It was not a glamorous life for rock bands who played UK universities and colleges in the 60s and 70s. Up and down the motorways in vans which frequently broke down, playing in halls and refectories for low fees, rarely given dressing rooms or anything to eat. Students were generally enthusiastic audiences, however, with cheap tickets giving them a chance to see up and coming rock bands booked by enterprising social secretaries and entertainments officers from the student unions. This book is a detailed account of how playing to colleges had a significant role in the careers of particular bands and musicians. It’s a part of music history I hadn’t read about before, so it was interesting to have a variety of perspectives on the topic, from the artists themselves, to the unions, promoters and gig-goers of the time.

I thought the narrative was most effective when each chapter focused on a particular band, but other chapters mentioned a lot of them and almost became a list of who played where, when and for what fee. I would have preferred one chapter per band so the influence of playing to students could be more easily traced. It’s chronological, going from jazz, to rock’n’roll, prog rock and a little of punk and new wave at the end. The bands included The Who, Dire Straits, Wings, Elton John, Suzi Quatro and Pink Floyd. The observation that the state basically enabled many rock bands’ careers was food for thought, because students got free tuition and grants. The era was also charmingly naive in some respects, with rugby students serving as security, students sitting cross-legged to watch some of the bands, and fire regulations often ignored. I expect the book will appeal most to people who were there at the time, but it’s also worth reading for a unique cultural history.

Thank you to the publisher Mudlark at HarperCollins for the review copy via NetGalley. The book is out today.