Death of an Unsigned Band

Being an unsigned band isn't a situation - it's a mental illness. Efficient and diligent, Russell doesn't fit the traditional rock-star mould, and his deeply unsigned and woefully unexceptional band are headed nowhere. To make matters worse, Russell is 'alcohol intolerant'. Enter Josh with an offer that is impossible to refuse...

Being an unsigned band isn't a situation - it's a mental illness. Few people realise they're suffering from this affliction. But Russell Groom knows, and he wants to change things fast. Efficient and diligent, Russell doesn't fit the traditional rock-star mould, and his deeply unsigned and woefully unexceptional band are headed nowhere. To make matters worse, Russell is 'alcohol intolerant' - he prefers a good strong double espresso - says no to drugs and is starting to have murderous thoughts towards Jake, his clanging, vacuous and perpetually at-odds-with-reality front man. Enter Josh - the enigmatic and blithely arrogant son of a successful record producer - with an offer it's impossible to refuse...Tim Thornton's new novel is a hilarious fly-on-the-wall trip into the life of an unsigned band: cramped and sweaty rehearsal rooms, crap day jobs, empty gigs and interminable trips down the A303 to dodgy festival slots in Wiltshire. It is a story of friendships unstitched and distorting ambitions, and with a lesson: unsigned bands never become signed bands. They have to die first.