GUY MANKOWSKI

 On Tuesday 12th October at The Collection, Lincoln I am honoured to be talking about my book 'Albion’s Secret History: Snapshots of England's Pop Rebels and Outsiders' with iconic frontwoman Kate Jackson.  Focusing on figures who served to define England’s unofficial cultural history, this book was written to penetrate the surface of England’s pop history, including the venues it was shaped in, alongside art, film, architecture and politics, and throw some new light on the ideas of Englishness it reveals. Rhian E. Jones described the book as 'the most illuminating odyssey through overlooked English culture since Michael Bracewell's 'England Is Mine''. The second part of this event will be with Louder Than War's John Robb, who coined the term 'Britpop' and who was the first to interview Nirvana.  In addition on 14th October I'll be in conversation with award-winning Booker shortlisted author, journalist and political commentator Will Self...

The next day you get to tell her that you ‘have to go, or you’ll be late meeting Morrissey.’ Her expression, as she sits up in the bed, shows that she remembers you claiming this would happen but that she never really entertained that the time would actually come. You would burn with pride but it all feels too ridiculous and surreal.  You don’t know what to make of the wild-eyed way she looks at you and bites her lip. So you check your hair looks okay and you just gather your wallet and take your card from the light slot and leave. But as you make your way to the Marble Arch pub, wrapping your navy blue coat around you, the collar flapping in the wind, you wonder if this is really happening. Are you simply going to walk to the end of the street and then, at some flaring wound of a rain-flecked concrete junction, find there is no Morrissey? Certainly not here?  But instead you dart over a pelican crossing, and walk down a weed strewn expanse of the cities ripped backsides. And ...

As part of the release of Albion's Secret History: Snapshots of England's Pop Rebels and Outsiders' I was honoured to get to interview some of the visionary English artists I discuss in the book and I'm so glad to hear the series has just had its 20,000th view!  The chapter on Gary Numan is entitled ' Interzones, Edgelands, Psykick Dancehalls and Shamans: Gary Numan, Joy Division and Mark E. Smith '. In our discussion Gary and I discussed the putting together of the Numan persona, his unpublished fiction that informed it, and his experiences of fame. You can watch the interview here . Gary was an absolute gent and we talked about everything from synths to ghosts. It was so much fun to chat to Kate Jackson about her art, our shared love of British Railway Stations and her work with Suede's genius guitarist Bernard Butler.  My interview with her can be found here . The interview series concluded with me chatting to Gazelle Twin, recently the subject of Tim Bur...

'With such an array of talent and with forays into film, literature and comedy, the running themes Mankowski draws from his varied subjects are as ambitious as they are thrilling...the way Mankowski uses them to ignite his thesis is intriguing and fresh. This book is about celebrating the unsung, and Mankowski has a knack for succinctly articulating what makes each one so special. The perfect banishing spell for the ghosts currently plaguing England.' Maria Schurr, Pop Matters ‘Polishing minute details and allowing them to shimmer from the page and re-colour our own faded memories – that’s what Mankowski does best. That he achieves the same effect with some of the people and events from history is an excellent achievement…It is, in fact, as if a musician is performing a medley of favourite tracks alongside some moments of deeply impassioned improvisation…Exceptional…some magnificent passages… There is something for everyone in this compilation…Albion’s Secret History  is one fo...