Santa Claus in his very special grotto
About this Event
Rock 'n' Roll Book Club wlcomes you to our very special book of the year party at the Walthamstow Trades Hall
Jeremy Deller Presents:
Street-level Santa Claus - a celebration of Lawrence’s remarkable year with…
Santa Claus in his very special grotto.
Will Hodgkinson and Lawrence in conversation with Jeremy Deller on Street-level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence
Martin Green with his festive DJ favourites
Plus a very special Lawrence raffle, Chrismas presents and surprises.
AND audience Q&A and book-signing.
Street-level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence is the Rough Trade, Mojo, and Uncut magazine Book of the Year
Lawrence is the greatest pop star most people have never heard of, his dreams of glory thwarted over the past five decades by bad luck and self-sabotage. At sixty-one, he set off on a new mission: to escape poverty, obscurity and the humiliation of kids at the bus stop laughing at him by writing a smash hit. But what is the cost of a dream?
In 1979, Lawrence formed Felt, who released ten albums and ten singles in ten years before splitting up. In 1991, he reinvented himself with novelty-pop outfit Denim. Signed to EMI, riding the wave of Britpop, in 1997, Denim's song 'Summer Smash' became Radio 1's Single of the Week and looked like a sure-fire hit. Then Princess Diana was killed in a car crash. All copies were melted down. Crushing depression, addiction and homelessness followed... but in the face of it all, Lawrence never gave up.
In Street-Level Superstar, bestselling author and journalist Will Hodgkinson follows Lawrence as he rebuilds his life. He gets mistaken for an old lady by an amorous pensioner, is reduced to dragging sacks of 2p coins to his local bank and wanders through London's distant suburbs in search of lyrical inspiration. As they walk together down rain-soaked streets, Will tells the story of Britain's most eccentric cult star. Will he write the greatest song the world has ever known before the year is out? And was it worth sacrificing everything - family, relationships, health, sanity -for?
'Will has finally written his masterpiece. I'm glad I could be of assistance' Lawrence
'Wonderful' Bobby Gillespie
'A fascinating tale beautifully told' Brett Anderson
this event will be seated & standing. Seats are unreserved. Contact us is you require a seat to be reserved.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Walthamstow Trades Hall, 61-63 Tower Hamlets Road, London, United Kingdom
GBP 13.70 to GBP 38.62