He recalls how, back in February, he decided to call off a summer tour in Europe to write the new record.
Gatting, who said he had told the batsman, Salim Malik, that the fielder was moving, wanted an apology of his own, but for the good of the tour was persuaded to write to Rana.
He has opted, he says, with a touch of pride, not to be "a heritage artist, coming back and doing a Born to Do It tour", deciding instead to write new music, and his bet on himself has paid off: he has had a top 10 single, the absurdly catchy When the Bassline Drops, and his album, Following My Intuition, went to No1 on iTunes when it was released last Friday.
Or, to borrow from Hemingway, whose footsteps I encountered in the 100-year-old Osteria Madonetta on the last leg of the tour: in order to write about music, first you must live it.
Her father was the noted architectural writer, Colin McWilliam, who toured the UK to write about the country's most beautiful and important buildings.
Suddenly, there's a sense of urgency on their part because they have schedules to adhere to, sabbaticals to take, tenure tours to go on, grants to write.
I think I tour the whole show to write it".
In recent times she has proved prolific, continuing to write, tour and record, curating the Meltdown festival, collaborating with Philip Glass and Red Hot Chili Peppers, and pursuing her great love for photography.
Song dedications are quickly read from the back of an envelope, the cornball jokes are mercifully brief, and at one point Flatt tells any potential promoters in the audience that the band has several open dates on a coming tour, providing the address to write for terms.
A stopover in Bombay, India, during the band's Australian and Asian tour had led Davies to write the song "See My Friends", released as a single in July 1965.
