The new book that revisits the messy magic of the UK ’00s indie scene: “If you weren’t out, you felt like

The author of a new book about the ’00s UK scene has spoken to NME about the “hedonism and high ideals” of the time, and if another such wave could ever happen again.

1. READ MORE: Erol Alkan on the magic of ‘00s electroclash: “I believe in all of this, and you can dance to all of this”.
2. Madra Salach live in London: an unmissable live band with incredible power.
3. Bathing Suits are bringing deranged noise-punk to the dancefloor.
4. The Avalanches – ‘No Bad Memories’ review: excessive and overstimulating by design.

Para Troye Sivan, a pista de dança é um espaço de cura.

Piss: banda punk que não cede diante do brutal custo da misoginia.

Janine Warren é ex-publicitária de artistas como Johnny Marr, Bloc Party, Franz Ferdinand, The Libertines, Marianne Faithfull, Mick Jones do The Clash e muitos outros.

Having interviewed artists, friends and familiar faces from across the era along with figures including former NME editor Conor McNicholas and producer Paul Epworth, she has just published the acclaimed The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect: The Last Indie Music Scene 2000-2010.

It relives the “chaotic, creative, and utterly unrepeatable moment” of the birth of a new “British indie movement born at the dawn of social media, thriving on hyper-local scenes, legendary club nights, cheap decadence, and the sheer force of youth culture”.

The book also comes a foreword from Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos and a collection of previously unseen photography by Andy Willsher, the most celebrated gig photographer of the period.

Warren first moved to London at the turn of the century for a role at the iconic Beggars Banquet label.

Ela então assumiu uma nova função como oficial de imprensa na Coalition, quando, de repente, tudo mudou.

Warren continued: “I don’t think you realise at the time, but anyone who was anyone in the music industry was at gig that night. I’ve never seen that venue so full, and it must have all been guest list.

Quando a influência dos The Strokes se instalou, não demorou muito antes que uma nova onda de indie britânico varreu o cadáver podre dos anos 90 finais e do pós‑Britpop.

Check out the rest of our interview with Warren below, where she explained the seismic shift of the time, when the bubble burst, her thoughts on the term ‘indie sleaze’, and if another movement like that could ever be possible again.

NME: Hello Janine. It was The Strokes that first ignited the scene in the UK. Why do you think that British audiences embraced them in the way that they did.

Janine Warren: “The UK loved rock’n’roll music, and that goes back before The Beatles. We like exciting music and we had an empty space that needed filling. I guess that was it.

America operates in a different way where their radio stations want big pop and country acts and you have to do a bit more work until you’re accepted. We’re a bit more accepting of acts coming through.

Quão rápido as coisas mudaram depois daquele show no The Barfly.

What do you remember about The Libertines first making waves.

The now classic book and documentary Meet Me In The Bathroom focussed on the New York scene of the time, but your book shows that things were a bit more disparate in the UK at the time, right.

E as noites de clube em todo o Reino Unido estavam realmente juntando tudo para mostrar que algo estava acontecendo.

A música e a mensagem estavam se espalhando pela internet, mas o mundo online ainda estava em sua relativa infância. Você também poderia dizer que foi o último suspiro da era analógica.

Alex Kapranos writes in the foreword to the book that everything was driven by a certain sense of “hedonism and high ideals”. What does that mean to you.

In doing these interviews, did you uncover a less talked aspect of the era? What were the stories that surprised you the most.

The Cribs on MySpace Records? Really.

When do you think the bubble burst on that era of indie.

What do you make of the retro-fitting of the term ‘indie sleaze’.

Poderíamos ter outra onda indie enorme como aquela novamente.

The World Was a Mess But His Hair Was Perfect: The Last Indie Music Scene 2000-2010 is out now via Omnibus Press.

A voz definidora do mundo em música e cultura pop: revelando o que há de novo e o que vem por aí desde 1952.

When you purchase through affiliate links on NME.com, you may contribute to our site through commissions. Learn More.

NME Networks, a part of Caldecott Music Group. All rights reserved.