Wrack and Roll - Bradley Denton

Book Details

Country: UK
Language: English
Genre: Sci Fi
Publisher: Warner Books
Publication Date: 1986


Fictional Artist: Blunt Instrument
Genre: Rock
Country: UK
Real World Analogue: N/A
Inspired: In 2003, artist pStan Batcow put out a punk album inspired by the novel. "It's a real 'rock' affair," reads the description on Pumf Records, "To which you'll be required to mosh, headbang, pogo, do the standing still or the lone twister. This really is an awesome album."

I emailed pStanto ask how the book had inspired him to create the record.

"I read Bradley Denton's novel 'Wrack And Roll' in the late 1990's and liked the fact that it created an alternative universe through band culture. I thought it was a shame that the songs featured in the book didn't exist and, upon re-reading the book around the turn of the millennium, decided that I should have a go at writing and arranging music to fit the lyrics. I went through the book several times and tried to get as much detail and accuracy as possible from the text, as well as using the lyrics verbatim.

"During 2002 I worked on riffs and chord sequences and tried to imagine how the songs would sound if they had really been recorded at the times stated in the novel, attempting to use era-appropriate instrumentation and recording processes. Hopefully the finished album 'Wrack And Roll', which I released under the name Blunt Instrument in 2003, complements the novel...

"I guess that, ideally, the album should be listened to in conjunction with reading the book. I attempted to contact the author Bradley Denton through his publisher several times, but never received a reply. I wanted to make sure that he was happy with what we'd done with his material. I hope, if he's aware of the album's existence, that he approves of the way we brought Bitch Alice to life!"

The album is available from www.pumf.net - sound clips are available.

Jacket Blurb: 

Murdered megastar Bitch Alice's last request: destroy the American space programme. Her Wracker followers did just that and changed the course of history. Now her daughter, The Bastard Child, is out for vengeance. With the Music, the Power and her band, Blunt Instrument, she will start a concert tur to rock the world and push it over the brink - to sanity ... or apocalypse ...