Rock and Roll dispatches: Publicist Alan Edwards talks Bowie and Beckham in new memoir

Playing football with Bob Marley, admiring the Sistine Chapel with David Bowie, being mentored by Mick Jagger... these are just some of the many stories told in a new memoir from publicist Alan Edwards.

I Was There: Dispatches from a Life in Rock and Roll is a first-person account from Edwards, the “godfather of modern music PR”, detailing his colourful life so far and all the musicians he’s met and worked with along the way.

Published by Simon & Schuster on 6 June 2024, the book traces Edwards’ career from the London punk scene of the Seventies to his collaborations with Bowie and his move into pop with the Spice Girls.

“Along the way, we’re treated to all the entertaining tales of debauchery and rock-star antics you might expect, but more uniquely we’re privy to Edwards’ fascinating observations about the brilliant artists he has worked with, and what makes them tick,” a press release for the book says.

“We also get a front-row seat to the rise of PR as a major force in British society, from the seven-figure media deal Edwards brokered for the Beckhams’ wedding, to the role of spin in the New Labour government.”

Edwards is the founder and CEO of public relations firm The Outside Organisation, which has represented clients working in music, football, charity and events, as well as members of the royal family.

Over a 45-year career, he has personally worked with music legends including Bowie, The Who, Blondie, Led Zeppelin, Amy Winehouse, Sir Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Prince and Britney Spears.

“Even as Edwards grows into the consummate PR, playing a crucial background role in the lives and careers of some of the world’s biggest stars, he retains a powerful sense of being an outsider – never forgetting how lucky he is to look back on decades of music and culture and say, ‘I was there,’” the synopsis reads.

“At times in my career I’ve felt like a foreign correspondent, bag packed and always ready to fly off to the next conflict zone,” Edwards said in a statement.

“I realised early on that I was a witness to rock and roll history – I was always writing notes on scraps of paper, airline tickets or the backs of my hands. But it was only years later, when I finally sat down to make sense of it all, that I realised I had wandered through some of the most incredible moments in the last half-century of culture.”