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The Story of John Nightly
This debut novel by Tot Taylor explores 'extreme creativity' – at the level of 'genius' - in this tale of a young singer-songwriter from the 1970s. With a painting by Bob & Roberta Smith adorning its cover, the book's 900 pages recount a life-story from childhood to . . . oblivion.
John Nightly (b. Cambridge 1948) finds his dimension in the world of pop music - the art form of his time. In previous decades, he might have been a novelist or poet, a painter or a playwright. In previous centuries, a grand chef or gardener, astronomer or plant-hunter, when these occupations were revered as highly as that of ‘Artist’.
We follow his rise and fall, his growing up and development as a musician, the
tragedy of his ambition and his success, followed by his subsequent withdrawal from everyday life. John Nightly’s creative period, his ‘spirit-wind’, lasts a mere five summers.
John Nightly’s ability is spotted early, his LP 'Ape Box Metal' becoming the third best-selling record of 1970. But success turns out to have side effects and he disappears into a thirty year void of missed opportunities and unfinished projects.
We meet him as a child prodigy in late 1950s Cambridge, finding fame in the Carnaby Street music scene of the mid-60s then supermaxed at various retreats in Los Angeles during the 70s. John Nightly sleeps through the 1980s until after too many lost years, he moves to his ‘saven-heer’ at Carn Point on the coast of Cornwall.
In 1982, John begins a new life as a cultivator and exporter of exotic plants until his past comes back to haunt him via the rediscovery by a superfan of his magnum opus, the 'Mink Bungalow Requiem' - a proto-quasi-rock-opera cum pseudo-requiem eco-mass which he failed to complete thirty years before.
Premiered in 1970, the 'Mink Bungalow Requiem' still holds the all-time record for the most performers on a public stage at any one time. Just before his meltdown, John Nightly toured the world with it backed by two symphony orchestras, a thirty-piece rock band, a dance company, three school choirs and sixteen articulated trucks. Meeting this teenage saviour dude, can the Master be brought back to life again?
A tangled love story, the recording-studio as creative hub, the music industry as dramatic backdrop, astronomical tables, Methodist hymnals and surfer mags as well as some serious gardening notes also play important parts in this one thousand page novel.
John Nightly (b. Cambridge 1948) finds his dimension in the world of pop music - the art form of his time. In previous decades, he might have been a novelist or poet, a painter or a playwright. In previous centuries, a grand chef or gardener, astronomer or plant-hunter, when these occupations were revered as highly as that of ‘Artist’.
We follow his rise and fall, his growing up and development as a musician, the
tragedy of his ambition and his success, followed by his subsequent withdrawal from everyday life. John Nightly’s creative period, his ‘spirit-wind’, lasts a mere five summers.
John Nightly’s ability is spotted early, his LP 'Ape Box Metal' becoming the third best-selling record of 1970. But success turns out to have side effects and he disappears into a thirty year void of missed opportunities and unfinished projects.
We meet him as a child prodigy in late 1950s Cambridge, finding fame in the Carnaby Street music scene of the mid-60s then supermaxed at various retreats in Los Angeles during the 70s. John Nightly sleeps through the 1980s until after too many lost years, he moves to his ‘saven-heer’ at Carn Point on the coast of Cornwall.
In 1982, John begins a new life as a cultivator and exporter of exotic plants until his past comes back to haunt him via the rediscovery by a superfan of his magnum opus, the 'Mink Bungalow Requiem' - a proto-quasi-rock-opera cum pseudo-requiem eco-mass which he failed to complete thirty years before.
Premiered in 1970, the 'Mink Bungalow Requiem' still holds the all-time record for the most performers on a public stage at any one time. Just before his meltdown, John Nightly toured the world with it backed by two symphony orchestras, a thirty-piece rock band, a dance company, three school choirs and sixteen articulated trucks. Meeting this teenage saviour dude, can the Master be brought back to life again?
A tangled love story, the recording-studio as creative hub, the music industry as dramatic backdrop, astronomical tables, Methodist hymnals and surfer mags as well as some serious gardening notes also play important parts in this one thousand page novel.
896 pages, Hardcover
First published July 27, 2017
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157 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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March 17, 2024this might be the closest thing to my dream book that I'll ever get and that is a scary scary thought to have pass through one's head
GOD IT'S ME WHERE IS THE QUEER EPIC POEM ABOUT HAIR METAL BAND THAT I'VE BEEN ASKING FOR
GOD IT'S ME WHERE IS THE QUEER EPIC POEM ABOUT HAIR METAL BAND THAT I'VE BEEN ASKING FOR
October 19, 2017
For someone like me, who loves music of many genres and who has a particular liking for music from the 1960s, this tale of a fictional 1960s pop-star-cum-musical-genius who lived in the real-life world of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and other great bands of that era, was a fantastic read!
September 15, 2017
The best rock biography of a man that never was. The book's characters are unbelievably complex with such a well thought out history and storyline that it seems impossible to have come from one person's imagination. Definitely the best piece of fiction I've read this year. I'm just sad that there isn't any accompanying music!
Massive thanks to Netgalley for the copy.
Massive thanks to Netgalley for the copy.
October 23, 2019
The Dickens of Music fiction!
An amazing book for everyone who likes music and wants to know more about the Swinging Sixties, its history and what happened after all the hype. A book for everybody who wants to know something about the deeper sense of music and about people who weren’t thinking just about the next hit single.
Unbelievable that it’s a fictional character he invented and adapted into that part of music history. It really feels like John Nightly really existed. I was impressed by the musical knowledge and depth of this book while it was still a damn good read - a good example for writing a clever book without being boring. I loved it! Thank you Tot Taylor for that wonderful book!
And now... I want to hear the Soundtrack 😉
An amazing book for everyone who likes music and wants to know more about the Swinging Sixties, its history and what happened after all the hype. A book for everybody who wants to know something about the deeper sense of music and about people who weren’t thinking just about the next hit single.
Unbelievable that it’s a fictional character he invented and adapted into that part of music history. It really feels like John Nightly really existed. I was impressed by the musical knowledge and depth of this book while it was still a damn good read - a good example for writing a clever book without being boring. I loved it! Thank you Tot Taylor for that wonderful book!
And now... I want to hear the Soundtrack 😉
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September 12, 2021 A multi-faceted quilt sewn from many threads : Paul Jones's catatonic demeanour in "Privilege",
a young Syd forming a band in Cambridge, Mike Oldfield dealing with fame from "Tubular Bells", Brian Wilson seeing a therapist in California, a drug addled Brian Jones experimenting with exotic sounds. An ambitious tome that explores the "sensitive" genius coping with reality. Although the story line is familiar, the sheer scope and attention to detail pays off in the end. A rewarding read worth delving into !
a young Syd forming a band in Cambridge, Mike Oldfield dealing with fame from "Tubular Bells", Brian Wilson seeing a therapist in California, a drug addled Brian Jones experimenting with exotic sounds. An ambitious tome that explores the "sensitive" genius coping with reality. Although the story line is familiar, the sheer scope and attention to detail pays off in the end. A rewarding read worth delving into !
April 13, 2021
So who is John Nightly? Is he Syd, Walker, Wilson? Go ahead pick your own rock genius. I spent 6 weeks with Mr. Nightly and I miss him as if he was real. Tot Taylor keeps it real by throwing in a deluge of real recordings, astronomers, prophets, plants, and places that sent me to either Spotify or Wikipedia every time I read this book. It was quite a delight. Even better if you read Mojo or Record Collector and consider yourself an Anglophile.
August 11, 2017
I REALLY liked this, and found it even more authentic about the music scene than Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad. Although, it could have been about someone super-gifted in any field.
Unlike anything else I have read.
About how too much talent can burn a hole in you- and what happens after that.
Shine on you crazy diamond...
Unlike anything else I have read.
About how too much talent can burn a hole in you- and what happens after that.
Shine on you crazy diamond...
October 19, 2017
This is a riveting read. It is both detailed and, at times, tangential. Yet, the narrative draws one in. I found it difficult to put down. The story is one that could be about any number of the arts, yet, it is crucial that this is about a musician who hits major highs and lows. What happens after the end of fame? What do you do with so-called genius, when it is not seemingly directed to an end? Is it the end? This is a long book, but one that I found both epic and intimate in its detail
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews