How We Met: Bernard Butler & Nerina Pallot

'He came round with an Arsenal playsuit. We're both aware of just how tragic we are'

(JEAN GOLDSMITH)

Nerina Pallot, 36

Born in south London, Pallot is a platinum-selling singer-songwriter whose songs have been performed by artists such as Kylie Minogue. She is about to release her Bernard Butler-produced fourth album. She lives in Camden, north London, with her husband and eight-month-old baby

I can be really shy sometimes and that manifests itself in me talking non-stop. When I first met Bernard, that is exactly what I did. I went on and on at him. He has so much pedigree as a musician and an artist, I guess I was a bit intimidated.

We got on really well, though, and I'm not sure we even talked about working together, we just sort of did it. I was heavily pregnant at the time, so it was a race to cut the album before my baby was born. Bernard has three kids and is a very hands-on dad, so I grilled him relentlessly – things like, how will I know when to feed the baby? He was like, "You'll be fine. By the time you get to baby number two and it starts crying, you'll just be turning up the telly."

Physically, though, I was falling apart. I had anaemia and wasn't sleeping. I had had kidney problems as a child and the doctors decided it was too risky for me to give birth naturally. When they told me I had to have a C-section, I went back to the studio in tears going, "What about the whale song and scented candles?" I was über-emotional – you can hear it on the record, my voice almost cracking.

He has an incredible, razor-sharp sense of melody and he doesn't beat around the bush – you always know where you stand. It was all quite old-school; we just put together a band and started playing, noodling around and having a real laugh. I remember thinking life would never be like this again. It was such a weird thing to do on the edge of something so life-changing as having a child. It felt, for me, like being a kid for the very last time.

We're both massive Arsenal fans and have studios next to each other 500 yards from the Emirates Stadium. He'd often direct me using football metaphors. We'd play a tape and he'd be like, "I feel like you should come a little bit more down the right-hand side there," and I'd know exactly what he meant. When my son was born, he came round with an Arsenal playsuit. It's quite funny but it's also quite sad; we are both acutely aware of exactly how tragic we are.

Bernard Butler, 41

A musician who emerged during the Britpop era as a guitarist with Suede, Butler went on to form duo McAlmont and Butler in 1994 and has played with, or produced, artists including Radiohead, Paul Weller and the Pretenders. He lives in north London with his wife and three children

Before I first met Nerina, I wasn't even aware she was pregnant. Then she turned up as big as a house and said, "I want to make a record." I said "Yeah, right, see you in six months – or six years."

Making this record turned out to be one of the greatest recording experiences I've had. She trusted me completely from the first day we met. It was just so easy. She's not 14 and silly about it, she just wanted to make a terrific record whatever it took.

With the baby coming, time was of the essence and I realised the only way to record it was to do it live. We booked into Konk Studios, in Crouch End, Ray Davies' place and one of the few remaining great studios left. We recorded eight songs in seven days, then on the eighth day, she had the baby. It really was unbelievable.

I didn't want to be patronising, getting her tea every five seconds, so I just did what I would normally do – energetically and enthusiastically listen to the music very loudly, with a guitar hanging round my neck. Every now and then I'd catch a glimpse of her, sitting there about to give birth and think, "Well, she chose this."

I didn't say this to her but I knew it could only have a remarkable effect on how you are as an artist. She was in a very blissed-out state – she seemed almost stoned some of the time. It was the eve of her creating this new life – the greatest thing you'll ever achieve – and as a producer I was reaping the rewards. I remember recording the final track, a beautiful song called "Grace". We set it all up and I pressed record and looked out of the window thinking, there is nothing I can do to change this or make it better. It was a completely beautiful moment, one of the great moments in the job that I do.

Her husband has a recording studio above mine, so now I see them all the time. Nerina is a massive Arsenal fan, so half of our conversation is boring, geeky minutiae of how Arsenal messed up again – some of the most depressing conversations you will ever hear.

It's the nature of my job to work with someone then never see them again. I choose who I work with for creative reasons and I believe you go into it to make a record, not to make a mate – but if that does happen, it's also brilliant. I've met lots of people along the way who I love and keep in touch with; Nerina is certainly one of them.

Nerina Pallot's new album, 'Year of the Wolf', is out on 30 May on Geffen Records