IntroductionA Far Cry from SunsetIn the summer of 2005, three friends and I took an eight month journey across the two continents of America and Europe.We were on a mission: – to get ten of the world’s most famous recording artists to record a tribute album to an unknown songwriter; – And that songwriter would be me.And as we travelled we were going to make a road movie; an epic chronicle of our quest, and a testament to our friendship.We made it and we called it, Tribute This!The adventures we had and the people we met changed my life profoundly. Not only its present but also how I viewed its past.Apart from our struggles with managers, publicists, security and even one or two of the artists themselves, we ran into so many people from ordinary walks of life; cab drivers, hotel porters, fans standing in line to see their heroes, who couldn’t do enough to help or encourage us on our journey.For one long summer, we lived life so brilliantly; so full of laughter and a gathering sense of achievement that I wondered if the artists we were pursuing ever got to see life in anything like the same way.In contrast they seemed so protected, so hidden away, so cut off from the world that, towards the end of our travels, the thought occurred to me that, at that point in time, I wouldn’t swap one year of their lives for one day of ours.My hope is that, in reading my account of those heady days, you will understand why.Billy Franks