BOOKS aren’t the answer to everything but they could well be the latest money spinning addition to a musicians merchandise table and maybe cement that bond between fan and band.

Grant Sharkey thinks so. He’s one of the two bass players in the popular ‘Toupee’, in fact the only other member is a drummer.

The trio have great songs with a punk attitude and in Grant an ideal front man: fun, enthusiastic, rude and also a comedian.

And the funny thing is, he’s just bought a book shop: ‘Chapter One’ in Hythe.

Ostensibly to make money but he’ll also sell you a copy of ‘Hands’ his debut novel which sits on his merch table at his stand-up gigs.

It’s a better option for him than T-shirts, as you don’t have to worry about sizes, plus DVD’s are out because Grant says: “you are giving away jokes you might need and jokes are kind of sacred.”

I put this idea to Jim Chorley who performed at the opening of my new ‘Demo Cellar’ night in the Soul Cellar last Monday evening.

He was almost 100 per cent positive, “although the music would need to be first and foremost,” he explained. “I'm actually in the process of illustrating some of my lyrics and have been inspired by pen and ink drawings from antique books.”

If you also add photos, band history, guitar and bass tabulation and you have the makings of an essential read.

And reading is something you can do when listening to music.