Discombobulated
Dispatches from the Wrong Side

Author: Simon A. Morrison
Availability:
Format: Paperback

Page Count: 256
ISBN-13: 9781900486736
Weight (g): 250
Genre: Music
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Headpress.com Price: £11.99

“Getting the band get back together was really something, but nothing could come close to having a cup of tea in Stockport with Simon Morrison”  says Howard Donald of Take That
From Las Vegas to Moscow, New York to Shanghai, DISCOMBOBULATED features fifty unbelievably true tales of high living and low-cost slumming, with a celebrity cast featuring Kylie Minogue, Take That, Paul Oakenfold, Fatboy Slim, Coolio, gangster Dave Courtney and many more. Revered clubbing correspondent Simon A. Morrison (DJmag, Ministry of Sound) takes readers on a pocket-sized, decade-spanning tour of the nightlife of five continents, bringing together the snappiest, wittiest and hippest dispatches of the last eight years, to make one of the classic books of the clubbing generation.
What they’re saying about Discombobulated: “Simon’s words allow me, if only for a minute, to feel like Alice in Wonderland,where all is weird and wonderful and very funny. He is a great writerand deserves praise.”  DJ Mag “It’s his job to take the temperature of the hottest parties on the map”  Judge Jules, Radio 1 “Akinto following Alice down the rabbit hole”  Student Direct “Discombobulated is a riotous pop cultural/Gonzo book”  Clubbers Link Online features and interviews: Ihouseu - Interview with the author »» HarderFaster - Interview with the author »» What Happened Last Night - Interview with the author »» Skiddle - Feature  »» Sixtynine Degrees -Feature »»

Contents:

1 Dave Beer’d - Glamour and excess with the legendary promoter of Back II Basics; surviving a weekend with Mr Beer.

2 Snowbusiness - Halfway up an Austrian alp we find some extremely confused Cubans in loud shirts and suspicious moustaches.

3 Sharm el Sheikh  
The Sinai Desert; trading with Bedouin; avoiding landmines on a camel whilst both parametrically challenged and paralytically inebriated.

4 Fukdup 
Adventures in Moscow with legendary loonball Mark Luvdup; the Cold War visibly thaws on the dancefloor.

5 Barcelona  
Gaudy Gaudi; how to make McDonald’s a gourmet banquet.

6 Gus Gus
Reykjavik: interviewing the esoteric Icelandic band Gus Gus; Blue Lagoon; a coach crashes off a mountain road; dead or merely asleep?

7 Ibiza Xbox
Upsetting the richest man on the planet in the planet’s hedonism HQ; who’s that at the door; grappling with the Fear.

8 Naples
Crazy Italians can’t drive; continual crashes (automotive and psychotropic).

9 Stockholm
Nordic naughtiness and Viking victuals.

10 Pikes
Checking into Ibiza’s infamous hotel; talking to Tony Pike; wearing another man’s Speedos to recreate the video to Wham!’s Club Tropicana.

11 Smugglers Run
Adventures of daring do with salty sea dogs on the High Seas (well, the Manchester Ship Canal).

12 Foo Foo’s Palace
Undercover investigations in a transvestite joint: lost amongst screeching hens; trying on wigs with Foo Foo Lamaar.

13 The Politics of Dancing  
Why do humans like to gather together in certain buildings and bounce around till dawn? And why does authority have such a problem with it? Here’s why…

14 Oh, Vienna
On guard against the avant-garde; WWIII breaks out around the dinner table between the Yanks and Limies.

15 Exit, Serbia
Serbia’s exit from repression is celebrated with one almighty party on the Danube; bust bridges, new friendships and skydiving turtles.

16 Fairies across the Mersey  
A disco on the Mersey ferry; pitching up with the Garlands camp; Adventures and indulgence with Barry Mac; a desperate bid for freedom at Manchester airport.

17 Berlin
How to upset both the German government and Special Forces by the simple use of one gasmask.

18 Tribal Sessions
Deep down and tribal; assimilating with the rave natives in their urban jungle; the use of Hawaiian shirts; sobering up for lunch with Take That.

19 Leaving Las Vegas
Weird scenes inside the Mandalay; partying with perstar DJ Paul Oakenfold; down the Strip.

20 Big Day Out: Val d’Isere
Hernias a go go; how to slide down a very tall mountain, attached only to a thin piece of wood when drunk.

21 Kuala Lumpur Loony
How does one explain the presence of a gun in a bag at Kuala Lumpur airport?

22 Croatia, put your mask on
Slapped into consciousness by a member of Her Majesty’s Special Forces; down the Adriatic Coast.

23 Skazi in Brazil
Narrowly evading kidnap in Sao Paolo; how to rumba to the music of an Israeli thrash-metal-trance-dance band in the rainforests in Brazil

24 Singapore Sling
Clint Dagger and his faithful companion Kelvin Rodriguez go hard undercover in the strip joints and dancehalls of southeast Asia.

25 Poland
Driving fast and true through the Polish countryside in a car with no brakes; last stop Auschwitz.

26 Whistler
Bums in trees; drunks up mountains; sloping off on the West Coast of Canada and upsetting the population of that great Commonwealth nation.

27 Kylie party
Happy Birthday dear Kyyyyylie; fast lessons in gatecrashing a pop diva’s party.

28 Ibiza and le Bon
Meeting Simon le Bon, poolside; as smooth as you like.

29 Coolio
The rap heavyweight arrives in the metropolis of Macclesfield; ejected from the VIP room — three times (the chicken wasn’t even that great).

30 On the Far Side with the Fat Boy
A reflection on the Clan Morrison… the “Disco Clan”; amongst the Hibernians of Glasgow and Fat Boy Slim.

31 Interview with the Gangster
Hunting down the multiple murderer and celebrity gangster Dave Courtney to his very own manor, Castle Camelot; Disco Dave pulls a gun.

32 Last Tango in Paris
Bizarre encounters with super models, Sting and Mick Hucknall; all equally gorgeous (apart from the last one).

33 Take That and Party
A kitchen in Stockport and a nice cup of tea with Take That.

34 Ibiza, with Judith Chalmers
Summer holidays with the First Lady of family TV; Wish You Were Here!

35 From Dusk till Dawn
Twisted adventures in the Titty Twister; two brothers go to the Bad Place.

36 The Blair Crasher Project
A journey into the cyber heart of Gatecrasher; adopted by the Crasher Kids.

37 The Donkey Show
What happens when you cross Studio 54, William Shakespeare and a donkey? Quoting Shakespeare and Bee Gees, measure for measure; kicked out of Arden.

38 Fear and Loathing in Stalybridge
The good Doctor has finally passed over to the Wrong Side; a personal eulogy.

39 Moscow
Deported from Russia: “it’s a simple misunderstanding officer, honest”; subsequently adopted by kindly BA stewardesses.

40 Cologne
Nazis, S&M, fetish parties, bombs and skeletons; the aroma of Cologne.

41 Shanghai Surprise
Brothels and neons twinkle in the heart of the Orient; bad karaoke and even worse disco dancing.

42 24 Hour Party People
Baggy, loose fit trousers and floppy hats; tripping down memory lane to MADchester; an extra in the movie 24 Hour Party People.

43 Sex and sexuality
We all do it. Allegedly. But what’s it all about, then? And how does one go about getting some?

44 Top of the Pops
Behind the scenes at the BBC; meeting the popstars; almost barred from TOTP.

45 New York Stories
A suite at the Chelsea Hotel; investigations into beatific New York.

46 Zouk Singapore
Talking Woodstock and the Summer of Love; shown around one of the most famous discos on the planet by its elusive owner, Lincoln Cheng.

47 No Wax
Do we really need records to DJ? In a digital age do we even need DJs? iPod snobs and music slobs unite!

48 Afterparties
A thorough underground investigation into the murky world of afterparties; what happens when the needle has left the record?

49 D.O.N.S. DI.S.C.O.
Stranded; alone; lost in the heart of Germany in the midst of a Russian winter; a light offers sanctuary; throwing oneself on the mercy of a gimp with a heart.

50 The Last Supper
San FranDisco; nowhere left to go in that great westward expansion; the Last Supper; eating, drinking; talking disco dancing and backdoor wrongness.

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