 After leaving university, Herbert and Rutter moved to London, where they soon met a former member of Boney M, who had been asked to judge a forthcoming Polish television music competition. She and Rutter were invited to enter, and Black Coffee won the competition. Returning to London, Black Coffee continued to perform in local bars, before being introduced to Ian Shaw, a noted jazz vocalist. This led eventually to the production of a debut CD, First Songs, initially credited to "Gwyn and Will", of both original songs and jazz standards, which was launched at London's Pizza Express Jazz Club in September 2003. The Herbert / Rutter song "Sweet Insomnia" featured guest vocals from Jamie Cullum. Described by BBC Music's reviewer as "a lovingly crafted debut", the album received a significant amount of radio airplay on Jazz FM and BBC Radio 2, and was promoted by Michael Parkinson.
