"I can confirm that should you ever find yourself on stage playing the bass guitar with three left hands, it is usually the one in the middle that is the real one. The other two are probably phantoms."

Spacemen 3 were undoubtedly one of the great rock groups of the 1980s, blazing a psychedelic trail and helping to lay the seeds for the alternative explosion of the '90s.

Having broken up in spectacular fashion with key members Jason Pierce and Sonic Boom going their separate ways, hopes of the band ever getting back together have always been slim at best. For now, at least, there's bassist Will Carruthers' telling of the whole story.

Having since played with groups including Spiritualized and the Brian Jonestown Massacre, Carruthers finally (and understandably) started to go deaf, and has more recently been focused on writing poetry and short stories. His compelling account of the Spacemen 3 time period covers the whole "peculiar balancing act between artistic endeavour and hard labour", and promises to be one of the year's finest music memoirs.

Playing the Bass with Three Left Hands is published by Faber & Faber on August 4th.