The story of how Terri Hooley eschewed the prejudice, violence and killings of The Troubles during the Northern Ireland conflict and instead helped create the 70s Belfast punk scene is already well documented – the 2010 biography Hooleygan, and the 2013 biopic Good Vibrations (later adapted into a stage play). Seventy-Five Revolutions, described by Hooley in his foreword as “the definitive account of my life”, takes the form of an extended photo-book, with illuminating and in-depth interviews with the scenesters and bands Hooley championed, to describe how he was instrumental in the careers of The Undertones, The Outcasts, Rudi and Belfast’s wider live scene.
Put simply, there’s no one better to write it than Belfast music journalist and ex-NME writer Stuart Bailie, who’s been a friend of Hooley for 40 years. Bailie uncovers the real Terri Hooley, who he describes as “a poet, a fool, an upsetter and a hallion”. The author’s 40-year friendship, love and admiration for a man who channelled his passion and obsession to create an artistic
