Freaks Out!

David Cameron. Mumford and Sons. The England football team. Krishnan Guru-Murthy. Liz Truss. This book is not for you. Straight, male, middle-aged Abba fans. The salt of the earth. The worthy. The middlebrow. PE teachers. This book is not for you.Gatekeepers. Gamekeepers. Poachers. Curators. Noel Gallagher. This book is not for you. This book is for the freaks.Freaks Out! will chronologically explain how 'freaks' infiltrated modern culture - and almost won the rock 'n' roll wars - only to lose to the rise of Cool Britannia and TV 'talent' shows that turned the strange and the outsiders into fodder for laughter.Telling the story of pivotal freaks (Johnnie Ray, Gene Vincent, Hank Marvin, Syd Barrett, the Incredible String Band, Big Youth) through the prism of rock 'n' roll, as well as through wider culture (Cathars, the Ranters, Richard Dadd, Lenny Bruce, Timothy Leary, Hells Angels, Yippies), Luke Haines' writing is the perfect mix of in-depth music knowledge, personal anecdotes and fascinating memoir.This is the ultimate celebration of freakdom.