Del Amitri frontman Justin Currie reflects on life as a touring musician in the shadow of his life changing Parkinson's diagnosis
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"A Latter-day Lear. A truly remarkable book" John Niven, The Spectator
"Might just be the finest music memoir of recent years" Independent
"A minor masterpiece" Classic Pop
"Full of life and joy and copious swearing" The Herald
Del Amitri frontman Justin Currie reflects on life as a touring musician in the shadow of his life changing Parkinson's diagnosis.
It's 2022 and we join Justin at the doctor's office, looking down the barrel of a Parkinson's diagnosis. After concerned fans noticed a tremor in his hand, Currie sought the medical advice which led him to the discovery that would throw his future into uncertainty.
The immediate fallout of his diagnosis is laid bare in Currie's candid, stream of consciousness voice. A voice that is also by turns poetic, self-deprecating and darkly humorous across a series of diary entries that capture Justin's innermost feelings - part travelogue, part confessional.
Following a coming to terms with the situation whilst on tour in the U.S, the second half of the story joins Currie in 2024, supporting Simple Minds on tour with Del Amitri. Anger, heartbreak and a looming sense of finality concoct a terse relationship between what once was and what may never be. Yet, page after page, what prevails is the achingly perfect timing of his acerbic wit.
The Tremolo Diaries is a beautiful and unique meditation on illness and aging. It is a twilight years reflection on band life in the 21st Century. It's a travelogue around the world's art galleries, parks, bars and sites of natural beauty. And most importantly, it is about love and friendship, adversity and courage, life and loss.
In a first-of-its-kind exploration of Parkinson's by a multi-platinum selling musician, The Tremolo Diaries looks the dramatic irony of Currie's affliction in the eye, puts down the guitar, and returns the needle to the start of the song.
