DON’T LOOK ‘EM IN THE EYE

At the time they recorded their album, THE THREE consisted of Ian Edmundson (bass and vocals), Graham Fielden (drums) and Ian Taylor (guitar and vocals). At their very best, they were a tight, well-drilled and versatile hard-working live act with a wide-ranging repertoire to pick from. They were out just about every weekend.

Graham approached the rest of the band with some great song lyric ideas and it was agreed that we would do something with the lyrics. Ian Edmundson went away and wrote some tunes and organised the lyrics a bit to make them fit those tunes, adding a few lines here and there. Some decent demo recordings were made and brought back to the band.

Four new songs were recorded at two different studios, with Graham funding the sessions. It took months to get those songs rehearsed, arranged and ready to take into the studio and then finished off at the actual recording sessions. The band stayed on the road and played a couple of the songs on stage, but the problem with original material is that pub crowds don’t know it, and some of the songs hardly ever got played. A pub band’s job is to entertain, not educate. Not all of the band were very interested in the album, which didn't help.

Once the first four songs had been cut (with the very kind and able assistance of Toni Baker from Graham’s old band Shabby Tiger on keyboards), it could have resulted in a good EP. However,Graham kept coming up with lyrics and more demos were recorded by Ian in his home studio. One of Ian’s best songs written with Graham was Just A Pub Rock Band, but, bafflingly, it didn’t make the cut. Another really good song, A Sign Of The Times, kept changing so much that the band couldn't keep up with it and so attempts at recording it were abandoned.

Graham and Ian did some new song recordings on the side for a Shabby Tiger album, which may appear at some point. There was talk of a tour with a new Shabby line up, including Ian, but Graham’s ill-health unfortunately curtailed those plans.

As it was a slight struggle to get the new songs rehearsed and very expensive to record them, Ian and Graham did some work by themselves to polish the demo’d songs and, out of necessity, Ian played all the instruments and mixed and then mastered the tracks at home. The idea was that the band would pick some songs to put in the live act, but the band didn’t really get to promote the album like it deserved. The album was released on their own THREE DISCS label and sold to friends and the occasional interested punter at gigs, but it became a bit of a chore to try to sell it, as people don’t like being asked to part with money at gigs, even for a decent little album.

The songs are good and the performances on disc are spot on. The tracks don’t sound like anybody else. The album was a result. The band, as it was then, parted company during 2025 after nearly ten years together. After the parting of the ways, Graham decided to take CD version of the album off sale, retaining the majority of the unsold copies. The album sort of got prematurely ‘buried alive' towards the end of the original line-up of the band - and then totally with the withdrawal of the CD, which is just sad, considering that the albums is really quite good...

We are considering making an expanded CD version of the album available via ElasticStage later in 2026.

The Three continue today with an excellent new guitarist and drummer.
Ian remains stage right on bass - and is the only member to have done
every single gig that The Three have ever played in their ten years.

The tracks:

1: Don't Look 'Em In The Eye.
(Fielden / Edmundson)
This song was one of the first two that we recorded, late in 2023 . The lyrics were a general observation about strange people in strange towns, but Ian added a couple of lines that were specifically about a couple of scruffy scrotes who were hanging around outside our jam night venue in Tyldesley, causing mischief and actually trying to extort money from the band. We got them on CCTV and got their names. The police got involved. The song was chosen as the first single from the album and was made available on Spotify and streaming platforms. The song featured semi-regularly in the band's setlist for a short time.

IAN EDMUNDSON - VOCALS, BASS GUITAR, ADDITIONAL GUITAR
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS, BACKING VOCALS.
TONI BAKER - KEYBOARDS, BACKING VOCALS.
IAN TAYLOR - GUITAR
RECORDED WITH  PAUL HUTCHINSON AT NORTH WEST RECORDING STUDIO, ADLINGTON, LANCS.

2: Better Than No Love At All.
(Fielden / Edmundson)
The lyric - about pining for the sole attention of a woman who has other men going on the side - inspired Ian to try to come up with a classic 60's pop-soul type arrangement and he was really particularly pleased with the guitar solo. As with all of the Workhouse studio recordings, Ian's demos were finessed into finished recordings for the album. The song briefly made it into the band's setlist.

IAN EDMUNDSON - VOCALS, BASS GUITAR, ALL GUITARS.
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS
RECORDED AND PRODUCED BY IAN EDMUNDSON AT THE WORKHOUSE, FARNWORTH.

3: Cold Cold Heart.
(Fielden / Edmundson)
Recorded at The Workhouse in Farnworth by Ian Edmundson. Graham's lyrics here concisely deal with the fickleness of the opposite sex. Ian went for a sparse Joe Jackson Band type feel on this one, keeping his guitar and bass sounds crystal clear, leaving lots of space and not building up the guitars too much.

IAN EDMUNDSON - VOCALS, BASS GUITAR, ALL GUITARS.
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS
RECORDED AND PRODUCED BY IAN EDMUNDSON AT THE WORKHOUSE, FARNWORTH.

4: She Said.
(Fielden / Edmundson)
Graham's lyrics are about the kind of women who can't be trusted and how to deal with them. Cut her loose - problem solved. The idea behind the general feel of this one was to get a bluesy song on the album and the original version Ian recorded was a much slower take on the song, weighing in at around 8 minutes. While the song worked and the initial idea was good, it was felt to be a little bit too long and a bit ponderous, so that version remains in the archive.

IAN EDMUNDSON - VOCALS, BASS GUITAR, ALL GUITARS.
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS
RECORDED AND PRODUCED BY IAN EDMUNDSON AT THE WORKHOUSE, FARNWORTH.

5: When Things Go Wrong.
(Fielden / Taylor)
Graham's lyrics are a study in love and loss. It was envisioned as being a country song. We were indebted to Toni Baker for his additions to the track - banjo, violin and piano parts, which really assist with the alt.country feel that we wanted.

IAN TAYLOR - VOCALS AND GUITARS.
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS.
IAN EDMUNDSON - BASS GUITAR.
TONI BAKER - KEYBOARDS.
RECORDED AT STUDIO STUDIO, WHITWORTH BY PETE TROUGHTON.

6: The Silence Is Screaming At Me v2.0.
(Fielden / Edmundson)
When Ian came up with the melody and the guitar parts for this song, it turned into a blend of a feel of AC/DC and T.Rex. He fulfilled his dream of a rock solid bass part that is just ONE repeated note for about five minutes, coupled with his Pete Townshend-styled rhythm part. The song is called 'v2.0', as Graham has previously written and published another song with the same title. He can't find it anywhere.

IAN EDMUNDSON - VOCALS, BASS GUITAR, ALL GUITARS.
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS
RECORDED AND PRODUCED BY IAN EDMUNDSON AT THE WORKHOUSE, FARNWORTH.

7: We Are United.
(Fielden / Edmundson)
Not about football. Graham had written a song about people working together and pulling together and being united with a single goal. A more football-y version exists.

IAN EDMUNDSON - VOCALS, BASS GUITAR, ALL GUITARS.
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS
RECORDED AND PRODUCED BY IAN EDMUNDSON AT THE WORKHOUSE, FARNWORTH.

8: And Then I Woke Up.
(Fielden / Taylor).
The longest song on the album was originally known at times as Cruisin' and Graham's lyric is about someone who dreams his life away and who fantasises about living a lavish lifestyle, then keeps waking up and seeing his somewhat different poorer reality. It boogies along nicely. This was one of the harder songs to get together, as it went through a couple of more complex arrangements before finding its final form. It has a lot of lyrics and getting the phrasing right was a task. The Three rehearsed this song for quite some time and originally attempted a recording at their jam night venue, but opted to do it again in the studio.

IAN TAYLOR - VOCALS AND GUITARS.
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS.
IAN EDMUNDSON - BASS GUITAR.
TONI BAKER - KEYBOARDS.
RECORDED AT STUDIO STUDIO, WHITWORTH BY PETE TROUGHTON.

9: I Hate Christmas.
(Fielden / Edmundson)
This was one of the first two songs that we recorded, late in 2023. Graham wrote about the small things that really bug most people about Christmas, making it a time when we'd rather hide under the bed than be visited, or to go out of the house and see people, or get ripped off by anything to do with the festive season. Bah humbug. This gets played live in December.

It was #2 on Bolton FM's Christmas chart in 2025

IAN EDMUNDSON - VOCALS, BASS GUITAR, ADDITIONAL GUITAR
GRAHAM FIELDEN - DRUMS, BACKING VOCALS.
TONI BAKER - KEYBOARDS, BACKING VOCALS.
IAN TAYLOR - GUITAR
RECORDED WITH PAUL HUTCHINSON AT NORTH WEST RECORDING STUDIO, ADLINGTON, LANCS.

We think the album is a good result. Though we might know who the influences on various songs are, we don't think the songs particularly sound like other people, or like other songs. They sound like our own work. Thanks to Toni Baker for his help on the album, which was very much appreciated. And thank you so much to the people who have bought a copy.

ALBUM REVIEWS:

Keith Devereux:
I've bought and recieved my copy and after several listens I can tell you the album is excellent. Well worth the money. Loved it Ian. Track 5 is brilliant. The whole album is very good and for the next few weeks is going to live in the car cd player so it comes on every time I drive. The production is first rate and the drums are nice and forward in the mix. Could do with more Bass but that's me as a Bass player. Reminds me a little of Wishbone Ash and some others of that era. But thoroughly enjoyed it. My Mrs walked in while I was playing it and not knowing who it was said how good it was. All the best to “The Three” of you.

Paul Skelton:
This is a good collection of original songs. Well produced & recorded. None of the songs sound alike & I particularly like the lyrics. Overall it's really good & different. Production & mix sound good too.

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