- Paperback: 432 pages
- Publisher: Pimlico; New Ed edition (4 July 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0712667326
- ISBN-13: 978-0712667326
- Product Dimensions: 13 x 2.8 x 19.7 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 180,041 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
"In some quarters, I was regarded as a highly suspect, self-publicising egomaniac." There is little in Give the Anarchist a Cigarette--a self-aggrandising but hugely entertaining memoir--that would lead you to form any other opinion of Mick Farren. His unabashed egotism is present on every. Farren, who ran the door at the now legendary psychedelic club UFO and worked on the underground paper International Times--even successfully defending it against an obscenity charge--was a key figure in London's 60s and 70s counter-culture scene. In an era not known for restraint, he imbibed extraordinary quantities of drink and drugs and generally indulged in the kind of sexual gymnastics that now carry severe health warnings. Former lovers included Germaine Greer and Julie Burchill. His band, The Deviants, were, as he rather tirelessly points out, punk years before the Sex Pistols. They played Hyde Park, toured with the Pretty Things and a fledgling Led Zeppelin and cut a series of influential albums. As flower power gave way to the three-day week Farren concentrated on writing, working for the New Musical Express and penning a series of fantasy novels--the latter he informs us are now regarded by one critic as the "definite forerunners" of cyberpunk fiction. Assessments of his own contribution to contemporary culture may be inflated but Farren's candid, amusing and intelligent book offers a vivid and insightful portrait of rock & roll's finest decades.--Travis Elborough
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
"Seriously good." -- Julie Burchill, "Spectator"
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A hugely enjoyable memoir of the 60's and 70's. You get an idea of how colourful Mick Farren's early career (as a musician, journalist and agitator) was by looking at the his own entry in the index: ''at House of the Chinese Landlord, 3, 5-13... selling clockwork jumping dogs, 5... transvestite gunfighter period, 65... running door at UFO, 77-83... meets Jimmy Hendrix, 97-8... oral sex at Roundhouse, 100-1, 103... police work over, 134... Great Nitrous Oxide Heist, 320-2... Synaptic Manhunt, 354... affair with Julie Burchill, 368-70...' He tells some wonderful anecdotes, like the one about a gang of grunting bikers getting into a hippie club with the intention of beating up some 'freaks', but getting seduced by a crack team of peace-keeping flower-goddesses before they'd thrown a single punch. It's amazing how easy it seems to have been back then to put together a band, record an album, start a club, publish a newspaper, or organize a rock festival, on a whim. I've never read a better evocation of the era.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Covering the notorious journalist, musician, author and general loudmouth's London years, this book gives a not-so romantic perspective of the swingin' years of the UK capital. Always opiniated, always judging and luckily always being _there_, Farren tells of an uglier side of the hippie dream, and delivers with great bravour, sardonic wit and with a macho style that could be annoying - but is somehow balanced with a hint of young man's despair.
Farren's freak bands certainly were no Pink Floyd, actually you get another level underneath London's underground scene: a sub sub culture. Still, in regards of namedropping, London in the 60s was incestuos as far as who mingled with who (not to mention who played in what band), so they're all there, no worries. As the original freak scene dwindled, a new one took over. A fine anecdote is that of a sneering (when is he not?) John Lydon, measuring Farren's hippie flares and finding them too wide: A new freak scene taking over from the old. The cover image shows him as a rough'n tough doorman for the UFO club (if I remember correctly). And that sort of sums him up: a greasy biker type, living on the outskirts of the hippie dream. Always there, always observing - but not always taking part in the dream itself.
It's a fun read, and your image of the swingin' sixties might be altered forever. Recommended historical read.
Farren's freak bands certainly were no Pink Floyd, actually you get another level underneath London's underground scene: a sub sub culture. Still, in regards of namedropping, London in the 60s was incestuos as far as who mingled with who (not to mention who played in what band), so they're all there, no worries. As the original freak scene dwindled, a new one took over. A fine anecdote is that of a sneering (when is he not?) John Lydon, measuring Farren's hippie flares and finding them too wide: A new freak scene taking over from the old. The cover image shows him as a rough'n tough doorman for the UFO club (if I remember correctly). And that sort of sums him up: a greasy biker type, living on the outskirts of the hippie dream. Always there, always observing - but not always taking part in the dream itself.
It's a fun read, and your image of the swingin' sixties might be altered forever. Recommended historical read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A most enjoyable read. I am amazed that anyone could drink so much booze and swallow so much pills and smoke so much dope and cigarettes and manage to survive, let alone write a pretty funny, witty, sardonic and interesting book. Well done Mick. If you are still alive that is.
I detected quite a bit of insecurity between the lines, nicely captured. I was surprised that such a rebel was so afraid of going to jail. So thanks for sharing that also.
Recommended to anyone who wants to do research on the London underground scene during the halycon days of the Sixties or those nostalgic for those crazy days.
Well written, candid and very human.Mind Bomb
I detected quite a bit of insecurity between the lines, nicely captured. I was surprised that such a rebel was so afraid of going to jail. So thanks for sharing that also.
Recommended to anyone who wants to do research on the London underground scene during the halycon days of the Sixties or those nostalgic for those crazy days.
Well written, candid and very human.Mind Bomb
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Some good anecdotes some average
Farren was at the centre of swinging-London from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies, so there really should be more great stories - clearly some things escaped him. Read more
Published on 16 Sep 2007 by goldgreen
Hilarious Anecdotes
This book is nothing like I expected it to be. The hippy counter-culture subject matter of the book provides perfect material for a skilled raconteur such as Mick Farren. Read more
Published on 5 May 2004
Wreckless
Farren is at his best when recounting stories that are not directly about himself - like first seeing Dylan or Jimi Hendrix in concert, or attending the IT launch at the... Read more
Published on 9 Dec 2003
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