Overview

It's 1981, and the nation is going Eurovision-crazy. A young band, Things Fall Apart, are the British hopefuls with their catchy hit, 'Let's Be Famous'. Despite an energetic performance involving spangly silver jumpsuits, Europe is unimpressed. Null points to the UK. But the band don't let go of their dream, and they persevere to become one of the most famous boy-girl pop acts of the eighties. And during their glory days they sample the cultural highlights of the decade: gunk-tanks, puff-ball skirts, shoulder pads, slightly sinister furry hand-puppets...Living and working together 24-7, it's little wonder that love soon blossoms in the band, and little wonder that the cracks eventually begin to show. From their innocent early days to their ugly last fight in the Blue Peter Garden, this is the story of a pop group - warts and all. From love and loss to bangles and boob-tubes, All the Rage is required reading for anyone who still remembers the decade that taste forgot.

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9780749005368

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Reviews

'This is the sort of smart, moving novel that good young British authors don't seem to be writing any more... If the Booker Prize meant anything, this one might win it.' The Times 'Modern Love is the product of one of the smartest and darkest imaginations in contemporary fiction.' Literary Review 'Magrs has captured society's fears and turned them into a page turning classic' Time Out 'A perfect entry-point into the idiosyncratic world of this about-to-be-big young writer... few writers could match it' Harpers & Queen 'an incredible psychological drama' TLS

Two decades ago the world was different. Being famous, we thought, could last more than 15 minutes. What went up did not necessarily have to come crashing down and the show was never, ever going to stop. With this novel Paul Magrs brings the focus directly on the time when greed was good, hair was big and shoulder pads were even bigger. Using a two-boy, two-girl band called Things Fall Apart as his centrepiece he stages a dissection of everything that was good (and bad) about the go-go '80s. The story's told in parallel, a present-day plotline describing the band's attempts to get back together contrasting with flashbacks that capture all of the hope and innocence of the '80s music scene. Magrs asks questions about loyalty, the ability of fame to corrupt, the degree to which the naive are culpable, sex, equality and relationships. As songwriter Debbie tows the deeply fascinated and very gay Tim first into her bed and then into her world of artistic temperaments, showbiz sensibilities and fragile egos, things begin - very slowly - to fall apart, exposing the human frailties ultimately to be found at the heart of every story. As the narrative unfolds, seamlessly interweaving past and present, the individual personalities are seen not just as people in their own right but also as the ultimate products of their time, the ambassadors of their decade. A lesser writer would be tempted to provide his own answers to the questions posed by the novel. Fortunately Magrs skirts the trap, presenting his characters, their dialogues and their setting in such a way that readers can make their own judgements. The result is a bittersweet novel, a faithful chart of what it means to be young, a perceptive insight into the price exacted by fame and an accurate look at what it meant to be in the vanguard of the pop phenomenon which has so changed the music world today. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Paul Magrs is a lecturer in English Literature and Creative Writing at UEA. He is the author of four highly acclaimed previous novels, Modern Love, Marked for Life, Does it Show?, and Could it be Magic, as well as a collection of short stories, Playing Out.

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