Latest Word In Your Ear podcast is with Will Hodgkinson discussing Street-Level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence....
It's a great listen
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There’s something romantic about glorious failure and Will nails it perfectly in ‘Street Level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence’. Over 40 years plagued by bad luck and self-sabotage with Felt, Denim and Mozart Estate, Lawrence has pursued fame and success while refusing to do what’s required to achieve them. Will spent 12 months wandering the streets of London with him to paint a fond, touching and extremely entertaining portrait of the worst-equipped pop star attempting a comeback, a man on a holy, monastic mission in a book about “sacrifice and the price of a dream”. Among many highlights here, we talk about …
… where Lawrence fits in the pantheon of great underachievers like Syd Barrett, Nick Drake and Arthur Lee.
… and his similarity to Kevin Shields and Kevin Rowland.
… the wisdom of a former girlfriend: “stop trying to be the pop star you don’t want to be and you might get somewhere”.
… is lack of success the central dream of the indie world?
… why Denim were Britpop before Britpop happened and why EMI melted down all copies of their last single.
… his rules before the book began - “No anecdotes, no interviews with former members of Felt …”
… what his stalker planned to get his attention.
… fantasy girlfriends and “a fear of cheese”.
… why he didn’t go to his mother’s funeral.
… and why Truman Capote’s portrait of Marlon Brando, the Duke and His Domain, was a touchstone for this book
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Order ‘Street Level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence’ here:
www.amazon.co.uk/Street-Level-Superstar-Lawrence-Will-Hodgkinson/dp/1785120220
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'Finally, Will has written his masterpiece. I'm glad I could be of service.' - Lawrence
'This book will make you laugh and cry - Lawrence is a monument to the power of Pop. The best and the worst of it. Essential reading.' - Jarvis Cocker
'In a music world awash with fakes, straights and careerists on the make, Lawrence is that rare creature - an artist committed to realising his vision no matter how many humiliations and bad rolls of the dice he's had to endure. Lawrence is the one true poet of austerity Britain and Will Hodgkinson's wonderful book captures the essence and strangeness of the man.' - Bobby Gillespie
'I can't tell you how good this book is' - John Niven
'I've known Lawrence - off and on - since we were both in our teens, but I never really understood what makes his brilliant mind tick. I think I do now. A truly fabulous book about a truly unique and gifted man and one of the best music books I've ever clapped eyes on' - Marc Riley
'Street-Level Superstar has the same sense of discipline and whim as Andy Warhol's From A to B and Back Again, with a hint of the entirely personal philosophy of Huysman's À Rebours. A fantastic, singular book.' - Mat Osman
'There's success and there's failure but Lawrence's destiny was to be something uniquely in-between. A fascinating tale beautifully told.' - Brett Anderson
'A litany of perceived slights, unrequited lust, milky tea and liquorice quests. Celibacy, control-freakery, glitter and grit. Lawrence is elusive and obsessive. The enigmatic auto-didact. This funny and often impossible tale of the romantic who always fails in love is grandiose, unflinching and low-rent. His world of vagrant glamour exists in the rare place where fame and destitution meet. It is champagne taste and beer money. Street-Level Superstar is a masterclass in self-sabotage from a connoisseur of 20th-century pop.' - Adelle Stripe
'Lawrence is Britain's greatest enthusiast for the arcane and unloved, who can find magic in suburban sweet shops, high-end book shops, or Chas and Dave b-sides.' - Bob Stanley
'Will Hodgkinson has written a brilliant and affectionate book about a year in the life of the mysterious pop legend Lawrence. As he accompanies him on a series of walks across various urban hinterlands, searching for records, liquorice and other clues about how the man under the blue vinyl visor became who he is today. This beautifully told zig-zag wandering biography is an utter joy from start to finish.' - Caroline Catz
'This is a terrific book, I didn't want it to finish. Loved it, loved it, loved it!' - Nige Tassell
'[An] excellent book ... worthy of your full attention. If you love Anvil, if you love Paul Simpson's Revolutionary Spirit, if you love Copey's Head On, this is a worthy addition to your library of mythologising music's messier corners. Superb' - Joel Morris
'If you admire Lawrence for his timeless songs and sublime lyrics, his embrace of the absurd and all-sacrificing dedication to his art - you'll love this book. If you've dismissed him as a self-deluded, self-sabotaging fuck-up of niche interest - you'll love this book. If you're fascinated by the legions of anecdotes mythologising Lawrence's eccentricities, control-freakery and failed attempts at pop stardom - you'll love this book. If you want to read a hilarious, infuriating and ultimately insightful and touching account of what it is like to spend a year in Lawrence's company - you'll love this book. I've felt all of the above and I loved this book' - Miki Berenyi
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