In December, UK Christendom's favorite band IONA recorded three of their gigs for a double live album. Mike Rimmer watched them do it and spoke to the band members.

So what was the most difficult obstacle Bainbridge had to overcome during the mixing of the album? "Editing out all the mistakes!" he jokes. "Actually, there weren't that many and some of them we left in. On a lot of tracks the hardest part was editing the bits of applause together. Leeds was a club with a low ceiling and although there were 500 people, it doesn't sound that many because of the acoustics. At Birmingham, where there was a smaller audience, there was also a massive hall and it sounded like there were thousands. We juggled around a bit to make it sound like one concert. The tracks that worked out best from Birmingham were the bigger sounding tracks because the drums sounded so huge because of the acoustics."

The months of February and March are taken with the decisions about artwork. Like all Iona albums, the sleeve is beautifully designed. This time prints of the work of textile artist Alice Kettle are used. As well as exhibiting in galleries, Kettle was commissioned to produce six big wall hangings, some of the biggest in the world, for the P&O liner Orianna. In addition to Kettle's work, the sleeve features 18 photographs of the band. Ever mindful of their wider responsibilities, Iona have asked Alice to print the sleeves on recycled paper.

The final word goes to Joanne Hogg as I ask her whether recording the live album is a time for reflection. "I think that might come later when we listen to it," she replies. "To be honest, I didn't feel there was a lot of time for me to be reflective. We had only one day of rushed rehearsals and then straight into three concerts. I was very busy immediately before and after I got home. I think the reflections will come when I get the finished product."

Events that have taken place since the album was recorded have led to its title 'Heaven's Bright Sun' taking on a fresh poignancy for two reasons. Firstly, on 1st February during the performance of the song at a concert in Southampton, one of the audience, Clare Hathaway, had a vision. She describes seeing "Jesus in all his glory and splendour standing with his arms open wide. He was silhouetted in the brightness of his beauty. As I ran to him, he was waiting for me with his love and kindness glowing for me. He eagerly embraced me in his arms of love and I felt the love flow from him into me. No arms could surround me like his. I felt safe and completely overwhelmed by the knowledge that's where I'll always be." Four days later on February 5th, Joanne Hogg's mother Anna Moles sadly died very suddenly. At the time, Joanne was with Iona performing "When I Survey" at a concert in Whitehaven. The live album is therefore dedicated to Anna who "passed from this life into the glory of Heaven's Bright Sun."