Crisps eh? Well that’s what I thought. I mean what is Simon Williams, Britain’s foremost authority on all things indie schmindie, the man who almost single-handedly kept the flame of grass roots music alive when all around him tried to barge through the locked doors of corporate pop, desperate for fame and money, not to mention the exotic drugs and lifestyle of the chosen few, writing a book about crisps? Especially after his previous book, a heartfelt and funny meander through those crazy 80’s and 90’s music scenes, of which he was such an obscure yet vital part, so forgive me my initial confusion when faced with his latest, a crisp odyssey no less, which sees our hapless hero wander dreamily through a potted history of the rise and rise of crisp manufacturing, complete with the usual crazy panda puns, and a glimpse of his vast collection of crisp packets, which he keeps in shoe boxes in his shed.
I know, sounds crazy doesn’t it? And yet it kind of makes sense when you think about it. I mean he must have spent the better part of his life hanging around in the seedy back rooms of badly lit pubs, nursing a warm pint, chomping down on the only available source of food provided in said establishments, whilst awaiting, or at least hoping, to discover the next big thing, or at least a band to make his thankless task a little more pleasant. And one might assume that at times the humble potato, corn or maize based snack in his feverish hands, may have had a taste explosion far more worthy of attention than the dross he would have to sit through time and time again during this quest. Stands to reason that he would be drawn away occasionally, down dusty tracks of half remembered nostalgia, yearning for childhood days of sadly defunct brands, when the humble crisp (along with the ice lolly, which would make a good sequel) reigned supreme as the symbol of all it meant to be young, and free.
I was never really a big crisp fan and am only vaguely aware of brands, flavours etc from the past. It wasn’t really until touring Scandinavia in the 2010’s and discovering the Paprika crisp, which is pretty much the only flavour available in most of continental Europe, and beyond, that I developed a more serious obsession, which has sadly been put to bed in an attempt to save my kidneys from the scourge of salt, so I didn’t expect to find this as interesting and engaging as I’m sure most of you will, but I was wrong. Stories of the domination of Walkers, and the rise of the Indies, aping the history of Indie music, and the start of the UK crisp market (Smiths 1920) in Cricklewood, another music related connection, being the beloved home of The Goodies. From the addition of flavouring (Taytos Cheese and Onion 1954) to the controversial and crazy decision of Walkers to change the established colour of the packets of Cheese and Onion (green) and Salt and Vinegar (blue). I mean, what were they thinking? You can read all about these things and more between the pages of this book. But wait, I hear you say, “can’t I just look this up on the internet and find out all this information” – well yes you can, but those are mere facts and you wouldn’t get them delivered to you in quite such a unique way as only Simon Williams can, and he presents you with a whole gallery of packets through the ages, taken from his own collection I might add, all delivered in his unique style, right down to the chapter titles, which are all song title puns referencing his favourite flavour, the much derided Prawn Cocktail (my favourite before the discovery of Paprika). I am surprised he didn’t end with “Only (A Prawn In Whitby)” by Cud though.
I was entertained, informed and educated (the 3 principles on which the BBC was originally based) and you can’t say fairer than that now can you
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Review by Andrew Wood
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