The Great Recycle is the solo project of Jerry Evans—musician, songwriter, co-founder of Skruffy Records, and a man with music running through every decade of his life. The name reflects something real: Jerry’s lifelong passion for the environment and renewable energy runs alongside his music, and the two things aren’t as separate as they might seem. Recycling, reimagining, finding something new in what already exists—it’s a philosophy as much as a name.
Jerry’s musical journey stretches back to 1977, when he formed his first band, Bad Habits, with fellow Skruffy Records co-founder Colin Massie. By 1978 he was singing and playing guitar in a punk band called The DS, gigging extensively around Devon and Cornwall and supporting touring acts including The Clash and the UK Subs. In 1980 he arrived in London, reinvented as a keyboard player, gigging with a string of bands before teaming up around 1984 with Mick Rossi and his band of the time, The Duellists. Rossi and Evans went on to work together as a production team until Mick moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980s.
The 1990s and 2000s were largely given over to running music-related businesses—Jerry’s company Tickle worked with Blur, Simply Red and Queen, among others. Music took a back seat, though he did find time to play in the gloriously informal Lend Us a Quid, a band loosely held together by John Oz Osmond and notable for the roster of musicians who passed through it over the years, including one Zac Starkey.
By 2014, Jerry and Colin had reformed their old band as Old Habits—they still play the occasional gig to this day. But Jerry was ready to take things further. The Great Recycle gave him a vehicle to say what he wanted to say, his way.
The Great Recycle’s self-titled debut album is a mix of songs about love and loss alongside tracks with a strong environmental message, produced by Tom Loffman. It is available now on Skruffy Records on CD and as a digital download. Track three ‘Postage stamp’ has a strong following on streaming services to this day.
A pair of singles followed: ‘Oil, Boil, Toil, n Trouble’ and the magnificently-titled ‘Hedonistic Gone Ballistic’, both produced by Ed Harcourt and both reflecting a particularly political state of mind.
The second album, The Clown That Confronts, was produced by Cameron Craig—whose credits run from Adele and Annie Lennox to Joe Strummer and Sia. Jerry plays virtually every instrument on the record himself, with drums provided by Terl Bryant, recorded at his studio in Sussex. Gun Street bandmates Mick Rossi and Howard Bates contribute to Hyperventilating—Rossi’s guitar and Bates’s bass bringing a distinctive energy to the track. Kelly Stewart’s Stewart Academy Choir add a heavenly backing to One Voice, with Kelly and her son Lachlan also contributing to The Long View, The Gig and the title track.
Jerry has described the album as a significant step up: a record he is genuinely proud of and one that reflects real growth in his songwriting. We can’t wait for you to hear it.
The album starts with ‘Walk This Life’, a catchy, light-hearted take on life’s onewayism. Next comes ‘Crash the Moon’, a bit of a rant really, is this the best our leaders can do? Really? ‘The Long View’ with its sumptuous harmonies was inspired by and is an answer to Tom Petty’s Freefalling, we all dream of freedom but it’s strange where we might end up finding it. ‘One Voice’ is written by Jerry but with choir arrangement by Kelly Stewart. It is essentially about the power of the individual. Side one of the LP ends with ‘La Luna’ a love song.
Side two crashes in with the title track ‘The Clown that Confronts’—explaining where this came from would take too long, needless to say it’s heart felt and that period of Jerry’s life is past. The smoky club feel of ‘Diamonds’ was a surprise Jerry says, but we should all get our chance to shine. ‘Hyperventilating’ featuring Mick Rossi and Howard Bates from Gun Street begs the question, are we only interested in watching murder stories? And is that healthy.? We play out with ‘The Gig’, quite simply about the wonder of a live performance and ‘Better Place’, something we could all aspire to create.
Alongside The Great Recycle, Jerry remains an active member of Mick Rossi’s Gun Street. Their critically acclaimed self-titled 2023 album features Billy Duffy of The Cult on the opening track. The band are regulars at Blackpool’s Rebellion festival and will appear on the Opera House stage on Friday 7 August 2026. A second album, Rock and Roll Soul, is recorded and ready.
