When the music journalist Will Hodgkinson proposed writing a book onLawrence, ex-frontman of the post-punk band Felt and latterly of Go-Kart Mozart (recently re-christened Mozart Estate), he was told there would be conditions. Lawrence – who goes by his first name only – said he couldn’t speak to any old bandmates. Furthermore, there could be no anecdotes or use of the word “just”. Asked what is wrong with “just”, Lawrence tells him: “I just don’t like it.”
A simultaneously entertaining and melancholic account of an overlooked musician, Street-Level Superstar depicts the sixtysomething Lawrence as a pallid eccentric who passes his time walking around London, who lives on liquorice and milky tea and is fearful of cheese – “We know that in nature if something smells, it is dangerous to eat.” We learn that Lawrence hasn’t had a girlfriend for years. Reflecting on sex, he says: “I was a two-minute wonder. They’re not missing much.”
Yet there is a reason why Hodgkinson, who is also our narrator, chose to spend time trudging the streets with this oddball figure. It’s because he is convinced of Lawrence’s musical genius – as is Lawrence himself – even if the rest of the world appears immune. And while Hodgkinson can’t resist mining his intractability for laughs, his book is underpinned by empathy and a laudable lack of judgment.
Most music biographies follow familiar trajectories of failure followed by triumph and redemption. But this is a rare tale of a promising career undermined by bad luck, self-sabotage and the fruitless quest for a hit. The audiobook also includes a wonderfully warm Q&A between author and subject, where Lawrence reflects on his fantasy as a youth that he was living in the film of his life.
Available via Nine Eight Books, 10hr 44 min
Romantic ComedyCurtis Sittenfeld, Penguin Audio, 9hr 5minSally, a divorced comedy writer practised in skewering celebrities, catches the eye of a pop star who is known for only dating models. Read by Kristen Sieh.
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