'An exhaustive chronicle of the labels that drove independent music for 30 years, Richard King's prodigiously researched book includes everything one could wish to know about the mayhem, rebellion and anti-corporate idealism of indie culture. While there are colourful anecdotes about artists of variable talent the Smiths, New Order, Sonic Youth, the Jazz Defektors it's the eccentrics, misfits and sociopaths operating behind the scenes who take centre stage... It certainly shatters the 'us versus them' illusion of the indie scene as one big happy family, as grievances fester, drug-assisted mistakes pile up and disillusionment takes its toll. ... Both an inspiration and a cautionary tale.' -- Kathy Sweeney, Observer
'How Soon Is Now? traces a confident line from indie's first stirrings in the mid-'70s though to Arctic Monkeys' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, the subculture's last million-seller under the original analogue rules in 2005. Author Richard King is a insider; he's worked at Domino Records for 15 years ... this lends his fluent and intuitively organised chronicle a cool authority, and places us right there in the shopfloor.' --Andrew Collins, Word magazine
'Most people with even a vague interest in leftfield modern music will be familiar with the careers of The Smiths, New Order and Sonic Youth. But Richard King's exhaustively researched labour of love, How Soon is Now?, offers a history that runs parallel to the works of these totemic acts, ushering forward the dreamers and chancers who took advantage of the fissures opened up by punk to create a new paradigm for the production and distribution of music. Their story is long overdue ... this is a funny, lively and inspiring history.' -- Phil Harrison, Time Out
'Less of an overview of the era than a meticulously researched encyclopaedia of the assorted businesses, both famous and forgotten, that helped to create independent music. ... King successfully captures the chaos that underpinned the independent sector.... How Soon is Now? is as much about the financial mis-management, rampant egos and petty rivalry that was the independent experiment as its many triumphs. ... Any young entrepreneur looking to get a foothold in the music business would be wise to consult this book before taking the plunge.' --Fiona Sturges, Independent
'This remarkable and hugely enjoyable history of the British independent music scene over the past 30 years reveals a much more diverse, influential and successful picture... Richard King does an amazing job of portraying the ramshackle yet exhilarating vibe of the times. The label staff and bosses were just as into the excesses of rock n roll as the bands, and the amount of drugs consumed within these pages is mind-boggling, something else which probably didn t help those precarious balance sheets. King has extracted interviews from all the major players and orchestrated a shambolic and chaotic world into a coherent and compelling historical narrative. If only all music books were this good.' --Doug Johnstone, Scotsman
'King, co-editor of the music journal Loops, gets illuminating interviews from many of the main players, from Travis to McGee to the Smiths Johnny Marr. His tone is balanced, his prose penetrating, his coverage comprehensive.' -- Ed Potton, The Times
'King, a senior staffer at Domino Records, has pieced together a forensic, lurid history that speeds along like a 1980s Alan McGee with a banknote up his nose.' --Doug Johnstone, Scotsman
'King's history of the British independent music business is beautifully researched, and unafraid to display a deep love of its subject on every page. Backroom labels such as Factory, 4AD and Rough Trade explode into global businesses as their signings - the Cocteau Twins, New Order and the Smiths - become troubled, troublesome and unwitting stars. Exhaustive and reflective, this is the definitive work on one of Briain's great artistic booms.' --Rob Fitzpatrick, Sunday Times, 'Pop Book of the Year'
'This remarkable and hugely enjoyable history of the British independent music scene over the past 30 years reveals a much more diverse, influential and successful picture... Richard King does an amazing job of portraying the ramshackle yet exhilarating vibe of the times. The label staff and bosses were just as into the excesses of rock n roll as the bands, and the amount of drugs consumed within these pages is mind-boggling, something else which probably didn t help those precarious balance sheets. King has extracted interviews from all the major players and orchestrated a shambolic and chaotic world into a coherent and compelling historical narrative. If only all music books were this good.' --Doug Johnstone, Scotsman
