This is a brilliant book about what pop stars do when they’re past the highest peak of their fame and/or success, for which the author interviewed so many musicians, including: Robbie Williams, Bob Geldof, Roisin Murphy, Joan Armatrading, Justin Hawkins from The Darkness, Alex Kapranos from Franz Ferdinand, Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol, Suzanne Vega, Shaun Ryder, the Boo Radleys, Cornershop, Stewart Copeland from The Police, Adam Ant, Leo Sayer, Don McLean, Paul Cattermole from S Club 7 (who died the year after the book was published), David Gray, Lisa Maffia from So Solid Crew, Billy Bragg, and many more. There is an emphasis on 80s, 90s and 2000s music, so if those are your favourite decades, and you like ‘Top of the Pops: The Story of [insert year here]’ where the stars reminisce about their experiences, this book is your kind of read.

The title of the book is a little misleading, I think, because it implies their careers are over, when the majority of them, despite setbacks with addiction, break-ups or other troubles, have continued to release music, perform, go into other arts or media, or even appear on reality shows! So they are still famous, just not in the prime of their pop era. The book is well-written and makes a lot of good points about fame, the music industry and creativity, using connections between the pop stars to emphasise these. The chapters are grouped into sections with themes, such as one-hit wonders, difficult albums, legends, and scandals. I didn’t expect the book to be great, based on the blurb and uninspiring front cover, so I was surprised how good it was. I found it amusing, thought-provoking and even uplifting.

Published by Headline, 2022.