Better Than The Book presents: Ten Years On, with Special Guests Look What Happened & LUVD
Better Than The Book announces its VERY FIRST LIVE SHOW!!!: Ten Years On, with Special Guests Look What Happened & LUVD! Thursday 5th February 2026 @ The Hope & Ruin, Brighton (UK)!
My DIY ska-punk project Better Than The Book will be celebrating Ten Years On from the debut full-length album Two Years On by playing its first ever live show on Thursday 5th February 2026 at The Hope & Ruin in Brighton! I honestly have NO idea when we’ll next be doing a live show, especially as grand and special as this one so book your tickets below:
https://www.fatsoma.com/…/better-than-the-book-presents…
And for the extra keen among you, use the promo code “TENYEARSON” (ALL CAPS) for a £1 off your ticket! Limited to the first few people though so get there first if you want the discount!
Be sure to get there early on the night too! Doors open at 7pm with the music planned to start promptly at 7:30pm, and with the amazing Look What Happened and LUVD playing the support slots, you don’t want to miss a thing; it’s gonna be one heck of a night! I hope to see you there!
Read more here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/144011666
Burgess Hill’s DIY ska-punk/pop-punk project Better Than The Book invites you to celebrate Ten Years On from its debut full-length album Two Years On by playing its long-awaited first-ever live show!
Created by multi-instrumentalist, audio engineer and music producer Nick Standing and starting in mid-2012, Better Than The Book, via high-energy instrumentals and honest, relatable lyrics about Nick’s own experiences, has been on a mission to create heartfelt anthems to inspire people to live life to the full. This, along with various stories about life and living, makes up what it means to be Better Than The Book! THIS IS MY LIFE from One Small Step [EP] (2012), to Two Years On (2016), Hopes and Dreams (2019), and Side Character In My Own Life (2025)!
With numerous tracks featured on UK and international radio, including BBC Music Introducing, idobi Radio and the world’s #1 ska music radio show Beefy’s Ska Club, it’s about time BTTB hit the stage. If you’re a fan of blink-182, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Goldfinger, Less Than Jake, Zebrahead, ELLEGARDEN or The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, then you won’t want to miss this one night only pop-punk, ska-punk, and alternative rock party like no other!
“All the stops! No regrets! We’ve waited so long!”
With special guest support from Brighton’s very own pop-punks and alt-rockers Look What Happened and LUVD!
Book your tickets HERE: https://www.fatsoma.com/…/better-than-the-book-presents…
Better Than The Book
Side Character In My Own Life
13th June 2025
After over 5 years, a global pandemic, cancelled live shows and still no gigs (yet…), 2 computer breakdowns, a studio move, and a handful of hospital visits, Better Than The Book is back with its 3rd full-length album (and then some) – Side Character In My Own Life! Another 10 tracks + 4 bonus tracks and radio edits for your playlisting convenience!
Side Character In My Own Life follows directly on from where the Hopes and Dreams album left off and takes a darker more aggressive tone reflective of the intense pandemic years during the writing process. Reaching even further across genres than BTTB’s usual ska and pop punk tones and rock experimentation, Side Character In My Own Life is undoubtedly Better Than The Book’s most ambitious release to date!
If you’re a fan of blink-182, Green Day, Fall Out Boy, Goldfinger, Less Than Jake, Zebrahead, ELLEGARDEN or the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, then Better Than The Book and the Side Character In My Own Life album will be right up your street!
The first Single Plot Holes released on December 30th 2024 and was featured on BBC Introducing The South! The second single and title track released on March 28th and featured on the Ska Time show on Button Down Radio and Beefy’s Ska Club in Australia! The final pre-release single Bump In The Night released on May 23rd and was also featured on BBC Introducing The South! All three pre-release singles received Front Page Feature awards and have racked up a collective >10,000 streams on the media site Newgrounds!
Tracklist:
01 – 2020 Was A Write-off, But What Comes Next?
02 – Side Character In My Own Life
03 – Mood Swings
04 – Red Kite
05 – Rewrite
06 – Don’t Be Too Hard On Yourself
07 – Hold Me Tight
08 – Bump In The Night
09 – Plot Holes
10 – You’ll Never Be Too Old For This
Bonus Tracks (CD and Digital Only – Not Vinyl)
11 – Hearts Racing Backwards
12 – Plot Holes (Alternative Version)
13 – Hold Me Tight (Non-Acoustic)
14 – Side Character In My Own Life (Acoustic)
+ Additional Radio Edits for Tracks 07, 08, 09 & 10 (Digital Only)
Written, performed and produced by Nick Standing [Jabun]
Recorded, mixed and mastered at JabunAudio by Nick Standing [Jabun]
Artwork, images and photography by Nick Standing [Jabun]
No generative A.I. tools were used in the creation of this album.
About Better Than The Book
Better Than The Book is a purely DIY ska-punk/pop-punk music project by UK based multi-instrumentalist, producer and audio engineer, Nick Standing AKA Jabun.
Starting in mid 2012, Better Than The Book, via high-energy instrumentals and honest relatable lyrics about Nick’s own experiences, has been on a mission to create heartfelt anthems to inspire and help people know that they aren’t alone with their worries or the problems they face. That along with various stories about life and living make up what it means to be Better Than The Book! THIS IS MY LIFE from One Small Step (2012) to Two Years On (2016), Hopes and Dreams (2019), and now Side Character In My Own Life (2025)!
Better Than The Book – Bump In The Night
Better Than The Book – Side Character In My Own Life
Better Than The Book – Plot Holes
Better Than The Book – (The Travelling To See Eva Song)
Better Than The Book – Artificial Ignorance
Better Than The Book links:
Band/Artist location – Burgess Hill England
Website – Facebook – You Tube – Soundcloud – Bandcamp – Merch –
X(Twitter) – Instagram – Apple – Spotify – Amazon – Deezer –
