We are pleased and excited to announce our keynote speakers:

On Friday we have Tom Hingley (author of Carpet Burns: Life with Inspiral Carpets) booked as our first keynote speaker. Tom was lead singer of Inspiral Carpets, one of the big three bands of the Manchester movement, along with The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays. Tom’s memoir details what it is like to be the centre of a musical movement and details the dynamics of the band.  Tom will be discussing the process of writing Carpet Burns, his ongoing musical career and the relationship between music and writing. He will be giving a reading, performing a couple of songs and engaging in Q&A. We also have space in a local venue for some live music and DJs so that we can carry on the conversations and discussions into the evening.  http://tomhingley.co.uk/

Our Saturday keynote speaker is acclaimed journalist and author Lucy O’Brien. Lucy’s She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music is now into its third edition and her celebrated biography Madonna: Like an Icon is set for an updated release this summer.  Lucy will be discussing the shifts in writing that mean music memoir is now less about flashy celebrity biogs and grand narratives, more about the ‘other stories’, the stories less covered. Women have traditionally been left out of the official rock canon, but now their memoirs are revitalising the genre. Frank, funny and inspiring, many women are reflecting on their life and musical creativity.  Currently working on her own memoir about punk and feminism, Lucy talks about the female music memoir as an emerging form and a new direction for music writing. http://lucyobrien.co.uk/

We have some exciting and innovative suggestions for papers and other contributions coming in.  Send us your ideas by 6th June – MusicMemoryMemoir@outlook.com

You can book our event at: https://store.yorksj.ac.uk/conferences-and-events/conferences-events/conferences/twisting-my-memory-man-music-memory-memoir