Street-Level Superstar cover art

Street-Level Superstar

A Year With Lawrence

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Street-Level Superstar

By: Will Hodgkinson
Narrated by: Will Hodgkinson
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About this listen

 'Will has finally written his masterpiece. I'm glad I could be of assistance' LAWRENCE

'Essential reading' JARVIS COCKER

'****' MOJO

'One of the best music books I've ever clapped eyes on' MARC RILEY

'10/10 - An extraordinarily empathetic study' UNCUT

'Magnificent' SPECTATOR

Guardian Book of the Day

This edition includes an exclusive Q&A with LAWRENCE

Lawrence is the greatest pop star who never made it, 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 1980, 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 art?©2024 Will Hodgkinson (P)2024 Bonnier Books UK Business Aspects Entertainment & Celebrities Music Thought-Provoking Dream

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All stars
Most relevant  
Brilliant. Well controlled writing about a fascinating personality. I was a Felt fan - but you don’t need to know the band to be immersed in the story. However the author’s love of his subject is obvious too - and Im with you all the way. One of the best biographies Ive read. I want Lawrence to be famous.

A character out of a Dostoyevsky novel, a modern pop rock flaneur - he’s an art thing.

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Absolutely loved this book. Beautifully written, great narration and the subject matter is a joy.
Laurence is endlessly fascinating. Unique.

Thank you

Loved it.

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I love Denim. I love Go Kart Mozart. I love Mozart Estate. Get this book if you do too.

It's Brilliant.

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Since my teens I have read so many books about artists and obsessed over them, books about Andy Warhol, Alfred Hitchcock, Brian Wilson and many more. This book could be my favourite out of all of them. Lawrence is a unique artist and this book has so much heart in how it captures his essence. It’s sad, it’s funny and wonderfully written. I already Lawrence and his work and this book made me love and appreciate him even more, I didn’t think that would be possible. It could be adapted into a beautiful movie or Netflix type TV series, it should be.

A super book about a Superstar.

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Quitw simply, I did not want this book to end. I need more Lawrence musings in my life.

Wonderful

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I’ve listened to a lot of books on Audible. Some great ones actually, but Street Level Superstar is the best by some distance. Witty, humorous, wry and endearingly thoughtful and thought provoking throughout. Will’s sympathetic and empathetic narration gives Lawrence the platform to show the world how much of a superstar he really is.
I listened to this on Audible but I also wanted to physically own a copy on the book, it was that good, so I went out and bought a hard copy too!

A joy! This book is an absolute masterpiece!

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I really enjoyed listening to this well-told narrative of Lawrence's life. What I don't understand is if Felt has 90.000 monthly listeners on Spotify, that's got to translate into some money. Has this been looked into? Anyway, well done with the book!

Get on the internet

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Some books are a delight to read, this is one of them. A record of his life whilst walking around haunts with the author.

A lovely read

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Compulsive reading/listening. Especially hearing Lawrence talk about Water Orton. I found it hard to put it down. What an interesting life he’s led!

Beautiful boy from my past

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I finished this in two days, but then there is a 50 minute bonus interview with Lawrence tagged onto the end. When you thought you’d had your fill you find you can’t stop listening to it. This proves that you can never get bored of Lawrence stories.
A great attempt by Will Hodgkinson to capture the essence of the man.

A fascinating enigma.

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