Linus had already got past the first round of the battle of the bands competition that would run through the summer at the Secret’s club in Romford and they were a drummer down for the next round. Luckily one of Rich’s old mates from Redbridge Youth Theatre, Jon Young had also been the drummer for neo-grungers Pseudo who played most the venues London had to offer until they split in 2000 as Jon went to university to study drama.

With Jon behind the drums, Linus went on to reach the final of that competition and gain more of the live experience that they so lacked in comparison with their writing.

In November 2002, Toby returned on leave for his 23rd birthday, so a one-off gig at the Camden Barfly supporting Tidal Mind was arranged. This was to be Tom’s last gig as he wanted to spend more time with his other band, groovy thrash metallers Lozek. By Christmas Toby was home but the band's situation was no better. They were still a trio with no bass player and while that (arguably) works for the White Stripes, this wasn’t a road Linus were prepared to take.

Undeterred, Rich booked them in at the Barfly again in February. This time Colin Lee, an experienced musician who had known Toby since before the days of dodgy covers in the back of a pub was to fill in on bass. Readers should note that at no point did Linus consciously try to out-Tap Spinal Tap in the rhythm section department. It just happened that way, but at least no-one exploded. Lack of rehearsal and lack of goddamn Central Line put pay to the atmosphere at that gig but the band played well, all things considered. But one thing was for sure, a full time replacement for Tom was definitely required.

Sam Fluskey had been playing the bass for years, and the piano more than that. His elder brother Daniel had also been mates with Rich since he was twelve. All this, plus the fact that he actually liked football which gave Rich someone to talk to put the 20 year-old whipper-snapper first on the band’s list of full-time replacements for Tom (he was also the only name on the list, but that’s neither here nor there). Having cut his teeth with technically jaw-dropping funk metallers Capricorn Sun, it was felt that he would be the final piece in the elaborate jigsaw that was Linus. The launch of this website comes after an intense period of writing and rehearsal with Sam that will culminate in the recording of a new demo and the new line-up’s live debut this spring. Knowing this lot, only time (and, to be fair, probably this website as well) will tell, so if you want to find out, you had better come back a little more often, hadn’t you?