Many bands claim to be era-defining, few ever are. Primal Scream were.
If you have ever wondered what it would be like to be at the birth of one of rock and roll’s bastard offspring then this book is for you.
Martin St John was Primal Scream’s leather gloved flailing skeleton, bashing away on the tambourine in the 1960s obsessive, garage psych,
mid-80s period.
He was there, bang central in the middle of the psychedelic maelstrom – in the days before Screamadelica, in the days before Top Of The Pops, in the days before Glastonbury – and he has a story to tell.
Psychedelic Confessions of a Primal Screamer, The Tambourine years 1984-87 will introduce you to six Glasgwegian garage heads hell bent on acid, hard kicks and psychedelia.
You’ve the chance to join Martin St John for a special live reading accompanied by a psychedelic punk rock soundtrack and phantasmagoria projections along with a unique archive showing of live rare concert footage.
The event will be held on Thursday 17th August at The Bungalow, Shuttle St, Paisley PA1 1YD beginning at 8pm, admission costing £5.
John Martin took the poetic name of Martin St John in his early 20s to turbo charge his escape from the Glasgow Gorbals of the 1980s. First stop the sleazy environs of Byres Rd, then a land of student watering holes and silver factory fantasies; an Interzone between the 70s and the 21st Century.
Although he parted company unceremoniously from Primal Scream as they hit the cosmic runway for takeoff, he remains a connoisseur of 60s schlock, Glam and Psychedelia in its historic and hysteric forms. He works and lives in Glasgow with his wife Victoria and cat Peanuts.
To buy a copy of John’s book visit: http://bit.ly/2vic2gi.
The Tambourine case of early Primals years 1984 to 1987
Reviews:
Joe Whyte, Vive Le Rock magazine – “This is a guy who truly loves music and that comes across loud and clear in his inimitable ten-to-the-dozen rapid fire style. The book is a stirring fast-paced account of Martin’s early years as punk and ska fan and his evolution into one of The Faces of the Glasgow music scene”.
Amazon.com – “This is a brilliant read from start to finish. I love the dialect of the lingo which brings to life the people and the (happening) scene at the time. Lots of great anecdotes, revelations and laughs along the way. It feels authentic, which of course it is as he was in the thick of the scream team of their fledgling career.”
Audio interview with John Cavanagh: (Radio Six International)
Martin St John
