- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Chrome Dreams; illustrated edition edition (9 July 2006)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1842403605
- ISBN-13: 978-1842403600
- Product Dimensions: 23 x 15.4 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 592,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details |
Product Description
Synopsis
Love him or hate him, when it comes to the man they once called 'Rotten', what you can't do is ignore him. And with two big anniversaries in 2006 [in November it's 30 years since the release of the Sex Pistols' first record and of punk in general going overground - and Johnny Lydon's 50th was celebrated in January], there won't be much chance of avoiding him at all this year. Because 12 months of commemorative programmes, films, books, magazine special editions, articles and all manner of other media events is already underway and is set to reach fever pitch this autumn. With all this in mind, there couldn't be a better time to explore exactly what it was John Lydon did, thought and achieved; that which made him the focal point of the whole British punk movement. The book further explores what his post Pistols/Punk career meant; was he simply riding on the back of his punk credentials, or was the man blessed with a special talent which allowed him to achieve far, far more than any other individual musician or performer to come out of Punk's first wave way back in 1976.Not a traditional biography as such, "John Lydon - Stories of Johnny - A Compendium of Thoughts on the Icon of an Era" contains a series of stand alone essays written by the cream of rock music's writers and commentators. A book which can be either dipped in and out of or read cover to cover, and which both tells the man's story and gets behind what he was - and indeed is - all really about; this work could well be the final word on Lydon and a fitting tribute to an underdog of sorts who became the anti-hero to millions.
About the Author
CONTRIBUTORS INCLUDE; the 'big daddy' of American rock journalism, GREIL MARCUS; US Punk author, LEGS McNEILL; esteemed British music historian and author, CLINTON HEYLIN; legendary ex editor of Zig Zag Magazine and friend of the stars, KRIS NEEDS; ex Mojo editor PAT GILBERT; Punk insider and friend of Johnny, JUDY NYLON; deputy editor of Uncut Magazine, NIGEL WILLIAMSON; world authority on the music of the 1960s and 70s ALAN CLAYSON; EMI recording artist, music journalist and vocal coach, BARB JUNGR and - a foreword by Creation Records supremo and the man who discovered Oasis, Alan McGEE.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
ah ha ha, ever get the feeling you've been cheated.... er, no!,
By larry sanction "lazzaruss" (oldham) - See all my reviews
This review is from: John Lydon: Stories of Johnny - A Compendium of Thoughts on the Icon of an Era (Paperback)
it could have been so rubbish, it really coulda. Picture the scene - rope together a bundle of old punk has-beens and get them to squawk about how brilliant 1977 was and completely miss the point that johnny actually left all that punk gubbins behind the day he slammed the door on the pistols - BUT IT AIN'T!!
Thankfully, what we get is this collection, which, admittedly, does have some punk has-beens in it, but they don't get all dowy eyed and over sentimental, instead offering a CAREER LONG view of rotten. I like PiL for instance, sometimes more than the pistols, so i was chuffed to see clinton heylin's chapter on the pioneers (although it;'s something of an expansion of his Rise/Fall book from the 90s, you gotta admit). Elsewhere rotten's clash with tommy vance is detailed, and there's a fair bit of chin stroking from UK and US punk journos (as seems to be the norm these days), which is great bog reading. If you're wondering whether or not to buy it, then you should, as it's criminal how little work is available on this icon. Johnny'll probably hate it himself, but that's what you'd expect i guess.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
indeed a compendium,
By
This review is from: John Lydon: Stories of Johnny - A Compendium of Thoughts on the Icon of an Era (Paperback)
This book can be a good starting point, but you need a knowledge of the underlying subject matter (punk rock in both Great Britain and USA) to get the full flavour, so it will be best appreciated by those who already know a lot about punk and its main characters.
If you feel a little bit lost after the introduction, then you are advised to either read first the titles proposed there (at the very least "England's Dreaming") or to have them ready for help when needed (I will also add two more fundamentals: Clinton Heylin's "From The Velvets To The Voidoids" and "Please Kill Me" by Legs Mc Neil and Gillian Mc Cain, incidentally the first two of them among the contributors of this compendium). Five stars? Yes, for the Judy Nylon essay alone. Hence I disagree with the other reviewer in terms of why this tome gets a very high praise, but I praise it as well.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Biography > Film, Television & Music > Music > Rock & Pop
- Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Scores, Songbooks & Lyrics > Rock & Pop
- Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > Rock & Pop > Styles > Punk
- Books > Society, Politics & Philosophy > Social Sciences > Communication Studies > Media & Communication Industries > Television
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
