Ian Pirkis has worked as a roadie on tours by everyone from AC/DC to Cold Chisel. We thought it was time to get a roadie to review a book on…roadies!

If it’s wet drink it. If it’s dry smoke it. If it’s white snort it. If it moves f*ck it, and if it sits there doing nothing, put it on the Truck.  So says the Roadies creed offering an insight to the hard work and humor that exist behind-the-scenes in the music industry.

Every concert, stage event, festival, or pub gig needs a team of specialist crew working early to set up, and then late into the night to load out gear. The show can’t happen without them. Collectively these hardworking Men and Women are known as Roadies. Stuart Coupe’s new book accurately tells the history of Roadies in Australia covering the early days, of One Man, a Band and a Van to Festivals such as Sunbury through to the who’s who of artists that have toured Australia over the last 60 years.

Stuart’s Book provides a clear picture of the hard graft of backstage life working long hours with little sleep, only to load the gear out, pack the truck, drive through the night and do it again the next night and the night after that. Well researched, Roadies shows the addictive nature of the Music industry, the specialized nature, the strange hours and above all the unique characters and humor that comes with building stages and loading gear.

Having previously written Music industry Books – The Promoters, Gudinski and Tex, Coupe writes with accuracy and passion for the subject. With stories covering Tana Douglas (AC/DC’s first female and underage Roadie) and industry legends $crooge Madigan, Howard Freeman and many others, Coupe’s book is a funny accurate and highly readable backstage pass to the Australian Music industry.

Roadies is published by Hachette Australia. Click to buy here from Booktopia