The Rejects: An Alternative History of Popular Music

by Jamie Collinson

Imagine you've made it. You and your friends have hit the big time in music and you're going to be a star. But then, quite suddenly, it's over. Your best friends don't want you anymore, and you're on the outside. Perhaps they're tired of your bad habits, they think you're not good enough, or they sense you just don't want it as much as they do. Whatever the cause, you're a reject. So, what do you do next?

Featuring a player rejected by both Nirvana and Soundgarden who became a decorated special forces soldier, Britpoppers who spiralled into addiction before becoming novelists and missionaries, the terrifying story of Guns N' Roses' first drummer, super-rejecting band leaders, self-destroying rappers, troubled hard rock bassists and girl-band burnouts, The Rejects takes an intimate, thoughtful look at people who've been kicked out of bands, what they experienced and what came afterwards.

Coming from a writer with twenty years' music industry experience, The Rejects is a sympathetic study of some of music's most fascinating characters, and what happens when the dream comes crashing to an end. The result is a compelling alternative history of popular music.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music

427 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 22, 2024

About the author

Jamie Collinson was born in 1980 in Lincolnshire, England. He grew up in Leeds, then moved to London to study English Literature at King’s College. He works in the music industry, including a period at the independent label Ninja Tune, with artists such as Wiley, Roots Manuva, Bonobo and Young Fathers. In 2012 he moved to Los Angeles to run the company’s American headquarters. His fiction has been included in various magazines and anthologies, and he’s written non-fiction pieces for Guardian Online, Caught by the River, Somesuch Stories, and a number of British and American print magazines.

Reviews

[Joshua Welch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched and crisply delivered in this collection are the stories of some of the most well known bands and their least known former members. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Crazy Horse, Queens of the Stone Age, Destiny’s Child, Nirvana and Soundgarden and so many more.

You don’t have to love these bands to appreciate the stories, seriously if you know me you know I can’t stand Nirvana and don’t care much for the Beatles. Jamie delivers the stories in a great conversational way that’s heavy on facts but weaves them in a way that doesn’t make it feel backbreaking to read.

Bonus, learning more about Tony O’Neil was fantastic.

[Ipswichblade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some parts of this book were great, others less so. It’s all about band members who have left bands and the reasons behind the sackings

[Chris S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's pretty good, lil thin if you know a lot. JC should write a whole book on Wiley and grime.