Hi all,

the posts so far on this thread have bproved interesting and enlightening thus far. I think the best way to answer the comment that this is all B S and should have no place here because it has nothing to do with music, is to throw hard evidence at it. The title track was composed especially for the album, lyrics Les Barker, music Harvey Andrews; The Ackroyd band appear, as do Steve Tilston, as do I in duo with Wysiwig. But the musical piece de resistance has to be Will The Turtle Be Unbroken, especially recorded for the album by none other than Tom Paxton...so, Mr Grumbling Gargoyle, are you going away with no word of farewell? Will there be not a trace left behind? One can but hope.

Enough of this light-hearted shilly-shallying, as Dan Rowan and Dick Martin would say, and on to business. As has been reported here already, the official release date for the CD is this coming Monday, 5 September. Google searches reveal that it should be available from HMV as well as Amazon. However, if you go into a branch to order it, don't confuse them by asking for it as a Les Barker album. Instead, quote the title, and catalogue number, osmocd032.

In some parts of the country, you may already have heard tracks. Contributor and Shropshire presenter Genevieve Tudor has played Tom Paxton on at least one occasion, and BBC radio Nottingham played three tracks within one Hour last Thursday. Desmond Carrington will play his own track on his radio 2 programme, between 7 and 8 PM on Tuesday, the day after its release. Apparently requests for information are coming in from Ireland, a country to which Les seldom if ever goes to tour. He recently said to Richard Ellin, the Osmosys label owner that since Guide Cats 1 came out, Les now sees on average about 20 people per concert that he reckons he wouldn't have seen without the CD. He's currently touring America, and we can expect loads of radio interviews when he returns in early October. And the more he benefits from the exposure the CD's give him, the happier I am. He deserves it, on account of his genius and generosity.

All the best,
Clive
Co-producer and instigator of
Guide Cats for the Blind/Missing Persians File