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The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect: The Last Indie Music Scene 2000-2010
An oral history of the UK “indie sleaze” scene, capturing The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, The Cribs, NME culture, and the last great 2000s British indie moment. This is the UK's answer to Meet Me in the Bathroom—
L
izzy Goodman's seminal oral history of the New York indie scene.
"The times in this book could be the last blast of UK indie culture as we’ve known it, and Janine was there to tell the whole story" —Johnny Marr
At the turn of the millennium, the UK was nursing a post-Britpop hangover.
The music industry had stagnated, churning out identikit girl groups and boybands in an attempt to manufacture the next big thing. However, on the other side of the Atlantic, something was brewing.
In New York City, The Strokes had exploded onto the underground music scene, igniting a new wave of rock’n’roll. Reverberations were felt back across the pond, and young bands in Britain upped tools to answer the call, putting rock music back on top.
The World Was A Mess But His Hair Was Perfect is an impactful and entertaining social history of the last true indie scene in the UK; a cultural and musical movement born at the dawn of social media, colliding in person on the dance floors of clubs like Optimo and Trash. It was a subculture that celebrated hyper-local and regional scenes, labels and venues across Britain.
Author Janine Warren, a publicist for many of the most influential bands of the time, collates voices from across the scene to form a tapestry of the era, including members of The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Maxïmo Park and The Cribs, alongside pivotal figures such as NME editor Conor McNicholas and producer Paul Epworth.
Warren chronicles the legendary gigs, records, parties, drugs and cheap decadence that coalesced to form a rare, unrepeatable moment when optimism, music and possibility collided.
The result was a chaotic and creative zeitgeist at the dawn of a new century, when youth culture —not major labels —ruled the music industry.
"The times in this book could be the last blast of UK indie culture as we’ve known it, and Janine was there to tell the whole story" —Johnny Marr
At the turn of the millennium, the UK was nursing a post-Britpop hangover.
The music industry had stagnated, churning out identikit girl groups and boybands in an attempt to manufacture the next big thing. However, on the other side of the Atlantic, something was brewing.
In New York City, The Strokes had exploded onto the underground music scene, igniting a new wave of rock’n’roll. Reverberations were felt back across the pond, and young bands in Britain upped tools to answer the call, putting rock music back on top.
The World Was A Mess But His Hair Was Perfect is an impactful and entertaining social history of the last true indie scene in the UK; a cultural and musical movement born at the dawn of social media, colliding in person on the dance floors of clubs like Optimo and Trash. It was a subculture that celebrated hyper-local and regional scenes, labels and venues across Britain.
Author Janine Warren, a publicist for many of the most influential bands of the time, collates voices from across the scene to form a tapestry of the era, including members of The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, Maxïmo Park and The Cribs, alongside pivotal figures such as NME editor Conor McNicholas and producer Paul Epworth.
Warren chronicles the legendary gigs, records, parties, drugs and cheap decadence that coalesced to form a rare, unrepeatable moment when optimism, music and possibility collided.
The result was a chaotic and creative zeitgeist at the dawn of a new century, when youth culture —not major labels —ruled the music industry.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
336 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 13, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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July 13, 2026Meet Me In The Loo
September 5, 2026
There’s a whole chapter that’s like “crazy that Pete Doherty is still alive, huh?”
Review of advance copy
It is very, very funny that Razorlight are barely in this, and I'm so happy Ryan Jarman is still alive.
Hello to Ben Myers!
Hello to Ben Myers!
October 19, 2026
A decent but incomplete account of the British indie, post-punk and guitar pop scene in the 2000s. Janine Warren worked as a publicist for many of these bands, which may explain the otherwise inexplicable choice of spending so much time on the horrible Kaiser Chiefs, who had as much to do with the scene as Snow Patrol, while completely ignoring Razorlight, Pete & the Pirates, Good Shoes, Dogs and many others. Razorlight in particular is a glaring omission given how much an impact they had. Sure, Johnny Borrell had a stupid, punchable face and said many cringeworthy things, but plenty of others in the book were nearly as guilty. Up All Night (2004) still holds up thanks to Björn Ågren’s spiky guitar licks inspired by Voidoid Robert Quine, and the great drumming by Christian Smith-Pancorvo. Sparked by the early success of The Strokes on a UK tour after only releasing The Modern Age EP (2001), both the Libertines and Franz Ferdinand had been kicking around for several years, but found their focus after seeing the Strokes, similar to how Yanks like the Ramones and Richard Hell & the Voidoids inspired the Sex Pistols and the rest of the punk scene in the UK 25 years previously. Beyond the egregious exclusions, other important players got sufficient intention — Bloc Party, The Futureheads, Maxïmo Park, and The Rakes — all of whose debut albums were produced by Paul Epworth, who’s own band Lomax released a great post-punk album, A Symbol of Modern Living (2003). The massive commercial success of the Arctic Monkeys’ debut seemed to have prematurely killed the scene as it became flooded with starfuckers and bandwagon jumpers chasing the smell of money. So it goes. However, blame has to also lie with the failure of pretty much every band mentioned other than Franz Ferdinand and Arctic Monkeys to follow up promising debuts with anything as good or better. I’m partial to Maxïmo Park’s Our Earthly Pleasures (2007) and The Rakes’ Ten New Messages (2007), but their creative arcs were in descent soon after. Some had hope that Bloc Party would tackle their interests in electronics and experimentations with the same attention to craft and originality as Radiohead, but they just didn’t seem to have it in ’em. Neighborhoods gentrify, venues close, and scenes fade, but the thesis that it was the “last indie scene” is off the mark, given the interesting range of bands that have come out of the Windmill Scene, which no doubt will be covered in another book someday.
November 13, 2026
This book accurately captures a very unique and fleeting scene by someone who was actually there. This, no doubt, gave Janine Warren access to a lot of the principal characters of the time – including a few who rarely speak like producer Paul Epworth and The Rakes frontman Alan Donahue.
However, that closeness with the subject matter is a real double-edged sword.
For example, the book is organised into themes, and late on the book touches on how male-dominated the scene was and how that stemmed from who NME would feature. Weirdly, the NME editor whose voice is featured throughout isn't questioned on this. The same could be said for the chapter on widespread drug abuse. The whole chapter, you're just waiting to hear from Peter Doherty that never comes.
I get it. People might not have wanted to go on the record about those issues. But Warren doesn't even acknowledge it in additional notes, if that was the reason. This might be about expectations though. I was expecting more of a journalistic approach that isn't really there.
This feeling of wanting more is a constant in other ways too. Most chapters are more about the mood of the time rather than specific stories. It feels like most quotes are about "the crazy times we had" but rarely mentions specifics.
There are also some notable omissions. Art Brut, Good Shoes, Young Knives, Bromheads Jacket, and Nine Black Alps are all either mentioned in passing or not at all.
This sounds like a very negative review, and I don't mean it to come off like that. I really enjoyed looking back on a music history that is very close to me. I just wanted a little more.
However, that closeness with the subject matter is a real double-edged sword.
For example, the book is organised into themes, and late on the book touches on how male-dominated the scene was and how that stemmed from who NME would feature. Weirdly, the NME editor whose voice is featured throughout isn't questioned on this. The same could be said for the chapter on widespread drug abuse. The whole chapter, you're just waiting to hear from Peter Doherty that never comes.
I get it. People might not have wanted to go on the record about those issues. But Warren doesn't even acknowledge it in additional notes, if that was the reason. This might be about expectations though. I was expecting more of a journalistic approach that isn't really there.
This feeling of wanting more is a constant in other ways too. Most chapters are more about the mood of the time rather than specific stories. It feels like most quotes are about "the crazy times we had" but rarely mentions specifics.
There are also some notable omissions. Art Brut, Good Shoes, Young Knives, Bromheads Jacket, and Nine Black Alps are all either mentioned in passing or not at all.
This sounds like a very negative review, and I don't mean it to come off like that. I really enjoyed looking back on a music history that is very close to me. I just wanted a little more.
Review of advance copy
leído en Kindle, ya estaba disponible.
esperaba más. la historia de los libertines y bloc party y de otros grupos menos protagonistas, como futureheads, está bien contada y documentada. se llega a transmitir moderadamente bien el caos y la magia del este de londres en aquellos años. otro punto positivo es que se discute, aunque no muy en detalle, los problemas de misoginia de aquella generación, pero con poca o ninguna consecuencia.
a la mitad del libro, el relato, en mi opinión, empieza a embarrar. se dedica excesivo espacio a NME y al periodismo: genial para los periodistas, aburrido para los demás. los arctic monkeys se utilizan como reclamo en la portada, pero apenas se pasa superficialmente sobre ellos, y no participan en primera persona en el relato.
el final, si bien es interesante por describir los problemas de salud de los protagonistas y el final de los grupos, es una oda a la nostalgia millenial, que niega que haya habido una época mejor que en la que ellos tenían 20 años (sorpresa!).
no está a la altura de su contraparte estadounidense (meet me in the bathroom). una pena.
esperaba más. la historia de los libertines y bloc party y de otros grupos menos protagonistas, como futureheads, está bien contada y documentada. se llega a transmitir moderadamente bien el caos y la magia del este de londres en aquellos años. otro punto positivo es que se discute, aunque no muy en detalle, los problemas de misoginia de aquella generación, pero con poca o ninguna consecuencia.
a la mitad del libro, el relato, en mi opinión, empieza a embarrar. se dedica excesivo espacio a NME y al periodismo: genial para los periodistas, aburrido para los demás. los arctic monkeys se utilizan como reclamo en la portada, pero apenas se pasa superficialmente sobre ellos, y no participan en primera persona en el relato.
el final, si bien es interesante por describir los problemas de salud de los protagonistas y el final de los grupos, es una oda a la nostalgia millenial, que niega que haya habido una época mejor que en la que ellos tenían 20 años (sorpresa!).
no está a la altura de su contraparte estadounidense (meet me in the bathroom). una pena.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
*The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect* promises a lively, affectionate journey through the last great UK indie music scene. Janine Warren captures a moment when bands, venues, labels and fans seemed to form one interconnected creative community—before streaming and social media transformed the way music was discovered and consumed.
What makes the book especially appealing is its focus on the people and places behind the music. Alongside familiar names such as The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party and The Cribs, Warren explores the regional scenes, legendary clubs, chaotic gigs and independent spirit that made the era feel so distinctive. The combination of first-hand voices and cultural history should give the book both immediacy and depth.
This sounds like an ideal read for anyone nostalgic for the early 2000s, but also for readers interested in how youth culture can briefly reshape an entire industry. It celebrates a time of cheap decadence, optimism and possibility—when a great band could emerge from a small venue and change the conversation overnight.
What makes the book especially appealing is its focus on the people and places behind the music. Alongside familiar names such as The Libertines, Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party and The Cribs, Warren explores the regional scenes, legendary clubs, chaotic gigs and independent spirit that made the era feel so distinctive. The combination of first-hand voices and cultural history should give the book both immediacy and depth.
This sounds like an ideal read for anyone nostalgic for the early 2000s, but also for readers interested in how youth culture can briefly reshape an entire industry. It celebrates a time of cheap decadence, optimism and possibility—when a great band could emerge from a small venue and change the conversation overnight.
October 15, 2026
I’m a sucker for an oral history. And I’m a fan of the “last indie scene” that Warren lovingly recreates: bands like Bloc Party, Futureheads, The Libertines, the Kaiser Chiefs, etc, later tagged as “Landfill Indie.” Warren was there, as were all of the movers and shakers interviewed here, and covers the rise and then collapse of this ‘movement’ with patience and care.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews