Tale To Tell
The name of the band was inspired by their ever-changing cast of 20 musicians from around the Brighton area that Khan-Panni, Sandrone and Horwood assembled to begin recording their first album in Horwood's treehouse studio. With co-producer Alastair Cunningham, the project took two years to complete, and was released as Tale to Tell in April 2009. It is a lushly orchestrated fantasia, inspired by "marching bands, big bands and fairgrounds" and featuring the sound of a brass band, string quartet, orchestra, and the Moog Synthesiser. It was also heavily influenced by John Barry's filmscores for James Bond and the MGM musicals of the 40s and 50s. Rufus Wainwright's use of Ravel's 'Bolero' in 'O What a World' is also cited as an example. The joint collaboration of Cunningham and Khan-Panni also gave birth to a brand new record label 'Big Bass Drum' which was quickly set up to rush out the album in order to capitalise on sudden unexpected media interest. The Mummers performed two tracks from Tale to Tell, Wonderland and March of the Dawn on the opening show of series 34 of BBC Two's Later... with Jools Holland, while in May 2009 March of the Dawn was iTunes single of the week.
On 7 September 2009 Mark Horwood took his own life at his mother's house near Chichester. He leaves an amazing legacy for music, but his family and his close friends were devastated, and his close family are still struggling to come to terms with the suddenness of his death. His father Ellis George Horwood died at home in 2007: he was Mark's best friend and it may be that he never really reconciled to his father's passing. He is most dreadfully missed by us all.
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