Reach for the Stars: 1996–2006: Fame, Fallout and Pop’s Final Party: A Times Summer Read 2023

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If you watched The Big Reunion on television a few years ago (or any similar programmes) or read any of the many official band books from the late 90's and early 2000's then you probably won't learn anything new from this book. That's not to say that it isn't still an interesting read but most of the interview pieces with band members are taken from past interviews or books that are already published. An outstanding music book. England's Dreaming for people with a working knowledge of 5ive.' -- Fergal Kinney More than that though, it dug right into some really thoughtful aspects when it comes to the treatment of pop; the inherent sexism and homophobia that is attached to the critical snobbery when it comes to music genres that predominantly appeal to women and gay men. Arguably the best possible combination of writer and subject since Jesus wrote the Bible.' -- Stuart Heritage, Guardian writer

michael cragg - reach for the stars: 1996–2006: fame, fallout michael cragg - reach for the stars: 1996–2006: fame, fallout

Scott There would be rows that would break into fights. And J would always be in the middle of that. There were points where a couple of us would be recording and then we’d go and the other three would come in.From Girl Power to Girls Aloud (and all the glorious points in between), the definitive study of British pop music at the turn of the millennium, told by everyone who was there.

Reach for the Stars by Michael Cragg - Signed Edition Reach for the Stars by Michael Cragg - Signed Edition

Sean There were frictions within the band. And between the band and management. Then the band and the label. Frictions everywhere. What I most liked about this is that, much as the author clearly loves 90s/2000s pop, the book also offers a lot of information about the less fun-and-bubbly side of the music industry of the time: particularly the racism and homophobia.In short: Great read for anyone interested in the late 90s/ early 2000s pop industry in the UK - whether this is because you're a fan of the music or want to find out more about how the industry worked. (Though I imagine it's a lot less enjoyable if you don't know the bands: LOTS of names.)

Reach for the Stars by Michael Cragg review - The Guardian

I was very much buying pop music through a lot of this era, so it was fascinating to read the story behind the music, as told by (most of) the people who were there. The majority of this book takes the form of quotes from the people involved - with comments and context from the author inserted where necessary. Michael Cragg is a music writer, who works (or has worked) for a lot of major UK publications - so if he hasn't interviewed the people specifically for this book, he has interviews that he's done with them in the past that he can draw on. So you have four of the five Spice Girls (you can guess which one isn't in this) and members from pretty much every band that is mentioned. As a young person at the time that a lot of this was happening, I found it really interesting to read about what was going on behind the scenes and the press coverage and see how that affected my perception of the various bands and band members involved. And of course the other thing that's really fascinating is how the spotlight of fame affected the people in the bands. Many of them were very young when they joined the bands - and you get to see an array of different ways that fame - or being in a band can mess your life up. But in the early stages of this period, a lot of it was going on behind closed doors - as the book hurtles towards the mid 00s, you see the arrival of TV talent shows and people learning how to be in a band whilst on camera and making their mistakes in public. Having written for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue and Popjustice (as well as being a few years older than me), Michael Cragg is in the perfect position to deliver an authoritative tome on this period in pop music, as well as making sense of the pitch battles between the poptivists and the real music bores. In the introduction, he makes the case that: Sean The label were in a rush and they didn’t want to wait, so they convinced the band to use a cardboard cut-out of me [in the video for Let’s Dance]. It did hurt a little bit. It was like the label saying, “Well, he’s so miserable anyway and he’s not smiling and he’s so quiet that he might as well have been a cardboard cut-out.” That’s what it felt like to me.Claire I remember Pete Waterman going crazy and causing a real stink because if it wasn’t us who should have won, Five were in that category, Cleopatra. It was all the new pop of the time. No one could believe it.