Born in 1958 in North Vancouver, Fiona McQuarrie graduated from Simon Fraser University and the University of Alberta before joining the faculty of the University of the Fraser Valley to teach organizational studies. For six-and-a-half years she was a music critic for the Vancouver Sun and The Province newspapers. Her lifelong interest in pop music led to her first book, Song Book: 21 Songs from 10 Years (1964-74) (Walthamstow, UK: New Haven Publishing US$18) which tells the stories of how and why some of her favourite songs were written by the likes of Randy Newman, Beach Boys, Tim Hardin, Donovan and Split Enz.

In her second book, Mixtape: 21 Songs From 10 Years, 1975-1985 (UK: New Haven Publishing, 2022), each chapter covers a song released between 1975 and 1985. The coverage includes in-depth research, critical assessment and the occasional dose of snark. Some of these 21 songs will be familiar, others not so familiar, but all of them have fascinating stories to tell. Mixtape is a great read for fans of music and popular culture, and for anyone who wants to revisit the sounds of that decade.

BOOKS

Mixtape: 21 Songs From 10 Years, 1975-1985 (UK: New Haven Publishing, 2022) 9781912587704

Song Book: 21 Songs from 10 Years (1964-74) (Walthamstow, UK: New Haven Publishing, 2018) US$18 9781912587155

[BCBW 2022]