Description
Alan Tyler is the singer of The Rockingbirds, the chaotic, swashbuckling country-rockers who galloped haphazardly into the 90s Camden indie scene, got signed, appeared on Top Of The Pops, went head to head with Nirvana at Reading ‘92 and produced, eventually, four albums of unsurpassed Americana.
From DIY/punk beginnings, in 1980 Tyler arrived at the experimentalists’ haven of the London Musicians Collective and was soon playing swingy pop at Bernie Rhodes' Club Left, sharing the agitpop aspirations of Scritti Politti and other Rough Trade acts before being there at the dawn of Creation Records. At various times he’s been a choirboy, a fanzine writer, a Young Socialist, a tap dancer, a polytechnic philosopher, a cycle dispatch rider, a news-monitoring video pirate, an ill-suited civil servant and a Deptford Creek dwelling river poet. Long after his Heavenly Recordings heyday, Tyler remains a stalwart of London’s roots music scene: a critically recognised singer-songwriter who has never had a single hit.
Buckle up for a ride from the suburbs to the city, and from the city to the country. From the lowest dives to the tallest buildings and, finally, to pride of place in your local bookshop's self-sabotage section...
With a foreword by John Niven.
Things said about How To Never Have A Hit
By people who are in it…
“Absolutely tore through it. Brilliantly written.” - Pete Astor
“This is so moving!! I loved it... One way or another this will be a beautiful thing in the world.” - Sukie Smith
“It’s very funny and [a] literally revelatory story of his life and times with the Rockingbirds, before and since. You’re going to love it.” - Sean Read
And by a few who aren’t…
“Alan Tyler proves just as good a story-teller over book length as song length.” - Andrew Mueller
“A funny, moving and above all unique memoir from the most talented musician you only think you’ve heard of. It’s a great book.” - David Quantick
“It is absolutely bloody marvellous.” - John Mitchinson
Details
Publisher - Alan Tyler
Language - English
Paperback
Author(s) - Alan Tyler
Published Date - February 24 2025
ISBN - 9781068534522
Dimensions - 19.7 x 13.2 x 2 cm
Page Count - 247
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