Hell Is Round the Corner

The trip-hop pioneer opens up about his life and music

Tricky is one of the most original music artists to emerge from the UK in the past 30 years. His signature sound, coupled with deep, questioning lyrics, took the musical landscape by storm in the early 1990s and was part of the soundtrack that defined the post-rave generation. This unique, no-holds-barred autobiography is not only a portrait of an incredible artist—it is also a gripping slice of social history packed with extraordinary anecdotes and voices from the margins of society. Tricky examines how his creativity has helped him find a different path to that of his relatives, some of whom were bare-knuckle fighters and gangsters, and how his mother's suicide has had a lifelong effect on him, both creatively and psychologically. With his unique heritage and experience, his story will be one of the most talked-about music autobiographies of the decade.

Born in 1968 into the "white ghetto" Knowle West area of Bristol to an Anglo-Guyanese mother and Jamaican father, Adrian Thaws had what one might term a troubled start to life. Certain shocking events, particularly his mother's suicide, made a deep imprint on the boy who would grow up to become the artist and performer known as Tricky. Over the course of his career as a solo artist, he has released 13 studio albums, selling over 2 million copies worldwide. His debut album Maxinquaye (1995) was nominated for the Mercury Prize and sold over a million copies worldwide. He is admired internationally by some of the biggest names in music, including the late David Bowie. He currently lives and records in Berlin.