HELD TO RANSOME

THE session held so much promise. McPherson had returned from three months in rehab and was looking fit and tanned. The band would be using 24 SEPARATE tracks for the first time. And Steve Ransom would produce with Mark "Sparkles" Ewen acting as a sound consultant much in the same way Brian Eno has done with U2 throughout their career. "Now I'll be able to see the woods as well as The Trees," he joked about his new executive role. By now he was spending more and more time working with Al "Boring" Corrigall who had ditched his trumpet for a computer. The pair produced a number of experimental dance tracks, including a version of Mission Impossible which U2 would later cover.

But what of the man in pop's hottest seat, Steve Ransom? The chirpy cockney had met the band in a pub where he was playing organ "to keep arthritis at bay". His set included some Trees classics which immediately endeared him to McPherson. When Ransome revealed that he was actually a big-time producer, a deal was struck then at there to record at his Turriff studio.

The session, however, lacked focus. The Trees missed the discipline "The Great Dictator" had brought to recording, not so much the sit-ups as the requirement to play in tune and in the right places. The Trees were also using a drum-machine for the first time and Styx found himself unable to get a decent sound out of it, even after being shown how to switch it on. Understandably miffed by their decision to go with the machine, he took no further part in the session. (Ironic to think that 10 years later Campbell would be sampling himself with Chair.)

The Trees were beginning to fragment in other ways. Tombola was bored with playing bass and suggested the band get a keyboard player - himself. The fact he couldn't play wasn't a problem. "It never stopped him on the bass," Rat sniped. While McPherson certainly looked the part of the pop star, "Contacts" had sold all his guitars as part of his rehab programme. "If I ever want to be normal I've got to stop being a genius," he explained. Rat, for his part, was spending time in the producer's chair, usually when Ransome was in the toilet or making tea.

The "musical chairs" episode which followed brought the Trees' recording session to a premature end - unthinkable in the early days. Tombola explained: "Dave kept saying he heard the door. Being such a nice guy, Steve kept going to answer it, but by the 43rd time we were all getting a bit tired of the routine. Then Gordon decided he wanted a shot in the seat and that's when things got really out of hand. Dave would send Steve to the front door and then Gordon would pretend to hear someone at the back door, then up on the roof. On one occasion Steve went gone for piss, froze, and returned early to find the pair fighting to wedge themselves into his seat.

"The studio went silent and there was a long pause before Steve finally said 'More tea guys?'"