We first fell in love with Casiotone for the Painfully Alone in 2002, discovering the odd 56-bitrate mp3 (the web equivalent of an old cassette tape) and splashing out on the second album, Pocket Symphonies for Lonesome Subway Cars, soon after.

Owen Ashworth’s lo-fi recordings (initially on answering machines) and commitment to the humble Casiotone keyboard inspired and mesmerised in equal measures, and fitted perfectly alongside East River Pipe, who we were also pretty obsessed with at the time.

Jump forward an album (the equally excellent Twinkle Echo), and CFTPA emerged in 2006 with Etiquette, a radically different prospect, more polished and pleasing to the ears but still as lyrically endearing and musically unique as ever. In the next few months CFTPA release two albums: Vs. Children – the follow-up to Etiquette – and Advance Base Battery Life, a compilation of singles. Here’s a cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Streets of Philadelphia (featuring brother Gordon) from the latter, and a q&a with Owen about Morrissey, hecklers, failing health, samplers, soundtracking and his upcoming visit to Manchester.

We were listening to Toby, Take a Bow and chuckling along to the Smiths references the other day. What do you think of Morrissey’s solo stuff?

I’ve never owned any of the Morrissey solo records, but I’ve enjoyed listening to them in other people’s cars or dorm rooms or whatever. Musically, I don’t enjoy the solo stuff as much as I love that enchanted sound of actual Smiths, but lyrically, I find Morrissey is almost always on point. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: one of the greatest challenges I face as a songwriter is the harsh reality that most of the songs I’d ever want to write were already written by Morrissey.

And how do you rate Manchester bands generally?

Manchester does not need me to remind it that there are a zillion great bands from Manchester. You win, okay? There is something in the pollen or the water that makes you really good at bands while the rest of us struggle to not sound terrible. You don’t need to rub our noses in it, guys. We surrender.

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Hey! Manchester first caught Alan Wilkes – aka Vinny Peculiar – playing solo at the Star and Garter in 2004. He was orchestrating technical problems to panic the sound man. The Smiths’ Andy Rourke was DJing (terribly) that night. Later, he and fellow Smithsonian Mike Joyce became Vinny’s backing band, while Bonehead, ex-Oasis, also played with him, somewhat bizarrely.

We’ve put Vinny on three times: for our first ever gig, with Jens Lekman at the Kings Arms; at our monthly night at Kro bar (he was ill but soldiered on); and at the Salford Arms as part of last year’s Sounds From The Other City. He always impresses the audience.

As part of a regular new series, we’ve asked Vinny to give us an unreleased track – a live performance of Everlasting Teenage Bedroom in this instance – and answer a few questions…

Reviews have included various comparisons from Bowie to Magnetic Field’s Stephin Merritt. But which artists have particularly inspired you?

Well I do really like Stephin Merrit; 69 Love Songs is just wonderful. I’m inspired by those who do what they do without overtly pandering to the forces of commercialisation, those who create stuff because they have to, it’s who they are. Working with Bill Drummond helped me to get some kind of perspective on art for arts sake. He is an inspiration for sure. Bowie of course goes way back, it’s a teenage glam generation affiliation thing… I mean, the 60’s had the Beatles, the 70’s belonged to Bowie – end of. Of the modernists I like Fleet Foxes… amazing singing. And I love people like David Byrne, Stephen Jones, Luke Haines; Joni Mitchell’s Blue is my all time favourite album… well it is today.

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‘Nuff said. Except, check out Morrissey’s guitarist Boz Boorer, who seems a bit shy at the back. Someone give him a cuddle!

Other Morrissey/Smiths song titles with headline potential here:

Striptease With A Difference
The Lazy Sunbathers
You’re The One For Me, Fatty
Is It Really So Strange?
Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others

[Via Morrissey-Solo]