When Phil Collins left Genesis in 1996, David Longdon ended up as one of a select few auditionees who had a genuine chance of joining as frontperson. Sadly, it wasn’t to be – Ray Wilson was signed up. Longdon’s confidence was dented, but he chose not to live in the shadow of disappointment. His personal life had been in turmoil and his folk/art-rock band The Gifthorse had dissolved. Longdon described the period as “transitional”, and, in sleeve notes, collaborator Dave Gregory talks about his next steps: “He was saying, ‘Look what I can do.’ He felt rejected and it made him work harder.”