the case at this stage, we’re more happy with some of the songs than we are with others. What works live (and we did road-test a number of the songs) doesn’t always translate to the studio (and vice versa of course). So, we set about re-arranging and trying out some new treatm… Continue

Sara had only been in her new post a week before she saw them. Her boss, Mr (“call me Dave”) Wexler had her backed up against the photocopier and was suggesting maybe she’d like to go for a drink after work when she caught a glimpse of the rats out of the corner of her eye. One was standing on its hind legs, leaning against the bottom drawer of the filing cabinet and stifling a yawn. The suit it was wearing was sharp. Italian. The other wore designer sunglasses: an impatient look at its watch, a… Continue

When I was a child I had a recurring dream. I was being chased by something I could never see. Our house had a path down each side, one side was bright and sunny and had the windows from the dining room and kitchen overlooking it – the other pathway was shaded and ran between the windowless garages of our own house and our neighbors. It was there I was in most peril from the dream-monster. I often wonder why I ever considered going down the shady path when there was a perfectly sunny, safe route… Continue

If, on February 14th, anyone mentions to you that they think St Valentine’s Day should be banned, that it’s a purely commercial exercise and those who succumb to its lure are morons in extremis, you don’t need to be a shrink to know that he or she failed to receive a card in the morning mail. It’s guaranteed to give anyone the blues. If someone had had the foresight to send Capone a nice card and box of his favourite Havanas on the morning of 14th February 1929, then the whole ghastly mis… Continue