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Head-On/Repossessed
Julian Cope's highly acclaimed autobiography and its long-awaited sequel in one extraordinary volume. Contents: Julian Cope shot to fame with eighties band 'Teardrop Explodes' during the Punk era. Hailed as a visionary by those people who recognise his genius and a madman by those who find him perplexing, he has become a cult figure in the music world. Head-On has previously only been available via 'Head Heritage' Julian's own company. Repossesed picks up in 1983 where Head On ends and continues up until 1989. Written in Cope's inimitable style it is set to provoke the same kind of media excitement.
580 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1994
28 people are currently reading
1281 people want to read
About the author
Julian Cope
30 books90 followersJulian Cope (born Julian David Cope, on 21 October 1957) is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator. Originally coming to prominence in 1978 as the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band The Teardrop Explodes, he has followed a solo career since 1983 and initiated musical side projects such as Queen Elizabeth, Brain Donor and Black Sheep. Additional to his own work as a musician, Cope remains an avid champion of obscure and underground music.
Cope is also a recognised authority on Neolithic culture, an outspoken political and cultural activist, and a fierce critic of contemporary Western society (with a noted and public interest in occultism, paganism and Goddess worship).
As an author and commentator, he has written two successive volumes of autobiography called Head-On (1994) and Repossessed (1999); two volumes of archaeology called The Modern Antiquarian (1998) and The Megalithic European (2004); and three volumes of musicology called Krautrocksampler (1995), Japrocksampler (2007) and Detroitrocksampler.
Cope is also a recognised authority on Neolithic culture, an outspoken political and cultural activist, and a fierce critic of contemporary Western society (with a noted and public interest in occultism, paganism and Goddess worship).
As an author and commentator, he has written two successive volumes of autobiography called Head-On (1994) and Repossessed (1999); two volumes of archaeology called The Modern Antiquarian (1998) and The Megalithic European (2004); and three volumes of musicology called Krautrocksampler (1995), Japrocksampler (2007) and Detroitrocksampler.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
October 28, 2008
Fiction about rock and roll is almost always ridiculous. Non-fiction about rock and roll is almost always also ridiculous, particularly in the form of the memoir.
However, Julian Cope is slightly different, perhaps because his life story is so ridiculous that it's kind of hard to believe, whether in the fictional or non-fictional format, and yet it turns out that he speaks the truth, in a very strange and compelling way.
These two books, bundled together comprise the two-volumes of his rock and roll autobiography to date, and they're just about one of the most remarkable documents of rock and roll insanity (and that's not a word to be used lightly in this case) you'll ever read. If he was on the way to being barking mad before he started taking copious amounts of acid, can you imagine what happened once he got down off his anti-drugs high horse and started crawling around in the mud dressed only in a turtle shell? Exactly.
And yet, he also seems really quite sweet and normal. Just like everyone else, he gets up, makes tea, sits around the house. Perhaps not like everyone else, he also takes handfuls of hallucinogens, carves himself up onstage like a pumpkin with a jagged microphone stand, and has feuds with numerous 80s indie rock icons like Ian McCullough and Bill Drummond.
Some rock people make you wish you could be them. Julian Cope is not one of those people. Julian Cope is Saint Julian, living all the way out there on our behalf, frying himself into oblivion so that we might live and learn from his experience vicariously.
Best rock and roll read in forever.
However, Julian Cope is slightly different, perhaps because his life story is so ridiculous that it's kind of hard to believe, whether in the fictional or non-fictional format, and yet it turns out that he speaks the truth, in a very strange and compelling way.
These two books, bundled together comprise the two-volumes of his rock and roll autobiography to date, and they're just about one of the most remarkable documents of rock and roll insanity (and that's not a word to be used lightly in this case) you'll ever read. If he was on the way to being barking mad before he started taking copious amounts of acid, can you imagine what happened once he got down off his anti-drugs high horse and started crawling around in the mud dressed only in a turtle shell? Exactly.
And yet, he also seems really quite sweet and normal. Just like everyone else, he gets up, makes tea, sits around the house. Perhaps not like everyone else, he also takes handfuls of hallucinogens, carves himself up onstage like a pumpkin with a jagged microphone stand, and has feuds with numerous 80s indie rock icons like Ian McCullough and Bill Drummond.
Some rock people make you wish you could be them. Julian Cope is not one of those people. Julian Cope is Saint Julian, living all the way out there on our behalf, frying himself into oblivion so that we might live and learn from his experience vicariously.
Best rock and roll read in forever.
April 19, 2012
Possibly the best music memoir ever? In order of reading, I loved him, got bored by him, laughed at him, threw him against the wall, detested him, felt sorry for him, grew to love him again, became completely infatuated, and finally adored him so much that I had to read everything else he'd written.
March 20, 2015
In the first installment, Julian Cope recollects the Liverpool (post)punk scene, revolving around Eric's club,literally just across the street from the world famous Cavern. The seeds were sown for the Teardrop Explodes.
In 1976, he left his Midlands home for college on Merseyside and soon formed his first band - The Crucial Three - with Ian McCulloch (then known as 'Duke') and Pete Wylie. As the name suggests, the group took themselves very seriously from the start. But, convinced of their own talent and driven by ambition and the right connections, all of them would go on to appear on Top of the Pops over the next few years: Mac with Echo & the Bunnymen and Wylie with (The Mighty) Wah!
Others on that Liverpool scene included Pete 'You Spin Me Round' Burns, Lightning Seed and producer Ian Broudie, Siouxsie and the Banshees drummer Budgie, and Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford, who would later form one of the biggest selling British bands of the mid-80's, Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
The Teardrop Explodes burned out shortly after a couple of albums and top twenty hits in ’80-81. Head On is not your average rock star autobiography. But it contains plenty excess, with the band and their entourage spiralling out of control on tour and Cope following Eurovision winners Bucks Fizz onto the Top of the Pops stage to perform Passionate Friend, while on acid.
Head On doesn’t lack accounts of his drug consumption and subsequent experiences, as he became a sort of Syd Barrett figure for the 80’s generation. Yet, this memoir is really entertaining and largely well written with short chapters that make you want to have just one more.
The second volume, Repossesed, takes us up to the end of the 80’s and the recording of albums such as My Nation Underground and Skellington.
Cope seems frustrated by his portrayal in the music press as an acid casualty, but did he not play up to this reputation? His second solo album was called ‘Fried’ and the sleeve had a photo of Cope crawling on all fours below a giant a turtle shell, next to a toy truck with the word ‘Fried’ emblazoned on its side.
The truck itself would be abandoned in the undergrowth of the home near Tamworth he ‘retired to’ in his mid twenties after the wheels came off the Explodes juggernaut. His obsession with toy car collecting is well explored in Repossessed, which is subtitled ‘Shamanic Depressions in Tamworth and London (1983-89)’.
On the whole, I prefer this second volume. It’s more personal somehow, as Julian descends from the heights and tries to rebuild his life and career in rural Staffordshire. Yes, there is still some touring(the odd mad stint in Japan), tales of drug exploits and groupees, but much of the time it’s about taking stock in the Midlands, with his American wife, or hanging out with close friends.
Cope is able to gradually get back on track and keep making music, regardless of whether it sells on a grand scale or not. In fact, his artistic integrity and uncompromising attitude were often a bone of contention with record companies. He claims that he pulled the plug on his song East Easy Rider being used in a Levi’s ad.
As ever, these sorts of books give the author the chance to slag off those they have fallen out with (Mac from the Bunnymen or ex-Teardrop band members in this case), but Cope comes across as one of the more intriguing and amusing personalities of the era. In these personal memoirs, he is always willing to share his knowledge and passion for leftfield music and other dimensions with those who want to go along on the trip.
In 1976, he left his Midlands home for college on Merseyside and soon formed his first band - The Crucial Three - with Ian McCulloch (then known as 'Duke') and Pete Wylie. As the name suggests, the group took themselves very seriously from the start. But, convinced of their own talent and driven by ambition and the right connections, all of them would go on to appear on Top of the Pops over the next few years: Mac with Echo & the Bunnymen and Wylie with (The Mighty) Wah!
Others on that Liverpool scene included Pete 'You Spin Me Round' Burns, Lightning Seed and producer Ian Broudie, Siouxsie and the Banshees drummer Budgie, and Holly Johnson and Paul Rutherford, who would later form one of the biggest selling British bands of the mid-80's, Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
The Teardrop Explodes burned out shortly after a couple of albums and top twenty hits in ’80-81. Head On is not your average rock star autobiography. But it contains plenty excess, with the band and their entourage spiralling out of control on tour and Cope following Eurovision winners Bucks Fizz onto the Top of the Pops stage to perform Passionate Friend, while on acid.
Head On doesn’t lack accounts of his drug consumption and subsequent experiences, as he became a sort of Syd Barrett figure for the 80’s generation. Yet, this memoir is really entertaining and largely well written with short chapters that make you want to have just one more.
The second volume, Repossesed, takes us up to the end of the 80’s and the recording of albums such as My Nation Underground and Skellington.
Cope seems frustrated by his portrayal in the music press as an acid casualty, but did he not play up to this reputation? His second solo album was called ‘Fried’ and the sleeve had a photo of Cope crawling on all fours below a giant a turtle shell, next to a toy truck with the word ‘Fried’ emblazoned on its side.
The truck itself would be abandoned in the undergrowth of the home near Tamworth he ‘retired to’ in his mid twenties after the wheels came off the Explodes juggernaut. His obsession with toy car collecting is well explored in Repossessed, which is subtitled ‘Shamanic Depressions in Tamworth and London (1983-89)’.
On the whole, I prefer this second volume. It’s more personal somehow, as Julian descends from the heights and tries to rebuild his life and career in rural Staffordshire. Yes, there is still some touring(the odd mad stint in Japan), tales of drug exploits and groupees, but much of the time it’s about taking stock in the Midlands, with his American wife, or hanging out with close friends.
Cope is able to gradually get back on track and keep making music, regardless of whether it sells on a grand scale or not. In fact, his artistic integrity and uncompromising attitude were often a bone of contention with record companies. He claims that he pulled the plug on his song East Easy Rider being used in a Levi’s ad.
As ever, these sorts of books give the author the chance to slag off those they have fallen out with (Mac from the Bunnymen or ex-Teardrop band members in this case), but Cope comes across as one of the more intriguing and amusing personalities of the era. In these personal memoirs, he is always willing to share his knowledge and passion for leftfield music and other dimensions with those who want to go along on the trip.
December 12, 2010
The Teardrop Explodes are one of my favourite ever groups, and "Head-On" is a perfect evocation of the band and the time. Julian writes in a friendly and hilarious manner, making this easy to read. He's a natural communicator.
"Repossessed" is heavy going in parts and not as enjoyable as "Head-On", but you will still want to read it if you enjoyed "Head-On"
Separately, "Head-On" would rate 5 stars and "Repossessed" would rate 3.
"Repossessed" is heavy going in parts and not as enjoyable as "Head-On", but you will still want to read it if you enjoyed "Head-On"
Separately, "Head-On" would rate 5 stars and "Repossessed" would rate 3.
August 9, 2016
Ho letto solo Head-On, bello, pieno di aneddoti dettagliatissimi che mi fa pensare che o Cope si scrivesse tutto nei minimi particolari mentre le cose accadevano, o, visto che si è fatto più acidi di quanti si possano immaginare, si sia inventato tutto ma allora lo ha fatto in maniera brillante.
Per chi ama il punk ed il suo mondo.
Per chi ama il punk ed il suo mondo.
February 3, 2020
Biography? Memoir collection? A history of a rock band and its frontman? A history of rock in the 1970s-80s? It doesn’t really matter. This is an important and essential document of a specific period in music history in the United Kingdom, through the lens of someone who played a part in it.
The episodic memory on these pages is impressive, as Cope remembers everything: from his Tamworth childhood to his discovery of rock music, the punk scene, his band, his solo career, tours, drug trips, arguments, friendships, feelings and thoughts - absolutely everything. It’s commendable and enviable for anyone believing their life is worth memorialising this way, and Cope’s sure is.
Head On covers Cope’s childhood up until the disbanding of the Teardrop Explodes, while Repossessed covers his solo career up until 1989, and his own personal triumphs, tragedies and feelings in between (as well as his writing of Head On, a very meta decision). While both tomes are obviously in chronological order, Head On is more linear, more structurally coherent than Repossessed. The latter tome is very much Cope’s equivalent of Through the Looking Glass: a much weirder book, reflecting Cope’s post-Teardrop career, playfully digressing towards themes such as musicology, esotericism, philosophy, mind, and more.
I would like to imagine how Cope’s career would have fared had he emerged in 2019 and not in 1977 at the height of the punk rock scene. Using my imagination, I reckon he would have used the Internet to his own advantage, something which would have spared him having to argue endlessly with record labels. But at the same time, this book also teaches us how difficult becoming a music obsessive was at the time. Finding the latest worthwhile releases, acquiring them, the trial-and-error factor of whether you bought a good album or not, what gigs are on, what bands are the next big thing… It must have been manic. Whereas now finding a band or an album is so easy, it's almost overwhelming.
An essential read for music fans, I highly doubt there are many books on music quite like this one.
The episodic memory on these pages is impressive, as Cope remembers everything: from his Tamworth childhood to his discovery of rock music, the punk scene, his band, his solo career, tours, drug trips, arguments, friendships, feelings and thoughts - absolutely everything. It’s commendable and enviable for anyone believing their life is worth memorialising this way, and Cope’s sure is.
Head On covers Cope’s childhood up until the disbanding of the Teardrop Explodes, while Repossessed covers his solo career up until 1989, and his own personal triumphs, tragedies and feelings in between (as well as his writing of Head On, a very meta decision). While both tomes are obviously in chronological order, Head On is more linear, more structurally coherent than Repossessed. The latter tome is very much Cope’s equivalent of Through the Looking Glass: a much weirder book, reflecting Cope’s post-Teardrop career, playfully digressing towards themes such as musicology, esotericism, philosophy, mind, and more.
I would like to imagine how Cope’s career would have fared had he emerged in 2019 and not in 1977 at the height of the punk rock scene. Using my imagination, I reckon he would have used the Internet to his own advantage, something which would have spared him having to argue endlessly with record labels. But at the same time, this book also teaches us how difficult becoming a music obsessive was at the time. Finding the latest worthwhile releases, acquiring them, the trial-and-error factor of whether you bought a good album or not, what gigs are on, what bands are the next big thing… It must have been manic. Whereas now finding a band or an album is so easy, it's almost overwhelming.
An essential read for music fans, I highly doubt there are many books on music quite like this one.
May 26, 2010
A fascinating combination of two books (which rather confused my children, who thought I was reading a book upside down and backwards! Then were extremely disappointed to find out that I hadn't developed a new skill!) which cover two very different periods of Mr Cope's life.
I can't call myself a huge fan of The Teardrop Explodes or even St Julian, prior to reading these books, I picked them up on recommendation alone.
I wasn't disappointed, as he dissects the rise and fall of The Teardrop Explodes in a wonderfully warm and funny way. He certainly pulls no punches and chronicles in great detail his slide into acid casualty in Head On.
The are some fantastic mental images painted, involving sawn off shotguns and buckets of sewage.
Repossessed didn't grab me as much initially, perhaps because the starting point isn't as immediately accessible as the 1976 scene.
There are tales of paranoia and ego driven sulks.
Together these books provide a no holds barred peek into the world of fame and music. You don't have to be a fan to appreciate the insights and revelations in these books.
I can't call myself a huge fan of The Teardrop Explodes or even St Julian, prior to reading these books, I picked them up on recommendation alone.
I wasn't disappointed, as he dissects the rise and fall of The Teardrop Explodes in a wonderfully warm and funny way. He certainly pulls no punches and chronicles in great detail his slide into acid casualty in Head On.
The are some fantastic mental images painted, involving sawn off shotguns and buckets of sewage.
Repossessed didn't grab me as much initially, perhaps because the starting point isn't as immediately accessible as the 1976 scene.
There are tales of paranoia and ego driven sulks.
Together these books provide a no holds barred peek into the world of fame and music. You don't have to be a fan to appreciate the insights and revelations in these books.
November 29, 2023
4 stars for Head-On, but only 3 for Repossessed. Cope is a fantastic writer, if ever he turned his hand to fiction his novels would be vibrant, but as a main character he wore me down a little here. Head-On was excellent and he writes 'in the moment', as a teen, as a young man, as a man strung out on drugs - he makes it sound and feel as though it's now, not hindsight, his language and structure capturing each moment as it would have been. I really enjoyed both his story and his writing.
However, I found Repossessed very heavy going, Cope's life is as insane as it is interesting! He went into great detail, and I did grow a little bored. I often needed to take a break in reading it, it wasn't a relaxing read and actually hard work. I suppose as well that here Cope is of the one age and writing from that voice, rather than the wide-eyed growing up in Head-On, with changing voice and pace throughout. Repossessed got a bit monotonous for me. Definitely only a 3-star read for me. This second book also seemed to end abruptly, it would have been good to include how the last-mentioned album went. If Cope turns to fiction, I think I'll be a fan!
However, I found Repossessed very heavy going, Cope's life is as insane as it is interesting! He went into great detail, and I did grow a little bored. I often needed to take a break in reading it, it wasn't a relaxing read and actually hard work. I suppose as well that here Cope is of the one age and writing from that voice, rather than the wide-eyed growing up in Head-On, with changing voice and pace throughout. Repossessed got a bit monotonous for me. Definitely only a 3-star read for me. This second book also seemed to end abruptly, it would have been good to include how the last-mentioned album went. If Cope turns to fiction, I think I'll be a fan!
July 20, 2015
Julian Cope? The very same.
Shenanigans in Tamworth, Liverpool and North America involving music, drugs, marshmallows and faulty van air-conditioning. How Cope and Co. managed to produce any work at all is a mystery, somewhat explained in this interesting and frank account of the rise and fall of The Teardrop Explodes. You don't necessarily need to know or enjoy Cope's music to appreciate his story. It helps that he's intelligent, insightful and can string his own words together without the mediation of a ghost writer.
Shenanigans in Tamworth, Liverpool and North America involving music, drugs, marshmallows and faulty van air-conditioning. How Cope and Co. managed to produce any work at all is a mystery, somewhat explained in this interesting and frank account of the rise and fall of The Teardrop Explodes. You don't necessarily need to know or enjoy Cope's music to appreciate his story. It helps that he's intelligent, insightful and can string his own words together without the mediation of a ghost writer.
July 21, 2010
8/10. Julian does write an entertaining book. Enjoyed this a lot.
August 6, 2011
The best book by a rock n roller ever. The last few chapters of 'repossessed' are as creatively inspiring as anything i have ever read. WELL AWLRIGHT!
January 2, 2016
I'd give this ten stars if I could.
February 18, 2022
A few short passages from Head On/Repossessed:
*
Also, it was one of those days when you do something, it works out, and then you wish that you’d known in advance that it was going to work, so you could have enjoyed it while it was happening.
*
I wondered about being nice. You know, what it really was.
*
David Balfe sat, eyes blazing, fully upright on the bed and told me that I must try the Adolescent’s acid. I told both of them that I’d taken mushrooms instead, but this only fired her up more.
“Please take my stuff,” she wailed.
Okay, I’ll try some. But only if Kev takes some, too. I told the Adolescent that if she was so concerned with dosing us up, she should have some as well.
“No way,” wailed the Adolescent. “On acid, I could never handle that you’re more famous than me.”
“But you’re not famous at all,” I blurted, confused by her reasoning.
“Well, don’t fucking rub it in!” she howled.
Wow, even in my solipsistic, egoistic, Odinistic acid one-ness, the self-possession of that last outburst double-took me to the core. Right on.
*
By noon every day, there were no problems. Whilst the sun was up, so was I. And free. Free from stupid rock’n’roll, and free from the phone which never stopped ringing. Only it did. It stopped ringing pretty soon. In fact, I’d gotten so used to complaining about its ringing all that time that it took me a while to actually notice that no-one called us anymore. I was hurt. I was used to attention. How could I complain about how hassled I was if no one hassled me?
*
Of course, my brain was just too full of news and cultural information to let the mystic ever truly settle. I’d get angry with myself without giving my underground self a fighting chance. My cynical side wanted instant results to prove that it was worth going on – cynics are not world weary, quite the opposite. They are unformed humans who have prejudged situations before their actual experience takes place. They therefore don’t actually experience it at all, just a fax of what they’d presupposed it would be like. I was like a Sun reporter who doesn’t actually bother going round to see for himself, because he thinks he knows what the scene will be like in advance. I was cynical and presupposing, I suppose. Cynicism is not over-experience – it blots out actual experience. It is really closed-mindedness through the lack of genuine “experience”, for we can touch the mystic in so many humdrum ways.
*
I saw old friends on TV. I saw everyone on TV. The airwaves were crammed with them. And each one had fallen for the falsehood that hits are good. Just as I had done. I began to feel guilty about that, as though I had inspired it.
*
I had an unhealthy respect for the artist who sells out. Not everyone can sell out, even if they want to. Over the years, I have noticed that the strength of singers like Adam Ant and Billy Idol was their ability to sell their asses and still appear to be doing precisely what they wanted.
*
Limitations. I had those in abundance. Now I wanted to use those limitations. I wanted to stand amongst all those enormous Western Artistes, declaiming their world-changing strategies and scream: “I made this song up!”
*
*
Also, it was one of those days when you do something, it works out, and then you wish that you’d known in advance that it was going to work, so you could have enjoyed it while it was happening.
*
I wondered about being nice. You know, what it really was.
*
David Balfe sat, eyes blazing, fully upright on the bed and told me that I must try the Adolescent’s acid. I told both of them that I’d taken mushrooms instead, but this only fired her up more.
“Please take my stuff,” she wailed.
Okay, I’ll try some. But only if Kev takes some, too. I told the Adolescent that if she was so concerned with dosing us up, she should have some as well.
“No way,” wailed the Adolescent. “On acid, I could never handle that you’re more famous than me.”
“But you’re not famous at all,” I blurted, confused by her reasoning.
“Well, don’t fucking rub it in!” she howled.
Wow, even in my solipsistic, egoistic, Odinistic acid one-ness, the self-possession of that last outburst double-took me to the core. Right on.
*
By noon every day, there were no problems. Whilst the sun was up, so was I. And free. Free from stupid rock’n’roll, and free from the phone which never stopped ringing. Only it did. It stopped ringing pretty soon. In fact, I’d gotten so used to complaining about its ringing all that time that it took me a while to actually notice that no-one called us anymore. I was hurt. I was used to attention. How could I complain about how hassled I was if no one hassled me?
*
Of course, my brain was just too full of news and cultural information to let the mystic ever truly settle. I’d get angry with myself without giving my underground self a fighting chance. My cynical side wanted instant results to prove that it was worth going on – cynics are not world weary, quite the opposite. They are unformed humans who have prejudged situations before their actual experience takes place. They therefore don’t actually experience it at all, just a fax of what they’d presupposed it would be like. I was like a Sun reporter who doesn’t actually bother going round to see for himself, because he thinks he knows what the scene will be like in advance. I was cynical and presupposing, I suppose. Cynicism is not over-experience – it blots out actual experience. It is really closed-mindedness through the lack of genuine “experience”, for we can touch the mystic in so many humdrum ways.
*
I saw old friends on TV. I saw everyone on TV. The airwaves were crammed with them. And each one had fallen for the falsehood that hits are good. Just as I had done. I began to feel guilty about that, as though I had inspired it.
*
I had an unhealthy respect for the artist who sells out. Not everyone can sell out, even if they want to. Over the years, I have noticed that the strength of singers like Adam Ant and Billy Idol was their ability to sell their asses and still appear to be doing precisely what they wanted.
*
Limitations. I had those in abundance. Now I wanted to use those limitations. I wanted to stand amongst all those enormous Western Artistes, declaiming their world-changing strategies and scream: “I made this song up!”
*
October 4, 2022
What's it like performing on Top of the Pops on acid? Julian Cope is the man to tell you.
Head-On follows Cope's time as front-man for 80s pop group "Teardrop Explodes" and contains all the sex and drugs stories you want to hear about from a band on tour.
Cope is self-deprecating, but he comes across like he is above it all at the same time creating an interesting and funny persona. He is also a music historian (esp. when it comes to the genesis of Krautrock, which brought us bands like "Can", "Faust", and "Kraftwerk") and the creator of one of the best albums of all-time in Jehovahkill.
Even if you are not a Cope fan, if you like British culture and music circa "The Fall" and "Joy Division" (dark ages Manchester), there is no better book than this.
Head-On follows Cope's time as front-man for 80s pop group "Teardrop Explodes" and contains all the sex and drugs stories you want to hear about from a band on tour.
Cope is self-deprecating, but he comes across like he is above it all at the same time creating an interesting and funny persona. He is also a music historian (esp. when it comes to the genesis of Krautrock, which brought us bands like "Can", "Faust", and "Kraftwerk") and the creator of one of the best albums of all-time in Jehovahkill.
Even if you are not a Cope fan, if you like British culture and music circa "The Fall" and "Joy Division" (dark ages Manchester), there is no better book than this.
January 13, 2024
Simply hilarious.
January 14, 2016
I loved Head-On and Repossessed, but then I'm a huge Cope-head. In other words, I'm biased toward liking it. This is my second time reading Head-On. I find Cope's stories of his early musical life interesting, engaging, often hilarious, and sometimes outrageous. In particular, the antics of his drugged-out company of cohorts (including him) made me wonder how he made it through that time alive.
Cope's books are well written, and easy to follow. He doesn't load up his writing with tons of technical musical jargon or long descriptions of songs he recorded, but rather presents his history in almost novel fashion, as scenes with good descriptions and dialogue. This book is definitely for the "heads," though, as Julian himself might say.
Cope's books are well written, and easy to follow. He doesn't load up his writing with tons of technical musical jargon or long descriptions of songs he recorded, but rather presents his history in almost novel fashion, as scenes with good descriptions and dialogue. This book is definitely for the "heads," though, as Julian himself might say.
June 25, 2008
A really good insight into how Copey became famous, the wonders of travelling on the road and the break up and rebirth of his musical career. Head on as a story of how someone made a name for themselves is great, Repossessed less so, but if you were getting into music in the late 1970s/early 1980s then this shiould bring back memories and also provide some home truths about people on the scene...
August 2, 2016
One of those essential bios.
Julian Cope is an interesting character. He's often portrayed as a loony and his autobiography confirms that.
Head on is a chronicle of his early life, how Cope got into music, forming the Teardrop Explodes and the Liverpool indie scene. It's fast, funny and full of comical observations.
Repossessed deals with the Teardrops splitting up, a cope's solo career. It's not as funny as Head On and delves into way too many LSD adventures but it is solid.
Read ASAP.
March 30, 2015
'Head On' is possibly the best music memoir I have ever read. Julian Cope is such a brilliant writer and story-teller, he had me glued to the book and I read it far too fast. The second half of the book 'Repossessed' is a much darker read as he struggles through drug overuse and I founds parts of it heavy going but again his writing engages you to him and his story and I cant wait to read the next installment.
September 12, 2008
so great that the funniest, most personal telling of the rock'n'roll life, full of side splitting drug stories, tour tales, hilarity and anguish, should come from the singer of a pretentious 80s british pop band, now turned astro-hippy druidic historian and incredibly bad dresser. oh julian i love you.
September 22, 2021
Julian is a surprisingly good writer. He has a remarkable memory for detail, especially considering all of the acid he was taking at the time!
Head On is fantastic, Repossessed lacks the same manic energy. I hope he gets around to publishing an account of the next 5+ years, in which Julian did his best work.
Head On is fantastic, Repossessed lacks the same manic energy. I hope he gets around to publishing an account of the next 5+ years, in which Julian did his best work.
August 2, 2010
Fun book. Julian Cope gives his account of an indie band's rise to fame. It's not at all glamorous or particularly inspirational. The Teardrop Explodes were dirty and drugged and often without too many ideas other than to look hip. But Cope has a good story to tell. More important, he has a lot of fire in his belly and it comes out in the writing. Uh, Awlright!
June 3, 2014
Tremendo Documento del Señor Cope....Teardrop explodes vs Echo and the bunnymen....Julian Cope vs Ian Mcculloch....Escena de Londres / USA vs Escena Liverpool...Punk vs (plus) psicodelia....Drogas plus Musica....Vamos... impresionante testimonio de lo que era la escena alternativa post-sex pistols de principio de los 80...
June 17, 2009
such a fantastic read ... Julian Cope tells the story w/ such ease + energy ... i think i read this over the course of 2 or 3 days all the way through + just wanted to keep going ... i highly recommend it
December 13, 2007
I'm not a big fan of his, but this book is excellent for anyone interested in the early '80's post punk scene, or the music business in general.See it all through Copes acid tinged eccentricity.
February 4, 2008
Astute and honest appraisal of his rocky relationship with the music industry from a man whose individualism and integrity have not been compromised. Wit, Intelligence and attitude prevail.
November 9, 2010
Only on page 20, but so far a great read. Anyone who lived through the punk scene of the 70's and 80's will love this book.
December 12, 2010
recommended - fascinating insight into the time, the man the genius...
January 19, 2011
"Head On" gets 5 stars -- late 70s music scene in Liverpool blah blah blah it's great. "Repossessed" gets 3 or 3-1/2 sstars as it starts to get a bit repetitive and JC is best taken in smaller doses.
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