N S Ford

Review of ‘Uncommon People: The Rise and Fall of the Rock Stars’ by David Hepworth

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There are no rock stars any more. According to David Hepworth, the age of the rock stars has long been over. With progress in technology resulting in the twin evils of electronic dance music and the internet, he argues that there is no mystique about musicians and that it’s not possible for today’s stars to become legendary. He even dates the demise of rock stars to 1995, when people started getting the internet.

Book cover shows photo of David Bowie getting out of a car in a crowd.

It’s an opinionated book and is not going to please everyone who likes rock music, but I found it an entertaining read. I enjoyed the format of short chapters, each focusing on a pivotal moment in the career or personal life of a rock musician. Some of the inclusions are surprising, while some of the omissions are puzzling. However, the author moves beyond the music to examine the definition of a rock star. The language was a bit flowery and there was a lot of generalisation. I liked the book, even though the writing style annoyed me. He has written a few others but I’m not sure if I want to read them.

Published by Transworld, 2017.

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Comments

3 responses to “Review of ‘Uncommon People: The Rise and Fall of the Rock Stars’ by David Hepworth”

  1. RoseReadsNovels avatar
    RoseReadsNovels

    I miss pub rock bands. In the 1970s and 80s in Australia, probably the rest of the world too, we had loads of live venues where touring bands would play. I was too young to have attended but caught the end of this era.

    Reply
    1. nsford avatar
      nsford

      I’m quite sure I am from the wrong generation, 70s and 80s music is my favourite era and I would have liked to attend gigs where everyone is enjoying the moment instead holding up their smartphones the whole time…

      Reply
      1. RoseReadsNovels avatar
        RoseReadsNovels

        Having read many of your music posts, I think you were, too!
        I’m a fan of rockabilly music, which is still going relatively strong in Melbourne, although it is an aging demographic. One of the best things about rockabilly is that people go there to dance or to watch the band play while having a catch up with their ‘people’. Very different to going to a concert and seeing a sea of smartphones all recording the same thing as each other, even though they could watch forty versions of the same concert on YouTube anyway!

        Reply

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