Our book circle have just been reading Alan Warner’s excellent The Deadman’s Pedal. Tonight, we’re off to the pub to discuss it over a pint or two of heavy.
It’s set in the 1970s and, as in other Warner novels, music plays quite an important role. The protagonist, Simon, makes friends with the wealthy, gauche, bohemian Alex from the posh house through their mutual enthusiasm for the Floyd, Hendrix etc.
Simon really fancies Alex’s very foxy sister, Varie, and In one scene he invites her home and she looks through his albums. (Nowadays she’d just look at his Spotify playlists): She find one she likes the look of but it is never named.
“The cover …was a photograph of robed figures worshipping at dawn, their silhouettes showing through the gaps in Stonehenge.” The centrefold has ” inner, psychedelic illustrations of sacred hearts, eyes in pyramids, bursting stars, Egyptian gods galore.”
“The first side is just awful” according to Simon.
Does this record actually exist? Or did Warner just invent the details?
Any ageing hippies among you who can help out with this?
Warner certainly knows his music, so I suspect it’s real. My two favourites of his – Morvern Callar and The Sopranos – are laced with music references. Deadman’s Pedal is 70s, so possibly Hawkwind? I’m no expert of them, though I know others here are.
As usual I can’t help you with your query 😉 but I love Warner; are you enjoying the book?
Just finished and both DuCool and I really enjoyed it. It had to be read by this evening and I’d left it rather late. Mercifully it was such a pleasure to read that I had no problem on finishing it on time.
Hawkwind sounds very likely. Just took a quick glance at Wiki and nothing seems to fit the bill.
Maybe one of our resident Hawkologists knows more? The inner sleeve sounds like something the Dead would have.
A foreigner wonders, what the hell is a ‘book circle’?
Do you all sit at a table and read from the same book? Or does one reader pass the book to the next one after every paragraph?
Knowing Scandinavians, you probably read it aloud and stamp your feet in unison.
None of your cheek, Ms Xberg! You Berliners are probably too busy partying all night to read any books!
Very simple. We choose a novel that all five of us would all like to read. About two months later we meet in a pub or restaurant and talk about it.
Different circles have different criteria about the books they choose. The only we have is that the book should be written in English and not translated.
Others I’ve heard about:
the writer must be dead
the novel has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize
the writer is a woman
the book should be morally uplifting and lead to the readers living a more virtuous life.
Don’t knock it! Mrs KFD never complains when I go off to my book circle. I am being cultural!
Rolling in at 2.00 a.m. drunk as a skunk is just part of the cultural experience!
Could it be Graham Bond; We Put a Magick on You?
Admittedly only one robed figure.
Would have posted the picture but still having problems posting pictures.
Graham Bond – Holy Magick
That’s a good shout, Hubert, but I don’t think it’s quite right.
The Alan Warner book says that the first side of the album is 28 minutes long, whereas side 1 of “holy magick” is only 23 minutes long.
And as far as I can see from googling, the inner sleeve doesn’t have ”inner, psychedelic illustrations of sacred hearts, eyes in pyramids, bursting stars, Egyptian gods galore.”
Can you get 28 minutes on one side of an LP? That seems a stretch, even for a K-Tel album.
It could be, Hubert.
The inner sleeve will be the clincher.
Interesting interview.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/19/alan-warner-booze-books-why-voting-scottish-independence?CMP=share_btn_fb
I’m beginning to suspect that Warner has invented an album that is a combination of various psychedelic elements.
Either that, or he’s going on memory and can’t remember the details. 99% of his readers probably wouldn’t even think about something like this.
Only a music pedant like me!
Warner is such a fan of Can that he’s written an entire book on “Tago Mago”.
I don’t know how to post a picture of the cover, but it’s part of the “33 1/3” series of books, wherein classic albums are analysed.
A serious Can man! Fascinating. It seems he quite like to get canned too.
I’m gutted that no one has identified that sleeve. I’ll have to write to Mr Warner and ask him personally.
One great thing about a book circle is that one gets suggestions of other books to read.
Behindlings by Nicola Barker has just jumped to the top of my Must Read list.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/sep/28/featuresreviews.guardianreview9