Stretch recorded ‘Forget The Past’ without Elmer. Their former singer was not best pleased. “I don’t think it went very well. They did one album and a few gigs. I must admit that I was angry, so I was delighted when they got chronic reviews. It was very unspiritual of me, but I felt let down. Kirby and I should have stuck it out together. We had always worked well together, so I was kind of angry with him.”
Kirby explains: “It felt like the skids were under us. The whole thing went sour. We’d had initial success but two and a half years later we weren’t getting anywhere. Elmer and I parted company and I tried to change direction with Stretch and make another album. I tried my best but it with hindsight it didn’t work.”
The final version of Stretch included future Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain. Kirby: “What a drummer! He really was dynamite. We made the album and did some gigs but it lost momentum and Stretch folded up in 1979.” Says Elmer: “Stretch was a good band, although it was hard to appreciate at the time because we were going through such emotional difficulties and we were very self-critical.” Clearly Stretch had reached breaking point.
Tracks
1. Re-Arranging (Steve Emery) - 4:02
2. Cruel To Be Kind (Kirby Gregory, John Cook) - 4:46
3. Forget The Past (Kirby Gregory, John Cook) - 5:43
4. Ain't Got No Reason (Steve Emery) - 4:48
5. Take Me Away (Kirby Gregory) - 3:34
6. You're Too Late (Steve Emery) - 4:16
7. School Days (Kirby Gregory) - 8:17
8. Fooling Me (Kirby Gregory) - 5:42
Stretch
*Kirby Gregory - Vocals, Guitar
*John Cook - Keyboards
*Chris Mercer - Saxophone
*Fran Byrne - Drums
*Nicko McBrain - Drums
*Steve Emery - Bass
