In February 1989 "Ride" were asked to stand in for a cancelled student union gig at Oxford Polytechnic that brought them to the attention of Alan McGee.

While the EPs had only limited chart success, enough critical praise was received to make Ride the "darlings" of the UK music press.

Carnival of Light was oriented towards this new sound, but sales were sluggish and the shift in musical tastes devastated much of their original audience and critics alike.

Bell penned most of the songs for Tarantula, one of which – "Castle on the Hill" – was a lament for the band's situation and contains references to Gardener's self-imposed exile from the group.

After leaving Ride, Gardener released the limited edition single "Magdalen Sky" on the Shifty Disco label in June 1997.

This was followed by a box set, remastered re-issues of all of Ride's albums and a one-off "reunion" recorded for a Sonic Youth tribute television show.

Gardener began playing solo shows in 2002, both in the United States and in the UK, supporting the Ride releases as well as his own newly written material.

Finally, Gardener completed his debut solo album in 2005, titled These Beautiful Ghosts, a collaboration with fellow Oxford musicians Goldrush.

In addition to Goldrush, other performers on the album include: Grasshopper and Suzanne Thorpe from Mercury Rev, Gene Park, Cat Martino, Kaye Phillips, Clive Poole, and Sacha from the Morning After Girls.

[2][3] A limited edition version of These Beautiful Ghosts, featuring a bonus DVD with tour footage and other materials, was made available to anyone who pre-ordered the album.

On the album which was released on 24 January 2011, he contributes vocals on the track "Tastes Like Sedative", and joined Molly's on stage in Amiens to perform Ride's song "Leave Them All Behind".

Gardener currently has his own recording studio in Oxford where he produces and mixes for many bands including Swervedriver, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Robin Guthrie, Dead Horse One[4] among others.