<p>Matt Johnson’s life story has been mapped out as one long Q&amp;A conversation from meetings with old friend, fan and BFI director Jason Wood. ‘Cognitive Dissident’ traces his trajectory from the East End to Soho to the beloved albums he made with a series of super-groups and his 2021 comeback. He looks back here at …</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… his earliest musical memories – Donovan, the Move, the Crazy World of Arthur Brown</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… the old East End and the Two Puddings pub run by his parents, “full of ghosts”, Bobby Moore, Francis Bacon and the Krays</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… his Uncle Kenny promoting the Who, the Kinks and Jerry Lee Lewis</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… “Get yourself on a sunbed!” and other advice from George Michael</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>... what he learnt at De Wolfe Music, aged 15, in the red-light Soho of the late ‘70s</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… legendary manager Stevo signing the band’s CBS contract at midnight in Trafalgar Square</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… “cigarettes, coffee, warm analogue equipment”: the Proustian scent of old studios</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… his NME ad recruiting The The members via the Residents, the Velvet Underground, Syd Barrett and Throbbing Gristle</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… being part of “the Long Mack Brigade” with Cabaret Voltaire, This Heat, Wire and the Gang of Four</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… Leonard Cohen’s premonition of the internet</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… the Albert Hall: “like a tennis player playing Wimbledon”</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… the genius of Hank Williams</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>… and his 2018 comeback, “like reunion of old army buddies”</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Order ‘Cognitive Dissident’ here:</strong> <a href="https://omnibuspress.com/products/cognitive-dissident?_pos=1&amp;_psq=cognitive+dissi&amp;_ss=e&amp;_v=1.0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://omnibuspress.com/products/cognitive-dissident?_pos=1&amp;_psq=cognitive+dissi&amp;_ss=e&amp;_v=1.0</a></p><br><p><strong>Help us to keep the conversation going: </strong><a href="https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>