Steve Mason Failure Is Always An Option

Our final talk of the weekend, discussing his long awaited autobiography, the musical maverick, polymath and Beta Band front man, Steve Mason.

‘Self-destructive pop saboteurs who did it all wrong in all the right ways. Utterly brilliant’ NME

Scottish singer songwriter and founding member of the Beta Band Steve Mason has long been at the centre of tales of unruly non-conformism and destructive self-sabotage. Now in this long-awaited autobiography he sets the record straight (well, straight-ish) with his wildly funny, brilliantly told memoir of youth culture, failure, success, sadness and redemption.

Mason rose to widespread critical acclaim in the late ’90s as front man of the Beta Band. Famously impossible to pin down and fiercely independent with intense live shows and a reputation for difficult press interviews, the Beta Band created music that was completely original: captivating blends of guitars, house, blues, psychedelia, folk, ambient drone and poignant, enigmatic lyrics.

Even whilst the band railed against the bloated death throes of Britpop they were praised by their most successful peers, including Oasis, the Chemical Brothers, the Verve, Primal Scream and Radiohead, who they toured with in 2001. Constantly reinventive and experimental, lavishly praised with all three of their studio albums reaching the top 20, the Beta Band story appeared to end in 2004, with the band owing their label £1.2 million and seemingly forever tagged as one of the most infamous ‘should have been massive’ bands.

Following a twenty-year break, in 2025, the Beta Band announced their return, selling out an Autumn UK tour within two hours. 2026 has seen the band build on this huge success and outpouring of love with live dates in the UK, Australia and Japan.