A Permanent Shadow is described on the Bandcamp as “a band for want of a better description.” At the core is is CP Fletcher who surrounds himself with a rotating cast of musicians and producers for his recordings.

Following the album No Leaf Clover album (2024) and the covers EP Summertime Love, (2025), the Barcelona-based project, recently returned with the yacht rock elegance of the single We’ll Be One. A song that deals with the issue of stalking, the relentless harassment in an unhealthy romantic situation. The song’s protagonist is behind bars and reflects on his actions, without truly understanding what led him to this situation. Obsession and unrequited love are the central themes of the song, whose video was filmed at the former “La Modelo” prison in Barcelona, ​​directed by Jorge Rodríguez and featuring dancer Nirvana Sepúlveda.

CP now puts pen to paper or the digital equivalent on the topic of David Bowie.

PUT ON YOUR RED SHOES

In 1983, my older sister bought the album Let’s Dance by David Bowie. I was immediately taken by the chopped guitar opening of Modern Love and the booming drums that so marked the sound of the eighties. I knew from then on that I wanted to get involved in music one way or the other. Before that, I had been a casual listener of top 40 radio, but Let’s Dance changed all that.

Back at school we had a record buyers’ club where you could order cheaply pressed vinyl records at an affordable price. By the end of 1983 I had all the classic Bowie records from Space Oddity (1969) to Scary Monsters (1980). These records thoroughly informed my musical DNA. I was a bit of a loner at school so my afternoons would consist of listening to these records on headphones on my father’s stereo. To this day, I know all the lyrics and the arrangements of every instrument by heart, which comes in handy as I occasionally front a Bowie covers band.

My all-time favourite Bowie album is Station To Station (1976). To me it’s the perfect record, short with absolutely no flaws. And he looked fantastic as The Thin White Duke. I should also mention Outside (1995), which showed Bowie at a commercial low point. The accompanying tour with Nine Inch Nails was universally slammed as far as I remember, but I thought it was pretty daring of Bowie to go out on tour and play a no hits set to an indifferent young audience (which was there mainly because of NIN). For the real fans it was a treat to hear deep cuts like Teenage Wildlife or Andy Warhol in concert, but it was obviously not everyone’s cup of tea.

ANYTHING GOES

However, Bowie was always best when on the brink of commercial suicide. This was never more obvious than with Tin Machine, his much derided “band” approach. I would really encourage everyone to give the two Tin Machine albums a spin as there are lots of hidden gems to be discovered. And let’s not forget he did “alternative” two years before it blew up, albeit in a black suit and tie.

What inspires me as an artist is Bowie’s “anything goes” approach. I’ve been in bands where “no” seemed to be the word de rigeur. You can’t play this note after that note, you can’t say this, you can’t sing that. That’s bollocks. I’ve never had a narrow vision regarding my own music, and I’m always open to new ideas. I don’t dwell on which elements would make a song more “sellable”, and I think I learned that from Bowie, that as an artist first and foremost you must be true to yourself.  

I was lucky enough to see Bowie live quite a few times, though I would have loved to see him more often or meet him in person. Let’s Dance opened an important gate for me, and though it’s fair to say it’s not David Bowie’s best album (though it is indeed his biggest seller), I will always have a soft spot for this record.

Our thanks to CP for his insights.

Here’s We’ll Be One:

You can read more from our extensive archive of Why I Love pieces from a wide array of artists on an even wider array of subjects, here.

A Permanent Shadow: Website

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