Book 13 - Young Soul Rebels by Stuart Cosgrove

Reading date - June 2020

This little number is from HMV.  I think it's a crying shame that it's not *that* well known that HMV sell books.  And they're not expensive! I THINK you can get two for eight quid, or a fiver each.  I bought this with Girlfriend in a Coma..and carried it home in a cloth bag when it was absolutely chucking it down.  It's a wonder either book survived; my coat got so wet I had to dry it with a hairdryer on a Sunday night so it was dry enough for me to wear to work on Monday.

I saw the Northern Soul film but my love of Frankie Valli was present even before then, thanks to my dad so I didn't fall in love with the mystery song as a result of the film.  The film was very good though, I suggest it to anyone who loves music.

I thought this book would be fine.  Thought it would be of mild interest to me as I was interested in the history of Northern Soul, as I am with most music.

What I found was a powerhouse of a book.  I am a great lover of social commentary.  This book is exactly what I want in a factual history book.  It doesn't just see Northern Soul in a vacuum, it tells how it became so popular, what other music was about in those days, the miner strikes, Jack the Ripper and then the demise...it then also covers how it rose again as a niche due to the net.  The book opens with the author nearly being buggered by his girlfriend's uncle, who is pissed in his sleep and thinks he's in bed with a woman.  No buggery takes place..  

I loved this book so much that I finished it within days, I couldn't put it down.  I even took it back to my parents' house so I could finish it.  I am actively searching out more work by Stuart Cosgrave.

This book is my second favourite book of the year, tied with Bill Browder's Red Notice.