It's 1978 and Nick Du Pont, one-time PR man to Sixties rock behemoths the Helium Kids, is back in London and bent on founding his own record label. A new kind of music - sharp, hard and dangerous - is bursting onto the airwaves on both sides of the Atlantic and Nick wants a slice of the action - in particular, the work of The Flame Throwers, the most provocative assemblage of street-smart desperadoes ever to hail from downtown Los Angeles.
Picking up from where the highly-praised Rock and Roll is Life (2018) left off, this is the story of Resurgam Records and the personal traumas and tragedies that attended its coruscating rise - until the time when, as so invariably happens, the dancers shuffle to a halt and the music stops. 'Taylor's 1,000-watt satire is set half in the real rockbiz,' Philip Norman has observed, and 'half in an imaginary one whose monsters are just as believable - and unbelievable. A near-narcotic treat.
Ready to rock and roll through the tumultuous times of the music industry?
Our protagonist, Nick Du Pont, is a savvy manager navigating the highs and lows of the music scene in the 70s and 80s. He's a man on a mission, dealing with difficult artists, and battling to get his bands played on popular radio shows.
Can Nick sign the unpredictable band 'The Flame Throwers' and manage their wild ways? Will he be able to keep up with the rapidly changing trends and survive in the cut-throat world of the music industry?
Nick's reputation and livelihood hang in the balance as he risks it all to sign 'The Flame Throwers'. Success could mean fame and fortune, but failure could leave him forgotten and penniless.
Experience a rollercoaster of emotions as you delve into the drama, passion, and chaos of the rock and punk scenes of yesteryears.
D.J. Taylor, a British novelist, biographer, and critic, is renowned for his intricate narratives that beautifully blend history, culture, and the arts.
Flame Music opens in the late 1970s, a crossroads both for the rock business and for atypically brainy PR man Nick Du Pont as he launches his own indy record label. Taylor's 1,000-watt satire is set half in the real rockbiz, half in an imaginary one whose monsters are just as believable - and unbelievable. A near-narcotic treat.
