Rare Singles

A warm, tender and funny story about unlikely friendships, second chances, and the magic of soul music

Selected as a book of 2024 by the Guardian, New Statesman and Good Housekeeping

'A book of rare charm by a writer who understands the magic of music' – Ian Rankin

'An entertaining tale of grit, fecklessness and Northern Soul' – Daily Telegraph

'The book you didn't know you need' – Bobby Palmer

'A tale of soul music and second chances' – Guardian

'The laureate of friendship, a chronicler of unexpected, transformative connection' – Wendy Erskine

'A meditation on grief, love, and the redemptive power of music' – Observer

Dinah has always lived in Scarborough. Trapped with her feckless husband and useless son, her one release comes at her town’s Northern Soul nights, where she gets to put on her best and lose herself in the classics.

Dinah has an especial hero: Bucky Bronco, who recorded a string of soul gems in the late Sixties and then vanished off the face of the earth. When she manages to contact Bucky she can’t believe her luck.

Over in Chicago, Bucky Bronco is down on his luck – and has been since the loss of his beloved wife Maybelle. The best he can hope for is to make ends meet, and try to stay high.

But then an unexpected invitation arrives, from someone he’s never met, to come to somewhere he’s never heard of. With nothing to lose – and in need of the cash – Bucky boards a plane.

And so Bucky finds himself in rainy Scarborough, where everyone seems to know who he is – preparing to play for an audience for the first time in nearly half a century. Over the course of the week, he finds himself striking up new and unexpected friendships; and facing his past, and its losses, for the very first time.

'A writer who continues to build a rich and bold body of work on his own terms' – Ronán Hession

Wise, hilarious and profound, Rare Singles is an unforgettable story about the power of music and friendship to bring us back to ourselves.