{"title":"Books by Grant McPhee","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781399600255","title":"Hungry Beat","description":"Hungry Beat is the story of an all-too-brief era where the short-circuiting of that industry seemed viable. But hell, the times were luminous as was the music these artists made. The songs and many of the players remain, and here they tell their story and lick their wounds' Ian Rankin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e The immense cultural contribution made by two maverick Scottish independent music labels, Fast Product and Postcard, cannot be underestimated. Bob Last and Hilary Morrison in Edinburgh, followed by Alan Horne and Edwyn Collins in Glasgow helped to create a confidence in being Scottish that hitherto had not existed in pop music (or the arts in general in Scotland). Their fierce independent spirit stamped a mark of quality and intelligence on everything they achieved, as did their role in the emergence of regional independent labels and cultural agitators, such as Rough Trade, Factory and Zoo.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Hungry Beat is a definitive oral history of these labels and the Scottish post-punk period. Covering the period 1977-1984, the book begins with the Subway Sect and the Slits performance on the White Riot tour in Edinburgh and takes us through to Bob Last shepherding the Human League from experimental electronic artists on Fast Product to their triumphant number one single in the UK and USA, Don't You Want Me. Largely built on interviews for Grant McPhee's Big Gold Dream film with Last, Hilary Morrison, Paul Morley and members of The Human League, Scars, The Mekons, Fire Engines, Josef K, Aztec Camera, The Go-Betweens and The Bluebells, Hungry Beat offers a comprehensive overview of one of the most important periods of Scottish cultural output and the two labels that changed the landscape of British music.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43206112313522,"sku":"9781399600255","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781399600255_1e39006e-2ca8-4631-8f5d-71cda6248488.jpg?v=1786019273"},{"product_id":"9781913172473","title":"Postcards from Scotland","description":"SCOTLAND, 1983. The key musicians of the country's first wave of post-punk had either disbanded or taken the big gold road south in search of major label deals in London. Into the vacuum came a new generation - rebellious, young musicians determined to reinvent the scene in their own image.   In this compelling and dynamic oral history, POSTCARDS FROM SCOTLAND chronicles the radical transformation of Scotland's independent music scene from 1983-1995. Based on over 100 first-person interviews with the musicians, record labels, venues, promoters, and journalists who shaped the era, Grant McPhee lets the key players tell the story in their own words - including the Cocteau Twins, Shop Assistants, Teenage Fanclub, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, and many more.   POSTCARDS FROM SCOTLAND is the definitive story of the radicals, misfits and experimentalists who made independent music what it is today.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":57685789475189,"sku":"9781915841957","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Hardback","offer_id":44581209571506,"sku":"9781913172473","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781915841957.jpg?v=1792598977"},{"product_id":"scene-within-a-scene","title":"Scene Within A Scene","description":"'It’s an epic story littered with broken friendships, fierce rivalries, triumphs, tragedies, defiance and creative fire' TelegraphSCOTLAND, 1992: the music industry is experiencing a comedown from the mid-eighties Scottish indie explosion. Key labels have collapsed; dance music and rave culture have stormed the charts. Guitar-led indie faced a reckoning: adapt or die.   But from this wreckage came reinvention. Around the country, new bands distanced themselves from the jangling guitars typified by the NME C86 cassette. Drawing inspiration from eclectic, transatlantic influences like anarcho-punk, hardcore and no-wave - these new groups were closer to Captain Beefheart than the Byrds.   However, inspiration also arose from closer inspection of the 'other sound' of the C86 cassette, specifically the roster of Big Flame, A Witness and The Mackenzies. These bands' angular and abrasive sounds emulated earlier post-punk heroes such as Josef K and Fire Engines.   SCENE WITHIN A SCENE is the story of how Scotland rebuilt its musical landscape. From the development of new labels such as Chemikal Underground, to defiant new musical directions, this book traces the formation of Scottish indie music's best-loved acts.   'A super enjoyable dive into an ethically and musically fertile time.' The Wire","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57492401553781,"sku":"9781917274258","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781917274258.jpg?v=1786529240"},{"product_id":"caledonia-screaming","title":"Caledonia Screaming","description":"Longlisted for The Saltires Book Awards Non-Fiction Book of the Year 2026.   Scotland appeared to embrace punk early. The Ramones' debut album reached Glasgow within days of its mid 1976 release, provoking alarmist headlines that only deepened local enthusiasm. Soon after, the Stranglers and the Sex Pistols played: punk seemed to have arrived.   That momentum was abruptly halted however. Following the Sex Pistols' Anarchy Tour in December 1976, Scotland effectively imposed a near-total ban on anything \"punk\", driven by moral panic. While punk flourished elsewhere, Scotland's scene appeared strangled - or so the story goes.   In reality, 1977 was far from a lost year. Hundreds of bands formed across towns and suburbs, working entirely DIY: organising secret gigs, producing fanzines, recording cassettes and developing sounds that anticipated post-punk and indie. Drawing on 200 interviews, Caledonia Screaming reveals this last untold chapter of punk's year zero.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57679978496373,"sku":"9781919424576","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}]}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-grant-mcphee.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}