Roger Daltrey: Thanks a lot Mr Kibblewhite, The Sunday Times Bestseller

Author: Roger Daltrey
Publisher: Kings Road Publishing
ISBN: 1788700309
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Book Description
'Before the sixties, you were a child and then you were a man. You went to school and then you went to work. That changed. Our generation changed it.' Roger Daltrey is the voice of a generation, and this is his story. This is the story of his tempestuous school days and his expulsion, age 15, thanks to his authoritarian headmaster, Mr Kibblewhite. That could have been where the story ended, as the life of a factory worker beckoned, but then came rock and roll. Making his first guitar from factory off-cuts, Roger formed a band that would become The Who, one of the biggest bands on the planet. This is the story of My Generation, Tommy and Quadrophenia, of smashed guitars, exploding drums, cars in swimming pools, fights, arrests and redecorated hotel rooms, but also how all those post-war kids redefined the rules of youth. This is not just a hilarious and frank account of more than 50 wild years on the road, it is the definitive story of The Who and of the sweeping revolution that was British rock 'n' roll.

Thanks a Lot Mr Kibblewhite

Author: Roger Daltrey
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
ISBN: 1250296048
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
The frontman of one of the greatest bands of all time tells the story of his rise from nothing to rock 'n' roll megastar, and his wild journey as the voice of The Who. “It’s taken me three years to unpack the events of my life, to remember who did what when and why, to separate the myths from the reality, to unravel what really happened at the Holiday Inn on Keith Moon’s 21st birthday,” says Roger Daltrey, the powerhouse vocalist of The Who. The result of this introspection is a remarkable memoir, instantly captivating, funny and frank, chock-full of well-earned wisdom and one-of-a-kind anecdotes from a raucous life that spans a tumultuous time of change in Britain and America. Born during the air bombing of London in 1944, Daltrey fought his way (literally) through school and poverty and began to assemble the band that would become The Who while working at a sheet metal factory in 1961. In Daltrey’s voice, the familiar stories—how they got into smashing up their kit, the infighting, Keith Moon’s antics—take on a new, intimate life. Also here is the creative journey through the unforgettable hits including My Generation, Substitute, Pinball Wizard, and the great albums, Who’s Next, Tommy, and Quadrophenia. Amidst all the music and mayhem, the drugs, the premature deaths, the ruined hotel rooms, Roger is our perfect narrator, remaining sober (relatively) and observant and determined to make The Who bigger and bigger. Not only his personal story, this is the definitive biography of The Who.

Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon

Author: Tony Fletcher
Publisher: Omnibus Press
ISBN: 0857122223
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 1030

Book Description
Keith Moon was more than just rock's greatest drummer, he was also its greatest character and wildest party animal. Fuelled by vast quantities of drink, drugs, insecurities and confusion, Moon destroyed everything with gleeful abandon: drum kits, houses, cars, hotels, relationships and, finally, himself. In Dear Boy, Tony Fletcher has captured lightning in a bottle – the essence of a totally incorrigible yet uniquely generous boy who never grew up, and who changed the lives of all who knew him. From a life distorted by myths of debauchery and comic anarchy, Fletcher has created a searingly personal portrait of the rock legend. From over 100 first-hand interviews, he traces with deadly accuracy Moon's remarkable journey from his working-class Northwest London childhood, through the Who's glory years to the California high-life and a terrible, premature death. Here too are fascinating insights into the history of the Who and the emergent British pop culture revolution of post-war years. Keith Moon was one of the shock troops of that revolution: the world's greatest rock drummer, a phenomenal character and an extravagant hell-raiser who – in a final, uncharacteristic act of grace – actually did die before he got old.

Who I Am

Author: Pete Townshend
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 144341820X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 465

Book Description
Long acknowledged as one of rock music’s most intelligent and literary performers, Pete Townshend—guitarist, songwriter, singer and founding member of The Who—at last tells his wild story in this candid and immersive autobiography. Raised in west London by an eccentric grandmother, while his parents were off living the early post-war, rock ’n’ roll lifestyle, Townshend describes a frenetic childhood of displacement and abuse. Then, in high school, everything changed when he met Roger Daltrey and formed a band that would travel the world, earning fame, fortune and critical acclaim. In Who I Am, Townshend brings us from the inner sanctum of Eric Clapton’s drug-ridden hotel rooms to the feet of Jimi Hendrix and his electric kool-aid guitar; from the first trial performance of Townshend’s rock opera, Tommy, in a London bar to his infamous arrest (and acquittal) on child pornography charges. With his trademark eloquence, fierce intelligence and brutal honesty, Pete Townshend has created a work of literature that stands as a primary source for popular music’s greatest epoch. Readers will be confronted by a man laying bare who he is, an artist who has asked for nearly sixty years: who are you?

Robert Plant

Author: Paul Rees
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0062281402
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 384

Book Description
Robert Plant by Paul Rees is the definitive biography of Led Zeppelin's legendary frontman. As lead singer for one of the biggest and most influential rock bands of all time—whose song "Stairway to Heaven" has been played more times on American radio than any other track—Robert Plant defined what it means to be a rock god. Over the course of his twenty-year career, British music journalist and editor Paul Rees has interviewed such greats as Sir Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Bono, and AC/DC. Rees now offers a full portrait of Robert Plant for the first time, exploring the forces that shaped him, the ravaging highs and lows of the Zeppelin years—including his relationship with Jimmy Page and John Bonham—and his life as a solo artist today. Illustrated with more than two dozen photographs, Robert Plant: A LIfe is the never-before-told story of a gifted, complicated music icon who changed the face of rock 'n' roll.

The Who

Author: Ben Marshall
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0753551365
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 644

Book Description
Featuring personal, never-before-published photographs, fan memorabilia and anecdotes, captions from Pete, newly discovered gems from The Who archive, an introduction by legendary Who manager Bill Curbishley and further contributions from friends, colleagues and family, this landmark illustrated book celebrates 50 years of anthemic, era-defining music and an extraordinary career.

Sympathy for the Drummer

Author: Mike Edison
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493050699
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 227

Book Description
Sympathy for the Drummer: Why Charlie Watts Matters is both a gonzo rush—capturing the bristling energy of the Rolling Stones and the times in which they lived—and a wide-eyed reflection on why the Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World needed the world's greatest rock 'n' roll drummer. Across five decades, Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has had the best seat in the house. Charlie Watts, the anti-rock star—an urbane jazz fan with a dry wit and little taste for the limelight—was witness to the most savage years in rock history, and emerged a hero, a warrior poet. With his easy swing and often loping, uneven fills, he found nuance in a music that often had little room for it, and along with his greatest ally, Keith Richards, he gave the Stones their swaggering beat. While others battled their drums, Charlie played his modest kit with finesse and humility, and yet his relentless grooves on the nastiest hard-rock numbers of the era ("Gimme Shelter," "Street Fighting Man," "Brown Sugar," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," etc.) delivered a dangerous authenticity to a band that on their best nights should have been put in jail. Author Mike Edison, himself a notorious raconteur and accomplished drummer, tells a tale of respect and satisfaction that goes far beyond drums, drumming, and the Rolling Stones, ripping apart the history of rock'n'roll, and celebrating sixty years of cultural upheaval. He tears the sheets off of the myths of music making, shredding the phonies and the frauds, and unifies the frayed edges of disco, punk, blues, country, soul, jazz, and R&B—the soundtrack of our lives. Highly opinionated, fearless, and often hilarious, Sympathy is an unexpected treat for music fans and pop culture mavens, as edgy and ribald as the Rolling Stones at their finest, never losing sight of the sex and magic that puts the roll in the rock —the beat, that crazy beat!—and the man who drove the band, their true engine, the utterly irreplaceable Charlie Watts.

What Does This Button Do?

Author: Bruce Dickinson
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062468154
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Book Description
New York Times Bestseller “Illuminating and very entertaining…a compelling read about someone who is much more than just the guy who sings for Iron Maiden.” —Loudwire A long-awaited memoir from the larger-than-life, multifaceted lead vocalist of Iron Maiden, one of the most successful, influential and enduring rock bands ever. Pioneers of Britain’s nascent Rock & Metal scene back in the late 1970s, Iron Maiden smashed its way to the top, thanks in no small part to the high-octane performances, operatic singing style, and stage presence of its second, but twice-longest-serving, lead singer, Bruce Dickinson. As Iron Maiden’s front man—first from 1981 to 1993, and then from 1999 to the present—Dickinson has been, and remains, a man of legend. But OTT front man is just one of the many hats Bruce wears. In addition to being one of the world’s most storied and well-respected singers and songwriters, he is an airline captain, aviation entrepreneur, motivational speaker, beer brewer, novelist, radio presenter, and film scriptwriter. He has also competed as a world-class level fencer. Often credited as a genuine polymath Bruce, in his own words (and handwritten script in the first instance!), sets forth many personal observations guaranteed to inspire curious souls and hard-core fans alike. Dickinson turns his unbridled creativity, passion, and anarchic humour to reveal some fascinating stories from his life, including his thirty years with Maiden, his solo career, his childhood within the eccentric British school system, his early bands, fatherhood and family, and his recent battle with cancer. Bold, honest, intelligent and very funny, his memoir is an up-close look inside the life, heart, and mind of one of the most unique and interesting men in the world; a true icon of rock.

Sound Man

Author: Glyn Johns
Publisher: Plume
ISBN: 0147516579
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Book Description
"A life recording hits with the Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, the Eagles, Eric Clapton, the Faces ..."--Jacket.

Full Moon

Author: Dougal Butler
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 0571295851
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 270

Book Description
With Chris Trengove and Peter LawrenceIn 1967 Peter 'Dougal' Butler became a roadie for The Who and their mercurial genius drummer Keith Moon. Soon he would be Moon's personal assistant, chauffeur, and all-purpose wingman. The ride lasted a tumultuous ten years, ending just prior to Moon's untimely death in 1978. Full Moon is Butler's memoir of that ride: essential reading for Who fans, and a masterclass in the mayhem caused by rock 'n' roll excess. 'The most candid insight into the Who star's life.' Daily Star 'Written in a wonderful fast, racy style, Runyonesque and full of good jokes.' Girl About Town 'A welcome change from the usual bland rock book reportage... Butler clearly has a deep and lasting affection for Moon.' Andy Gill, NME 'Certainly outrageous, sometimes funny, but mostly a sad account of life with a talented neurotic.' Daily Mirror