Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys.: A Memoir Hardcover – November 25, 2014

In the non-stop stream of celebrity autobiographies available, Viv Albertine’s Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys is in a class by itself. Eschewing the standard form of chronicling events in long, wistful chapters of excess, Albertine goes for short entries of brilliance. The woman knows how to write, crafting observant and blunt bits of streetwise prose to describe the many mini-moments that make up this great book.The gangs all here; sex, drugs, rock and roll, but that’s only a part of it. After the days of punk ,The Slits, and notoriety had faded, Albertine tackled the next stage of her life, one in which she tried to have something approaching normalcy, only to find herself beset by a host of physical maladies which left her an empty and depressed shell of the renegade she once was. It’s in this second half of the book that the reader is jettisoned from appreciative fan to empathetic confidant, a powerful transformation to be certain.Throughout her tale, the author is relentlessly, brutally, and heartbreakingly honest. It’s easily the most intimate autobiography I’ve read, one in which the reader isn’t just consuming the sterile recounting of actions, but rather becoming enmeshed in a spellbinding, painful, and wry confessional. It’s essentially linear, but has some disjointed chapters that seem to have no purpose save to give you one more anecdote or life observation. I can best compare it to a long conversation with someone wherein the drinks or drugs flow, the talk rambles, and nobody is bored. Hers is a story as unique as she, but it’s her ability to unflinchingly express the raw innermost thoughts she was experiencing during those moments that make this book so special, so personal, and so endearing.The book is an easy read, told in two parts, mirroring the two very different eras of her life. By the end of the book, I had fallen so utterly and completely in love with this woman, that she’s ruined every other woman forever. Beneath the stunningly beautiful woman is an intelligent, thoughtful, courageous, and utterly absorbing person who I wish I had the privilege of truly calling my friend. This book will have to suffice.

What a life she’s lived! I loved reading around London n the 60s and 70s, the punk era, and how earnest Viv was about her trails and tribulations. I love music and history books. It was a great read!

Loved the book. Yes, it was about clothes, music and boys, but it was about living, taking risks, saying yes, putting yourself out there, growing up and learning to be yourself. As I read, I would stop and make a playlist so I could hear the songs she talked about. Songs I've known for decades, but they came to life in a completely different way. By the last chapter, I was not only rooting for Viv Albertine, I was rooting for myself.

This is Viv Albertine’s memoir from 1976-1982. With short, but chronological, chapters, written as simplistic snippets of memories, Australian-born Viv Albertine (1954-) begins with her childhood – the sea voyage from Australia to England at the age of four, school, her brutal father, and boys, boys, boys. She writes of the first time a song knocked her socks off and her musical influences – records and bands – free concerts, experimental music, rock, and guitars. Albertine and Sid Vicious form the band, The Flowers of Romance, in 1976. Clothes, clothes, clothes – with punk music, there has to be punk clothes – beginning at art school in the Fashion and Textiles course. And then there’s designer Vivienne Westwood.Easy to read, the memoir reveals the pioneering development of the punk music and fashion scene. Told in an excited tone, with feeling and passion, Albertine becomes young again, and takes readers with her – back to London where and when it began. She is honest in Side Two (post-1982) – very honest – in her accounts of the break-up of the band The Slits in 1982, trying to reconnect with her father, her cancer, and her comeback 25 years later. It’s a great no-frills, raw-written memoir, and the photographs are amazing.

Viv Albertine is a icon. She was in the forefront of the birth and growth of the Punk scene in London in the 70s and early 80s. From intimate relationships with Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols, Mick Jones of The Clash and Johnny Thunders of the New York Dolls. She also stands as a trend setter for Punk “style” Doc Martens and tutus, and bits and pieces from the fashions of SEX, the boutique of the unique operated by Malcolm McLauren and Vivienne Westwood before they made the fashion a mainstream style.She speaks of living in squats in North London and Amsterdam, her abortion at 15 and, throughout, with a brutal self revelation that the reader cannot help but feel her pain.It is impossible to read Viv’s words and not want to either shield her vulnerability or smack her upside the head and scream “Pull it together” until she finds a clue. Either way, if you are a fan of history, punk history and the history of the music, clothes and sensibilities of the Punk Era, this book is a must read.

Albertine's former manager obviously didn't know much about anything when he told her she was incapable of writing her own memoir. This is a wonderfully written book that doesn't spare any gory details of the authors life, and there are many, both figuratively and literally. She has been through so much adversity and has still managed to rise above it. You don't have to be a punk rock fan to thoroughly enjoy this book. There is so much more here. Looking forward to her follow-up which I am ordering now.

Let's start with why did I read this book? It wasn't because I am a Slits fan, on the contrary I think they were over-rated so this is not going to be another sycophantic 5-star review; but I do have an interest in the rock scene and the 70's in particular so it's against that background that I picked up this book; and although Viv Albertine was part of that scene that is only part of her memoir.Also I am not a psychologist, so I am not going to start dissecting Viv Albertine's state of mind or motivations in writing this brutal and emotionally raw memoir, but I assume that she was seeking to exorcise her personal demons; and that like many she struggles to grasp and hold onto emotional fulfilment and needs constant positive recognition for her achievements, both artistic and personal.In telling her story in the present tense, in her own words and with candour she presents an insight that few autobiographies possess, if anything has been air-brushed out it must have been really, really bad. The life that she describes had its ups and downs, some psychological and some biological; and along the way she made mistakes, whether these were due to her nature and/or nurture is irrelevant they were due to the choices that she made at the time. But she isn't seeking sympathy or validation, she is simply making a statement of how it was for her at that time.But the person that she presents is not one that I like, nor one I can empathise with. I don't like her attitude (she calls it feminism, it isn't it's old fashioned self-serving), nor do I like her sense of entitlement, her moral code, or her treatment of other people particularly men (her father, Mick Jones, her unnamed husband and the short-term partners she used).But I do admire her, not for her achievements, not for surviving, and not for starting over-again; but for telling her story in a frank and captivating way, without gloss or veneer, and for that it's 5 stars, but you have been warned …

I was fourteen years old, my school in Luton arranged a visit to London to see Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. After the visit we were set loose and allowed to wander around the area for an hour.Being pre pubescent boys we all made for the local record store where I gazed on the beautiful Viviane for the first time on a poster pasted on the wall and kapow! I was smitten. ( not very punk rock , Objectifying women I know, but it is what it is).Afterwards I bought the records and loved them , and carried on in my sonic journey through life.Many years passed and one day I stumbled upon a documentary on TV about Six Vicious where many of the anecdotal tales were told by Viv and again Kapow! I was a raging ball of fourteen year old hormones once more.I decided to buy the book , to see where she had been all these years.The punk rock period is such a long time ago now it was lovely to revisit my memories of the period and hear it from someone who lived it all on the front lines so to speak.I think it's fair to say Viv has led a very interesting life touched by triumph and tragedy but her spirit and good humour shines through.She's a great musician, a great artist and even now decades later has a smile that could light up Wembley stadium..I hope she finds lasting love with someone but just in case , Viv I'm waiting!

I may have seen The Slits, I saw so many of the 1st and 2nd wave punk bands, I can’t recall them all but this book certainly did re ignite my interest in this awe inspiring group of wonderfully strong individuals.I cannot praise this book enough but I’ll have a go. Put it this way: it’s that compelling I’m reading it in my lunch breaks rather than catching up with the goss. It is absolutely fascinating-the detail in which Viv goes into when recounting such events as the White Riot tour and how Subway Sect performed (great band, way ahead of their time) and the creation of their much anticipated debut album, Cut. I’ve found myself listening again with a far more intelligent ear to their seminal tracks such as Newtown and FM - appreciating that they were an exceptional band way back in 1977 and still their sound stands up even to this day, probably more so than a lot of their contemporaries such as The Clash.Viv comes across as a truely genuine human being - it’s very much a warts and all account of her young life but coupled with the extraordinary period in which she retells incredible events this is an absolute belter of a read. Highly highly recommended.

I would be lying if I said that I knew who Viv Albertine was before I read Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys. Don’t get me wrong, I had heard of The Slits but I didn’t know who the individual members were.I bought Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys based on the cover and fell into this amazing no-holds-barred autobiography that was flush with life experience and honesty that it made me want to know more.Albertine does not obscure her life experiences. She bears all her scars to the world and it gives the reader an insight into what happens when the music stops.Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys is one of the most honest, endearing works of autobiography that I have ever read and I implore you to pick up a copy whether you are a music fan or not.Clothes, Clothes, Clothes, Music, Music, Music, Boys, Boys, Boys by Viv Albertine is available now.

I’m a little too young to have experienced punk and therefore didn’t know anything about Viv Albertine and her time with The Slits other than what I’ve learnt recently. But I love music and music history and the book intrigued me.This is without doubt not only a great book about music, the punk scene and the characters within it but Viv writes with such honesty and emotion that even if you know nothing about the music, times and places you will get a lot from this book. Divided into 2 halves the second half is better than the first in my opinion,Read it. Without doubt the best autobiography I’ve read and quite possibly the best book I’ve ever read.