Drifting ft Graham Duff - Not Available

[26/10/2025]

Written by
Graham Duff [Words/Vocals/Blackburn]
Joe Mckechnie AKA Drifting [Music/Production/Liverpool]

November 1980:

End of 1980, I packed my trunk and headed to Manchester to join The Passage. Day One, I got off an early afternoon train at Oxford Road and headed to a nearby bar [now Grand Central] for my first meeting with Andy Wilson and Lizzy Johnson, the other new Passage members. Also joining us, Lawrence Beedle, the group’s new manager, and Dick Witts, who’d gathered us.

While waiting for the tardy others I was drawn into idle bar chat with another patron, this quickly turned to serious chat when some undercover cops decided to join us. I was taken off to one side by the Anderton Boys and questioned as to my reasons for being in a bar, talking to people, - y’know suspicious behaviour like that.

Just when it looked like they weren’t going for my ‘just joined a group’ reason for being, the others arrived to validate me.

Did we all go to the Dr Fun/City Fun gig for some ‘getting to know you’ that very same night? Let’s say we did, that’s quite believable.

I know what you’re thinking, where am I going with this? Where’s Duff?

September 2016 - PZYK Fest, Liverpool :

I can’t remember if I DJ-ed at the Festival this time around, but I do know I was looking forward to meeting Graham Duff for the first time, we’d already had a bit of Passage/Ideal related email action.

I think the emailing came after Graham had written an essay about The Passage for Prog magazine. Prog? We’re not Prog!

Anyway, I met up with Graham at the Festival just before he gave his illustrated talk on LSD/UK TV/Etc. A sugarlump tripping Alf Garnett anyone?

My opening “great to finally meet you” fell flat immediately when Graham replied that we’d met before, that he’d spoken to me about The Passage at the Dr Fun Festival back in 1980.

I apologised for my lack of recall, Graham said it was fine, and we moved the conversation on.

If I might change the subject for a second; have you ever had this strangely strange experience? You’ll be in conversation with someone, perfectly polite, reasonable, all that, and yet you get the sense that they’re making a fist in their pocket?

Anyway, back to Graham.

July 2021 :

With the first ‘Drifting ft’ track with Pascale having turned out so well I figured it’d be good to do some more, a series of one off releases, featuring a variety pack of guests.

Graham liked ‘Song Of The Twilight Zone,’ had already played it on his Mixtape radio show, and with his script writing, his acting, the fact that we’d been best mates since 1980, he was an obvious ask.

I sent him a track, he wrote some words and recorded them into his phone.

I was expecting some spoken word, but…

Never mind Spoonie Gee, here’s Croonie Dee.

— Joe Mckechnie, 28 October 2025

grahamduff.co.uk

Originally A Candy Mountain release



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