But  Wait! The magic isn’t over yet:

        Only Andy and James continued to pursue a career in mainstream popular music. Calling themselves The Korgis, they achieved their first chart success with "If I Had You". A second album in 1980 spawned the hit "Everybody’s Got To Learn Sometime". Written by James, it appealed to all age groups and reached No 5 in the UK and No 18 in the USA. The song returned to the charts again in 1996. Meanwhile, Mike went to university to study music, followed by a number of years entertaining the crowds in Bath as leader of that very English institution, The Pump Room Trio. The pragmatic Crun picked up his trowel and returned to bricklaying, continuing to play his music in local bands.

     Redolent with unfulfilled promise, Stackridge was consigned to a dusty shelf in the attic, denied and forgotten. So the years passed, and in the Evans household new additions appeared. These small people grew and metamorphosed into examples of that strange and unpredictable beast – the teenager. A chance find in a second-hand record store set the spell working again and Ruth, then aged 15, unlocked the box and out popped Marzo, Percy, Dora, and Slark as fresh as ever, to charm another generation. The magical spirit of Stackridge enveloped Miss Evans and the first of a new wave of Rhubarb Thrashers was born. With the same ardent enthusiasm that characterised the Thrashers of old, she collared her father and said, "Do it again!" She didn’t let up. She went on and on. He knew she really meant it.

    So it all began again three years ago, taking shape around the re-gathering of the Stackridge Clans.  The dispassionate reassessment of youthful dreams takes some courage for middle-aged men: there was a great deal to take on board. Perhaps not surprisingly, in the final analysis, not everyone wished or was able to be involved. From the old band that created the elusive Stackridge feel, James, Crun and Mike emerged to take up the challenge.

    Looking at Stackridge present, one observation is unavoidable.  Besides the aforementioned Ruth, there are many new characters in the Walter and Evans households who move in and out of the picture. They have a great deal of their own to say on all sorts of topics - not just Stackridge.  James has taken this seething, contradictory mixture of old and new away to his ivory tower and a whole pile of fresh songs has begun to emerge from his fertile imagination.  Certainly, these are 'Stackridge' songs, but a Stackridge that has grown up, matured and moved on. 

   Perhaps the most surprising aspect of this evolving new relationship is the similarity of outlook, despite coming together after so many years from such different backgrounds. Again, the very diversity of experience is stimulating, acting as a catalyst to creativity. Banter and badinage serve to hijack sensible conversation, ending in a great deal of laughter. That distinctive Stackridge feeling is emerging, alive and well, in tandem with a concerted determination to bring it to fruition in 1999. Stackridge is coming back to front!