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The Soundtrack of a Valve: An Appreciation of Gordon Dair

A few weeks ago, when the news was bad, I sent Gordon an email. I wanted to say something; anything. Gordon didn’t want cards and had limited use for sympathy, so I emailed an apology. I had a nagging memory about a historical injustice dating from 1988. It was about punk rock. It was about Gordon. Where were we? We were in a basement in Stockbridge, finding our voices. We were in the office of CUT magazine, doing our best, and although not many people noticed, sometimes our best was good. But it was 1988. Music was changing. Punk had died. Dance music was threatening a new kind of fun. Compact discs were on the way. Even The Clash had one. It was called The Story Of The Clash Vol 1 , and Gordon had reviewed it. Here, there is a conflict between memory and archive. In memory, Gordon reviewed this album with an outburst of autobiography. He overwrote, obliterating his word-count. While his writing was urgent and heartfelt, it barely addressed the music. It discussed Gordon’s life...
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Alternatives To Valium, the book. What it's like and where to find it. Plus, get a bonus fanzine and badge.

My book, Alternatives To Valium: How Punk Rock Saved A Shy Boy's Life is out now, published by Polygon. Click on the links to buy directly from the publisher, or order it online or from your local bookshop. The Scotsman review said: "The early years are a blast, from McKay's views on his first teacher ('Does she even like children? If she does, it's a secret') to his memories of his first fanzine, Blow Your Nose on This ('a montage of crap') to his first on-stage outing as lead singer of school band The Instant Whips ('I couldn't sing, so I wore a hat.') The transgressive allure of punk, as experienced on the sedate streets of North Berwick, is perhaps best summed up by the way in which the owner of the local record shop displayed the latest LPs in the shop window up-side down, their covers hidden from those who might take offence, but still available to those in the know.  The interviews, meanwhile – or rather, the memories of the interviews – are wonderful, peek-behind-the-curtain deconstructions of the creaky edifice of celebrity.' Books From Scotland said: "Although the book has a very formal structure, split into two halves – finding one’s voice (punk) and listening (journalism) it is this which gives it a surprising unity. It’s great fun, and yet has a last chapter that is as powerfully elegiac and understated as anything I have read for ages." The Herald said: "the more relaxed, cordial interviews, like Iggy Pop, Kate Moss or Billy MacKenzie, capture the strange dynamic between journalist and interviewee: a temporary negotiated space with undefined edges." UNCUT said: "McKay's big ticket stars rarely disappoint ... but his tales of trying to be punk rock 'in a Status Quo town' may be more resonant still."  

I talked about about Alternatives To Valium in the Press and Journal here, and wrote about in the London Evening Standard here and the Sunday Post here. There was a lovely piece in the Sunday Mail, but their website has defeated me. The Prole Art Threat blog reviewed it from a North Berwick perspective here. The book was launched at Argonaut Books in Leith with a special performance by Edinburgh punk legends The Valves (including their own tribute to Chris Bailey of The Saints. If you're lucky, Argonaut may still have a few copies with a limited edition micro-fanzine and a free badge. (There are signed copies of the book at Waterstone's on Edinburgh's Princes Street and at the Aye Write bookshop in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow). Another fanzine (and another badge) were produced for my appearance at Glasgow's Aye Write festival. The first fanzine is about Sydney Devine, and the second is about Alex Harvey. These are available directly from me for a Paypal payment of £1 each to cover P&P. Contact me via Twitter (@AHMcKay). If any bookshops or record shops want to sell the special edition of the book, I am happy to supply some fanzines and badges (costs permitting). 


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