Bad Vibes [Kindle Edition]

It's pretty much the best-written book I've ever read by a musician. He has a superb deadpan style. You will call people and read bits over the phone --William Leith - Evening Standard

Witheringly funny...A rock memoir in the misanthropic vein of Lucky Jim
--Robert Sandall - The Sunday Times

'As acerbic and hilarious as you'd expect from a man who thought it completely reasonable to call a pop single "unsolved Child Murder". Haines clearly relishes - and shines in - his role as the Ancient Mariner at the Britpop party.'

`In this acidic counterweight to the story of the flag-waving pop elite documented in John Harris's Britpop romp THE LAST PARTY, Haines casts himself as the Britpop pariah, glaring through the window at the self-congratulatory oiks laughing inside ... There are enough punch-ups, bad drugs, mind games, self-sabotage, lunatic fans and bizarre self-surgery to make BAD VIBES occasionally read like NO ONE HERE GETS OUT ALIVE were it written about Philip Larkin rather than Jim Morrison ... This is an imperious and wincingly amusing memoir that's often so sharp it could take your eye out.'

`As acerbic and hilarious as you'd expect from a man who thought it completely reasonable to call a pop single "Unsolved Child Murder." Haines clearly relishes - and shines in - his role as the Ancient Mariner at the Britpop party.'

`Hilariously bilious ... Haines is wonderfully frank about his sometimes ridiculous behaviour ... and hilariously evokes The Auteurs' slow unravelling.'

A hilarious and vicious memoir of the Britpop era - from a man at the centre of it all

`Hilariously unchummy, pugnacious and elegantly embittered.'

`Alex James' A BIT OF A BLUR this is not ... That's all the better, though, as this relentless nihilism stretches hilariously, snidely, and more often than not bitterly, across 256 pages. There's Auteurs insights aplenty should you want it and a bloody good read besides if you don't. Light reading it ain't. Thrilling reading it most certainly is.'

`These recollections of a bitter former pop star could be mistaken for a great comic novel...Compelling...An entertaining read...Haines is as funny as he is grumpy...The formless unpredictable life of the minor rock musician, forever jetting about on unspecified "promotional" duties or being loaded on to a tour bus like cargo rather than talent, has rarely been captured so acutely...Bad Vibes, good book.'

`As acerbic and hilarious as you'd expect from a man who thought it completely reasonable to call a pop single "Unsolved Child Murder." Haines clearly relishes - and shines in - his role as the Ancient Mariner at the Britpop party.'

`Hilariously bilious...Haines is wonderfully frank about his sometimes ridiculous behaviour...and hilariously evokes The Auteurs' slow unravelling.'

Forget Blur/Oasis and Cool Britannia. None of that actually happened. Bad Vibes is the true story of English Rock in the nineties. Written with wit, brio and no small amount of bile, Luke Haines recounts how it felt to ride a wave of self-congratulatory success in a world with no taste. As frontman of The Auteurs, Haines tells of supporting Suede, conquering France, and failing to break America. Of knuckle-headed musos , baffling tours and a swiftly unravelling personal life. And of what it’s like to be on the cusp of massive success. Funny, honest and ridiculously entertaining, Luke Haines attacks anyone within rifle range, and is more than happy to turn the gun on himself. Bad Vibes is a brilliant memoir from a man who tells it how it was - and how he wishes it hadn't been.

Forget Blur/Oasis and Cool Britannia. None of that actually happened. Bad Vibes is the true story of English Rock in the nineties. Written with wit, brio and no small amount of bile, Luke Haines recounts how it felt to ride a wave of self-congratulatory success in a world with no taste.

As frontman of The Auteurs, Haines tells of supporting Suede, conquering France, and failing to break America. Of knuckle-headed musos , baffling tours and a swiftly unravelling personal life. And of what it's like to be on the cusp of massive success. And then watch it fade away.

Funny, honest and ridiculously entertaining, Luke Haines attacks anyone within rifle range, and is more than happy to turn the gun on himself. Bad Vibes is a brilliant memoir from a man who tells it how it was - and how he wishes it wasn't.

These recollections could be mistaken for a great comic novel. The formless unpredictable life of the minor rock musician has rarely been captured so acutely... Haines is as funny as he is grumpy - Independent on Sunday

Haines' prolific spleen, pasty English wit and peerless way with a smartly tailored insult was always going to make this memoir essential reading - Time Out

Beautifully acerbic and elegant. . . a viciously funny writer - Q Magazine

Luke Haines learned guitar in the red light district of Portsmouth and subsequently formally studied music at the London College of Music. His band The Auteurs missed out on the 1992 Mercury Music Prize by one vote - since then he has fronted other acts including Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder.