by Stephen H. Morris
Do It Yourself: A History of Music in Medway, by Stephen H. Morris, is the definitive and indispensable guide to Medway music. Mixing oral history with profiles of the best singles, EPs and albums to come out of the Medway Towns since the mid-1970s, Morris tells the story of how performers such as Billy Childish, The Dentists and Lupen Crook have produced music whose influence extends far beyond the reach of five small towns in the north of Kent.
978-0-9926485-2-7; Cultured Llama; PB; 229×152mm; 504pp; March 2015; £18.00. N.B. Postage is free if you order more than one Cultured Llama book
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See reviews:
- here, in Medway Messenger on 27 April 2015
- here, which appeared in Kent on Sunday on 26 April 2015
- here, by Phil Dillon, published in the April edition of WOW magazine
- here, by Dave Thompson, in Goldmine: The Music Collectors Magazine
Hear an interview with Stephen H. Morris on BRFM here.
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The Medway Towns have long played host to frenzied musical activity. The explosion of punk in Britain showed aspiring bands and artists in Medway that there were far more interesting things to do with music than covering Bee Gees songs in a dingy club. Ever since, musicians from Medway have applied punk’s Do-It-Yourself ethic to their own garage, folk and alternative rock bands. They have managed their own affairs, formed communities to support each other and peppered their songs with references to their home towns.
Stephen H. Morris brings to life a vast array of colourful characters, inspiring music and small venues – along with a passion and belief in the music of the Medway Towns. Do It Yourself: A History of Music in Medway is a detailed and thorough account of the area’s musical history from the mid-70s to the present day; it’s also a picture of a small part of the south east of England that has never lost its faith in love and music. There’s a beating heart in those towns and long may it continue.
James Endeacott
Over the last 50 years, James Endeacott has worked in a record shop, played in a band called Loop, been an A&R man for The Strokes, run a record label called 1965 Records and tried to unlock people’s minds. He looks like Mick Hucknall, supports Crystal Palace Football Club and signed The Libertines to Rough Trade Records in 2001. He has been Up The Bracket ever since.
Stephen H. Morris has been combining his love of music and words for most of his life. He has provided web-based reviews for BBC Introducing in Gloucestershire and Kent. He lives, of course, in the Medway Towns. www.reviewage.net.
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