STREET-LEVEL SUPERSTAR: A YEAR WITH LAWRENCE - Will Hodgkinson

Wow! Are we over the moon to add this fabulous event to our #Louder2024 roster? YES we are!

Street-Level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence - Will Hodgkinson

An in conversation with Lawrence, Will and host Siân Pattenden

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?

We have two ticket options available: * Event Only and *Event with Discounted Book Combo deal - books will be available for collection at the Festival.

Our event will be followed by a dedicated signing event with Lawrence & Will. RRP books will also be available for purchase on the day.

About the author:

Will Hodgkinson is author of the music books Guitar Man, Song Man, The Ballad of Britain and In Perfect Harmony. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian, Mojo and Vogue and presented the Sky Arts television series Songbook. Since 2010, he has been chief rock and pop critic for The Times.

About the Host:

Siân Pattenden is a broadcaster, author and artist. She has written about music and culture for titles such as Smash Hits, NME, the Face, Guardian, Select, The Times, Details and many others - plus she's the author of six children's books. And, as a child actor, she once appeared as Young Tegan in Doctor Who. Siân still writes about music, co-hosts a podcast with Pete Paphides, talks about music on the telly and regularly hosts culture events across the UK.

Lawrence & Will image: Credit Paul Kelly

Host or Publisher Louder Than Words Festival