A long-lost song recorded by infamous Paisley group Stealers Wheel will be unveiled to audiences after it was rediscovered.
The track, entitled Trouble With Love, was unearthed by Jim Rafferty - brother of late rock legend Gerry.
Jim, who co-wrote lyrics and sang harmonies for the song, recently discovered it on an old hard drive.
The track was written after Baker Street singer Gerry reunited in the studio with former bandmate Joe Egan for the first time several years after Stealers Wheel split.
Scotland’s original 1970s supergroup had a hit with famed 1973 track Stuck in the Middle With You, which became an international hit, reaching number eight in the UK Singles Chart and charting at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100.
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It later found fame with a new audience after featuring in director Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 dark cult classic Reservoir Dogs.
The chance to have a world exclusive landed in Paisley DJ Mike Dillon's lap after he recently featured a new track Breath of Fresh Air by songwriter, artist and designer Jim.
He followed it up by sending Mike the previously unheard song, which was recorded in 1989.
Jim, himself a respected musician and songwriter, told how the song came about, saying: “I was living in Tunbridge Wells, which wasn’t very far from where Gerry lived, at Tye Farm, in Hartfield, and where he had just built a recording studio.
“I got a phone call out the blue from him asking if I would come over, as Joe Egan was also there with a new and unfinished song.”
Jim added: “It had been a while since Gerry and Joe had worked in the studio together after Stealers Wheel had ended and I suspect Gerry was curious to see how they might get on writing and recording together again.
“I think I was there in part to oil the wheels of the session after such a break and I was asked if I wanted to listen to a track they were working on, which needed some further input on the lyric side.
“By the time I got to Gerry’s the backing track was in place and as best as I can recall Joe had already put down part of the vocal.
“I gathered that the original idea for the song had come from Joe and I’d been recruited to help finish the lyrics.”
The musician, who released two albums – the first, Don’t Talk Back, in 1978 and the following year, Solid Logic – along with several singles during the time his younger brother was having hits, said: “Gerry and Joe had already put a few ideas down when I got there, but the bulk of the lyric was still unwritten.
“I made notes of what had already been written by Gerry and Joe, got the sense of where the song seemed to be going and finished the thing off, which seemed to meet with general approval.
“It was an interesting session, everybody was very relaxed and working well. Joe then recorded the main vocal in full and sounded in great voice. Then Gerry added a distinctive second harmony, followed by a third from me in the closing choruses.
“It was a great to be in the studio with the pair of them - and with the late Hugh Murphy, Gerry’s long time producer. And for that evening I got to be part of Stealers Wheel.”
Artistic differences may have sparked the split with Stealers Wheel, but the track’s rediscovery has given audiences the chance to appreciate the work of Gerry, who died in 2011 after battling liver disease.
Jim added: “In the times that followed the session nothing much seemed to have been done with the track. But having recently rediscovered it, I gave the song another listen, thought it still sounded great and asked Mike at Celtic Music Radio if he was interested in hearing it, despite the fact that it was essentially a superior demo of the song.”
Delighted DJ Mike added: “If the track Trouble With Love had been given the full Stealers Wheel production treatment and released as a single, I’ve no doubt it would have been a hit.
“It’s a real honour for me to be able to play this unheard track on my show. It’s just like having Stealers Wheel, aided and abetted by Gerry’s brother Jim, back again.”
it will now be broadcast for the first time to an appreciative audience on Celtic Music Radio on Friday.
DJ Mike Dillon will give the long-lost track an airing on his Singers and Songwriters show, which runs from 10pm until midnight.
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