A little while ago I was contacted by a Mr Philpott about a book involving letters sent to pop and rock stars and it sounded exceptionally intriguing and really funny.
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A collection of hilarious letters to iconic pop and rock stars with fantastic in-on-the-joke replies from the artists themselves: Eurythmics, Heaven 17, Deep Purple, Devo, Dr. Hook and many, many more…
For more than a decade, Derek Philpott and his son, Dave, have been writing deliberately deranged letters to pop stars from the 1960s to the 90s to take issue with the lyrics of some of their best-known songs. They miss the point as often as they hit it.
But then, to their great surprise, the pop stars started writing back…
Dear Mr Pop Starcontains 100 of Derek and Dave’s greatest hits, including correspondence with Katrina and the Waves, Tears for Fears, Squeeze, The Housemartins, Suzi Quatro, Devo, Deep Purple, Nik Kershaw, T’Pau, Human League, Eurythmics, Wang Chung, EMF, Mott the Hoople, Heaven 17, Jesus Jones, Johnny Hates Jazz, Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine, Chesney Hawkes and many, many more.
Amazon | Goodreads | Unbound
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Dear Mr Pop Star is a very funny book, I really did laugh out loud reading it, luckily it was mostly around family so I didn’t get too many funny looks, although they all want to see what all the hilarity was about now.
I think what really had me cracking up was how witty and creative the letters were, the observations and what they managed to pull from the songs or band names made for some amusing anecdotes. It was great that some of the bands replied in the same vein, able to be just as entertaining in their responses.
I also enjoyed getting some of the insights behind where the songs came from; there are a few incidences where we are given the inspiration behind a song or a certain lyric; the stories are strange and at points rather mundane considering what came from them but it was interesting and also funnier for it.
There were a fair few occasions that I didn’t recognise a band or a song, as some of them are a little before my time so the stories maybe didn’t have quite the same impact as they would if I had known. However, this has lead me to listen to some new music and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
I think if you pick this book up, which I would recommend, you’ll be in for a right good giggle, just be wary of reading it in a very public place if you are at all self-conscious about laughing out loud.
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This is a huge tour, so be sure to check out the stops to find out more.
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Derek and Dave Philpott are the noms de plume of two ordinary members of the public, working with help from a worldwide social networking community.
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everywhere-and-nowhere.com 
Aww Kate, where to start? begin?? You are absolutely bang on about glimpsing insights behind where the songs came from and yes you will now listen to the songs completely differently as well as being entertained…it’s also lovely to hear, as we often do, that not knowing a tune encourages the reader to seek it out….but anyway, thank you, thank you thank you!! It’s been a joy corresponding with you in the weeks and weeks leading to this marvellous review and you have been lovely and supportive throughout. Just colossal t kudos not just for devoting your precious time and resources, but also for such a beautiful critique that delves right to the essence and heart of our insane little world… Best and Highest, Dave and Dad Philpott (shaking off the pseud temporarily)
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