So It Started There: From Punk to Pulp Nick Banks, introduction by Richard Hawley published 28th September, pre-order HERE

‘In Conversation’ tour starts today – info HERE

‘Until Cocker writes his own Pulp history, this is the definitive version’ MOJO

‘… a unique, clear-eyed take on the Britpop boom’ Telegraph

‘Told in a wonderful, personable style exuding Northern charm and wide eyed wonder … an entertaining insight into a truly unique band.’ Classic Pop

‘Warm and witty… woven together to give a reassuring sense of a man who took it all in his stride and loved almost every minute of it’ Record Collector

‘Nick Banks is the time-keeper of Pulp, and within these covers are the early times, the good times, the not-so-good times and the WTF times. Do You Remember the First Time? Nick does. Great stuff.’  Jarvis Cocker

‘We’d been welcomed into the music industry’s VIP area. But all we found behind the red curtain was Elton John, sat on his own, bored out of his skull.’  Nick Banks

So It Started There: From Punk to Pulp by Nick Banks is published by Omnibus Press on 28th September. A special edition is published in hardback on the same day.

Nick is doing an ‘In Conversation’ tour of intimate dates, full info HERE

 

September

22nd     Manchester – Deansgate Waterstones

25th      Glasgow – Monorail Music

26th      Leeds – Jumbo Records

27th      Birmingham – Waterstones

28th      Liverpool – Oh Me Oh My, with Waterstones

 

October

1st        Nottingham – Rough Trade

5th       London – Rough Trade East

10th     Bristol – The Trinity Centre

11th      Bath – Widcombe Social Club

19th     Sheffield – Off The Shelf Festival

20th     Lincoln – Lincoln Book Festival

So It Started There opens by describing in pulsating detail the backstage energy ahead of Pulp’s pivotal surprise Glastonbury appearance in 1995. Asked to headline the Pyramid Stage after The Stone Roses were forced to cancel last minute when John Squire broke his collarbone, Pulp’s performance that night is now widely regarded as one of the best headline sets ever. In just over an hour they cemented their place in the Britpop pantheon. As drummer Nick Banks asks at the end of the opening chapter, “How did I get here?”

In chapter two Nick goes back to the beginning to tell his story of a happy Rotherham childhood that produced this extraordinary career. He recounts how he bought his first album – the distinctly un-punk ‘Out Of The Blue’ by ELO – aged 12 in 1977, quickly followed by the Sex Pistols ‘Never Mind The Bollocks’, after first making sure his parents wouldn’t be offended by the title and make him return it to the shop. He speaks fondly about having a World Cup winning goalie for an uncle in Gordon Banks, and recounts the personal and musical journey that took him from punk to goth to Britpop.

Initially inspired to give drumming a go by the Sex Pistols’ Paul Cook and Blondie’s Clem Burke, by 1986 Nick is playing in a couple of local Sheffield bands when he sees a ‘musicians wanted’ ad looking for a drummer pinned to the wall in the café of The Leadmill. The band with the vacancy was his favourite – but still fledgling – Pulp. “My heart actually did skip a beat and catch in my throat.” After meeting Jarvis Cocker later that evening in a queue for the bar, and an aborted audition a couple of days later involving a stray dog, Nick joined the band.

Written with his trademark warmth and humour, in So It Started There Nick tells his story of being a key member in a band who helped define Britpop as a musical genre to become superstars at the top of their creative game. His story echoes what Jarvis told the Glastonbury crowd that night in 1995, “…if you want something to happen enough then it will actually happen. If us lot can do it, you can do it too.”

Connect with Nick here: https://twitter.com/therealnickbank

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