Waiting for my heart to break (Ben Hales)
Hello there (Hales/Hales)
I don't know (Hales/Hales)

Design: Fiona Curran and Mat Taylor
Photography: Mat Taylor

Once, in early 1999, when ARC briefly had some cash, we persuaded them to let us invest in some recording equipment rather than studio time so that we could start making our second album. This turned out to be one of the most far-sighted decisions we ever made. We were now able to produce proper-sounding music at home, which facilitated a gradual increase in extra-curricular musical jobs which led to some work in the lucrative world of music for adverts, which led to Aqualung.

In an oblique way, none of that might have happened if it weren't for the pair of TLM103s and crazy RAMSA digital desk we decided to buy with ARC's short-lived cash.

We felt very good about the songs we were making, and now that the lengthy saga of Harrison was finally behind us, this felt like an encouraging new start. However, things were not really any better at ARC, and although there was some interest in the single from people like XFM and MTV, there wasn't the miraculous career-saving tidal wave of enthusiasm we were relying on.

In the end this cd was pressed only for promotional purposes (and given away at an instore promotion at the Virgin Megastore, Kingston, if I remember rightly) and the remaining copies languished in ARC's garage until I rescued them.

It proved to be our final release with ARC, and our final record as RUTH. Shortly after the instore promotion at the Virgin Megastore, Kingston, we decided that we'd take the songs we believed in and try again, but do it properly this time...

Further reading:
About recording the second RUTH album