Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review

General discussion about the band, live shows, its recordings or bootlegs, etc. You can buy, sell or trade here. You can even post eBay links. If it's about the Bunnymen, it goes here.

Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review

Postby Kounelaki » Mon Jul 01, 2019 6:12 am

Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review – a wild rock’n’roll ride of the damned

A publicist’s colourful account of his 20 years in the music industry is full of egos and excess

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/ ... ton-review
User avatar
Kounelaki
Über Fan
Über Fan
 
Posts: 4724
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:49 am

Re: Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review

Postby Kounelaki » Mon Jul 01, 2019 11:49 pm

FC, you'll have to review this book at some point.
User avatar
Kounelaki
Über Fan
Über Fan
 
Posts: 4724
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:49 am

Re: Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review

Postby Aigburth Drive » Tue Jul 02, 2019 5:56 am

Aigburth Drive
Just Tuned In
Just Tuned In
 
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Feb 19, 2011 6:26 pm

Re: Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review

Postby fat cherry » Tue Jul 02, 2019 1:16 pm

Are you that bloke off the telly? If so I've read your book and it was good.

KK - yes I will.
fat cherry
Über Fan
Über Fan
 
Posts: 4991
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 7:18 am

Re: Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review

Postby fat cherry » Wed Jul 24, 2019 10:07 am

That's a yes but I'm suddenly shy then.
Rocks back pages podcast also has the Houghton bloke on.
fat cherry
Über Fan
Über Fan
 
Posts: 4991
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 7:18 am

Re: Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review

Postby fat cherry » Tue Dec 29, 2020 11:59 am

Kounelaki wrote:FC, you'll have to review this book at some point.


had it in my christmas stocking. Not sure that the reviewer at the top of this thread has read the book - riotous? Not really. He doesn't really shed any light on the music business and particularly not PR. The reviewer mention ruminations but there's not much of that - just the odd comment here and there, and he doesn't pass off the heart surgery as nothing much, though its passed over pretty quickly all the same. And its only in that section where he says much about being busy, with a list of all the bands and albums he's 'handling' at the same time. Not that its a bad read - entertaining enough. What you actually get is virtually nothing of the man himself - other than several times he tells you how shy he is - but a potted history of the bands (rock/punk/post punk and even Sun Ra) through his career, and sometimes it is just a paragraph. Lots of bunnymen stuff as you can imagine and he comes back to them again and again and again right at the end - though seems closer to copey and drummond so alot on them too. Theres' not much in critical analysis or pondering apart from at the end when he describes how he/why he stopped working with all of them. mainly they didn't need him in the cases of drummond and cope who were by 21st century their own cottage industries and didn't need muc of a PR bloke. Though he rues the way it ended with the bunnymen - finally mac calling him a traitor for mentioning the drugs in the booklet accompanying the box set. When was that? Was that when it all kicked off on the official forum and VT was born? On the second coming, as it were he mentions Paul Toogood leaving as 'so Paul did the decent thing and resigned'. Which is slightly different from what I've heard before which implied he was sacked - though does admit he was too close to Mac.
In one bit he says he and some bloke I've never heard of before - some indoe record company bloke - bonded over their mothers not being able to explain to their neighbours what their sons did for a living. Not sure I am at the end of this, though you know, read it in three days off and on so can't be that bad.
Interesting factet...... Houghton's secobnd wife was the woman who designed Billy Braggs early album artwork.
fat cherry
Über Fan
Über Fan
 
Posts: 4991
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 7:18 am

Re: Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review

Postby Kounelaki » Thu Dec 31, 2020 4:17 am

Thanks for the review, FC. :smile:
User avatar
Kounelaki
Über Fan
Über Fan
 
Posts: 4724
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 5:49 am

Re: Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review

Postby Dave Smith » Tue Jan 05, 2021 9:13 am

Rhino boxset- initial copies mentions "No snow no show". Was later removed from the inner booklet.
HNY
Dave Smith
Über Fan
Über Fan
 
Posts: 1938
Joined: Sun Oct 28, 2007 8:55 am

Re: Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review

Postby fat cherry » Tue Jan 05, 2021 4:51 pm

ah. Still in Sweden Mr Smith? All safe and well over there?
fat cherry
Über Fan
Über Fan
 
Posts: 4991
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 7:18 am

Re: Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review

Postby fat cherry » Tue Jan 05, 2021 5:03 pm

And speaking of Mick H. I got a bee in my bonnet about something he said about a synthesiser (somebody bought someone one) so was scanning through again really quickly and I discovered (not who bought who the synth - though there is a mention of Gary Newman but thought it was someone else) what the PR bloke does - it was obviously a not seeing the wood for the trees thing - takes bands to interviews, takes journos to gigs and in the case of MH tries not to get in the way, which was kind of alluded to inthe initial reviewposted above. In the intro, written by Drummond its also said they put records in envelopes.

Speaking of drummond, the whole Drummond/KLF bit is probably the most interesting inthe whole book - so he (Allegedly) meets Cauty whilst the latter is in the band Brilliant who he has either signed or is handling as A&R (?) man at WEA and they've just spent 500K on getting Stock Aitken & Waterman to produce their record - only for the band to be really frustrated that SWA wouldn't let them play their instruments but sampled everything and then put it together - only fro it to flop. However in doing this inadvertently taught Cauty and possibly Drummond about sampling which they both went away with and whatever. Still can't help they're a pair of chancers who got lucky and it all gets a bit daft later on. However.......
fat cherry
Über Fan
Über Fan
 
Posts: 4991
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 7:18 am

Re: Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review

Postby fat cherry » Thu Jan 07, 2021 12:01 pm

Dave Smith wrote:Rhino boxset- initial copies mentions "No snow no show". Was later removed from the inner booklet.
HNY


just had a look - obviously had to - and I'd forgotten I had two copies, but both have that in so they must both be early. Curiously second one not bought in my major fanboy but a couple of years ago because one or two of the doscs had obviously been rolling around inthe car and the booklet had started to fall out page by page - and found one on ebay for about a tenner. Still visitors never believe that.
fat cherry
Über Fan
Über Fan
 
Posts: 4991
Joined: Thu Dec 13, 2007 7:18 am

Re: Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review

Postby Dave Smith » Fri Jan 08, 2021 11:56 am

Yep still in cold Sweden yet maskless so not tempted to buy knicker quality bandanas.
Dave Smith
Über Fan
Über Fan
 
Posts: 1938
Joined: Sun Oct 28, 2007 8:55 am

Re: Fried and Justified by Mick Houghton review

Postby Voodoo Billy » Mon Jan 11, 2021 10:33 am

Dave Smith wrote:Yep still in cold Sweden yet maskless so not tempted to buy knicker quality bandanas.


****Please note that in the interests of public health, knickers of the crotchless variety are not regarded a Covid secure.
Purveyor of the 'semi-predictable one-liner (which) embodies the essence of the type of comedic crap we grew to love here. VB is a crazy fool'
Voodoo Billy
Über Fan
Über Fan
 
Posts: 5248
Joined: Sun May 17, 2009 2:22 pm
Location: Out on a limb


Return to Echo & The Bunnymen

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 6 guests

cron