Among The Best Music Memoir I’ve Read

Superb in every way. Engaging, thought provoking and extremely moving. Simon Raymonde comes across as an extremely well considered gentleman both thoughtful and kind. A must read in my humble opinion

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The music business is cruel

Karen was in the year below Damian Hurst at Goldsmiths, not the same year. I was in her year on the same fine art course. 🙏🏼

The sadness around drug use and lack of understanding about money in the Cocteau Twins was unfortunate. For a band that meant a lot to me for their “anti rock” position they still fell at the same fences.

Thank you for publishing

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Gentle & increasingly candid

As above. A Very engaging informative lovely litl view into a now fave band. Definitely recommend it.

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Journeys with Mr Raymonde

Having listened to the music of Cocteau Twins, Snowbird, Lost Horizons and the multivarious and wonderous artists signed to Bella Union records for over three quarters of my life. Since first hearing Cocteau Twins, when I purchased a copy of their legendary second album Head Over Heels (released in 1983) on cassette in 1985. I have been enthralled by the genius of Robin Guthrie Elizabeth Fraser and Simon Raymonde ever since he joined the band. So to be able to listen to Simon recount his wonderfully storied journey so far, has been both a joy and a pleasure. Now that I have finished the audio book. I'm going to settle down to read the hard back edition... Yes it's really that good.

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The face behind the bass

Really enjoyed this. As a fan of his bass playing , which was one of the reasons I picked up bass years ago and the insights into his father
and his work and the age old father son conundrum some of us have struggled with. I enjoyed the honesty and the insights into the teary eye faze some of us pass into later in life. Punctuated with lovely anecdotes ( not of the cliche rock n roll lifestyle type) and truly heartfelt moments.
Thankyou.

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Cocteau Twins, Bella Union, and much, much more.

Firstly, this is a unique perspective into the career and work of one of my favourite bands, Cocteau Twins, which is really why I wanted to hear this. I thought I might lose interest in continuing to listen once their break-up in 1996 was covered, but the author has since been involved in many other cool things, and it turns out his father was too - among many other things, he wrote the music that became the Dusty Springfield hit 'I Only Want To Be With You'. Simon Raymonde weaves many strands together in this telling of the ups and downs of his and his family's lives, and is disarmingly honest, especially when speaking about his mistakes (sometimes entertaining, sometimes alarming, often both). He has a warm voice that's easy to listen to, despite his sometimes overly .. careful .. diction... and when he's talking about anything or anyone he loves - which is often - it comes through very clearly in what I imagine is more like his natural tone and delivery, endeared him to me. A very enjoyable listen for anyone who loves Cocteau Twins and has been paying more than cursory attention to the music of the last few decades.

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