Book cover of Up Above the City, Down Beneath the Stars

Book description

In Up Above the City, Down Beneath the Stars, the enigmatic Barry Adamson shines a probing light into his own heart of darkness.

Born in the black and white world of post-industrial Manchester, Adamson saw music as a chance to turn his world technicolour. Propelled into punk via Magazine, he…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Up Above the City, Down Beneath the Stars as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The Manchester evoked by Joy Division and Barry Adamson's first band, Magazine, also entered the Eighties a ravaged post-industrial city, strafed first by the Luftwaffe and then its own planners, who erected Brutalist estates over its Victorian past.

The son of a white Mancunian mother and black Jamaican father, Adamson grew up in some of the worst of the city's social housing in the Hulme of the Sixties. Another Selby aficionado, Barry recounts the story his challenging childhood with a picaresque, magical realist flair.

Music offers both salvation and damnation – as he progresses through Magazine and into Nick Cave's…

If you love Up Above the City, Down Beneath the Stars...

Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Want books like Up Above the City, Down Beneath the Stars?

Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 53 books like Up Above the City, Down Beneath the Stars.

Browse books like Up Above the City, Down Beneath the Stars

Book cover of Paradoxia: A Predator's Diary
Book cover of Electric Eden: Unearthing Britain's Visionary Music
Book cover of The Devil Is a Gentleman: The Life and Times of Dennis Wheatley

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,395

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like Up Above the City, Down Beneath the Stars, you might also like...

Book cover of Ramón Ramirez's Dog: Reflections on Then and Now

Ramón Ramirez's Dog by David J. Dunford,

Ramon Ramirez’s Dog is a collection of essays written over the years about the adventures and misadventures, mostly outside but occasionally inside the diplomatic career of a U.S. ambassador. Common threads weaving the stories together are a desire for a life well-lived, balancing career with family and friends, keeping physically…

Book cover of I, Robot Alien

I, Robot Alien by Joel R. Dennstedt,

“Intelligent, unique, and tremendously entertaining.” - Readers' Favorite 2025

BOOKLIFE EDITOR’S PICK!

EARTH… CENTURIES AFTER THE FALL!

I was created by beings who couldn’t touch this world... only watch it crumble. Every twenty years, a new tribe... a new hope... a new failure.

I was told, “Do not interfere.” But…

5 book lists we think you will like!