Gary Lachman

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Gary Joseph Lachman (born December 24, 1955), also known as Gary Valentine, is an American writer and musician. He came to prominence in the mid-1970s as the bass guitarist for rock band

Biography

Musical career

Lachman joined

After Blondie, Lachman moved to Los Angeles and in 1978 released a single, "The First One/Tomorrow Belongs to You" on Beat Records. Shortly after this he formed The Know,^[4] with Joel Turrisi and Richard d'Andrea who were the first band to play the infamous Madame Wong's Chinese restaurant-turned-new wave venue. (Lachman's claim to this distinction has been verified by several eyewitnesses.) After a year and a half Joel left the band and was replaced by drummer John McGarvey.^[5] In 1980 The Know released a single "I Like Girls/Dreams" on Planet Records and were the only bi-coastal US "power pop" band, developing large followings in New York and Los Angeles. Failing to secure an album deal, he disbanded The Know and in 1981 played guitar with Iggy Pop.^[6]

In 1996, after moving to London, he was asked to participate in the Blondie re-union, and in November of that year he recorded one of his songs, "Amor Fati", with Blondie, for their 'comeback' album. In 1997 he performed with Blondie at several major festival concerts in the US. Back in London Lachman worked with former X-Ray Spex saxophonist Lora Logic. In 1998 he formed Fire Escape together with violinist Ruth Vaughn and performed songs he had written for the Blondie reunion album (they had not been used due to the band ultimately excluding him from the recording process and the reunion tour). They released an EP to little fanfare and went on a permanent hiatus after two years.

A compilation of Lachman's work in music entitled Tomorrow Belongs to You featuring recordings by The Know and Fire Escape, was released in 2003 on the UK label Overground Records.^[7]

In 2006, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a former member of Blondie, although vocalist Debbie Harry prohibited Lachman and other ex-members from performing with the current line-up at the ceremony.^[8]

Literary career

Lachman moved to London in 1996 and became a full-time writer,

• Two Essays on
  ISBN 0-946650-53-5
  )
• ISBN 0-946650-59-4
  )
• New York Rocker: My Life in the Blank Generation, with
  ISBN 0-283-06367-X
  )
• ISBN 0-9713942-3-7
  )
• A Secret History of Consciousness (2003,
  ISBN 1-58420-011-1
  )
• The Dedalus Occult Reader: The Garden of Hermetic Dreams (editor of anthology, 2004,
  ISBN 1-903517-32-X
  )
• In Search of
  ISBN 0-8356-0848-4) Chapter VI, Online
• A Dark Muse: A History of the Occult (2005,
  ISBN 1-56025-656-7
  )
• Into the Interior: Discovering
  ISBN 0-85448-149-4
  )
• ISBN 1-58542-543-5
  )
• The Dedalus Book of Literary Suicides: Dead Letters (2008,
  ISBN 978-1-903517-66-6
  )
• Politics and the Occult: The Left, the Right, and the Radically Unseen
  ISBN 978-0-8356-0857-2
  )
• The Dedalus Book of the 1960s: Turn Off Your Mind (updated, enlarged edition 2009,
  ISBN 978-1-903517-70-3
  )
• ISBN 1-58542-792-6
  )
• The Quest For
  ISBN 978-0-86315-798-1
  )
• ISBN 978-1-58542-863-2
  )
• Swedenborg: An Introduction to His Life and Ideas (2012)^[13]
• The Caretakers of the Cosmos: Living Responsibly in an Unfinished World (2013,
  ISBN 978-178250-002-5
  )
• ISBN 978-0-399-16190-2
  )
• Revolutionaries of the Soul: Reflections on
  ISBN 978-0-8356-0926-5
  )
• The Secret Teachers of the Western World (2015,
  ISBN 978-0-399-16680-8
  )
• Beyond the Robot: The Life and Work of
  ISBN 978-0-399-17308-0
  )
• Lost Knowledge of the Imagination (2017,
  ISBN 978-1-782-50445-0
  )
• Dark Star Rising: Magick and Power in the Age of Trump (2018,
  ISBN 978-0-525-50380-4
  )
• The Return of Holy Russia: Apocalyptic History, Mystical Awakening, and the Struggle for the Soul of the World (2020
  ISBN 978-1-62055810-2
  )
• Introducing Swedenborg: Correspondences (2021
  ISBN 9780854482160
  )
• Dreaming Ahead of Time: Experiences with Precognitive Dreams, Synchronicity and Coincidence (2022)
• Aleister Crowley: The Beast In Britain (Herb Lester Associates Ltd 2023)
• Maurice Nicoll: Forgotten Teacher of the Fourth Way (Inner Traditions 2024)
• Facts Concerning H. P. Lovecraft and His Environs (Herb Lester Associates 2024)