Mad World

Mad World is a highly entertaining oral history that celebrates the New Wave music phenomenon of the 1980s via new interviews with 35 of the most notable artists of the period. Each chapter begins with a discussion of their most popular song but leads to stories of their history and place in the scene, ultimately painting a vivid picture of this colourful, idiosyncratic time. Mixtape suggestions, fashion sidebars and quotes from famous contemporary admirers help fill out the fun. Participants include members of Duran Duran, New Order, The Smiths, Tears for Fears, Adam Ant, Echo and the Bunnymen, Devo, ABC, Spandau Ballet, A Flock of Seagulls, Thompson Twins and INXS.

"Mad World is an exhaustive, revelatory history of one of the most important eras of modern pop music. Lori Majewski and Jonathan Bernstein lived it, breathed it, and loved it--and make you want to relive it all over again. In a word: awesome."--Shirley Halperin "Music Editor, Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter", "Mad World is an exhaustive, revelatory history of one of the most important eras of modern pop music. Lori Majewski and Jonathan Bernstein lived it, breathed it, and loved it -- and make you want to relive it all over again. In a word: awesome."-- "Shirley Halperin, Music Editor, The Hollywood Reporter", "Here it is--the whole glossy, gory, glorious story of the 1980s new wave revolution, in one addictive chapter after another. These are the artists who lived it all out, whether it's Duran Duran making the "Girls on Film" video or Kim Wilde finally explaining the "East California" enigma. Mad World captures the wild enthusiasm of the moment, evoking a time of perfect songs, innovative style, and lipstick cherry all over the lens."--Rob Sheffield "contributing editor to Rolling Stone and author of Talking to Girls About Duran Duran", "Holy Human League! Mad World professes to not be a definitive history of New Wave, but its authors could've fooled me. Every fantastic detail of the era pops back to life via the vivid tales of its top titans, from Adam Ant to Kajagoogoo (that's right! Kajagoogoo!). Getting lost in story after story made me never want to return to the world of twerking, texting and soy lattes. Come on, Eileen -- can't we just whip it good forever?"-- "Ian Drew, Entertainment Director, Us Weekly", "If you miss the days when the world was made of mesh and lace, you'll want to check out Mad World . . . hugely entertaining."-- "RollingStone.com"

Having honed her craft at teen titles Sassy and YM, Lori Majewski was a co-founder, and later editor-in-chief, of Teen People. She was also an executive editor of Entertainment Weekly and Us Weekly, and has written for Women's Health, The Guardian and more. Jonathan Bernstein is an author, journalist, and screenwriter. He is the author of, among other titles, Pretty In Pink: The Golden Age of Eighties Teen Movies and the YA novels Hottie and Burning Ambition. He has written for publications such as The Guardian, Spin, Rolling Stone, The Face, and Teen People. He has also written the feature films Just My Luck, The Spy Next Door, Larry The Cable Guy: Health Inspector, and Max Keeble's Big Move.