MATTHEW Donnachie had to pick himself up from the floor after his dream came true.

As a fan of Roxy Music in his younger years, the musician from Dunfermline always looked up to Bryan Ferry and imagined what it would be like to have his voice, style and reputation.

Donnachie had dabbled in and out of bands before but it wasn’t until lockdown last year that he formed MJMusic with John O’Brien, a pairing influenced heavily by their mutual love of the likes of Ferry, David Bowie and David Sylvian.

It was only when Donnachie walked into O’Brien’s studio that there was more to him than met the eye, for his new pal had a secret up his sleeve, one which would take Donnachie aback.

By that point their debut track and EP was already taking shape – a number inspired by Donnachie’s daughter, Olivia, leaving for the Brit School – and they were in the process of finalising what would become Lost to the World.

Speaking to Press:ON this week, Donnachie, now living in Nairn, revealed how it came to be that he was standing in a studio that could pass for a Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry shrine.

“John is actually the archive consultant for Roxy Music and Bryan Ferry,” Donnachie said.

“I didn’t know that until I walked into John’s studio and saw all these gold discs and portraits of Bryan Ferry everywhere; I knew instantly that they weren’t from ebay, put it that way.

“I asked where he got it all from and he said, ‘Yeah, I work for Bryan Ferry’. I said to him that it was the best brag I’ve ever heard that someone hasn’t used! If I worked for Bryan Ferry, I would have a t-shirt with that written on it.”

Once the track was ready for other ears, Donnachie sent it to Richard Barbieri, of the band Japan, another hero of his.

Donnachie said: “I sent it off to him and he replied with a long paragraph about how much he loved it; how haunting it was, that he liked the chord changes, how well it was written. I just thought to myself that if he likes it, we could be on to something here.”

It’s from that moment when things started to become serious, Donnachie says.

He commented: “John said he was going to let the ‘guys’ here it.

“By ‘guys’, he meant Bryan Ferry and his team, basically.

“He sent it through the rounds, first of all to Rhett Davis, who’s produced all of Ferry’s stuff from the 1970s to now.

“He also sent it to Alistair Norbery, who’s Bryan Ferry’s manager and who heads up BMG.

“He also sent it to Andy Mackay (saxophone, Roxy Music), and it was him who got back to us first. He loved it.

“Then Norbery came back and he said he loved the track and we shocked him with it. Rhett Davis said it was great as well, and that he could hear Bryan singing it.

“So, after those reactions, John then phoned me while I was at work.

“He asked me if I was sitting down as he had some news for me.

“He told me that Bryan Ferry had watched the music video we had made and he was a real fan of the song; he had given us his approval.

“I was really floored by that.

“Rhett Davis then said he felt it deserved a polish.

“So, we sent the EP to them and it was taken to Abbey Road Studios and it got mastered by Simon Gibson, who did the entire Beatles back catalogue when it became digital.

“With stuff like that happening to you on a weekly basis, I kept having to pick myself back up from the floor.”

Lost to the World may have started with Donnachie’s daughter Olivia but it would become a homage to Marilyn Monroe, who was the perfect muse for the emotions running through him at the time.

It was released on December 16 and the reception it has received has still left the pair overwhelmed.

“When you get all these accolades from guys like this, it does take you back,” Donnachie says.

“It’s a dream come true.

“I remember when the Roxy Music album, Flesh And Blood, came out. I listened to that and just dreamt of being Bryan Ferry. Guys like him and David Sylvian (Japan) were Gods to me.

“You have to savour these moments because they may never happen again.

“I hope it does but it’s incredible to have this reception for our first track.

“It is quite scary.

“It just shows you the power of chemistry and what happens when the pieces all fit together as if it were a jigsaw.”

Lost to the World is available to stream online now.