After some years of wandering Europe with his guitar and his songs, like a true troubadour must, Hugh found a home in the German city of Darmstadt.

During his travels he had somehow found time to record some of his songs, including a number laid down in the studios of Island Records in London.

From the resulting tapes, 10 tracks were released in Darmstadt by Michael Stühr's MS Edition ("the world's smallest record company") under the title Empty Houses.

This was the first of 3 vinyl albums Hugh made with MS Edition (see discography), and the beginning of a collaboration with other musicians and creative people in the area around Darmstadt and Frankfurt, notably Don Stevenson with whom he also produced a children's book The wonderlamp.