I is for ‘I Think It’s Going to Work Out Fine’, a beautiful Ry Cooder instrumental which seemed like a perfect note of optimism on which to end the story. You can find it on his Bop Till You Drop album. If there is ever a film version of the novel (I’m open to offers, just sa...

One of the things I kept in mind when curating Dave’s own taste in music for Dead Man Singing was trying to ensure that he was his own person, not just an identikit reflection of my own record collection. One of the big areas of difference is personified in Billy Bragg.

Dave was from the gener...

So, the Beatles are number 1 again. Despite being too young to remember them as an active, going concern of a group, the Beatles were the first band I truly loved. Sometime in the 1970s, when I was at Primary School, the BBC showed a series of Beatles films at Christmas, and I was hooked. My older c...

H is for Hothouse Flowers, a band who Cindy introduces Dave to, her good taste in music confirming his growing sense that she was someone he wanted to spend more time with. I saw Hothouse Flowers at Hammersmith Odeon in the late 80s – I can’t remember if it was before or after their seco...

G is for gigs. Dead Man Singing begins with Dave Masters taking the stage for a gig at the Jericho Tavern in Oxford, a far cry from the sell-out runs at Hammersmith Odeon which he enjoyed in his 70s heyday. Subsequently, the action criss-crosses the country at a series of gigs where Dave is variousl...