The British-American supergroup consisting of Hughes, Jason Bonham, Derek Sherinian and Joe Bonamassa are laying down tracks with acclaimed producer Kevin ‘The Caveman’ Shirley who helmed the first three BCC albums. Sharing an image of the Black Country Communion logo on his social channels this morning (4th January), Glenn Hughes wrote the caption “Here we go, BCC4 recording in Hollywood” alongside an emoji of a rocket taking off.

Here we go 🚀 BCC4 recording in Hollywood @JOEBONAMASSA @Jason_Bonham @DerekSherinian @glenn_hughes @KevTheCave 🔛 pic.twitter.com/tBbq9LFCiI

— Glenn Hughes (@glenn_hughes) January 4, 2017

The new studio sessions mark the first time the four have joined musical forces since their acrimonious split in early 2013 shortly after the release of ‘Afterglow’. They first announced they had buried the hatchet in April last year, when Hughes, Shirley and Bonham made a trio of enthusiastic posts in tandem. Hughes wrote: “The lads …to quote Joe this morning …’maybe it’s time to break out the heavy bats again..’ #‎REUNITEDFRONT #‎BCC #‎BROTHERS #‎BONHAM #‎SHERINIAN #‎HUGHES #‎BONAMASSA. Preparing BCC Rocket Ship Re-launch for 2017 all systems go.” Speaking about the circumstances around Black Country Communion’s split, Hughes said last year: “Joe and I, man to man, never, ever fell out – never had a bad word for each other. The problem with Black Country was that we wanted to continue, and Joe has an amazing solo career. “Us three wanted to play more, but Joe told us, kind of going into it, ‘Black Country Communion is like another thing. I’m a solo artist.’ Simply because the albums were so… We thought they were great, and we thought we should play some shows.

“We all thought, genuinely, that Joe would wanna play more, and it didn’t happen. And we had to walk away from (it). Like I said, the band broke up, and then, three months later, Joe’s at my 60th-birthday party.”

“There was never a guarantee that these four musicians would ever reconvene to record again. However, one has to assume that any previous problems, particularly availability for promotion of any release have been ironed out and therefore the project can recommence. The previous studio releases were well-received and perhaps a live set release which included a ferocious version of Deep Purple’s ‘Burn’ even moreso. It is likely, that the lion’s share of material will come from Hughes who of course, has the gift of inspiring fellow musicians to new heights and almost benign creativity. Glenn’s treatment of fans and friends is a template of good behaviour and respect. All in all, fans of multi-faceted rock can look forward to a treat, especially if the sophistication of Hughes’ chordal gift is acknowledged in the production -” – Pete Sargeant

Glenn Sargeant