There is a romantic view of the music industry – probably born out of the excesses of the 1970s – of rock stars lounging around in five-star hotel suites, lighting crackpipes with burning £50 notes, after doing two hours’ work that night.

David Ford’s new show is set to dispel all those images, as he brings his music and his latest bubble-bursting book to Komedia.

“People presume I’m rich because I’m a musician who tours the world and makes records, and have been on television and radio,”says Ford from his Eastbourne home.

“They’re surprised to learn I’ve never received a royalty cheque in my life.

“People assume there’s a constant and steady flow of financial income – but I could earn better money if I quit music now and went to work in McDonald’s.”

His book I Choose This: How To Nearly Make It In The Music Industry was born from Ford hitting his first decade as a professional musician.

“It’s a retrospective of me,” he says.

“It’s not an autobiography, because they are written by famous people who live glamorous lives.

“This is a catalogue of near-misses, half-chances and missed opportunities – a long-winded answer to the question that people often ask me at gigs: ‘How are you not more successful?’”

It all seemed to start well for Ford, lead singer of the hotly tipped band Easyworld, which defied the critical acclaim, limited-release Fierce Panda single and even a top-30 hit to end up as a well kept secret, with two-and-a-half albums to their name over their three years.

“Being in a band is similar but different from every other relationship you can be in,” admits Ford. “It’s like a marriage, but with a weird family dynamic.

“I wrote about forming the band, and breaking up the band, with an element of honesty that people outside the band will appreciate. I’m as critical of myself as I am of them.”

Since the band’s break-up Ford has built a career as a solo artist, with varying success.

The general rule has been his albums – 2005’s I Sincerely Apologise For All The Trouble I’ve Caused, 2007’s Songs For The Road and last year’s Let The Hard Times Roll – receive critical approval for his songwriting abilities and beautifully constructed classic rock songs,but low sales.

“I give the side of the story that people don’t often hear,” he says. “It seems completely obvious now why I find myself without the sales of Lady Gaga or notoriety of James Blunt.

“It was all my own doing, and my own choice. Often it was my refusal to really go for the commercial jugular, or to work with certain people.

“I didn’t even document everything in the book, there was so much more – ten years of real life is difficult to cram into a single paperback volume!

“With some bands there is an inevitability to their success; it was the right time, and there was a gap in the market. The difficulty with me is I tried to fill the gaps that weren’t there, or gaps that had been filled 30 years ago.”

This show will combine spoken word extracts from the book, with selections from his back catalogue, following the book’s chronological format.

And there will be the chance for the audience to ask questions and hear what he has to say about the music industry today.

“The music industry has become more competitive,” he says. “Everyone is looking to minimise risk, and the easiest way to do that is not to rely on the flakey physical artists to come up with the goods.

“Instead they employ a factory mentality, where you have to deliver a saleable product on time and on budget. You have writing teams and production houses holding the balance of creative power.”

Helping that process is the current state of radio.

“Radio doesn’t want to play anything inspirational,” he says. “They want to play something safe to keep people listening, and so we get the blandest music possible.

“I remember the reason I liked music in the first place as a youngster, and how I made emotional connections with certain records, music and artists.

“I always wanted to provide that for anybody who could be bothered to listen and understood it wouldn’t make me rich.”

*Doors 7.30pm, tickets £12. Call 0845 293 8480.