Comments on Bookride: The Legend of Martin Stone, Bookscout extraordinai...

I shared a house in Stepney with Martin at the fag...

2009-04-21T08:35:25.963Z

I shared a house in Stepney with Martin at the fag-end of the '70s, and he was never less than delightful company, and generous to a fault. I was, as an L-plate guitarist, in total awe of him as a player (I'd been a Willies fan). Many happy evenings were spent imbibing this and that whilst twanging guitars and rifling through pulp or beat fiction first editions.

I bumped into him not so long ago at Savage Pencil's wedding bash, and he was in great form. A delightful man.

I played in a rehearsal band with Martin and then...

2008-07-01T11:12:11.308Z

I played in a rehearsal band with Martin and then he worked with me in my painting and wallpaper biz in London in the eighties. He was broke and this was before he sold books big time. Martin is from a different spiritual universe from most people.He is intelligent talented, funny and generous to a fault. When I listened to him discussing books with his dealer friends it went into the stratosphere.I believe the spirits help him -and maybe he helps them.

I know Martin reasonably well, and am amused by th...

2008-05-04T15:55:07.906Z

I know Martin reasonably well, and am amused by these anecdotes. I started off as a Record Collector, and long ago began my quest for records made by Martin, I have all his Mighty Baby LP's and even as a result of a conversation with him bought one located at Cecil Court, but Martin would never really have attributed the value I paid for a 'Jug of Love' 1971 on Blue Horizon, that Martin may attach to a Holograph copy of Austin Spare or some such. I am proud that I used his technique in finding the LP that he clearlyn eschewed

It is well known that the author/bookdealer/ film-...

2007-12-07T17:30:09.129Z

It is well known that the author/bookdealer/ film-maker Iain Sinclair is a fan of Martin's and put him in a film. He also attributes mystical powers to Martin's book divinations. One Brian Hinton who appears in the film and is described as a rock archivist/ Tennyson scholar (strange) describes his guitar playing as 'making Eric Clapton look boring and provincial'. When I knew Martin in the early '90s he was usually broke and reduced to busking on the Paris metro. Martin is however a good raconteur and has a bohemian aura about him which probably appeals to middle-aged men who like to indulge their boho acquaintances.

Thanks Bruce. Yep - we are mentioned in this maste...

2007-11-30T18:59:58.528Z

Thanks Bruce. Yep - we are mentioned in this masterwork, something about a pic of Graham Greene we used to have up on the wall with a note saying 'Give this man a discount.' GG was a habituée of bookshops.
Still Baxter wrote a great book, though sometimes a pinch of salt is needed when reading it! Nigel

Great Post. The name caught my attention as I'm ju...

2007-11-30T16:00:12.066Z

Great Post. The name caught my attention as I'm just finishing up 'A Pound of Paper' by Mr. Baxter. I believe you may have been mentioned in the book as well?

Bruce from The Bookshop Blog.