Red Rock: The Long Strange March of Chinese Rock & Roll

I note Earnshaw Books has published Jonathan Campbell’s Red Rock: The Long Strange March of Chinese Rock & Roll. I am woefully ignorant about the history rock & roll in China (or anywhere else for that matter) but recognise that it is an important subject. This book follows on from the recent and excellent collection of photographs of Chinese rock & rollers by Matthew Niederhauser (Sound Kapital). Blurb and jacket as below – I also need a lot more convincing about the imminent success of Chinese guitar bands on the world stage!

Rock and roll – rebellious, individualistic, explosive –seems incongruent with modern Chinese society. But as the music has evolved from a Western import into something uniquely Chinese, it has shaped and been shaped by China’s unique system and its relationship with the outside world. Red Rock looks at the people and events that have created Chinese rock’s unique identity, and tracks the music’s long journey from the Mao years to present. After boiling below the surface for over twenty years and now emerging from a thriving underground scene, Chinese rock may be ready to smash its guitars on the global stage.