Almond's first proper solo album was "Vermin in Ermine", released in 1984. Produced by Mike Hedges, it featured musicians from the Mambas outfit, Annie Hogan, Martin McCarrick and Billy McGee. This ensemble, known as The Willing Sinners, worked alongside Almond for the subsequent albums "Stories of Johnny" (1985) from which the title track became a minor hit, and "Mother Fist and Her Five Daughters" (1987), also produced by Mike Hedges. The latter album was highly acclaimed in reviews, with Ned Raggett writing that the 'Mother Fist' album "embraces classic European cabaret to wonderful effect, more so than any American or English rock album since Bowie's "Aladdin Sane" or Lou Reed's "Berlin"."