|
|
5.0 out of 5 stars
A heavy dose of literary rock and roll!!!, 21 Oct 2004
A Serious Life maps the eventful history of Manchester publishers Savoy, perhaps best known for their version of New Order's Blue Monday, publishing the works of Cradle of Filth artist John Coulthart and the banning and police seizure of David Britton's satire, Lord Horror. The bulk of the book comprises of interviews with Savoy mainstay's Kris Guido, John Coulthart and founders David Britton and Mike Butterworth. The New Worlds era where they worked with literary heavyweights like Michael Moorcock and J G Ballard are recounted with relish as is their more recent collaborations with P J Proby. The books range is vast, one minute raving about The Cramps, the next pondering on the genius of James Joyce. Otherwise unconnected outsider artists, performers and writers from around globe form a dense web with Savoy at the epicentre providing an intelligent and artistic link. They've published Moorcock, T S Elliot, Jack Trevor Story, Harlan Ellison, David Lindsay, Ken Reid and many more groundbreaking writers. Savoy bring genuine rock'n'roll spirit and anarchy to the literary world like no other publisher and anyone interested in Manchester's alternative culture should not stop at Magazine, The Fall, Joy Division or The Stone Roses until they've checked out Savoy. Furthermore, anyone interested in the literary underworld should start with this book as its full of pointers for future reading. As well as being caringly bound and produced, the book itself is full of photos and illustrations and a wonderful introduction by the author D. M. Mitchell. It's bound to become collectable too so click on "Add to shopping basket" now!!
|
