London Babylon: The Beatles And The Stones In The Swinging Sixties

What links David Hockney, Jane Asher, Syd Barrett, Alan Ginsberg, The Krays, Ronnie Wood, Princess Margaret, Salvador Dali, Dennis Hopper, Germaine Greer and a bunch of nutters who thought drilling holes in their heads was a good idea? Given that you have probably already clocked the titled you’ve possibly already guessed that the link is London in the sixties, more specifically the London that revolved around, and grew from, the success of the Beatles and The Stones, and the cast of characters that gravitated towards them. London Babylon is basically a who’s who of London in the swinging sixties (and it’s some who’s who), laced with fascinatingly detailed research, more than enough sex and drugs to keep even the most jaded reader tuned in, and whilst there are no major new revelations, making the streets of London itself the star lends a new slant to popular stories, weaving them together and helping place them on the rapidly evolving timeline in such a way that you are left with a far better grasp of just how things must have seemed at the time. This is an entertaining and informative romp which will even appeal to readers who feel they already know all there is to know about the period.
The Oracle

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Jack Bruce Composing Himself: The Authorised Biography
Harry Shapiro (Jawbone)

It’s a cliché to say that bands today don’t know the meaning of the term ‘hard work’ in comparison to the hardened road warriors of yesteryear, but like most clichés it almost certainly contains a grain of truth. Jack Bruce, for one, barely seemed to pause for breath from his first paying musician’s job in the late 1950s big band scene of his native Glasgow until the close of the ‘70s on the evidence of this scrupulously-researched authorised biography. A gifted vocalist and multi-instrumentalist equally adept at bass, cello and keyboards, Bruce brought supercharged blues-rock to the world as one third and primary co-songwriter of Cream, before going on to record a series of exquisite solo albums, beginning with 1969’s still-astonishing Songs For A Tailor. Alas, this remarkably creative period is gradually undermined from 1972 onwards by a 15-year addiction to heroin, the corrosive effects of which are discussed with admirable frankness. Long cleaned-up and still very much active despite undergoing a liver transplant in 2005, Bruce retains a working player’s ethos and does not for one second dip into self-pity or pretention as he reflects on health problems, career high points and setbacks, and his legendarily fiery partnership with one Mr. G. Baker.
David Davies

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Little Richard: The Birth of Rock 'n' Roll
David Kirby (Continuum)

Not a biography of Richard Wayne Penniman (for that you would need The Life and Times of Little Richard: The Authorised Biography by Charles White), more a biography of the track that launched his career. Indeed Kirby only actually talks to Richard at any length once on the phone – whilst visiting one of Richard’s relatives - and rather than gleaning any useful information from the notoriously awkward singer/preacher (delete as applicable depending on how Richard feels when he wakes up in the morning), he only manages to have his wallet emptied into the waiting purse of the closely hovering relative. The lack of Richard’s input is however no impediment to the narrative as Kirby makes his argument – and a cogently argued, perfectly reasonable, argument it is too – for ‘Tutti Frutti’ being the wellspring of rock ‘n’ roll, and if on occasion things get slightly academic in tone that would almost certainly be due to Kirby’s day job as Professor of English at Florida State University. Of course the same argument could reasonably be made for, amongst others, Fats Domino’s ‘The Fat Man’, Chuck Berry’s ‘Maybellene’ or Big Mama Thornton’s version of Leiber and Stollers ‘Hound Dog’ but that doesn’t make this any less of an entertaining read.
The Oracle

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The Haçienda: How Not to Run a Club
Peter Hook (Simon & Schuster)

A warts and all account is what was promised, and former New Order bassist Peter Hook has delivered - to the extent that by the time you have finished reading this compelling sortie into the heart of British clubland, you may wonder whether the subtitle should have been ‘For the Love of God, Never Try to Run a Club, It’s a Bleedin’ Nightmare’. Driven by the vision of New Order manager Rob Gretton and largely financed by the band, The Haçienda aimed to provide Manchester with a dynamic alternative to the drab uniformity of many clubs of the day. In this regard, and in its subsequent influence on a generation of nightclub developers, it was undoubtedly successful; alas, the same could not be said of the owners’ financial, emotional and physical well-being. The club began haemorrhaging money early on but, ironically, it was at The Haç’s greatest peak of popularity in the early ‘90s that the heavens really opened: caught betwixt warring gangs, it fell victim to an alarming sequence of violent incidents. Hook tells the tale with wit, style and an admirable lack of bitterness, whetting the appetite nicely for his projected follow-ups on Joy Division and New Order.
David Davies

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Strange Things Happen Stewart Copeland
(Friday Project/HarperCollins)

Former Police-men have an impressive track record when it comes to autobiographies – Sting’s Broken Music was thoughtful and engaging, whilst Andy Summers’ One Train Later was one of the best rock memoirs of the last ten years – so expectations are high for this effort from the other member of the classic pop-rock trio. A man of seemingly unending drive and determination, Stewart Copeland does not disappoint with this non-chronological assemblage of anecdotes collated from more than 40 years of music-making. Copeland’s latterday incarnation as a respected film and opera composer is the subject of several memorable episodes, but there is little doubt that many purchasers will be laying down their hard-earned poundage in expectation of some Police-related ‘dirt’. This duly arrives in the second half of the book when Copeland devotes many pages to the band’s recent reunion tour and his frequently jaw-dropping love/hate relationship with ‘Stingo’. Strange Things Happen has its drawbacks – there are too many passages about the rigours of live performance, and the polo section is decidedly long-winded – but Copeland writes with flair and energy, and on the whole this is another fine addition to the now-heaving Police bookshelf.
David Davies

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A Cultural Dictionary of Punk: 1974 - 1982
Nicholas Rombes (Continuum)

Right, first things first, if you are actually looking for a definitive dictionary of punk then this is probably not the book for you as whilst it leads you to believe it is indeed a dictionary – it is after all set out like a dictionary, beginning with the Adolescents and ending with the Zero’s - it only takes some random flipping to reveal Hermans Hermits filed under H, ‘Most Absurd Year In The History Of Rock ‘N’ Roll, The’ filed under M and Jim Jarmusch filed under J (not that we’re taking exception to the positioning you understand, just questioning the subject matter in relation to the stated title). So we’re not talking an encyclopaedically researched tome here - which, let’s be honest, would be bloody dull - what we have instead is a scattergun clatter through Rombes personal musings on punk in both the US and the UK, some of which are spot on, some miles wide of the mark but pretty much all immensely enjoyable reading and any dictionary which includes entries on X Ray Spex Germ Free Adolescents alongside Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow just has to be worth a read. And it is. And you should. Read it that is.
The Oracle

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The Blue Moment: Miles Davis’s Kind of Blue and the Remaking of Modern Music
Richard Williams (Faber)

What have The Who, minimalist composer Terry Riley and the catalogue of super-cool jazz label ECM got in common? Well, not a great deal, you might think, but Richard Williams believes that the broad musical landscape they all inhabit would not be the same without Miles Davis’ 1959 classic Kind of Blue. Fully aware that the creation of this landmark modal jazz recording has already been dissected at length in numerous books and essays, Williams – a distinguished Guardian music and sports writer who signed the likes of John Cale during his stint as an Island Records A&R man in the 1970s – focuses instead on the album’s contemplative legacy. It is Williams’ contention that as well as charting a new course for jazz away from its more exuberant heritage, Kind of Blue also struck a chord with arising methodologies in other areas of artistic endeavour, including painting, literature and contemporary classical music. Interspersing this compelling argument are well-chosen episodes and quotations which illustrate the full extent of Davis’ artistic vision. The kind of extended meditation that is encountered all too infrequently in music writing these days, The Blue Moment is bold, intelligent stuff from a master of the craft.
David Davies

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The Story Of Anvil
Steve Kudlow, Robb Reiner
(Bantam Press)

First things first, we come to praise Anvil not to rubbish them, their tenacity of spirit, their belief in the redemptive power of rock and if you have yet to see the film do yourself a favour and do so immediately. That said, whether you would actually want to spend any time in the company of Steve 'Lips' Kudlow and Robb Reiner or not would be entirely down to whether you enjoy the company of adolescent boys (albeit middle aged adolescent boys in this case) because the Anvil world is a very straightforward one where the majority of women are there for shagging (although to be fair Girlschool do get honourable ‘they rock’ style mentions), guitars are played with dildos (snigger) and other bands are there to be blown off the stage by our heroes. Indeed it is this delusional, if rather endearing, adolescent state of mind that makes both this book and the film so entertaining. And lest we forget without their uber-heavy 1982 album Metal On Metal Metallica, Anthrax and Slayer may have sounded very different indeed. You probably wouldn’t want them in your house, or even your local vicinity, but you can’t help but applaud their lunatic perseverance. Now available in paperback.
Ray Harper

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