The Ballad of Speedball Baby

A Memoir

By: Ali Smith

Narrated by: Ali Smith

Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Kobo Pick

The Ballad of Speedball Baby is the thrilling, darkly hilarious, and heart-wrenchingly vulnerable story of Ali Smith’s coming-of-age in ’90s New York as she commits to the messy, exhilarating life of a musician and must survive the slings and arrows society reserves for women who refuse to comply.

As an only child reeling from the demolition of her parents’ toxic marriage, the New York City underground music scene offers a young Ali a different family of misfits and talented outsiders to belong to.

She becomes the bass player for edgy band Speedball Baby, a decision that will take her around the world—from onstage at the legendary CBGBs to the red-light district of Amsterdam. She’s often the only girl in a broken-down tour van, being strip-searched at the Croatian border, chased by lunatics, and navigating the seedy underbelly of a male-dominated music scene full of addiction, violence, and misogyny—all while keeping her sharp wit and dark humor intact.

Rimmed with heavy black eyeliner and smelling faintly of cheap booze, The Ballad of Speedball Baby is a pulse-quickening, unpredictable ride through the ’90s music scene—alternately terrifying, hilarious, and painfully evocative—as well as a love letter to the power of female solidarity.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2024 Ali Smith (P)2024 Blackstone Publishing

A rollercoaster tale, full of grime and glamor!

I loved this book! Poignant and hilarious in equal measure, Ali Smith captures the grime and glamor of the 90s punk rock music scene with honesty and humor: its dive bars and raucous clubs, its sketchy underground characters and its blazing stars, full of charisma and vitriol. She takes us around the world with her in the broken down truck from one adventure to the next – from New York City to Los Angeles, across rural USA, to Europe and beyond and what a ride! What is remarkable is her clear-eyed view from the eye of the storm. You don't need to be a fan of Speedball Baby to appreciate this book – its appeal is so much broader. Her account of her early family life is harrowing and tender. And boy. can she write! Beautifully narrated by the author herself, it was incredibly moving and entertaining. I laughed and cried – I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend!

A true New York City punk rock memoir

I had never heard of this band before but a friend recommended this book and I finished the audiobook in a few days.

If you’re at all curious what it’s like to be in a punk band, this book is fantastic. Funny and harrowing stories from New York, LA, other parts of the US and a closing with an envy inspiring tour of Europe.

So many fascinating “characters” in this story and Ali offers herself as the narrator with her heart on the line for the outcome of the bands success but still not getting completely overwhelmed or lost in the insanity around her.

Highly recommend and the author does a great job as the voice actor. Oh and plenty of laugh out loud moments!

I don't know which is better, her writing or narration.

Wow, what an outstanding book. it's so much sweeter given Speedballbaby was my JAM, I'm taking, listened to them endlessly...in the car, at home, requested they were played at Bars, even my friends new me for loving Speedball Baby and John Spencer Blues Explosion. Hell, a big reason I moved to New York was in hopes of seeing them play. Anyway, knowing the band is completely irrelevant. This is an outstanding book and if it hasn't already been optioned for a movie or series, it will be. Outstanding writing.