Play That Fast Thing One More Time – The Rockpile Story

The first print run is sold out. This is the second, revised edition. Sold on pre-order until August 15. Not available yet, and will arrive from the printers early September 2026. The new book will be A4, 320 pages, edited and corrected and with some new material.

Place your pre-order now to secure your copy, as they sell fast. Limited edition as always.

/Rikard

“Play That Fast Thing One More Time – The Rockpile Story” is the book about the English band Rockpile, the masters of up-tempo pop and rock. We started work on it just over four years ago, and the result is a luxurious A4-format hardback book running to a full 316 pages.

It should also be noted that this is an entirely new book, with fresh material, and not a new edition of our first book about the band, “Crawling from the Wreckage – A Tribute to Rockpile”. The book covers the band’s entire lifespan, from the days of Love Sculpture and Brinsley Schwarz, through their formation at the end of 1976 right up to the bitter end in February 1981.

It features a foreword by Allan Jones (formerly of Melody Maker and Uncut), and an afterword by Will Birch (drummer with Kursaal Flyers and The Records, as well as a music journalist and author). The book also includes a number of new interviews, among them with Dave Edmunds, Nick Lowe, Gregg Geller, and Will Birch, along with updated interviews with Roger Bechirian, Aldo Bocca, Neill King, Barry “Bazza” Farmer, Andy Cheeseman, Billy Bremner, and Terry Williams.

Some opinions on the book:

“An absolute labour of love (not lust) by Rikard Bengtsson and his team. So much of the story of rock musicians and bands gets lost due to the ephemeral nature of most music magazines/journalism, and this kind of archive project makes up for that.”

John Porter

“The new Rockpile book is many things: a trip back in time; a look behind the scenes in the studios and venues; revealing interviews with each member of Rockpile and with the people they worked with; fan memories; and a ton of great photos, most of which were totally new to me. I have been savouring every page like fine wine. Every Rockpile fan should have a copy of this indispensable book! GET IT!”

Bill Thompson

“Deeply researched, and including many new and previously unpublished interviews with the major players in a complex tale, the 2026 book is at heart a love letter to one of the greatest, and mostly unsung, groups in rock history.”

Mark Leviton – bestclassicbands.com

“Fantastic job. Incredible content, beautifully illustrated, and created entirely out of love for the music. AT LAST, the full story is told.”

Howie Edelson – Iconic Artists Group

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Steve Roberts: “It’s a beast of a publication!”

Donald Ciccone: “Very impressive!”

Anders Tapola: “An impressive and weighty work about Rockpile.”

Mats Karlsson: “Great book, with lots of interesting reading for a Rockpile fan.”

Gregg Geller: “It looks terrific. Congratulations! Not one, but two, books like this are quite an accompaniment.”

Theo de Grood: “The new book arrived yesterday and in short: it struck me like a Rockpile-gig!”

The Uncharted Sounds Podcast: “Whilst the PDF option is very useful, there’s no substitute in my view to the actual hardback book which has been put together beautifully and is a perfect companion book to the first book Crawling from the wreckage. The level of detail in both books is a joy for fans of the band and it’s the book that the band has deserved finally. Great job done.”

Jerry Jaffe: “It’s gorgeous, easy reading and yet as dense factually, and pictorially as possible. Again, it’s a masterpiece.”

Ian Edmundson: “Mine’s arrived. It looks unbelievable.”

Nic Firmager: “Thank you Rikard Bengtsson, Lennart Bengtsson and your team for the second book in the Rockpile Story – “Play That Fast Thing One More Time” – that just dropped on my doormat this morning. The cover is a work of art. Some blood, sweat and tears has gone into the making of this follow up. Well done Rikard and all involved!”

Dermot Walsh: “Beautiful book. One to treasure … Now and Always!”

Paul Williams: “Two words come to mind immediately; brilliant and magnificent.”

Ola Klockar: “Fantastic job you’ve put in. It really makes one happy to see this sort of thing. I absolutely love all the side stories.”

Krister Lund: “What a fantastic book!”

Carl Engblom: “New, fantastic book about the world’s best, but rather unknown band. Well done!”

Mike Hobday: “Good work.”

Steve Hollinger: “It’s extraordinary.”

Liam Grundy: “It is a great book. Buy one while you can!”

Bruce Thomas: “A substantial book in more ways than one. It’s a solid piece of research and archiving you’ve done there.”