What do you think?
Rate this book
Hype
Calvert on his novel:
"HYPE focuses on the music business but it isn't based on my own experiences as such. It is derived obviously from stuff I picked up hanging around record companies. I've drawn characters who are recognizable types but not individuals from these experiences, but the story line of the book and the events in it are not based on my own experiences but are fiction.
"The book describes what happens to a young band that is exploited by a record company and internal power struggles between two over-ambitious individuals, who use this band as an elaborate game of spy vs. spy.
"I wanted it to be a comedy and had in mind doing it almost like PG. Woodhouse would might have written about the music business, had he known about it. I wanted to write about the music business in the late 70's the way he wrote about Hollywood in the 20's. Although the plot is very much a sort of fast moving thriller type it has got elements of black humour and sarcasm."
"HYPE focuses on the music business but it isn't based on my own experiences as such. It is derived obviously from stuff I picked up hanging around record companies. I've drawn characters who are recognizable types but not individuals from these experiences, but the story line of the book and the events in it are not based on my own experiences but are fiction.
"The book describes what happens to a young band that is exploited by a record company and internal power struggles between two over-ambitious individuals, who use this band as an elaborate game of spy vs. spy.
"I wanted it to be a comedy and had in mind doing it almost like PG. Woodhouse would might have written about the music business, had he known about it. I wanted to write about the music business in the late 70's the way he wrote about Hollywood in the 20's. Although the plot is very much a sort of fast moving thriller type it has got elements of black humour and sarcasm."
- GenresMusic
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published November 5, 1981
19 people want to read
About the author
Robert Calvert
42 books7 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Robert Calvert (9 March 1945, Pretoria, South Africa - 14 August 1988) was a writer, poet, and performer.
Calvert moved to England when he was two years of age and attended school in London and Margate. He began his career by writing poetry and in 1967 formed a Street Theatre group Street Dada Nihilismus.
He was best known as the lead singer, poet and frontman of Hawkwind intermittently from 1972-1979 during which time he co-wrote their hit single "Silver Machine" and directed their Space Ritual Tour.
Calvert suffered from bipolar disorder, at one point being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
During periods away from Hawkwind duties, and after finally leaving the group in 1979, Calvert worked on his solo career, his creative output including albums, stage plays, poetry, and a novel. His first solo album, Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters, attained mainstream success.
His other musical collaborators include Michael Moorcock, Brian Eno, Arthur Brown, Jim Capaldi, Steve Pond, Inner City Unit, Vivian Stanshall, Nektar, John Greves, Adrian Wagner, Amon Düül II, and Spirits Burning (posthumously).
Calvert died of a heart attack in 1988 in Ramsgate, England.
Robert Calvert (9 March 1945, Pretoria, South Africa - 14 August 1988) was a writer, poet, and performer.
Calvert moved to England when he was two years of age and attended school in London and Margate. He began his career by writing poetry and in 1967 formed a Street Theatre group Street Dada Nihilismus.
He was best known as the lead singer, poet and frontman of Hawkwind intermittently from 1972-1979 during which time he co-wrote their hit single "Silver Machine" and directed their Space Ritual Tour.
Calvert suffered from bipolar disorder, at one point being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
During periods away from Hawkwind duties, and after finally leaving the group in 1979, Calvert worked on his solo career, his creative output including albums, stage plays, poetry, and a novel. His first solo album, Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters, attained mainstream success.
His other musical collaborators include Michael Moorcock, Brian Eno, Arthur Brown, Jim Capaldi, Steve Pond, Inner City Unit, Vivian Stanshall, Nektar, John Greves, Adrian Wagner, Amon Düül II, and Spirits Burning (posthumously).
Calvert died of a heart attack in 1988 in Ramsgate, England.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 3, 2024
Write about what you know, I think I’ve read before. Bob Calvert’s satire of the music industry is full of exaggerated caricatures of musicians and record label folk. It’s not subtle in its depiction of corruption and the sordid behaviour of the alpha-males doing the corrupting. Unfortunately Calvert’s power with words that you can’t miss in his genius lyrics is only fleetingly seen throughout the novel. And more unfortunately his portrayal of racist and sexist characters at times seems to go beyond satire and seems more like relishing their nastiness. I was surprised by how obscene he gets too! Drop a star if you’re not a fan of Calvert’s other work.
September 2, 2021
Great story. Love Calvert's work, some great little references for fans of his. The album itself has some good songs too!
October 24, 2021
First published in 1981, Hype is very much of its time and it hasn't aged all that well. The album of the book has aged a lot better.
May 7, 2013
If you expect science fiction from Calvert, you won't find it here. This is actually quite a serious and cynical fictionalised look at the wheelings and dealings of the music industry.
A & R Man Tony Cahn wants to make big money from hyping up the talents of Tom Mahler, a young and slightly seedy rock musician. Mahler's first two albums have been flops and the third looks like it will be too unless Cahn can persuade the big boys to invest heavily in his promotion. The book charts all the shady dealings and dodgy goings-on that are probably still prevalent in the music biz, even if the fashions have changed, the characters probably haven't. Mahler is a Jim Morrison type, doomed from the start. While I'm never quite sure what makes Cahn tick, you get the impression he has no real feelings about anyone other than himself. At the conclusion one feels Mahler's fate is inevitable. There's plenty of all the other trappings of the era - sex and drugs and rock and roll. There's sex in every chapter, getting more and more graphic as the book progresses, although the only act described in full is a lesbian one.
At first I thought the book was cliched but I now realise that the characters Calvert described are cliches in themselves, and probably still exist. The writing is smooth and eloquent, not good literature, but well crafted throughout. It is easy to read because it flows well as you would expect from Calvert, a true wordsmith. I enjoyed it but I wish he had written a sci-fi novel instead. Perhaps he would have if he hadn't died so young.
A & R Man Tony Cahn wants to make big money from hyping up the talents of Tom Mahler, a young and slightly seedy rock musician. Mahler's first two albums have been flops and the third looks like it will be too unless Cahn can persuade the big boys to invest heavily in his promotion. The book charts all the shady dealings and dodgy goings-on that are probably still prevalent in the music biz, even if the fashions have changed, the characters probably haven't. Mahler is a Jim Morrison type, doomed from the start. While I'm never quite sure what makes Cahn tick, you get the impression he has no real feelings about anyone other than himself. At the conclusion one feels Mahler's fate is inevitable. There's plenty of all the other trappings of the era - sex and drugs and rock and roll. There's sex in every chapter, getting more and more graphic as the book progresses, although the only act described in full is a lesbian one.
At first I thought the book was cliched but I now realise that the characters Calvert described are cliches in themselves, and probably still exist. The writing is smooth and eloquent, not good literature, but well crafted throughout. It is easy to read because it flows well as you would expect from Calvert, a true wordsmith. I enjoyed it but I wish he had written a sci-fi novel instead. Perhaps he would have if he hadn't died so young.
May 11, 2013
Robert Calvert, once a member of Hawkwind, wrote this satire on the music business along with an album of art rock to accompany it.
Things have changed a lot since this was published in 1981 and the hype perpetrated is very tame by modern standards. The book is therefore more of an historical document these days but no less entertaining and the detailed instructions on how to do tequila with cocaine correctly is very informative.
Things have changed a lot since this was published in 1981 and the hype perpetrated is very tame by modern standards. The book is therefore more of an historical document these days but no less entertaining and the detailed instructions on how to do tequila with cocaine correctly is very informative.
November 29, 2024
8/10. The book of the album. The LP is well worth seeking out and the novel that is the background to the music has its moments too.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews