Howling back to the days when we used to pass the Skinhead and Hell's Angels books around school, and watched Hammer Horror films at home on our black-and-white televisions, Tim Wells has written a fiendish tale of a skinhead werewolf rampaging through London in 1979. Being a sharp-dressed lad (still), the clothes and music are spot on. Snap up a copy before it bites your hand off. John King, author of Football Factory, Human Punk, Skinheads, and more.
Skinheads and werewolves and reggae and boozers, lager and kicking in fat city losers, Punk rock and Sta-prest when Lene she sings. Tim Wells has written a novel about a few of my favourite things...
You can feel the sticky floors of the gigs and the sweaty menace is tangible as you read Tim Wells’ swaggering prose. This is no rose tinted amble down memory lane. The landscape of his world is a London that was swallowed whole by the eighties. For a book so full of life, there’s a lot of death in it as well. Beautiful. Brutal. Brutus. It’s got the lot! Phill Jupitus
1979: punk, reggae, boots, braces, and button down shirts. The full moon rises, a skinhead’s sideburns grow.
Packed full of music, style, and bovver, Moonstomp is the written in blood story of a teenage skinhead who’s also a werewolf. Aggro on the streets of London has never been like this.
The full moon rises and bodies fall.
This pulp novel is in the style of the 70s skinhead/Hell’s Angels books churned out by the New English Library, books that were passed round school such as Skinhead, Suedehead, Chopper, and Speed Freaks.
Tim Wells was a crop headed yoof that saw the bands, bought the records, and looked sharp. He’s still got an overflowing shelf of 70s pulp classics and sports Brutus button down shirts and knows how to shine his brogues.
Film by Guen Murroni
Music by Shocks of Mighty!
More information
Tim Wells
Tim Wells is made of reggae, lager top, pie and mash, and Leyton Orient FC.
‘London poetry landmark’ – TLS
‘suedehead bard of N16’ – the Grauniad
‘bizarre character from the East End’ – the Times
‘a neatly twisted line in rhetoric’ - NME
‘Working class hero’ – Morning Star
‘like Hogarth’ – Poetry Magazine
‘thug’ – NME, 18.08.84
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5th June 2019They're on their way...
24th May 2019Literary Festival
As part of Stoke Newington Literary Festival I'll be reading from the book and discussing aggro and horror pulp with my old skinhead mate, comic actor, Paul Putner. Not only the Curious Orange but also Paul from Fat Fighters. 2 Tone's Rhoda Dakar is chairing.
Sunday, June 9th, 4 - 5pm. £4 door pressure. Ryan's Bar, 181 Stoke Newington Church St, London, N16 0UL.
The book has gone to print today. It'll be with you soon.
9th April 2019In the Library with the lead pipe
All the edits are done, and we're putting the finishing touches to the cover.
Ingrid Pitt is hard at work getting the book shelves sorted. The moon is rising.
23rd March 2019Editing
I'm finishing the copy editing this weekend. This is when grammar, copyright, and full stops all get looked at.
I was particulary pleased with this note on the copy editor's report: "Eurgh. This may be the greatest simile I’ve ever come across." You'll find out soon just exactly it relates to once the book is out.
It certainly put a spring in my step.
We're looking good for a June launch.…
26th February 2019Drafter Hours
I've got a pile of notes back from the editor and will be working on the final edit of the book over the weekend.
I've also met with the cover designer. I took a pile of New English Library in to the Unbound office and we looked at fonts, images, and blurb.
All looking good for June. Quite a bit of work to do, but I'm drafting and grafting.
29th December 2018Print
The book is now 100% funded and Unbound have put a July date for it to be with you.
Big thanks to everyone who's supported.
I'm planning to be doing some more readings through 2019 and to lower the tone at some literary festivals in the summer.
17th December 2018We're Funded
The book is now 100% fully funded. Big thanks to everyone who supported. Big love, as ever, to the mighty Clare Pollard who was the first person to put in an order.
The book is written, but does need a final edit. Both Unbound and I are metting later this week to look at a release date. More details once we have them.
Once again a massive thank you to everyone.
13th December 2018All the Skinhead Girls I Ever Went Out With
Moonstomp is the first fiction I've successfully written. I normally write poetry and have been gigging as a poet with my writing for about 35 years. I've recently been writing a series of poems about girlfriends I had in my youth. many were skinhead girls. Here is one of the poems, and don't worry; there are none in the novel.
All the Skinhead Girls I Ever Went Out With
Were tougher
than…
25th November 2018Grrrl Power
Moonstomp has been bringing the werewolf out in plenty of you...
Salena Godden menaced by Sophie Cameron
Stewart Home
Peyvand
Niall O'Sullivan and Maricel
Unbound's John Mitchinson
1st November 2018Suedeheads, Sorts, and Smoothies
“Being a suedehead with its loose links appealed to the new Joe Hawkins. He began to study those other young men on the Underground, trying to separate the wolves from the ewes.”
An evening of Richard Allen, 'Skinhead' and the New English Library in the West End:
Stewart Home (Pure Mania, Defiant Pose)
Tim Wells (reading from his skinhead werewolf novel 'Moonstomp')
Paul Hallam (Old Dog Books…
17th October 2018Reggae is the ONLY Music
Roger Mills was born in Hackney Hospital, 1954. "I have always lived in Hackney, in flats until I was five and then a house ever since. I went to secondary school in Clapton, a comprehensive. It was a huge modern school with thirty or more kids in a class. I worked for about five years in various advertising studios when I left. I was a 'paste up' man, he's the one who colates all the different ingredients…
23rd September 2018The Cover
Here're a couple of drafts for the book cover. It still needs some work on fonts, wording etc. but I'm liking the orange and the cover picture is top drawer. Photographer Chris Low has caught the New English Library vibe and the orange type has a suitably suedehead's socks garishness to it.
16th September 2018Hard As Nails
Hard As Nails was the daddy of the sussed skinhead zines that came out in the 80s. It was known for its decent taste in music and shmatta. There was even a decent NME write up.
The distinctve cartoons in the zine were drawn by co-editor Ian Hayes-Fry and the lad has got his pencil set from the back of the desk and drawn a special Moonstomp cartoon.
I was an avid reader of Hard As Nails and we…
22nd August 2018Sociology
'Sociologists write reams about the alienation of capitalism. We know, we read it. We see ourselves described in those blue Pelican sociology books but never understood. We know all about alienation and capital, we don’t need it explained by soft handed wankers that can’t see what we value. We produce style, dance steps, grace. The strange beauty of the murmuration of starlings across the sky, the…
3rd August 2018Reading
I'll be doing a turn at Bloodletting, a night for new writing at the Poetry Cafe on Wednesday, August 15th. I'll be reading from the book. There'll also be some other literary types doing the do. The Poetry Cafe, 22 Betterton Street, Covent Garden, London.
Kick off is at 7.30pm. No door pressure.
There is a bar. I'm still off the sauce.
17th July 2018Shmatta
Clothes, and more importantly style, are at the heart of skinhead. The fashions change but the basic style remains - more or less. Moonstomp is set in 1979, much closer to original skinheads of the late 60s than we are now to the skinheads and punks of 1979. The look in 79 was much more Harrington, toniks, decent shirt, and looking smart than the scruffs that were thrown up in the early 80s.
The…
1st July 2018Badges
The book is set in 1979 and badges were an integral part of 'the look', be that punk, skinhead, reggae, metal, or whatever. The were pinned to the collars of Harringtons, the lapels of leathers, and even on braces.
There's a bit in chapter 7 about how badges played their part in meeting people and sussing them out...
As Joyce came back from the toilet and was strutting it to show off her new…
14th June 2018Playlist - Version
The second half of the soundtrack to the book.
Danger Signs – Penetration
Wolves and Leopards – Dennis Brown
I Thirst – Dillinger
Mash You Down – Cornell Campbell
Cool Out Son – Junior Murvin
Werewolves of London – Flamin’ Groovies
Groovy Times – the Clash
Barnabas Collins – Lone Ranger
Pressure Rock – Captain Sinbad
Want Fi Goh Rave – Linton Kwesi Johnson
Red…
8th June 2018Playlist - A Side
There's a lot of music in the book, mostly punk and reggae tunes from 1979 and a bit earlier. There are quite a few favourites of mine mentioned.
Here's the first part of the soundtrack to the book.
Mucky Pup – Puncture
Bird Song – Lene Lovich
Jilted John – Jilted John
Salvation – Misty In Roots
Lucky Number – Lene Lovich
Babylon’s Burning – the Ruts
Champagne Charlie …
29th May 2018Interwebs
There's a poem from me and a bit about the novel on the cool Cold Lips site.
The skinhead website Creases Like Knives has me talking about the book and you can read the opening chapter.
11th May 2018In A Rut
I'm well pleased that the book met 25% of its funding in a fortnight. Thanks everyone who's pledged. The very first person to was the mighty Clare Pollard. Books are going to all the decent London boroughs, oop north, and as far away as Canada, the USA, and Hong Kong.
A big thank you to everyone. Now... onwards!
5th May 2018Mucky Pup
The novel is set in 1979 and it was an amazing year for music. Punk still had some teeth, reggae was stepping into dancehall and both punk and reggae were in conversation. Dub was showing the possibilities of what was around us could be, 2 Tone was moving, as well as what became known as post-punk throwing up the weird and wonderful; Cabaret Voltaire's 'Nag Nag Nag' was a fave of my sister and me…
29th April 2018Pulp
During my teenage years I read a lot of New English Library pulp novels. I was a young suedehead giving it the big 'un in button down, Harrington, and brogues. Many of the books were based around youth cults.
The books were pulpand wrong in so many ways but did get teenagers turning pages and they were passed around school playgrounds avidly.
