Logo Magazine Review - How NOT to Make It in the Pop World John Barrow was a regular fixture on TV throughout the eighties - playing tenor sax for the likes of Fun Boy Three and Banarama - almost made it with his own band The Swinging Laurels (No. 1 in the indie charts, a Peel Session), appeared on Top Of The Pops and worked with Boy George, Iggy Pop, The Clash and The Beautiful South. He has, it seems, seen it all. Diaristic in tone (indeed, it is subtitled 'Diary Of An Almost Has-Been'), the strength of this book is its painful revelation of just how tough it is to catch a break as a musician, as true then as it is now. He has many tales - though few involve sex ‘n’ drugs - but a stiff writing style and a surfeit of exclamation marks make it sometimes less than involving. That said, it’s a good read, essential for dispelling the notion that with a contract come unlimited riches. The most cautionary of tales. Gillian Nash Click here to read the next review.