There has possibly never been a pop star as enigmatic as Lawrence, and one of the most wonderful things about this little parcel of passion is you are left none the wiser after reading it.
Apart from the fact that he smells of baby powder and likes Pete Doherty, the biggest shock of the tome came from discovering that Mark E Smith likes Saint Etienne.
There are no juicy tit bits or scandals, and the book is all the better for it.
What you have, however, is a work of pure love, respect, and passion for the subject. You only have to look at the pictures of Alex Decks 'Felt Box', a home made box set of lovingly put together C90's of Felt music, to see how much Lawrence's music means to people.
It contains honest, funny and wise writing from fans and band members that are complimented by interviews with the man himself.
All this is set amongst beautiful pictures and artwork(the picture of the young lady listening to a Felt album on page 68 being my favourite).
Be you a die hard or a casual listener, you will get a lot from this book.
Its an oddly effective read, containing genuinely funny bits (my favourite being Alan McGee trying to sign The Servants, only to find the bassists dad on the phone. "Servants? There are no servants in this house". They never did sign to Creation). There's also a Smashy and Nicey-esque radio interview that has to be read to be believed.
There's also sadness in the words. The ego of an artist who feels he can be up there with the greats getting consistently crushed by a disaffected music industry is a hard pill to swallow at times. Constantly chasing an elusive 'hit' that wont ever come has never dented his dreams though.
He's like a boxer, always whisked away from retirement by the promise of one last title fight.
Ultimately, he comes across neither elusive, mad or washed up. Just an English eccentric who believes in the pure power of pop. The anti-Cobain if you will.
What you have here is a readable, adoringly put together book that may just start a thousand bands and sell a million records. Here's hoping.
Details of purchasing Foxtrot Echo Lima Tango can be found here-
http://foxtrotecholimatango.blogspot.com/
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