Bad Vibes: Britpop and my part in its downfall

Description

A hilarious and vicious memoir of the Britpop era - from a man at the centre of it all Forget Blur/Oasis and Cool Britannia. None of that actually happened. Bad Vibes is the true story of English Rock in the nineties. Written with wit, brio and no small amount of bile, Luke Haines recounts how it felt to ride a wave of self-congratulatory success in a world with no taste. As frontman of The Auteurs, Haines tells of supporting Suede, conquering France, and failing to break America. Of knuckle-headed musos , baffling tours and a swiftly unravelling personal life. And of what it's like to be on the cusp of massive success. Funny, honest and ridiculously entertaining, Luke Haines attacks anyone within rifle range, and is more than happy to turn the gun on himself. Bad Vibes is a brilliant memoir from a man who tells it how it was - and how he wishes it hadn't been.

Luke Haines learned guitar in the red light district of Portsmouth and subsequently formally studied music at the London College of Music. His band The Auteurs missed out on the 1992 Mercury Music Prize by one vote - since then he has fronted other acts including Baader Meinhof and Black Box Recorder.

These recollections could be mistaken for a great comic novel... Haines is as funny as he is grumpy * Independent on Sunday * Haines' prolific spleen, pasty English wit and peerless way with a smartly tailored insult was always going to make this memoir essential reading * Time Out * Beautifully acerbic and elegant. . . a viciously funny writer * Q Magazine * A lavishly bitchy memoir packed with gripes, grievances and tall stories told at the expense of other more famous musicians ... Haines has constructed a vivid literary persona for himself as the great, grumpy Nearly Man of 1990s rock ... He pours endless scorn on his amiable peers, who bizarrely seem not to mind or even notice ... Rock's misanthrope in excelsis * The Sunday Times * As entertaining as Spinal Tap * Guardian *