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Street-Level Superstar
- A Year With Lawrence
- Narrated by: Will Hodgkinson
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
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Street-Level Superstar
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Summary
'Essential reading' JARVIS COCKER
'****' MOJO
'One of the best music books I've ever clapped eyes on' MARC RILEY
'10/10 - An extraordinarily empathetic study' UNCUT
'Magnificent' SPECTATOR
Guardian Book of the Day
This edition includes an exclusive Q&A with LAWRENCE
Lawrence is the greatest pop star who never made it, his dreams of glory thwarted over the past five decades by bad luck and self-sabotage. At sixty-one, he set off on a new mission: to escape poverty, obscurity and the humiliation of kids at the bus stop laughing at him by writing a smash hit. But what is the cost of a dream?
In 1980, Lawrence formed Felt, who released ten albums and ten singles in ten years before splitting up. In 1991, he reinvented himself with novelty-pop outfit Denim. Signed to EMI, riding the wave of Britpop, in 1997, Denim's song 'Summer Smash' became Radio 1's Single of the Week and looked like a sure-fire hit. Then Princess Diana was killed in a car crash. All copies were melted down. Crushing depression, addiction and homelessness followed... but in the face of it all, Lawrence never gave up.
In Street-Level Superstar, bestselling author and journalist Will Hodgkinson follows Lawrence as he rebuilds his life. He gets mistaken for an old lady by an amorous pensioner, is reduced to dragging sacks of 2p coins to his local bank and wanders through London's distant suburbs in search of lyrical inspiration. As they walk together down rain-soaked streets, Will tells the story of Britain's most eccentric cult star. Will he write the greatest song the world has ever known before the year is out? And was it worth sacrificing everything - family, relationships, health, sanity - for art?
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What listeners say about Street-Level Superstar
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- SteveJam
- 12-11-24
A fascinating enigma.
I finished this in two days, but then there is a 50 minute bonus interview with Lawrence tagged onto the end. When you thought you’d had your fill you find you can’t stop listening to it. This proves that you can never get bored of Lawrence stories.
A great attempt by Will Hodgkinson to capture the essence of the man.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- PopTart
- 13-10-24
"I'm not going on a quiz show!" ~ Lawrence
A fascinating and humorous insight into the life of an eccentric creative being.
Prior to listening, I didn't know anything of Lawrence and his various bands (Felt, Denim, Go Kart Mozart, Mozart Estate)
and it's not necessary to know or be a music nerd in order to enjoy this biography, although I've looked the bands up since and enjoy his music and lyrics.
The revelations of Lawrence's idiosyncrasies and eccentricities are always kept on the right side of understanding and compassionate and stay upbeat, even had me laughing out loud in places.
The author facilitates us to glance at the past, wonder about the future, whilst also generally hanging around chatting and walking at street level with L who is a constant source of ideas and observations about himself and life in general.
The inclusion of (difficult) experiences of band members, former friends and ex-girlfriends pull no punches but aren't hateful, enriching and give the year with L a fully rounded feel.
I've listened to the audio version and particularly enjoy WH's voice and light-hearted tone.
Much appreciate the interview with L at the end.
Lawrence comes off far more likeable and interesting than I'd imagined would be the case.
There is so much beauty in what could be the mundane, or straight up pain, of Lawrence's life and the author has drawn this out.
I'd like to know more and feel this leaves room for further exploration and scrutiny - L is an interesting character and he wants to express everything he knows to all of us, so why not let him?
I'm fairly sure he'll read this review. So, thanks Lawrence for being so open and thank you Will.
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