| Dial M For Merthyr - Rachel Trezise | |
ISBN: 1905762127 £9.99
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Rachel Trezise grew up listening to the rock behemoths of the late 1980s and harbouring an ambition to write a warts 'n' all rockumentary. At a rock gig in a Rhondda pub, she discovered Midasuno; a gaggle of Merthyr kids with a ton of conviction and a penchant for neck breaking guitar riffs. In 2005 she stepped onto the tour bus they call Black Betty and tracked the band as they razed the British toilet circuit. Part reportage, social history and memoir, Dial M For Merthyr tells the story of a band from the wrong side of the tracks trying to stay afloat in an ever changing musical and social climate. About The Band Merthyr Tydfil rock band Midasuno have been blessed and cursed when it comes to success. Having shared stages with Funeral for a Friend, The Darkness, Lostprophets, The Misfits and picking up a Best Unsigned Band Award at the Welsh Music Awards, they are one of the country's finest new talents. But their notorious reputation as a 'party band' and their determination to flout musical fads has made their steady ascent persistently problematic. |
| In a sort of twisted Almost Famous style, Dial M for Merthyr documents award-winning (and rather talented) author Rachel Trezise’s travels and time with Welsh rockers Midasuno over 16 months. Anyone who’s familiar with this fantastic band, though, will know they’re not quite Stillwater in terms of celebrity and glamour, but although she’s not the admiring teen in years, Trezise does little to mask her adoration of Midasuno. None of this detracts from the story, however, which is told in marvellously eloquent observational prose. Communicated in a first person, semi-autobiographical style by the author, it’s a tale full of charm and humour, but one that, inevitably, deals with how shite and unglamorous life can be for rocks stars who tour in their time off and are tour managed by the drummer’s dad. But tales of rich, bloated, egotistical rockers slowly killing themselves aren’t necessarily any more entertaining than the gritty truth about a bunch of kids from a down-trodden town in south Wales daring to dream. Or they’re certainly not in this instance. And anyway, Midasuno’s new album ‘Songs In The Key of Fuck’ is out in August and it’s bloody great; so hey, here’s to the follow-up about their exploits once they finally do become superstars. |
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