Steve Wynn (support from Jamie Perrett)

Event information

Steve Wynn, leader and founder of the Dream Syndicate, returns to Oxted with a night of songs & stories in support of his critically acclaimed memoir "I Wouldn't Say It If It Wasn't True", and his first solo album in ten years "Make It Right".

The book details the winding path from growing up a music fan and pre-teen bandleader in Los Angeles through the formation and ultimate dissolution of the Dream Syndicate at the end of their first era in 1988. There are stops along the way for tales of cross-country greyhound trips to track down Alex Chilton to wild, off-the-rails tours with U2 and R.E.M. and the epic heart-of-darkness making of the band’s controversial second album Medicine Show and plenty more. The album is a similarly reflective and intimately revealing collection, written and recorded in tandem with the writing of "I Wouldn’t Say It If It Wasn’t True".

Wynn promises a one-man show blending songs from and inspired by the book, as well as some excerpts from the book, with tales from a fascinating life and career.

“These songs are testaments to his experiences – and his expertise as a steadfast syndicate of the great rock song” ★★★★ Mojo

“Classic Wynn, all psych and jangle… the record impressionistically arcs the narrative of his memoir” ★★★★ Uncut

“Finds his laconic voice sounding more Lou Reed-like than ever” ★★★★ Uncut

“A prolific songsmith… remarkable” ★★★★ Shindig

“Over 40 years in, musician Steve Wynn’s career is booming” The Pitch

“Brims with a wiry energy... spits and starts with an almost post-punk alt-rock strut” Louder Than War

“Not only has Steve Wynn written a must-read music memoir, he also created the perfect soundtrack to accompany devouring his page-turner” Magnet

“Songs which bring to mind the various musical strands of the Paisley Underground. There’s also traces of Seventies avant-garde rock experimentalism, and even some folky and Latin jazz-flecked elements. Eclectic. Rather like Wynn himself.” ★★★★ Americana UK

Opening the evening is Jamie Perrett.

Growing up in an unconventional and chaotic household, it was almost inevitable that Jamie Perrett—the son of the man who wrote one of the 20th century’s most iconic punk songs, ‘Another Girl, Another Planet’—would find music as both a refuge and a means of self-expression. Despite the early success of his father Peter’s band, The Only Ones, Jamie’s childhood in South London was marked by extreme hardship due to his parents’ struggles with addiction.

Music became Jamie’s escape—a way not only to find relief from his surroundings but also to connect with his parents. Bringing them out, if only occasionally, of their drug induced stupor. As a form of therapy, he immersed himself in music, honing his guitar skills until he could play almost any Jimi Hendrix tune by the age of 12. He was already crafting songs that foreshadowed the depth of his later work. Jamie’s first band, with his brother, provocatively called themselves The Cu*ts (“’cos that’s what our dad used to call us”). Later, he joined the original line-up of Babyshambles, touring with Peter Doherty before Doherty’s own battles with addiction sent him to rehab.

Since 2015, Jamie has worked closely with his father and played a pivotal role in Peter’s creative resurgence; contributing lead guitar, production, backing vocals and songwriting to his father’s solo work, released on Domino Records.

Jamie produced Peter Perrett’s just-released critically acclaimed LP “The Cleansing”, masterminding the appearance of guests Bobby Gillespie, Johnny Marr and Carlos O’Connell from Fontaines DC.

Jamie’s own music blends melodic rock with raw, infectious energy, resonating with vulnerability and honesty that capture his life story - a testament to resilience, talent, and the unfiltered truth of growing up on the edge of rock and roll.