Author:Nick Banks
Subtitled From Punk to Pulp, this is the autobiography, written during Lockdown, of the band’s drummer going all the way from his early family life in Rotherham through to hitting the big time (after a very long wait) with Pulp. It’s always enjoyable to read something about the area you grew up in. as there are so many familiar places name checked, be they schools, pubs, clubs or even local record shops. Indeed, the whole feel of the early parts of this book evokes so many great memories of times and people and places, so many of them now long gone. I found the first half of the book the most interesting, growing up in South Yorkshire, playing in a few local bands before eventually joining Pulp – tales of their early struggles and a long, long period in the wilderness make particularly good reading, and are by far the best part of the book. I was less enamoured of the latter sections where, once the band finally broke through in a big way, it’s a treadmill of record an album, tour, record another album, tour, split up, reform etc, you get the picture. There are though some captivating stories of coming up with now famous (and not so famous) songs, and it’s interesting to read of their creative process as a whole. As well as some nice photographs, the book also includes a QR code enabling the reader to access a Spotify playlist of music significant to the author. Overall, this for me is a book of two distinct halves, but if you’re a fan of the band it will be essential reading, and even those, like me, with just a casual interest will still find plenty to keep them engaged – and he does seem like a nice down to earth bloke who hasn’t let success and its attendant financial rewards go to his head. Even better, there’s a series of ‘in conversation’ dates around the country, starting on Monday.
Length of Read:Long
Might appeal to people who enjoyed…
Pulp, the Britpop era.
One thing you’ve learned
I never realised that he’s the nephew of legendary England goalie Gordon Banks.
I recently got round to watching my Pulp: A Film About Life, Death And Supermarkets DVD, which still had the Fopp wrapper on, and he came across as a throughly decent chap who just happens to play drums in a popular group. Candida speaks, well, candidly about the rhumatoid arthritis she contracted at the age of 16. I’d always wondered why her keyboards stands were wonky, and now I know.
I might read this if I see it cheap.