Alan Silson - lead guitar, vocals (1964-1996),The remaining members decided to continue with the band and went about finding their third lead singer. Friend of the band Mike Craft was chosen; allegedly it only took one song to come to a decision. The band released The World and Elsewhere later that year, followed by Light a Candle — The Christmas Album. In 1996, Alan Silson terminated his membership, saying he intended to pursue a solo career and to work with other acts as well, joining Mickey Finn's T. Rex, and that he also no longer wanted to be on the road all the time. Mick McConnell, one of the band's road crew and their guitar technician replaced him as the group's new lead guitarist, this formation producing the next album, Wild Horses - The Nashville Album (1998), precisely in Nashville, Tennessee. In February 2001, Smokie released two albums, Uncovered and Uncovered Too, which consist entirely of cover versions, with no original new songs added. In 2004 Smokie recorded a studio album, On the Wire, with eleven of the 14 songs written by the band themselves. In 2006, the band released the album From the Heart. Although mainly a compilation, it did contain three brand new tracks.