Arguments Yard: 35 Years Of Ranting Verse And Thrash Mandola

Launched into public consciousness by John Peel in the early 1980s, poet, musician, journalist and


political activist Attila the Stockbroker has since spent thirty five years touring the world as a self-


sustaining, one man DIY cottage industry. Having performed over three thousand gigs in twenty four


countries, releasing thirty records and seven books of poetry along the way, he pauses here to relate his


life story, a tale of ranting verse, punk rock and his relationship with the ever changing, increasingly


corporate minded politics of the last five decades.  


 


An autobiography like no other, ‘Arguments Yard’ bounces effortlessly from frontline tales of touring East


Germany, the first ever punk performance in Stalinist Albania, being thrown out of one of his own gigs and


the ongoing fight – often literally – with the fascist thuggery which blighted the punk rock scene to more


homely anecdotes concerning his coastal upbringing and love of his home in West Sussex, his involvement


with Brighton and Hove Albion FC and his journey into a career which has lasted far longer than the


ranting verse fad which spawned it.  


 


Full of humour and intellect, and peppered with encounters with notable figures, ‘Arguments Yard’


demonstrates a depth rarely found in the everyday performer’s autobiography, and relates an important


social history, being a left wing activist’s eyewitness journey through the great political battles and


movements of recent times. Rock Against Racism, the Anti-Nazi League, the miners’ strikes, the Wapping


dispute, Red Wedge, the Poll Tax and campaigns against two Gulf Wars are all analysed from a ring side


perspective before the author packs his bags and takes us on another tour of Australia, Canada, New


Zealand, the USA or Europe.


 


Now a long established Glastonbury regular, a legend of his much beloved football club and the organiser


of his own hugely popular beer and music festival, Glastonwick, Attila The Stockbroker remains as focussed


and active as ever and continues to perform around a hundred gigs a year to diverse audiences across the


English speaking world. His message is a simple one:  you don’t need to be ‘a celebrity’ to lead a life


earning your living doing what you love to do. You just need a way with words, the self-confidence and


organizational ability of Napoleon and skin thicker than the armour of a Chieftain tank.


 


‘Arguments Yard’ is the perfect antidote to the countless fake tan splattered and empty-headed


celebrity autobiographies that increasingly fill the nation’s bookshelves…


 

N.B: This title is released 7th September 2015 and will not be dispatched until this date.