Men Of A Certain Age

Author:Kate Mossman

I’m sure most people on here associate Kate with her writing on The Word, although since its sad and premature demise she can be found in the pages of the New Statesman. This book compiles nineteen long form profiles of rock stars, mainly now falling into the elder statesman category, written for both magazines. As you’d anticipate, the writing is perceptive and intuitive as she delves into the personas of these archetypes while also exploring her personal obsession with music and musicians. She covers a diverse cast list including the likes of Jeff Beck, Sting, Ray Davies and Glen Campbell to pluck out just a handful of names, and the pieces are prefixed with newly written introductions setting the scene, and sometimes she even adds an insightful Afterword as well to sum up her thoughts and memories of the encounters. This is a really enjoyable look back at the best of her incisive writing, which is always tinged with wit and humour, making her observations on her chosen subjects essential reading.

Length of Read:Medium

Might appeal to people who enjoyed…

The Word of course! What better way to spend a few hours than delving into this fine collection of colourful and insightful portraits of rock royalty, and its format of individual pieces makes it ideal to dip in and out of as and when time permits.

One thing you’ve learned

A launch event is being held on 3 April for those in the vicinity of the capital – link to tickets (if still available) below.

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