Memoir by drummer with Bishop’s Stortford band Three And A Half Minutes on highs and lows of 90s music scene
He was the Essex boy with a dream, and when Alex Boucher left the old Newport Free Grammar School he set forth on a ride through the ups and downs of the 1990s music scene.
Now, decades later, music aficionados and nostalgia enthusiasts alike are promised a treat with the release of Three and a Half Minutes of Fame, a captivating memoir by the former Stansted resident.
A press release announcing the book says readers are offered “a front-row seat to the highs, lows and unforgettable moments of a decade that shaped a generation”.
Speaking to the Indie, Alex highlighted the role that venues in Bishop’s Stortford and Harlow played in shaping his musical journey, firstly as a drummer with Stortford indie rock band Three and a Half Minutes and then with Travis Cut, NV and Jaff.
His first gig with Three and a Half Minutes, which he joined at 16, was in 1991 at the iconic The Square in Harlow. Stortford gig venues included The Boar’s Head on Windhill and The Half Moon in North Street. They also played Bishop’s Stortford Football Club, then in Rhodes Avenue, with fellow local band Blind Mice.
Alex revealed the band – which also included brothers Matt and Laurence Carey and Steve Barber – even shot a music video one night in the old paddling pool on The Causeway.
He has fond memories of The Square, a sweaty, cool venue in the 90s known for putting new bands in the spotlight. “It was a great venue, a really good place to be,” said Alex.
The memoir promises “a raw and honest portrayal of the trials and tribulations faced by aspiring musicians during a tumultuous era, from confronting neo-Nazis and gangsta rappers to grappling with personal tragedies and mental health challenges”.
Alex revealed that members of the bands he was in battled with bipolar and other mental health issues, something that he says wasn’t really addressed by society in the 90s.
He also suffered sexual abuse whilst in a boyband. The book is dedicated to the memory of a friend who died in the Paddington train crash.
The plan for the memoir was hatched during the Covid-19 lockdowns when Alex, now working as a writer, musician and sound engineer based in Great Bentley, near Colchester, set to writing down his memories of the music period he still views as one of the most open to innovation.
“It felt like there was a new wave of something, every year something different,” he said, adding it was also a time when it was a lot easier to access music.
“This memoir is a love letter to the 90s – a decade that shaped me and countless others,” he said. “It’s a tribute to the music, the culture and the unforgettable experiences that defined an era.”
*Three And A Half Minutes of Fame is available at local book stores, record stores and well-known online retailers.
