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California Schemin'
How Two Lads from Scotland Conned the Music Industry
By Gavin Bain
Read by Gavin Bain
Table of Contents
About The Book
**Now a major motion picture directed by James McAvoy**
California Schemin' is the remarkable true story of how two rappers from Dundee duped the music industry out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd – or Silibil N' Brains, as they became known – were two ordinary Scottish boys who shared an extraordinary dream: to become rap superstars. Creating new identities for themselves, they persuaded the music industry that they were the latest hot young talent from California. Silibil N' Brains then lived out that lie for more than two years, securing an enormous record deal with Sony and being catapulted into the industry high-life, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Madonna and Eminem.
But they could never actually deliver and promote the album they were paid so much money to put together. As soon as they became famous, they would be recognised by anyone who had known them in their former lives in Scotland and the dream would evaporate. As the pressure mounted, there could be disastrous consequences …
California Schemin' is a story of incredible highs and terrible lows, of doing whatever it takes to follow your dream.
California Schemin' is the remarkable true story of how two rappers from Dundee duped the music industry out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd – or Silibil N' Brains, as they became known – were two ordinary Scottish boys who shared an extraordinary dream: to become rap superstars. Creating new identities for themselves, they persuaded the music industry that they were the latest hot young talent from California. Silibil N' Brains then lived out that lie for more than two years, securing an enormous record deal with Sony and being catapulted into the industry high-life, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Madonna and Eminem.
But they could never actually deliver and promote the album they were paid so much money to put together. As soon as they became famous, they would be recognised by anyone who had known them in their former lives in Scotland and the dream would evaporate. As the pressure mounted, there could be disastrous consequences …
California Schemin' is a story of incredible highs and terrible lows, of doing whatever it takes to follow your dream.
About The Reader
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio UK (April 9, 2026)
- Runtime: 7 hours and 22 minutes
- ISBN13: 9781398564480
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Raves and Reviews
‘One of the most amazing, high octane, hedonistic morality tales of our time . . . An absolutely essential read’
– Irvine Welsh
'Jaw-dropping'
– Independent on Sunday
‘This is the story of a rapping duo who enjoyed one of the most ludicrous careers in the modern music industry . . . A right rollicking read, with lots of sex and drugs and wild, wild times’
– Daily Mail
‘This story is like Robin Hood for the 21st century and will sit alongside all the great rock ‘n’ roll stories in history’
– Alan McGee, founder of Creation Records
‘A blistering, hedonistic rock ‘n’ roll party of a story, it is written with brio and self-deprecating laughs’
– Big Issue
‘You can’t put this book down! It’s got echoes of Trainspotting, Fight Club and A Clockwork Orange, but it’s not fiction – it’s real’
– Dean Cavanagh, creator of Svengali
‘Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd probably persuaded themselves that the fib they chose to tell was the kind of white lie that would harm no one, least of all themselves. But it was to break up their friendship, alienate countless other friends, humiliate the British music industry and drive one of them to the brink of suicide’
– Scotsman
Resources and Downloads
High Resolution Images
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Book Cover Image (jpg): California Schemin'
Unabridged Audio Download 9781398564480
