Irvine Welsh His first novel, "Trainspotting", was published in 1993. Set in the mid-1980s, it uses a series of loosely connected short stories to tell the story of a group of characters tied together by decaying friendships, heroin addiction and stabs at escape from the oppressive boredom and brutality of their lives in the housing schemes. It was released to shock and outrage in some circles and great acclaim in others; "Time Out" called it "funny, unflinchingly abrasive, authentic and inventive", and "The Sunday Times" called Welsh "the best thing that has happened to British writing for decades". It was adapted as
This Addiction (song) in July 2009 at Atlas Studios in the band's hometown of Chicago, where they had recorded much of their early material including their first two albums, 1998's "Goddamnit" and 2000's "Maybe I'll Catch Fire". The sessions were engineered, co-produced, and mixed by Matt Allison, producer of both of those albums as well as 2001's "From Here to Infirmary" and much of the band's other early material. The band's decision to record in Chicago and to work with Allison reflected a desire to return to the punk rock roots of their early albums. Thematically, "This Addiction" uses heroin and methadone addiction