Welcome to Proper Mental episode 99 with Ian Winwood, an author and journalist who has spent over 30 years writing for Kerrang!, NME, the Daily Telegraph and countless other publications.
His time spent in and around the music has given him an incredible insight into the lives of musicians, bands and rock stars both on and off stage.
His recent book ‘Bodies’ explores the music industry and the rock n roll lifestyle and how this way of life impacts mental health.
In this episode, Ian and I chat about the world of music, the type of people it usually attracts and why it seems to be such a breeding ground for mental illness and addiction.
Ian tells me all about the bands he has met and written about over the years (Frank Turner, Biffy Clyro, Metallica, Yard Act, Green Day) how the different ways that working in music affects mental health and how bizarre behaviour and serious addiction issues are completely normalised and, more often than not, celebrated.
We chat about the process of setting out to write the book and what he discovered along the way and we also chat about Ian’s own experiences with mental ill health and how he was able to blend in perfectly within the dysfunctional world of rock and roll excess.
Bodies is one of the best books about music and mental health that I have ever read and I can’t recommend it highly enough!
It was such a pleasure to hear all about it from Ian who was incredibly engaging and generous with his time. You can connect with him on social media @ianwinwood1.
You can read an extract from Bodies here : Read an exclusive extract from Ian Winwood's 'Bodies: Life And Death in Music' (rollingstone.co.uk)
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Thanks for listening!