An exceptional book on an exceptional era.

Hilarious, rollicking, uproarious and debauched, this insightful and detailed book charts the trajectory of the music, fashion, artists and politicians that made Cool Brittania.

Each chapter ends with the original interview with one of the key offenders. Any bit with Noel Gallagher is worth listening to twice

Vivid and engaging, this refreshingly honest and detailed book is a must for anyone who lived thru the 90's or was unfortunate enough to miss them

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

An Insightful, introspective delve into GenX’s purple patch.

I knew Daniel a bit, (through a mutual friend) during the period which this book addresses

That’s an irrelevance, suffice to say that the reader/listener can be assured that the words here-in have been written and crafted by someone who is thoughtful, insightful, intelligent, considerate and most of all, authentic.

It’s clear, listening to the interview clips, that the interviewees feel at ease and disarmed when Daniel is coaxing them to recollect their past. I can’t imagine that was an easy thing to do when you consider some of the personalities contributing.

Naturally, it would be remiss not to cover some of the more hedonistic, narcissistic behaviour by some of the main protagonists at the time.

However, what I particularly liked about the book is the way that Daniel has succeed in steering clear of delving into the more salacious, tabloid’y events of the day & focused mainly on the impact (short, and long term) political, social and cultural changes the ‘Cool Britannia’ period had on the UK.

I’m not an author, journalist or scholar. I’m a blue-collar worker, but I’d imagine it would be quite easy, when writing a book with a title as conspicuous as this, to amble into a dumbed-down stroll along nostalgia lane. Daniel ensures at every turned page that this is avoided.

Keith Allen retrospectively sums up the period end nicely; “one step forward, twenty back”, but my favourite quote is from Daniel himself; “We are the shadows dancing through this story”.

I think that is a beautiful phrase which captures the concentric nature that ‘movements’ such as this one has on future generations.

The products of our past are the consequences of their future.

I hope you enjoy listening/reading this book as much as I did.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

Awful narration

Not good. Some basic stuff just plain wrong. Narration was awful, could they not get a Scottish actor to do (Glaswegian) Alan McGee’s parts?!

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

Impossible to listen to at length

I should have researched this book more carefully before I bought the Audible version. It is simply a series of quotations from a highly selective 60 or so people who lived through and contributed to Cool Britannia, loosely structured under chapter headings. There was no factual account or summation of the period, no analysis and no real sense of narrative. There was the germ of a good idea for a book. If it had been 5 -10% quotations and 90-95% narrative and analysis I might have enjoyed it. As it is, I found it hugely irritating. The choice of those contributing was in itself narrow - plenty of movers and shakers and plenty of "cool" Britons but no-one else. No outside perspective. No sense of what people who simply lived through the period felt or experienced. Very disappointing.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful