
Remember the electric buzz of your first gig? The ringing ears, the sticky heat, the churning sense of pre-emptive excitement? Stuart Braithwaite, guitarist with Scottish rock band Mogwai, evokes all this recalling his own first show: The Cure in Glasgow SECC circa 1989. The theme to this autobiography, beyond the obvious, is of a man entirely besotted by music. Other memorable highlights are Braithwaite’s descriptions of Mogwai’s first time playing with Low, his zealous ravings about The Jesus & Mary Chain and his “epiphany” watching Nirvana.
Love of music seeps from Spaceships Over Glasgow’s pages as the author describes his teenage years, early stabs at forming a band (‘Pregnant Nun’, anyone?) and Mogwai’s own lineup changes, their 10 LPs to date, and 25 years of touring. All of which has given rise to enough anecdotes, you suspect, to fill several books, but there are some great tales picked for this one. Smashing up cars, snorting poppers to the Stooges, skipping… an unusually broad gamut of rock‘n’roll excess is described in hilarious detail.
Mogwai fans will of course love this cracking autobiography, but the warmth of Braithwaite’s writing and the span of his stories means there’s plenty for people unfamiliar with the Glaswegian band to enjoy too.
Spaceships Over Glasgow, Stuart Braithwaite (White Rabbit)
Price: £20. Info: here
words HUGH RUSSELL