While this is not just quote after quote from his interviews, each chapter does use a mixture of quotes and paraphrasing to convey the story. I found it really interesting to see how a pop star, someone whose wildest dreams came true, navigates all of that. A small sampling of the many musicians covered were Stewart Copeland (drummer for the Police), Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs), Dexys Midnight Runners (think "Come on Eileen"), Suzanne Vega, Adam Ant, Snow Patrol, Leo Sayer, Joan Armatrading and Terence Trent D'Arby. Exit Stage Left” is an occasionally fascinating exploration of how musicians navigate their lives after their fame is over and their dreams of everlasting stardom have died. A former primetime television personality, his outdated style has seen him relegated to the scrapheap.

I work in the music industry and found this a fascinating read, making me look at new music through a different lens. What happens when the number ones become double - even triple - digits, when the screaming fans become a muted memory?The reasons for there inclusion differ, some were one-hit wonders, some music changed, or the audience changed, either age or novelty making them not as relevant.

Featuring brand-new interviews with the likes of: Bob Geldof, Shaun Ryder, Robbie Williams, Roisin Murphy, Stewart Copeland, Billy Bragg, Wendy James, Alex Kapranos, Joan Armatrading, Leo Sayer, Gary Lightbody, Lisa Maffia, Tim Booth, Bill Drummond, Rufus Wainwright, David Gray and Justin Hawkins. This book strips back the idea of glamour in the music industry as any band or artist who attains a bit of attention is put to work like a mule for the time that it lasts, be that months, years or decades. During CeeLo Green's chapter, the author makes a point to state Green's non contest plea in legal action from an accused rape. I came away from this book with even more admiration for the sheer bravery it takes to establish and maintain a musical career, because other than the . We hear the various motivations to create, how one mentally adjusts or fails to adjust to fame and how music is consumed.It’s a question that almost every performer faces in an industry that fetishises youth: is it better to burn out or just fade away? In writing a book about how they have to turn back into humans Nick Duerden has done both us and them a service. These are tales of heroin addiction, bankruptcy, depression, divorce—but also of optimism, a genuine love of the craft, humility and hope. But what's it like to actually achieve it, and what's it like when fame abruptly passes, and shifts, as it does, onto someone else?

There is a sort of morbid curiosity turning the stone over and seeing where the likes of Hothouse Flowers, Terrance Trent D’arby and Moloko have crawled to. The interviewees who just wanted fame, riches beyond avarice, and continued critical and commercial acclaim are the ones who seemed to want the fame more.Recommended for music fans and for all artists who don't want to think about life on the other side of fame, but being prepared for might not hurt. Some ex-stars still seem pretentious and over-the-top, but there’s a genuine warmth running through the stories. The book also touches on areas generally not touched with a ten-foot (Tudor) pole by the music biz – mental illness, poverty, shame, family estrangement, divorce, burnout. It is utterly relatable on a personal level - who hasn't been set aside in favor of something or someone more exciting? Which would be really incisive if only I Don't Belong Here hadn't been on the same 1994 debut album as I Can't Imagine The World Without Me.

Certainly no shockers here but it scratched an itch I didn't know I had; wondering about the whereabouts of some of the artists that filled my youth. I also think that by narrowing the focus of "Pop", the author builds a narrative that im not sure is true in that things discussed in interviews need to tie directly back into what it means to be a "pop star" or part of the "pop" scene. Seaton luckily escaped unscathed and what he did next is just one of many fascinating stories told herein. She has a certain standard in recording and prefers to rent out a proper studio with an engineer, producer, etc. This was a book that addressed what famous musicians experience when that initial burst of fame peters out.The starts interviewed for the book range from Robbie Williams, who has a career that is still thriving, but as a member of Take That is more than qualified to talk about life in the pop bubble. The happiest people in the book are the ones who accept fame when it happened, that know that going out, playing a few gigs a year, featuring the old hits, whilst playing newer songs which go down less well is the fate that awaits them. Photograph: Pete Still/Redferns View image in fullscreen His story has ‘a redemptive arc’ that is incredibly moving to read: Peter Perrett, left, performing with the Only Ones at Hammersmith Odeon, London, April 1978.