Spaceships Over Glasgow

Mogwai, Mayhem and Misspent Youth

By: Stuart Braithwaite

Narrated by: John Niven, Stuart Braithwaite

Born the son of Scotland's last telescope-maker, Stuart Braithwaite was perhaps always destined for a life of psychedelic adventuring on the furthest frontiers of noise in MOGWAI, one of the best loved and most ground-breaking post-rock bands of the past three decades.

Modestly delinquent at school, Stuart developed an early appetite for 'alternative' music in what might arguably be described as its halcyon days, the late '80s. Discovering bands like Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, and Jesus and Mary Chain, and attending seminal gigs (often incongruously incognito as a young girl with long hair to compensate for his babyface features) by The Cure and Nirvana, Stuart compensated for his indifference to school work with a dedication to rock and roll . . . and of course the fledgling hedonism that comes with it.

Spaceships Over Glasgow is a love song to live rock and roll; to the passionate abandon we've all felt in the crowd (and some of us, if lucky enough, from the stage) at a truly incendiary gig. It is also the story of a life lived on the edge; of the high-times and hazardous pit-stops of international touring with a band of misfits and miscreants.

This unabridged audio download, narrated by the author, features an audiobook exclusive interview with author and screenwriter John Niven.

Phenomenal Read

I love that Stuart does the audio book himself. The stories paint a great picture of youthful excitement for music and its evolution into a wild career in the industry. I was particularly touched by the notes about his dad and the influence he had on Stuart's life.

Resonance

In the paraphrased words of Mr Braithwaite himself, forming an opinion on an artwork based on one's preconcieved notions of what it should or is trying achieve is nonsense. However, it's impossible to be totally objective, as one often doesn't know what the artist wanted to achieve in the first place.

The above is just babble for the fact that, apart from the writer's goals, I wanted to have a good time listening to a memoir written and read by the frontman of a band that has, since I heard Mogwai Fear Satan for the first time, meant a great deal to me personally. The book achieves that for me. I resonate with the music and I resonate with this book.

Great stories

Great stories from a great guy from a great band. I love that Stuart reads it himself. I’ve met him twice and he is a wonderful down to earth guy. I love that the book comes across the same way.