Black Vinyl White Powder

by Simon Napier-Bell

The most authoritative, intelligent, diligently researched and unpretentious analysis of the British pop scene yet written' Sunday Telegraph

Black Vinyl White Powder charts the amazing fifty year history of the British music business in unparalleled scale and detail. As a key player across the decades, Napier-Bell - who discovered Marc Bolan and managed amongst others The Yardbirds and Wham! - uses his wealth of contacts and extraordinary personal experiences to tell the story of an industry that is like no other. Where bad behaviour is not only tolerated but encouraged, where drugs are sometimes as important as talent, where artists are pushed to their physical and mental limits in the name of profit and ego.

'The Greatest Ever Book Written about English Pop-Breathtakingly Brilliant' Julie Burchill

'The cold print equivalent of a sparkling evening with a world-class raconteur.' Charles Shaar Murray, Independent

Bitchy, glib, fun and shrewd' Daily Telegraph

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography, History, Music Biography

480 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Graham Power · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chanced on this in an Edinburgh charity bookshop and a rattling good read it is too. Simon Napier-Bell’s history of the the British music business, from colourful Soho coffee bar kings in the fifties to anonymous downloads in the digital age, is gossipy, sardonic, unpretentious, perceptive, and very funny. His narrative voice is very much that of the world-weary music biz insider who’s seen it all and done most of it. His own story, as manager of Marc Bolan, John’s Children, the Yardbirds, Japan and Wham!, is woven into the larger history. And how could anyone not warm to a man who describes Duran Duran as ‘a tribute to marketing - a triumph of packaging over substance’, and says of Spandau Ballet, ‘their speciality was intellectual bullshit’.

If this book has anything as highfalutin as a thesis it’s that the music business was founded on three key principles: money, sex and drugs. He’s very good on how changes in drug fashions over the years shaped the changing sound of the music (psychedelia/acid, punk/speed, house/ecstasy) and on the central influence of gay men and gay culture on British pop music. Camp and androgyny were perhaps Britain’s unique contributions to pop (though Little Richard might have something to say about that).

There are tales of chart rigging and dodgy deals and, above all, of young men behaving badly. In the sixties and seventies before pop grew up, or more accurately became so over-managed that there was nothing left to listen to except the white noise of market research, bad behaviour was not so much tolerated in the record industry as obligatory. The more anarchic, anti-establishment, or just plain obnoxious you were, the more successful, respected, famous and, most importantly, rich you became. The music business plundered our secret desires and sold them back to us artfully packaged. As Napier-Bell observes: ‘at the heart of the pop dream is the sound of a cash register’.

[Nigeyb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fine if you’ve never read a music book before but huge swathes of this are Simon Napier-Bell just rehashing well known stories. There’s also quite a few inaccuracies. Very disappointing. I was hoping for something more personal and interesting.

2/5

[Jennifer Ozawa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the more entertaining books I’ve read in a while. Napier-Bell is a music industry insider and has some stories to tell. Not only that, he gives insight into music that is enlightening.

[Bram De Vriese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wouldn't say this is Simon's best book. Quite a bit of repetition from other books of his. Still enjoyable.

[Tosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon Napier-Bell was the manager for Marc Bolan (before T-Rex), The Yardbirds, John's Children (never heard them, shame on you), Wham!, and Japan. He is also a hysterical wit and wrote three fantastic books about the music business. "Black Vinyl, White Powder" is not a tell-all but more of the underbelly of the record business and what makes it tick. What is so great is how Napier-Bell tells the tale - and god one wants to have dinner with him. But be careful he knows how to live.

[Harry Buckle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just about the best book written on the business of music...the other three best books being Simon's other works: Simon started in the music industry around the same time as me- he as a musician/come 'roadie' for some serious Jazz bands...and my self as journalist then music company owner. Despite us both having more than a little international success with, in my case, music we published or records we released and in Simon's case, artists he managed (Marc Bolan-Wham-George Michael - to name just a few ) through the years our paths only crossed a few times. He had a reputation for being 'very sharp' and on occasions 'too smart'...skills, which of course for a manager-if handled carefully (as he did ) are very useful. Generally speaking- as I say our paths rarely crossed- but for those of us owning music companies and thus on 'the other side' or receiving end of such 'smarts' there was always an element of 'counting the fingers' after the handshake. Having said all that, I think Simon was brilliant both at surviving, winning and managing. Good musical taste as well- although I suspect sometimes over influenced by the appearance and style of some of those he managed. For a surprisingly candid, accurate and informed series of books not only on the music but on the life style of the time and the reasons for change get/read all of Simons books...not much duplication in them either. For a view from 'the other side of the fence'-in more ways than one-of course there's my own 'wow man this is truly fab' (as they used to say) book. 'Sometimes Music Is My Only Friend.' Now I know we are not meant to 'plug our own books' here-in but in this instance mine does truly complement Simons-in content at least- even if not in the genius of it's written style.

[Dina_s · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this book while looking up Japan and David Sylvian on Soundcloud. One thing led to another and before you know it I was getting all nostalgic on fan sites and came across a reference to this book.

I must admit I'm a bit on the fence with this rather pithy yarn. It is a fascinating glimpse into the workings of the British music industry no doubt, and I am pretty convinced that drugs slash the gay community did play a big part in the making of many a rock/pop star and superhit, but it just comes across as overly bombastic.

Simon Napier Bell is an icon in the industry and I don't really get a sense of who he was and is now, but I suppose I would need to read his other books for that. That is, apart from being pretty arrogant, opinionated and all knowing, being an icon in the industry and all.

Overall 3 (perhaps grudgingly with a half on top) stars and a firm reading recommendation for all 80s children like me who grew up with music from the 50s and 60s on their parents' turntable. Us 70s/80s kids have seen it all: vinyl, cassettes, the birth of MTV and the The Music Box, cds, mp3, so this more than resonates with our childhood and sense of nostalgia.

[Hodan (Ho.th.an) Jama · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a totally random pick for me, saw it at the library this morning and just sat down and read it, all i knew was that Simon Napier-Bell managed "The Yardbirds","London", and "John's Children". i love them so i was like what the hell and it turned out to be a cool read. It tells the true story about "Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll" how they are all linked from the start. It gives fans the inside story from a person who has been there for decades. I have always been interested in the British music scene and this book has all the answers. with the amount of talent that comes out of the UK i was interested in the amount of illegal activities that went on.
Simon Napier-Bell is an amazing story teller, i recommend this book to music lovers who are interested in the back story on their favorite bands from the 50s to the 90s and all the cool little details fans don't knows about.

[Paul Kearney · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were no famous bands in the early 50's.
Rock and Roll is a communists plot to bring whites and blacks together.
Jimmy Saville was one of the first people on earth, To work out playing records could be more popular than hiring a band.
Swinging 60's was entirely powered by the idea, Pill's make things better.
Tom Jones and Cliff Richard only became famous because you didn't have to take drugs to enjoy it.
Artists managers tip off police because getting arrested helps sales.
David Bowie employed hired actors to drink champagne and eat steak posing as staff member's, While his real staff were getting their teeth capped on his expenses.
Ibiza became the worlds biggest club scene by accident, After Spanish barmen started lacing ecstasy in cocktails without telling customers.
Ministry of sound was only given a licence, Because the council couldn't work out how a venue that didn't sell alcohol, Could cause disturbance or police time.
Britpop was a device to take the money back from financially uncontrollable dance music.
Oasis cleverly stole all the headlines. By being intelligent, articulate and insightful, While pretending they weren't.

A music managers 50 years inside the gossip field's of excess within the British music scene.
Encyclopaedic knowledge has never seemed so decadently Dorian Gray.

[Godzilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good insight into the world of music, from a guy who's been there.

I learnt a lot about the music business, which is couple with lots of anecdotes about rock stars' behaviour.

Simon Napier-Bell comes across as a little smug and self righteous. Then again, if I'd made my fortune out of managing the "talent" he has I'd feel quite smug too!

He dwells a little too much on Boy Bands and gives them a little too much credence for my liking, but I guess he's done alright out of it whilst we've suffered!

I'd really recommend this book, although the "future" as he sees it hasn't really played out that way in the intervening years. But then who really is gifted with the ability to predict the future?

[Rai · Rating 1 out of 5]

This pompous, self-rightous twit of a man has no idea what he's talking about when it comes to genres other than cheesy pop. New Romantics changed the world and all punks are foul-mouthed, stupid racist thugs? Really? Napier-Bell needs to get his facts straight and needs his head roughly removed from his arse.


And at least four chapters of this book wasn't the history of British music, it was the history of fucking Wham! They can hardly be classed as one of the world's most influential groups.

[W. Nicol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm prepared to believe this book is as authoritative on the history of music designed for UK teenagers as it says it is. Mr Napier-Bell assumes his readers to be as well-versed in the minutiae of his industry as he is,eg from the foreword onwards he repeatedly refers to A&R departments but not until p398 does he reveal to the non-cognoscenti of his industry that the abbreviation stands for Artists and Repertoire. I cannot help wondering whether he is as aware that drug-taking might be as obscure a subject to the majority of the British public?

[Will · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings on this book; the first half was strong with Napier-Bell's personal experiences mixed in with the progress of the UK music industry. As Napier-Bell becomes more successful, the story becomes impersonal and becomes a rapid sprint through to the (then) present day state of play for the UK record companies. The anecdotes tend to fall by the wayside, replaced by cut and paste quotes from interviews given by musicians. However, the first half was strong and had some biting comments and stories.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting read about the drug industry, and how it has affected the music industry since the 50s. You might think that the correlation between the two is quite obvious, but it runs deeper than first thought.

[Ralph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as smart as the author thinks he is

[Jamie K · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5, interesting look at the history of the music business in England.

[Sam Forster · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started reading this having come to it because Napier-Bell was the manager of Japan. I'd finished Anthony Reynold's book A Foreign Place about the band which was a pretty fascinating and somewhat damning take on Napier-Bell's involvement with the band. In that book he appeared as one of the larger than life characters of the music industry, with that in mind I was expecting this to be quite an expose and wild ride. I was disappointed.

It starts well with how young Simon got a toehold into the music industry on the back of being akin to a roadie for jazz act Johnny Dankworth and his band. We get some interesting insights about the 1950's and the prevalence of speed in the music business then, that and the way it operated back in the day was interesting and not something I'd read much about beforehand.

But once the sixties begin their swinging the author seems to almost slide out of view. Here he is, central to this world of drugs, deranged behaviour and remarkable personalities and it doesn't really leap off the page. A lot of it felt 'Oh, I already know that having read about it in x...'. Napier-Bell casts himself as observer in all the mayhem; he never appears tempted or curious to experiment in the drugs all around him, nor especially moved by music. We never really find out why not or much about him at all, beyond the fact that he was there and saw it all first hand. He doesn't even always get his facts right (Captain Sensible is not the singer in the Damned, Dave Vanian is) which doesn't help

Through his descriptions it feels like he had little interest in the acts he worked with beyond whether or not he thought their music would sell shedloads. For all he was impressed by George Michael's talent he appeared more fussed about keeping Wham! together as a contractual obligation. You don't get a feeling of someone who loves music, loves the gamble of taking on a new band, not even someone fixated by the ringing of cash registers which is the impression you get about the author elsewhere.

How the industry operates is somewhat interesting, some of the 'such and such did this because he was so off his face on drugs' anecdotes are genuinely funny or shocking. The fact that music seems to have come full circle and we're back with about four record companies creating marketable hand puppet indentikit pop acts much like the 1950's draws the book to a sobering close. I'd liked to have come away knowing more about Simon Napier Bell and his role in the stories he recounts, maybe that was never the point of this book. But a book about drugs and pop music being intertwined seems so obvious it feels a bit disappointing that it doesn't go that extra mile and reveal a little bit more than it does.

[Davidg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very entertaining view of the British music industry from the fifties to the turn of the millennium. Napier-Bell started out with the Johnny Dankworth band and then moved into band management with The Yardbirds, becoming most famous as the manager of Wham. His own history is interwoven with the different musical trends over the decades.

What makes this book different from most other histories of pop is that Napier-Bell isn’t particularly concerned with the music. He focuses on the industry behind it and, as the title suggests, the different drip ups that lay behind each musical movement. As a lover of music who has never smoked a cigarette or drunk alcohol, I come to this as something of an outsider.

As the book comes to the 80’s and 90’s, the music becomes less important to the industry. As long as the product (the artist) can be marketed and sold, it doesn’t matter what it sounds like.

The book ends with Napier-Bell and his mates predicting where the industry will go. They correctly predict that downloading will take over from physical product but are not aware of streaming. The idea of record companies becoming sellers of copyright seems pretty accurate. I would quite like to see a sequel exhaling where the industry is now and how the big companies have survived, or not. Also, there is nothing on hip-hop or rap, being mainly US musical forms, but with the rise of Grime and other UK variants, that would give another area for his views on.

4.5 stars and a very good read.

[Sarah Jackson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover promises "The greatest ever book written about English pop...", well it's certainly one of the shortest I've every read (95 pages). I realised towards the end, that this particular book is just a slice of a much larger edition. Having said that, this insider's guide to the UK music scene of the 50's and 60's (I suspect that later decades are covered in the larger book), is insightful, amusing and full of juicy gossip. An interesting and quick read.

[Sarah Newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting premise, that rock music's development was heavily determined by gay subculture and the series of drugs available at the time. This is pretty warts and all; the first two-thirds, where SNB is clearly relating his own lived experience, is top notch; the last third becomes a little more abstract as by then he's entered a period where he's further removed from the "coal-face", but it's all a good read.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable and insightful history of the British music industry. Benefits from Napier-Bell's experience of working in the industry; and the fact that he does not go over the top about his own career as a pop group manager.

[Robyn G….y · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon is a fantastic raconteur. This is one of many books he has written over the years and shares a a lot about the music business with his readers.
I love his writing and having worked in the music biz myself, I know what he writes is all true!

[Jozef Kostecki · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a book published in 2001 some of the choices of phrase have aged like milk in the sun.

But retrospectively reading that final chapter of music execs guessing where the industry might end up is great.

[Pwl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good read

[Vilmos Kondor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a terrific book with many revelations of which the widespread use of drugs gets the leading role but the actual workings of the industry are much more interesting and captivating.

[Paul Lehane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Trite & shallow.

[Danny fardell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably best book I've ever read on the British music industry. Excellent.

[Colin Larcombe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history from a managers point of view

[Trevor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liked this from start to finish.

This is more of a potted history of pop music but it's very interesting nevertheless.

If you're looking for a warts n all book about drugs in the music industry then you'd probably be a little disappointed. There's no real shocks about who was doing what, we all knew that all along.

However, that said, it gives an interesting insight into the way the music industry works, particularly surrounding contracts etc.

Overall I found it a good read and Napier-Bell comes across as a fairly good egg.

[Bart · Rating 4 out of 5]

From a guy that's been there and done it, it's a good insight.
The history of recorded music laid out by a guy who's watched it happen and spoke to those that were in it.

He pretty much nails the future of the music industry when he says it's about management of the copyrights - as Roger Faxon (at the time CEO of EMI group) said to a courtyard of EMI executives and staff in 2010, nine years after this book, "we are not a record company, we are a rights management company"...and so we are.

On the basis of this book, I've already bought Simon's new book and will be reading that one soon.