Mick Houghton began his career writing about music before starting out in PR at WEA in 1978. Two years later he set up the independent Brassneck Publicity. He began writing again in 2001 for Mojo and later Uncut, and has since published two books, I've Always Kept A Unicorn: The Biography of Sandy Denny and Becoming Elektra: The True Story of Jac Holzman's Visionary Record Label, as well as being one of the Grammy-nominated compilers of Forever Changing: The Golden Age of Elektra Records, 1963-1973. He's also compiled and written extensive notes for countless reissues by such artists as Nico, Judee Sill, Richard Thompson, Marianne Faithful, Bob Dylan, Billy Fury, John Martyn, Donovan and Pentangle. Mick finally retired from PR work four years ago, and he'll only consider coming back if the Teardrop Explodes reform in their original lineup.
An entertaining memoir recalls twenty heady years at the centre of the British music business. -- Financial Times Excellent . . . Remind[s] us that the best pop culture often comes together thanks to accidental, passionate heroes, standing out against the crowd in the most brilliant way. -- New Statesman Houghton's unfussy affection for his charges makes it a celebration of life on the musical margins rather than a compendium of gossip . . . As parallel histories of the UK alternative scene go, this one leaves them all behind. -- Uncut Fried and Justified sheds light on a bygone industry that, although flawed, occasionally nurtured genuine misfit-creatives. -- Observer