Strange Attractor Press presents,
A book launch for Foreground Music: A Life in Fifteen Gigs
by Graham Duff
Friday 8 November – doors 7.30pm – start 8pm | £5 | BUY TICKETS
The memoir of a life long music obsessive and compulsive gig-goer. From a Cliff Richard gospel concert at the age of ten, to his first rock gig age 14, where The Jam play so loudly he blacks out, to a Joy Division concert that erupts into a full scale riot. Each chapter focuses on a different show, including Primal Scream headlining at Glastonbury at the height of Screamadelica, the troubled reformation of The Velvet Underground, the first UK gig by The Strokes in a room above a pub, and the final arena tour by David Bowie. Along the way, Graham experiences several pub-crawls with Mark E. Smith of The Fall, convinces Paul Weller to undertake his first acting role and attempts to interview Genesis P. Orridge of Throbbing Gristle whilst tripping on LSD. “‘Foreground Music’ is an absolute gem.” – Mark Gatiss Published in Autumn 2019 by Strange Attractor Press.
Programme:
Graham Duff in conversation with film maker Adam Curtis
DJ set by Vicki Bennett / People Like us
They say about the book…
“Foreground Music is an absolute gem. Charming, very funny and often achingly melancholy, Graham Duff’s memoir is suffused with a genuine passion for live music and its (occasionally eccentric) power.” —Mark Gatiss
“Touching and funny” – Cosey Fanni Tutti
“A must have for those of us who escaped our parents’ terrible musical tastes. A love letter to the music and period that defined a generation. Full of joy and pathos, it left me yearning for a world before ‘X Factor’ when music was about something.”
– Steve Coogan
“Smashing Stuff. If you want to bluff I was there, read this.”
– Vic Reeves
Foreground Music is the result of a lifetime’s passion for gig-going by one of British television’s most individual writers. From a Cliff Richard gospel concert at the age of 10, to his first rock show aged 14, where The Jam play so loudly he blacks out, to a Joy Division gig which erupts into a full-scale riot.
Vivid, insightful and very funny, each chapter covers a different gig, including Primal Scream headlining Glastonbury at the height of Screamadelica, and the troubled reformation of The Velvet Underground. Taking in the first UK headline gig by The Strokes in a room above a pub, and the final arena tour by David Bowie.
Along the way Duff experiences pub-crawls with Mark E. Smith of The Fall, convinces Paul Weller to undertake his first acting role and attempts to interview Genesis P. Orridge of Throbbing Gristle whilst tripping on LSD.
Foreground Music captures the power of life-changing gigs, whilst tracing the evolution of 40 years of musical movements and subcultures. But more than that, it’s an honest, touching and witty story of friendship, love, creativity and mortality, and a testimony to music’s ability to inspire and heal.
Graham Duff
Portrait by Bruce Wang
Graham Duff is a British TV comedy and drama scriptwriter whose credits include Ideal and The Nightmare Worlds of H.G. Wells. As an actor he has appeared in, among other things, two Harry Potter films, Alan Partridge, and Dr. Who.
Often taking inspiration from the worlds of music, horror, sci-fi and art house cinema, Graham’s scripts mix genres and cross boundaries. They also attract some of the biggest names in British comedy, including Steve Coogan, Johnny Vegas, Mark Gatiss, Julia Davis, Sean Lock and Simon Pegg. Graham script edited seven series of Radio 4’s Sony Award winning COUNT ARTHUR STRONG’S RADIO SHOW, as well as the Alan Partridge film ALPHA PAPA. He also writes about music and art and has published articles in The Guardian and Wire magazine.
Adam Curtis
Adam Curtis at the TRIBECA Film Festival in 2005 (Photo Getty)
Adam Curtis is an acclaimed, BAFTA-award winning documentary film maker whose works, including ‘Hypernormalisation’ and ‘The Power of Nightmares’ explore areas of sociology, psychology, philosophy and political history.
