the festive fifty - mark whitby
i have to mention a great book (book !) that dropped through my inbox recently. it's simply called 'the festive fifty' and has been put together by mark whitby. as the name implies, this is a complete and very thorough rundown on the john peel festive fifty, with more lists, analysis and personal insight, than anyone should ever feel compelled to compile. but amazingly, mark has done this deed, and a damn fine job he has done to. it's a wonderfully addictive archive of information, and provides a fascinating snapshot year on year of the predominantly uk based music scene for each year that the chart existed, even including the year it didn't - 1991. totally recommended for anyone who ever listened to the mighty mr john peel, and subsequently immersed themselves into the underworld of alternative rock.
ok, mark and i disagree on several points (especially as i still reckon 'kiss' by the age of chance to be one of the best records ever), but the fact that there is a 220 page book out there, with sooo many forgotten facts about forgotten bands makes this a superb "dip in and rejoice" book. despite the fact that there is a helluva lot of stuff to do with the fall. hmm, i wonder why that is.
wonderful stuff.
details : 'the festive fifty' - by mark whitby. published by nevin publishing (isbn 0-9548317-0-5)