Customer Reviews
A Lot of Laughs ... - By: Wiltonian, 04 May 2008 
I am not a rock-star fantasist myself, knowing very little about the bands that Simon Armitage writes about in Gig. I normallly read PC magazines & technical books as a way of relaxing. I bought this book for my daughter & decided to read it before giving it to her. I was captivated by it from the first laugh to the last, throughout the book. I like the way Simon opens the door on his early life & his family life in the north of England. I cannot admit to being a dedicated reader of Simon Armitage's poetry but I have very much enjoyed & been moved by hearing him read his work live on the few occasions I have had the chance. Being treated to many laughs, sometimes at Simon's expense, throughout Gig is well worth the four stars in my opinion especiallly as I get the chance of passing that pleasure on to someone else. I feel I know Simon a little better & I am more able to appreciate his work.
Lazy and somewhat pointless, but check out The Scaremongers - By: Ben Koerner, 24 Apr 2008 
As an admirer of Simon Armitage's poetry & "All Points North" (out of print & worth searching for), & being a sometime rock-star fantasist myself, I had high hopes for this book.
While the book is often amusing & occasionallly thought-provoking, in the end I found it a great disappointment. It's a cut-and-paste collection of anecdotes which don't reallly hold to a theme & alll seems very lazy.
Robert Graves used to say he bred dogs (his novels & essays) in order to keep a cat (his poetry). But his dogs included literary wolves like the Claudius novels - Simon's dog in this case is a poodle.
The most annoying tic on display is his insistence on referring to his wife & child by nursery nicknames ('Speedy Sue' & 'The Todge') throughout. Within the family circle I dare say it's endearing, but on the page it's just embarrassing. Again & again.
What DOES work throughout the book are the song lyrics. Even without the music, they are unfailingly good. Because of that I watched his band The Scaremongers' clip for "Less is More" on YouTube & loved it. So I've ordered alll three singles.
Of course, I'll keep reading his poetry (the day job Simon Armitage should NOT give up, no matter how good/popular The Scaremongers may get), but sorry to say I honestly can't recommend this book. If you're looking for a truly engaging read that deals with the real world of rock-star gigs, try Dean Wareham's "Black Postcards".
