White Rabbit to publish Bez from The Happy Mondays’ ‘completely mad and utterly brilliant memoir’
White Rabbit has acquired a memoir from Bez, the Happy Mondays’ chief maraca-shaker and an undisputed national treasure, much loved from Gogglebox, Dancing on Ice and Celebrity Big Brother. Buzzin’ will be published in October (£20 hbk). The deal, for world rights (ex USA, Canada) was done by Lee Brackstone, Publishing Director with Natalie Galustian from Greyhound Literary.
At the height of his initial, turn-of-the-1990’s infamy as the maraca-wielding dancer with ‘Madchester’ giants Happy Mondays, Mark Berry – forever known to the world as Bez – was visibly a danger to society. He became the so-called Chemical Generation’s bug-eyed pied piper, every weekend leading millions out to oblivion and beyond, as they adopted his E-gobbling party lifestyle.
Neither an accomplished musician nor even a very good dancer, Bez was a prime candidate for fleeting celebrity, soon to sink into ‘Where Are They Now?’ obscurity. That, however, never happened, nor does it show any sign of happening. Through Black Grape, the second band he co-fronted with the Mondays’ Shaun Ryder, and his ever-presence in the mass media, Bez’s popularity has grown exponentially, his star rocketing ever upwards.
When he bowled into Celebrity Big Brother in 2005, he ended up winning the series, as viewers came to understand his fundamental decency and sunny outlook. His adult life has been extraordinary: unbelievable scrapes with mortality, periods of financial ruin, mindfuck moments like when David Bowie genuflected before him, and enough narcotic-strewn hi-jinx to fill several more volumes of memoir.
Written with the assistance of estimable rock and roll ghostwriter, Andrew Perry (John Lydon, Tricky), this is the story of a bad lad who has turned his life good, tracing his passage from early-thirty-something casualty to middle-aged politician, eco-warrior and bee-aficionado.
Bez says: ‘I’m well happy to unveil the full, unexpurgated truth behind my life story so far. It’s a 24 hours party between two book covers! Like the title says, I’m totally buzzin’ to get it out there for everyone to read.’
Brackstone says: ‘For a non-musician, Bez’s influence on pop culture has been immeasurable. First in the Happy Monday, then Black Grape, and later on tv, in politics, and bee-keeping, Bez is a true rock and roll revolutionary and the very embodiment of acid house. Buzzin’ simply has to be true because the stories in it are too wild and improbable to exist as fiction. All Hail The Lord of the Dance, Mark Berry … and welcome to White Rabbit.’
BUZZIN’ by Bez will be published by White Rabbit on 27th October 2022 available in Hardback, Trade Paperback, eBook and audio.
For more information contact Emma Finnigan PR emma@emmafinniganpr.co.uk or Sarah Bennie PR sarah@sarahbennie.com
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Notes to Editors:
White Rabbit is dedicated to publishing the most innovative books and voices in music and literature. Building on the uniquely successful publishing he was responsible for at Faber Social with authors like the Beastie Boys, Viv Albertine and Jon Savage, Brackstone’s titles for his Orion imprint indicate the range and personality of a list that will encompass memoir, history, fiction, translation, illustrated books and high-spec limited editions. White Rabbit has already published two Sunday Times bestsellers, Mark Lanegan’s Sing Backwards And Weep and Chris Frantz’s Remain In Love.
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