These Are Such Perfect Days

The Del Amitri Story

By: Charles Rawlings-Way

Narrated by: David Monteath, Paul Mclaughlin, Justin Currie, Iain Harvie

Glasgow band Del Amitri have sold more than six million albums. Their 1995 single Roll to Me cracked the Top 10 in the US, and five of their albums went Top 10 in the UK. But as yet there hasn’t been anything substantial written about the band...until now!

From ambition to success, this is the complete story of Del Amitri’s rise from initial formation through six albums that took them to global recognition. From early John Peel sessions, to touring with Morrissey, to appearing on Letterman and cracking the US, the book follows every up and down of the band's incredible career, as well as providing unique and original insights into their personalities and music.

Featuring exclusive forewords written and narrated by Justin Currie and Iain Harvie.

About the author: Oh yes, Charles Rawlings-Way is the great pretender: a guitarist who can’t read music; a cartographer with a dodgy sense of direction; a surfer who can’t swim; an Australian with a British passport; and now, a rock ‘n’ roll biographer who only occasionally reads Rolling Stone. Forget fate and fortune: this strange brew of talents and hoodwinks owes more to enthusiasm, one-eyed commitment and the ability to blag oneself in and out of opportune doorways. Seduced by Jack Kerouac at a porous age, Charles hit the road at 21 and has since written 30-something guidebooks for travel publisher Lonely Planet, covering every fleapit hostel and dive bar from Toronto to Tasmania. These endeavours peaked back in 2009 with his enshrinement as ‘Best-selling Travel Writer in Australia’, shifting more books than Bill Bryson and Billy Connolly (...might be time to grow a beard). Is touring with a rock band so different to backpacking?

There are plenty of parallels: the buses, the hangovers, the beat, beat, beat of the midnight highway.... Waking up in an unfamiliar city every few days, frowning into your wallet and forgetting to phone home. But even Kerouac would agree that rock bands have better wardrobes.

Charles lives in the Adelaide Hills in South Australia with his family, books and music, fearing bushfires in February and tending a fire every day in rainy July. He has a bachelor of architecture degree he uses only when absolutely necessary.

©2018 Charles Rawlings-Way, Urbane Publications (P)2019 Spokenworld Audio & Ladbroke Audio Ltd

Wonderful!

As someone who discovered the Dels during the pandemic and just saw them live for the first time in Scotland two months ago, I really enjoyed listening to this as a band story rather than as nostalgia. It was a great addition after watching their recent documentary. Thank you for the stories!
Anne-Marie

For a fan, it’s like being in the room where it happened

Great history of a great band. Not for those looking for salacious stories, and certainly not the equivalent of a “behind the music,”but for those of us who have followed the band since the beginning, it walks through all of the important elements have a great band’ history. For those musicians who follow the band, it gives really great detail into recording each of the albums although that’s the kind of stuff I could not get enough of so more of that would’ve been amazing.