Lunch with the Wild Frontiers: A History of Britpop and Excess in 13-1/2 Chapters

by Jane Savidge

Phill Savidge is widely credited as being the main instigator of the Britpop music movement that swept the UK in the mid-1990s. Savidge was co-founder and head of legendary public relations company Savage & Best, the company that represented most of the artists associated with the scene, including Suede, Pulp, The Verve, Elastica, Kula Shaker, Spiritualized, Menswear, The Auteurs, and Black Box Recorder.

Savidge suggests that Britpop came about "by accident" because he refused to represent any American bands. He subsequently ended up with an extremely accessible, media-friendly roster that "lived ’round the corner" and included the most exciting press-worthy acts of the era. His unique experience at the epicentre of Britpop led to many intimate, not entirely self-congratulatory encounters with a who’s who of popular culture — including Brett Anderson, Damon Albarn, Roy Orbison, David Bowie, Joe Strummer, Lou Reed, Michael Barrymore, Richard Ashcroft, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Mick Jagger, George Lucas, Damien Hirst, and Dave Stewart, among others. But did he really Sellotape a cassette of Suede’s Animal Nitrate single to a purple velvet cushion — with a note that said "another great disappointment" — and then bike it to the NME? And could he and Jarvis Cocker really have fallen out simply because a journalist thought he was more glamorous than the Pulp front man?

If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to represent Hirst, Cocker, and The Verve in the same decade, and then wake up in bed with Keith Allen in the Ritz in Paris — courtesy of Mohammed Al Fayed — then you should read this book. Imagine David Sedaris with a hangover and an expense account and you’re halfway to appreciating the delinquent delights of Lunch With The Wild Frontiers.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

272 pages, Paperback

Published May 28, 2019

Reviews

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sure, when a PR man largely affiliated with the rise of "Britpop" within its nation of origin writes his own origin story, it's going to include a lot of self-deprecation mixed with a lot of humble bragging and back slaps.

However, Savidge is an adept storyteller in some regards and an exuberant participant in others. Yes, I wish there was more business talk and less personal stories as Savidge clearly wrote this for a British audience as familiar with his own exploits and limelights (thanks to the tabloid scene in Britain) than as a universal tome for those who love Britpop as a whole and want the rise (and fall) story arc.

Yet I enjoyed nearly every section of the book, though it goes off a cliff at the end (similar to the death kneel for Britpop) as Savidge transitions into art, club, and generally non-music PR that is unctuous, pretentious, and full of Dave Stewart.

I do appreciate the 1/2 chapter at the end, casually explaining how the music biz in Britain all went down the drain. It's a mirror to how it's all gone down the drain for all of us who were once excited by the extemporaneous nature (or at least an appearance of) of these things.

[Jordan Phizacklea-Cullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A novel insight to the now much-debated Britpop period, coming from the viewpoint of a publicist who was at the heart of it all, though the scope of Savidge's reminiscences is broad (there is a touching episode on their time as Roy Orbison's last British PR). It's unlikely to make you fall in love with the idea of joining the business yourself, but for anyone who thinks they've heard all there is to be heard on this seismic mid-90s moment there will be surprises in store.

[Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read for anyone who ever obsessed over Britpop and wondered what those mythical names “Savage & Best” actually did.

[Richard Easter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of us have to chase life, but for some, life comes to them, and that's certainly true of Jane Savidge (writing as Phill). She finds herself in music PR by accident after climbing through a window to surprise a friend of a friend and from that moment, things get weird. Brilliantly, hilariously weird. Savidge is an incredibly likable narrator and has a fantastic command of prose, often jumping between different time frames and perspectives in the space of a single paragraph. She helps create Britpop (again by accident) then spends the rest of the '90s bouncing between one odd episode to the next. Just one of these stories would have the rest of us dining out on it for the rest of our lives, but Savidge manages to fit several bizarre adventures in before lunch, then another during lunch itself, then one before the coffees arrive. I worked at Radio One during Britpop, so thought I was in the eye of the storm, but having read this, it turns out the storm was going on somewhere else entirely. Why it's taken Jane so long to do this is beyond me, as she's a fantastic writer. More please, Ms Savidge, and don't take two decades next time. You have been warned!

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, it's the best book on the Britpop era of the 1990's that I have read (and i've read quite a few).

It makes a change for the author to have been someone who was right in the centre of the era, an outsider in some ways but still very much central to the scene. The author doesn't hold back, when anecdotes are told the people involved in them are named and all of the anecdotes are interesting which makes a change. I think the main reason I enjoyed this book over others I have read covering this period is that the author comes across as likeable, which is a rarity. It's the 'Stars' that occasionally come across as unlikeable.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the 90's music scene in the UK, you won't be disappointed it's a highly entertaining read.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absolute riot of a book. Outrageous, gossipy, funny behind the scenes account of the decadence of the 1980s/90s indie music world from the legendary PR Phill Savidge of Savage & Best. Brit Pop’s darlings, their hangers ons and arty pals, with a sprinkling of drugs and all the excesses that record label budgets could buy in those heady days before Spotify and iTunes. Lots of laugh out loud moments and memorable lines (pun intended). Loved it!

[Stephen Watt · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exceptional, and surprisingly close-up, celebration of rock n’ roll in 1990’s U.K. Phill Savidge’s storytelling holds no punches and is thick-skinned enough to take the flak which comes with the job of providing PR for some of the country’s biggest bands to roll out of Britpop. Funny, filthy, and forward-thinking, this was a highly enjoyable read by a greatly interesting writer. Look forward to his first collection of poetry some day.

[Andrew Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty much what you'd expect from a music PR - lots of sex, drugs and rock n'roll. Light reading, made more interesting by his closeness to some key 90s bands like Suede, as well as a short-lived association with Roy Orbison.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Irreverent tales of drug-taking and music industry PR.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining definitely but I feel like I missed the point maybe?

[Gareth Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great stories of a great time in British music by one of the people at the heart of its PR engine

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exactly what you would want from a Britpop book! Gossipy and full of tidbits about the big players.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much more about Savage than of Britpop, outside of the cursory name-dropping.

[Kate Connolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some entertaining anecdotes but FAR too much Fat Les and Dave Stewart and not nearly enough Suede/Pulp/Elastica for my liking.

[Jessie Hogg · Rating 3 out of 5]

an insight to the before, during and afterward britpop era and the way the press works. remind me to never pick jarvis cocker up in a fancy car

[Omar Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading the book in fact it's the first time I read about Britpop and other things I didn't know, including fun facts, I really enjoyed it and it was very entertaining and worth getting.

[Matt Hicks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A vivid and engaging look at just how much of the music industry happens away from the actual music.

[Jonny Brick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic memoir with much more than just Suede and Fat Les war stories.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and unique insight into the history of britpop and 90s Britain in the music industry, written from the perspective of a very intriguing and adventurous individual, Phil Savidge.

[Stephen Kirley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some entertaining tales, some less so.

[Kevin Cecil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written just prior to her coming out as trans, this is more interesting when she charts her gender exploration than when she recounts drug binges with random britpoppers.

[Jay Gabler · Rating 2 out of 5]

The center section of Lunch with the Wild Frontiers is a collage of Polaroids taken at the Savage & Best office. (The firm's name married a version of Savidge's surname to that of his partner John Best.) Many of the faces are instantly recognizable, with names scrawled below. Andrew "Tiny" Wood of Ultrasound. Fluffy, the trio. "Mr. Jarvis Cocker" of Pulp. Liam Gallagher of Oasis. Richard Ashcroft of the Verve. Damon Albarn of Blur. Crispin Hunt of Longpigs.

Savidge didn't represent all of those artists, but he knew them all and many more make at least cameos in Lunch with the Wild Frontiers, subtitled A History of Britpop and Excess in 13½ Chapters. I reviewed this book for The Current.