Exit Stage Left: The curious afterlife of pop stars

Product Information

The irony that any of the achievements of his subjects overshadows his own achievements is completely lost on him. Exit Stage Left is a funny and poignant book, drawing on Duerden’s considerable experience as a journalist and interviewer . He still enjoys playing the hits catalogue live, he’s sold hundreds of millions of records, and he’s proved his worth. There are some revealing testimonies within the book from Shaun Ryder, Rufus Wainwright, Lisa Maffia, Lloyd Cole and many others from pop, rock, dance and indie, making Nick Duerden’s book an enlightening, humorous and extremely entertaining read.

We know the stories of appearing on Top of the Pops, or the thousands of hours (and even more money) that goes into making an album. If you love reading about interesting people and music, and have eclectic music tastes, you’ll really enjoy this too. Some sustain themselves on the nostalgia circuit, others continue to beaver away in the studio, no longer Abbey Road, perhaps, so much as the garden shed. And if the more discerning, slightly cynical reader may at points be shouting: ‘Why don’t you just go and get a NORMAL job?

Elsewhere there are fascinating interviews with Lloyd Cole, Natalie Merchant, Roisin Murphy and Wendy James on the relative benefits of success and the words of Kevin Rowland, Musical Youth’s Dennis Seaton and Ed Tudor-Pole are touching and somewhat humbling. The book ranges across most British acts from punk to rock to pop and even a novelty act or two, most known, and few unknown, or unknown to American ears.

These include Wendy James, Robbie Williams, Bob Geldof, Shaun Ryder, Robbie Williams, Roisin Murphy, Stewart Copeland, Billy Bragg, Alex Kapranos, Joan Armatrading, Leo Sayer, Gary Lightbody, Lisa Maffia, Tim Booth, Bill Drummond, Rufus Wainwright, David Gray, Lloyd Cole and Justin Hawkins. Tragedy, genius, addiction and inspiration: Exit Stage Left is a comprehensive tour through all the ways life can go wrong post-fame (and the few ways it can go right). The pop star's bittersweet lot—the mass adoration that comes with pop stardom, followed by the bathetic comedown of what inevitably follows—is represented with flair and empathy.These are tales of heroin addiction, bankruptcy, depression, divorce - but also of optimism, a genuine love of the craft, humility and hope. I'm fascinated with the lifecycle of popular musicians - because after that first amazing album, what comes next? The book includes interviews with a genre-crossing range of artists whose stories, while wildly different from one another, all echo the fickle nature of the music industry.

The music industry is very similar in many ways to the world that was presented in the science fiction novel Logan's Run, which was about a future society where people lived in an eden until the age of 30, before having to die. Ebooks purchased here can be read on your usual Kindle, phone, tablet, other branded e-reader or any digital device. Certainly no shockers here but it scratched an itch I didn't know I had; wondering about the whereabouts of some of the artists that filled my youth. At the same time, more could of been made of this source material by not only describing the fates of various musicians, but also with some deeper thematic analysis and reflection.This is more than the vacuous "where are they now" shows and books, as interesting as many of them are. This entry was posted in Book Reviews and tagged bez, billybragg, booradleys, dennisseaton, exitstageleft, frankiegoestohollywood, lloydcole, musicalyouth, nataliemerchant, nickduerden, robbiewilliams, roisinmurphy, shaunryder, stereomcs, suzannevega, wendyjames. By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file.

Conversely, an artist whose name has long since disappeared from headlines might still be making music, perhaps even the best of their career, and amassing new fans away from the spotlight. I told my bandmates that I was quitting the band, packed a bag and bought a one-way plane ticket to Philadelphia. Their reactions to the 'Dying of the Light' run the gamut from drug overdose to domesticity, from moving on to making music for the pure pleasure of the craft. I came away from this book with even more admiration for the sheer bravery it takes to establish and maintain a musical career, because other than the . Addiction plays a major role in this book, and I think the biggest addiction is to acceptance from well everyone.If you come see us live – try to let go of hearing you particular favourite or disappointment will follow. The starts interviewed for the book range from Robbie Williams, who has a career that is still thriving, but as a member of Take That is more than qualified to talk about life in the pop bubble. The musicians covered vary widely across genre, success story, and decade: Dexy's Midnight Runners, Musical Youth, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Natalie Merchant, Robbie Williams, Joan Armatrading, Terence Trent D'arby, Tenpole Tudor, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, the Sugarcubes, Tears for Fears, Adam Ant, John McLean, Mission UK.