White Bicycles: Making Music in the 1960s (Serpent's Tail Classics) - Softcover

Boyd, Joe

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1781257949 ISBN 13: 9781781257944

Publisher: Serpent's Tail, 2017

Synopsis

"The simple brilliance of White Bicycles is that its author never overstates his own importance or exaggerates his failings, and still ends up telling an irresistible tale" —New York Times

When Muddy Waters came to London at the start of the 1960s, a kid from Boston called Joe Boyd was his tour manager; when Dylan went electric at the Newport Festival, Boyd was plugging in his guitar; when the summer of love got going, Boyd was running the coolest club in London, the UFO; when a bunch of club regulars called Pink Floyd recorded their first single, Boyd was the producer; and when a young songwriter named Nick Drake wanted to give his demo tape to someone, he chose Joe Boyd.

More than any previous 1960s music autobiography, White Bicycles offers the real story of what it was like to be there at the time. Boyd's greatest coup is bringing to life the famously elusive figure of Nick Drake—the first time he's been written about by anyone who knew him well.

As well as the 1960s heavy hitters, this book also offers wonderfully vivid portraits of a whole host of other musicians: everyone from the great jazzman Coleman Hawkins to the folk diva Sandy Denny, Lonnie Johnson to Eric Clapton, and The Incredible String Band to Fairport Convention.

Joe Boyd was born in Boston in 1942. He went on to produce Pink Floyd, Nick Drake, REM, and many others. In 1980 he started Hannibal Records and ran it for twenty years.

About this title

About the Author

Record and film producer Joe Boyd was born in Boston in 1942 and graduated from Harvard in 1964. He went on to produce Pink Floyd, Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, REM and many others. He produced the documentary 'Jimi Hendrix' and the film 'Scandal'. In 1980 he started Hannibal Records and ran it for 20 years. Boyd lives in London where he writes for the Guardian and Independent. His next book is about World Music.

Review

Gloriously entertaining ... even those unfamiliar with back catalogues and B-sides will be intrigued by Boyd's ability to dish the dirt * Observer * The simple brilliance of White Bicycles is that its author never overstates his own importance or exaggerates his failings, and still ends up telling an irresistible tale. * The New York Times * From Dylan to Pink Floyd, Boyd was there and luckily for us, he can remember it all * Daily Express * An excellent memoir * Sunday Express * [Boyd] was at the heart of the action ... But there's much to interest non-music fans as well * Mail on Sunday * Drake's suicide provides the memoir with its most poignant episode, but there are plenty of colourful anecdotes * Sunday Telegraph * A brisk, wised-up and highly entertaining consideration of a crucial musical epoch's many facets. * Kirkus * One of the most entertaining and insightful rock 'n' roll books I've read -- Noel Mengel * Courier Mail, Brisbane Australia * Whenever anything musically noteworthy occurred in the 60s, Joe Boyd was probably nearby ... White Bicycles bursts with rollicking anecdotes, eyewitness accounts and canny observations about politics and youth ... Boyd guides us through the decade with keen ears and restless intellectual curiosity * Pitchfork * Brilliant and inspiring ... one of the finest music books ever -- Mike Scott, The Waterboys

About this edition

• Publisher: Serpent's Tail
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1781257949
• ISBN 13: 9781781257944
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304