I record a song a month, and do my recording with my long time co-producer, Sam Hales. He is a superb musician, a brilliant sound engineer, and a fantastic arranger. It’s like having my own band and studio team in one person.

We work together most Thursday mornings, but of course sometimes it’s not possible. I wasn’t around for a week and half, and I’m always happy on those occasions to give Sam free rein, in order to keep up with our deadline. I couldn’t make the song recordings without him, but he doesn’t need me sitting there.

Except that he does really. Because it’s my song, and that makes me the master of its destiny. We got back together yesterday, and I didn’t really like the direction he was taking the song we’d started before I’d left. It happens.

As well as his other gifts, Sam is very pragmatic and flexible, and in one session we managed to get it back on course. My course, of course.

Some songwriters refer to their song creations as “their children”.

It is a bit like that sometimes.