When Bernard Butler sat down a couple of years ago and started to write new
songs, even he took a few months to realise that there was just one voice
that could match his epic pop style. Since the Suede-era snarl of Brett
Anderson, only David McAlmont had provided tonsil-power to equal Butler's
guitar-driven energy in the soaring 1995 hit 'Yes' and the passionate single
'You Do'. After the collection of studio bits and pieces which followed
('The Sound Of... McAlmont & Butler'), David and Bernard had gone in solo
directions. Finally one day the penny dropped, Bernard Butler knew that once
again he'd been writing songs David McAlmont had to sing.

The thing was, the pair hadn't even exchanged Christmas cards for years and
Butler didn't have a telephone number for David McAlmont. 'I didn't know
what to do,' recalls Bernard, 'So I went to Geoff Travis, who had introduced
us the first time around, and explained my problem. I told him I had always
known I wanted to work with David again sometime between now and when I
die.' Thankfully the Rough Trade honcho doesn't believe in keeping people
waiting 30-odd years and promptly issued Bernard with David's number. The
result is a brand new album from the duo, 'Bring It Back'.

'My starting point was that everybody making pop music was trying to make it
as commercial and sterile as possible and everybody making alternative music
was trying to be as alternative as possible and running in the other
direction,' Bernard explains. 'There was this space in the middle where
nobody was attempting to make great, intelligent rock or soul music. I
thought that was a real shame. I grew up on great pop groups like T-Rex and
The Beatles; that was why I was in Suede. It took me about a year to do
something about getting back with David. I'd done my own solo stuff plus a
lot of shit had gone on for about two years of my life and I just came to
the realisation that I wanted to make great music. It didn't matter if I'd
just played triangle on the end result that came out of the speakers, I just
wanted to be part of the process.'

'At that point I was out of a deal and so was Bernard,' continues David. 'It
was just like the first time we got together when Thieves had just split and
Bernard had left Suede, there was room for something to happen.'

'He's a Stratocaster kinda guy
He plugged his Copicat inside and turned his Marshall up to grind...
And he, he sings like a bird or an angel or sumthin'
He sold his soul to get those vibes'

'Bring It Back' opens with 'Theme From... McAlmont & Butler', a scene-setter
if ever there was one. Bold, funky, sassy - David McAlmont purrs his way
round the words while Bernard Butler cracks on with that trademark tidal
wave guitar sound. Immediately you know who you're listening to, but you
also know they've moved on since their first work together. 'The idea of a
"solo" album always made me think of Phil Collins,' shudders Bernard. 'The
concept of McAlmont and Butler always appealed to me as a pair of characters
outside the two of us and having a theme to start the album kind of adds to
that.'

Demos recorded at Bernard's went so well that most of the album was
completed there. Indeed, they didn't sign their record deal until the album
was all but finished. This freedom from someone else's agenda dealt them the
opportunity to start again with a blank canvas. They are joined on a few
tracks by the orchestral arrangements of composer David Arnold - the man
behind the Bond-theme covers album for which David McAlmont gave his
Bassey-tastic best to 'Diamonds Are Forever'.

Among the simmering soul numbers and the swinging pop on 'Bring It Back',
fans of 'Yes' will be pleased to hear that the duo haven't left that Phil
Spector-esque sound completely behind. The album's title recognises the
past, 'We worked on the basis that you wouldn't go and see "Jaws II' before
seeing "Jaws" would you?' smiles Bernard.
And the explosive number 'Falling' is intentionally a reference back to the
hit. 'The last time I heard "Yes" in public I was at a fireworks display
last bonfire night,' recounts Bernard. 'They'd played all this Prokofiev all
evening and they were wrapping things up when it came on. It was the nicest
moment of my musical life. It was better than going to Number One - just
standing there with this huge song going out to all these people.
'In a way I think we were probably in a bit of a bad way when we did "Yes"!
I think we've had a few years to sort ourselves out now but back then there
was all this expectation on us. We were both, separately, "about to happen"
and we refused to conform to that. Now I've gone through that point where
you have to decide: are you going to do this seriously or not because
otherwise you might as well go and learn to drive a bus.'

Last time around, they parted company rather publicly. Stories ran in the
music press of a major falling out and strong opinions were exchanged. Now
the two write, hang out and go to gigs together. 'When Bernard rang me and
said he wanted to meet I was like "Well, if he's been big enough to call me,
then fine",' recalls David. 'We had a chat, he gave me the CD and told me to
have a listen. I was like "don't you wanna talk about the past?" and he just
said, "I wanna work with you again" simple as that.'

'I just thought it was funny, all that happened before,' Bernard laughs.
'I'll work with anybody if there's the potential to make a great record.
There isn't much honesty in this business and we've just sat down and
thought who cares?'

With two solo albums for Creation behind him, Bernard Butler has got a lot
out of his system this time round. Add to that a sticky legal saga with a
former accountant and the last few years have not been easy ones for him,
but an older, wiser musician has brought new surprises to this album. Having
crafted beautiful music with indie outfit Thieves and then as McAlmont,
David McAlmont released 'A Little Communication' (Hut) in 1998. It marked a
new era in his songwriting and his performance; yes, he had always sounded
soulful and sophisticated, but this was a new, mature star emerging. On
'Bring It Back', along with the rousing pop anthems, tracks like 'Blue' are
David McAlmont charting territory you'd expect from David Crosby or Joni
Mitchell! For the past few years, as a regular player with seminal folk
artist Bert Jansch, Bernard Butler was the perfect person to lead McAlmont
around this exploration with beautifully evocative results.

'There is something strange about why two working class London boys end up
making this music when what it evokes is a Jewish maverick in New York,
black people in Detroit, even art students in Crouch End!'says David. 'But
"Bring It Back" is the sound of the two of us. Apart from the drums and the
strings, it was just us. I think because we're so enthusiastic about music
we're really open about what we should sound like. There's a bit of West
Coast, a bit of Motown in there... it's like a history of classic pop
fanaticism. I call it a rock 'n' roll soup.'