De beste bøkene om pubrock

Pubrock oppstod i England på tidlig 1970-tall, som en reaksjon mot den pompøse og overproduserte rocken som dominerte på den tiden.

Musikerne ønsket å gå tilbake til et enklere og mer direkte utrykk med røtter i rhythm & blues, rock & roll, rockabilly, garage rock og country.

Musikken ble ofte spilt live i små puber og klubber, der nærheten mellom publikum og artister skapte en intens og energisk stemning.

Produksjonen var enkel og jordnær, med lite effekter, og fokus lå på låtene og det levende uttrykket.

Band som Dr. Feelgood, Brinsley Schwarz og Ducks Deluxe var sentrale i scenen, og mange artister som Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello og Joe Strummer hadde sine musikalske røtter her. Selv om Pub Rock ikke ble kommersielt dominerende, hadde bevegelsen stor betydning som katalysator for britisk punkrock og new wave.

Den viste at rock kunne være direkte, ærlig og tilgjengelig, uten store produksjonskostnader. På mange måter kan man si at pubock banet vei for en ny æra i britisk rock, hvor energi og autentisitet sto i sentrum.

Her er noen forslag til lesing for deg som nettopp har oppdaget pub rock, men vi har også en rekke bøker for deg som ønsker å dykke dypere i sjangeren.

Her er mine personlige favoritter og under finner du en spilleliste som kan inspirere til videre dypdykk i musikken.

A howlin' wind : pub rock and the birth of New Wave av John Blaney

«Take a trip to a lost world. A world permeated by the odour of stale tobacco and overflowing toilets; a world where your feet stick to the carpet and the walls are covered in peeling flock wallpaper. The Watneys Red Barrell is warm, but the band on stage is hot. Welcome to the world of 1970s pub rock.

With eye-witness accounts from those involved, John Blaney explains perfectly how pub rock started, flourished and reinvented itself as the new wave: «A Howlin’ Wind» that blew away the cobwebs from a moribund music scene.

If you were there, you’ll love this book. If you weren’t, read it and marvel at an era when the music still mattered.» – Bakside teksten til boken

No sleep till Canvey Island : the great pub rock revolution av Will Birch

«Pub rock was truly a revolution, yet one whose story has never fully been documented until now. Guided by maverick operators like Jake Riviera and Dave Robinson, who later founded the legandary label Stiff Records, this beery, bluesy scene gave rise to such electrifying acts as Kilburn And The High Roads, Eddie And The Hot Rods, Graham Parker And The Rumour, Dr. Feelgood and Elvis Costello And The Attractions – and led directly and organically to the cultural expolsion that was punk. No Slee Till Canvey Island is the long-awaited, definitive account of a crucial seven-year period in British rock history.» - Bakside teksten til boken

Lee Brilleaux : rock'n'roll gentleman av Zoë Howe

Lee Brilleaux, the charismatic star of proto-punk R&B reprobates Dr Feelgood, was one of rock’n’roll’s greatest frontmen. But he was also one of its greatest gentlemen – a class act with heart, fire, wanderlust and a wild streak.

Exploding out of Canvey Island in the early 1970s – an age of glam rock, post-hippy folk and pop androgyny – the Feelgoods, with Lee Brilleaux and Wilko Johnson at the helm, charged into London, grabbed the pub rock scene by the throat and sparked a revolutionary new era, proving that you didn’t have to be middle class, wearing the ‘right clothes’ or living in the ‘right place’ to succeed.

Before It Went Rotten: The Music That Rocked London's Pubs 1972-1976 av Simon Matthews

When Anarchy in the UK appeared, London enjoyed one of the most vibrant music scenes in the world. A network of mainly Irish owned pubs and clubs provided music every night, much of it free of charge, whilst working as a testing ground for up and coming talent.

This book traces the evolution of what was quickly labelled 'pub-rock': from rock and roll revival acts via late blues bands, country rock, funk, soul and art school bands to the sound that eventually burst on the scene as punk rock in 1976.

Specific chapters cover the career of Brinsley Schwarz, the Southend bands and the step by step rise of the Sex Pistols.

Among those interviewed are former members of Fumble, Darts, the John Dummer Blues Band, Blue Goose, Legend, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Brinsley Schwarz, Bees Make Honey, Ducks de Luxe, Kokomo, Roogalator, Burlesque, Kilburn and the High Roads, GT Moore and the Reggae Guitars, Clancy, the Fabulous Poodles, the Sex Pistols and Meal Ticket.

With acts like Dire Straits, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury and Graham Parker all emerging from this terrain, the reader is asked to consider, what, if anything, would have been different if McLaren's band had never been around.

Extensively researched, and drawing on contemporaneous reviews and articles from the music press of the time, Before It Went Rotten bids fair to be the definitive study of an overlooked era.

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