About the songs...

The original idea was that Tim and Bob were to each write a song to record at Abbey Road. In doing this, several demos were cut - some before there were even words.

Bob's song was going to be "It's Girls," a song he'd started writing in the 80s but never finished. Tim's song was "Don't Blink," which was a melody and hook line he'd had kicking around for a while.

In early 2008, Bob recorded demos of both songs - "It's Girls" was pretty fully formed, and "Don't Blink" was more to get some ideas about arranging the song. Full lyrics for "Don't Blink" did not yet exist, so on the demo you can hear Bob singing some lines and some phonetic gibberish.

As it worked out, the arrangements for both songs suggested that getting through them both in a single day might be too much. Just prior to leaving for England, Bob suggested they do a simpler song that Bob had been performing for years called "The Verdict." Tim had to learn the Verdict in the hotel room in the two days before going into Abbey Road.

So, here are the final songs, as well as a handful of demos. You'll hear Bob's demos for "Don't Blink" and "It's Girls". Additionally, and it might be overkill, you'll hear how "The Verdict" evolved from an acoustic country song into a rocker way back in the 1980s, as well as a demo Bob cut just before leaving for England.

The Final Results:

Demo Versions (listen if you dare):

A Dubious History....

It had always been Tim and Bob's dream to be signed to Apple Records. The Beatles label has beautiful artwork and the pressing quality for their records was always amazing.

But, when you think about it, only a handful of bands that signed with Apple Records ever went anywhere. Badfinger, James Taylor and Mary Hopkin are the only ones that come to mind. Sure Tim and Bob could have spun the dice, but the likelihood of heading into that same vast void that The Black Dyke Mills Band, Brute Force, Grapefruit, Hot Chocolate, Jackie Lomax, John Tavener and the unforgettable White Trash went was strong.

They needed to stand apart. Lord knows they certainly don't sound like the Beatles. Different as, say, Apples and Oranges. So, they signed with Orange Records...Sure, Orange has no hits at all. Not even any other artists. BUT...at least here they have a 50/50 chance.

Shown are some of the early mockups of Tim and Bob's single. Apple desperately wanted them and might even have prepared the artwork for their 45 ;–). 

When Orange caught wind, they worked up their own mockups. Beautiful sleeves, but Tim and Bob wanted a more deluxe presentation. They wanted to stand apart, so they did their own (see above CD sleeve).

DISCLAIMER: There are a bunch of companies called Orange Records out there and one called Apple Records. For the purpose of this release, story and website, THIS Orange Records is not really a company, nor is it affiliated with any of the other Orange Records or any other record label, for that matter. Apple Records has nothing to do with us, nor has it ever. This is all just something fun that was done for this CD. Hopefully you got a chuckle. Yes, the CD is for sale, the proceeds from which will cover shipping charges and possibly, if lucky, what it cost to press it. As we said, we ain't getting rich. This was a labor of love.