everything simon price - have i missed something???

[Little Troll]

Originally Posted by amnesic

I don't really mind the Myers' book, and he is only doing the same thing that all those fiction writers do with medieval royals (ahem, yes Phillipa Gregory, I am talking to YOU)

This is true, although it's a lot easier to fact check basic info about the manics. Although Phillipa Gregory does seem to change facts that all other historians are agreed on and I find her equally frustrating

Originally Posted by Nature's Discontent

Still haven't read the Ben Myers book. I wasn't so keen on that extract of it published on the NME website but that might just be a bad example. Is it actually as bad as some have made it out to be?

There were a few really basic things that he got wrong which I found frustrating because they were pretty simple to check. Although I suppose he may have known otherwise and just changed it to make the story flow better, which may be the point amnesic is making, but I just feel that if you're going to write a book about an actual, real life person, you should get the facts about them right. Otherwise, just make your own character and base it on them!

[Nature's Discontent]

Originally Posted by Little Troll

There were a few really basic things that he got wrong which I found frustrating because they were pretty simple to check. Although I suppose he may have known otherwise and just changed it to make the story flow better, which may be the point amnesic is making, but I just feel that if you're going to write a book about an actual, real life person, you should get the facts about them right. Otherwise, just make your own character and base it on them!

Ah I see. Hmmm, think I'd find that frustrating too. Well, if anyone's going to launch a project like that in the first place then I expect they'll look to check the full facts about everything. Either he slipped up in doing that, or it was his intention just to troll the hardcore fans from the start

[Beej]

I don't know about you lot, but I've learned more from Born a Girl regarding early Manics than from any other source.

[Little Troll]

Originally Posted by Nature's Discontent

Ah I see. Hmmm, think I'd find that frustrating too. Well, if anyone's going to launch a project like that in the first place then I expect they'll look to check the full facts about everything. Either he slipped up in doing that, or it was his intention just to troll the hardcore fans from the start

I looked back at my posts in the thread about it from when I was reading it (because it was 2 years ago now) and other things I seemed to take issue with were a description given about Richey having a poo which I felt was unnecessary and the fact that he didn't really write the other manics very well. They were very one dimensional and weren't written as though they were Richey's best friends at all, just acquaintances.

[Bambi]

Originally Posted by Little Troll

Was he backstage at the O2? I know at some point, either just before it started or during the interval, he was standing in the audience near me and someone took me over to say hello to him.

Yes. I ended up bizarrely sat next to Price at a meal above a well known Irish pub chain the following day! So got this information straight from the proverbial horse's mouth.

[handbag]

Originally Posted by cool-groovey-morning-fine

Rip It Up And Start Again by Simon Reynolds is a brilliant book about all the post punk bands, totally exhaustive and intelligent without being too dry.

I read NME regularly, but all the journos do blur into one. There don't seem to be many writers with distinctive styles.

Yessss. Rip It Up is fantastic.

NME used to be good, but it's turned the way of Melody Maker where it's more Smash Hits.

[handbag]

Originally Posted by Bambi

I It's worth remembering that unlike many authors he was often actually there, and from very early on: down the front in 1991, down the Catacombs with them in '94, backstage at the o2 in 2011.

He was actually there as someone who was interviewing them at the time. The Boardwalk gig wasn't even that early on. I don't know if any other members here were living in London at the start of the 90s, but some of us were making the effort to go to their gigs before he ever did. He was pretty much bandwagon jumping and thinking he was in with them because he's Welsh.

He gets an aftershow sticker when he goes to their gigs and not an Access All Areas but that's probably out of courtesy. I get the impression that the band tolerate him more than actually like him.

I'd be more interested in what Mitch Ikeda has to say about his professional friendship with the band than some starstruck sad little man who uses his connection with the band to make friends.

[Beej]

Originally Posted by handbag

I get the impression that the band tolerate him more than actually like him.

Yes, me too.

[amnesic]

They've mellowed a bit, but my general impression is that the Manics don't actually "like" very many people and simply tolerate them. I assume their inner circle is very select. However, I think that many of the brats in music and film could probably learn something from them in this regard. Wasn't Sinead O'Connor telling Hanna Montana last year that she shouldn't trust the yes people around her, and that she was being used? I think it has really helped the Manics' music develop over the years by not being surrounded by yes people. I think they probably heard "no" much more often!

[Nature's Discontent]

Originally Posted by amnesic

They've mellowed a bit, but my general impression is that the Manics don't actually "like" very many people and simply tolerate them. I assume their inner circle is very select. However, I think that many of the brats in music and film could probably learn something from them in this regard. Wasn't Sinead O'Connor telling Hanna Montana last year that she shouldn't trust the yes people around her, and that she was being used? I think it has really helped the Manics' music develop over the years by not being surrounded by yes people. I think they probably heard "no" much more often!

I agree with pretty much all of this. I think that Richey was slightly different though, especially towards 94-95, as the popular assumption that he needed to be loved/understood would have brought him closer to some people outside of the band, and I think in this regard he was probably more friendly and welcoming to Price than the other three are.

[yanushka]

Originally Posted by Nature's Discontent

I agree with pretty much all of this. I think that Richey was slightly different though, especially towards 94-95, as the popular assumption that he needed to be loved/understood would have brought him closer to some people outside of the band, and I think in this regard he was probably more friendly and welcoming to Price than the other three are.

That's interesting! Are there any proofs for that(interviews, quotes) or is it just your opinion?Nothing bitchy, just wanna know..
and yeah,I agree with one of the posters above - I also have an impression that they tolerate him more than they actually like him..

[Littlesue]

Probably tolerate him because he is a big fan of the group and usually gives good reviews of everything they do so its basically free publicity.

[Nature's Discontent]

Originally Posted by yanushka

That's interesting! Are there any proofs for that(interviews, quotes) or is it just your opinion?Nothing bitchy, just wanna know..
and yeah,I agree with one of the posters above - I also have an impression that they tolerate him more than they actually like him..

I think you've just got to read around basically. There's nothing really more specific than when Nicky once said that the difference between him and Richey is that Richey wanted to be understood and Nicky never wanted to be understood, or words to that effect.

[amnesic]

Originally Posted by Nature's Discontent

I think that Richey was slightly different though, especially towards 94-95, as the popular assumption that he needed to be loved/understood would have brought him closer to some people outside of the band, .

That's interesting. I think in 94/95 he was looking for acceptance but before then I think he was more interested in being perceived of as "different". Image and how he was perceived by others seemed to be important to him, and he liked to emphasis that he was "different". I think if he was put in a group of self harming, anorexic binge drinkers he would have had a fit, and would have come to the group with green hair and neon pink clothes, just to show that he was still different

[raven]

I'm not sure they are so much a closed circle as just simply friends. One of the band's attractive qualities is that they come across as friends who have formed a band and remained normal rather than getting together to be a band or joining the celeb thing and popping up on everything (like Gary Barlow at the minute. What is it with that man??)

Simon Price is a fan, a music journalist.....he's not a friend which doesn't mean they like/dislike him just that he's a fan and journalist. The original plan was for Nicky to write a foreword for Everything....but decided against, maybe cos of the idea that he one day would like to write the biog but also maybe cos he and the band didn't want to endore Price's as the official biog. If Richey seemed more friendly and open.....it's not so much that the others aren't, in my opinion, but more that Richey appeared willing to talk to anyone giving some the impression he was your best friend....he wasn't he just seemed to be someone who couldn't say no (Yes)

Doesn't matter in the big scheme of things I just get annoyed at Simon Price's ego and how Everything could do with more objectivity and insight