Guy Mankowski's Blog - Posts Tagged "england"
"Albion's Secret History" due March 2021
I'm honoured to have recently signed a contract with Zer0 Books- home to brilliant authors such as Mark Fisher and Laurie Penny- for my first non-fiction collection, 'Albion's Secret History- Snapshots of England’s Rebels and Outsiders'.
This volume compiles snapshots of English pop culture’s rebels and outsiders- from Evelyn Waugh to PJ Harvey via The Long Blondes and The Libertines. By focusing on cultural figures who served to define England, this book looks at those who have really shaped Albion’s secret history- not just its oft-quoted official cultural history. By departing from the narrative that dutifully follows the Beatles, The Sex Pistols and Oasis and by instead penetrating the surface of England’s pop history (including the venues it was shaped in) this piece throws new light on ideas of Englishness. As well as music it draws from art, film, architecture and politics, showing the moments at which artists like Tricky and Goldfrapp altered our sense of a sometimes green but sometimes unpleasant land.
The astute will notice that my surname isn’t English. I’ve always had a complex relationship with the idea of Englishness and during the writing this book I turned a corner in terms of how I saw the place. For years almost all my attention was drawn to the historical mistakes of the country and our institutions and I didn’t realise how much I privately celebrated so many facets of our culture (although what does ‘our’ even mean?) I think it matters what you think of your surroundings, because they reflect who you are. So although this collection is a love letter to the country there is poison in it too. So I suppose it’s a poison pet love letter to England...
Amazon link- https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1...
This volume compiles snapshots of English pop culture’s rebels and outsiders- from Evelyn Waugh to PJ Harvey via The Long Blondes and The Libertines. By focusing on cultural figures who served to define England, this book looks at those who have really shaped Albion’s secret history- not just its oft-quoted official cultural history. By departing from the narrative that dutifully follows the Beatles, The Sex Pistols and Oasis and by instead penetrating the surface of England’s pop history (including the venues it was shaped in) this piece throws new light on ideas of Englishness. As well as music it draws from art, film, architecture and politics, showing the moments at which artists like Tricky and Goldfrapp altered our sense of a sometimes green but sometimes unpleasant land.
The astute will notice that my surname isn’t English. I’ve always had a complex relationship with the idea of Englishness and during the writing this book I turned a corner in terms of how I saw the place. For years almost all my attention was drawn to the historical mistakes of the country and our institutions and I didn’t realise how much I privately celebrated so many facets of our culture (although what does ‘our’ even mean?) I think it matters what you think of your surroundings, because they reflect who you are. So although this collection is a love letter to the country there is poison in it too. So I suppose it’s a poison pet love letter to England...
Amazon link- https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1...
My Interview Series With English Pop Rebels and Outsiders for 'Albion's Secret History'...
As part of the release of 'Albion's Secret History: Snapshots of England's Pop Rebels and Outsiders' I was honoured to get to interview some of the English artists I discuss in the book. The chapter on Gary Numan is entitled 'Interzones, Edgelands, Psykick Dancehalls and Shamans: Gary Numan, Joy Division and Mark E. Smith'. In our discussion Gary and I discussed the putting together of the Numan persona, his unpublished fiction that informed it, and his experiences of fame. You can watch the interview here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7ajm...
I talk a lot in the book about The Long Blondes, and how they drew from the legacy of Pulp and Suede, in putting together their Modernist image. The chapter on them is entitled 'Pencil Skirts and Motorway Modernism: The Long Blondes and Black Box Recorder'. I was honoured to chat to Kate Jackson about her time in The Long Blondes, her art, and her work with Bernard Butler.
My interview with her was wonderfully candid and covered many very eclectic topics- from the influence of Barbara Windsor to what it was like seeing her fans dress as her. It can be found here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTCBM...
I talk a lot in the book about The Long Blondes, and how they drew from the legacy of Pulp and Suede, in putting together their Modernist image. The chapter on them is entitled 'Pencil Skirts and Motorway Modernism: The Long Blondes and Black Box Recorder'. I was honoured to chat to Kate Jackson about her time in The Long Blondes, her art, and her work with Bernard Butler.
My interview with her was wonderfully candid and covered many very eclectic topics- from the influence of Barbara Windsor to what it was like seeing her fans dress as her. It can be found here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTCBM...
