One of the biggest money spinners for the Morning Star recently has been the double CD We Are All In It Together.

It was lovingly created byMichael Weston King, whose reputation in the business as an outstanding country singer-songwriter meant that major artists donated songs, music and poetry free of charge to help keep the Morning Star in business.

It is also a measure of the respect with which this paper is held in the cultural field generally that such eminent artists are prepared to put in so much time to keep us going.

Weston and his partner Lou Dalgleish (below) are in the middle of their hectic schedule touring and promoting the second album of their exciting My Darling Clementine project.

The first, How Do You Plead, was probably the most successful country album to come out of Britain. The second, The Reconciliation, has followed suit to worldwide acclaim.

Both are considerable solo performers in their own right.

Weston King was in the Good Sons and Dalgleish performed They Call Her Natasha, an extraordinary one-woman show of Elvis Costello classics.

But neither are mere copyists and all of the material on both albums is original.

Both loved the country duets of the late 1960s and early '70s and this is the path they have chosen for this project.

"I wanted to get back to straight ahead classic country with a focus on adult themes and strong melodic songs," says Weston King. "Since we have collaborated on everything else during our 10 years of marriage we decided to do this musically and the kitchen is a perfect working studio," he explains - which begs the question of who does what and when in these scenes of domestic bliss.

How Do You Plead has been incredibly well reviewed and Weston King thinks that this is because the songs are more immediately accessible than some of his earlier recordings. Both were nervous about how this project would be received.

But in retrospect Dalgleish believes that forming a duo with her old man has turned out to be the best thing she has ever done and while they write separately, they bounce ideas off each other.

The first album dealt with love, betrayal and drinking, among other things, but The Reconciliation deals with darker issues like domestic violence and the death of parents but also the joy of conception when you are getting on a bit.

The music business is incredibly cut- throat if you want your music heard and that is why it is so pleasing that the couple are on the front cover of last month's My Country People.

That should help get them an even wider audience for their music. It's one they thoroughly deserve.

For more info and a taster of both albums, go to www.mydarlingclementinemusic.co.uk