to chart. "(I Go) My Own Way" was re-recorded with The Stone Roses producer John Leckie, but it too failed to significantly impact on the UK chart. Label boss Andrew Lauder then suggested that McNabb go to record in America, which McNabb was sceptical about. He facetiously suggested to Lauder that his new material sounded like Neil Young and Crazy Horse, and if Lauder could get Crazy Horse to play on the record, he would go to America. A few phone calls later, McNabb found himself in a Los Angeles studio with Crazy Horse drummer Ralph Molina and bassist Billy Talbot. This rhythm section appeared on four of the ten tracks on Head Like a Rock, including the No. 54 UK hit "You Must Be Prepared to Dream". The album's other single, "Go into the Light", did not feature Crazy Horse and peaked at UK No. 66. Head Like a Rock was subsequently nominated for the 1994 Mercury Music Prize, and although M People would end up taking the award, Head Like A Rock peaked at No. 29 in the UK Albums Chart. Molina and Talbot toured with McNabb in 1994, featuring on the short live bonus CD which accompanied his next album, Merseybeast (1996). This performance also featured Noel Gallagher of Oasis on uncredited rhythm guitar as the group covered The Seeds' "Pushin' Too Hard". Merseybeast saw McNabb with a new backing band called The Afterlife. The album's first single, "Don't Put Your Spell on Me" reached UK No. 72. The second single, the album's title track "Merseybeast" fared even worse, hitting UK No. 74. In 1997, This Way Up parted company with McNabb, and released a 'best-of' collection entitled My Own Way: The Words & Music of Ian McNabb. 1998–present: Fairfield Records era On returning to performing his own material, McNabb focused on acoustic music, leading to a residency at the Birmingham club of Ronnie Scott. The material arising out of this became the low-key album A Party Political Broadcast on Behalf of the Emotional Party, released by McNabb on his own Fairfield label in 1998. Aside from McNabb, the only other musicians on the album were Waterboys Mike Scott and Anthony Thistlethwaite, and bassist Danny Thompson. The album also produced one single, "Little Princess" which failed to chart. McNabb followed APPBOBOTEP with a live acoustic album, Live at Life (2000), compiled from a pair of Christmas gigs