This is the story of the explosive rise and the "much overlooked" fall of the Milltown Brothers. It is the story of a good band that had a lot of luck and then a lot of misfortune. More broadly, it shows the role that luck plays in all our lives, with every thought, breath, and movement influencing how our future paths unfold, no matter how much we want to believe we control everything.

The first appearance of any member of the Milltown Brothers took place in early summer of 1975, in the garage of the Nelson family home in Colne, Lancashire, in front of their mother, father, and a neighbor. The band, with the charming name Cold Meat, consisted of the eldest brother and band manager, Mark Nelson, on lead guitar and vocals. Simon Nelson and neighbor Andy Marsden played drums, and Sarah and Matthew Nelson played air guitar. It was a 12-bar blues jam, according to Mark. It is unclear what it was for Sarah or Matthew.

This is not a story about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. It is much more interesting than that. The Milltown Brothers from Burnley, in northwest England, were discovered by Steve Lamacq, playing their fifth gig at the Bull & Gate in London in May 1988. They signed with A&M in 1990 for an advance of £100,000, had a deal with EMI, and their debut album, Slinky, was awarded 5 stars in Q magazine – one of only three albums to receive such acclaim from Q during 1991.

Not only did Jesus (William Gellert, known as Jesus, who, from the 1960s to the early 2000s, attended concerts all over London, dancing in a completely strange way and often naked) dance at least twice with the Milltown Brothers, but Oasis supported them less than a year before the release of Definitely Maybe. Two years earlier, when they shared the stage with Nirvana and others in Boston, the day before the release of the disruptive Nevermind in September 1991, the organizer described their performance as the highlight of the event. With ongoing tours in the UK, Europe, America, and Japan, they were on the verge of global success... only to gloriously relinquish full anonymity from the hands of eternity.