The Boys in the Band

Forthcoming, Spring 2027

The Boys in the Band is the follow-up to Amanda Kramer and Wayne Byrne’s previous book, Hired Guns: Portraits of Women in Alternative Music, in with which the authors documented the careers of a selection of professional female touring musicians who have built acclaimed careers performing with lauded bands and major high-profile live acts. Now, Kramer and Byrne turn their attention to the boys for an insight into the male experience of touring with some of the most celebrated and successful artists in the music industry over of the last half-century.

This book delivers a revealing journey across several decades of the music industry through the experiences of these inveterate road warriors, charting their professional challenges and triumphs, providing an insight into the machinations of the industry, and offering a glimpse into the education, work, and lifestyle required of such professionals. Those profiled have performed prolifically across several genres and decades, bringing their unique aesthetic, skill, and presence on to the stages and records of artists such as Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, R.E.M., World Party, B-52’s, Duran Duran, Soul Asylum, The Cure, Cyndi Lauper, The Golden Palominos, Mick Jagger, Public Image Ltd., Carla Bley, Herbie Hancock, Aretha Franklin, The Waitresses, Billy Idol, Psychedelic Furs, Paul Young, Peter Gabriel, Iggy Pop, Sinead O’Connor, The Waterboys, Eurythmics, Noel Gallagher, Oasis, John Cale, Tom Jones, The Lightning Seeds, Robbie Williams, Page and Plant, Goldfrapp and The Cult.

Together, Kramer and Byrnep resent a unique and insightful cultural and historical discourse, drawing readers into the artistic, social, and industrial contexts of important musical movements as they give voice to the musicians who enthrall millions across the world’s stages while remaining largely anonymous to the public. Kramer and Byrne now bring them centre-stage to tell their story.

The theme of this book is a world that Amanda Kramer knows intimately and with immediate context, having toured the world and recorded albums with many major artists throughout the past four decades, including 10,000 Maniacs, Lloyd Cole, Eurythmics, Siouxsie Sioux, World Party, The Golden Palominos, and The Psychedelic Furs.

With Kramer’s vast experience as a professional musician and Byrne’s literary work documenting the industry, they are uniquely positioned to deliver a work of cultural and historical relevance, qualities which this book unquestionably fulfills.