Sit Down! Listen to This!: The Roger Eagle Story

Featured in a BBC Radio 4 Documentary on New Year's Eve 2012! The hour-long documentary, hosted by Mark Radcliffe, featured interviews with many of Roger's protegees and admirers, as well as close friend Bill Sykes, author of 'Sit Down! Listen to This!' Roger Eagle was a towering figure in British popular music. Uniquely his influence straddled the cultural divide separating Manchester and Liverpool. The task of unifying the musical talents of these two cultural hubs has proved beyond almost everyone. The sole exception is the subject of this book -- a man whose influence can still be felt today. In any scene there needs to be a personality capable of leading a generation towards a new sound and consequently new tastes and fashions. What is unusual about Roger Eagle is his formative role in the development of at least three and arguably four such music scenes that altered the course of music in Britain between the mid-sixties and early nineties. From the Blues explosion of the mid-sixties, via the birth of Northern Soul to the pioneering Beatles defying spirit of Merseyside's New Wave and the re-birth of Manchester music, close friend and former neighbour Bill Sykes charts Roger's continued influence on the music scenes in both cities and talks to some of the main figures who were inspired by him.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Foreword Tithing 1 Origins of Tithing 2 Letting Go 3 Is Tithing Buying Off God? 4 Tithing: A Universal Law 5 Two Tithing Stories6 Questions and Answers on Tithing 7 Tithing Testimonials Seeding 8 The Difference Between Seeding and Tithing9 Principles of Seeding10 Seeding to the Church 11 God Is Your Partner 12 Seeding Step by Step13 Seeding for Another14 A Story of Seeding 15 Questions and Answers on Seeding 16 Seeding Testimonials What's Next?

About the Author :
Bill Sykes initially took up writing to realise Roger Eagle's biography. He completed an apprenticeship as a welder in 1982 and moved to London from his home town in Derbyshire in 1995 for better employment opportunities. He has been involved in the music industry for over thirty years, variously as singer, harmonica player, DJ and avid fan. Music has always been an abiding passion in his life. He feels the musical knowledge he has accrued should be shared in the same manner as his mentor Roger Eagle did.

Review :
"Without Roger Eagle there would be no Manchester music scene" - John Robb "The godfather of British soul" - C P Lee, Ph.D. Finally a book salutes the Northern musical force of nature that was Roger Eagle. - Mojo July 2012-07-11 If we lay aside the Scouse-Manc riavlry we can acjnowledge the north-west of England as one of the worlds musical hot-spots. A staggering proportion of its achievements can be traced back to this one man this is the first book to place him centre-stage. The Word July 2012 Admirer ad friend Sykes illuminates this shadowy and attention-spurning figures life via the testimony of intimates selfless educator and inspirer who lived and breathed rocknroll, soul, dub and other roots music. Q Magazine July 2012 ROGER Eagle, accurately described by author Bill Sykes as a maverick rock'n'roll evangelist, will be remembered by many in both Liverpool and Manchester as a local legend. In this book, he's remembered, in more rounded terms, by people who knew the real person It's to Bill Sykes' credit that this book doesn't just print the legend. The picture you get here is mixed: interviewees describe Roger as imposing, kind, scary, aloof, eccentric, forthright, overbearing, formidable, enthusiastic, intelligent, knowledgeable. They call him a rebel, an outcast, a pioneer, and over and over again an educator. Liverpoolconfidential.co.uk July 2012 "Comparing Roger with Tony Wilson, Bill Sykes says: Wilson did seek the limelight but Roger preferred to be a little bit more in the background. I think they worked well together and helped each other Erics benefited from Tony telling people about it on TV and Tonys So It Goes show benefitted by filming gigs at the club. - But the author believes Roger may have missed out on things because he was a different personality to his Mancunian counterpart, saying: He really should have had his own national radio show because of his deep knowledge of music.He adds: One of the reasons I wrote the book was to try to redress the balance. Having moved away from the North West, I saw the focus just seemed to be on Factory Records but Tony Wilson started The Factory club because of Rogers direct influence. Rogers story, though, has now been told, and Bill says: It might not be the best book, but the marker is there maybe someone could now make a documentary. Or even a film? Why not? It would certainly be as interesting a story as 24 Hour Party People. - Liverpool Echo