Peckham writer to talk about his books
SE London locals may know Garth Cartwright from his newspaper and magazine articles, his books on music and travel, or, very possibly, they could recognise him from browsing in record shops, because searching through old vinyl is one of his great passions, writes Michael Holland.
Garth is from New Zealand but fell in love with London way back in 1994 after travelling in Asia and then finding himself sofa-surfing in Camberwell.
From that inauspicious start, Garth has lived in Brixton, Stockwell, Loughborough Junction, and eventually Peckham for over twenty years – ‘I got on the council list and have been on the Friary Estate almost all of this century.’ From that SE15 base, he tells me he makes a living ‘writing about music and arts and travel a lot, so this is a good place to be.’
Like a lot of Kiwis, Garth did the backpacker thing. I thought I’d end up back in Aotearoa, but London enchanted me – and still does. Especially south-east London; I love it from Walworth to Greenwich.’
Even as a young man, Garth always wanted to be involved with music, but there was one slight drawback: ‘I have no musical talent of any kind, so instead I have to appreciate and promote and engage with music. I have been fortunate to earn a very basic living doing so – being a self-employed writer is no way to accumulate wealth, but as far as experience and enjoying what I do, then yes, it’s a good way to live my life.’
That way of life began in New Zealand when Garth started writing for free music magazines that were distributed in record shops. ‘One of them asked me to interview UB40 when I was 17 – I did so, and even though they didn’t pay their contributors, I thought “this is what I want to do.” I applied for journalism school in Auckland, but they turned me down – twice! – so I just taught myself the skills of writing and went out there looking for work.’
Garth’s work is regularly seen in various publications, but he is also quite a prolific author of books. He talks me through them: ‘My first two books – Princes Amongst Men and More Miles Than Money – both have intertwined themes of music and travel (the Balkans and the US), but I’ve also done two books about British record shops (Going For A Song and London’s Record Shops), a coffee table book on Miles Davis (Miles Davis: The Complete Illustrated History), a book about travelling through New Zealand after 20 years away (Sweet As), and contributed to many other books – including the British Library’s Beyond the Bassline: 500 Years of Black British Music.’
I wondered if he sticks mainly to his comfort zone. ‘I have written a thriller but, so far, not found a publisher for it.’
Right now, Garth has revisited his first book, Princes Amongst Men, that documents the music of the Roma people and their life in the Balkans, written after spending 2003 traversing the Balkans while observing Roma, their culture, and interviewing the gypsy musicians. Even after the 2005 release of the book, Garth has returned there many times to continue his studies of a society that is changing while seemingly staying the same.
Oldcastle Books, the publisher, asked if he could do a new edition. Garth responded with, ‘Yes – if I can update the original… Oldcastle agreed, though I don’t think they thought I’d write 50,000 words! So now you get the original book followed by a new book that updates and expands on the Roma people, their musicians, and life in the Balkans. It’s bigger and better and, hopefully, wiser and richer.’
I asked why an update was needed, and Garth explained that he still keeps in touch with these ‘remarkable artists’ because hardly anybody else is, and their stories will die with them. He sung their praises, telling me that ‘there’s been a continual growth in interest and enthusiasm for Balkan Gypsy music, and with YouTube and streaming services, it’s much easier to check out, the Roma are supremely gifted and inventive musicians and – in our age of manufactured pop and AI – make very human, very soulful music.’
I could see his passion for Taraf de Haidouks, Fanfare Ciocarlia, and Esma Redzepova was real. Names I’d never heard of but were well-known in that world. He wanted to convince me further: ‘I’ve created a playlist for the book on Spotify called Princes Amongst Men: 2026 – Go on, listen and have your mind blown!’
I will, and I will feedback my thoughts when Garth Cartwright talks about his life and books at Copleston Community Centre (in Copleston Church), Copleston Road, Peckham, SE15 4AN at 2pm – 3.30pm to talk about his life, his work, and to sign copies of his book.
Email an*@*****************rg.uk to book your free place. A £5 donation to the community centre is suggested.
Princes Amongst Men: Journeys with Romani-Gypsy Musicians is published by Oldcastle Books. ISBN-10: 0857306200 Available at all good book shops or from many online traders, including the publisher https://oldcastlebooks.co.uk/bookpage.php?isbn=9780857306203
