Not to be outdone by Sir Horace Gentleman, The Specials' Neville Staple recently sold the rights to his autobiography, titled "Original Rude Boy," to Aurum Press in England. His tome should hit the bookstore shelves in 2010. In the press release, his editor at Aurum, Sam Harrison, gushes:'I'm absolutely delighted Aurum are publishing Nev's autobiography. He's a legend. Not just in the history of Ska, but in the history of Pop per se. With its insider's view of The Specials and the Transatlantic post-punk music scene; not to mention its often harrowing, frequently hilarious account of growing up the wrong side of the law in Seventies Britain, ORIGINAL RUDE BOY promises to be the must-read memoir of Summer 2010.'
The press release also hypes Neville as the "godfather of ska." I have a great deal of respect for Neville, but that's a bit of a stretch, isn't it? The spirit of Laurel Aitken might want to have a word with his publicist...
I hope this one's as enjoyable a read as Sir Horace Panter's "Ska'd for Life."
Hi - I can confirm that Neville's biography will be out in time for the April reunion tour of The Specials this year - three months time in other words. It is going to be called 'Original Rude Boy' and having seen a draft, I can tell you that it's got some great exclusive stories on the 2-Tone era. Ranking Roger and Pauline Black have contributed to the book as have some of the Third Wave American ska bands. In fact, the book will give Third Wave ska the recognition it's long deserved. As you know, Neville lived for eight years in California work with bands like No Doubt and Unwritten Law. Aurum Press will publish in the UK but a US distribution deal is yet to be nailed down. You will be able to order on Amazon closer to the time. Ross Todhunter
ReplyDeleteRoss:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update! I'd be very interested to see what he has to say about ska scene in the US during the 90s...
Steve from Moon