The Stewart-approved venture does more than produce revenue for Judd. Much of the artist's unreleased material existed on aging, deteriorating tape stock or cassette tape. In fact, the idea for starting Tess Films was motivated by a desire to restore the old recordings for preservation's sake. "The initial premise of cleaning up the tracks and saving them was to do it for archive purposes in case EMI or another label were interested in releasing it all," he says. "Unfortunately the sales that they would get off the songs are not, apparently, anywhere near the number needed for them to justify producing a deluxe box set or even a small SLAGIATT-type release of the material." SLAGIATT is the acronym for Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, the venerated (in Stewart-fan circles) Laurence Juber and James Jensen-produced limited-run disc set on the label Acoustic Music Resource; it offers rarities, outtakes, and alternate lyrics to well-known songs. (In the mainstream market, Rhino Records has done what EMI and Stewart's other previous labels have not done - remastered and re-released his back catalog for CD.)

Tess' biggest boost has come from the combination of Internet promotion via previously mentioned sites and e-lists, Kim Dyer's Chronicles and AlStewart.com, Jackdaw, Judd's own site, and the Book.

"I had always suggested to Al that I should write his biography. Plans were so far advanced that in 1984, in a bizarre moment of coincidence backstage at Al's Royal Albert Hall show, I told [singer-songwriter] Dave Nachmanoff that I was going to write Al's biography one day and he told me that he was going to be Al's guitar player."

Life is stranger: Nachmanoff is now a frequent opening act for Stewart on the road these days. And Judd was able to overcome Stewart's reluctance to have his life story immortalized in print:

"Al was never that keen on the idea of a book but eventually he came around and I went out and got the book deal with [publisher] Helter Skelter. I left my job as a manager of a large London bookstore and spent four years interviewing people all over the world and having a total blast doing it. Al would read the latest draft every six months and off I'd go again."

The Internet is a huge part of serving the mission of Al, to which both Dyer and Judd are dedicated. After remaining strictly snail-mail long after it was trendy to have a Web presence, Judd finally made the leap in 1994. NevilleJudd.com offers Stewart approved bootleg audio and video recordings along with CDs and DVDs of a number of his live concerts. Also available: the Book and its follow-up, TK, photos by Lori Stoll, a fan registry, T-shirts and more. Currently, the site is promoting its forthcoming Grace Cathedral concert DVD and the biography’s photo-focused companion, Lights... Camera... Folk-Rock.

"Most fans find [NevilleJudd.com] when we hand out the site's address at gigs," Judd says. "We made a real effort to get as many new fans on board in the period between Down in the Cellar and A Beach Full of Shells as possible and I went to 70 percent of Al's gigs during that time."