Rereading Musicians and Their Audiences : Popular Music Autobiographies

Using a radical and inclusive definition of the genre, this collection explores musicians' autobiographies as articulated in print, on stage, and through various expressive media as a dynamic factor in contemporary culture. Popular musicians' autobiographies are one of the most important ways that stars create, negotiate and perpetuate the realities and myths of their lived experiences for fans. Autobiographical creations such as Bruce Springsteen’s book Born to Run, Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics, ABBA’s virtual Voyage show, and the reimaginings of Lennon and McCartney’s childhood homes have been both critically acclaimed and lucrative, whilst delivering for many fans an apparent insider’s understanding of musicians whose work they are invested in. Yet such narratives have many other functions beyond thrilling their consumers with a sense of intimacy. The pop music autobiographies discussed here variously attempt to rewrite social history; to redress gender or racial stereotypes; to question received models of fame; to validate new genres and scenes; to explore complex subjectivities; to justify or atone for transgressive behaviour; and to critique the music industry.

Dr Tom Attah has published many chapters and journal articles on Popular Music and Popular Culture, and has produced public-facing mainstream broadcast work on blues music for the BBC. He is a creative musician, he has toured internationally and has composed original works for public projects. Recent published chapters include work on Prince (Bloomsbury, 2020), Robert Johnson (2022), Little Richard (Bloomsbury, 2022), and has co-edited a text on popular music narratives (2019).

Kirsty Fairclough is Professor of Screen Studies at the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. She is the co-editor of The Music Documentary: Acid Rock to Electropop (2013), The Arena Concert: Music, Media and Mass Entertainment (Bloomsbury, 2016), Music/Video: Forms, Aesthetics, Media (Bloomsbury, 2017), The Legacy of Mad Men: Cultural History, Intermediality and American Television (2020), Prince and Popular Culture (Bloomsbury, 2020), and author of the forthcoming Beyoncé: Celebrity Feminism and Popular Culture (Bloomsbury). She is the curator of Sound and Vision: Pop Stars on Film and In Her View: Women Documentary Filmmakers film seasons at HOME, Manchester and Chair of Manchester Jazz Festival.

Christian Lloyd has taught and published on a wide range of subjects in popular and literary cultures. He was involved in researching the reconstruction of Jimi Hendrix's London flat and wrote the accompanying book: Hendrix at Home: a Bluesman in Mayfair (2016).