recording of the original version of Bat Chain Puller, which due to legal ownership problems remained unreleased until 2012. French also played guitar as well as drums on some of these songs. He walked out on Beefheart when his friend John Thomas (keyboards) was sacked from the band. French visited Beefheart in 1980 looking for work and was hired to take part in the recording of Doc at the Radar Station, playing guitar (and drumming on two tracks). He left before the band toured though, when Beefheart handed him a list of 40 songs to learn over a 3-month period. French sealed the walkout the next day by returning the guitar Beefheart had loaned him. Other projects French was briefly involved and co-wrote some songs with Mallard, a group formed by other Magic Band members who left in 1974 after tensions within the band (reportedly caused mainly by Beefheart's domineering, sometimes abusive, behavior) finally reached a breaking point. Following Mallard, John joined Rattlesnakes and Eggs on drums and vocals for an extended stay. French has subsequently made solo records, and played with the experimental group French Frith Kaiser Thompson and again with Henry Kaiser in Crazy Backwards Alphabet. In 2000, he was involved in compiling and writing the sleeve notes for the anthology of Beefheart rarities Grow Fins. He also gave his insights into the problems of working with Beefheart in the BBC documentary The Artist Formerly Known as Captain Beefheart. The Magic Band reformation 2003 saw him reform The Magic Band as a live act with Rockette Morton, Denny Walley, and Gary Lucas. They divided the show into an instrumental and a vocal section. French handled the vocals and harmonica, handing over the drum kit to Robert Williams when he was singing. They released an album, Back to the Front, in 2004 and a live CD, 21st Century Mirror Men, in 2005. The Magic Band have continued to tour regularly since then. City of Refuge In 2008, French released a solo album (under his "Drumbo" moniker) entitled City of Refuge. The album features other musicians from The Magic Band including John Thomas, Mark Boston (aka Rockette Morton), Bill Harkleroad (aka Zoot Horn Rollo) and Greg Davidson (aka Ella Guru). The album was released on UK label Proper Records. Beefheart: Through the Eyes of Magic In 2010 French released this memoir of his time in the Magic Band (Proper Music