'The best book ever written about being in a band' NME - a debauched rock'n'roll classic
Kevin Sampson is the author of eight novels, as well as Extra Time, his account of a season in the life of a Liverpool FC fanatic, and the moving narrative of the Hillsborough tragedy, Hillsborough Voices. He has also contributed to football anthologies, including Here We Go Gathering Cups in May and Redmen, which he also edited. Kevin is a regular contributor to the Guardian, Observer and the award-winning LFC podcast, The Anfield Wrap. He lives on Merseyside where he is a long-term supporter of CALM, a charity specialising in the mental health needs of young males. You can find him at @ksampsonwriter on Twitter.
"A code-red book... Drop what you're reading and read this immediately... A rip-snorting, rollicking ride from obscurity to rock 'n' roll debauchery and through the other side." Alex James, Blur "Brilliant, funny, sharply-observed... The airport-busting novel of the summer" Loaded "Powder is more essential to your well-being than 97 percent of the albums that'll come out this year." Melody Maker "A pacey and hilarious catalogue of vanity, insecurities, bonhomie and belligerence... A portrait of the contemporary music industry that is almost uncanny in its accuracy." Independent "Tells it like it is - Sampson is never better than when revelling in the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll - All young bands should be made to read Powder; if it doesn't put them off, nothing will" The Times
"A code-red book... Drop what you're reading and read this immediately... A rip-snorting, rollicking ride from obscurity to rock 'n' roll debauchery and through the other side." Alex James, Blur "Brilliant, funny, sharply-observed... The airport-busting novel of the summer" Loaded "Powder is more essential to your well-being than 97 percent of the albums that'll come out this year." Melody Maker "A pacey and hilarious catalogue of vanity, insecurities, bonhomie and belligerence... A portrait of the contemporary music industry that is almost uncanny in its accuracy." Independent "Tells it like it is - Sampson is never better than when revelling in the sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll - All young bands should be made to read Powder; if it doesn't put them off, nothing will" The Times
Sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll always make great headlines but rarely a riveting novel. Real writers (Don Delillo, Great Jones Street) and dilettantes (Bill Flanagan, A&R) alike have faltered at translating the power of three chords into prose. A one-time rock manager and proud Liverpudlian, Sampson obviously knows the rarefied realm of which he speaks. The Grams start off as a credible creation, an ecstatically brooding four-piece who want to rule the word la U2 or the Clash and do, for the blink of an eye. But Sampson spreads his ink much too thin, weaving in and out of the heads of the band members as well as their record label president, manager, publicists, and bus driver at the cost of much-needed context and focus. As it turns out, excess in itself makes for a toxically boring trip. What could have been characters come out as coke-snorting caricatures. Sure, rock'n'roll is 99 percent bullshit, but that remaining shred of meaning fuels the future Kurt Cobains of the world and deserves more attention. With graphic sex and language, of course. Not recommended. Heather McCormack, "Library Journal" Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
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