Luke Haines – författare

Forget Blur/Oasis and Cool Britannia. None of that actually happened. Bad Vibes is the true story of English Rock in the nineties. Written with wit, brio and no small amount of bile, Luke Haines recounts how it felt to ride a wave of self-congratulatory success in a world with no taste. As frontman of The Auteurs, Haines tells of supporting Suede, conquering France, and failing to break America. Of knuckle-headed musos , baffling tours and a swiftly unravelling personal life. And of what it's like to be on the cusp of massive success. Funny, honest and ridiculously entertaining, Luke Haines attacks anyone within rifle range, and is more than happy to turn the gun on himself. Bad Vibes is a brilliant memoir from a man who tells it how it was - and how he wishes it hadn't been.

'Dividing pop sheep from out-there GOATS with spite and guile, it's part SCUM manifesto, part insane hot or not list.' SUNDAY TIMESThe followers - this book is not for you.The salt of the earth - this book is not for you.The worthy - this book is not for you.The ideologists - this book is not for you.Hedonists and bohemians - this book is not for you.The middlebrow - this book is not for you.The highbrow - this book is not for you.Dilettantes - this book is not for you.1970s middle school RE teachers - this book is not for you.The England football team (women's and men's) - this book is not for you.The litanists - this book is not for you.Gatekeepers - this book is not for you.Gamekeepers - this book is not for you. (Not even for the poachers...)The curators - this book is not for you.The left, the right - this book is not for you.The list-makers - lists are for shoppers not rockers, and this book is not for you.This is not a list - this is a manifesto, and this book is for ... the Freaks.Musician and author Luke Haines embarks on an odyssey through the ages, exploring how the 'freaks' infiltrated modern culture - and almost won the rock 'n' roll wars - only to lose to the rise of Cool Britannia and TV 'talent' shows that turned the strange and the outsiders into fodder for laughter.In this ultimate celebration of freakdom, Haines tells the story of pivotal freaks - including Johnnie Ray, Gene Vincent, Hank Marvin, Syd Barrett, the Incredible String Band and Big Youth - through the prism of rock 'n' roll and explains how freaks infiltrated wider culture through history in the form of the Cathars, the Ranters, Hells Angels and the Yippies.Part memoir, part manifesto, Freaks Out! is a righteous alternate history of rock 'n' roll.