I've been reading Luke Haines' new book 'Bad Vibes - Britpop and my part in its downfall'. It is a memoir of the years 1992-1997 when Haines fronted The Auteurs, who in the early 90s were tipped, along with Suede and Pulp, as the future of British indie music. Then along came Britpop...
The book is a fascinating read, especially for anyone wanting to know how someone who recorded a pleasantly catchy radio-friendly single like 'Lenny Valentino' could, just a couple of years later, record an extraordinary, brilliantly dark album like 'After Murder Park'. For me, this was always Haines' masterpiece. With sparse production from Steve Albini, vocals buried low in the mix but sounding incredibly menacing, this was the ultimate reaction to the benality of Britpop. Songs about death, murder and people on the edge of sanity. And it had great tunes!
From there, where could Haines possibly go but to record an electro-funk album about terrorism under the name 'Baader Meinhof'?
I was an early fan of The Auteurs and followed all this at the time, delighting in the shocked reactions of people who were into bands like Menswear and Sleeper. And they thought Haines was mad?
Anyway, this book is a great read. Haines tells the story well and there are more than enough anecdotes about very famous and, now not so famous people, to make you laugh and despair at the same time. Some people come out of it very badly indeed. To many, Haines may come across as slightly bitter but you have to consider just how frustrating it must have been to be a talented, innovative singer-songwriter at the time of Britpop.
['Bad Vibes' is out now in all good bookshops. Luke Haines plays The Roundhouse on Jan 27th, and there is a great, free recording of The Auteurs at The LSE from 1999 available from http://www.lukehaines.co.uk/shop/ ]
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