Turn Up The Strobe: The KLF, The JAMs, The Timelords – A History by Ian Shirley

I’ve written about media to do with The KLF a few times in the past, in the form of John Higgs book and the film Who Killed The KLF? - both of these look at the all encompassing mythology (for wont of a better word) that surrounds Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty this book however,...

Twin Peaks: The Secret History by Mark Frost

Over the years I’ve covered David Lynch and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks TV series and movie fairly extensively, but this is the first time I’ve read Frost’s book looking at the back story of the events of the series, The Secret History. Before embarking on this I was somewhat sceptical as I had heard that,...

There And Black Again by Don Letts with Mal Peachey

A few months ago I attended an evening with legendary filmmaker, DJ and musician Don Letts telling stories from his life and career ranging from sneaking into Bob Marley’s hotel room for an ‘audience’ to his more recent work as a presenter and DJ on BBC 6Music, all in the aid of promoting both the...

Don Letts: There And Black Again, Talk and Q and A – St James Cafe, Guernsey – 19/08/21

Letts at St James There are many people in the world of music of whom it’s been said there impact changed the landscape, from Sam Phillips at Sun Records in the 1950s to Stock Aitken & Waterman’s polished pop of the 1980s to Rick Rubin’s work with heavy metal bands and so on, but one...

Robert Duncan In San Francisco by Michael Rumaker

Last year, that being 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco put on a special deal on their books where, for around $80, you could order a box of various books published by them and related to their history, city and neighbourhood - the first of those books...

A Kind Of Magic: Making The Original Highlander by Jonathan Melville

A few months ago I posted a review of one of my long time favourite movies, Russel Mulcahy’s 1986 fantasy epic Highlander, and shortly after I discovered the existence of Jonathan Melville’s book, A Kind Of Magic: Making The Original Highlander, and couldn’t not read it as soon as possible. Charting the history of the...

A Coney Island Of The Mind by Lawrence Ferlinghetti

Earlier in the year, following the announcement of the death of City Lights Books founding father, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, I made a point of seeking out his seemingly most revered work, A Coney Island Of The Mind, and it was surprisingly hard to track down. Having done so though I’ve finally given it a proper read...

2023: A Trilogy by The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu

Following their self imposed exile from the creative arts The Justified Ancients Of Mu Mu (otherwise known as The JAMs, The KLF and The Timelords, amongst other things and also, of course, Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond) reemerged on the creative scene in 2017, 23 years after ‘burning a million quid’ not with a new...

Pride: The Inspiring True Story Behind The Hit Film by Tim Tate with LGSM

When it was released back in 2014, Matthew Warchus’s film Pride, was something a surprise for me as it managed to balance the kind of working class British story seen in The Full Monty with some genuine historical intrigue and, most notably, an enormous amounts of heart and depth. From my first watch it instantly...

Doomsday Clock by Geoff Johns, Gary Frank and Brad Anderson

Well that was a slog... I can’t think of any other way to start this review of Doomsday Clock, the DC Comics universe and Watchmen mash-up from Geoff Johns, Gary Frank and Brad Anderson (originally published between 2017 and 2019) than that as it has taken me several false starts and a worrying amount of...