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The Absence by Budgie - Signed Edition
£25.00
Available
Product Ref. (e.g. ISBN, SKU)
X9781399621564
Published:
05 Jun 2025
Format:
Hardback
Number of pages:
320 pages
Author:
Hand Signed by Budgie
Hardback Edition
Orders limited to one copy per customer/address
The Absence by Budgie - Signed Edition
Hand Signed by Budgie
Hardback Edition
New & Unread - Published 5th June 2025
As a member of Big in Japan, The Slits and, most famously, Siouxsie and The Banshees and The Creatures, 'Budgie' became one of the era-defining drummers in the much-mythologised post punk scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Growing up in working class St Helens in the 1960s, Peter Clarke lost his mum as a young boy and it's her 'absence' that haunts the pages of this book. Disenchanted with art school inLiverpool, Peter became Budgie and befriended the likes of Jayne Casey, Holly Johnson, Pete Burns, Bill Drummond and other luminaires of the legendary Eric's' Club, before taking off for London and the big city heat of punk.
Budgie's unique technique and musical sensitivity endeared him to the all-female group The Slits, who asked him to play on their debut album Cut. Subsequent touring with former members of the Sex Pistols and others from the post punk aristocracy firmly established Budgie's reputation for innovation. But the beating heart of this painfully honest and frank account of a life often sabotaged by substance abuse and alcoholism is, of course, his long-term position as Siouxsie and The Banshee's drummer and co-writer alongside ex-lover, and ex-wife, Siouxsie Sioux.
In the Banshees and seminal side project The Creatures, their creative partnership produced some of the most seductive and celebrated pop music of the decade, from Juju, through A Kiss in the Dreamhouse to the salutary valedictory album, Peepshow. Eventually, their personal relationship started to fall apart, with inevitable consequences for both bands. The Absence is brave and unflinching in its dissection of how and why this happened.
Angels emerged, many of them female, to show Budgie that a mother's lost love can be replaced. A man and musician whose creativity and singular style came to define the goth-pop 1980s as much as any other individual, Budgie's life is both fabulously glamorous and a tawdry cautionary tale. For the first time the story of this most exalted and mysterious of bands has been told by one who survived inside the belly of the beast.
About the Author: Peter Clarke (Budgie) was born in 1957 in St. Helens in the Northwest of England. He studied Fine Art at the Gamble Institute and at Liverpool College of Art, before taking a sabbatical in 1977 to join a band... or two. He is known internationally for his unique style of drumming on 'The Slits' debut album, Cut (1979), and as writer, arranger and multi-instrumentalist, with both Siouxsie And The Banshees (1979 - 1996) and The Creatures (1981 - 2004). Self-taught, his influences range from Ringo to Rothko (via Ravel). Budgie was described by John Cale of 'The Velvet Underground' as a 'musician's musician'. He lives in Berlin, Germany with his wife, two children, three cats, and a Giant Schnauzer.
Format: Hardback Edition
ISBN: 9781399621564
All our signed books include a 'Signed Copy' gift tag, supplied free of charge.
Please Note: By their very nature, all signed books will have been handled several times before they get to you. This may result in small marks to the dustjacket and title page, please also bear in mind that each signature will be a little different from the one we show here.
We use courier and signed for delivery services, so please use an address at which your parcel can be signed for during the normal working day.
| Number of pages | 320 |
|---|
We will despatch your order as quickly as we can. If, for whatever reason, a product is out of stock we will contact you to discuss the likely delivery time or an alternative product.
| First Item | 2 Items & Over | |
|---|---|---|
| UK | £3.75 | £5.00 |
| EU | £15.00 | £30.00 |
| USA & Canada | £30.00 | £50.00 |
| Rest of the World | £45.00 | £60.00 |
| Collect in Store | free | free |
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Shipments to EU countries:
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First Item @ £30.00
2 Items & over @ £50.00 in total
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First Item @ £45.00
2 Items & over @ £60.00 in total
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