For Tullius ‘Tully’ Dawson, James ‘Noodles’ Collins and a bunch of mates from industrial Irvine, in Scotland, 1986 was the year that would define their lives.
Flush with a raw passion for music, books and film, spouting politics influenced by the impacts of Thatcherism and arguing through top three lists of everything that matters to them, the group is drawn south, to Manchester.
For one magical weekend, these likely lads soak up the sights and sounds of ’80s counterculture in the birthplace of The Smiths, New Order and The Fall.
Fuelled by a combination of cheap alcohol, speed and youthful zeal, Tully, Noodles et al stagger from one exhilarating experience to another, culminating in the G-Mex music festival.
While Tully is the group’s natural leader – seemingly brimming with euphoric confidence – that fateful weekend he shares moments of melancholic reflection with Noodles, and the two vow to ‘go at life differently’.
Thirty years later, it’s Noodles who Tully calls with devastating news; Noodles who he begs for understanding and assistance.
In Mayflies, O’Hagan documents the culture of my own youth, and reading about the music, films and books that held meaning for these charismatic characters was a bittersweet nostalgic experience. I was besotted from the first page to the last, and will be thrusting copies into the hands of discerning friends from my formative years.

Reviewed by Maureen Eppen