Spacemen 3 And The Birth Of Spiritualized

Book excerpt: Spacemen 3 are the greatest rock band of which you've never heard. This briefly surveys the backgrounds of songwriters Pete 'Sonic Boom' Kember and Jason 'Spacemen' Pierce during their childhood years and adolescent collaborations, from which would forge cult-icons Spacemen 3. It recounts the highs and lows of a backwater band whose history is littered with excess, heroin addiction and ambition. Author Erik Morse also paints a history of the British indie-rock scene of the mid 80s from its post-punk roots to the earliest days of acid house and Spacemen 3's role in reinventing psychedelia for a new generation including bands like The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream and My Bloody Valentine. Includes interviews from several major players in and around Spacemen 3 who recount the now legendary concerts, road tours and behind the scenes myths surrounding the recording of the underground classics Perfect Prescription and Playing with Fire. It uncovers the yet untold stories of greed and ambition that came from business impresarios to major labels and the inevitable collapse of the band at the end of the 80s. Morse looks at the earliest days of offspring bands Spectrum and Spiritualized founded by Kember and Pierce following the dissolution of Spacemen 3. Contains discography of Spacemen 3 as well as early releases from Spectrum and Spiritualized as well as rare bootlegs and live recordings.