'Hilarious, heart-wrenching and packed with British music history.' -
COLDPLAY
An honest and astonishing memoir by Fierce Panda record-label founder
Simon Williams, charting his love affair with indie, his music-industry
successes and his heartfelt personal struggles.
A Virgin Radio Book of the Year
It's a life-and-near-death story. But whose life? And whose
near-death?
As a one-time NME journalist, former Xfm radio presenter,
toilet-circuit promoter and the founder of enduring homespun British
record label Fierce Panda, Simon Williams has been at the cutting,
cutting, cutting edge of all things 'indie' for over thirty years.
During his tenure as managing director of Fierce Panda (a role he holds
to this day), Simon was responsible for tripping over bands such as
Coldplay, Keane, Placebo and countless other acts of independent hue -
some of whom have gone on to achieve earth-shattering musical
superstardom, while others have merely baffled the crowd at the Bull &
Gate in north London on a wet Wednesday evening.
Unfiltered and unflinching, Pandamonium! is the story of Simon's time
at the indie coalface, filled with insider anecdotes to entertain music
enthusiasts everywhere - from the origins of a bootlegged Oasis release
to Chris Martin's delight at reaching number ninety-two in the charts.
But it is also the story of how Simon tried to bring a premature end to
proceedings, documenting in blunt, matter-of-fact detail his
longstanding mental-health struggles.
Yet, despite his raw and often poignant honesty, Simon writes with the
warmth, wit, self-deprecation and wide-eyed good fortune of someone who
has stared into the abyss and survived, bounding down a few indie rabbit
holes along the way.
