So I've just sprinted across two lanes of traffic on the M40 and am balanced on the parapet of the Hangar Lane roundabout when..."Battery depleted" the rechargeables in the camera finally give up the ghost. Back through the speeding cars to the all-night newsagent for a pack of Duracells and, after some further juggling with the exposures, manage to capture the image that makes up the album cover. Rubies and Diamonds was finished earlier that evening and it seemed important to try and take a photo the same day for the sake of completeness. The title comes from a story about Marlene Dietrich looking out of the window of her limo on Sunset Boulevard at the headlights and tail-lights and saying "Look darling, rubies and diamonds". OK, It's a bit of a leap but even the M40 can seem like that sometimes... This is the second collection of songs from Luge and has been built up over a couple of years. Punchier arrangements, more vocal harmony and a new Telecaster are the distinguishing marks from previous offerings. The recording was done in a couple of sessions with Adrian from Panic Studios at the controls and we tried to get as 'live' a feel as possible. U2's old bass amp, Classix Nouveaux' (come on, you DO remember!) JC120 and lots of cheese and pickle sandwiches (thanks Andy) all played their part. "It might just be lights but it feels like it's ours..."