NOW that A GUY CALLED GERALD is finally getting the acclaim he deserves, perhaps you could fill me in on the mysterious tape "Trip City" which I recently found at a record fair. The music is tremendous and one of my friends says it originally came with a book, although I bought it on its own. What was this book? Is it worth hunting down?

SCOTT ALDERTON, Newquay

THE book in question, also called "Trip City", was written by Trevor Miller and published in 1989 by Avernus (ISBN 1-871503-02-7), but has long been out of print. The story was essentially a post-modern attempt to describe clubbing in Soho in the Nineties, the short sentences and cut-up style made more unusual by the green print. Opinions about it differ. One of our journalists, Ngaire Ruth,says it's fairly unreadable.

One fan, however, was A Guy Called Gerald himself, who Miller had sent an early draft of his book, along with a request to provide some music to accompany the release. The result was the five-track cassette, which appeared alongside the novel in a clear plastic box. Of these cuts ("Trip City", "Valentine's Theme", "At The Mambo", "FX" and "Soho Chances"), only "FX" ever made it to vinyl. It was released as a single on Sony at the beginning of 1990 (12-Inch/CD, AGCGT/C 1), to be followed by a second 12-inch features a Derrick May remix (AGCG X1).

Trevor Miller subsequently went on to write film scripts. A Guy Called Gerald is meanwhile currently working on his next single, which is due to be released in September.

[Author: Muzik]