Bassist / songwriter / record producer / Berlin-resident MARTIN GORDON currently plays bass with English sonic terrorists JOHN'S CHILDREN. But there is more to him that that - he has just finished performing as bassist with Turkish legend SEZEN AKSU on her European tour, after working on her latest CD in her Istanbul home. And those with still-functioning short term memory may recall his work with KYLIE MINOGUE, GEORGE MICHAEL, BOY GEORGE, BLUR and PRIMAL SCREAM and his session work with the ROLLING STONES. Those with longer memories who have eaten enough carrots may recall his earlier band RADIO STARS; those with even longer memories (regular consumption of beetroot) might have distant recollections of his band JET. And those whose memories stretch right back to the beginning of time (total abstinence and 14 hours of sleep per night) may dimly be aware that he was a founder member of SPARKS. But enough historical ramblings: after an unconscionably long time, he finally releases his first solo CD, THE BABOON IN THE BASEMENT.

Singer Pelle Almgren took time out from Swedish solo stardom to fly in from Stockholm. In the earlier nineties he had enormous success in Sweden with his CD PELLE ALMGREN & WOW LIKSOM, and is still recovering. Chris Townson flew in from the UK where, as well as drumming in John's Children, he has other fish to fry. Much cheaper modes of transport were used for guitarist Andy Reimer, who caught the tube from Kreuzberg to Martin's Berlin studio. Pelle Almgren's archetypal rock/pop vocal style reflects his love of the defining singers of the genre, from (chronologically speaking at least) Paul McCartney to Robin Zander. Guitarist Reimer plays with an Egyptian orchestra but counts Jeff Beck and Adrian Belew among his favourite players. And drummer Chris Townson is the only musician to have replaced Keith Moon in the Who (while Moon was still alive) for a whole tour, which explains the 'powerhouse drumming' with which he is so often charged. He pleads guilty still.

And that's not even the half of it. So much for the international cast. Renowned for his compositional, arrangement and, let's be frank, bass playing skills, BABOON demonstrates Martin Gordon's on-going fascination with the ephemera of pop music as well as acknowledging the central role it plays in his philosophy.

The songs on THE BABOON IN THE BASEMENT include:

• GREENFINGER, a warning about the perils of purchasing cheap jewellery
• IT'S LIKE IT'S LIKE..., bemoaning the inability of almost anyone to concentrate for longer than ten seconds
• ANYWAY GOODBYE, the soundtrack to the end of your relationship
• HIT HIM ON THE HEAD WITH A HAMMER, a song to beat your lover to death by
• covers of Marc Bolan, Roy Wood and Jagger / Richards compositions
• ONLY ONE DREAM PER PERSON, an ode speculating upon whether Heaven would be worth striving for after all if it was in fact run by Germans
• TERRIBLE MESS, which refers to the appalling and contemporary story of a technical incompetent who is prevented from reaching his goal by the malfunctioning of a cigarette lighter at the crucial moment
• LET'S MAKE MONEY, which constitutes a bulwark (or so we understand) of staunch support for capitalism
• GOOD GIRLS GONE BAD, which also toes the party line about expressions of female sexuality
• THAT GIRL which, however, adopts a more Phillips-ian approach to the minefield of gender politics
• WHY DO I, dealing with the insatiable requirement for the prosaic so beloved of - well, everybody, albeit personified a bit here
• SHE'S SO PLEASANT TODAY which appears as a breath of fresh air, referring as it does to the dichotomy of the traditionally antagonistic male position with regard to girls being nice to them. Or does it?

And that's not even the half of it. We all have a baboon in our basement, somewhere. From time to time we pop down to see if he's still OK, but there are times, and this is something that we can all admit to without feeling in the least bit shamefaced about it, there are times when we are not as diligent as we might be as regards the nurturing of our baboon. Yes, yes, we may toss him the odd banana or deep-fried Mars Bar fritter, but does it not frequently happen that we are so concerned with other aspects of life that we forget - I say again - FORGET - the baboons in our basements? I do feel that this is a topic, frankly speaking, that we ignore at our etc. etc. and so on.

Martin Gordon personally invites you to join with him in a celebration of the finer things of pop. Buy this CD or else the baboon gets it.

You too can have a baboon in your basement...