The rock biography has a lot to answer for. These swaggering ‘no-holdsbarred’ accounts often throw the reader into a heady mix of adoring groupies, aftershow excess, and bandmate bust-ups. The authors often relying on their ghostwriter for structure and a loyal fanbase for sympthy and sales.
Miki Berenyi, erstwhile singer and guitarist with 1990s indie band Lush, doesn’t quite fit that mold. The 55-yearold’s recently published Fingers Crossed: How Music Saved Me from Success candidly explores the neglect and abuse of her childhood, the infuriating sexism of the boorish Britpop music scene, and the tragic suicide of drummer Chris Acland that ultimately led to the band’s demise. The book has been described as being ‘fiercely honest and emotionally acute’, ‘beautifully and movingly written’, and ‘intensely well told’.
This eloquent, objective approach to the genre has won many plaudits and is, in part, thanks to Miki’s experience working in the publishing industry, an albeit less glamorous second career but one which has given her a clear idea of what makes a good read. ‘I’ve spent more than two decades as a sub-editor,’ Miki says. ‘Nothing
