erasing clouds
 

Book Review: Martin Roach's The Eight Legged Atomic Dustbin Will Eat Itself

by anna battista

"All roads lead to Stourbridge. Or at least, they did when I was a kid." This is how the introduction begins for the 2006 edition of Martin Roach's volume The Eight Legged Atomic Dustbin Will Eat Itself - about Stourbridge's finest, Pop Will Eat Itself, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and The Wonder Stuff. In the same intro, Roach recounts the genesis of the book, from the first interview with John Penney, front man of Ned's Atomic Dustbin, to the very first edition of the book that came out in 1992 and that Vox magazine called "a phenomenon."

The first edition, printed with a shiny blue cover sold over 3,000 copies. The second, this time wrapped in a flaming red cover, sold a further 3,000 copies, and soon the volume became a cult title among fans. The reasons of its success? Perhaps the engaging way in which Roach recounts the bands' stories and musical successes, most probably the fact that Roach knew Stourbridge (West Midlands, England) very well as he lived there and was very passionate about the story he set to write. "…You will not find every date, every B-side, every chart position, every gig within these pages," he underlines in the new introduction, explaining the purpose of the book, "I just wanted an overview, a sense of why and how this odd little phenomenon had created itself."

The 2006 edition of the book is fully updated and expanded and it includes previously unpublished photographs and exclusive interviews. Since The Wonder Stuff are at present on tour, Ned's Atomic Dustbin's first new single in 11 years is just out and, though the reformation of PWEI is officially over, future new material by this band might still be coming out at some point, this is your chance to get to know more about these three seminal bands.

{www.impbooks.com}


this month's issue
archive
about erasing clouds
links
contact
     

Copyright (c) 2006 erasing clouds