THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN

Today’s post has been partly created with the use of AI.  I’m really sorry, as I did swear to you all some time ago that this blog would forever steer away from such monstrosities, but the response to a particular question did provide some helpful pointers.

‘Why are so many musicians writing their life stories?’ 

The answer was a bit long-winded, but at the heart of the matter is a wish/desire to ‘own the narrative’, particularly in an age where social media can lead to much muddying of some waters, and at its very worst have truths bent completely out of shape.  There’s also the fact that market forces are in play as these types of books are very much in vogue right now.  Sure, there always has been, and there will continue to be, a market for books by, or about, the sort of musicians whose records sell by the millions, but more recent times have seen less-heralded and hugely admired artists such as Viv Albertine, Miki Berenyi, Stuart Braithwaite,  Kim Gordon, Luke Haines, Kathleen Hanna, Stephen Morris, Will Sargeant, Paul Simpson and Tracey Thorn (to name but ten!) publish their memoirs – some across more than one volume – to great acclaim and more than decent sales figures.

Something that the best memoirs have in common, and to the above list I could have added many more, including some who would have no problem getting to plug their wares on prime-time chat shows on mainstream television, is them being written in ways which appeal beyond the narrow fan base.  It seems to me that the skills and talents required to entertain in the music industry can often transfer seamlessly into this longer-form of storytelling.

And to that above list of authors, I would have no hesitation in adding the name of Jon King, whose ‘To Hell With Poverty!’ was published in April 2025.  The synopsis is concise and spot-on:-

” ….(his) story from a South London slum and impoverished working-class background to international success as core musician, lyricist, writer, and producer in legendary post-punk/funk band Gang of Four. The reader is taken on an episodic and kaleidoscopic journey full of adventures from childhood to the end of Gang of Four’s ‘golden period’ in 1984.”

Some biographies, even the best of them, do take a bit of time to get going.  Not in this instance.  The opening words in the two-page introduction are ‘1979. Britain is fucked.’ Five concise paragraphs explain why this is this case, before we are given a reminder that it was also an era when all UK households were delivered a booklet called ‘Protect and Survive’, chock-full of handy tips about how to deal with the impending apocalypse.  Jon comes to the conclusion that ‘it’s the right time to write radical music’

It would have been really easy to then go straight to the why’s, how’s, where’s and when of such music, but instead we are taken on quite a lengthy journey, one which takes up half of the book’s 333 pages, kind of beginning in the year of his birth, 1955, but which reflects back to the circumstances of his grandparents and parents, and meanders through to the first time that his band, Gang Of Four, enter a recording studio in late 1978.

There will likely be some readers out there who will be frustrated that it took such a long time to reach the part where the story of the band begins to be told, but there is no doubt, in my mind at least, that the first half of the book is one of the keys to understanding just why Jon had come to the realisation that if he was going to be a musician, he would be doing so with anger and a desire to right the wrongs that was the inequitable society of the UK in the late 70s.

The other key?  The second half of the book begins with ‘I never wanted to be in a full-time band’, with Jon happier in his painting and drawing (at which he was incredibly talented), with no desire to be famous.  Unusually, for someone who was the main singer and lyricist, he was the one member of the gang who preferred to be unnoticed offstage while the others enjoyed and sought the attention. And yet, as he comes to realise, the reaction to the music, and in particular the live shows, is something which makes it worthwhile, and he comes, in his own words, to love rock’n’roll.

There is very little in the way of boasting or self-aggrandising within this memoir.  It is a warts-and-all tale.  It tells of how band members, who found themselves placed on idealistically lofty pedestals by fans and critics alike, largely as a result of their obvious left-wing leanings, were really no different from many others, experiencing the same problematical tensions and frustrations that culminate with in-fighting and loathing. In many ways, it is a real surprise that the ‘golden period’ actually lasted five years and delivered four albums, albeit history hasn’t been as kind to Hard, released in 1983, as it has been to Entertainment! (1979), Solid Gold (1980) and Songs Of The Free (1982).

The final few chapters make for a hideous end to proceedings, thanks to the band being ripped off by an unscrupulous manager, leading Jon to conclude, ‘We brought nothing into this world, it is certain we carry nothing out.’

And yet, despite being a book whose premise is very much a cautionary tale about life as a rock’n’roller, it is packed with anecdotes, and the occasional self-deprecating putdown, that will result in smiles, all thanks to the wonderful way that Jon has with words.  The book was, quite rightly, given all sorts of plaudits, and so it’s no real surprise that, one year on, a paperback edition is being published to which has been added another chapter which takes Jon’s story beyond 1984, and despite it reflecting on a number of sad and premature deaths, including band members Andy Gill and Dave Allen, it makes for a happier and more optimistic ending.

The paperback edition of To Hell With Poverty! is being published by Constable on 16 April 2026, and will be widely available.  Jon is helping to promote the book with some personal appearances, including Edinburgh on the evening of Friday 24 April.  The venue is the Voodoo Rooms, a popular music spot in the city centre, with Jon chatting to at the actor, poet, cartoonist, retired standup comedian, and huge music fan, Phil Jupitus.  Tickets can be found here.

Oh, and thanks to a friend of a friend, I’ve been put in touch with Jon and will soon be having an online chat with him about the book and a few other things, including his plans to make new music and possibly tour this year and beyond….so watch this space.  To say I’m excited about this upcoming chat is putting it mildly!

mp3: Gang Of Four – To Hell With Poverty!
mp3: Gang Of Four – We Live As We Dream, Alone

JC

The hardback edition of this book was published in August 2024, with the paperback following on a year or so later.  I finally got myself a copy via Santa Claus in December 2025.

The reviews have been unanimously favourable, with many focussing on the somewhat unusual way this particular rock autobiography somehow came together.  The author has been published extensively in the press and mainstream media, and as well as previously writing four books has been the rock and pop critic for The Times newspaper since 2010.  The subject matter is an infamously enigmatic musician who, over the decades, has fronted four of what can perfectly be described as cult indie bands in the shape of Felt, Denim, Go-Kart Mozart and Mozart Estate.

Much of the narrative emerges from long walks that Will Hodgkinson and Lawrence embark upon, mostly in and around Greater London, during which the musician occasionally opens up and reveals details of his life, from his working-class roots in Birmingham through to how he came to be living in a council flat in the east of London in his early-60s.  The voices of many others who have been in and out of Lawrence’s life add colour and context, and the end result is an engrossing, if not always fully enjoyable, read.

I was attracted to the book as I like a lot of the music Lawrence has made over the years, albeit a fair bit of his output has baffled and bemused me.  There are many out there who consider Lawrence to be a genuine genius, someone who should be lauded for the single-minded approach he has taken to his art, even if, on many occasions, it led to a number of acts of self-sabotage.  The author is one who does place Lawrence on such a pedestal, but nevertheless the book was very much a labour of love, given how difficult and unengaging the musician often proved to be.

The reason I couldn’t fully enjoy it was my thinking that Lawrence comes across, in my eyes at least, as a largely unlikeable person, a control-freak who makes things nigh-on impossible for those around him, whether in personal or professional capacities.  I have long held the view that those who inhabit the creative worlds are wired differently from those of us who live more humdrum and mundane lives, and there has to be a certain amount of leeway offered.  But Lawrence seems to be just far too uncompromising, with a selfish streak and a lack of empathy for anyone who doesn’t accept his take on things.  I have no idea how he has managed not to alienate every single person he has ever spoken to.

And yet……

…….the book was a page-turner, one that I was wholly immersed in, which says a lot about the writing skills of the author. The end result is probably as much a character study as it is a rock biography, and it’s the former aspect which makes the endeavour so worthwhile.  And while so many aspects of Lawrence’s behaviours and traits annoyed the hell out of me, the context which begins to emerge as the book moves into a more reflective than merely descriptive tone, did find me softening my take on things.

I remain of the view that I don’t think I’d like to spend any time in Lawrence’s company, knowing that if we did, we would fall out within a matter of minutes as I wouldn’t be able to sit quietly and not challenge something or other that he’s said.  I will, however, accept that he is a unique and genuinely gifted person who has led a  fascinating and very unconventional life, and that Will Hodgkinson has done us all a great favour in writing this book.

mp3: Felt – Ballad Of The Band

A single from 1986.  Issued by Creation Records (CRE 027).  Reached the giddy height of #12 in the Indie Charts.

JC