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Strange Things Are Happening
A memoir by one of the most influential and ubiquitous underground British musicians of the past thirty years.
Leafy St Albans is an unlikely starting point for one of the great psychedelic/acid house musicians of his generation, but, like so many others who brought radical change to the counterculture, Richard Norris' story starts in the suburbs.
Strange Things Are Happening documents his journey from punk through the emerging DIY indie culture to producing the UK's first acid house album, Jack the Tab; being one of the only unsigned artists to grace the cover of NME, to being one of the first faces on the scene at Shoom and Spectrum during the 1988 Summer of Love; finding international fame with The Grid in the early 90s, to working with Joe Strummer and a cast of thousands as a remixer, writer and producer. Embracing a psychedelic lifestyle along the way, Strange Things Are Happening is a funny, improbable and frequently wild journey down the rabbit hole.
Richard Norris has been involved in almost every aspect of music and its business for many decades. This is an insider's tale of inspiration and collaboration, working with some of the most iconic artists in music and beyond. We travel to basement acid parties in London to ten thousand strong raves in Ibiza. From Amsterdam with Timothy Leary, to Tijuana with Shaun Ryder and Joe Strummer, on a bumpy ride in Joe's beat up 1955 Cadillac, to the customs hall at Heathrow with Sun Ra, Top Of The Pops, LA film sets, around the world and back again. Strange Things Are Happening is a celebration of creativity and passion, of chance meetings turning into lifelong friendships, and of what is possible with an independent spirit, with an open mind and heart. Not quite Do It Yourself, more Do It Yourselves - a testimony to how small groups of people can affect and change the cultural landscape; a story about doing what you love and being eternally curious; about the inevitable occupational dead ends and wrong turns that happen when you jump in headfirst, and what is learnt along the way.
The accompanying 'Strange Things Are Happening' CD for the Hardback + version only is a career spanning compilation which includes tracks from the seminal 'Jack The Tab' 1988 acid compilation, to The Grid's 'Floatation', through to later tracks as Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve with Erol Alkan, and a host of classic remixes and exclusive new tracks.
Leafy St Albans is an unlikely starting point for one of the great psychedelic/acid house musicians of his generation, but, like so many others who brought radical change to the counterculture, Richard Norris' story starts in the suburbs.
Strange Things Are Happening documents his journey from punk through the emerging DIY indie culture to producing the UK's first acid house album, Jack the Tab; being one of the only unsigned artists to grace the cover of NME, to being one of the first faces on the scene at Shoom and Spectrum during the 1988 Summer of Love; finding international fame with The Grid in the early 90s, to working with Joe Strummer and a cast of thousands as a remixer, writer and producer. Embracing a psychedelic lifestyle along the way, Strange Things Are Happening is a funny, improbable and frequently wild journey down the rabbit hole.
Richard Norris has been involved in almost every aspect of music and its business for many decades. This is an insider's tale of inspiration and collaboration, working with some of the most iconic artists in music and beyond. We travel to basement acid parties in London to ten thousand strong raves in Ibiza. From Amsterdam with Timothy Leary, to Tijuana with Shaun Ryder and Joe Strummer, on a bumpy ride in Joe's beat up 1955 Cadillac, to the customs hall at Heathrow with Sun Ra, Top Of The Pops, LA film sets, around the world and back again. Strange Things Are Happening is a celebration of creativity and passion, of chance meetings turning into lifelong friendships, and of what is possible with an independent spirit, with an open mind and heart. Not quite Do It Yourself, more Do It Yourselves - a testimony to how small groups of people can affect and change the cultural landscape; a story about doing what you love and being eternally curious; about the inevitable occupational dead ends and wrong turns that happen when you jump in headfirst, and what is learnt along the way.
The accompanying 'Strange Things Are Happening' CD for the Hardback + version only is a career spanning compilation which includes tracks from the seminal 'Jack The Tab' 1988 acid compilation, to The Grid's 'Floatation', through to later tracks as Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve with Erol Alkan, and a host of classic remixes and exclusive new tracks.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
304 pages, Hardcover
Published March 21, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 26, 2024
It turns out that Richard Norris is a kind of Zelig figure. He seems to crop up remarkably often at crucial moments in modern musical history.
Strange Things Are Happening (2024) is full of fascinating stories and a lot of wonderful music.
Highly recommended for anybody who enjoys music books and music history.
5/5
More about Strange Things Are Happening (2024)....
A memoir by one of the most influential and ubiquitous underground British musicians of the past thirty years.
Leafy St Albans is an unlikely starting point for one of the great psychedelic/acid house musicians of his generation, but, like so many others who brought radical change to the counterculture, Richard Norris' story starts in the suburbs.
Strange Things Are Happening documents his journey from punk through the emerging DIY indie culture to producing the UK's first acid house album, Jack the Tab; being one of the only unsigned artists to grace the cover of NME, to being one of the first faces on the scene at Shoom and Spectrum during the 1988 Summer of Love; finding international fame with The Grid in the early 90s, to working with Joe Strummer and a cast of thousands as a remixer, writer and producer. Embracing a psychedelic lifestyle along the way, Strange Things Are Happening is a funny, improbable and frequently wild journey down the rabbit hole.
Richard Norris has been involved in almost every aspect of music and its business for many decades. This is an insider's tale of inspiration and collaboration, working with some of the most iconic artists in music and beyond. We travel to basement acid parties in London to ten thousand strong raves in Ibiza. From Amsterdam with Timothy Leary, to Tijuana with Shaun Ryder and Joe Strummer, on a bumpy ride in Joe's beat up 1955 Cadillac, to the customs hall at Heathrow with Sun Ra, Top Of The Pops, LA film sets, around the world and back again. Strange Things Are Happening is a celebration of creativity and passion, of chance meetings turning into lifelong friendships, and of what is possible with an independent spirit, with an open mind and heart. Not quite Do It Yourself, more Do It Yourselves - a testimony to how small groups of people can affect and change the cultural landscape; a story about doing what you love and being eternally curious; about the inevitable occupational dead ends and wrong turns that happen when you jump in headfirst, and what is learnt along the way.
Strange Things Are Happening (2024) is full of fascinating stories and a lot of wonderful music.
Highly recommended for anybody who enjoys music books and music history.
5/5
More about Strange Things Are Happening (2024)....
A memoir by one of the most influential and ubiquitous underground British musicians of the past thirty years.
Leafy St Albans is an unlikely starting point for one of the great psychedelic/acid house musicians of his generation, but, like so many others who brought radical change to the counterculture, Richard Norris' story starts in the suburbs.
Strange Things Are Happening documents his journey from punk through the emerging DIY indie culture to producing the UK's first acid house album, Jack the Tab; being one of the only unsigned artists to grace the cover of NME, to being one of the first faces on the scene at Shoom and Spectrum during the 1988 Summer of Love; finding international fame with The Grid in the early 90s, to working with Joe Strummer and a cast of thousands as a remixer, writer and producer. Embracing a psychedelic lifestyle along the way, Strange Things Are Happening is a funny, improbable and frequently wild journey down the rabbit hole.
Richard Norris has been involved in almost every aspect of music and its business for many decades. This is an insider's tale of inspiration and collaboration, working with some of the most iconic artists in music and beyond. We travel to basement acid parties in London to ten thousand strong raves in Ibiza. From Amsterdam with Timothy Leary, to Tijuana with Shaun Ryder and Joe Strummer, on a bumpy ride in Joe's beat up 1955 Cadillac, to the customs hall at Heathrow with Sun Ra, Top Of The Pops, LA film sets, around the world and back again. Strange Things Are Happening is a celebration of creativity and passion, of chance meetings turning into lifelong friendships, and of what is possible with an independent spirit, with an open mind and heart. Not quite Do It Yourself, more Do It Yourselves - a testimony to how small groups of people can affect and change the cultural landscape; a story about doing what you love and being eternally curious; about the inevitable occupational dead ends and wrong turns that happen when you jump in headfirst, and what is learnt along the way.
March 22, 2024
Love this guy, and great to have a book from him. So modest about his career in music, and cool to see how his different connections have come together in such interesting projects.
October 31, 2024
"Strange Things Are Happening: Adventures in Music" by Richard Norris is a vibrant, first-hand journey through some of music's most transformative decades. Norris weaves his personal story with the larger musical tapestry, beginning in the rebellious punk era and stretching into the evolution of dance music with his band The Grid. His storytelling is grounded yet electrifying, blending behind-the-scenes anecdotes with insights into the cultural shifts that defined these genres. This is more than just a music memoir; it's a pulse-check on the evolution of sound, charting the rise of movements that shaped entire generations.
Norris’s voice is candid and compelling, whether he’s recounting gritty punk beginnings or navigating the dance music scene’s highs and lows. Fans of music history will appreciate the meticulous attention to detail, while those less familiar with the eras will still be swept up in the lively pace and Norris’s contagious passion. The book strikes a great balance between being informative and entertaining, making it a must-read for anyone interested in music’s power to inspire and transform. I purchased my copy from the Soft Cell website which is signed and has an exclusive CD.
Norris’s voice is candid and compelling, whether he’s recounting gritty punk beginnings or navigating the dance music scene’s highs and lows. Fans of music history will appreciate the meticulous attention to detail, while those less familiar with the eras will still be swept up in the lively pace and Norris’s contagious passion. The book strikes a great balance between being informative and entertaining, making it a must-read for anyone interested in music’s power to inspire and transform. I purchased my copy from the Soft Cell website which is signed and has an exclusive CD.
May 18, 2025
Strange Things Are Happening is a joyful, trippy deep-dive into the outer edges of music history. This book reads like a mixtape made by someone with a serious knack for finding the hidden corners of sound that most history overlooks.
Norris doesn't just list artists or genres; he weaves stories, atmospheres, and oddball cultural connections. Psychedelia, post-punk, electronics, trance, garage (and the 60's variant)— it’s all here, and it all somehow fits. The result is an inspiring, perspective-shifting celebration of music’s stranger pathways. Expect to go from Dave Ball, Terrence McKenna and Burroughs to Cabaret Voltaire, Ibiza, from Errol Alkan to the Seeds, meeting Elton John. As someone who was very influenced by Megatripolis in London in the 90's when I was very young, it clicked immediately. Norris sounds like your funny, up to everything mate.
If there’s a downside, it’s that I constantly found myself pausing to head to YouTube to track down the artists and songs he mentions. But maybe that’s part of the magic — it’s not just a book, it’s a gateway. Expect your playlists to explode.
Highly recommended for music obsessives, crate diggers, and anyone who loves it when history gets a little weird.
Norris doesn't just list artists or genres; he weaves stories, atmospheres, and oddball cultural connections. Psychedelia, post-punk, electronics, trance, garage (and the 60's variant)— it’s all here, and it all somehow fits. The result is an inspiring, perspective-shifting celebration of music’s stranger pathways. Expect to go from Dave Ball, Terrence McKenna and Burroughs to Cabaret Voltaire, Ibiza, from Errol Alkan to the Seeds, meeting Elton John. As someone who was very influenced by Megatripolis in London in the 90's when I was very young, it clicked immediately. Norris sounds like your funny, up to everything mate.
If there’s a downside, it’s that I constantly found myself pausing to head to YouTube to track down the artists and songs he mentions. But maybe that’s part of the magic — it’s not just a book, it’s a gateway. Expect your playlists to explode.
Highly recommended for music obsessives, crate diggers, and anyone who loves it when history gets a little weird.
November 2, 2024
Richard has been part of many spokes of the musical wheel I listen to that I had no clue of. I knew of the Psychic TV acid era, M.E.S.H. etc, and then randomly found the Grid in 1996 only bought because here was a 303 and a Blue Room speaker on the cover. Didn’t know the connection until reading the liner notes at home.
Reading this starting with him talking to Bill Drummond I knew I was in for a treat. Each chapter was like a “wait, he knows them, too?!”
I almost forgotten about him, no clue he was still making music until he was subject of the SOS Electronic Music podcast in 2022, that I really started following him closely as I was also in my drone music meditation era.
He’s lived the life I only dreamed about, and continues to live. Worked with so many amazing artists, musicians that who knows how much music is out there yet to be released.
A great book for any music historian, particularly the early rave scene.
Reading this starting with him talking to Bill Drummond I knew I was in for a treat. Each chapter was like a “wait, he knows them, too?!”
I almost forgotten about him, no clue he was still making music until he was subject of the SOS Electronic Music podcast in 2022, that I really started following him closely as I was also in my drone music meditation era.
He’s lived the life I only dreamed about, and continues to live. Worked with so many amazing artists, musicians that who knows how much music is out there yet to be released.
A great book for any music historian, particularly the early rave scene.
July 2, 2026
Richard Norris's Strange Things Are Happening is more than a musician's memoir it is an engaging chronicle of the evolution of British underground music from punk and indie through acid house, rave culture, and electronic music. Written with warmth, humor, and a genuine passion for creativity, the book offers readers a front row seat to some of the most transformative moments in modern music history.
One of the memoir's greatest strengths is Norris's ability to weave his personal journey into the broader story of Britain's changing musical landscape. Beginning in suburban St Albans, he traces influential projects such as Jack the Tab and The Grid, and collaborations with legendary artists across multiple decades. Rather than presenting himself as the sole protagonist, Norris consistently highlights the communities, friendships, and creative partnerships that shaped his career, reinforcing the book's central message that innovation is often a collective endeavor.
One of the memoir's greatest strengths is Norris's ability to weave his personal journey into the broader story of Britain's changing musical landscape. Beginning in suburban St Albans, he traces influential projects such as Jack the Tab and The Grid, and collaborations with legendary artists across multiple decades. Rather than presenting himself as the sole protagonist, Norris consistently highlights the communities, friendships, and creative partnerships that shaped his career, reinforcing the book's central message that innovation is often a collective endeavor.
May 16, 2024
A very well written and comprehensive tome. My initial interest in Richard was his association with Dave Ball in M.E.S.H. and The Grid. (Dave Ball is one half of Soft Cell) This book was a revelation into the skills and scope of Mr. Norris. From DIY punk in the early 80's to his current project, Music for Healing, and everything in-between, including Techno. I applaud those who can make a living from music, that right there is proof in the pudding of their pure talent. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys music, and the process of how music is made, and presented to the public. Hats off to Richard, a great job! Can't wait for part two!
August 3, 2024
Growing up and discovering The Grid was a musical revelation for me. I have been a massive fan for years. Richard's recent ambient output is also amazing and his creativity shows no signs of slowing down. This book is not just about The Grid though. It charts Reichard's musical oddysey from his childhood up until now and what a wonderful journey it is.
February 23, 2026
A very readable account of an interesting career, and a who’s who of electronic, dance and counterculture collaborators.
Marred by the lack of an index, and poor proofreading - names, in particular, are prone to being misspelled. Paolo Hewitt is always spelt Paulo, Dieter Meier from Yello becomes Dieter Mayer, etc. A good read, nonetheless.
Marred by the lack of an index, and poor proofreading - names, in particular, are prone to being misspelled. Paolo Hewitt is always spelt Paulo, Dieter Meier from Yello becomes Dieter Mayer, etc. A good read, nonetheless.
March 28, 2024
Heard this was beautifully written. It’s competently written and I kind of couldn’t wait for it to end. No thank you.
January 19, 2025
Great stories not very interestingly told.
April 24, 2025
I appreciate I would have enjoyed this a lot more if I'd experienced the musical eras it covers
April 14, 2026
A fun read; a little light. About half way through reading about Norris’ charmed career one starts to skim a bit as there is no depth beyond the one-note of things he’s done and with whom.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews