Guardian Book of the Year
Rough Trade Book of the Year
Reader's Digest Editor's Choice
Steve Hanley's best-selling memoir is an extraordinary story of endurance in one of the most enigmatic, revered and belligerent bands in popular music history.
'This is a must for all music fans. It's also a source of insight into why, despite bust-ups, cigarettes flicked into eyes, and nightmarish recording sessions, anyone would dream of staying in a band years after the fun has stopped.' Reader's Digest (Music Book of the Year)
'Compellingly written, I wished it was three times as long - I would have gobbled it up just as happily.' - The Observer
'Hilarious, uncomfortable and sobering read.' - Vive Le Rock
'Less a rock band, more a perennially touring fiefdom, The Fall have been constructing brittle-but-brilliant music for almost four decades. Thanks to Steve Hanley - the man who played bass in The Fall for nineteen years - and co-writer Olivia Piekarski, we get to peep behind the band's battered Transit doors. The result is one of the best music books I've ever read.' Northern Soul (Book of the Year)
'You don't have to like The Fall to enjoy this book, you don't even really need to like MUSIC to enjoy this book! It's a gripping tale of forged and broken relationships, friendship and betrayal.' - Marc Riley
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
The Big Midweek is an honest, disturbing and at times hilarious look into the inner workings of a groundbreaking band. How ironic that the quietest member of The Fall, the silent, stoic, dependable beating heart and engine room of the band, was the first member to open up about one of the most influential and under-appreciated bands to ever come out of England. I loved working with Steve - he was my rock for all the years I played in The Fall, but I never knew what he was thinking. That's why this book is such a gift for me. --Brix Smith Start
All the reasons why you should never join a band but also why it's impossible not to. Bless them for going through it so the rest of us mere mortals can enjoy the greatness that is The Fall. --Jim Glennie
Steve's framed the book as a voyage of self-discovery, but it doesn't read as some forced feel-my-pain confessional or rock biog cliché. [The book] is calm, free of hysteria, and avoids self-conscious literary flourishes in favour of the kind of measured, effortless sounding tone that actually takes a lot of thought and effort to achieve. --Stewart Lee
About the Author:
Steve Hanley is a legendary bass player best known for his time with iconic Manchester band The Fall, a band he was recruited into at the age of nineteen. His distinctive and original sound has seen him acknowledged as one of Britain's foremost bassists.
Olivia Piekarski is a writer with a passion for contemporary fiction and music. She has worked abroad and in the UK as a teacher, an actor and in radio. She lives in Manchester.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherRoute Publishing
- Publication date2016
- ISBN 10 1901927652
- ISBN 13 9781901927658
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages448
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Rating