Of all the individuals we have chatted to at 909originals in our seven-year history, Richard Norris has to be one of our favourites – The Grid and Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve artist has collaborations with everyone from Joe Strummer to Timothy Leary to Genesis P-Orridge in his archive, has produced an unlikely chart topper in the form of Swamp Thing (a line-dance classic!) and continues to be one of the most industrious and inspirational artists in electronica.
Plus, he’s a bloody nice bloke, as our 2021 interview shows.
With this in mind, it’s fantastic to hear that Norris has a forthcoming autobiography in the works – Strange Things Are Happening, which is set to be released in April 2024.
On why he decided to put his story so far down on paper, Norris explains, “It’s been a blast travelling down the sonic rabbit hole I first dived headlong into as a teenager. There’s anecdotes and tall tales aplenty here – many strange things happened, and continue to do so – yet, first and foremost, I wanted to create and deliver an engaging piece of writing. A tribute to the power of creativity, collaboration, and community within music.
“Writing this memoir has given me a greater insight into why I do what I do, why I continue to do it, and why I always will. Hopefully that spirit of curiosity and creativity will rub off on and inspire anyone who reads it.”
The book is set to be published by the always-reliable White Rabbit Books, with publisher Lee Brackstone recalling that he first encountered Norris and his music when he heard The Grid’s Floatation in a “chillout room at a dodgy rave in the northeast. This is the memoir of a true pop culture Zelig whose tentacles encompass punk, deep psych garage, and of course acid house and ambient, most notably his work with The Grid and Beyond the Wizard’s Sleeve.
“But Richard is also an elegant memoirist with a heady story to tell and Strange Things Are Happening is a rich and funny document of a life spent making and evangelising about music from St Albans to Lewes, by way of pretty much every major event in British pop culture over the past thirty+ years.”
Richard Norris – Strange Things Are Happening will be published by White Rabbit on 25 April 2024 in hardback, trade paperback, audio and ebook, alongside a Record Store Exclusive Edition.
And to whet your appetite, why not give our interview with the man himself a read. 
Photo by Josh Hight.
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