To commemorate the 25th anniversary of the death of Adrian Borland–leader of UK post-punk cult heroes The Sound, the punk band The Outsiders before that, a solo career, and more–there will be an event on April 26 at Poppodium Boerderij in Holland, the same venue that Adrian infamously walked off stage halfway through The Sound’s set on December 5, 1987, marking the band’s final show. The upcoming event takes place 25 years to the day since Adrian tragically took his own life.
At the event, they’ll screen the 2016 Adrian Borland documentary Walking in the Opposite Direction, an exhibition of items from Adrian Borland and The Sound will be on display, original Sound drummer Mike Dudley’s band IN2THESOUND will perform, and British pop journalist Simon Heavisides will present his upcoming Adrian Borland biography, Destiny Stopped Screaming – The Life and Times of Adrian Borland. Simon will be doing a reading, signing, and Q&A.
A newly-published review of the book by Rory Sullivan-Burke on Louder Than War reads in part:
It is most certainly a labour of love, written in a way that perhaps only a real fan can, about something so meaningful to them on a personal level. It shows and for me, the story is all the better for it. We are given great insight into Borland’s background as an only child to aspirational parents. The detail is vivid, tactful and tangible. From the get-go, you feel as though there is a spirit and genuineness to the characters that emerge from the pages. I very quickly became engaged with the style and flow and, although initially daunted somewhat by the book’s length, found it highly readable and enjoyable – if at times distressing. I was already aware of some of the difficulties Borland faced in his all too short life and perhaps this lent itself to me wanting to take a closer look at a musician I had longed since admired.
[…] This isn’t a book which merely wants to claim Borland’s importance and position within a canon of since departed ‘cult’ musicians. Heavisides portrays the man himself and invites us in to get a real sense of who he was. In many ways and given the multi-faceted and serious nature of a lot of what is dealt with here, this is as much a reference book as a biography and on both counts it works. It has the feel of something which deserves to be read in full or at least partially, more than once. Returning to substance, I think it would be fair to attribute that word to Borland himself and there was a depth to him which meant that above and beyond anything else the story is a fascinating one and this is again backed up with first-hand accounts and descriptions.
Read the full review at Louder Than War. Tickets and more info for the event in Holland here.
In related news, White Reaper recently released a cover of The Sound’s classic “I Can’t Escape Myself” and you can check that out below.
