Erm, just flicking through some of my CDs and it strikes me that it is now over four years since Stranger Comes to Town...

Is there any news of a new album in the pipeline? There was some mention earlier in the year, of a possible week of recording in the studio in July, but that may not have happened.

Steve doesn't seem to air new songs ahead of an album these days.

That may be a blessing in disguise, as some songs that we may have caught live in the past (The Race Game and others) never made it out of the recording studio unfortunately.

And then there are probably a few v. v. early Cockney Rebel
songs that have never got onto vinyl either.

Maybe there is an idea for an album in itself? - previously unrecorded songs from the early '70s and early '80s.

A flight of fancy - if such a project were to ever see the light of day what title might you suggest for the album? 'Early Plays'? 'Moody Food'?...

Good topic GedKen - I do hope a new studio album will appear at some point.

The idea of previewing the songs live beforehand is probably an effective way to get an idea of a song's reception, though I'd certainly like to hear some unreleased material if such studio versions exist of songs like The Race Game, Don't Shoot, Till You See The Whites Of Their Eyes and Knock On Her World.

Aside from a studio album of new material I'd be pleased to see a big compilation of rarities and the various 1980s tracks that have yet to find their way onto an album. Of course the truth of the matter would be such an album wouldn't be a massive seller, but aimed at the more enthusiastic fans. There's probably not enough demand for such a thing but it would be fulfilling and rewarding set all the same.

Another release I'd like to see is another live album, one which captures the band as they are now. Aside from the Birmingham release, there hasn't been such a live album since 2004's Anytime! set. Aside from the usual classics it would be great to see some more unusual numbers make an appearance. Perhaps things like, off the top of my head, Love on the Rocks, Freedom's Prisoner, Irresistible, Promises, I Can't Even Touch You, Panorama, The Last Goodbye etc.

GedKen wrote:
Ian Hunter once explained that he didn't like playing new songs ahead of an album because they usually ended up bootlegged before the official release. No idea if Steve thinks the same.

But yeah, time for a new album I reckon.

Mick