Groupie by Johnny Byrne & Jenny Fabian Date: 1969
Publisher: Omnibus Press, London
Groupie tells the tale of Katie, a 19 year old 'chick' of the 60's, and her encounters with sex, drugs and rock and roll.
The book is said to be a "thinly fictionalised chronicle of Jenny Fabian's adventures with underground rock heroes of her day". Whilst it does succeed in creating the atmosphere and setting for the 60's underground rock culture, it has to be noted that this is from 'Katie's' view point, a 'groupie' of that time and, in my opinion, a rather selfish, spoilt, arrogant and shallow one at that.
We witness 'Katie' move from one sexual encounter to the next, with 'almost' famous rock stars (hints of the Ben character being Syd Barrett prior to fame and whom Fabian is said to have dated) being the preferred choice of partner. Throughout the book, we see Katie often treating people with disregard and contempt, especially if they don't have the right clothes, look or money.
The synopsis of the book tells us how it;
"..caused a furore for all kinds of reasons....ruffled feathers with its matter-of-fact descriptions of drug taking and sexual high jinx; prompted guessing games about the true identities of its' principal characters; was highly explicit about a phenomenon that had never before been documented"
These points may be so, however, what stood out for me from 'Groupie' was the glaring hypocrisy and contradiction that Katie's and her friends actions and behaviour highlights given that this was the so called 'flower power' 'love' and 'peace' 1960's era. The characters come across as shallow, careless and selfish and leave us wondering whether the the love and peace vibe did genuinely reach London in the late 60's. If that was what the book set out to portray, and what ultimately the 'feel' of the 60's underground movement was, then Fabian and Byrne do an excellent job in documenting this.
The book itself is entertaining and offers some of the great phrases and terminology of the time. If you can cope with lots of 'chicks', 'happenings' 'dudes' and 'totally mans' then Groupie is the one for you.
Overall I did enjoy reading the book but, ultimately, I was left wanting to give Katie a good old fashion talking too!! But maybe that is a sign that I am getting too old to dig!
Hello Rosie, and thanks for choosing to follow my blog.
ReplyDeleteThis is a pretty good review you have here. The book doesn't sound like my cup of tea. I like reading about the sixties and seventies music scenes, but more from the point of view of the artists. Groupies never really did it for me. Probably because they all come across like you've described Katie.
Hi Cecily :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, reading and commenting! You are spot on about the book. I tend to agree about reading from the artists point of view. The book did give some insight into the scene, in so far as she worked at the UFO club in London at the time and so commented on that. However, she was incredibly annoying and that tended to distract!
I have to agree about reading from an artists view. I have read some decent biographies an auto-biographies. They often tend to provide a great insight into the music too. That said, I could never listen to Syd Barrett in quite the same way after I read 'Lost in the Woods'. Quite a sad tale to tell which brings a poignancy to his solo work...
Anyway I go on! I shall stop by your blog soon! You write very well!
:)
Yep, it's always the artist's view for me. Or failing that, at least someone professionally involved with them. I'm reading a biography of Nick Drake currently. It's quite a somber, poignant story and certainly gives a great deal of insight into the music. I suppose you could say the knowledge grounds it, places it in context.
ReplyDeleteMind you, it can be a double-edged sword. Which is why I'm careful about how much information I look up, particularly with groups and bands. Hearing about petty internal squabbles has never struck me as entertaining or thought-provoking. And taken in that context, the music can become coloured.
Well, thanks for stopping by my blog. :)