Awards

• Long-listed for Penderyn Music Book Prize 2022
• Long-listed for Penderyn Music Book Prize 2022 (UK)

Overview

'Entertaining, affectionate and righteous' - Guardian 'Says so much about being a woman' - Cosey Fanni Tutti In 1983, backstage at the Lyceum in London, Tracey Thorn and Lindy Morrison first met. Tracey's music career was just beginning, while Lindy, drummer for The Go-Betweens, was ten years her senior. They became confidantes, comrades and best friends, a relationship cemented by gossip and feminism, books and gigs and rock 'n' roll love affairs. Thorn takes stock of thirty-seven years of friendship, teasing out the details of connection and affection between two women who seem to be either complete opposites or mirror images of each other. She asks what people see, who does the looking, and ultimately who writes women out of - and back into - history.

Full Product Details

9781786898234

Table of Contents

Reviews

'A vivid and witty memoir of the friendship between Thorn and Lindy Morrison of the Go-Betweens, two women in a cultural world dominated by men . . . [Thorn] brings wit, candour and vividness to her storytelling . . . As well as providing a portrait of a mercurial and brilliant musician, the book exposes the sexism and hypocrisy of an industry . . . Entertaining, affectionate and righteous' - Guardian 'This book says so much about being a woman' - COSEY FANNI TUTTI 'My Rock 'n' Roll Friend is a book to treasure, brimming with empathy and good jokes. It's something of a lost art, writing well about your friends, and Tracey Thorn does it brilliantly, capturing the difficult bits with great honesty, and shining a light into a whole industry. The book is a rare opportunity to see one sublime artist in counterpoint to another, and all the sexist bullshit is revealed, all the love and trouble, as Thorn shows once again how to be a beautiful chronicler of what memory does and what life amounts to' - ANDREW O'HAGAN 'Philosophical and furious . . . Illuminates rock's double standards . . . This is a book about more than music: it recounts the intricacies of female friendship and its crush of projection, permission, allyship and trying-on-for-size' - Observer 'A gorgeous, vivid account of female friendship, what it is to be a woman in a band, activism, art, motherhood, love and having men take credit for your work' - SINEAD GLEESON

A vivid and witty memoir of the friendship between Thorn and Lindy Morrison of the Go-Betweens, two women in a cultural world dominated by men . . . [Thorn] brings wit, candour and vividness to her storytelling . . . As well as providing a portrait of a mercurial and brilliant musician, the book exposes the sexism and hypocrisy of an industry . . . Entertaining, affectionate and righteous * * Guardian * * This book says so much about being a woman -- COSEY FANNI TUTTI My Rock 'n' Roll Friend is a book to treasure, brimming with empathy and good jokes. It's something of a lost art, writing well about your friends, and Tracey Thorn does it brilliantly, capturing the difficult bits with great honesty, and shining a light into a whole industry. The book is a rare opportunity to see one sublime artist in counterpoint to another, and all the sexist bullshit is revealed, all the love and trouble, as Thorn shows once again how to be a beautiful chronicler of what memory does and what life amounts to -- ANDREW O'HAGAN Philosophical and furious . . . Illuminates rock's double standards . . . This is a book about more than music: it recounts the intricacies of female friendship and its crush of projection, permission, allyship and trying-on-for-size * * Observer * * A gorgeous, vivid account of female friendship, what it is to be a woman in a band, activism, art, motherhood, love and having men take credit for your work -- SINEAD GLEESON It's such a radical act - as well as a loving one - for a woman to tell the story of her friend like this, and to free her (and all of us, it feels!) from the distorting prism of the male gaze. I honestly wanted to stand up and cheer! -- MELISSA HARRISON Brilliant . . . The idea of reclaiming women's history is still necessary in 2021 and Thorn, who is a beautiful memoirist, does it with grace and lightness . . . Writing this friendship into history is a gorgeous thing * * Daily Telegraph * * In telling the life story of Lindy Morrison, Everything But The Girl's Tracey Thorn is not only paying tribute to an inspirational friend, but defiantly restoring her to her rightful place in music history . . . Exploring identity, ambition and the bonds of friendship, this is an affectionate and timely tribute to an indomitable woman who carved a niche in a man's world * * Daily Express * * A captivating delight. Few will know who The Go-Betweens were - they never had a hit - but this is mostly a book about what it is like to be a woman in rock: overlooked, undervalued, stifled, sidelined. Morrison is an enormous personality, wilful, contradictory and slightly terrifying, and Thorn brings her quite splendidly to life on the page * * i * * Engrossing . . . Absorbing . . . The book is, above all, a subtle exploration of the complexities of female friendship . . . This entertaining book is a glorious reminder of why any of us relish the sheer buzz of being in the company of a beloved friend * * Independent * *

Author Information

Tracey Thorn is a singer-songwriter and writer, best known for her seventeen years in bestselling duo Everything But The Girl. She has released four solo albums, one movie soundtrack, a large handful of singles, and three books, including the Sunday Times bestsellers Another Planet and Bedsit Disco Queen. She lives in London, with her husband Ben Watt and their three children. @tracey_thorn | traceythorn.com

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