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Failure Is Always an Option

Lo-Fi Adventures with the Beta Band

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Failure Is Always an Option

By: Steve Mason
Narrated by: Steve Mason
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A Best Pop Music Book of 2026 - The Herald

‘Pretty marvellous. A fabulous autobiography’ Irvine Welsh

‘Full of beautiful, mad stories’ Huw Stephens, BBC Radio 6

The long awaited autobiography from the musical maverick, polymath and Beta Band front man.

‘Self-destructive pop saboteurs who did it all wrong in all the right ways. Utterly brilliant’ —NME

Steve Mason is a Scottish singer songwriter and founding member of the Beta Band. Formed in 1996 the band were quickly embraced in the media as The Next Big Thing and hailed by famous fans from Radiohead to Noel Gallagher. They were an idiosyncratic, self-contained, Dadaist counterpoint to the bloated Britpop corpse as it metastasized in the late ‘90s.

The band split in 2004, owing their record label £1.2m. Since 2004, front man and songwriter Steve Mason has forged a singular, highly lauded solo career, releasing 5 albums under his own name and in April this year the Beta Band reformed to announce their first shows and the UK and U.S in over twenty years.

‘I see this book as a picture of someone who was lost, with zero confidence and had no idea what he was supposed to do to with his life. But through music, he found something approaching belief in himself which carried him over the next 30 years into all manner of success, failure and adventure. All the while battling the demons on constant patrol in his mind until, after they nearly finished him off, he focused his full attention on purging them from of aspect of his life. It’s a story of youth culture, failure, success, sadness and redemption’ Steve Mason, Brighton, August 2025 Addiction & Recovery Entertainment & Celebrities Music
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The Betaband never sold, out and this tells you everything about Steve Mason the man, a true insight to music industry and the highs and lows, being a fellow scooterist loving the chapter about two stroke and the joys of riding around on vintage Italian engineering

An insight and everything you want it to be

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An enjoyable and honest memoir from a wonderful human. I missed seeing the Beta Band first time around but managed to get tickets for their 2025 tour. I also saw Steve Mason at a solo show a few years ago and he is such a brilliant songwriter with such an amazing voice, so humble and engaging. It was interesting to hear the story of his upbringing and his honesty about his mental health… but don’t let that put you off! …. it’s also really funny

I see the demons

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As a big fan of the Beta Band, I was delighted when Steve’s book came out. I was lucky enough to help a bit with the running of Pete’s internet station Old Jock Radio which Steve often appeared on, and I always loved hearing their anecdotes. This book is basically hours and hours of anecdotes and stories, told in Steve’s inimitable manner. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll be delighted with where Steve’s life ends up by the end of the book.

Great story, well told.

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After hearing Steve on Radio 6 with Radcliffe and Maconie, promoting his book, being aware of the Beta Band and some of his solo work but not a massive fan of either, I found this intriguing and took the plunge and downloaded the Audible version, this is a great listen, brilliant stories, told in a brilliant way, I am now plunging further into Steve’s back catalogue and then onto his Top Tens.
I thoroughly recommend this book.

Surprise!!

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Highly recommended. Great insight into Steve’s musical journey, mental health struggles and the light that comes at the end

Loved Steve’s honesty.

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