Books Features

New book: Quadrophenia by Stephen Glynn

Quadrophenia by Stephen Glynn
Quadrophenia by Stephen Glynn
Note that I independently write and research everything in this article. But it may contain affiliate links.

We have a copy heading our way for review, but in the meantime, we thought we would flag up Quadrophenia by Stephen Glynn in case you want to get your hands on a copy regardless.

The book is published by Columbia University Press and is described thus:

1964: Mods clash with Rockers in Brighton, creating a moral panic.
1973: ex-Mod band The Who release Quadrophenia, a concept album following young Mod Jimmy Cooper to the Brighton riots and beyond.
1979: Franc Roddam directs Quadrophenia, a film based on Pete Townshend’s album narrative; its cult status is immediate.
2013: almost fifty years on from Brighton, this first academic study explores the lasting appeal of ‘England’s Rebel Without a Cause’. Investigating academic, music, press, and fan-based responses, Glynn argues that the ‘Modyssey’ enacted in Quadrophenia intrigues because it opens a hermetic subculture to its social-realist context; it enriches because it is a cult film that dares to explore the dangers in being part of a cult; it endures because of its ’emotional honesty’, showing Jimmy as failing, with family, job, girl, and group; it excites because we all know that, at some point in our lives, ‘I was there!’

Sounds a bit sociological, but we’ll reserve judgement until we’ve read it. If you want a copy, you can get it from Amazon.co.uk for the Kindle for £6.86.

Update: The book is released in physical form on 3rd March 2014 and available for £10.50.

Quadrophenia (Cultographies) at Amazon.co.uk

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