By the time Martyn Ford had come to conduct Ann O’Dell’s orchestral scores for The Other Side Of Life and In Vogue on 30 September 1979 at Air Studios, Oxford Street, he had previously worked with artists ranging from Matt Monro to Bryan Ferry and pretty much anyone in-between. When Martyn arrived at the studio that day he had no idea of the band he was about to work with or what they’d sound like. “It was just another day’s work,” he recalls. “I had no expectations other than to make it great. Ann’s scores were always brilliant and I knew the orchestra members were the best musicians. I also knew John Punter from our work with Bryan Ferry.
John was warm, approachable, made you feel comfortable, but knew exactly what he was doing. I remember the band vaguely. They were definitely there. I recall David, in particular, being very happy and excited by what we were doing. I’ve listened to the two tracks with the orchestra for the first time in 40 years and I think they sound wonderful. The end section of The Other Side Of Life sounds particularly impressive.
Ann would have been writing off the drums in that section and the drumming is excellent.