When he was a little boy Pete Jobson set his village on fire. For 40 years the cause of the blaze in the Northumberland fishing village of Alnmouth has remained a mystery to its 444 inhabitants. But no more. With the release of his first solo album ‘Burn The Ration Books Of Love’, the truth is finally revealed by Peter Alexander Jobson, who made his name as bass guitarist and keyboard player in I Am Kloot.

The secret is out now, on an extraordinary collection that blends genres as diverse as country-flavoured psychedelia and cocktail jazz with the spirit of the Northern variety circuit. With his Northumberland accent and a voice that tells the tale of two decades in smoke-filled rooms followed by late-night drinking sessions, his vocals answer the question: what if Serge Gainsbourg had been born in the North East of England? Inspirations include Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Scott Walker, blues and country legends like Robert Johnson and Hank Williams, and Northern entertainers of days past like Les Dawson and the great Jake Thackray. All those influences come to bear on the first solo album by Jobson.