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John Robb in conversation with 'Kill Your Friends' author John Niven
John Niven was born in Irvine, Ayrshire. He has written for The Times, Independent, Word and FHM among other publications. He is also the author of the novella Music from Big Pink and the novel Kill Your Friends.
Kill Your Friends, is the dark tale of a young A&R man during the Britpop era. Niven was an A&R man himself during this period at London Records and Independiente.
Close friend James Dean Bradfield says 'John was one of the first people I met in London who talked about the lyrics as much as the music. I was impressed by the fact that he always started with words. We inevitably bonded over The Clash and he knew really obscure songs. At one point we lived around the corner from one another and I'd go round to his house and have to ring the bell for ages, as he'd always be inside throwing shapes and jumping up and down and trying to get his guitar to sound exactly like Mick Jones'
'While it was obvious that John was a working-class lad, he also got a First-class degree from Glasgow. It was clear to me that writing was his natural talent, because he was so anecdotal and always quoting stuff. At some point we all said to him, "Why don't you start writing?" and I think it was a relief when he did.'
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Tags: books music john robb john niven a&r
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