Just Finished Reading: 1971 – Never a Dull Moment by David Hepworth (FP: 2016) [395pp] 

1971 was a big year for me as I transitioned from Junior to Senior/High school. It was quite the step change essentially from childhood to the start of the journey to adulthood. It was also, according to the author, quite THE year for music. 

Although I was certainly listening to music back then I was still a few years away from being a member of the record buying public. We had a few (old) records at home but most of my awareness of the music of the day came from the limited BBC radio output (I think we still listened to quite a bit of Radio Two around then before moving more onto Radio One with everything – naturally – being controlled by my parents choices) and, of course Top of the Pops on TV. I’m not sure when (or where!) I acquired a portable radio, but it was probably a few years later that I started listening to Radio Luxemburg and, a little later still, to Pirate Radio. I do also remember tagging along with my older brother and his friends to local record shops and browsing (plus listening!) through the Prog rock section stacked with the latest 33rpm vinyl.  

But what I didn’t know about or, to be honest, care about was who exactly made the tunes that I bopped to. Sure, I knew the bands names but more often than not I had no idea what all of the band members were called, where they came from or much of anything else. I just knew what I liked (if I’d heard it all all) and what I didn’t. So, as you might imagine, I ended up learning quite a bit in this excellent look at the music scene at the leading edge of the 1970’s. I’m glad to say that I had at least HEARD of most of the single artists and bands discussed here. A few of the more obscure (American) bands had obviously passed me by but the BIG groups were not only known to me but over the years I’ve accumulated a number of their most famous albums on CD. 

The author is a music lover and (later) music journalist of MANY years and it shows. Not only had he a deep knowledge of the subject but writes about it with style and a fair bit of humour. Even if I wasn’t as interested in music as I am I still think I would have enjoyed this slice of cultural history. There are many things to like here. Even if you are too young to remember the age (or indeed the specific year) the author provides a list of 10 tracks to listen to after each monthly section. Plus, at the end of the book, he lists THE 100 must listen to albums of the year. His encyclopaedic knowledge of the industry was impressive. Not only did I find his stories (and insights) about my favourite bands interesting (and often frankly bizarre) but he even managed to make the producers (previously completely unknown to me!) just as fascinating as they used the latest technology – both incredibly primitive and often hand-built – to produce sounds that have never been heard before. I really enjoyed it. Fortunately, this is not his only book, and I have (I think) at least two more to schedule in. I’m already looking forward to them so definitely more from this author and much more on music to come. Definitely recommended for lovers of the era's music, for those who lived through it and for those who want to see what they missed.