To Ease My Troubled Mind: The Authorised Unauthorised History of Billy Childish

by Ted Kessler, Stewart Lee (foreword)

In 1977, 17-year-old Steven Hamper was a stonemason in the dockyards of Chatham, Kent. His heart, however, beat in sync with the punk rock tremors of the era, seduced by its celebration of amateurism. So, in a gesture of revolutionary defiance, he took a 3lb club hammer and smashed his hand, vowing to never work again. In doing so, Steven Hamper metamorphosed into Billy Childish, a true renaissance man.

Childish has since remained steadfastly true to punk's DIY cred, becoming one of the most recognisable and authentic voices in whichever artistic endeavour he undertakes. He has released over one hundred and fifty albums of raw rock and roll, punk, blues and folk, written many volumes of searing poetry as well as several autobiographical novels. But what he is perhaps best known for in recent years is his painting, for which he is now critically, commercially and internationally feted. He hasn't changed course in any of his disciplines, though. The world just caught up with the sheer volume of his brutally honest work.

To Ease My Troubled Mind is a mosaic portrait collated over a year of interviews with Childish, as well as with close family, ex-girlfriends, bandmembers past and present, friends, foes, collaborators, even his therapist. It is an unflinching, yet frequently spiritual and funny portrait of an artist whose obstacle-strewn upbringing formed the backbone of his raised in a broken home and abused as a child, Childish was an undiagnosed dyslexic in remedial class at school who is nevertheless now Britain's most prolific and uncompromising creative force.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 4, 2024

Reviews

[MJ Nicholls · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a long-time excavator of the Billy Childish discography—a whopping monolith of 150+ albums ranging from unlistenable, mediocre, to scorching—and a fascination as to what makes someone so unstoppably prolific, this authorised unauthorised biography was ordered and devoured immediately. Born to a neglectful, narcissistic father, and a besieged, narcissistic mother, Childish’s rise to becoming a polymath of amateurism is a riveting story, one of incessant artistic creation, an incontinent level of DIY production where the spurt of inspiration trumps the hard road of torturous re-re-revision. With full cooperation from Childish, whose willingness for extreme candour allows Kessler to poke around in his past relationships, including the fractious early years with Tracey Emin and the fallout from her success with YBAs. Blending transcribed interviews with key collaborators and ex-partners with vividly evoked scenes of his traumatic past and his sincere attempts to combat his alcoholism and philandering, with brilliant insights into the manifold bands, books, and bust-ups across his enviably rich life, this is a magnificent biography of a proper old-school English eccentric.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished Ted Kessler’s ‘Authorised Unauthorised History of Billy Childish’, which is an inside-out character study of creativity, collaboration and ideas vs. execution. You come to know Childish in casual but careful detail through the experiences of those who have spun pieces of his creative web over the years. I used to listen to Thee Headcoatees, so am left wishing that a few of the women in his music circle would write their own stories.

I think we all must know someone like Billy Childish. Fun, intelligent, creative, clever. A person who makes you feel like you’re bringing something of value to the table. On the flip side though, extreme, principled and stubborn with a track record of difficult and painful endings that somehow lead to ever-new beginnings. What I find curious is the common thread among his co-creatives and friends - he seemed to bring out something in them that they felt good about, went with and developed. However, ultimately left unanswered is why? What did he get out of that? What do people gain from ‘lifting others up’ in creative pursuits (and hi-jinx), surrounding themselves by accomplices willing to be directed? It’s not a question specific to him really, but maybe someone reading this knows of a book that gets at this psychology in creative collaborations well.

I liked the structure that Kessler used to organise and assemble a sketch of someone - witness testimony-like accounts, family history timelines and email exchanges with poetry, photography and discography woven throughout. It felt thorough yet light to ready, meaning not bogged down by linear detail and storytelling.

[Uri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little bit messy but enjoyable all along, especially for Steven Hamper diehard fans

For a longer and more thorough review (not written by me) I agree with pretty much is said here: https://www.caughtbytheriver.net/2024...

[Woody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly original and enjoyable biography by Ted Kessler on Thee Wild Billy Childish. At times comes across like an oral history with intimate chapters orated by friends of the Medway poet / punk rocker / painter. I’m really glad someone did a proper documentation of his world and the group of people who made all those great records.

Been a lot of rock memoirs this summer and a lot of them have a similar trajectory. Billy’s approach is unlike anyone else and I think Ted brought that spirit to the writing of this book

[Brandy 123 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really easy read but no less thought-provoking. Paints a pretty honest picture of the man - complex, funny and at times (indeed regularly) extremely dislikeable. His obsession with Tracey Emin and her subsequent success is a case in point - he doesn’t come out at all well in the world of women (a harem, for goodness’ sake?!). But it’s to Kessler’s credit that he doesn’t gloss over these areas while still making room for the reverence he feels towards Childish’s output. I was at a lot of those Headcoat gigs in the late 90s and it was indeed a heady and vibrant experience.

[Stephen J. Golds · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a life long Childish fan, I was left a little disappointed by this authorized unauthorized history. It seemed to play it extremely safe. Childish apparently prides himself on always speaking the truth, so a more honest and deeper look at the artist and the darkness that has touched his life at points would have been much better. This book, although very well written, just seemed all so superficial and PC. It’s not THE biography but I guess it’s good for now.

[Christopher Owens · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://www.thepensivequill.com/2024/...

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unique and original appraoch to biography that triumphantly serves the unique and original artist that is Billy Childish.

[Chapter Chirp (Jessica)]

“To Ease My Troubled Mind” is a biography mixed with the musical history of “Billy Childish” born Steven John Hamper, but also went by various other names over the years. He is what some may consider a modern-day renaissance man, as he has dabbled in several different areas of self-expression including music, art, poetry, writing, and even publishing. This was an intriguing book about an interesting and quite eccentric man, one whom I had never heard of until picking up this book. I appreciated that the author talked not only with the man of the hour himself, but also those who were close and associated with Billy throughout his life giving a wide array of opinions and perspective on him. I liked that there were snippets of his work scattered sporadically throughout the book as well including poetry, song lyrics, and art. This would be a great book for anyone interested in learning of the man who has lived to the beat of his own drum and played life by his own rules, anyone interested in British punk music history, or more recent British art movements.

I received this book as an ARC, all opinions expressed in this review are my own.