THE SMILE THAT YOU Send Out Returns to You had returned to nothing more than a quote on an LP sleeve and I was looking at forming my own new musical venture.

Roger Eagle, a man who always did things for the correct reasons, had opened up a warehouse on Temple Street and had visions of it being a venue and arts establishment which would provide a creative nerve centre for musicians and artists in Liverpool. He named it Crackin’ Up, after the great Bo Diddley song. Steve Hardstaff, who had designed all the Eric's and Probe artwork, had come up with a great logo for Roger's new venture that looked like a barren planet wearing a pair of shades.

Deaf School's ex-drummer Tim Whittaker had a large portion sectioned off as a studio and The Teardrop Explodes were going to do a series of gigs in the club, which had formerly been known as the Pyramid. I went to one of the shows myself and they turned in a mesmerizing performance – I remember Julian Cope had a broken foot. I was still carrying my sketchbooks with me at all times, writing down ideas for poems, thoughts and sketching people.

Roger was also looking after a band called The Frantic Elevators from Manchester. I got on well with their bassist, who played a violin bass like Paul McCartney. A guy called Dave Owens was there a lot and also seemed part of Roger's vision for the future. I arranged to have a practice up there with a guy from Huyton called Paul Green who played congas and another guy who shared my birthday. He was called Mick Mooney and he played guitar.

This was New Year's Day 1982. We were to have a practice the next Sunday but it never happened. It was a formative time for me. I had words, but not really being a musician as such, I needed melodies. I started writing ‘songs’ and putting them down on a tape recorder, just singing into the mic and learning as I went along. My early efforts were called things like ‘I've Learnt My Lesson’ and ‘Staying Awake and Dreaming of You’. I also wrote a poem called ‘D'You Wanna Wear My Sheepy Mitts?’, which was taken directly from something a girl had said to me.