This is the story of a band that’s always on the brink: of stardom, of madness, of brilliance, of disgrace. Fat White Family, the cult indie band started in 2011 by brothers Lias and Nathan Saoudi, along with Saul Adamczewski, have had an unsettled lineup and a bumpy career. Based in grimy south London and feted as a brilliant, incendiary live act, the band’s records have earned mixed reviews, and their antics – sometimes naked, often provocative, usually drug-fuelled – tend to overshadow their art and their ambitions.
Ten Thousand Apologies, with its detailed descriptions of fuck-ups and come-downs, of opportunities missed and decisions untaken, isn’t going to change this reputation. Towards the end, author Adelle Stripe, who co-writes with Lias, describes the FWF as “a drug band with a rock problem”; a great line that could be applied to many excellent bands but is especially accurate here. The latter part of the book describes a gradually tightening noose of drug excess and utter chaos. If that sounds sexy, well, Stripe understands the Fat Whites’ scummy romantic appeal. The bleak and the funny overlap throughout.
