Description
Book SynopsisA dual memoir written in tandem by Mike Heron, a founder member of the iconic sixties folk group
The Incredible String Band and one of their greatest fans, bestselling author and winner of the Saltire Prize, Andrew Greig
Trade ReviewMike Heron, as part of the Incredible String Band,
changed the way I looked at music. Read it! * Billy Connolly *
Mike Heron's lyrics always
sparkled with wit and warmth and his prose is a delightful continuation. The book evokes a smoky, unheated eccentric Edinburgh that was a crucible for so much creativity. * Joe Boyd, author of White Bicycles *
With his characteristic modesty and self-deprecating humour, Mike Heron recalls the beginnings of the British folk revival and, though he would never admit as much, the part he played in bringing folk to a new audience.
Funny, honest, and vividly evocative of its era,
You Know What You Could Be is essential for music fans, whatever their tribal affinities. * John Burnside *
Heron's turn of phrase and eye for detail extend...to every aspect of Edinburgh's mid-sixties beatnik life, realised in
beguiling sensory images . . .
Heron has to write a second volume, but at least this first instalment might help to secure the recognition the band so transparently deserve' -- Mark Ellen * New Statesman *
Warm, meditative, evocative . . .
Much more than a conventional music biography -- Graeme Thomson * Herald *
From travelling in an open-sided military helicopter with terrified Ravi Shankar and catching Jimi Hendrix's closing set at Woodstock, this book is
a must-read for anyone looking for an insider's view of the psychadelic sixties * M Magazine *
The Incredible String Band were one of the most influential groups on the planet . . . A
warm, beautifully drawn evocation of formative years, hippie culture and key friendships -- Graeme Thomson * Mail on Sunday *
Charming and oddly moving . . . His account of growing up in Edinburgh in the late 1950s and 60s has
all the excitement of a good rock biopic. We share in the thrills . . . Heartwarming, charismatic mix of self-effacing charm and wistful empathic engagement with the world. -- Matt Milton * Songlines *
Heron's descriptions of life in 1950s and early 60s Edinburgh have a
winningly dour Ivor Cutler-ish air . . . Greig has a knack for refracted memoir, viewing his own life through strange prisms and other lives . . . with elegaic wisdom. -- Peter Ross * Guardian *
Rich in smoky detail of the city . . . Rates as the most
throbbingly exciting I've ever read in a music biography -- Aidan Smith * Scotsman *
