January 1996 was a cold month and not very active for the band until Keith Jefferies (a director at Telecential) phoned Gavin up to offer the band another slot on Floorspots. Jumping at the chance the band travelled up to the Water Splash again on 21 January to record acoustic versions of One More Time and Circles. The previous show had in the preceeding two months been broadcast on heavy rotation on Telecential and had been deemed very successful: now the show was finding it's feet and Pamela the presenter was even beginning to remember her lines! In an interview after their performance Simon and Gavin announced that the band had been recording songs for a cassette album using Simon's home studio which they intended to release themselves in the next couple of months. As his fellow band members plugged the project shamelessly Rich looked on in a drunken haze...it had been complimentary beers all afternoon in the hotel bar...

Excited discussions were commonplace in The Secrets: anyone witnessing a band row will know the volume levels are quite dangerous but, at this point, all was very positive. In between a live schedule that was fast booking up (taking in more and more London venues such as The Rock Garden and the King's Head in Fulham) ideas were being banded about as to what to call the cassette album: two thirds of the band were veering towards "Tasty Pop Sundae" (the title of a sixties Radio One show which Gavin had a recording of: Led Zeppelin were playing) but one third was not having a bar of it. Simon pointed out that three of the band's songs included the word 'time' in their titles and maybe the album's title should either be or at least reflect that. Several of the band's songs had been written well in advance of the group's inauguration and all agreed that it might be an idea to give some idea to those buying the cassette that this was a collection of songs written across a very wide timespan: almost like a 'greatest hits' of their recent years. With this in mind Rich suggested "The Secrets and Other Times" which was popular all round although a bit of a mouthful.

Eventually the title was condensed to simply Other Times. Gavin and Rich worked closely together on thinking up concepts and designs for the album sleeve and eventually chose a photograph (shot using infrared film) that was quite abstract and could have easily been mistaken for outer space with glistening specs in the water resembling stars. Looking simultaneously futuristic yet classic the shot reflected well the time theme of the fourteen song collection. Launched at a special concert on 26 March at Watford's premier live music venue at the time, the Wag & Bone, Other Times sold out it's first run of fifty tapes in no time and repeat runs sell well to this day.

With the band's successes becoming ever greater and their addiction to the lifestyle increasing on a daily basis, Gavin suggested it was time to take the plunge and look for management. With Richard's and his degree course coming to an end in the summer Gavin felt it was very important that, if the band was to continue, an element of professionalism would have to be embraced. He had mainly been the one who booked the concerts and handled the band's publicity but knew he did not hold all the cards when it came to knowing how to make a career out of music. The other two dually agreed and an ad was placed in the national music press in May which simply read: "Best band In the world require best manager in the world..."! Perhaps crass wording works for some advertisers but, in this case, the band received but one reply. Enter Dave Anderson.

Around this time Simon and Rich were beginning to feel the pinch in their pockets a bit and decided to make some extra dough by performing cover versions as an acoustic duo in pubs for cash (rather like Pete Curtis does with Wing & A Prayer). Gavin remained distastefully distant, maintaining that there are far superior forms of prostitution, but was prepared to design his chums a poster for their shows. Hailing themselves as Simon & Richfunkel the duo made their live debut at The Horns pub in Watford on 20 June. Having contacted Gavin by phone the previous week and being very impressed by the Other Times sampler he had been sent, Dave Anderson of DMA Management chose this occasion to make his acquaintance with The Secrets. Using clever words like "money" and "career" the band's ears pricked up (although Simon to be truthful was a somewhat more hesitant before he too "pricked up") and it was agreed that Dave could take the reigns of the band on a trial basis to start with.

His first act was to arrange a charity gig in aid of Meningitis Research (with whom he and his associate Paul Streeter of Pulse Promotions were closely involved) at the Heath Park Hotel in Hemel Hempstead on 28 July. Not quite the venue of the standards the band were now accustomed to it was nonetheless a fine gig with to about 100 people including a newfound teeny girl following which seemed to spring from out of nowhere (nothing against the band's looks...ouch!! -Ed). Dave, it transpired, had previously managed a boy band named On Air and still kept these young ladies on his mailing list (dirty rotter). On Air, incidentally, was one of the acts The Secrets had pummeled at the Young Pop Act competition the previous autumn...but ours is not to gloat. Autographs were signed, photos taken and all in all the band were well satisfied with an evening's good work.

The following month on 18 August, the band made a return appearance at Watford's Bandstand which now goes down as one of their all time great performances remembered unlike their previous Month of Sundays show for the music (ie: not Simon's skirt!). Starting up with a rendition of James Bond's theme the band tore into a set comprised of almost exclusively new material which the band had been working on. Although some had already occasionally appeared in previous sets songs like Playhouse, Everything Just Swell Again, I Just Want To Get By, A Strange Place, I'll Help You (at that time sung by Rich), Let It Go and How Does It Feel..? all got their first major public airing. Each one of them massively based on an anthemic singable factor, the show was a brave step and a storming triumph. Receiving a glowing review in Pete Curtis' column in the following week's paper (citing Let It Go as "arguably their best song") the band knew that they had moved up a rung in the big rock'n'roll ladder: Alex Farrow guitarist with headliners Inertia (with whom The Secrets had performed several shows) remarked to Gavin as he came off stage, "Fucking hell! You guys got good all of a sudden!!" (it takes some people time to catch on - Ed) After this, it was time for a break. The band had worked tirelessly for months and were reaching exhaustion point. Dave started work on the autumn schedule whilst Gavin took off for a holiday in France but not before he and Rich made use of some free studio time afforded to them at the School of Audio Engineering (SAE) in Islington where their old friend Haresh Patel was studying to be a producer. Recording a song called Wait it was a good opportunity to try something quite low-fi and different.

Gavin returned in mid-September to hear news of The Secrets' first proper showcase gig. Dave and Paul had another charity bash on the cards and, after doing the rounds on the phone, had managed to persuade Menswe@r (at the time quite a big Britpop band with some chart success) to appear as special guests. Killing two birds with one stone Dave thought that this would be the ideal opportunity to persuade some A & R people along to see his latest group. The venue chosen was Cheerleaders in Berkhamstead, quite out in the sticks but certain to sell out (being at the absolute centre of the teeny girl fanbase). Leading up to the gig, rehearsals intensified and Gavin arranged a couple of warm up dates at old haunt The Horn Reborn in St. Albans (a band favorite) and the Rose & Crown, King's Langley. Dave arranged an interview with the band at Chiltern Radio to plug the event and all was going swimmingly.

Sunday 20 October arrived: the day of the concert and the band arrived early to set up. Haresh was on hand to engineer the sound so nothing could go wrong. Simon and Rich spent much of the afternoon on helium: blowing up balloons had become a bore and Mini Mouse impressions seemed much more fun. In the early evening a limo pulled up outside bearing a very drunk Johnny from Menswe@r and all his entourage. Dave and Paul schmoosed with the 'stars' as best they could whilst The Secrets looked on unimpressed. By 8.30pm the doors opened and the crowds flooded in an hour later 600 people had come through the doors of a venue that was only licenced for 400! As usual, the nerves were building although there was no still sign of the twenty or so record company people Dave had invited.

Then - disaster! Richard's girlfriend Nina suddenly took ill and collapsed with an asthma attack, barely able to breathe. An ambulance was called straightaway at which point both Rich and Simon jumped in to accompany her to hospital.

Meanwhile back at Cheerleaders Paul was frantically stressing out: Menswe@ar were tearing up the dressing room, the crowd was getting impatient: 9.30pm had meant to be The Secrets' onstage time and it was now twenty minutes late: if the band could not get on by 10pm there would be no show due to the licensing laws. Paul started screaming at Gavin what he was going to do (never a wise move) and just as he was about to meet a vicious response Simon and Rich returned from the hospital. The band hurried onstage: there was no time now for nerves and a huge cheer went up from the crowd as the band came into view. As the band ploughed into Playhouse the assembled 600 went absolutely wild and so followed one of the most electric half hours of Simon, Rich and Gav's lives. Song after song the whole crowd sang along to their words and the place erupted.

The Secrets onstage at Cheerleaders, 20 October 1996. Photography: Dave Anderson

Gavin: "Coming off stage (at Cheerleaders) was like winning the FA Cup Final: everyone wanted to meet us and shake our hands...and other things. It was such an amazing experience particularly after all the other trouble we'd had that day. It didn't really matter to us that none of the VIPs Dave had invited showed up - although, in retrospect , it demonstrated a naivety on his part - it was THEIR fault that they had missed out on one of THE great pop shows. I mean, I'm sure that we've played better shows before and since on a technical level, but we scored an 11 out of 10 on the rock'n'roll-o-meter. If we've had a peak so far...that was it! Simon and Richard's interaction on stage was spellbinding, the crowd was the wildest we'd ever had and then there was my 'incident' afterwards!!..." This last comment refers to the moment when returning backstage Gavin had the dressing room door slammed in his face by Johnny from Menswe@ar. After all the earlier problems and Paul's outburst Gavin had reached his limit: kicking open the door and punching Mr. Crappyband square in the jaw!! Afterwards, Dave was truly apologetic to the band for the lack of A & R and Menswe@ar's lack of talent worrying that he was about to be fired, but Gav and Simon told him they'd 'let it go...this time'!!

1996 concluded with another recording session at the luxurious SAE studios in Islington. Haresh had some more downtime (night sessions when the studios were otherwise unused) available so the band snapped it up. With Haresh at the controls and assisted by engineer Rob Jones the band laid down an epic rendition of Let It Go over several sessions. Rich: "The song was recorded in a very patchy kind of way. In fact, there was never a moment when all three of us were actually in the studio at the same time!!" The results were awesome: Simon's beautifully intimate vocal line and soaring guitar solo blending in with what Gavin considered his 'best account' on drums until then with Rich adding his tight bass line with his now familiar guitar motif as the icing on top.

1997 >>>