Perhaps the most action-packed thirty-seven minutes in the history of pop – or rap, or rock and roll come to that, 'The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living' is nothing short of a voyage to the heart of celebrity darkness. No other record - not Eminem’s 'Marshall Mathers' album, not Kings Of Leon’s 'Aha Shake Heartbreak', not even Pulp’s 'This Is Hardcore' - has got this close to the sheer madness of life in fame’s fast lane. And Skinner’s hectic sagas of excess and personal disarray are set to tunes you’ll wake up singing every morning for a week after you first hear them. Even though you’ll have to be careful who you repeat the lyrics in front of.

The album starts and ends with a drug and alcohol inspired panic attack. Getting a smack in the face from his manager after having a tantrum about getting beaten at table-football. Check. Losing hundreds of thousands of pounds spread-betting. Check. Driving a Ferrari round Las Vegas without a license. Check. Watching the unnamed female pop star he’d been taking crack cocaine and having sex with the night before looking surprisingly presentable on CD-UK the next morning. Check.

Among many other things, 'The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living' is the story of how he got back on track. Using his special talent for combining beats and rhymes to make sense of what had happened to him, he poured everything he’d learnt into his music. In production terms, he’s totally upped his game on this album. Everything is a little crisper and a little faster – honed and polished to be the perfect vehicle for his trademark forensic lyrical observations.

Mike Skinner has followed up a sweetly brilliant album about the sort of thing that might happen to him if he wasn’t famous, with a viciously brilliant album about the sort of things that have happened to him now he is.

TOUR DATES
06/07/06 Showbox Showoom & Lounge - Seattle, WA
06/08/06 WonderBallroom - Portland, OR
06/09/06 The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA
06/10/06 Henry Fonda Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
06/14/06 Fox Theatre - Boulder, CO
06/16/06 La Zona Rosa - Austin, TX
06/18/06 Bonnaroo Music Festival - Manchester, TN
06/21/06 Avalon Ballroom - Boston, MA
06/22/06 Spectrum De Montreal - Montreal, QC
06/23/06 The Phoenix - Toronto, ON
06/24/06 Union Park - Chicago, IL
06/27/06 Webster Hall - New York, NY

VIDEOS

When You Wasn't Famous (Quick Time)


The Streets Commercials
Momemto Mori (Quick Time)
Prangin Out (Quick Time)
Two Nations (Quick Time)
When You Wasn't Famous (Quick Time)