Who is Lawrence and why did Will Hodgkinson write a whole book about him?

Word In Your Ear
Word In Your Ear
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Published 2024-07-20
There’s something romantic about glorious failure and Will nails it perfectly in ‘Street Level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence’. Over 40 years plagued by bad luck and self-sabotage with Felt, Denim and Mozart Estate, Lawrence has pursued fame and success while refusing to do what’s required to achieve them. Will spent 12 months wandering the streets of London with him to paint a fond, touching and extremely entertaining portrait of the worst-equipped pop star attempting a comeback, a man on a holy, monastic mission in a book about “sacrifice and the price of a dream”. Among many highlights here, we talk about …

… where Lawrence fits in the pantheon of great underachievers like Syd Barrett, Nick Drake and Arthur Lee.

… and his similarity to Kevin Shields and Kevin Rowland.

… the wisdom of a former girlfriend: “stop trying to be the pop star you don’t want to be and you might get somewhere”.

… is lack of success the central dream of the indie world?

… why Denim were Britpop before Britpop happened and why EMI melted down all copies of their last single.

… his rules before the book began - “No anecdotes, no interviews with former members of Felt …”

… what his stalker planned to get his attention.

… fantasy girlfriends and “a fear of cheese”.

… why he didn’t go to his mother’s funeral.

… and why Truman Capote’s portrait of Marlon Brando, the Duke and His Domain, was a touchstone for this book.

Order ‘Street Level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence’ here:
www.amazon.co.uk/Street-Level-Superstar-Lawrence-W…

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All Comments (21)
  • @Jazzwhale
    I think all this underplays the excellence of his music, I Worship The Sun, Penelope Tree, Primitive Painters, the albums Back In Denim, Tearing Up The Album Charts, On The Hot Dog Streets, also the subject of one of the best music films of the last 30 years.
  • @DadgeCity
    I notice that Felt's album titles all sound like Bill Nelson instrumentals.
  • @rickg8015
    10 records in 10 years is great accomplishment..
  • @downwards762
    Details do matter, He was right about the Matte Finish on the book cover. Brilliant interview.
  • @kennethtaylor541
    Who Is Lawrence? Dear oh dear. He's not exactly unknown. Such a sniffy and condescending tone for much of this interview. Despite that, and having read so many positive comments, I'm looking forward to the book. For anyone wanting to listen to his music, as Will said Primitive Painters is magnificent. As is Ballad Of The Band. For me, the best song about the drudgery that can exist about being in a band. Felt's The Splendour Of Fear and Forever Breathes The Lonely Word albums are both brilliant albums. As for Denim, the track called The Osmonds is worth checking out to see if you want to delve in and Go Kart Mozart - The Sun is pop gold. There's also a great film about him called Lawrence Of Belgravia available on Blu-Ray and the BFI Player.
  • @alexrose9487
    Brilliant talk, thank ye, Lawrence is Incredible ❤
  • @michaelmouse4024
    Excellent episode. In some ways, Lawrence reminds me of Withnail
  • @sean5806
    he should get an arts council grant really
  • @ivanconnolly7332
    TE Lawrence has so many traits in common with Lawrence, disgust around eating , impossible standards of purity etc.
  • @BeesWaxMinder
    SO MANY 'musicians' I've encountered EXACTLY like this🙄
  • @davidbence7229
    Saw Felt play in the dark at Moles in the 1980’s. They were great, even though he had his back to us.
  • @swirlingfudge
    The White Stripes seemed to have it both ways - strict, limiting rules but massive success.
  • @danieladams9950
    The NME hyped the Denim album to a huge extent, resulting in this non-Felt following listener buying in. Enjoyed it, but was principally '74 Glam a rock. Subsequently was never mentioned again in said publication.
  • @learnenglish6603
    No fans? I'm one. Will read the book. The Hodgkinson/Lawrence alliance is quite irresistible.
  • @hazelwray4184
    Capote's, The Duke In His Domain was published in The New Yorker, 9th Nov 1957.
  • @ubiktd4064
    I remember Felt... classic melodic English guitar music. Like Smiths, Lloyd Cole,House of Love... early Stone Roses.