Mystery Man ( Words: John Nicolson, Music: B.Pearce)

John reveals why he wrote the lyrics:

I also came across a song that Brian and I wrote together in the summer of 1989. I had suddenly stopped drinking alcohol after twenty years or so of over imbibing and I was in my fourth week into sobriety; I was shaving the stubble off my face and wiping the misting mirror with a towel, when I noticed my reflection. As I stared at the image looking back at me I realised that this person's mental and spiritual growth had been stunted for over two decades because the booze had blocked out and dulled every emotion. I realised then that to all intents and purposes that I was still a teenager living in the body of a man. I just didn't have a clue about anything really - as to what really constituted my political, religious or spiritual beliefs; were the issues I gave lip service to - were they my own beliefs or were they simply the echoes of indoctrination and conditioning handed down from my parents and teachers at school.?

I looked in that mirror and realised I was staring at a mystery man!

That evening I wrote down the words to the song and a few weeks later Busker Brian laid down a melody.

I have only one (partial) recording of my way of playing this song. The accent was on 'wall of sound' and even speeding up a bit to drag the audience into the spirit. Click the button below to hear it.