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This is the statistical story of almost twenty years in the late twentieth century of solid gig-going; a life spent listening and interacting to live music, the story made human by anecdotes arising from the gigs. This epoch includes the most thrilling of musical times, the post-punk era of 1978 to mid 1980s – a period of energy, adventure, originality and innovation, coupled with a growing political/social awareness.

The protagonist, however, did so much more besides during these near twenty years, and brief snippets of other events in his life are inserted accordingly. 2011 finds him still happily pursuing this path through life!

“What my brother has done here is akin to the mass observation projects that allow us to understand life and culture for past generations. The trouble is I can’t think of anybody else with such a widely eclectic take on contemporary music so I hope future sociologists don’t base their understanding of the 1980s based on Ian’s observations. They’ll think The Fall were important!”  (Carl Lee).

ISBN: 9781780350141