Into Books: New Book Reviews
It’s been a wee while since we’ve brought you a book review article and having read these two belters we simply had to share our thoughts.
Author: Douglas MacIntyre
Book: Creeping Bent: A Leap Into The Void
Publisher: Last Night From Glasgow
Where to begin? Well, let’s start at the end. The head honcho of The Creeping Bent Organisation, Douglas MacIntyre announced that 2025 would be the last year of a record label that he started in 1994, with the thirty years in between heralding a number of significant releases, events and bringing acts known and unknown to a wider audience.
Two gigs were announced to celebrate and tie up the loose ends, in Glasgow and Edinburgh in December. I was fortunate enough to attend the Glasgow show at Mono where a number of acts and collaborators who have appeared on the label and worked with MacIntyre took centre stage. And what a gig it was! It felt you were no more than six feet from a musician, DJ, promoter, journalist, label owner or someone else involved in the music scene. All there to take part or pay homage to a record label that abandoned the norm, ripped up the rule book and ploughed their own path to critical acclaim.
The book intro taps into that perfectly, journalist Neil Cooper’s words setting the scene and providing crucial context on MacIntyre’s drive, highlighting the inspiration of the likes of Postcard and Fast Records, the minutiae of details such as typography, photography and where art should always win out over mere commerce and capitalist overtures. Indie, yes and with evident punk values.
Indeed, later on the author is clear on what matters to the label where new music from the likes of Vic Goddard and Davy Henderson deserved a platform which TCBO could provide. Rejecting input from major labels where MacIntyre had little or no interest, the label remained then and now an outlet for his own creative vision and impulses, no fucks considered or given. That takes bottle.
There are of course other Scottish record labels that have succeeded such as Chemikal Underground but the story of The Creeping Bent Organisation is one that any budding musician or record label enthusiast needs to know. Thirty years of twists, turns and surprises, where ordinary life comes into play, opportunity knocks and of course the occasional tough decision that has to be made, this book is a sensational read that captures it all and then some. From the mechanisms of an ever evolving record industry, vinyl to compact disc, numerous bands, artists and collaborators, John Peel sessions and playing the curated label night as part of the Meltdown Festival at London’s Royal Festival Hall, it’s all here.
It is also well written and if you’re like me, you’ll frequently stop to go off and listen to a band you don’t know, an act you’ve forgotten about or to reacquaint yourself with an old favourite from TCBO roster.
In many ways it is a shame TCBO has stopped but for me, the best thing is that it existed (and still does) and brought significant joy, worth and a plethora of music that continues to stand the test of time. I may have started this article at the end, but I’m going back in, at the start to listen to those bands all over again.
Check out The Creeping Bent Organisation here and to buy Creeping Bent: A Leap Into The Void book, check the link here.
Douglas MacIntyre will be interviewed by Stephen Pastel at Monorail, Glasgow on 03 April to talk about the book. There will also be live music from Bubbles (Davy Henderson’s new band) and The Port Sulphur Group – tickets are available here.
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Author: Don Snowden & Spike
Book: Picture This: A Public Image
Publisher: Jason Bick Publications
For many, year zero was 1976 when punk exploded. It’s often a discussion point when I talk music with pals and where we muse on getting in a time machine to take us back to that period where the musical landscape was shifting at a supersonic pace.
Of course, it won’t happen so the next best thing is to devour the tunes and read about it. This new book, Picture This: A Public Image explores the scene in Los Angeles between 1978-1980 and features a number of amazing photographs, many of which have never been seen before.
L.A. of course is steeped in music, from the Boulevards of Hollywood to Santa Monica, Sunset Strip, Laurel Canyon to Beverley Hills. Tales from the Tropicana Hotel, hanging out at Tower Records and infamous nights at the Whisky and the Roxy, this new book from Don Snowden and Errol Waltzer AKA Spike is a must have.
Of course, the first band featured after the introduction is my own personal favourite, The Cramps so perhaps I m a little biased, but no. What follows is page after page, photograph after photograph of bands hitting the L.A. scene such as The Clash, Blondie, John Cale, Patti Smith, Public Image, the Two Tone bands from the U.K. and much more.
You can also head along to an exhibition celebrating the book with a number of photographs on display at COAG in Camden (28 February – 11 March), New Century Hall in Manchester (23 March – 05 April) or Gallery 40 in Brighton (12 – 16 May).
For more on the book and the exhibitions, head to the Spike Watzer website here.
John Welsh
@welshjb
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