In the last days of 1981 we had a recording session at The Playground Studio in Camden, London. I’m still not sure how this happened, who paid for it and why… but Robert (Smith) organised it with the producer Mike Hedges who was thinking about starting up his own record label…

I was very proud about being able to say that I was in an underground rock band. Along with saying ‘I play for Aston Villa football club’ which by now I had conceded was unlikely, it was about the coolest thing I could possibly think of. I didn’t want to be a rock star, there was something a bit brazen or overblown about all that in my opinion - I wanted to be in a band that normal people had never heard of…

One afternoon when we were in The Playground Studios’ Siouxsie walked into the control room. She had come to see Robert Smith and Mike Hedges who were mixing ‘From Under The hill’ with us so they got up and spoke with her and Steven Severin, who was with her, leaving us in stunned silence not knowing where to look.

When we walked into the venue called The Asylum in Nottingham all the signs were positive…

After the fight in The Asylum club we needed a new bass guitarist.

None of the record companies we gave or sent packages to responded.

One afternoon in September 1983 we went to the ‘Future Records’ office in Malvern and signed a record contract.

Shantell was released in September 1983. We were pleased with it, it was a simple song but had depth, it was well recorded and produced and it didn’t sound like anyone else.