The Liverpool Musician turning a derelict Southport pub into a book

Liverpool musician Dan Astles’s new side project focuses on derelict Southport pub The Sands.

Astles, who released his debut album Soundtrack for the 21 Bus Home last year, spoke to The Guide about why The Sands was a good concept for a book.

“I always had this idea that it would make such a good residential art studio, just because it’s situated in a beautiful sort of place by the seaside. I had the idea of what if I wrote a book about this fella who’s been an artist in residence in The Sands, but because he’s been so obsessed with his art, the whole thing has closed up around him.

“Last year, I was writing songs for my next album, but I guess in between writing I wasn’t quite ready to write another album or, you know, fully delve into it. I had a like a little couple of week bursts where I got really obsessed with it, I wrote most of it in like a month or two last year.”

The Sands closed its doors in 2017 and has stood boarded up since. Formerly a thriving location that boosted Ainsdale’s local economy, the pub has been up for sale since 2022. 

Dan’s novella follows the story of Bernie Mack, in a surreal alternate reality of The Sand’s existence.

“It sort of moves through time around him. He’s sat in a room that he sits in every day, he just gets up and paints. What he’s painting is these beautiful architecture plans, but also paintings of rollercoasters and different seaside attractions. He gets a flyer through the door, which says “PLEASURELAND NOW REOPENING”. On the flyer is a picture that looks like one of his drawings. He thinks someone has stolen his drawings from him and that’s what pushes him to leave the place.”

Dan’s 90 page book is currently limited to 100 copies, and will be released at a free event in collaboration with Sefton Council’s Summer of Music Program on 13th August at Warehouse Arts Centre. Alongside the book, Dan has written an EP of songs to go with the book.

“People can read the book and listen to the songs and make a film in their own head. So that was kind of the concept of it. The songs are a mixture of songs I’ve written to go with the book, and some that I’ve had left around that fit. I wanted it to be like Submarine, the film that Alex Turner did the EP for.

“How I write songs a lot of the time anyway is picking up words. If I’m reading a book or watching a film and someone says something in the book or film that I think is interesting, I rob them to write a song. I was robbing from myself, I was using sentences I’d written in the book.”

“The themes of it, I suppose, are about obsession with creating your art, and creating your art for no reason. No one was telling me to write a book or short story, so I guess I have something (in common) with Bernie Mack. I guess some of the themes that reveal themselves are, you know, artists not being supported in smaller towns, and feeling like they need to move away to cities to be successful.”

The Sands EP will be released on Bandcamp and Soundcloud alongside the book, which can be pre ordered here

You can follow Astles here.

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