![Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol (Soon to be a limited series directed by Danny Boyle) by [Steve Jones]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51f7W4eOROS._SY346_.jpg)
Steve Jones was never going to win any literary awards for his "warts and all" tale of his up bringing in the less than salubrious parts of West London; his all too few years in the limelight as the Sex Pistols guitarist (and studio bassist); and his struggles and ultimately his survival through the forty years since the Pistols flame was extinguished. But this is an interesting book: it's surprisingly well written for a man who didn't learn to read and write until he was in his thirties; and it's an honest insight to the sex, drugs, rock and roll and thieving demons that drove him to the edge and how he turned his life around, although there are moments when Jones comes across as proselytising but I shouldn't complain if it helps others as Jones is clearly aiming to.
Surprisingly there is very little, perhaps too little about the Pistols actual music. Jones has avoided the all too common mistake that musicians make of thinking their readers are interested in details of keys, riffs and so on. Instead Jones focuses on the personalities that whirled around him in the cash from chaos maelstrom surrounding the Pistols; and with Rotten/Lydon, Cook, Matlock, Vicious, McLaren, Westwood, et al there's a lot of personalities to focus on. I particularly liked Jones's thoughts on how John Simon Ritchie might have turned out if he had been called Sid Gentle or Sid Nice, and his conflictions on Lydon/Rotten make for an interesting read.
While Steve Jones's thoughts and memories may not be of interest to anyone who's never heard the Pistols for those us who fondly remember punk's annus mirabilis of 1977 this is a must read (unless of course you are John Lydon!) but beware it is brutally frank and Jones wasn't always a good guy.
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Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol (Soon to be a limited series directed by Danny Boyle) Kindle Edition
by
Steve Jones
(Author)
Format: Kindle Edition
| Steve Jones (Author) See search results for this author |
SOON TO BE A LIMITED SERIES DIRECTED BY DANNY BOYLE
_____________________
Foreword by Chrissie Hynde
Without the Sex Pistols there would be no punk rock, and without Steve Jones there would be no Sex Pistols.
It was Steve who formed Kutie Jones and his Sex Pistols, the band that eventually went on to become the Sex Pistols, with his schoolmate Paul Cook and who was its original leader. As the world celebrates the 40th anniversary of Punk - the influence and cultural significance of which is felt in music, fashion and the visual arts to this day - Steve tells his story for the very first time.
Rising from the streets of Hammersmith, Steve Jones was once a lonely, neglected boy living off his wits and petty thievery. Given purpose by the glam art rock of David Bowie and Roxy Music, he became one of the first generation of punks taken under the wings of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood. For the very first time Steve describes the neglect and abuse he suffered at the hands of his stepfather, and how his interest in music and fashion saved him from a potential life of crime.
From the Kings Road of the early seventies, through the years of the Sex Pistols, Punk Rock and the recording of Never Mind the Bollocks (ranked number 41 in Rolling Stone magazine's Best Albums of All Time), to his self-imposed exile in New York and Los Angeles where he battled with alcohol, heroin and sex addiction - caught in a cycle of rehab and relapse - Lonely Boy, written with music journalist and author Ben Thompson, is the story of an unlikely guitar hero who, with the Sex Pistols, changed history.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherCornerstone Digital
- Publication date17 Nov. 2016
- File size24619 KB
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Product description
About the Author
Steve Jones is a Senior Research Fellow at University College, London and has worked at universities in the USA, Australia and Africa. He gave the Reith Lectures in 1991 and presented a BBC TV series on human genetics and evolution in 1996. He appears frequently on radio and television. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
Memoir by the guitarist of the legendary, ground-breaking punk pioneers the Sex Pistols --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Radio X, 9/16/16
"From being a young oik in Hammersmith to being a sex addicted, burnt out addict in LA, Steve Jones has led a bloody interesting life. He was the man who kick started the Sex Pistols, one of the most influential bands in British music and ended up as one of the least likely guitar heroes in rock 'n' roll."
[An] engaging memoir...[Jones is] a born storyteller... He has a way with sudden bursts of simple truths...He also sizes up the Sex Pistols better than anyone previously.--Waterbury Sunday Republican-American
[A] funny, filthy-mouthed memoir.
--NME
[A] gleefully coarse autobiography...Throughout Jones' tome, he leans into the language of London's street culture...It's a tale told without censorship or self-pity...Ribald stories lurch across every page, making Lonely Boy a must-read.--New York Observer
[A] scabrously delightful memoir.--The Daily Beast
A bloody good story...Jones' own voice speaks loud and clear throughout Lonely Boy, a brutally honest and level-headed memoir.
--Record Collector
A book about the Pistols that's more fact over fiction when compared with Rotten's self-centred, ego-inflating spiel or Matlock's voice of the cheated...It's without a doubt that Jones has lived a full and decidedly hedonistic life...His narrative resonates with honesty fused with laugh-out-loud moments of stupidity, sexual bravado and loud-mouthed arrogance. While this is obviously an autobiography about a musician from one of the most infamous bands of all time, it's also about the life of Steve Jones the person; of triumph over adversity...A genuinely engrossing and brave read.
"From being a young oik in Hammersmith to being a sex addicted, burnt out addict in LA, Steve Jones has led a bloody interesting life. He was the man who kick started the Sex Pistols, one of the most influential bands in British music and ended up as one of the least likely guitar heroes in rock 'n' roll."
[An] engaging memoir...[Jones is] a born storyteller... He has a way with sudden bursts of simple truths...He also sizes up the Sex Pistols better than anyone previously.--Waterbury Sunday Republican-American
[A] funny, filthy-mouthed memoir.
--NME
[A] gleefully coarse autobiography...Throughout Jones' tome, he leans into the language of London's street culture...It's a tale told without censorship or self-pity...Ribald stories lurch across every page, making Lonely Boy a must-read.--New York Observer
[A] scabrously delightful memoir.--The Daily Beast
A bloody good story...Jones' own voice speaks loud and clear throughout Lonely Boy, a brutally honest and level-headed memoir.
--Record Collector
A book about the Pistols that's more fact over fiction when compared with Rotten's self-centred, ego-inflating spiel or Matlock's voice of the cheated...It's without a doubt that Jones has lived a full and decidedly hedonistic life...His narrative resonates with honesty fused with laugh-out-loud moments of stupidity, sexual bravado and loud-mouthed arrogance. While this is obviously an autobiography about a musician from one of the most infamous bands of all time, it's also about the life of Steve Jones the person; of triumph over adversity...A genuinely engrossing and brave read.
--Scanner Zine
A book that's sometimes raucously funny.--Uncut
A brutally frank ¬autobiography.
--The Mirror
A fascinating read, in part because Jones is a brilliant story-teller, but also because he's got plenty of stories to tell...As anyone who's listened to Jones long-running radio show (Jonesy's Jukebox) knows, he can be wildly entertaining. It should come as no surprise then that his memoir is just as compelling. It's been a long time coming, considering how many books have been devoted to Jones and his former bandmates over the years, but Lonely Boy was well worth the wait. --Blurt
A good read...Lonely Boy is in some ways a tragic story, and shows just how long it can take to even begin to undo the damage done by child sexual abuse...The book...shows that being a victim of child sexual abuse doesn't mean you can't go on to be a legend.--Male Psychology Network
A hilarious and at times harrowing read.
--MOJO
A raw, vanity-free dive into a life marred by an abused childhood, petty crime and addictions to drink, drugs and sex, but rescued by Jones's relentless aspiration for a better life.
--London Times Magazine, 11/5/16
A sprawling autobiography that recalls his days growing up in London in the late '60s, to his present-day life as a DJ in California...The book [has] a certain authenticity that's sometimes lost with other ghost-written autobiographies.--PopMatters
A sweaty sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll journey with dollops of humor, honesty and bratty tongue in cheek pathos.--Goldmine
A true-life survivor's story...An entertaining, informative, and sometimes shocking read.--Guitar Player
Absolute unflinching detail, with a nod and a wink and a pinch of Cockney slang...[A] painfully honest...must-read memoir.--Noisey's VICE
An absolute riot of revelation...[Jones] owns up to his failings with a colourful candour that is moving.
--The Telegraph, "Best Rock Biographies and Music Books for Christmas 2016"
As someone who was there from the beginning Jones has many yarns to spin when it comes to sex, drugs and rock n' roll...A humorous, revealing and tough tell-all that gives the fan reader exactly what it wants but also would give the casual reader a unique look at what turns a young boy into a cat burglar, foul mouth yob, guitar legend, recovering addict and eventually a Hollywood celebrity.--Punk Globe
Brutally honest...Lonely Boy is not only the best of the Sex Pistols autobiography, it is among the best rock books ever. Jones has an amazing talent for storytelling and even it his memory was not the best at times, it is still an amazing story of survival in the heartless music business. And while Jones may have felt lost in the post-Punk 80's...[he] should be proud of himself for withstanding one of rock's most mythical, and trying eras.
--Music-News
Capture[s] what it was like to be a Sex Pistol in that upheaval of mad, tabloid-fed notoriety, fame and occasional violence in mid-'70s England...Jones, despite his womanizing and penchant for theft, is sympathetic and you're happy he has made it this far in one piece, sense of humor intact and destructive impulses at bay.--Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Chronicles the rise and fall of the punk band as well as a lifetime of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll.--New York Daily News
Details [Jones's] fast-paced life, a sweaty sex, drugs and rock and roll journey with dollops of humor, honesty and bratty tongue in cheek pathos.
--Rock Cellar
Fantastic...Jones confesses to the kind of sordid, outlaw upbringing that would make even Keith Richards blush...Lonely Boy is unique amongst rock star memoirs: Jones is the real deal, and he isn't afraid to put it all-the good, the bad, and the truly ugly-out there for all to see.
--Esquire
Filled with brutally honest accounts of [Jones's] life.--Los Angeles Daily News
Grade-A f*cking refreshing...From the outset of his new memoir Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol, the guitarist and unlikely punk rock revolutionary tells his life story with the same maelstrom of honesty and audacity with which he has always played.--Mass Appeal
If you live in the Los Angeles area, you've probably heard Jonesy's Jukebox, the guitarist's popular radio show, and if that's the case, you already know how refreshingly honest and funny the guy can be. That's the same kind of energy he brings to Lonely Boy...His struggles with drugs, alcohol, and sex addiction are handled with the punk icon's irresistible storytelling style that combines raw honesty and un-PC humor.
--NoEcho.net
In his new memoir, Lonely Boy...Jones owns the band's history point by point, from its grittiest details to its echoing continuance in new music...Lonely Boy is exciting because it's about a Sex Pistol-singular, not plural. It isn't a timeline detailing the band's every move; it's far more captivating...Jones is an entertaining storyteller...Lonely Boy isn't contrived or dishonest-it's an open conversation about the experiences that were most important to Jones' development as a musician and person. The Sex Pistols created one of music's most memorable rebellions. This is the story of the musician who helped them make it. --Elmore Magazine
In Lonely Boy, Jones chronicles his personal demons-including addiction, recovery, and relationships-as well as the struggles with those involved with the Sex Pistols. It's honest and vulnerable. --Los Angeles Times
It is often said that without The Sex Pistols, there would be no punk rock, and as the founding guitarist of The Sex Pistols, a lot of rock music's roots go back to Steve Jones. In this memoir, the host of Jonesy's Jukebox covers all facets of his life-he has done plenty as a musician, producer, actor and host since the Pistols disbanded for the first time in the late 1970s-and fortunately, for our entertainment, he writes just like he speaks.--Downtown Magazine
Jones' memoir bristles with a vivid sense of time and place...The dishy account will interest fans of early punk rock. --Milwaukee Shepherd-Express
Jones's autobiography is anything but quaint...His book's title speaks volumes, although these stories are told without sadness...Through the fame years, Lonely Boy is often eye-wateringly funny...He's 'a semi-retired sexual deviant who doesn't really act out so much any more, ' which is sensible. His book's a delight.
--The Guardian
Lonely Boy is a times confessional, at others profane, it is often laugh out loud funny and on more than one downright sad. There is an unexpected level of emotion and honesty...While it features everything you'd expect from a rock star bio, it avoids the pitfall of becoming a cliché.--My Big Honkin Blog
Lonely Boy is the complete autobiography: unfailingly honest, presented warts and all...The band, which for so many years has lived largely in lore, is humanized here. We get to see the people behind the group, the struggles that came with becoming a symbol for punk youth, and the effects of having to live up to that image...Lonely Boy is an eminently readable autobiography. Jones holds nothing back, his scars on display for all to see...Sex Pistols fan or not, Lonely Boy is an entertaining read that leaves no stone unturned.--A.V. Club
Lonely Boy is ultimately a tale of triumph, as Jonesy confronts his addictions, comes to terms with those who wronged him, and lands his first steady job as the host of his own radio show, Jonesy's Jukebox--The Arts Fuse
Lonely Boy proves what [Jones's] listeners already knew-he's got more than his share of amazing stories, and an ability to tell them with wit and a survivor's sense of perspective, all of which make the book almost impossible to put down.
--Midnight to Six
Lonely Boy pulls no punches.--LA Weekly
Never Mind the Bollocks, here's a great Sex Pistols memoir...Paints a portrait of just how 'dangerous' punk rockers and punk music were in the UK during the mid and late '70s, when it always had a harder, more political edge than U.S. punk...Jones's memoir is-like a great punk-rock song-short, hard-hitting and Pretty Decent.
--Houston Press
Punk music was once described as the 'sound of chaos, ' and its reign on the charts was very brief...A new book by Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones offers tales from that time that will shock even the most jaded fan...It's a walk through musical history.--WABC TV
Raw, open, and disarmingly honest...There's something very refreshing about Jones' honesty, and to hear the story of the birth, brief life, and grisly death of the Sex Pistols told in his voice-the working class scouse accent all but leaps from the pages-is a delight for anyone who cares about rock music at the end of the 20th century...He's witty, he's self-deprecating...Reading Lonely Boy, you can't help but feel compassion for Jones and his mates...The angst of end-of-the-century class-obsessed England in general and depressed urban London in particular, is palpable when Jones recounts his youth.--Buffalo News
Reveals the brief but impactful two-year history of the English punk band from the inside out...Jones is more than honest about his life and hides nothing...Any fan of the Sex Pistols should read this.--Curled Up with a Good Book
The bluntness and unapologetic crudity with which he tells his story are tremendously appealing. And, of course, he has a heck of a story to tell.
--New York Times Book Review
The book manages to be both comprehensive and conversational.--New Noise
The book serves as both a history of the Sex Pistols and a personal journey through the life of Steve Jones...In this candid account of his life, Steve Jones shows how one boy from West London started an entire movement that would forever change the face of his generation, making Lonely Boy a must read for all fans of rock and roll. Delve into the deep, dark world of punk rock and pick up your copy today. --BackstageAxxess.com
The book shows off Jones' wry humor and blunt assessments of himself as he parses his life...As a whole, the book provides a fresh look at the punk movement 40 years removed from the release of Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols.
--RollingStone.com
The book, like few other rock chronicles of recent vintage, actually reads the way its subject thinks...And it's all written in an unaffected patois peppered with cockney slang and coarse language...The real meat of the book, naturally, is his recounting of the short history of the Sex Pistols. It's well-trodden ground, but there's actually some fresh insight to be found through Jones' lens.--Portland Mercury
The cocksure guitarist...kicked off the British punk movement...He's also penned a long-awaited autobiography, Lonely Boy that, along with music and mayhem, finds him discussing his multiple chemical addictions, his abusive childhood, kleptomania, and how he conquered them all.--Metro New York
The story of a true rock survivor.--Goldmine
The story of the Sex Pistols has been told and mis-told several times. Maybe this book is the first one that explains where it all came from, not from someone's ego, or imagination, but from West London, retold by the only real member of the band...Very moving stuff.
--The Portable Infinite
The Sex Pistols guitarist details his life-an impoverished Sixties childhood, sexual abuse and dalliances with crime-in a way that is both moving and candid.--The Telegraph, "Top 50 Books of the Year 2016"
The Sex Pistols guitarists tells his story of the band that caused a paradigm shift in music.
--Music Connection
There are pungent anecdotes throughout the book...[Lonely Boy is] distinguished by Jones's sense of humor, his way with self-deprecating anecdotes and a candor that's as bracing as the opening riff of the Pistols's 'God Save the Queen.' --Washington Post
Very personal.--US Weekly
What's special about this book is its story arc, which will make the most hardened punk well up...A poignant, honest, drily humorous rump-fest from a lost soul found.
--MOJO
With a new memoir, the famed punk rocker airs some dirty laundry and sets the record straight...Jones confesses to the kind of sordid, outlaw upbringing that would make even Keith Richards blush...Lonely Boy is unique amongst rock star memoirs: Jones is the real deal, and he isn't afraid to put it all-the good, the bad, and the truly ugly-out there for all to see. --Israel Book Review
With characteristic candor, Jones shares the sordid details of his dysfunctional, working-class, West London upbringing...The book captures the hooligan panache and Cockney rhyming slang that have enthralled listeners of Jones' long-running KLOS (Los Angeles) radio show...For fans of punk history, and punk guitar, Lonely Boy is full of surprising little revelations...Lonely Boy is a close cousin to Dee Dee Ramone's 1997 'as told to' autobiography Lobotomy: Surviving the Ramones...Both books are essential reading for anyone interested in the birth of punk rock.--Guitar World
With his memoir, ...Jones elucidates the Dickensian childhood that underpins his band's glamorous nihilism as well as the multiple addictions-heroin, alcohol, stealing, and sex-that almost took him to an early grave.
--GoodReads.com
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.From the Back Cover
Without the Sex Pistols there would be no Punk. And without Steve Jones there would be no Sex Pistols. It was Steve who formed Kutie Jones and his Sex Pistols, the band that eventually went on to become the Sex Pistols, with his schoolmate Paul Cook and who was its original leader. As the world celebrates the 40th anniversary of Punk – the influence and cultural significance of which is felt in music, fashion and the visual arts to this day – Steve tells his story for the very first time.
Steve’s modern Dickensian tale begins in the streets of Hammersmith and Shepherd’s Bush, West London, where as a lonely, neglected boy living off his wits and petty thievery he is given purpose by the glam art rock of David Bowie and Roxy Music and becomes one of the first generation of ragamuffin punks taken under the wings of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood. For the very first time Steve describes the sadness of never having known his dad, the neglect and abuse he suffered at the hands of his step father, and how his interest in music and fashion saved him from a potential life of crime spent in remand centres and prison. From the Kings Road of the early seventies, through the years of the Sex Pistols, Punk Rock and the recording of Never Mind the Bollocks (ranked number 41 in Rolling Stone magazine’s Best Albums of All Time), to his self-imposed exile in New York and Los Angeles where he battled with alcohol, heroin and sex addiction – caught in a cycle of rehab and relapse – Lonely Boy, written with music journalist and author Ben Thompson, is the story of an unlikely guitar hero who, with the Sex Pistols, changed history.
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
Steve’s modern Dickensian tale begins in the streets of Hammersmith and Shepherd’s Bush, West London, where as a lonely, neglected boy living off his wits and petty thievery he is given purpose by the glam art rock of David Bowie and Roxy Music and becomes one of the first generation of ragamuffin punks taken under the wings of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood. For the very first time Steve describes the sadness of never having known his dad, the neglect and abuse he suffered at the hands of his step father, and how his interest in music and fashion saved him from a potential life of crime spent in remand centres and prison. From the Kings Road of the early seventies, through the years of the Sex Pistols, Punk Rock and the recording of Never Mind the Bollocks (ranked number 41 in Rolling Stone magazine’s Best Albums of All Time), to his self-imposed exile in New York and Los Angeles where he battled with alcohol, heroin and sex addiction – caught in a cycle of rehab and relapse – Lonely Boy, written with music journalist and author Ben Thompson, is the story of an unlikely guitar hero who, with the Sex Pistols, changed history.
--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.
Product details
- ASIN : B01GR49BXO
- Publisher : Cornerstone Digital; 1st edition (17 Nov. 2016)
- Language : English
- File size : 24619 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 296 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: 22,211 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer reviews:
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A must read for those who remember '77 but beware it's frank and Jones wasn't always a good guy...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 May 202211 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 August 2018
Never Mind the Bollocks was the second album I owned (the first being the Clash debut) - I still regard it as one of the truly great rock albums to this day and play it regularly. Jones writes honestly (when he can remember) even though some of his memories can be pretty brutal, selfish and sexist. That aside I really enjoyed the book when Jones was talking about music; the formation of the Pistols, making that great album and coming full circle to Jonesys Jukebox. The most important fact for me was that he refuted the 'expert' opinions that the Pistols couldn't play - as they most certainly could - apart from Sid obviously (who was just a waste of space). Make no mistake Jones will go down as a great - along with Rotten, Matlock and Cook - Bollocks is a classic - it's not what you play its how you play it.
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 August 2021
Without the Sex Pistols there would be no Punk. And without Steve Jones there would be no Sex Pistols. It was Steve who formed Kutie Jones and his Sex Pistols, the band that eventually went on to become the Sex Pistols, with his schoolmate Paul Cook and who was its original leader.
A friend at work was reading this and raved about it, so I decided to give it a go. I’ve been aware of The Sex Pistols since they began, even though I was too young in 1977 to appreciate them (and watched “The Great Rock N Roll Swindle” before I should have) and like their music and stance, but went into this not knowing what to expect. And it didn’t disappoint. Told in an exuberant style (ghost written by Ben Thompson), as if Jones was regaling you in a pub (with no alcohol present), this starts off very dark indeed, as he’s abused by his step-dad (his father ran away before he was born) and then by a local ‘nonce’ in the underpass. From here, however, we see the glam of the 70s almost from the inside, as the lonely, neglected boy skips school, lives off petty thievery, discovers girls and steals equipment from Bowie, the Stones and Roxy Music. After coming into contact with Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, punk is born and The Sex Pistols takes off. Jones tells the story frankly (and often paints himself in the worse light), from the ‘filth and the fury’ up to 2015 (when this was published). Occasionally harrowing, often funny and never dull, this is a cracking autobiography and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very much recommended.
A friend at work was reading this and raved about it, so I decided to give it a go. I’ve been aware of The Sex Pistols since they began, even though I was too young in 1977 to appreciate them (and watched “The Great Rock N Roll Swindle” before I should have) and like their music and stance, but went into this not knowing what to expect. And it didn’t disappoint. Told in an exuberant style (ghost written by Ben Thompson), as if Jones was regaling you in a pub (with no alcohol present), this starts off very dark indeed, as he’s abused by his step-dad (his father ran away before he was born) and then by a local ‘nonce’ in the underpass. From here, however, we see the glam of the 70s almost from the inside, as the lonely, neglected boy skips school, lives off petty thievery, discovers girls and steals equipment from Bowie, the Stones and Roxy Music. After coming into contact with Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, punk is born and The Sex Pistols takes off. Jones tells the story frankly (and often paints himself in the worse light), from the ‘filth and the fury’ up to 2015 (when this was published). Occasionally harrowing, often funny and never dull, this is a cracking autobiography and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very much recommended.
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 February 2018
Very interesting read. Steve Jones has certainly lived an interesting life. Of course a bulk of the book covers the Sex Pistols, but it's the new perspective of Steve that freshens things up. Everybody cares about was John, Sid and Malcolm had to say or do. Very rarely does anyone care about the guy who actually wrote all the riffs for those classic punk songs. I like the way he pulls no punches, and says it how it is. Like when he recalls the incident between Sid Vicious and Bob Harris, where Sid glassed Bob for apparently no reason at all. He does focus on some early childhood trauma, but I wont reveal all as I think too many spoilers can alter your perception on the plot or timeline of events. If you know what's coming why read it right? From his days as a rowdy punk in the late 70's, to a mellowed out rocker with long hair in the late 80's, to his more recent successes, one can't deny this book is an addictive dose of drama through every chapter. Oh and as a Professionals fan, it was good to get some historical insight on that too!
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 December 2019
I’m continually reading books but I’m not sure why - perhaps it’s habit? However I really enjoyed reading this book - something about the way he writes and the things he says and the way he says them. I found it quite light and humorous and, as Jordan says in her book (called Defying Gravity), quite humble. Usually when I read a biography I give up half way through but this time I read the whole book. There are a lot of cross-overs and intersections with other things which were happening at the time. For instance he mentions Peter Cristopherson (who also known as Sleazy) who ended up in Throbbing Gristle. (I would also recommend a biography called “Art Sex Music” about COUM and Throbbing Gristle - that book really opened my eyes!)
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 November 2016
This is quite simply best rock n roll biography i have read, Jonesy is so brutally honest ,funny,sincere and leaves nothing in the closet.
i have loved this guy for 39 years, he changed my life the day i heard that les paul coming from the bollocks album. My guitar hero forever AND a really top bloke
i have loved this guy for 39 years, he changed my life the day i heard that les paul coming from the bollocks album. My guitar hero forever AND a really top bloke
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