It’s 1999 and Daniel Earl is 25 and now famous. He’s the keyboard maestro in a band which’s become successful, with his bandmates Dave Corbossa, his best friend, on drums and the mercurial Alana on bass, who’s also the main squeeze of band leader Torin Fortescue de Vere, after whom the band, Torin, is named. The band’s success means Daniel is able to move his doting single mother away from the flat on the estate they grew up on and into their own house. The debut album’s been a success, the band’s toured Europe and the US, the next album’s on the way, and he’s met Kerry. Daniel’s life couldn’t be better, right?
It’s 1999, and Daniel Earl is now 25 years old and enjoying newfound fame. He plays keyboards in a band that has achieved significant success, alongside his best friend Dave Corbossa on drums and mercurial Alana on bass. Alana also happens to be romantically involved with Torin Fortescue de Vere, the band leader after whom they named themselves—Torin. Thanks to their rise to stardom, Daniel has been able to relocate his caring single mother from their childhood flat in the estate to a house of their own. Their debut album was well-received, they’ve toured across Europe and the United States, a follow-up album is in progress, and he’s recently met Kerry. Could life possibly get any better for Daniel?
Well, actually, it could. His life’s a roller coaster ride. He lives with his mother, who carries the emotional baggage of becoming a single mother aged 17, with a son facially scarred from an accident she blames herself for, and their emotional connection is central to the story. The band’s under the sway of an arrogant, elitist, public school control freak who, wanting to move in a ‘new way,’ changes the bands personnel quite unceremoniously so as to become more synth-oriented, there are ongoing money issues which Torin is reluctant to explain, Kerry turns out to have depths Daniel hadn’t realised and there’re quite unexpected connections between band members and those close to it with some quite surprising results. What’s even worse .. to Daniel’s horror, Torin has unilaterally mutilated one of his songs, with the band now sounding like their own covers band. As Daniel says, “As artists, we ask only to hear what we do, to be heard in the way we designed it.“
Dave Barbarossa’s earlier novel, Mud Sharks, is semi-autobiographical, depicting the life of a young teenager in North London during the late seventies. Considering his background as a drummer for bands like Adam and the Ants, Bow Wow Wow, and Republica in the early eighties, it raises an intriguing question about how much of his personal journey finds its way into this narrative. The book explores themes involving egotistical singers, dubious managers, various opportunistic figures, and other unsavory characters lurking around the fringes. It also features a band leader who asserts that “the problem with the music industry is that there are musicians involved.”
This captivating read, Mute, is skillfully crafted. It tells a compelling story about chasing dreams filled with unexpected twists and turns. While one might wish to conclude that everyone ends up living happily ever after—spoiler alert—it’s important to remember that life rarely follows a straight path.
