BOOK

THE great revelation of Barry Adamson’s life came on a childhood holiday to Morecambe in the 1960s, when the future Magazine and Bad Seeds bassist was taken to see the James Bond film . Within seconds of hearing John Barry’s opening theme music, he knew where he was headed, telling himself, “I’m going to be the next James Bond, or John Barry Adamson, writing all the music and quite possibly starring in the films too.” Adamson did not get exactly what he, he has come close enough. His widescreen memoir shows why it took him a while to become the star of his imaginary movie. A physically frail, mixed-race kid raised in Hulme, Manchester, Adamson’s musical adventures began while he was studying graphic design at Stockport College, when he answered an ad on the Virgin Records noticeboard and then successfully auditioned for a role in Howard Devoto’s post-Buzzcocks band Magazine.