The following review of the book 'Panic On The Streets - The Smiths & Morrissey Location Guide' (by Phill Gatenby) appeared in last months Record Collector, with a 3/5 rating.
There's more to life than books you know, but not much more.
And they say Smiths fans are scarily obsessive. Seriously though, what could be nicer on a spare wet weekend than to don your best cardie, adjust your NHS specs and take a gentle, guided stroll round the two cities that made one of Britain's favourite bands what they were?
Arranged in sections by area and featuring everything from venues to shops that band members worked in, to former places of Smith residence, it's terrifyingly comprehensive; the casual fan Smiths might not be too enthused by trekking all the way to Clapham Common just to muse on its inclusion in the lyrics to Morrissey's 'Mute Witness'. Diehards, though, will revell in the variety and depth of information, not just of in terms of Smiths trivia, but of local history surrouinding each of the 117 sites.
The only possible gripe is that some form of map would be handy. Particularly charming is the inclusion of a seperate UK section purely in order to include Newport Pagnell services, where the narrator of 'Is It Really So Strange?' lost his bag; presumably so the Smiths pilgrim can stop off on the way from Manchester to London and attempt to do the same. A charming work of uber-geekery all round.
Emily Mackay
There's more to life than books you know, but not much more.
And they say Smiths fans are scarily obsessive. Seriously though, what could be nicer on a spare wet weekend than to don your best cardie, adjust your NHS specs and take a gentle, guided stroll round the two cities that made one of Britain's favourite bands what they were?
Arranged in sections by area and featuring everything from venues to shops that band members worked in, to former places of Smith residence, it's terrifyingly comprehensive; the casual fan Smiths might not be too enthused by trekking all the way to Clapham Common just to muse on its inclusion in the lyrics to Morrissey's 'Mute Witness'. Diehards, though, will revell in the variety and depth of information, not just of in terms of Smiths trivia, but of local history surrouinding each of the 117 sites.
The only possible gripe is that some form of map would be handy. Particularly charming is the inclusion of a seperate UK section purely in order to include Newport Pagnell services, where the narrator of 'Is It Really So Strange?' lost his bag; presumably so the Smiths pilgrim can stop off on the way from Manchester to London and attempt to do the same. A charming work of uber-geekery all round.
Emily Mackay
(also available on Amazon!)
