Reviewed by Tony Cummings

A bright, snazzily designed, and, at times, absorbing biography of Delirious?, Purepop? manages to bring out a band history without falling into the pitfalls of the written by the band's publicist' genre. In fact, Craig on the whole shows considerable skill in charting what is still a band in its infancy with plenty of tasty trivia along the way (did you know that Jon once played in a band called Disneyland Freakshow where he wore a dress on stage?). The potential difficulties writing both for a Christian and non-Christian readership is in the main circumnavigated by Craig and if occasionally he flounders (a reference, "working their mojo", in the preface was a tad insensitive to pastoral sensitivities while in the previous sentence referring to "the worship scene" really needs unpacking for non-Christians) but these are minor quibbles. The author gets some penetrating quotes, particularly from Martin, and the whole thing is a cohesive snapshot of Littlehampton's finest.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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