State of the Union Hewerdine first performed with Cambridge-based American guitarist Brooks Williams in 2010 after adding him to the bill of his annual Christmas show in his home town of Ely at the last minute when guests Chris Difford and Barry McGuigan were unable to attend due to weather conditions. In 2011, Hewerdine teamed up with Williams to form the band State of the Union. Their plan was to record an album using vintage microphones and equipment live at Kyoti Studio with Mark Freegard Glasgow studio in just five days, although they completed the album in only a day and a half. They followed the album with the EP Rent, the title track of which (a cover version of the Pet Shop Boys' song) was performed on The Andrew Marr Show in December 2012. State of the Union played their first gig at the 2011 Ely Folk Festival, and played at the Celtic Connections festival in January 2012. The album was released in April 2012 on Reveal Records and was followed by a tour. Film and television Hewerdine was invited by Nick Hornby to write music for the soundtrack of the 1997 film adaptation of his book Fever Pitch. With Neill MacColl he also wrote music for the soundtrack of Shane Meadows' Twenty Four Seven and David Evans' television film Our Boy, both also from 1997. He also had a track included in the soundtrack of Christine Lahti's My First Mister (2001), and in 2003 his "Different God" was used in the film Intermission. Hewerdine's song "Bell, Book and Candle" (from Thanksgiving) has been used in several television dramas, including an award-winning death scene in Emmerdale. Production and writing work Hewerdine collaborated over several years with Eddi Reader, as producer, songwriter and guitarist in her band. His song "Patience of Angels", originally written for The Bible, was recorded by Reader for her self-titled 1994 album, which featured several Hewerdine compositions, and was a top 40 hit in the UK Singles Chart when released as a single. Hewerdine also co-produced Eddi Reader's 1999 album Angels & Electricity and her 2003 album Sings the Songs of Robert Burns. His other production work includes albums with The Corrs, Heidi Talbot, and Laurie Freelove. He co-wrote and produced Chris Difford's 2008 album The Last Temptation of Chris. He has also written songs recorded by K.d. Lang ("Last Cigarette"), Paul Young, Melanie C, Marti