The Rejects – Jamie Collinson

Four stars    

 Jamie Collinson’s study of those forced out of the bands they sometimes founded makes for a refreshingly insightful, entertaining and at times poignant read. Boldly subtitled An Alternative History Of Popular Music, Collinson’s book mixes research, interviews, personal interludes, and a series of wonderful footnotes that join the dots between more than thirty subjects. At one point he writes a gonzo style first person short story charting Crazy Horse guitarist Danny Whitten’s final days before and after being sacked by Neil Young.  

 

Ousted Beatles drummer Pete Best, doomed Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones and dumped-on Velvet Underground auteur John Cale are all in the mix, as are ‘All the Musicians Kicked Out of Fleetwood Mac’ but Collinson focuses on what are perhaps lesser-known stories that are by turns tragic, absurd, and occasionally redemptive.

 

While the book moves beyond boys with guitars and bad habits by way of original Supreme Florence Ballard, two former members of Destiny’s Child and prodigal Sugababe Siobhan Donaghy, at the centre of this are what he calls its lodestones; Steven Adler, late of Guns N’ Roses, and Nirvana’s ousted guitarist, Jason Everman. Everman’s story is particularly jaw dropping, as he moves from awkward band outsider to become a crack soldier in America’s Special Forces.

 

As someone who has worked in the music business over several decades, Collinson uses his industry insider status to his advantage, as the book moves beyond pithy journalistic overview to something increasingly personal. This culminates in the two chapters on mercurial grime auteur, Wiley, who he managed. In this way, Collinson’s book lives up to its subtitle in a series of pop and roll Greek tragedies writ large. 

 

Published by Constable on 22^ndFebruary, £25

The List, February 2024

 

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