For the discerning listener of modern rock music, the scene is awash with emerging bands of every genre and sub type. And you know that every one of those bands will have traversed the well-work paths to our favourite small venues, racking up tales of triumph and disaster along the way.

And this is what Mark Parsley serves up with It’s a Long Way to the Top; 52 yarns and narratives of life on and off the road, the nitty-gritty of the highs and lows of being a musician in the scene.

With a foreword written by Toby Jepson, and featuring articles from bands, promoters, festival organisers, crew, and a compère, you’ll laugh out loud, cringe, cheer, gasp and smile as you read the many anecdotes, some of which won’t have been shared before. It’s a bit rough and ready round the edges, but a final polish and it’ll be a book that should delight and thrill supporters of the emerging rock scene.