The path of Fawcett / Poustie has always been a windy one. Since first meeting in Chester in 1983 they have rarely lived near to each other. First Nick left Chester to attend school in Hartford, Northwich, soon to be followed by Chris’ departure to Colwyn Bay in North Wales, likewise to change schools, and following that they were both separated by the Universities of Nottingham and Ulster.

And in December 1992 they were to be further separated, this time by continents and thousands of miles.

Having already written a new song “Sunset, Moonlight and Dawn” for the forthcoming studio album Chris headed off to the Philippines in search of inspiration. He was not to be disappointed. All in all he would spend nine months away from England soaking up the glories of the Orient and its many great stimuli.

One particular location Chris was drawn to was Boracay an unspoilt tropical island akin to an earthly paradise.

Boracay is a tiny island located to the South of Luzon, the Philippines major island body. The island is home to a small friendly population of fishermen and their families living in harmony with nature and basking in the pleasures of a lifestyle truly at one with the environment.

As well as powder-white sands and crystal clear waters Boracay boasted majestic mountains rising high up to the deep blue skies acting as a magnificent backdrop, thick with lush green tropical vegetation. It is a splendid little island blessed with a beauty unparalleled.

It was at Boracay that Chris found the inspiration to write “Wish You Were Here” a song dedicated to Nick back in Blighty. Aptly, considering the postcard-inspired title, the lyrics were mailed to England where Nick added the music to complete the song. Tellingly the words to “Wish You Were Here” include the line “Someday we’ll be in this paradise” a prophecy that proved true just months later when Nick and Lawton Green flew in.

Remarkably when Nick and Chris met up in Manila it was the first time that they had shared each others company in well over half a year since the Northern Ireland stint to shoot the cover to “Magic”. It was a great reunion and the boys were anxious to kick F/P back into gear and start the preparations for the new and as yet untitled album.

Celebrating the band’s triumphant reunification the boys headed to the Galleon Bar in Manila where together with Lawton they jumped up onstage to the amazement of the audience and performed a blistering live rendition of the Tommy Bolin classic “Wild Dogs” to a privileged and enthralled audience. Unbeknown to the cheering fans the event they were witness to was a totally unrehearsed and off-the-cuff jam. Chris blew the bar away with dynamite drumming, Nick out-shone himself with a scorching guitar solo; so hot he snapped a guitar string and had to finish the solo with only 5 strings. Lawton supplied the base line and Chris and Nick shared vocals in what is now hailed as a legendary impromptu F/P live classic.

Soon after the reunion Nick and Lawton took the short flight to the island tropicalé where in days Chris would join them after completing some business in the metropolis. Boracay was to be a band vacation but would also prove to be more than just fun in the sun. Nick, always prepared, brought along with his hand luggage a loaded six-string.

Chris arrived at the island midday and promptly began to wade into the first of several rum & Coke’s; the island’s favourite tipple. The boys shot some pool and relaxed devouring the paradise and celebrating the beginning of a new chapter of Fawcett / Poustie that had just opened around them and enveloped their creative soul. F/P had become Boracayzed.

As Chris and Nick enjoyed the pleasures of the island there descended an awareness that over the past few months the band had been placed on a well deserved back-burner. It had been a full year since “Magic” had been released and the next musical instalment of Fawcett / Poustie was still far off on the horizon with not a demo or recording schedule in sight. The joyous reunion and old-time reminiscing had tugged at the heartstrings of Nick and Chris whose longing to get back in the studio and lay down some tracks grew in equal proportion to the liberal dousing of rum & Coke they were enjoying.

It was decided that what was needed to administer a shot in the F/P arm was an attempt at composing a song right in the heart of the paradise where they sat. And so armed with guitar, pen and paper they found a secluded spot on the beach shaded under coconut palms and started to compose a song. The moment was magical.

If at any point in time you could have captured the essence and spirit of Fawcett / Poustie and capsulated the incredible by-product then this would have been the moment. Smoking in the shade of tropical palms and strumming an acoustic guitar sat Fawcett / Poustie bound together by the sound of the moment and a mood equally enchanting. The song which emanated from this celebrated episode was the charismatic and totally atmospheric “Feed The Monkey” a song absolutely representative of the ambience that prevailed at the time of its inception. It exudes a mysterious and seductive charm that floats around the subtle minor-chord changes and dances with the listeners desires luring him away from the hum-drum of reality and into a dreamlike and captivating paradise.

The song also displays a rather unnerving ability of its composers to sway from one mood to another without paying reverence to the normal structure of a rock song. The verses are divided into a soft and delicate opening and a cool and enticing middle passage that introduces a raucous and disdainful pre-chorus. Once the chorus arrives the song performs and incredible acrobatic back-flip that grabs the listener by the back-bone and flings him into a funk-packed strut. A simply incredible feat of musical genius.

Having written the song the boys proceeded to sing it on the beech until a crowd of captivated locals crowded round in witness of an incredible and unique event.

That night after returning home from a beach-side discotheque they recorded the song in Nick’s hotel room on a portable cassette recorder. The recording is a pure and perfect souvenir of what had been an almost divine musical experience. You can almost hear the midnight waves lapping Boracay’s shores in the background of the recording.

Before leaving Boracay the boys had their photos taken in various beach poses by Lawton Green. At the time they knew an album would be recorded one day and thought the odd holiday snap my come in useful. How right this proved to be.

And so sadly they said their goodbyes to Boracay and to each other. They had enjoyed the holiday immensely and captured the moment to perfection. However as they bid their farewells it hovered in the backs of their minds that no plans had been made to record a new album and that the future of the band was still shrouded in a veil of obscurity.