Review: Adventure Everywhere – Pablo Picasso’s Paris Nightlife – by Dave Haslam

I like the art of Picasso, I like the city of Paris, and I like the books of Dave Haslam.

I was therefore pleased to hear of the release of this book which studies the life and art of famous Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso, in particular his séjour in the vibrant cultural capital of France, Paris, during the Belle Époque, where the artist was free to explore exciting new art styles such as ‘Cubism’ and could revolutionize the world of art in a society of changing cultural values. There was a shift in the world of Art and modern artists no longer sat cosy in the courts of Kings such as Velásquez who came before Picasso as a heavyweight in Spanish Art. The new artist got down with the people and Picasso likes it rough and ready, his work in Paris focussed on the seedy side of life in Pigalles – the SoHo of Paris , with paintings of prostitutes, hedonistic bars and the paintings helped to pay off his lengthy tabs in the quintessential Montmartre cafés. The rapid growth of Parisian café culture helped in the empowerment of women with traditional waiters giving way to the mass employment of waitresses due to the sheer volume of employment available. Often women in cafés were featured in Picasso’s art, sometimes often quite controversially considering the rather chauvinistic attitudes of the age. It is noted that Picasso was conforming as an artist to the concepts of Baudelaire’s theory a of a new style of art.

I know the Montmartre and Pigalles area well, in particular the nightclubs and I believe that the Sacré-Coeur is the most beautiful of all of Paris’ great tourist attractions. I could relate to the geography and Haslam is interesting in the manner in which he develops the local detail as he traces a lot of the sites from the Picasso era through to the present day documenting the change of building use, often central cultural locations disappointingly becoming modern supermarkets. You can tell from Picasso’s art that he’s likely to be quite an interesting bloke and I think perhaps based on what I have read it seems his art is actually quite conservative compared with his total hedonistic lifestyle. I’m surprised he managed to do any painting at all considering his rather tumultuous and very active love life. It seems old Pablo had quite a habit of keeping several women on the go at once, preparing his next relationship well in advance and sometimes event with the women involved openly knowing of their competition. He had a casual and regular opium-smoking habit and liked the odd Absinthe but claimed that toxins didn’t inspire his art at all. Possible to agree or disagree with this statement. The Cirque Medrano seemed a very interesting place and Picasso was a patron. Also, the Ballets Russes emerged during this period, bringing great characters such as Nijinsky to the area. Indeed Paris, during the Belle Époque gathered together many famous faces from across global cultural industries and Picasso was a central figure that bound many of these luminaries together.

The whole Belle Époque period was drawn to a close with the onset of World War I, although the Montmartre area in Paris continues to this day to be a central hub for art and culture folk.I enjoyed hearing about his friendship with Apollinaire. The book is quite brief but is very eloquently written, by an author who is obviously no stranger to nightlife, being a former Haçienda resident DJ in Manchester This gives this book a nice little entertainer’s inside touch. I really appreciated learning more about a famous artist that I already liked and I intend to consult the references to find a more detailed biographic account of Pablo Picasso’s life. I think it would also be worth investing in some of the other available titles in the Configo Publishing Art Decades series.

Review: Life After Dark – A History of British Nightclubs & Music Venues – by Dave Haslam

I got excited when this book arrived on my doorstep. At first glance it has all the key ingredients for a great book. Hacienda DJ author, history of British nightclubs – I expected lots of gory detail and exciting anecdotes and couldn’t wait to get to the acid house chapters….
The history begins back in Victorian dancefloors. From the outset a consistent theme throughout our nightclub adventure is controversy, rebellion and culture. Working class escapism as highlighted by co-founder of communism, Fredrich Engels as he discussed working class conditions in Manchester, illustrating the inebriated masses keen to escape the drudgery of factory work. Moving through, each chapter tends to focus on a specific era. We go through Jazz, rock and roll, Mods and rockers, Punk and disco and through to the modern age electronica plus Britpop and present day trends. The book often focuses on particular niche venues across various cities in the UK, both small and large, venues which influenced the whole culture. It’s so surprising considering the incredible popularity of such bands as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and The Animals, to discover how they really became grounded and formed the elements of their success in small club residencies: The Cavern in Liverpool for the Beatles, The Crawdaddy in London for the Rolling Stones and the Club a Go Go in Newcastle for The Animals. Later so many dance DJs carved their names in residencies such as at the Hacienda in Manchester and also self-promoted London nights such as Spectrum, Shoom and Trip at the Astoria. As a DJ I found it particularly interesting seeing the evolution of my art. How early than I had imagined venues were turning away from live acts and creating spaces for vinyl spinners or jukeboxes where the latest music from all over the world could entertain the crowd in its original studio glory rather than lame band covers playing the same old stuff. Often the first and most successful DJs to contribute to dancefloor culture were the ones with the most eclectic well-resourced vinyl collections. The resistance from formal old school music industry to record-spinners was there from the outset. On a local tip for me, John Sicolo, famed owner of TJS in Newport, one of John Peel’s most favourite live venues, gets a mention in the introduction and although Miss Moneypennys @ Bonds and elsewhere and Chuff Chuff in Birmingham escapes much attention, I did, in particular love the focus on Bristol with detailed analysis of the formation of Wild Bunch, leading to the musical movement that is Massive Attack. I think the Korean restaurant whose basement was the spiritual home of Daddy G’s crew was once a Thai restaurant on Park Row where I’d treat all my Shuffle resident DJs to meals before our weekend gigs. Throughout the book special attention is paid to the gay scene and how it has influenced UK culture. From clandestine beginnings we see a more accepted mainstream less-discriminatory inclusion in the modern day entertainment environment. There are some darker tales and the history of Gary Glitter at the Cavern and Jimmy Saville’s live DJing are historic details I’d rather not know tbh but truth is out there…. The whole acid house coverage is where DJ author, Dave Haslam comes into his own. The whole book is written with intellectual flair and creative passion but from the evolution of Hacienda to coverage of Sasha at Shelleys and rise of Ministry of Sound Garage, Summer of Love Ibiza London acid house founders, the story bubbles and Haslam lets loose with a soul of a professional dance music aficionado. As someone who grew up in nightclubs and has spent a lifetime dodging around venues in the UK as a DJ, promoter etc it was great reading about many people who influenced my life so much and also people I’ver been privileged enough to work alongside. Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Nicky Holloway, Norman Jay, Judge Jules to name a few. Most of the London and Birmingham clubs that I did play in have since closed their doors and one consistent fact I notice in the book is that venues often have a short shelf life. Often many are a lot smaller and these are the most influential in the various eras. There are a few survivors but so many are now tescos or blocks of flats or shopping centres. It’s noticeable how marginal the lines are when it comes to finance and how fashion dictates and authorities discord with entertainment sector has harsh political consequences. The book is quite substantial and detailed with so many new facts for me and amazing anecdotes I shall be relaying to all who might listen to me. However, I need more. at 400 pages it’s not enough. There’s too many characters left in silence too many more venues I need the facts on. I want to keep Mister Haslam’s pen busy and will be applying to Routledge for him to be approached to compile a definitive Encyclopedia of British nightlife and I’m sure Haslam could maybe expand his horizons beyond the confines of this tiny island and deliver a history of global nightlife. I want to know how many guitars Jimi Hendrix has put through the ceiling in Antarctica and for every nook and cranny from darkest Africa, Chinese villages, Amazonian jungle hideouts, Saharan oases to Detroit back alleys, New York boutiques and Chicago storage facilities I need to know what bands are on, what the DJs are spinning, dress code, bouncer quality and profit and loss situation. Plenty more to crack on with, Dave. Get busy. Like any vinyl collection there’s always room for more… Anyone from the humblest cloak room assistant to the most pretentious superstar DJ should get onto this book and analyse and enjoy the great achievement of its original creation.

Review: Happy Mondays – Excess All Areas – by Simon Spence

This is the third Simon Spence book that I have read. He is a very talented music journalist from Manchester with a taste for documenting, wild, stylish cultural movements that have emerged from the Madchester craziness. Excess All Areas covers perhaps the most successful and innovative band to have ridden the early acid house craze that swept the nation in the mate 1980s. With the charismatic Shaun Ryder heading up the band, a true hedonist, a notorious substance abuser, it was always difficult for the true Happy Mondays to translate through the myriad web of journalists who tried to document them. Ryder, much to the annoyance of most of the musical backdrop of the band, Paul Ryder (Bass), Gary Whelan (Drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), Mark Day (Guitar), Mark ‘Bez’ Berry (dancer), got into a habit of blagging the press and feeding them over the top exaggerations of the band’s history and exploits. In hindsight, this was pure marketing genius and led to much of the mystery and notoriety that paved the way for success. However, it sifting all the bullshit, has made the writing of this book that much more difficult for Simon Spence. The early days of a relatively privileged middle class upbringing contrasts with the bunch of Manchester council estate ‘scallies’ they tried to portray themselves as. Sure there was petty crime and shopflifting etc. but nothing serious, although perhaps the addition of Bez to the group was actually verging on real true life crime as he obviously was up to the neck in it as a youngster and quite obviously expanded his mini empire quite a lot under the guise of being part of the band…. Manchester Giants, Factory Records and Tony Wilson picked up the band and signed them which paved their way to success following the ilk of luminaries Joy Division and New Order and allowing them direct access to one of the UK’s most influential music venues, the Haçienda. It all happened at just the right time for this band, as the cultural rebellion against failed Thatcherism took hold of the UK’s disillusioned youth masses and expressed itself in the ‘Acid House’ movement. Ecstasy-fuelled, fashion shifts, mass movement and gathering of people in raves, parties and festivals, vast increase in polydrug clubbing and mainstream ending of anti-drug taboos. A lot of this movement was driven by DJs and the Mondays’ uniqueness was that they became one of the first genuine rock/dance crossover groups, who embraced the lifestyle and tried their best to incorporate the new music technology into traditional guitar-based rock. They were definitely pioneers in this sense and for me their link up with Spectrum’s Paul Oakenfold and his studio partner Steve Osbourne, was absolutely critical. Early days there was a struggle for financial success and Factory mismanagement of funds and artistic decadence led to much poverty. Heavy use of narcotics: cocaine, crack, heroin and ecstasy, was where a lot of the cash ended up. Bez and Shaun often boasted of being ecstasy dealers and there presence in the Hacienda’s E corner was much felt. The struggles of professional music led to relationship breakdowns and the loneliness of single life manifested in some serious drug addictions, mainly Shaun’s heroin addiction. This was all brutal and eyeopening to read. You always felt a little sorry for the band and as you read want to really have been giving them all a big cuddle, but maybe that’s just the ‘E’ talking…. Success eventually came with four critically acclaimed studio albums. They threatened a US breakthrough but never managed to follow the likes of Depeche Mode in emulating this, often short, late bands sets and excessive tour partying contributed to this failure. However, in the UK they were a huge band and record sales were good. The music press looked after them very well. Melody Maker, NME et al supporting most of the early stuff and shooting them on many front covers. At one stage, after Princess Diana, Shaun Ryder was the second most publicised celebrity in the UK. The legendary Barbados crack cocaine binge / studio session is covered although I wanted to hear a more complete tale of the actual detailed goings on of this debacle. Ultimately the band fell apart due to the multitudinous variety of industry pressures. However, the positive note is that they continued to rock on and as I write this my tickets have just arrived for their Nov 29th gig on their latest Greatest hits tour, where they will be doing an event at my Student Union at Cardiff University. Can’t wait for that, nor to get to grips with Simon Spence’s next offering.

Review: Altered State – The Story of Ecstasy Culture and Acid House – by Matthew Collin

I’ve already read a Matthew Collin book – This is Serbia Calling – so I was chuffed when I stumbled upon this work, a history of UK dance music culture. As a DJ and Promoter for 24 years I’m quite aware of a lot of the history of dance music in the UK. This book, however, filled in many of the gaps, and was a thoroughly entertaining and enlightening read. The well known story of how acid house culture came to the UK via Ibiza’s Summer of Love where Nicky Holloway, Danny Rampling, Paul Oakenfold and Trevor Fung experienced the delight’s of Alfredo weaving magic on the White Isle and brought back their ideas to the London clubscene, is a familiar tale, often recited religiously in club culture publications like Mixmag. The author gives a comprehensive account of the beginnings and it was great to hear the true story and what bliss these guys must have experienced. Shoom, Spectrum and the Milk Bar launched successfully and the early adopters were soon welcoming new ‘Acid Teds’ and a hippy revival based on lush house electronica began to hit the mainstream. The book looks at London and Manchester in detail as well as exploring some of the less likelier destinations of UK club culture like Blackburn and later the countryside free party and rave movement. The study of the fracture of dance music into its various sub-genres and the movement of people that followed each branch provides much analysis and we see Warehouse parties, techno anarchists, drum and bass division and later the emergence of new genres like speed garage, grime and dubstep. The book focuses a lot on the role of narcotics in this new ascendant youth culture. The critical importance of ecstasy (MDMA) to the whole movement which eventually led to a massive increase and normalisation of drug culture across the country, with polydrug use becoming popular and clubbers and ravers exploring acid (LSD), cocaine, heroin, ketamine, amphetamines and the various different types of cannabis. It’s amazing how much anti dance music propaganda was spread by the media. Governments were scared and there was a great deal of legislation set up to counter the whole movement. Enlightened masses were a danger to the establishment and the whole culture was seen as an alternative political situation. The long-running battles between promoters, DJs and the UK Police was interesting and it was noted by Police fighting the organisers of parties that these people ran their operations like military units and were very effective at getting their events into successful fruition. I don’t think I’ve read a better and more comprehensive book on the history of dance music in the UK, and whereas the initial boom period may now be over, dance music is certainly in the mainstream day to day lives of the UK to this day and will be for a long time into the future. I think that it is important and inspiring to learn about the history of the greatest mass cultural movement, in my opinion, that emerged in the twentieth century.

Review: Still Breathing: The True Adventures of the Donnelly Brothers – by Anthony and Christopher Donnelly (and Simon Spence)

Chris and Anthony Donnelly are two likely lads from Wythenshawe, Manchester. Growing up to a backdrop of crime, allegedly part of the the notorious Quality Street Gang, these entrepreneurs became leading figures in the birth of Manchester’s Acid House scene, initiating illegal raves and forging bonds and networks across music from the Hacienda to the launch of their own short-lived crime-ridden Parliament Club, at the peak of The Gunchester headlines when Guns and gangs took hold in Manchester. After heading out of music they entered the world of fashion, launching Gio-Goi. Using a mixture of guerrilla marketing, incorporating their music friends and street buddies, they became a necessity of fashionistas. The brand ultimately became corporate turning over £40 million a year at its height. This tale, interview-style, arranged by Stone Roses biographer, Simon Spence, is a true journey of life’s ups and downs, for a most colourful family. From drug busts, media headlines and jail sentences to filming videos with Pete Doherty and Deadmau5. I especially enjoyed the reminiscences of Old Skool Hacienda DJs, Mike Pickering, Jon Dasilva and Graeme Park. This book has it all. I’m sure that no party is complete without the Donnelly brothers influencing it in some way.

Review: The Stone Roses – War And Peace – by Simon Spence

The Stone Roses are undoubtedly one of the most important bands to have emerged during my lifetime. Their early defining sound paved the way for the explosion of the ‘Madchester Sound’ and the book’s introduction about the seminal 1989 Spike Island gig was grippingly enthralling. We explore the roots of the band and each character tows together to form the inseparable four piece that went on to illuminate British pop and rock. Ian Brown, backed with the guitar of John Squire, Mani’s Bass and relentless Reni on drums form The Stone Roses and this magical tale weaves together their roots and their emergence and dominance of the UK Indie scene. Their exuberant manager Gareth Evans with his excesses reveals some of the excesses of the music industry that ultimately ripped The Stone Roses apart. Bad business with the record label due to mal-considered contracts led to the huge delay on the recording of The Second Coming, the band’s follow up to their 1989 debut masterpiece. The frustration of the recording of this album and inherent personal problems, including drug abuse, led to the breakup of the band. Irrevocable differences kept them apart for over 15 years and although they all succeeded in their own way in private projects it wasn’t until 2011 that the band reformed and it is a happy ending to the book to read about their golden legacy tour across the world, yet again an indestructible four-piece force of the Live Music World. A cracking read and a must for any fan. I was lucky enough to catch them at Finsbury Park in London on their comeback tour and it was a highlight for me musically, a true spectacle.

Review: Touching from a Distance – Ian Curtis and Joy Division – by Deborah Curtis

I am a massive fan of Joy Division and feel that the band’s greatness has always been tainted by lead singer, Ian Curtis’ early death. He was a modern day British Jim Morrison, a trapped poet, muse to millions. This book, a heartfelt examination of the real man by his loving wife, serves as a poignant celebration of Ian Curtis. The biography is intimate in its detail and we are not just scratching the surface here but getting a true glimpse of what made this dark poet tick. His early fascination with a young death and suicide provide a recurring theme. From poverty through to a point where huge success was imminent and all their material worries would be over, Ian Curtis killed himself at the cusp of true legend status for his band. He has a mixed relationship with his wife, ultimately forcing her to endure a rock n roll affair through his Belgian mistress. He was truly torn and love ultimately did tear him apart. I found the struggle with epilepsy to be the underlying factor that drove Ian Curtis to death. It must have been horrific to live with such a chronic condition and yet he still rarely missed a live performance and maybe the forthcoming trip to America was just one jettison too far? This book is thoroughly readable, a true page-turner. I feel, having read it, closer to Ian Curtis and indeed one of my most favourite bands.