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Tenement Kid cover art

Tenement Kid

Written by: Bobby Gillespie
Narrated by: Bobby Gillespie
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Publisher's Summary

Born into a working-class Glaswegian family in the summer of 1961, TENEMENT KID begins in the district of Springburn, soon to be evacuated in Edward Heath's brutal slum clearances. Leaving school at 16 and going to work as a printers' apprentice, Bobby's rock n roll epiphany arrives like a bolt of lightning shining from Phil Lynott's mirrored pickguard at his first gig at the Apollo in Glasgow. Filled with 'the holy spirit of rock n roll' his destiny is sealed with the arrival of the Sex Pistols and punk rock which to Bobby, represents an iconoclastic vision of class rebellion and would ultimately lead to him becoming an artist initially in the Jesus and Mary Chain then Primal Scream.

Building like a breakbeat crescendo to the Summer of Love, Boys Own parties, and the fateful meeting with Andrew Weatherall in an East Sussex field, as the '80s bleed into the '90s and a new kind of electronic soul music starts to pulse through the nation's consciousness, TENEMENT KID closes with the release of Screamadelica, the album often credited with 'starting the '90s'. A book filled with the joy and wonder of a rock n roll apostle who would radically reshape the future sounds of fin de siècle British pop, Bobby Gillespie's memoir cuts a righteous path through a decade lost to Thatcherism and saved by acid house.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 Bobby Gillespie (P)2021 Orion Publishing Group

What the critics say

'Gillespie is rock and roll's Oliver Twist. A punk rock fairytale, razor sharp on class struggle, music, style, and a singular view of the world resulting in one of the world's great bands. Couldn't put down' Courtney Love

What listeners say about Tenement Kid

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Marxist Drugadelica! :)

A great first-hand account of the punk, post-punk, and acid house scenes in the UK back in the day. Some stellar stories in there for jamc and scream fans, and the descriptions of growing up in class-stratified Scotland are genuinely moving. My only complaint is that it stops at screamadelica, because I’d love to hear more about the creation of Xtrmtr.

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A Must For Fans!

If you’re a fan of the Creation Records saga, this is a must. Although it begins quite somber, Bobby narrates his own twisted tale of rock n’ roll bliss, including the origins of The Jesus & Mary Chain and of course, how Primal Scream came to be. I love Britpop. I loved this book.

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Excellent

Great insight into Bobby, Primal Scream, Jesus and Mary Chain, and independent British music in the 80's and early 90's.

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