Paul Linn & Bill Bryant Story So Far

1985
In April, Paul's old school chums met Bill Bryant in a pub in Loudwater. Bill was a well-known local figure, having been Howard Jones's best friend and lyricist who was famously and notoriously dumped when the record deal was signed in 1983. He had followed an Indian guru, then had followers of his own including Howard, and used to give public talks on spirituality. He was an enigmatic figure and always caused a mixed reaction among Wycombe people. Paul's friends were interested to meet Bill, all being Howard Jones fans, but Bill could sense there was another one of their gang who was missing, so he asked them if that was true and they answered, "You must mean Paul. He's a really good singer in Last Word, but he writes his own songs too." So Bill said they should bring him round to his house that Sunday so he could hear his songs.

That day was April 28th 1985. A quiet but interested Paul sat on Bill's settee next to his hi-fi and, when asked, put on his tape of 'Private Personality'. Bill's eyes lit up as the intro began, and as soon as the vocals started he jumped out of his chair in total elation. It was love at first listen for Bill. Something magical clicked. He asked Paul to keep rewinding the song to start it again and again. The following track 'Poetry in Motion' also caused a similar reaction. Bill was very impressed with Paul's lyrics, not too surprising as he'd moulded them on his own. But it was the spirit in Paul's voice that particularly got to Bill. Despite being very excited and flattered, Paul didn't recognise their compatibility as soon as Bill. They agreed to meet up alone a few days later to talk about working together sometime in the future.

This meeting on West Wycombe Hill went extremely well, and it was clear that they would work together as soon as possible writing songs. However, Bill was currently managing and writing for a 3 piece band called HORRIDA BELLA who were causing a buzz on the gig scene and generating record company interest, so he could devote little time to Paul at first. He did soon have a go at re-recording 'Private Personality' with one of the band producing, but it was a cold and mechanical result. Bill also gave Paul a brand new lyric to write music to entitled 'Wouldn't Like To See You Suffer' and again, the result was weak. Bill urgently stressed to Paul that these first efforts were just not good enough, and that he knew he could do infinitely better. "I want our songs to be as good as the ones I love of yours." The second lyric, 'Non Believer' was a different story. Paul found a tune and arrangement very easily, and the recording he made with his little keyboard and a cheap 4-track tape recorder caused Bill to leap out of his chair again. In fact, he liked it so much, he had to ask Paul to press stop. It was all too much. Bingo !

So this was the beginning of their songwriting partnership. Not only was it a dream come true for Paul, but it was also a timely new lease of life for Bill who was still in a state of shock and recovering from being dumped by Howard and then having to witness his considerable success. (Luckily he was paid his due royalties for 'What Is Love?' which made Number 2, and the six tracks on the Number 1 album 'Human's Lib').

By June, Paul decided to leave LAST WORD to develop as a solo artist under Bill's guidance, but stayed long enough to perform a couple of final gigs which Bill attended, and was glad to hear Paul's confident live singing and enjoy his energy on stage. Paul and Bill's songwriting still had to take a back seat until November, when things with HORRIDA BELLA went sour. After their 38th gig they decided to split and Bill immediately bestowed all the equipment he owned that the band had been using into Paul's lap: a BBC Micro computer, a UMI-2B sequencer, 3 synthesizers (a DX7, a Roland JX3P and a Yamaha DX21), a mass of leads, a microphone, two effects units, a TEAC 4-track reel to reel and a stack of manuals. "Here you go, now get learning and write some great songs." Paul was daunted but excited. It was only November but Christmas had come early for Paul. All the gear was set up in Bill's very cramped spare bedroom, and Paul would come round most days of the week to suss out how to program, sequence and record the backing tracks, and so work on new songs. 'Soul Purpose' was written next - not bad, but not really good enough. But then came 'Primal Spirit' - wow ! That was more like it, Paul stayed up through the night recording it, knowing it was a winner.

With the idea that the first live gig would be a few months away, it was imperative that Paul should learn to play keyboards and sing at the same time, something he violently and defensively swore he could not do. Bill insisted that he could and must, and forcefully persuaded Paul to keep trying and to realise that with a little practice, concentration and a positive attitude, in fact, he could and did. One of many mental hurdles Paul overcame with Bill's help.

1986
The year got off to a great start with the writing of 'Tomorrow's Tears' in just an hour, and all visitors to the house were given a live rendition. This song ended up being sung more than any other and is still a firm favourite. More soon followed on it's heels such as 'Clever', 'Stupid', 'Here's Your Chance' and the haunting and darkly brooding instrumental 'Resistance'.

The first gig arrived rather a lot quicker than Paul was expecting. Bill managed to secure a support slot at the 'Nag's Head' in High Wycombe with only a month's notice. (About two month's ahead of the original plan). Major panic ensued, mostly on Paul's part, and Bill invested in a huge P.A. system so they could begin rehearsals in a local hired studio. Together, Bill and Paul taught themselves how to wire it all up, create the best live sound with e.q. and effects, and rehearsed the ten or so songs with Bill at the mixing desk and Paul surrounded by four keyboards and a computer. They were especially pleased with the mega volume they could achieve !

January 25th arrived. It was an extremely cold night, Paul and Bill were very on edge and as Paul sang the opening song 'Private Personality', his chilled breath was clearly visible. Everything went well enough, despite only a handful of onlookers, and it turned out to be the last time Paul would load the songs into the computer himself on stage. From now on Bill would take care of that by the mixer to save Paul having to turn his back on the audience after every song. It was a tentative start.

Paul's next live appearance was at the wedding of Bill's closest friends Nigel and Zen. As part of the service in the church he sang an emotional 'Tomorrow's Tears' with just a string pad on the JX3P to accompany his voice. This simple style of performing various songs went on to became a highlight of gigs, hence the term 'Church Version'.

From then on, Paul and Bill struck out to many local venues and beyond, and began a hectic gig schedule, second to none. February saw 12 gigs. March saw another 12, plus the release of the first album-length cassette 'Paul Linn' which sold in large numbers at the gigs. Early local press articles were encouraging, but seemed to feel that Paul was a better singer than he was a songwriter, and there were endless comparisons with Howard Jones, who, they felt was a better songwriter than he was a singer !

Slowly building up a regular local following, Paul's friend Jenny would take names and numbers for a contact list, which was invaluable for alerting people of future gig dates via a regular chatty mail-out written by Paul and Bill. Within the first month of gigs, Bill and Paul befriended an American girl called Juliette who came to that evening's gig and absolutely raved, thus attending all future gigs. Bill asked her to dance to the song 'Clever' as she had been a gymnast, but the routine was only a semi-success. However, what worked far better was Juliette simply dancing each night and doing back-flips to whoop up the audience. This became a popular and well-known part of Paul Linn gigs. She also began to take endless photos and helped with artwork and design for future albums.

More often than not, as confidence grew, Paul Linn was asked to return to a venue. Being a solo artist, no music licence was required, and often Bill would encourage pubs that had never before staged live music to let Paul play. Nowhere ever regretted giving it a try. Two of the most popular and regularly played venues were 'The Boot' in Bledlow Ridge (tiny in size but huge in atmosphere) and 'The Floral Arms' in Slough (whether outside or in). Another early venue that really caught on was 'Flackwell Heath Village Hall', which spawned a large number of loyal gig-followers, many of whom became close friends. This was the first venue where Paul emerged from behind the keyboards to fully perform a new song 'Black White'. And it was also at this gig that they met and earned their first roadie in the large and fearless form of Martin Dagnall. Up until now, Paul and Bill had lugged a Renault Traffic-full of heavy equipment in and out of every gig alone. This was sudden bliss !

Included in May's exhausting twenty-three gigs was the first of many London dates at the 'Mean Fiddler' in Harlesden. In June Paul debuted his acrobatic leap over the keyboards in 'The Revolution Song', which became a regular feat. And on June 28th after turning up at a Chesham venue to find the owner missing, everyone decamped to the roadie's back garden, where the full gig was played and enjoyed by the fans, neighbours and police alike !

From July 1986 the cassette 'Paul Linn 2' was available to buy. It featured one of Paul's favourite songs 'Giant', (to this day one of the warmest and most special recordings) as well as a few songs that had been recorded for the first time in a proper studio, rather than in Bill's spare room. Wycombe's 'Dungeon' studio run by Stuart Sawney proved very suitable for them and most of the next two albums were recorded there. One of the stronger songs on the second album, 'It's Just An Illusion' was played on BBC Radio Oxford during an interview with Paul and Bill on July 21st. Bill did most of the talking as young Paul was quite nervous and shy.

July 29th saw the first of several Birthday gigs. Bill and Paul share this birth date, (both are Leo Snakes, born twelve years apart), and doing a special gig was usually their preferred way to celebrate. This gig at the 'Nag's Head' was packed and also attended by scouts from Warner Bros.

Bios/Story so far



1985 In April, Paul's old school chums met Bill Bryant in a pub in Loudwater. Bill was a well-known local figure, having been Howard Jones's best friend and lyricist who was famously and notoriously dumped when the record deal was signed in 1983. He had followed an Indian guru, then had followers of his own including Howard, and used to give public talks on spirituality. He was an enigmatic figure and always caused a mixed reaction among Wycombe people. Paul's friends were interested to meet Bill, all being Howard Jones fans, but Bill could sense there was another one of their gang who was missing, so he asked them if that was true and they answered, "You must mean Paul. He's a really good singer in Last Word, but he writes his own songs too." So Bill said they should bring him round to his house that Sunday so he could hear his songs. That day was April 28th 1985. A quiet but interested Paul sat on Bill's settee next to his hi-fi and, when asked, put on his tape of 'Private Personality'. Bill's eyes lit up as the intro began, and as soon as the vocals started he jumped out of his chair in total elation. It was love at first listen for Bill. Something magical clicked. He asked Paul to keep rewinding the song to start it again and again. The following track 'Poetry in Motion' also caused a similar reaction. Bill was very impressed with Paul's lyrics, not too surprising as he'd moulded them on his own. But it was the spirit in Paul's voice that particularly got to Bill. Despite being very excited and flattered, Paul didn't recognise their compatibility as soon as Bill. They agreed to meet up alone a few days later to talk about working together sometime in the future. This meeting on West Wycombe Hill went extremely well, and it was clear that they would work together as soon as possible writing songs. However, Bill was currently managing and writing for a 3 piece band called HORRIDA BELLA who were causing a buzz on the gig scene and generating record company interest, so he could devote little time to Paul at first. He did soon have a go at re-recording 'Private Personality' with one of the band producing, but it was a cold and mechanical result. Bill also gave Paul a brand new lyric to write music to entitled 'Wouldn't Like To See You Suffer' and again, the result was weak. Bill urgently stressed to Paul that these first efforts were just not good enough, and that he knew he could do infinitely better. "I want our songs to be as good as the ones I love of yours." The second lyric, 'Non Believer' was a different story. Paul found a tune and arrangement very easily, and the recording he made with his little keyboard and a cheap 4-track tape recorder caused Bill to leap out of his chair again. In fact, he liked it so much, he had to ask Paul to press stop. It was all too much. Bingo ! So this was the beginning of their songwriting partnership. Not only was it a dream come true for Paul, but it was also a timely new lease of life for Bill who was still in a state of shock and recovering from being dumped by Howard and then having to witness his considerable success. (Luckily he was paid his due royalties for 'What Is Love?' which made Number 2, and the six tracks on the Number 1 album 'Human's Lib'). By June, Paul decided to leave LAST WORD to develop as a solo artist under Bill's guidance, but stayed long enough to perform a couple of final gigs which Bill attended, and was glad to hear Paul's confident live singing and enjoy his energy on stage. Paul and Bill's songwriting still had to take a back seat until November, when things with HORRIDA BELLA went sour. After their 38th gig they decided to split and Bill immediately bestowed all the equipment he owned that the band had been using into Paul's lap: a BBC Micro computer, a UMI-2B sequencer, 3 synthesizers (a DX7, a Roland JX3P and a Yamaha DX21), a mass of leads, a microphone, two effects units, a TEAC 4-track reel to reel and a stack of manuals. "Here you go, now get learning and write some great songs." Paul was daunted but excited. It was only November but Christmas had come early for Paul. All the gear was set up in Bill's very cramped spare bedroom, and Paul would come round most days of the week to suss out how to program, sequence and record the backing tracks, and so work on new songs. 'Soul Purpose' was written next - not bad, but not really good enough. But then came 'Primal Spirit' - wow ! That was more like it, Paul stayed up through the night recording it, knowing it was a winner. With the idea that the first live gig would be a few months away, it was imperative that Paul should learn to play keyboards and sing at the same time, something he violently and defensively swore he could not do. Bill insisted that he could and must, and forcefully persuaded Paul to keep trying and to realise that with a little practice, concentration and a positive attitude, in fact, he could and did. One of many mental hurdles Paul overcame with Bill's help. 1986 The year got off to a great start with the writing of 'Tomorrow's Tears' in just an hour, and all visitors to the house were given a live rendition. This song ended up being sung more than any other and is still a firm favourite. More soon followed on it's heels such as 'Clever', 'Stupid', 'Here's Your Chance' and the haunting and darkly brooding instrumental 'Resistance'. The first gig arrived rather a lot quicker than Paul was expecting. Bill managed to secure a support slot at the 'Nag's Head' in High Wycombe with only a month's notice. (About two month's ahead of the original plan). Major panic ensued, mostly on Paul's part, and Bill invested in a huge P.A. system so they could begin rehearsals in a local hired studio. Together, Bill and Paul taught themselves how to wire it all up, create the best live sound with e.q. and effects, and rehearsed the ten or so songs with Bill at the mixing desk and Paul surrounded by four keyboards and a computer. They were especially pleased with the mega volume they could achieve ! January 25th arrived. It was an extremely cold night, Paul and Bill were very on edge and as Paul sang the opening song 'Private Personality', his chilled breath was clearly visible. Everything went well enough, despite only a handful of onlookers, and it turned out to be the last time Paul would load the songs into the computer himself on stage. From now on Bill would take care of that by the mixer to save Paul having to turn his back on the audience after every song. It was a tentative start. Paul's next live appearance was at the wedding of Bill's closest friends Nigel and Zen. As part of the service in the church he sang an emotional 'Tomorrow's Tears' with just a string pad on the JX3P to accompany his voice. This simple style of performing various songs went on to became a highlight of gigs, hence the term 'Church Version'. From then on, Paul and Bill struck out to many local venues and beyond, and began a hectic gig schedule, second to none. February saw 12 gigs. March saw another 12, plus the release of the first album-length cassette 'Paul Linn' which sold in large numbers at the gigs. Early local press articles were encouraging, but seemed to feel that Paul was a better singer than he was a songwriter, and there were endless comparisons with Howard Jones, who, they felt was a better songwriter than he was a singer ! Slowly building up a regular local following, Paul's friend Jenny would take names and numbers for a contact list, which was invaluable for alerting people of future gig dates via a regular chatty mail-out written by Paul and Bill. Within the first month of gigs, Bill and Paul befriended an American girl called Juliette who came to that evening's gig and absolutely raved, thus attending all future gigs. Bill asked her to dance to the song 'Clever' as she had been a gymnast, but the routine was only a semi-success. However, what worked far better was Juliette simply dancing each night and doing back-flips to whoop up the audience. This became a popular and well-known part of Paul Linn gigs. She also began to take endless photos and helped with artwork and design for future albums. More often than not, as confidence grew, Paul Linn was asked to return to a venue. Being a solo artist, no music licence was required, and often Bill would encourage pubs that had never before staged live music to let Paul play. Nowhere ever regretted giving it a try. Two of the most popular and regularly played venues were 'The Boot' in Bledlow Ridge (tiny in size but huge in atmosphere) and 'The Floral Arms' in Slough (whether outside or in). Another early venue that really caught on was 'Flackwell Heath Village Hall', which spawned a large number of loyal gig-followers, many of whom became close friends. This was the first venue where Paul emerged from behind the keyboards to fully perform a new song 'Black White'. And it was also at this gig that they met and earned their first roadie in the large and fearless form of Martin Dagnall. Up until now, Paul and Bill had lugged a Renault Traffic-full of heavy equipment in and out of every gig alone. This was sudden bliss ! Included in May's exhausting twenty-three gigs was the first of many London dates at the 'Mean Fiddler' in Harlesden. In June Paul debuted his acrobatic leap over the keyboards in 'The Revolution Song', which became a regular feat. And on June 28th after turning up at a Chesham venue to find the owner missing, everyone decamped to the roadie's back garden, where the full gig was played and enjoyed by the fans, neighbours and police alike ! From July 1986 the cassette 'Paul Linn 2' was available to buy. It featured one of Paul's favourite songs 'Giant', (to this day one of the warmest and most special recordings) as well as a few songs that had been recorded for the first time in a proper studio, rather than in Bill's spare room. Wycombe's 'Dungeon' studio run by Stuart Sawney proved very suitable for them and most of the next two albums were recorded there. One of the stronger songs on the second album, 'It's Just An Illusion' was played on BBC Radio Oxford during an interview with Paul and Bill on July 21st. Bill did most of the talking as young Paul was quite nervous and shy. July 29th saw the first of several Birthday gigs. Bill and Paul share this birth date, (both are Leo Snakes, born twelve years apart), and doing a special gig was usually their preferred way to celebrate. This gig at the 'Nag's Head' was packed and also attended by scouts from Warner Bros.
	On August 31st Bill paid for a coach-load of friends and fans to go on a mystery trip to Bournemouth where everybody had a laugh and swam and Paul sang a few songs on the beach into a banana ! In September 1986, Bill's contacts at Warner Bros were impressed enough by their songs and Paul's live performance that money was provided to record four songs at 'The Doghouse' studio in Shiplake near Henley. It was owned by ex-Jethro Tull drummer Barriemore Barlow, who played drums and percussion on the tracks 'Giant', 'World At Your Feet', 'Emma's Song' and 'It's Just An Illusion'. Bill invited Stuart Sawney along as engineer to help achieve the Paul Linn sound. The result wasn't bad, but lacked the magical warmth of the earlier home demos.
October 5th - Paul's estranged father came to see him perform at the '100 Club' on Oxford Street. Having recently been in touch by letter for the first time, Paul had sent him a tape of songs. His Dad's favourite was 'It's Just An Illusion', and he was very moved when Paul dedicated this song to him at the gig. This first real meeting went well, but it wasn't until 1991 that they really struck up a full father-son relationship. While waiting for things to develop with the record company, Bill felt that the time had come to add something to dissolve all the Howard Jones comparisons. On November 20th Bill overheard a girl singing in the street in Wycombe, and was so impressed by the strength of her voice that he asked her to come and sing with Paul at the next gig. Elizabeth 'Biz' Meir was the ex-singer of local heavy rock band ROUGH JUSTICE, and as she had seen a few of Paul's gigs she accepted the offer. Nine days later, Biz joined Paul at the Nag's Head for his 122nd gig. She belted out harmonies on three songs, and the result was electric. Paul and Biz gelled instantly and it really took things up a notch. She added a touch of blonde glam to proceedings, and despite being a lot taller than Paul, it just seemed to work. The first song written for the new vocal sound was 'Attachment' which Paul and Biz loved singing so much that they often couldn't sing for grinning ! Gigs were soon to be advertised under the new name PAUL LINN & THE BIZ. Another addition to the live set around this same time was a touch of rock 'n' roll. After a basic lesson from local veteran Paul Sharman, Paul soon felt confident to sock it to the audience, and songs such as 'Blue Suede Shoes' always proved especially popular at pub venues, where regulars would try their hand at 50's-style dances. Despite the live improvements, negotiations with the record company, who had been promising the earth, were cut off with a definite "No" after a gig on November 3rd at London's '100 Club' didn't go so well. This crushing news came on Christmas Eve no less, and it took a long time for Paul and Bill to recover. But the gigs continued to come thick and fast... 1987 The year began with the writing of the catchy fun live opener 'Heaven & Earth'. 'Paul Linn 3' was available from January 8th with the best songs of the last six months, including two featuring Biz, who was soon given her first lead vocal song in the funky-esque 'Little Boy, Shape Up! - a slight departure in style for Paul. On January 25th Bill teamed up with local veteran musician Steve Darrington to co-manage Paul and Biz. Steve, a stunning keyboard player and singer in his own right, worked wonders with the live sound and in dealing with press releases and reviews. In February Biz gave up college to devote more time to PAUL LINN & THE BIZ. In May, first-time gig attender Paul Jackson told Bill & Paul he was going to be their second roadie ! They didn't argue. However, it proved too problematic having another Paul around that he was renamed Barney, and despite the caveman connotations, he quite liked it, but it did cause untold mirth. Considerably more mirth was about to be had as a result of Bill advertising for a much-needed gardener. A man called Ken filled the role and, despite being very good at his job, his unusual and quirky character caused Bill and Paul to take on his more humorous character traits and exaggerate them into a fictional alter-ego, which ended up far removed from the real Ken. His infamous catchphrase which started it all was "ello Bill !" which he would utter in a guilty and leering squeaky tone every time he appeared at Bill's front door to work (often uninvited). The plethora of jokes that developed from this craziness provided Bill and Paul with endless amusement, in fact, to this day it's still the same - none of the magic is lost. Anyone who knows them will tell you this in a trice. Plans to incorporate the real Ken into big-time gigs and videos were scuppered when, in 1996, he sadly died. May 23rd - Paul spent two days recording a six-part experimental instrumental musical indulgence called 'PIECES' to cheer up Bill who was ill in bed for a few days. Part 4 was later christened 'Desire' and is Bill's Mum's favourite piece of music to this day. The fourth album-length cassette was released on May 29th entitled 'If You Like This Music...' after the song that was fast becoming a live anthem. Biz featured on all twelve songs and sang lead vocal on three. It was the only album to be credited as PAUL LINN & THE BIZ, and is often referred to as the 'orange' tape. On June 25th Paul, Bill and Biz were interviewed on BBC Radio Oxford. Paul talked much more this time, and Biz laughed a lot and talked about recently having her tonsils out, which had actually improved her voice. The first three songs from the new album were all played, as the DJ forgot to turn off the tape ! July 4th - Paul & Biz headlined a Peace Festival on the Rye in High Wycombe. July 29th - Birthday gig at 'Ponton's' in High Wycombe was a riot, despite Biz being on holiday. Paul performed for almost three hours, and was joined on stage by Steve Darrington for the rock 'n' roll numbers. A wild party, and something of a greatest hits look-back so far ! In September, a few dance routines were injected into the show with the help of dancer friend Di Angus, particularly for the upbeat 'Emma's Song'. An amazing gig was enjoyed at the 'Bull & Gate' (Timebox) in Kentish Town, which was filmed and attended by a coach-load. Due to a poor soundcheck procedure, Paul & Biz went on later than planned, and only got to perform three songs instead of a hoped ten. The atmosphere became quite electric and the fans riotously demanded a fourth song, which luckily they got, else it seemed they would raize the place to the ground ! Afterwards, the complete entourage sang an acapella version of 'To Be One' on the street outside the venue. An amazing and memorable evening. September 29th - A new song 'Nothing Can End' was finished and became the latest gig favourite. It was debuted at a wine bar in Woking, when early that evening after Biz finished the first rendition, the audience demanded an instant encore. The best ever reaction to a new song. October 7th - The 200th gig was celebrated with massive balloons and another cheering coach-load back at the 'Bull & Gate' in Kentish Town. October 16th - Gig at 'Annie's Wine Bar' in Amersham was the last with Biz, due to commitment differences. It came as a shock to the fans, and was a big shame. However, Biz has remained friends to this day, so it really was the closest you could get to that over-cited and infamous 'amicable split' scenario. (Biz performed a total of 71 gigs with Paul). Paul continued on with the hectic gig schedule, with Di Angus occasionally filling in as dancer for the established routines. A great Halloween night gig was enjoyed at 'The Antelope' in the spooky-middle-of-foggy-nowhere Bassingbourn. It was owned by the step-father of regular gig-goer Les Bedford, who made Paul feel incredibly welcome. Many subsequent gigs were held at John Brown's venues, covering two relocations. They were always very special nights for Paul. Further record company hopes came and went, with always a different reason souring the deal - ranging from bankruptcy to people not turning up, general loss of interest, enthusiastic liars after a good gig, dreadful record bosses and even a sex change operation ! December 11th - The new dance instrumental 'Andy Jack' was debuted in Wallingford where Paul got the audience standing in two lines facing each other and doing a series of simple dance moves. The track was named after disco DJ Andy Jack, who had earlier that year pioneered a funny dance routine for Paul's cover version of The Sweet's 'Wig Wam Bam' which quickly became a gig highlight with audiences participating in suggestive thrusting movements ! 1987 ended on a real high with a blinding gig on December 30th at the 'Hippodrome' in Leicester Square. Paul went on between two well-known big ego rock bands, but with the help of nervous adrenalin and the usual coach of fans, he went down the best of the night in front of an audience of two thousand - a fact verified by mournful faces backstage. 1988 January 28th - Every year started with a great new song. This time it was the uptempo groove 'You've Got To Get It Right' which became a new live favourite. February saw the first of several 'mini tours' which began in Brecon in Wales, and then took in Cardiff, Bristol and Swindon en route home. Brilliant fun. March 8th-29th - 'Nothing Can End' was recorded, (now in Paul's key), at 'MARS' in Bellingdon with local veteran Les Payne working wonders as producer and singing backing vocals with Paul. April 2nd - Paul reached 'Top A' at a pub gig near Aylesbury. A proud first. May 31st - Bill started a sideline removals business with his Renault Traffic. He and Paul managed many a house removal in this small van at first, and over the next four years the business grew to a successful and busy three-van enterprise, with up to five workers. Moving anything from sofas to pianos and factory machinery to entire five-bedroom houses, this really was hard work. June 13th - Paul completed a second six-part experimental instrumental musical indulgence called 'SLICES', this time including a few quotes from his favourite film 'Zardoz'. In July 1987, Paul recorded a medley of his songs as a surprise for Bill's birthday entitled 'So That's What You Were Up To.' It was completely sung line by line by a selection of friends and fans, and despite vocal coaching by Paul, a few of the funnier goofs were left in for Bill's entertainment and amusement. August 9th - The 300th gig was celebrated at the 'Blue Ball' in Chesham. October 17th - Bill bought 'Ponton's Music Club' renaming it 'Heroes & Zeroes'. It had never been a favourite venue for Paul to play, so instead he booked the bands and later took the door money. Bill, Juliette and local hired enthusiasts took on the sound, lighting and bouncer duties. It functioned three or four nights a week, had a licenced bar (being the back room of a pub), hosted a National Band Competition and was a very popular venue for bands from all over the country, but it left little time for Paul Linn gigs for the next couple of years. October 31st - Another Halloween gig, this time at the amazingly-rough bikers' pub 'The Bell' in Swindon. After set up and soundcheck, the landlord asked Bill and Paul if they would like the net. "The net ?" they answered. It was a regular protection surround for live bands against bottles and other projectiles. Blimey ! They decided to go it alone, sans net. The venue then filled with a great many frightening characters, but at least they'd all make the effort to come in fancy dress. Despite the fears, Paul braved it out and won the audience over, mostly thanks to Juliette's mingling and gymnastic diversions - the crowd had a great time. (Only a couple of items were thrown, luckily missing Paul, who didn't even notice !) A New Year's Eve gig at John Brown's 'Carlton Club' in North Wales featured an apt new cover version of U2's 'Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'. 1989 The gigs really started to wind down, in fact there were only eight this whole year. Having been so prolific and active for three years, coming so close to making it, only to have the rug pulled from under them repeatedly took its toll, and Paul and Bill felt they had to stop for a while and get on with other things to earn a regular income. May 31st - Bill bought a new home studio system, which really enhanced home recordings from now on. No more studio fees for him to pay. June 28th - Bill, Nigel and Juliette visited India for five weeks to spend time with Bill's old guru, who he hadn't seen in years. A very trying time. Meanwhile Paul remained at home revamping songs such as 'World At Your Feet', which received a spanking new arrangement and live saxophone. 1990 - present day Gigs by now were only for charity events, birthdays or weddings. The 90's did see some of the best songs written, however. The fifth album 'Tested Thru' Time' was released on February 11th 1991 and featured 14 songs - some revamped oldies and some brilliant new ones in 'While The Innocent', 'Do You Remember' and the short but perfectly formed 'Unconditional'. On July 3rd 1992 a sort of comeback gig was held at the 'Nag's Head'. Having been away for so long, the venue was more packed than ever with old friends and fans, plus a surprising amount of people coming to see Paul for the first time to see what all the fuss was about. This triumphant gig did not, however, herald a whole new onslaught of live dates. Nevertheless, Paul and Bill went on to write further songs including a precious golden few, 'There Is A Heaven', 'Reality', 'A Stolen Thing' and a sublime new ballad to rival 'Nothing Can End' called 'Crazy Like A Dreamer'. A new improved version of 'It's Just An Illusion' was recorded in October '96 with Biz returning to add extra power and diversity to the vocals. These songs, along with several others, have finally been given a home on the long-awaited sixth album called 'Everything Is One', now available on CD. (See Shop page). Bill, now living in Somerset and Paul in London still get together every four to five weeks, and with the website now up and running, they are keen to reignite the Paul Linn torch. Watch this space !