Lonely Boy: Tales of a Sex Pistol - Hardcover

Thompson, Ben; Jones, Professor Steve

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0306824817 ISBN 13: 9780306824814

Publisher: Da Capo Press, 2017

Synopsis

Ask anyone who knows about music and they'll tell you: without Steve Jones, punk rock would not exist. This is not hyperbole. The prototypical street-urchin-turned-Sex-Pistols-guitarist was the inspiration for and creator of the punk movement, which started shaking the culture in late 1970s London and is just as strong today. Lonely Boy presents never-before-told stories of an abused boy who was neglected by his mother and stepfather and abandoned by his biological father. It chronicles the petty crime and anger of his youth, which fueled the musical onslaught to come, the meteoric rise of the Pistols, the role of impresario Malcolm McLaren, and how a band with one album defined a generation and changed history. Lonely Boy educates people on where it all started, straight from the guy who inspired the whole scene.

About this title

Review:

"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 hilarious and at times harrowing read."
--MOJO

"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

"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"


"A bloody good story...Jones' own voice speaks loud and clear throughout Lonely Boy, a brutally honest and level-headed memoir."
--Record Collector

"[A] funny, filthy-mouthed memoir."
--NME

"A book that's sometimes raucously funny."--Uncut

"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


"[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


"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

Book Description:

Memoir by the guitarist of the legendary, ground-breaking punk pioneers the Sex Pistols

About this edition

• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0306824817
• ISBN 13: 9780306824814
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 344