AvonVilla reviewed Head-On/Repossessed by Julian Cope
Essential reading for fans of music & and the arch-drude
5 stars
It turns out Julian Cope's writing skills are on a par with his musical abilities.
I was there on March 21st, 1982 at the Paddington Town Hall. Troy Tate's amp wasn't working and he threw his guitar at it and stormed off stage. Julian picked up his 12 string and finished the set without his star ring-in. When "Peggy Suicide" came out, it was a sort of emergence from the chrysalis, from pure pop to universal cosmic rock. I stayed with him then, too.
In this book you get the whole life story, including the episode where he steals his father's car even though he has no licence - "I'm driving and I can't even drive", as he sang in "No Hard Shoulder to Cry On". Look from the outside at his piano-surfing Top of the Pops performance on (redacted online video platform), then FEEL the same experience from …
It turns out Julian Cope's writing skills are on a par with his musical abilities.
I was there on March 21st, 1982 at the Paddington Town Hall. Troy Tate's amp wasn't working and he threw his guitar at it and stormed off stage. Julian picked up his 12 string and finished the set without his star ring-in. When "Peggy Suicide" came out, it was a sort of emergence from the chrysalis, from pure pop to universal cosmic rock. I stayed with him then, too.
In this book you get the whole life story, including the episode where he steals his father's car even though he has no licence - "I'm driving and I can't even drive", as he sang in "No Hard Shoulder to Cry On". Look from the outside at his piano-surfing Top of the Pops performance on (redacted online video platform), then FEEL the same experience from the LSD-soaked interior of Julian's consciousness. Understand his Detroit-inspired road to Damascus moment, when he travels via megalithic monuments to a realisation that rock and roll is the true calling. Word!