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
Cultured Llama is a small independent publisher. Support us and our authors by clicking on ‘Add to Cart’ below (UK customers only) or contact us to order from outside the UK. If you prefer, you can order online or – even better – from your local bookshop. Contact us for trade enquiries.
£18.00Add to cart
Proceed to cartSee 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.
———-
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.
§ 40 Responses to Do It Yourself: A History of Music in Medway"
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
[…] are now taking orders for the long-anticipated Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway by Stephen H. Morris. The March issue of WOW magazine has the book listed in their ‘Six […]
[…] signed up The Libertines to Rough Trade Records (more about him below), to give an endorsement for Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway by Stephen H Morris. James has his own history in Medway – he was a supremely entertaining […]
[…] was recently asked to contribute some photos to a book called Do It Yourself: A History Of Music In Medway by Stephen H Morris. It’s out now, available from the usual outlets, but I’d recommend […]
[…] week, Cultured Llama took delivery of the first print run of Do It Yourself: A History of Music in Medway by Stephen H Morris. It’s our longest book to date, at 504 pages, and why wouldn’t it […]
[…] a cracking launch of Do It Yourself: A History of Music in Medway by Stephen H. Morris, the press has now caught on to the book. Kent on Sunday has a two-page […]
[…] helping to sell books for Cultured Llama Publishing. We at Cultured Llama have just published Do It Yourself: A History of Music in Medway by Stephen H Morris, so we set up alongside stalls selling musical instruments and records in a car […]
[…] thank you to Stephen Morris, author of Do It Yourself: A History of Music in Medway (Cultured Llama Press) for alchemizing a book that not only transports the reader to the area in question, but then […]
[…] Do It Yourself: A History of Music in Medway by Stephen H. Morris is reviewed by Dave Thompson in Goldmine: The Music Collector’s Magazine: […]
[…] It Yourself is now available to buy from the usual places for £15.00. You can get it direct from Cultured Llama’s website, but if you’re buying from beyond the UK, your best bet may be to go to Amazon or the […]
[…] the meantime, there’s a fair old bit to report. And it mainly revolves around my book, Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. Sales have been doing quite well of […]
[…] Do It Yourself: A History of Music in Medway by Stephen H. Morris received a fine review by Jake Kennedy in Record Collector magazine: […]
[…] Read more about The Singing Loins in Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Read more about Funke and the Two Tone Baby and many other Medway musicians in my book, Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about Stuart Turner, Stuart Turner and the Flat Earth Society and many other Medway musicians in Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about this and other Medway bands and artists with my book, Do it Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] H. Morris, author of Do It Yourself: A History of Music in Medway, is offering a Christmas A-Z of Medway (non-Christmas) songs on his website. Tune in at […]
[…] Find out more about Billy Childish, Thee Headcoats and many other Medway bands and artists in my book, Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Read more about Wheels and plenty of other bands and musicians from Medway in my book: Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about The Dentists and plenty of other Medway bands and artists in my book, Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about Bob Collins and other Medway musicians in my book, Do it Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about Theatre Royal, The Long Weekend, Kids Unique and plenty of other Medway bands and artists in my book, Do it Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Read more about Frau Pouch, Joe and Suzanne Wise’s promotional project Motherboy and plenty of noisy sounds to come from Medway in my book, Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about The Claim and plenty of other Medway bands and artists in my book, Do it Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Read more about the abject misery of Medway music in my book, Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about music from Medway in my book: Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Read more about The Daggermen and many, many other bands and artists from Medway in my book: Do it Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about The Prisoners and many other Medway bands and artists in my book, Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about Billy Childish, The Musicians of the British Empire and plenty of other music acts from Medway in my book, Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about The Ambience (and many of the bands they weren’t so keen on) in my book, Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about bands and artists from the Medway Towns in my book, Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about The Kravin’ “A”s, Groovy Uncle, Suzi Chunk and many other Medway bands and artists in my book, Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about The Flowing and other folk acts from Medway in my book, Do it Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about Lupen Crook and plenty of other Medway musicians in my book, Do it Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about other Medway bands, covering a period from the mid 70s to 2014 in my book, Do it Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about other Medway bands and artists in my book, Do it Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Find out more about many of these bands and artists – and many, many more, in my book: Do it Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] Johnny Barker, Wolf Howard and Darryl Hartley (along with plenty of other Medway music acts) in Do it Yourself: a History of Music in Medway, published by Cultured […]
[…] Read more about the history of the Sweeps Festival and many of the artists who have performed there in my book, Do it Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]
[…] more about the history of the band – and many other Medway musicians besides in Do It Yourself: a History of Music in Medway (Cultured […]
[…] Buy the single from Theatre Royal’s Bandcamp page.Read my review of the band’s EP ‘Incidental Friend’ here.You can read more about the history of the band – and other Medway acts in my book, Do it Yourself: a History of Music in Medway. […]