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My Rock 'n' Roll Friend

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My Rock 'n' Roll Friend

By: Tracey Thorn
Narrated by: Mx Gina Murray, Mx Taryn Ryan
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'Entertaining, affectionate and righteous' Guardian
'Says so much about being a woman' Cosey Fanni Tutti

In 1983, backstage at the Lyceum in London, Tracey Thorn and Lindy Morrison first met. Tracey’s music career was just beginning, while Lindy, drummer for The Go-Betweens, was ten years her senior. They became confidantes, comrades and best friends, a relationship cemented by gossip and feminism, books and gigs and rock ’n’ roll love affairs.

Morrison – a headstrong heroine blazing her way through a male-dominated industry – came to be a kind of mentor to Thorn. They shared the joy and the struggle of being women in a band, trying to outwit and face down a chauvinist music media.

In My Rock 'n' Roll Friend Thorn takes stock of thirty-seven years of friendship, teasing out the details of connection and affection between two women who seem to be either complete opposites or mirror images of each other. This important book asks what people see, who does the looking, and ultimately who writes women out of – and back into – history.

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Critic reviews

"A vivid and witty memoir of the friendship between Thorn and Lindy Morrison of the Go-Betweens, two women in a cultural world dominated by men . . . [Thorn] brings wit, candour and vividness to her storytelling . . . As well as providing a portrait of a mercurial and brilliant musician, the book exposes the sexism and hypocrisy of an industry . . . Entertaining, affectionate and righteous"
"This book says so much about being a woman" (COSEY FANNI TUTTI)
"Thorn’s audacious salute to Lindy Morrison of Brisbane’s gorgeous romantic heroes The Go-Betweens resonates far beyond its 1980s indie milieu . . . Their parallel history not only triggers moving meditations on female friendship, motherhood and ageing, but also gives Thorn the chance to prise away old rock’n’roll myths, revealing fresh stories hidden beneath"
"It's such a radical act – as well as a loving one – for a woman to tell the story of her friend like this, and to free her (and all of us, it feels!) from the distorting prism of the male gaze. I honestly wanted to stand up and cheer!" (MELISSA HARRISON)
"Philosophical and furious . . . Illuminates rock’s double standards . . . This is a book about more than music: it recounts the intricacies of female friendship and its crush of projection, permission, allyship and trying-on-for-size"
"A warm, open-hearted book about female friendship and an angry attack on the erasure of women from the story of pop . . . thrilling"
"A gorgeous, vivid account of female friendship, what it is to be a woman in a band, activism, art, motherhood, love and having men take credit for your work" (SINÉAD GLEESON)
"Brilliant . . . The idea of reclaiming women's history is still necessary in 2021 and Thorn, who is a beautiful memoirist, does it with grace and lightness . . . Writing this friendship into history is a gorgeous thing"
"In telling the life story of Lindy Morrison, Everything But The Girl’s Tracey Thorn is not only paying tribute to an inspirational friend, but defiantly restoring her to her rightful place in music history . . . Exploring identity, ambition and the bonds of friendship, this is an affectionate and timely tribute to an indomitable woman who carved a niche in a man’s world"
"Must-read . . . writing shines with wit and philosophical insight"
All stars
Most relevant
Beautifully written, laugh out loud at times as well as bittersweet. made me really think about the 'Lindy' in my life.

A must read!

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I've loved the Go-between's music since the early '80s but until Tracey's book, hadn't thought much about the drummer and her contribution and now I'm indignant on her behalf about how she was sacked from her band, and erased from the history. Tracey brings the '80s indie music scene - and the male dominance - to life. I'm sorry she didn't narrate the book herself but just hearing her words was enjoyable and enlightening. Recommended.

Head full of Lindy

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