Memorabilia

26th of May, 1989. Half past seven in the morning. Breaking news. Mindfield’s frontman, Blaze is dead. Same news bulletin is played all over the country. No one takes the news to heart, though; it is widely believed that this is yet another overdramatic publicity stunt. Eight o’ clock. The devastated drummer of the band confirms the dreadful news...

It is a bleak, rainy day. People of every age splash out in the streets. Dozens. Hundreds. Thousands of people head to his flat. The pavement fills with flowers, wreaths, photos of the 21-year-old singer. Tension is building up by the hour, while the great deal of controversy rises up to the surface; how did he really die? Did he have an overdose? Did he commit suicide? Did someone kill him? Did he get poisoned? Maybe he’s not really dead, maybe he’s still alive, hiding somewhere...

Unbeknownst to everyone, an anonymous narrator possesses the frontman's diary. Twenty years later, this narrator sets out to find the bandmates and acquaintances mentioned in it and cast some light over the protagonist's tormented life and unexpected death, which, up to this day, remain an unsolved mystery.

Memorabilia is Vanessa MintVanDi's first book. Set in the late 1980s, when many bands seemed to prosper and thrive in the music scene, Memorabilia features hellraisers and idols who live the rock 'n roll myth to their utmost, only to retire a couple of years later, regretting everything about it.