If there is a heaven it would be nice to think that Ronnie Lane is up there doing what he does best, playing rock and roll forever, maybe with his own little celestial, �Passing Show,� touring all the out of the way places up there in paradise. And I bet he won�t care that he doesn�t get paid because for Ronnie Lane it was only ever the music that really mattered.

Ronnie Lane�s Slim Chance was aptly named because their chance of success was virtually non-existent. This was due in most part because Ronnie was now making music for himself and not for the mass pop market, or any market for that matter. He was making music for pleasure and love and for those fortunate enough to witness the, �Passing Show.� Travelling around the country in a small convoy of beat up trucks and pitching a circus tent outside obscure towns and villages far away from the usual music venues and hoping people would show up.

Alongside the band and other musical support acts there were jugglers, fire eaters, clowns, and even a stand-up comic, but due to a complete lack of publicity, nobody came, nobody listened, and probably nobody cared. When, a few weeks later, Ronnie ran out of money the, �Passing Show,� ground to an inevitable halt, and that was the end of one of British music�s most novel and interesting ideas.

But although it was the end of the show it wasn�t the end of the road or the end of the story, for while ex-band mates such as Rod Stewart were singing turgid anthems about sailing and Stevie Marriot was riffing ad nauseam with Humble Pie Ronnie Lane continued to make wonderfully eclectic music.

After the unfortunate demise of the, �Passing Show,� the next Slim Chance album was called, �One for the Road,� and although patchy in parts, I mean, Ronnie couldn�t really sing that well, it produced a beautiful song called Harvest Home. Harvest Home, a song that wouldn�t be out of a place in a Mahler symphony, is about the death of a woman and an emotive and more touching piece of music you are unlikely to hear. It�s what makes Ronnie Lane one of my favourite artists, and although I love the Small Faces, the almost forgotten music of Slim Chance and Harvest Home has the longer lasting impact. In fact I�m listening to it now, sipping a cool beer and watching the sun fade to nothing in the far western sky and thinking about the doomed, �Passing Show.�

Ronnie�s reward for going his own way and being true to himself and his music was to fight a long and ultimately unsuccessful battle against a terrible disease, but none of that is what matters, what matters is the music he made, which future generations like myself are now able to enjoy. So thanks Ronnie, thanks very much, and this one for the road is for you, wherever you are!

© 2006 Laura Hird All rights reserved.