Hi there Pop picketers! S'pose you'll be wanting to know who's been toeing the party line for the Musicians' Union in the studios this month. Well, contrary to the telephonic propaganda that has entered the IM HQ we have been led to believe that several players have actually entered studios and some have been blatantly recording.

Major culprits in the Liverpool area known as Amazon studios have been a subversive collective called The Smiths who have started work on their second LP, and in an attempt not to involve a scab producer's hand in the proceedings they have been producing the sessions themselves. A spokesman for Amazon begrudgingly admitted that the album was excellent and far Rockier than the last. The Smith Group will be completing part two of their devious project at Ridge Farm. Other musicians to cross the Amazon threshold have been named as OMD who were caught in the act of overdubbing, and local Liverpudlian activists Martin Forrest and the Trees who have been producing their own demos. Meanwhile The Room had been and gone leaving behind a fine LP and a strange smell of mushrooms...

The new U2 single has been recorded at Good Earth with none other than Tony Visconti. Keen followers of the man will realise that Tony Visconti isn't Brian Eno. Wailing Scots whippet fancier Billy Mackenzie has also appeared to singalonga Shriekback-producer Dave Allen. Engineer for the big day was house switch flicker Sven Taits...

And from big Swedes to little Sprouts... gentle Geordies Prefab Sprout have been taken to task by Thomas Dolby. Strange bedfellows indeed. The fruits of this odd marriage will be available soon...

Interesting snippets reach us from Berlin where electronic maestros Tangerine Dream now own a 24 track studio... each. Apparently when any one Tang gets inspired he whacks the relevant equipment necessary to play the amazing concept to his fellow Tangs into a truck and drives over. Needless to say this doesn't happen that often although Edgar Froese reportedly blinked at a recent concert necessitating the cancellation of an ambulance...

People who have been quite near to Trevor Horn Part One: Jody Watley, the singing biddy from Shalamar, has taken to Maison Rouge with Gary Langan (for it is he) and Bruce Woolley. Nick Heyward is still at the goodly Maison and whilst on the subject of permanent fixtures, the SSL desk in Studio Two is now precisely one of those...

There's nothing like a good joke etc. Neil, as you probably know, has recorded My White Bicycle originally performed by... oh. This was produced by Dave Stewart at Spaceward. It just gets funnier and funnier, doncha think? Jakko's LP is now complete thanks to Peter Collins and Spaceward. Blag one... The nomadic Armoury Show appear to have settled at The Manor where they are strumming and drumming out their new album...

Utopia have been subjected to The Men of Much Baldness as Re-Flex and Shriekback descended to put spit and polish to their respective long-players. Although both bands have done ostensibly little in this country they hope that their success in the US will continue. Hair today, gone tomorrow. There is nothing like a dome, etc...

People who have been quite near to Trevor Horn Part Two: J J, the bespeckled boffin's right hand man and Fairlight operator, has squeezed in a bit of moonlighting on The Barge producing Steve Duffy...

Green Backside (that's Scritti Politti to you) and his assorted wealth has been overdubbing in Island studio with the ever present and ever resourceful Dave Gamson. The producer wished to remain a doormouse...

Robin Millar, who's thought of big in these parts, has been slaving over a hot console with no less than three bands. Working Week finished their LP with him in his Powerplant Studio, The Fruits of Passion completed no less than three singles and Everything But the Girl (featuring the cod-like genius of Tracey Thorn) are now in the middle of their second album for Blanco Y Negro Records. A bit of what was Interferon is now called MAX and is putting down tracks with producer David Motion and engineer Trigger. I always thought that was a girl's name...

Keeping inline with the studio's policy for making gentle, semi-acoustic music for sensitive people in bedsits, Gary Moore appeared on the doorstep, Marshall stack in hand, claiming to be a namby-pamby song writer with a lot of complexes. Naturally they invited the poor lad in to record some demos...

Moore hot news... Melba Moore — that well known dish — is said to be doing a peach of an album with the cream of the production people Keith Diamond. Should be finished by Sundae...

At selfsame Battery Studios, it's a battle of the consonants, with the relatively easy Joan Armatrading coming in a poor last (pushed along by Mike Howlett) to the awesomely unpronounceable Barney Rachabane, at present engaged in an album with the aid of trumpeter and tongue-twister Hugh Masekela. And will rhyming Barney get together with Scritti Politti in their stay at Battery to produce an epic poem? Answers on a postmistress, please...