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Anoint My Head - How I Failed to Make it as a Britpop Indie-Rockstar
FULL BOOK VERSION! 'Captures the time and the aspirations of a young band brilliantly. A great eye-opener into the absurd thought process of what it might take to headline Glastonbury!' Steve Lamacq BBC 6 Music. 'A healthy measure of Nick Hornby with a dash of Adrian Mole had he joined an indie band. Just the tonic for these serious and uncertain days. Bottoms up!' Josh Levay Pointy Birds ’bland and inoffensive with a seriously over-acting singer’ NME It’s 1992 and Horace dreams of becoming a rockstar with his band the Pointy Birds. The only problem is that his day-job (mis)filing vinyl in a Soho record store is stealing all his time and energy, plus rival bands like Suede, Blur, Pulp and Radiohead are moving on to bigger and better things. But then someone called Ricky offers his services as a band manager and at last the dream can start.Anoint My Head is the tale of a band who didn’t become rich, or famous but had a manager who did. It is also the story of a musical era, and documents the rise of some of the biggest British Britpop bands of the nineties, plus a comedian who went on to write quite a successful sitcom about a paper merchants in Slough. A coming-of-age story about pursuing your dreams and what happens when reality gets in the way. Perfect for fans of Caitlin Moran, Nicky Hornby & Ricky Gervais.
- GenresMusic
320 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 7, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
January 22, 2021
I'm a sucker for a Britpop memoir. This was my music. From late-1992 through 'til about 1998, I'd obsessively read the NME and the Melody Maker and order ridiculously expensive import CD singles from England. I ate this stuff up. Not just the "big" bands like Suede, Pulp, Blur and Oasis - not even the second tier / cult bands like The Auteurs, Mansun, Gene, Echobelly and Sleeper - but bands like Ballroom, Elcka, Strangelove and Mainstream. I was OBSESSED.
The genre died an ignoble death in the late 90s, and by the early 00s it was received wisdom that the whole thing had been a bit embarrassing. That changed, possibly, with the arrival of The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock, which took a serious look at the genre and how it at least partially led to the demise of Tory rule and the reemergence of the Labour Party. Since then there's been a spate of Britpop memoirs. Luke Haines' brilliant Bad Vibes: Britpop and my part in its downfall is probably the best - genius songwriter almost makes it, but never quite gets the fame he deserves - and Different for Girls: A Girl's Own True-life Adventures in Pop by Louise Wener does an excellent job of contextualising the genre's blokeishness from a women's perspective. And then there's Bit of a Blur: The Autobiography by Alex James, which is almost the complete opposite of Haines' book - in which a moderately talented bass player suddenly finds himself in one of the biggest bands in the world. In the last few years Suede's Brett Anderson has written two absolutely stunning books on the rise and fall of Suede, Coal Black Mornings and Afternoons with the Blinds Drawn.
Which brings me to Anoint My Head, Andy Macleod's memoir of his time in Britpop also-rans The Pointy Birds. It's hard to imagine, given the fact that post Suede / Blur / Oasis labels were keen to sign almost any band that happened to feature a guitarist, that The Pointy Birds never managed to release anything. God, bands like Menswe@r, Jocasta, Mantaray and ... err ... a band called We Are Pleb all managed to put out records. How bad or unlucky did you have to be to remained unsigned in this absolute label feeding frenzy? The book includes links to two scratchy cassette demos and - well, they're not amazing, but they're certainly not awful. (And to be fair, Suede's early demos aren't exactly life-affirming.) So maybe it came down to terrible luck? Or Andy's misguided attempts to mix stand up comedy with indie music? Whichever the case, despite frustratingly close brushes with decent promotion and management, and live shows with up and coming bands that go on to "make it" (Echobelly, Tindersticks etc.) things never some together.
The tone of the book is comedic, and Andy's 1992/1993 London life of late nights, crappy flats and a job filing CD and records at Selectadisc in Berwick Street would make for a great TV series. There's a good cast of supporting characters - fellow record store employees, band members, and a revolving cast of drummers. Oh, and Ricky Gervais, whose name you've probably heard before. Suede obsessives will know that Gervais briefly managed a pre-fame Suede, and managed The Pointy Birds for the entirety of their career. It's hard to seperate the character of Gervais as portrayed in this book with the David Brent character in the office. Whilst all of these comedic romps make for a great book, I suspect the japes and tomfoolery would have made The Pointy Birds a fairly irritating proposition as a live band.
It doesn't break my heart that there are no Pointy Birds CDs in my (ridiculously vast) collection of Britpop albums and singles, but I'm happy to keep this book on my bookshelf. Definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of the scene.
The genre died an ignoble death in the late 90s, and by the early 00s it was received wisdom that the whole thing had been a bit embarrassing. That changed, possibly, with the arrival of The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock, which took a serious look at the genre and how it at least partially led to the demise of Tory rule and the reemergence of the Labour Party. Since then there's been a spate of Britpop memoirs. Luke Haines' brilliant Bad Vibes: Britpop and my part in its downfall is probably the best - genius songwriter almost makes it, but never quite gets the fame he deserves - and Different for Girls: A Girl's Own True-life Adventures in Pop by Louise Wener does an excellent job of contextualising the genre's blokeishness from a women's perspective. And then there's Bit of a Blur: The Autobiography by Alex James, which is almost the complete opposite of Haines' book - in which a moderately talented bass player suddenly finds himself in one of the biggest bands in the world. In the last few years Suede's Brett Anderson has written two absolutely stunning books on the rise and fall of Suede, Coal Black Mornings and Afternoons with the Blinds Drawn.
Which brings me to Anoint My Head, Andy Macleod's memoir of his time in Britpop also-rans The Pointy Birds. It's hard to imagine, given the fact that post Suede / Blur / Oasis labels were keen to sign almost any band that happened to feature a guitarist, that The Pointy Birds never managed to release anything. God, bands like Menswe@r, Jocasta, Mantaray and ... err ... a band called We Are Pleb all managed to put out records. How bad or unlucky did you have to be to remained unsigned in this absolute label feeding frenzy? The book includes links to two scratchy cassette demos and - well, they're not amazing, but they're certainly not awful. (And to be fair, Suede's early demos aren't exactly life-affirming.) So maybe it came down to terrible luck? Or Andy's misguided attempts to mix stand up comedy with indie music? Whichever the case, despite frustratingly close brushes with decent promotion and management, and live shows with up and coming bands that go on to "make it" (Echobelly, Tindersticks etc.) things never some together.
The tone of the book is comedic, and Andy's 1992/1993 London life of late nights, crappy flats and a job filing CD and records at Selectadisc in Berwick Street would make for a great TV series. There's a good cast of supporting characters - fellow record store employees, band members, and a revolving cast of drummers. Oh, and Ricky Gervais, whose name you've probably heard before. Suede obsessives will know that Gervais briefly managed a pre-fame Suede, and managed The Pointy Birds for the entirety of their career. It's hard to seperate the character of Gervais as portrayed in this book with the David Brent character in the office. Whilst all of these comedic romps make for a great book, I suspect the japes and tomfoolery would have made The Pointy Birds a fairly irritating proposition as a live band.
It doesn't break my heart that there are no Pointy Birds CDs in my (ridiculously vast) collection of Britpop albums and singles, but I'm happy to keep this book on my bookshelf. Definitely worth checking out if you're a fan of the scene.
May 11, 2021
Firstly I'm not sure if i'm leaving this review on the correct entry, I am reviewing the full edition of this book but I believe it is also available as 4 smaller books.
I love books on the music industry and there is an abundance of content on the subject but most of this content focuses on bands that succeeded, the classic rags to riches tale whereas this book follows The Pointy Birds as they attempt to achieve success during the years of Britpop in the UK. What follows is a series of mishaps and funny anecdotes culminating in the band never achieving the success they desired. It is a well-written snapshot of the time period it is set in, it manages to capture the atmosphere of the 1990's London music scene and it contains some anecdotes featuring bands that did go on to become famous names such as Suede, Blur and Pulp.
I felt the book attempts to sell itself on Ricky Gervais being the band's manager but I feel this is selling the book short. Ricky features frequently but in my opinion is a fairly minor character in the story, the humour comes from the band themselves and the situations they find themselves in. You don't really learn anything about the workings of the music industry from this book and it doesn't cover music industry politics either as the band didn't get far enough in their career to experience it but it is a series of amusing anecdotes about the bands failures which leave you both understanding how they never achieved success but feeling sorry for their crushed dreams.
It's essentially a book about failure, it's a book that the author wishes was an autobiography about how the band achieved mega-stardom but instead it is a book on pursuing your dreams but sadly not achieving them. Instead of being a rags to riches tale of success it is the story of becoming an adult and the period in your life that many experience where you realise that the dreams you harbour for your future are not happening and you begin to adjust in to adulthood and your realigned future.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who may have been in a similar position to the author, anyone who enjoys music autobiographies and anyone with any interest in the 1990's London music scene as there are plenty of references that will bring with them pangs of nostalgia.
I love books on the music industry and there is an abundance of content on the subject but most of this content focuses on bands that succeeded, the classic rags to riches tale whereas this book follows The Pointy Birds as they attempt to achieve success during the years of Britpop in the UK. What follows is a series of mishaps and funny anecdotes culminating in the band never achieving the success they desired. It is a well-written snapshot of the time period it is set in, it manages to capture the atmosphere of the 1990's London music scene and it contains some anecdotes featuring bands that did go on to become famous names such as Suede, Blur and Pulp.
I felt the book attempts to sell itself on Ricky Gervais being the band's manager but I feel this is selling the book short. Ricky features frequently but in my opinion is a fairly minor character in the story, the humour comes from the band themselves and the situations they find themselves in. You don't really learn anything about the workings of the music industry from this book and it doesn't cover music industry politics either as the band didn't get far enough in their career to experience it but it is a series of amusing anecdotes about the bands failures which leave you both understanding how they never achieved success but feeling sorry for their crushed dreams.
It's essentially a book about failure, it's a book that the author wishes was an autobiography about how the band achieved mega-stardom but instead it is a book on pursuing your dreams but sadly not achieving them. Instead of being a rags to riches tale of success it is the story of becoming an adult and the period in your life that many experience where you realise that the dreams you harbour for your future are not happening and you begin to adjust in to adulthood and your realigned future.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who may have been in a similar position to the author, anyone who enjoys music autobiographies and anyone with any interest in the 1990's London music scene as there are plenty of references that will bring with them pangs of nostalgia.
March 12, 2025
This book was a light easy read that had me laughing out loud! I listened to it on Spotify, and hearing Andy read it made it even funnier, like sitting in a pub with him as he shares his stories.
The humour is sharp and instantly relatable, making even his worst moments hilarious, full of awkward situations and unexpected failures. It’s a raw, funny memoir about chasing dreams and facing reality.
Way to go Andy! 10/10 - will be recommending it to all my friends and family!
Anoint My Head - How I Failed to Make it as a Britpop Indie-Rockstar
The humour is sharp and instantly relatable, making even his worst moments hilarious, full of awkward situations and unexpected failures. It’s a raw, funny memoir about chasing dreams and facing reality.
Way to go Andy! 10/10 - will be recommending it to all my friends and family!
Anoint My Head - How I Failed to Make it as a Britpop Indie-Rockstar
April 12, 2021
Once a music memoir establishes that no, this band will absolutely not be going anywhere, you're free to enjoy a wander through a time and a place in music history, not from the point of view of the people who made it happen, but rather from the people who wish they could have. Britpop was a fun time for music, and Anoint My Head is a breezy, extremely readable look both at it and at the sorts of baffling choices that can only be made by the young and unstoppably confident. It's a fun read, you'll laugh a couple times and see your own 23 year old self, who wanted to rule the world but had no idea how, in the characters. Highly recommended.
May 6, 2021
Terrifyingly vivid account of one man’s mission to make it big as an indie pop star. What a trip to travel back in time to those heady, urgent, Camden days and nights and all those venues and the memories of ligging.
A nostalgic, relatable read for a fellow wannabe such as myself. This glorious journey should be added to the reading list of any educational institution offering a music business course. Everyone else should read it for its raw, wince-inducing honesty on the periphery of rock’n’roll.
A nostalgic, relatable read for a fellow wannabe such as myself. This glorious journey should be added to the reading list of any educational institution offering a music business course. Everyone else should read it for its raw, wince-inducing honesty on the periphery of rock’n’roll.
May 9, 2021
A celebration of glorious failure
This is the book equivalent of the perfect 3-minute pop song. A hilarious romp celebrating the underdog with just the right smattering of almost indifferent name dropping. Forget reading about people who’ve made it - this is much more interesting. Comedy gold.
This is the book equivalent of the perfect 3-minute pop song. A hilarious romp celebrating the underdog with just the right smattering of almost indifferent name dropping. Forget reading about people who’ve made it - this is much more interesting. Comedy gold.
May 15, 2021
Easy to read, nostalgic snapshot of the music scene in the 90s.
October 4, 2021
A great book for anyone who was into indie music in the mid 90s, this follows the adventures of the Pointy Birds - a band that were so nearly famous but didn't quite make it. At one point managed by Ricky Gervais and mingling in the same circles and music circuit as Suede and Echobelly they were SO NEAR! The book was really funny at times and it felt like the author was being really honest in his writing - was I imagining it, or did he think Ricky Gervais was a bit of pillock?? It was also hard to tell at times if Andy was mocking himself or if some of what he said was what he really thought! I think this might be because I know a wannabe musician and he comes out with some similar comments - and he's NOT joking!
I downloaded the tracks that were available from the author's blog and really enjoyed them. If I knew the Pointy Birds existed in the 90s, I would most certainly have purchased their music! A must read for any Britpop fan. The only thing that slightly let down the Audiobook was the narration. The author himself narrated the book and it felt slightly less professional than the majority of audiobooks I listen to which distracted me slightly from the book. Overall though, not a big problem by any means.
I downloaded the tracks that were available from the author's blog and really enjoyed them. If I knew the Pointy Birds existed in the 90s, I would most certainly have purchased their music! A must read for any Britpop fan. The only thing that slightly let down the Audiobook was the narration. The author himself narrated the book and it felt slightly less professional than the majority of audiobooks I listen to which distracted me slightly from the book. Overall though, not a big problem by any means.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews