By October 1993 Chris had returned from the Philippines and was back at University in mind if not in spirit. He had completed his preparations for the forthcoming album and was anxious to travel to England to start work. Over the water Nick was busily finishing songs and writing new Boracay-inspired songs also eagerly awaiting the opportunity to cut the new album.

It was not long before the band could no longer contain the avalanche of inspiration they held within and arrangements were hastily made for a long weekend of recording at what had become the F/P Head Quarters; The Coach House.

It had taken the band three years to record “Nancy’s” a mere three weeks to record “Magic” and entering the studio to record the long overdue third opus F/P were allowing themselves an incredibly tight three-day deadline. This of course was typical; F/P had to outdo themselves at every step and they considered the 3-3-3-3 stunt as a great challenge and incredible target.

The planning behind the new album had been far more thorough and directioned than for either of the predecessors. Both “Nancy’s” and “Magic” had benefited from little conceptual planning and display a rather anarchic unpredictability in “Nancy’s” case and a multi-dimensional journey-like quality in the case of “Magic”. Another similarity between the first two albums was their length, each boasting a minimum of 15 songs offering the listener an extensive introduction to the multi-faceted delights and sounds of Fawcett / Poustie.

With “Feed The Monkey” (by now the adopted album title of the band’s third studio offering) Nick and Chris had already decided that they wanted a tighter and more focussed album compacted into two neat and hard-hitting 5-song sides. Both members considered some of the best albums ever recorded to have been in this format and it was certainly a very expressive way of delivering the band’s first coherent and concentrated statement. “Feed The Monkey” was going to pack a punch compressed into ten dynamic and compact crackers. The album would therefore need to be of the absolute highest quality as the band were allowing themselves no fillings or trimmings to hide behind. “These are our ten songs, this is the band, this is our album” was the thinking behind “Monkey”, and the plan was a complete and utter sensational success.

“Feed The Monkey” is a breathtaking classic far removed from either predecessor. It is as focussed an album as one is ever likely to hear by any band and like the title track itself contains a flavour and feeling absolutely indicative of the time and place captured in the songs, namely Boracay 1993.

Whereas “Nancy’s” had been a concept built around and hinged upon a weird mix of humorous narration and often unrelated sound effects “Monkey” was a concept unto itself and as true and together as one could wish a concept album to be. From the beautiful cover photo and inner sleeves to the incredible 6 out of 10 songs directly relating tales of Boracay the album reads like a guide book of experiences, adventures and dreams. Even of the four tracks not directly attributable to Boracay, three utterly fit the mould in terms of title “Sunset , Moonlight & Dawn”, sentiment “Take Your Turn” and southern style “Smile Child”.

In fact only one song seemed somehow out of place and that was the outstanding opener “Fairway Revolution”. But then again F/P have never done things by the book and always hold a trick up their sleeve.

“Fairway Revolution” is the ultimate opener. It storms up upon the listener and cranks-out at a blistering and menacing pace as ferocious and fierce as a howling werewolf. The riff builds to an excruciating crescendo before the thick and chunky guitar chords crash in and rhythmically drive the song forward ominously. The effect is breathtaking; Fawcett / Poustie are launched at the listener as if by some aural arsenal assault. The excitement is embellished further by the superbly rousing and rallying lyrics. “There’s a social revolution going on in this town from the mental institution to the bar in the Rose & Crown” cries Chris. It is a very heavy and classily produced track that includes some of Chris’s wildest soloing to-date which adds raucous element to an already choppy song. Like the song “Magic Bowler Hat Ride” Fairway displays a very typical F/P sense of ridiculous humour particularly non-rock’n’roll and again quintessentially British; “We all must conform to St. Andrews laws, our uniform a pair of natty plus-4s”.

Just as soon as “Fairway” finally smoulders out in jumps “Fruit Shake” a classic rock’n’roll escapade. The music and title “Fruit Shake” had been written by Nick since arriving back from Boracay, the lyrics however were unfinished at the time that recording for “Monkey” commenced. Nick therefore invited Chris to help pen some lyrics which he did together with Nick in their local pub “The Red Lion” Hartford as the album was in production. It is a snappy and upbeat rock’n’roll jive with a superbly funky chorus that makes for one of the bands most instantly loveable classics. The track also features incredible guitar and piano solos that polish the song off perfectly. The lyrics too are interesting and embellished with references and innuendoes relating to a particular Boracay caper flavoured by the ingredients to an exotic “sweet and sour”. It is absolutely infectious rocker stamped with the usual F/P loony seal.

Following the bombardment of “Fairway” and delicious delights of “Fruit Shake” comes the laid back and southern comfort of “Smile Child”. The only real ballad on offer “Smile Child” is excellently casual and evokes an almost country or Americana feel. In good ballad tradition the song is dressed down to the bare basics of an acoustic guitar rhythm track and vocal harmonies. An unusual piano solo is also mixed into the track to sound like a Caribbean steel band. The touch is exquisite and adds a tropical beach air to the southern groove.

“Living in Paradise” is pure paradise itself. One of Nick’s all time greatest tracks it is an upbeat commercial rocker that cheers the good times and drips with nectar. If ever a song were designed as a pick-me-up then this is the rock’n’roll tonic. It starts with golden shreds of guitar beaming out of deep blue skies before dancing along to an infectious strum. The chorus is sheer happiness and the ‘take-it-down’ section featuring both F & P on vocals builds to a wonderfully uplifting climax before a pretty piano passage ends the song sweetly. “Living in Paradise” is a song typical of the whole of “Monkey” in the way that it perfectly captures the magnificent essence and spirit of Boracay bringing it alive to the listener in glorious musical Technicolor.

Rounding off side one is a groove-heavy funk-rock riffarama “Trash Can”. Complete with trashy lyrical tales revealing more of the Boracay escapades the song is a low-down raunchy rocker. Hidden in the dirt however is a charming bejewelled bridge that sparkles attractively and displays a mature side to Chris’ song-writing. One of the band’s funkiest moments.

Side two opens with a new studio version of the title track “Feed The Monkey”. Although the studio version loses some of the delicacy of the original Boracay recording it still remains true in spirit to the song written on the beach. The addition of the piano does detract somewhat from the song’s original acoustic subtlety and adds a bizarre carnival like thump to the chorus as if a monkey were marching around a circus ring pounding a huge base drum. It is as if the drunken monkey is reaping his revenge for the hat-eating incident.

The quirky and utterly brilliant “Take Your Turn” strolls along next all dandy and charismatic. The song is one of the most perfectly rounded and crafted pieces of song-writing ever recorded. It is so natural a song it sometimes seems as though the music had written itself. Nick displays a maturity beyond his years and paints an enigmatic portrait of a girl “Who lies in the grass” coloured with the classy lines “Spinning lilies grow where she walks birds keep on singing as she gently talks and if she held me I could be with her”. Nick also excels in the solo department with a twangy rock-a-billy style solo pulled-off to perfection.

“Wish You Were Here” follows with an intricate and melodious guitar introduction that carries forth a wave of vocal harmonies lapping at the shores of an evening beach. It is another example of how Nick accurately and gorgeously captures the beauty of Boracay within a musical theme. Both the lyrics and melody are thoroughly first rate and the boys version of a Coverdale-Hughes duet was a brave if not totally successful attempt.

Chris’ “Sunset, Moonlight & Dawn” struts in next jaunty and bop-rocky. It is an old time rock’n’roller with verses that Elvis could have sung comfortably decked out with choruses as big as Vegas itself.

Finally the band finish the set by pulling out all stops and setting off the fireworks in true broadway style heralding their first ever ‘epic’; the stupendous “The Mayor of Boracay” . “Boracay” is Nick’s masterpiece, his symphony-de-genius. A lengthy and adventurous marathon it immediately assumed legendary status among the fans on a par with a Bohemian Rhapsody or a Post Tostee. Complete with rock and ballad passages and incredible solo-fests it is a brilliant feat of musical exploration that few attempt let alone conquer. It is the ultimate closer to the ultimate album which leaves the listener thoroughly satisfied and hungry to turn to side one and start the journey once more.

“Feed The Monkey” had at last captured Fawcett / Poustie’s brilliance in a totally cohesive and representative manner. It was an enormous achievement and monument to their lives, their talents and their creativity reflecting their passion for not only music but also for life and all its simple and exotic beauties. It stands proudly next to any of their more recent works and will always do so because of its endearing and enduring charm and ambience. The album is quite simply a work of art, a consummate and timeless expression of life and of the celebration of life. It is Fawcett / Poustie’s first masterpiece, an album par excellence.

The world of Fawcett / Poustie had begun to flower and the buds would quickly flourish.