Truelove’s Gutter began to take shape after Richard’s record label boldly invited him to make the album he had always dreamed of making, regardless of commercial concerns.

A dream come true, he admits, but also a creative challenge. The result is an eight-track musical journey which unfolds at its own stately pace, with enough space inside each sumptuous mini-epic for Richard’s timeless, soaring voice to spread its wings. De luxe minimalism, but built on a palatial scale.

“Whenever I felt I’d put a layer of butter, chocolate spread, butter and Marmite in it, I had to strip it back to just the butter,” Richard explains. “Not to over-egg the pudding, just to let the song breathe. I’ve just taken a gentler, more meditative approach this time.

“I really wanted to push myself as a writer, musician, producer and arranger. I wanted this record to be a listening experience from start to finish, where you couldn’t just pause it and go off and watch Coronation Street.

“It would impel you to sit and listen to it. Sonically it flows, it’s not jumping all over the place. It just has a mood that goes through the whole thing.”

Call it serendipity. Call it old-fashioned Sheffield steel. Whatever the ingredients, Richard Hawley has made a sublime album. He may be trawling Truelove’s Gutter, but he’s got his eyes firmly fixed on the stars.

RICHARD HAWLEY plays the Phil on October 17.