This thread is for anyone currently, or planning on, reading Russell's book. Observations, criticisms, what you liked etc. However, no spoilers if possible.
By the way, it's a lovely thing. Chunky great colour scheme and 334 pages of small text. On the plus side it's already hilarious in that dry Russell way.
Are there pics? Russell and Jarvis bare chested in britches as shown in Truth & Beauty will take some beating.
Also was worried that 72 chapters would consist of lots of short anecdotes but little in the way of depth with lots of white space between chapters. Doesn't seem to be true?
Yes there are 8 pages of photos but strangely the only lineup is the band in its 90's pomp. However, there is a hilarious photo of Russell's early 80's passport and a couple of flyers Russell produced for the band in Serbo Croat (of course!).
It's fab! Got it today and have nearly read the lot. You can really hear Russell's voice in the words, as if he's there in the room with you. There are some dead funny bits but I won't ruin the surprise by revealing anything, other than to say a fave bit for me was to do with various shades of purple.
It's quite a different book from what I was expecting but it's also better written than I was expecting.
Mine dispatched at 23:53! The radio interview was very cheery and enjoyable. I think I maybe expected Russell to be a bit more earnest about everything.
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We'll use the one thing we've got more of, that's our minds.
Picked it up at Waterstones yesterday. I am about 1/4th way through now (La Cigale 1991) and enjoying it a lot. Will save my full impressions until the end.
Will say that the photos inset are disappointing though. Mostly just promotional images we've seen many times before. Probably stuff the publisher cobbled together. Nothing new, intimate or insightful. The opposite of the text then.
Btw I bumped into Candida recently. I didn't know what to say so I mumbled incoherently that I am an old fan and thats as far as the conversation went. She seemed keen to chat but what do you say to a Constellation?
-- Edited by Fuss Free on Sunday 4th of October 2015 02:19:18 PM
The passport pic of Russell and the one of him, a fan and a feather boa with Mark and his long hair behind them are pretty good. Also one or two with the band that I don't recall seeing before.
Finally got my copy... great pics. Dipping in and out, it looks like there are going to be a few laughs along the way. I'm almost reluctant to start reading and begin eating into all this pent-up anticipation - that's what happens when a release keeps getting deferred!
Well, I'm going to end up with 2 copies as I found it in a shop and couldn't help buying it even though I'm still waiting for Amazon to deliver it. I know someone who I think might enjoy it so I'll give them the other copy. I'll post again when I've read it but so far (stopped around page 80-something) I've really enjoyed it but must pause as life interrupts as usual. There have been laugh out loud bits and I hear ya about the purple I thought the Chelsea boots bit was hilarious too as well as the make-up mirror, the 3 big sulky pigeons, to have a song on the waltzers. To be honest I think I just find Russell's inner dialogue hilarious! I already feel for him about the way it all ended because I think you can see how much it all meant to him if you read this. He clearly loved what he was doing and I expect he went through the doldrums after leaving even though he always says he's happy he left when he did. I remember hearing a radio interview with pre-recorded bits from all of the group - it's still on YouTube - where he talks about leaving and how he physically collapsed after telling Jarvis he was leaving. I had never realised at the time that things were that bad. There's almost a Stand By Me/outsider gang of friends thing to it all esp. when you read bits like the River Porter expedition. The friendships and shared experiences is what jumps out at me at this point. But I'm guessing as success comes they probably get more isolated from each other. The Pulp story is amazing really - to plug away at something for that long with little signs of success! You just wouldn't get this kind of material from any other band. They were/are something very special. Pity the many who don't get it.
I'm nearly at the end now. I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but I certainly never expected it to be so hilarious, I always had Russell down as being very earnest, political and arty, but this is laugh-out-loud funny a lot of the time. The family keep looking at me a bit weirdly as I snigger through another bit.
I have never come across anyone else who has even heard of Withernsea, let alone been there! My Nanna gre up in a small village just outside Withernsea and lived in another village between Hull and the coast for most of her adult life and that's where my mum grew up. All our holidays were staying at Nanna's, so we went to Withernsea quite often. My dad hated it probably for all the same reasons that Pulp seem so enamoured with it.
I think it would appeal easily to non-Pulp fans as it is wholly focussed on the band, though I imagine they wouldn't think of buying it in the first place. The tour and the connections to earlier events are more of a skeleton to hang all sorts of themes from Russell's observations on life onto. I got my daughter to read the "Big in Japan" chapter as she is obsessed with all things anime, manga and generally Japanese and she enjoyed it and the writing in general. I think my husband would enjoy all the travel stories and the comments on the dynamics of life in a band.
It does also give you nice insights into the band for the fan, but refuses to engage with anything much in the way of negativity. Much of the time when he does criticise something, he's as likely to turn it back on himself at the same time. He doesn't airbrush over the tensions, but you get the impression that it is precisely those tensions that are necessary for a band's creativity, not something to be complained about, and if it were all sweetness and light, you would end up with One Direction (maybe they hate each other, I don't actually know anything much about them).
Three are some lovely reflections on certain experiences that resonated very strongly with me, like the first time he went to France and everything was so, well, French. I had exactly the same impression going off inter-railing and visiting France for the first time when I was 19.
All in all, I've really enjoyed it.
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We'll use the one thing we've got more of, that's our minds.
Been a long time since I was last on this forum (hello again!). I picked up a signed copy of this in Sheffield ages ago but I've only got round to reading it now. If memory serves, I recognise Russell's autograph as the top one, albeit looking pretty rushed (who can blame him). Anyone know what what's the second squiggle is?
Only just got round to reading this and, as expected, I loved it. What I didn't expect was the amount of warmth in the book, particularly towards Jarvis.
Anyway, I guess most people have read it by now, but we've not really discussed things we learned/found interesting in the book.
The tales from the 80's are told wonderfully, I just wish he'd devoted more of the book to them. As I think it's in those days, his imagination and commitment to the band is rendered best.
Personally, I thought the ''non-bitchiness/scandal'' which some reviews felt was missing, was just actually handled in a dignified way by Russell. A bloke in his mid-50's having grudges about a row in 1993 as he put it, would just be a little sad. Instead, he's clever about it - he spends a chapter eulogising Chris Thomas and doesn't refer to Ed Buller by name but makes it plain how he felt he was treated by him.
There is also lack of cattiness towards Suzanne Catty, or any mention of her at all. In fact, not giving them the satisfaction of mentioning their name seems to be the way he treats those who may have slighted him/the band ( I think 'Fire' aren't referred to specifically either).
At least he didn't go Luke Haines on it and call a band member by their function (i.e ''The cellist'')!
Other stuff that comes to mind a few months after reading it:
- The Leadmill's crafty way of avoiding payment to Pulp and I imagine, bands in general, was pretty disheartening to read (i.e sorry, there were only 499 punters in attendance, so we won't pay you the going rate for 500+ spectators). It's also a bit amusing in the concept of the rest of Pulp accepting a plaque from the venue last year to mark the bands heritage there - and maybe a reason why Russell, still fiery and principled, didn't bother going.
- The fraternal spirit among Jarvis and Russell was still charmingly prevalent during the reunion. I love the story of Jarvis calling Russell from Romania, one of the places Russell didn't play with the band, and telling him they were passing the palace of the former communist leader Ceausescu, knowing he (Russ) would get a kick out of it.
It's one of my favourite parts of the book how this then leads onto the biggest time-warp detour in the book - Russell travelling through East Europe in 1988 (the bit about proferring the Pulp demo tape to the border police there has to be made-up though surely?!).
- Mark nearly being thrown-off the reunion tour...blimey. Wonder what that was all about?
There were plenty of other ''Oh...really?'' moments in the book (I must underline them when I re-read it to share on here) :)
I thought the Chelsea boots bit was hilarious too as well as the make-up mirror, the 3 big sulky pigeons, to have a song on the waltzers. To be honest I think I just find Russell's inner dialogue hilarious! I already feel for him about the way it all ended because I think you can see how much it all meant to him if you read this. He clearly loved what he was doing and I expect he went through the doldrums after leaving even though he always says he's happy he left when he did. I remember hearing a radio interview with pre-recorded bits from all of the group - it's still on YouTube - where he talks about leaving and how he physically collapsed after telling Jarvis he was leaving. I had never realised at the time that things were that bad. There's almost a Stand By Me/outsider gang of friends thing to it all esp. when you read bits like the River Porter expedition. The friendships and shared experiences is what jumps out at me at this point. But I'm guessing as success comes they probably get more isolated from each other. The Pulp story is amazing really - to plug away at something for that long with little signs of success! You just wouldn't get this kind of material from any other band. They were/are something very special. Pity the many who don't get it.
