AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER: Arriving late November or early December
ESCAPADES – Underground Music + Art is the first book by Jowe Head, an irrefutably intriguing figure whose work somehow effortlessly bridges the gap between the blank slate of the pre-punk era to post-punk to the underground, experimental sounds of contemporary music.
A founding member of the SWELL MAPS, as well as a member of Television Personalities, Steve Treatment, Cult Figures, Palookas, not to mention numerous side projects, solo works and collaborations over more than five decades, Jowe's personal and professional story is full of insight and detail on living through and involvement in the first wave UK punk underground.
This volume collects Jowe Head’s extraordinary treasure trove of photos, flyers, artwork and music stories tracing life in Solihull to the edge of the world, tracking his earliest days in the SWELL MAPS in the early 70s through the early ‘80s Glasgow and London scenes, into the ‘90s and beyond, but always influencing the next wave of complex art-punk notoriety. From being offered a bass slot in The Fall (it went to Marc Riley) to touring with Kleenex and playing on a bill with the nascent Joy Division, Jowe was right there as it was all softly exploding. From starting Rather Records with Nikki Sudden and Epic Soundtracks from scratch in the eye of the storm in 1977, to squatting and running from the violence and joining a band or two just a couple months later, every restless moment churned out a new equally savage and sincere band/idea/statement.
HoZac, 156 pp, paperback with 4-track 7″ EP, first edition, 400 copies only
