Formed in the summer of 1977, The Astronauts have been lurking in the shadows of the British underground music scene ever since, criminally underrated and ignored by most despite their extensive back catalogue of albums and singles – each one a bona fide classic in its own genre-defying way.

With extensive input from frontman and songsmith Mark Astronaut, along with many of the musicians who have played alongside him over the years in both The Astronauts and his various other musical ventures, this is the story of how it all came about – from the bedrooms of 1970s Welwyn Garden City to the 2020 national lockdown.

Also includes an extensive interview conducted in 2021.

For sample pages, see marcusblakeston.wordpress.com

Includes unlimited streaming of In Defence of Compassion via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.