BOOK REVIEW. THE RISE THE FALL AND THE RISE BY BRIX SMITH-START

I read The Rise The Fall and The Rise by Brix Smith-Start. Brix was bassist in The Fall (+ was also married to Mark E. Smith) as well as fronting her own band, The Adult Net + being involved in various musical projects. More recently, she opened several designer boutiques in London with her husband + appeared on various TV shows as a fashion expert/stylist (most notably on Gok Wan’s Fashion Fix).

I really enjoyed the book, it crackles along at a fair old pace and is interesting + heartfelt. She’s smart + funny - generally very open about discussing her relationships + ups + downs of life. I thought she was honest + fair even when she is sometimes uncomplimentary about the likes of Mark E. Smith, she does also discuss her own faults. I actually thought one of the most interesting parts of the book was where she talked about she reconciled her own identity/creative pursuits with that of her partners - first, Mark E. Smith and then Nigel Kennedy. She also discusses a lot of the songs she’s written + her musical career (I particularly liked the chapter about the time she almost joined Hole). There are certain parts where she chooses discretion and doesn’t name names so I guess we will never know who the other famous rockstars are she’s slept with or which one of her hen party has the astonishing trick of being able to open a champagne bottle with their vagina but there’s still plenty to entertain. I’m surprised the women’s magazines haven’t picked up on it more, you’d think it would be right up their street.

I also loved the fact that her name Brix is actually a nickname short for Brixton which she was given for repeatedly playing Guns of Brixton by The Clash.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JANUARY 2017

UPDATE/LINKS. COURTNEY LOVE

Courtney finally released Nobody's Daughter in April 2010.   It was released under the band name, Hole, but Courtney was the only original remaining member of the classic line-up.   The rest of the band consisted of - Micko Larkin, Shawn Daily and Stu Fisher.   The version that was released differs from the demo version that had been knocking about - the track listing was different and some of the songs had been remixed.   Several new songs had been added (Skinny Little Bitch - the 1st single, Honey, Samantha, Someone Else's Bed and a bonus track on the i-Tunes version, Codeine - a cover version) and some songs had been dropped  (Stand Up Motherfucker, Car Crash and Sunset Marquis - if you do a search on YouTube you can usually find these and they're well worth a listen).

Courtney has been touring again and released a single called Miss Narcissist. She's also been acting again, appearing in TV shows like Empire and Sons of Anarchy.

A documentary called Hit So Hard about Patty Schemel, Hole's drummer, has also been released and it features archive footage and includes interviews with Courtney, Eric Erlandson and Melissa Auf Der Maur.
Site for Hit So Hard documentary

Courtney Love website