Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Special offer: Receive 12 issues for just £12!
Subscribe today
Books

Weighted Down: The Complicated Life of Skip Spence review – sensitive portrait of a free spirit

An affecting portrait of a beloved musical cult hero

Weighted Down by Cam Cobb is out now (Omnibus Press, £25)

The Canadian singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alexander ‘Skip’ Spence was a key member of the psychedelic 60s San Francisco Bay Area scene.  

He played drums on Jefferson Airplane’s debut album. He co-founded Moby Grape, a phenomenally talented band who, for various unfortunate reasons, never fulfilled their potential. In 1969 he released a solo album, Oar, which sold nothing at the time, but which is now regarded as a cult classic and a progenitor of DIY lo-fi outsider art. 

After that, Spence spent the rest of his life – he died in 1999 – struggling with severe mental health issues exacerbated by drug and alcohol addiction. He was homeless for most of the ’80s and early ’90s. 

 Cam Cobb’s sensitive biography strives to understand this troubled man while carefully refuting some of the ‘crazy’ tall-tale myths people like Spence tend to attract. It’s an affecting portrait of a generous, affable, gifted free spirit who fell through the cracks.  

A tragic saga, yes, but in the end, we’re left in no doubt that ‘Skippy’ – an affectionate nickname used by most of the candid friends and family interviewees – was beloved.  

Paul Whitelaw is a book, TV and music critic

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty
Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

Weighted Down: The Complicated Life of Skip Spence by Cam Cobb is out now (Omnibus Press, £25). You can buy it from The Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support The Big Issue and independent bookshops.

This article is taken from The Big Issue magazine, which exists to give homeless, long-term unemployed and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy!

If you cannot reach your local vendor, you can still click HERE to subscribe to The Big Issue today or give a gift subscription to a friend or family member.

You can also purchase one-off issues from The Big Issue Shop or The Big Issue app, available now from the App Store or Google Play

Advertising helps fund Big Issue’s mission to end poverty

SIGN THE PETITION

Will you sign Big Issue's petition to ask Keir Starmer to pass a Poverty Zero law? It's time to hold government to account on poverty once and for all.

Recommended for you

View all
Autobiography of Death by Kim Hyesoon review – defiant poetry
Books

Autobiography of Death by Kim Hyesoon review – defiant poetry

Ghostroots by ’Pemi Aguda review – visionary stories to soothe and haunt you
Books

Ghostroots by ’Pemi Aguda review – visionary stories to soothe and haunt you

What we can learn from the eerie and mysterious worlds we leave behind
Books

What we can learn from the eerie and mysterious worlds we leave behind

Top 5 books about climate grief, chosen by Aerth author Deborah Tomkins
Books

Top 5 books about climate grief, chosen by Aerth author Deborah Tomkins

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know
4.

Strike dates 2023: From train drivers to NHS doctors, here are the dates to know

Support our vendors with a subscription

For each subscription to the magazine, we’ll provide a vendor with a reusable water bottle, making it easier for them to access cold water on hot days.