IAN McCULLOCH is currently putting the finishing touches to a new solo album which The Christians' Henry Priestman, who's guesting on the sessions, describes as "by far and away the best stuff he's come up with since leaving Echo & The Bunnymen."

Talking to The Wire earlier this month, Priestman revealed that "Johnny Marr is producing and has also co-written a lot of the songs. I've just spent two weeks in the studio with them - the idea was to whack down the tracks as quickly as possible and worry about the fine tuning later on.

"Myself and Mac," continued the guitarist, "live about 300 yards away from each other, so although I haven't known him for long, we're good mates. I've thoroughly enjoyed the experience because, one, the material is so strong and, secondly, there's not the same pressure on me as there'd be if it was a Christians record."

The all-star cast also includes two former members of Julian Cope's backing band and, although an official date has yet to be confirmed, the LP should emerge sometime before Christmas.