Rereading Musicians and Their Audiences - by Tom Attah & Kirsty Fairclough & Christian Lloyd (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Popular musicians' autobiographies are one of the most important ways that stars create, negotiate and perpetuate the realities and myths of their lived experiences for fans. Using a radical and inclusive definition of the genre, this collection explores musicians' autobiographies as articulated in print, on stage, and through various expressive media as a dynamic factor in contemporary culture. These narratives function beyond thrilling fans with a sense of intimacy, as they attempt to create a narrative or reclamation on the musician's terms"--

Book Synopsis

Using a radical and inclusive definition of the genre, this collection explores musicians' autobiographies as articulated in print, on stage, and through various expressive media as a dynamic factor in contemporary culture.

Popular musicians' autobiographies are one of the most important ways that stars create, negotiate and perpetuate the realities and myths of their lived experiences for fans. Autobiographical creations such as Bruce Springsteen's book Born to Run, Kendrick Lamar's lyrics, ABBA's virtual Voyage show, and the reimaginings of Lennon and McCartney's childhood homes have been both critically acclaimed and lucrative, whilst delivering for many fans an apparent insider's understanding of musicians whose work they are invested in. Yet such narratives have many other functions beyond thrilling their consumers with a sense of intimacy. The pop music autobiographies discussed here variously attempt to rewrite social history; to redress gender or racial stereotypes; to question received models of fame; to validate new genres and scenes; to explore complex subjectivities; to justify or atone for transgressive behaviour; and to critique the music industry.

Review Quotes

"From Victoria Spivey to John Lennon, from Rob Halford to Camila Cabello and Taylor Swift: much like the diverse artists it examines, this compelling volume on pop music autobiography challenges expectations at every turn. Against the backdrop of digital and social media, it explores self-narration in both traditional forms-books and lyrics-and in emerging, unconventional spaces, such as audio books, social media, and museum exhibits. The result is a vital, timely, and inclusive contribution that compels us to rethink self-representation by musicians and fans alike." --Jeffrey Roessner, Dean of Humanities, Mercyhurst University, USA

"This collection offers a fascinating exploration of how popular musicians shape and challenge their narratives across media, music and pop culture. Featuring musicians like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Stanley and Amy Winehouse, as well as female fandom and self-narrative themes, Rereading Musicians and Their Audiences examines how these stories engage with identity, history and the music industry. It is a must-have resource for scholars interested in the relationship between music, memory and mythmaking." --Shara Rambarran, author of Virtual Music: Sound, Music, and Image in the Digital Era (Bloomsbury, 2021), UK

"Offering a refreshing view on diverse roles of the popular music (auto)biography, this collection responds to changes in understanding performing life stories. It is a fascinating read that offers insights into a range of formats and storytelling, from innovative narrative techniques to museum exhibitions and social media, importantly giving voice to marginalized social realities and identities from perspectives that not only include musicians, but also producers and fans." --Hillegonda C. Rietveld, Emeritus Professor of Creative Technologies, London South Bank University, UK

"Since Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, the genre of the musical autobiography has vastly expanded, with everyone from Elton John to Questlove penning their life story in recent years. Rereading Musicians and Their Audiences: Popular Music Autobiographies is just the collection that scholars and fans need for understanding the formal and thematic possibilities of this rapidly expanding genre. This smartly edited book not only covers a delightfully diverse range of musicians-the Beatles, Kendrick Lamar, Kim Gordon, and Lady Gaga all receive attention here-but also explores how recent memoirs by musicians have challenged the possibilities of life writing. Taken together, the essays in this collection expand our notion of how we construct cultural history while also bringing much needed attention to a number of under-recognized artists. A vital and exciting collection that will be of value to scholars and music fans." --Matthew Shipe, Senior Lecturer in English, Washington University in St. Louis, USA

About the Author

Tom Attah has published many chapters and journal articles on popular music and popular culture, and has produced public-facing mainstream broadcast work on blues music for the BBC. He is a creative musician, he has toured internationally and has composed original works for public projects. Recent published chapters include work on Prince (Bloomsbury, 2020), Robert Johnson (2022), Little Richard (Bloomsbury, 2022), and has co-edited a text on popular music narratives (2019).

Kirsty Fairclough is Head of Research and Knowledge Exchange and Reader in Screen Studies at the School of Digital Arts (SODA) at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. She is the co-editor of The Music Documentary: Acid Rock to Electropop (2013), The Arena Concert: Music, Media and Mass Entertainment (Bloomsbury, 2016), Music/Video: Forms, Aesthetics, Media (Bloomsbury, 2017), The Legacy of Mad Men: Cultural History, Intermediality and American Television (2020), Prince and Popular Culture (Bloomsbury, 2020), and author of the forthcoming Beyoncé Celebrity Feminism and Popular Culture (Bloomsbury). She is the curator of Sound and Vision: Pop Stars on Film and In Her View: Women Documentary Filmmakers film seasons at HOME, Manchester and Chair of Manchester Jazz Festival.

Christian Lloyd has taught and published on a wide range of subjects in popular and literary cultures. He was involved in researching the reconstruction of Jimi Hendrix's London flat and wrote the accompanying book: Hendrix at Home: a Bluesman in Mayfair (2016).