Barry Adamson

The former Bad Seed has been so intrinsic to our musical tastes & outlook that we thought we knew him well but this gripping read about his myriad musical memories regularly caused our jaws to drop.

In 'Up Above the City, Down Beneath the Stars', the enigmatic Barry Adamson shines a probing light into his own heart of darkness. Born in the black and white world of post-industrial Manchester, Adamson saw music as a chance to turn his world technicolour. Propelled into punk via Magazine, he was the founding bass player in Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, before stumbling too far down a dark, drug-induced path. Adamson steers the reader through a mix of harrowing, tragic, funny and often life-affirming straights. Throughout it all, music – be it bass lines, melodies or film soundtracks – is the glue that binds a myriad of memories. Written in Adamson’s distinctive and cinematic noir style, and including personal photographs throughout, Up Above the City, Down Beneath the Stars is an original and powerful memoir, full of suspense, humour and candour.