“Paul called me and my wife Pat in Israel on New Year’s Eve 2008. My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and I was toing and froing to Israel because that’s where the technology was that may have saved her life. We had met a mutual friend who was staying in the same hotel as us and I sadly told him why we were there.

I asked how Paul was and I asked him to give him my regards. Fast-forward a week or so, Paul called to wish Pat all the best. I was so touched by that. Our friendship developed from there again. It put everything in perspective. Paul asked if I wanted to work on Fast Car. Pat was so pleased that I was friendly with Paul again.

“I went into the studio and I was so nervous. I had worked out what I wanted to play and sent Paul a CD of it and he said it sounded great. But, there was an air of expectancy when I walked in the studio. Not from Paul, but the studio was pretty busy!

There were a lot of people there that had heard I was coming in. There was pressure, it felt like a bloody gig there was that many people in the studio! But after a couple of runs we had it down and Paul loved it. I sadly lost Pat in March 2009 and then [Paul’s father] John Weller died not long after and you realise how trivial a lot of stuff is in life.”