Wolverhampton Literature Show: Miles Hunt to talk to fans about The Wonder Stuff Diaries

Stourbridge singer/songwriter Miles Hunt, the man who propelled The Wonder Stuff to No1, will talk to fans about The Wonder Stuff Diaries '90-'94 at The Slade Rooms, in Broad Street, tonight.

He'll talk about the book, reading extracts, then play a few tunes. The second half will follow a similar format before he takes a 30-minute Q&A with the audience.

The book is presently being written and will be published later this year. Tonight's talk gives fans a unique opportunity to get an exclusive insight into it.

Miles says: "The book picks up when the previous diary left off, with Bob Jones.

"The last one left off with Bob going, but there are a few more thoughts about Bob in this one.

"After that, we replace Bob and go out with The Mission to mainland Europe and North America, touring extensively.

"And then we get back from the touring at the end of 1990 and we have to start recording Never Loved Elvis. It was a ridiculous five-and-a-half months. If I'd known that we'd be in the studio for that long and only done one live gig while we made it I'd have never agreed to it."

While The Wonder Stuff entered their most successful phase, they also started to fall apart. On the outside, everything looked rosy as they went to No1, sold out huge tours and played to 22,000 fans at Walsall's Bescot Stadium. But inside the camp things got so bad Miles eventually refused to travel with the rest of the band to Japan, signalling their final split.

"It wasn't a happy time. It was fraught with frustration. I'd basically written the whole album when we did Never Loved Elvis, aside from Cheap Seats. It was no longer four guys getting on with each other having a good time with Pat Collier. It was now me looking after my songs. There wasn't much of a gang mentality. The first book was a four-and-a-half-year ascent. It was about getting to where we always wanted to be.

"But once we got there, we didn't know what to do. It's like a dog chasing a car. If the dog catches the car he doesn't know what to do. That was us."

That doesn't mean the book is a misery-fest. It's packed full of gags. During those four years, The Wonder Stuff met Vic Reeves for the first time, working with him to take Dizzy to No1. They also worked with the brilliant Kirsty MacColl. "We couldn't help but have a wonderful time with them.

"You know, the stuff in the diaries isn't 'this is all getting too much, now I'm frustrated'. But now I'm 50, looking back, the success of the band can only have caused problems.

"The first four years were a f***ing laugh and we couldn't' believe we were getting away with it. But by the age of 24, I was running a business and people were counting on me to pay their bills. I felt let down.

"We did the Pheonix Festival and then we were supposed to go to Japan. But I couldn't bear the thought of travelling with those guys for another week. I just wanted to do the last gig and get away from them. By then, I'd been auditioned and got the job at MTV as a presenter on 120 minutes. All I wanted to do was get Phoenix out of the way. It wasn't emotional for me. It was 90 minutes to get out the way."

Miles loves doing talks about his books. "I do. When I did the first lot of talks on the last book, the first two nights were nerve-wracking.

"But then I realised the audience were there to encourage me and it's lovely to be this age. Our music was the soundtrack to an important period in a lot of people's lives. It's been a privilege."

The book won't be Miles' last. He's already started working on a novel. That should give fans an idea of what to ask in tonight's Q&A. Tickets are available from the venue.

By Andy Richardson