Rock Stars Stole My Life by Mark Ellen review – misty-eyed, touchingly nerdy memoir

From the mud and thunder of early festivals to Live Aid and Rihanna, music journalist Mark Ellen was usually in the right place at the right timeMark Ellen surveys the happy youngsters comfortably cavorting at Glastonbury, marvelling at Primal Scream beneath a harvest moon. “You bastards,” moans the music journalist and editor, recalling his nascent festival experiences in the early 1970s, of trench foot, scurvy and Van der Graaf Generator. “You don’t know how lucky you are.”Still, there’s a misty-eyed reverence for the past in Ellen’s entertaining memoir of five decades surrounded by music – which is to be expected. This, after all, is the man who launched Mojo magazine after realising there was a potential readership who liked music that was “magical and built to last”. For Ellen, the magic began with the discovery of the Beatles and the Kinks, Small Faces and Chicken Shack. Like a character from Jonathan Coe’s novel The Rotters’ Club, his comfortable 60s and 70s adolescence discussing the meaning of prog is ditched for a squat in Battersea, where he begins to pen florid gig reviews for Record Mirror and NME.  Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2015-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]

Other news stories related to: "Rock Stars Stole My Life by Mark Ellen review – misty-eyed, touchingly nerdy memoir"


Authors Newman and Coe urge readers to turn to high street after stock delays at 'Scrooge' Amazon

Authors Cathy Newman and Jonathan Coe have urged customers to take their business to the high street this Christmas season after suffering stock shortages of their titles on Amazon.co.uk. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-12-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Marlon James headlines Penguin General's Spring 2019 showcase

Marlon James, Bernardine Evaristo, Jonathan Coe and Nina Stibbe last night headlined Penguin General’s Spring 2019 showcase on the Strand. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2018-07-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Jonathan Coe honoured by France

Jonathan Coe has been awarded prestigious French honour Officier in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (The Order of Arts and Letters) from the French Ambassador, who named him "France’s favourite British writer". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-06-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


JK Rowling inspires surge to fund book on race and immigration in three days

A £5,000 donation and tweet from Harry Potter author JK Rowling have pushed The Good Immigrant to its funding targetA host of authors, including JK Rowling, David Nicholls, Jonathan Coe and Evie Wyld have powered a crowdfunded anthology of essays on race and immigration to its funding target in... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-12-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Haig, Coe and Duffy titles on World Book Night 2016 list

World Book Night 2016 has announced the 15 titles it will be giving away next April, including titles from authors Matt Haig, Jonathan Coe and Carol Ann Duffy. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Review: Number 11 by Jonathan Coe

Number 11 is comprised of five interconnecting stories that demonstrate a powerful imagination, a keen observational eye, and deep compassion. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Rock Stars Stole My Life by Mark Ellen review – misty-eyed, touchingly nerdy memoir

From the mud and thunder of early festivals to Live Aid and Rihanna, music journalist Mark Ellen was usually in the right place at the right timeMark Ellen surveys the happy youngsters comfortably cavorting at Glastonbury, marvelling at Primal Scream beneath a harvest moon. “You bastards,” moans... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-03-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this