What do you think?
Rate this book
Up and Down with The Rolling Stones - My Rollercoaster Ride with Keith Richards
A biography of the Rolling Stones.
385 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 1979
85 people are currently reading
864 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
November 13, 2012
I read this when I was 14 years old, in 1979. There was no internet, very little insider material for young guys and girls to connect to to understand what was really happening in this almost-fantasy world of rock'n'roll royalty.
I got the book from my old man for Christmas, and didn't move from my sub-tropically heated, sweaty bedroom (and in Brisbane, Australia at Christmas time it is hot and humid).
The stories are sleazy, vindictive, unreliable, and there is plenty of self-pity from Sanchez the dealer/addict, and self-aggrandisement from Sanchez the 'pretend somebody'. Drugs will give you that illusion too, and that is how he writes: "I was there, I knew what was happening, and for a time I was respected". Except he wasn't. Sanchez was a gopher, so the whole book needs to be put into that framework.
Once you are in the mindset that you are reading the memoirs of a narrator for whom you will share little or no empathy, and yet he writes as if he is the one aggrieved, then you may enjoy this rollercoaster ride.
I got the book from my old man for Christmas, and didn't move from my sub-tropically heated, sweaty bedroom (and in Brisbane, Australia at Christmas time it is hot and humid).
The stories are sleazy, vindictive, unreliable, and there is plenty of self-pity from Sanchez the dealer/addict, and self-aggrandisement from Sanchez the 'pretend somebody'. Drugs will give you that illusion too, and that is how he writes: "I was there, I knew what was happening, and for a time I was respected". Except he wasn't. Sanchez was a gopher, so the whole book needs to be put into that framework.
Once you are in the mindset that you are reading the memoirs of a narrator for whom you will share little or no empathy, and yet he writes as if he is the one aggrieved, then you may enjoy this rollercoaster ride.
May 31, 2011
Terrible, terrible book -- a sleazy pusher cashing in on a few nasty stories of the greatest band in history!!!
It's one thing to have Red and Sonny West write a book like ELVIS: WHAT HAPPENED. They were with Elvis from before he got famous. They knew his roots, knew his values, were Southern men who literally spoke the same language. And they didn't push dope, even if they took pills with Elvis from time to time.
But this book . . . eeeeeesh. It's not so much that Tony Sanchez was a parasite who sold drugs to guys he claims were his best buddies. It's the weird tone of the book, a combination of gossip column and Jackie Collins prose, weird snobbery mixed with pandering titillation.
Sanchez takes cheap shots in between kissing ass, ridiculing Mick Jagger for not being "classy" like the high-society parasites who begged to hang out with him the minute he started having hit records. There's something really, really weird about a drug pusher making fun of a rock star for not being as well-born as the debutantes he screws by the truckload. And meanwhile, there's the much darker weirdness of taking Brian Jones' side in all the musical disagreements but then also ignoring the real reason Brian lost his place in the Stones' power structure -- that is, being doped out of his mind all the time on all the drugs his good friend (guess who?) kept selling him out of the goodnes of his heart.
The thing is, this book reads like it was ghost-written anyway, so I doubt ALL of the high-society posturing is really a reflection of Tony Sanchez' world-view. It's more like, some magazine hack who WISHES he was writing about Steve McQueen and Paul Newman (oh joy!) and just HAS to keep reminding you that rock stars lack the "glamor" of classic movie stars. Right. And how old is your target audience?
It's one thing to have Red and Sonny West write a book like ELVIS: WHAT HAPPENED. They were with Elvis from before he got famous. They knew his roots, knew his values, were Southern men who literally spoke the same language. And they didn't push dope, even if they took pills with Elvis from time to time.
But this book . . . eeeeeesh. It's not so much that Tony Sanchez was a parasite who sold drugs to guys he claims were his best buddies. It's the weird tone of the book, a combination of gossip column and Jackie Collins prose, weird snobbery mixed with pandering titillation.
Sanchez takes cheap shots in between kissing ass, ridiculing Mick Jagger for not being "classy" like the high-society parasites who begged to hang out with him the minute he started having hit records. There's something really, really weird about a drug pusher making fun of a rock star for not being as well-born as the debutantes he screws by the truckload. And meanwhile, there's the much darker weirdness of taking Brian Jones' side in all the musical disagreements but then also ignoring the real reason Brian lost his place in the Stones' power structure -- that is, being doped out of his mind all the time on all the drugs his good friend (guess who?) kept selling him out of the goodnes of his heart.
The thing is, this book reads like it was ghost-written anyway, so I doubt ALL of the high-society posturing is really a reflection of Tony Sanchez' world-view. It's more like, some magazine hack who WISHES he was writing about Steve McQueen and Paul Newman (oh joy!) and just HAS to keep reminding you that rock stars lack the "glamor" of classic movie stars. Right. And how old is your target audience?
November 20, 2015
I see a lot of people claiming Keith called Sanchez out as a liar but that's not what I read in Rolling Stone when Keith was interviewed in 1981, a few years after the book was published and here all these years later, Rolling Stone has the interview up on it's website. So, with Keith saying the actual facts are true, why slag the book? -
Rolling Stone Magazine: The Brian-Anita-Keith triangle is a centerpiece of Up and Down with the Rolling Stones, by Tony Sanchez, which came out in 1979. Sanchez described himself as, among other things, your drug procurer, and his description of your lifestyle in those years — late Sixties, early Seventies — is one of almost total dissipation and addiction. Is any or all of this true?
Keith: "Spanish Tony's book? Let's put it like this: I couldn't plow through it all because my eyes were watering from laughter. But the basic laying out of the story — "He did this, he did that" — is true. Tony didn't really write it. He had some hack from Fleet Street write it; obviously, Tony can hardly write his own name, you know? He was a great guy. I always considered him a friend of mine. I mean, not anymore. But I understand his position: he got into dope, his girlfriend ODed, he went on the skids and . . . it's all this shit, you know? As far as that book's concerned, as far as, like, a particular episode, just the bare facts — yeah, they all happened. But by the time you got to the end, it was like Grimm's Fairy Tales — with emphasis on the grim. It's really all old stuff. You know, there are certain showbiz cliches that always seem to hold true. One is that there's no such thing as bad publicity, and the other is that the show must go on, right?"
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/new...
Rolling Stone Magazine: The Brian-Anita-Keith triangle is a centerpiece of Up and Down with the Rolling Stones, by Tony Sanchez, which came out in 1979. Sanchez described himself as, among other things, your drug procurer, and his description of your lifestyle in those years — late Sixties, early Seventies — is one of almost total dissipation and addiction. Is any or all of this true?
Keith: "Spanish Tony's book? Let's put it like this: I couldn't plow through it all because my eyes were watering from laughter. But the basic laying out of the story — "He did this, he did that" — is true. Tony didn't really write it. He had some hack from Fleet Street write it; obviously, Tony can hardly write his own name, you know? He was a great guy. I always considered him a friend of mine. I mean, not anymore. But I understand his position: he got into dope, his girlfriend ODed, he went on the skids and . . . it's all this shit, you know? As far as that book's concerned, as far as, like, a particular episode, just the bare facts — yeah, they all happened. But by the time you got to the end, it was like Grimm's Fairy Tales — with emphasis on the grim. It's really all old stuff. You know, there are certain showbiz cliches that always seem to hold true. One is that there's no such thing as bad publicity, and the other is that the show must go on, right?"
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/new...
September 9, 2012
Pathetic. It was nothing more than Sanchez's attempt to justify his own existence. If you met Sanchez at a party, he'd be the name-dropper you'd want to punch in the face.
January 12, 2011
Despite the 3 rating you can't be a Stones fan if you haven't read this.
December 12, 2020
Der Titel der Neuauflage von Anno 1995 ist natürlich vollkommener Quatsch, Mode- und Pop-Knipser Tony Sanchez war so etwas wie der Drogenbeschaffer von Brian Jones, mit dessen Amokfahrten unter Einfluss das Buch beginnt, und von Keith Richards, der seinem langjährigen Kumpel einen Tritt gab, als er wieder clean wurde. Danach begab sich auch Tony in die Reha, dieses Buch über eher 12 stürmische Jahre ist Teil des therapeutischen Prozesses. Tony beschreibt dabei ziemlich überzeugend den Teufelskreislauf bzw. die Wechselwirkung von Heroin und Kokainkonsum.
Alles in allem so etwas wie die Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo mit Brian Jones und Keith Richards als Co-Stars bzw. den kompletten Stones als Pannenensemble wie bei der Ankunft im Exil an der französischen Riviera. Etwa bei einem mit vollkommener Windstille begonnenen Bootsausflug, der die in Sachen Wetter vollkommen ahnungslosen Briten in ziemlich dicke Mistralnöte brachte. Zweiter komischer Höhepunkt ist der Versuch von Keith und Tony aus einer Riesenmenge Roh-Stoff richtiges Heroin zu machen. Freunde von horizontalen Klatschgeschichten bekommen ziemlich viele düstere Seiten des Verhältnisses zwischen Anita Pallenberg, Brian Jones, dessen Nachfolger Keith Richards zu lesen, zumal Tony auch eine Rolle im Beziehungskrieg spielt und so etwas wie der letzte Mann während der Mitgliedschaft dieser schrägen Muse im Rock'n'Roll-Zirkus der Stones spielt.
Fazit: Da viele Wunden noch bluten, viel unmittelbarer als die elder-Statesman-Beichte von Keith Richards, Sanchez ist als Beschaffer, der selbst in vielfacher Hinsicht abhängig wird, Täter und Opfer zugleich, von daher eine schillernde Drogen-Beichte mit denkbar prominentem Umfeld.
Auch andere Bands, bzw. deren Köpfe werden nicht geschont, insbesondere die Freunde von den Beatles bekommen ihr Fett weg, z.B. Paule als ziemlich kleinliche Natur.
Alles in allem so etwas wie die Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo mit Brian Jones und Keith Richards als Co-Stars bzw. den kompletten Stones als Pannenensemble wie bei der Ankunft im Exil an der französischen Riviera. Etwa bei einem mit vollkommener Windstille begonnenen Bootsausflug, der die in Sachen Wetter vollkommen ahnungslosen Briten in ziemlich dicke Mistralnöte brachte. Zweiter komischer Höhepunkt ist der Versuch von Keith und Tony aus einer Riesenmenge Roh-Stoff richtiges Heroin zu machen. Freunde von horizontalen Klatschgeschichten bekommen ziemlich viele düstere Seiten des Verhältnisses zwischen Anita Pallenberg, Brian Jones, dessen Nachfolger Keith Richards zu lesen, zumal Tony auch eine Rolle im Beziehungskrieg spielt und so etwas wie der letzte Mann während der Mitgliedschaft dieser schrägen Muse im Rock'n'Roll-Zirkus der Stones spielt.
Fazit: Da viele Wunden noch bluten, viel unmittelbarer als die elder-Statesman-Beichte von Keith Richards, Sanchez ist als Beschaffer, der selbst in vielfacher Hinsicht abhängig wird, Täter und Opfer zugleich, von daher eine schillernde Drogen-Beichte mit denkbar prominentem Umfeld.
Auch andere Bands, bzw. deren Köpfe werden nicht geschont, insbesondere die Freunde von den Beatles bekommen ihr Fett weg, z.B. Paule als ziemlich kleinliche Natur.
November 8, 2020
Sexo,drogas y rock n roll. Una biografía espectacular. No se si en realidad este libro fue escrito por Tony Sanchez o si tuvo la ayuda de algún escritor profesional pero narrativa mente es excelente.
La historia de los stones da para un par de películas y en este libro aparecen todos los principales capítulos de la misma: los inicios vs the beatles, la muerte de Brian Jones, los problemas con las drogas, los maravillosos discos que han creado al largo de los años, el incidente de Altamont, el exilio en Francia y un largo ect de geniales aventuras.
A destacar el papel que se le da a las mujeres que rodearon al grupo como esposas o amantes: algunas brillantes y poderosas(Marianne Faithful o Blanca) y otras arrastradas a las drogas y perdidas(Anita Pallenberg).
Las memorias de Tony Sanchez, el camello de la banda que acaba teniendo un papel mas importante y saca de varios líos a Richards, son un no parar y el ritmo es trepidante. Cada capítulo me gusto y al terminar me quedo con ganas de mas.
La historia de los stones da para un par de películas y en este libro aparecen todos los principales capítulos de la misma: los inicios vs the beatles, la muerte de Brian Jones, los problemas con las drogas, los maravillosos discos que han creado al largo de los años, el incidente de Altamont, el exilio en Francia y un largo ect de geniales aventuras.
A destacar el papel que se le da a las mujeres que rodearon al grupo como esposas o amantes: algunas brillantes y poderosas(Marianne Faithful o Blanca) y otras arrastradas a las drogas y perdidas(Anita Pallenberg).
Las memorias de Tony Sanchez, el camello de la banda que acaba teniendo un papel mas importante y saca de varios líos a Richards, son un no parar y el ritmo es trepidante. Cada capítulo me gusto y al terminar me quedo con ganas de mas.
January 4, 2010
Up And Down With The Rolling Stones is a sort of gossipy, soap opera affair in the vein of I’m With The Band. “Spanish” Tony Sanchez is not much of a writer and, as a result, the whole thing’s a bit tedious. He lapses between tenses in a distracting way and the narrative is so disjointed, it’s hard to take anything from it. SpanTo makes a lot of really bizarre statements as well. Like, “No coke user ever fully comprehends at first a very simple fact – every snort of this beautiful, uplifting drug takes him one step nearer heroin addiction.” Really? Or how about, in reference to the success of a Stones TV special, “The film was never shown in Britain, but it was well received in the rest of Europe, where rock fans are less discriminating.” Huh. Or one about Clapton being the best rock guitarist, whereas I feel fellow Yardbirds guitarists Page and Beck were more successful at taking their roots and influences and creating something new.
It was weird, too, having read several Stones bios, reading those same stories. There was nothing new here, really, except who slept with who and where the drugs came from. And how much they cost. There was a whole lot about the cost of drugs.
What I think is very good about this book is that it doesn’t shy away from the fact that Mick and Keith were arrogant, spoiled, egomaniacal *ssholes and that a great many of the characters involved in this story were little better. The term “monsters” comes to mind. Witness Altamont. I’m a great Stones fan but it’s definitely for the music and has never been about any romanticism over their "decadent, rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle." It’s extraordinary the license celebrity seems to give, but more extraordinary that the “little people” not only tolerate this but encourage it.
I found SpanTo’s coverage of The Rolling Stones Rock ‘N’ Roll Circus to be suspect. He dismisses the stunning performance of “A Quick One” by The Who by saying, “The Who played next, but they were dwarfed by the direct comparison with Lennon’s raw genius.” Okay, yes, the performance by John Lennon, Mitch Mitchell, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards was one of the highlights but they basically played a couple songs. They did it well, sure, but no big deal. The Who played this awesome miniature opera complete with time and tempo changes, musical segues and a great deal of excitement and energy. It’s my opinion but I don’t think Dirty Mac, as Lennon’s band was called, came close. That SpanTo goes on to praise the lackluster performance of The Stones is, to me, the nail in the coffin. That Stones performance sucks. Bad.
Ultimately, it’s all opinion and SpanTo doesn’t shy away from giving his opinion. As a memoir, this book is light on facts and heavy on supposition. It is entertaining enough to read if you’re a Stones fan, however and especially if you like a little dirt. Or a lot.
It was weird, too, having read several Stones bios, reading those same stories. There was nothing new here, really, except who slept with who and where the drugs came from. And how much they cost. There was a whole lot about the cost of drugs.
What I think is very good about this book is that it doesn’t shy away from the fact that Mick and Keith were arrogant, spoiled, egomaniacal *ssholes and that a great many of the characters involved in this story were little better. The term “monsters” comes to mind. Witness Altamont. I’m a great Stones fan but it’s definitely for the music and has never been about any romanticism over their "decadent, rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle." It’s extraordinary the license celebrity seems to give, but more extraordinary that the “little people” not only tolerate this but encourage it.
I found SpanTo’s coverage of The Rolling Stones Rock ‘N’ Roll Circus to be suspect. He dismisses the stunning performance of “A Quick One” by The Who by saying, “The Who played next, but they were dwarfed by the direct comparison with Lennon’s raw genius.” Okay, yes, the performance by John Lennon, Mitch Mitchell, Eric Clapton and Keith Richards was one of the highlights but they basically played a couple songs. They did it well, sure, but no big deal. The Who played this awesome miniature opera complete with time and tempo changes, musical segues and a great deal of excitement and energy. It’s my opinion but I don’t think Dirty Mac, as Lennon’s band was called, came close. That SpanTo goes on to praise the lackluster performance of The Stones is, to me, the nail in the coffin. That Stones performance sucks. Bad.
Ultimately, it’s all opinion and SpanTo doesn’t shy away from giving his opinion. As a memoir, this book is light on facts and heavy on supposition. It is entertaining enough to read if you’re a Stones fan, however and especially if you like a little dirt. Or a lot.
June 26, 2012
Written by small-time gangster 'Spanish Tony' who became Richards' consigliere cum dogsbody and proprietor of the Stones' London club 'Vesuvios'. I think you get the gist.
I should add, this is the first e-book I've read. I don't have a Kindle but it was $2.90 and immediate or $15 and four weeks postage so as I needed it as research towards a deadline I took the e-book version and read it on Kindle Reader for MacBook. Once I put it in two-column format, with white text on black background, it was a surprisingly comfortable read. Not like reading a PDF on computer, rather a new experience. Also the highlighting option was very useful for a research document, even if many of the notes disappeared later. Looking forward to getting a Kindle now.
I should add, this is the first e-book I've read. I don't have a Kindle but it was $2.90 and immediate or $15 and four weeks postage so as I needed it as research towards a deadline I took the e-book version and read it on Kindle Reader for MacBook. Once I put it in two-column format, with white text on black background, it was a surprisingly comfortable read. Not like reading a PDF on computer, rather a new experience. Also the highlighting option was very useful for a research document, even if many of the notes disappeared later. Looking forward to getting a Kindle now.
February 16, 2011
Even though Keith claims this dude is lying, but I read it when I was 13 and I remember eating it up!
November 13, 2012
This is a book about staying away from the Rolling Stones if you want to live. Actually, it's a book about the Stones written by the guy who provided them with drugs for like 30 years, but swears he never sold drugs. Also, he never used a needle...until he DID use a needle later in the book. It's hard to know what's true, but if only half of it is it's still testimony to what a waste of skin the Stones have been throughout their long careers. They wrote great songs, and showed the world what rebellion for the sake of rebellion looks like. It's all fun and games until people start to die: at least two deaths by gunshot and ten or so by overdose by the time you reach the 90's and the end of the book. In the end, it's a reminder to look to rock stars for music, and not for wisdom about how to live your life.
January 17, 2018
This was the one (from the late 80's) that cemented my love of the Stones, qua Stones. Apart from the bands of the era, distinctly of themselves and without need of comparison. It also made it clear just what Brian Jones did to establish and drive the band forward and out of obscurity, in spite of the Jagger-Richards zeitgeist that was to come...without his momentum it may never have happened.
More than anything it is a telling that had at first been discredited by members of the band but since confirmed for it's truth and paints a picture of some spectacular moments within the dawning of the most creative era in popular & rock music - spanning the late 60's through early 70's Stones joyride in details only an insider could possess.
Worth re-reading for any fan of the period or band.
More than anything it is a telling that had at first been discredited by members of the band but since confirmed for it's truth and paints a picture of some spectacular moments within the dawning of the most creative era in popular & rock music - spanning the late 60's through early 70's Stones joyride in details only an insider could possess.
Worth re-reading for any fan of the period or band.
October 15, 2008
Scandalous warts and all story of the Rolling Stones like no other. I'm surprised this thing got published. No book has described what a mess Brian Jones became prior to his death, jamming uppers and downers together in one fistful and then getting behind the wheel of his expensive car. You gotta get this one.
December 14, 2010
Not a bad book--but not a great one either. Lots of inside dopester coverage of the Stones (e.g., drug use). I'm not sure that I got a great insight beyond their escapades. . . .
August 18, 2011
Dude. Sex drugs & rock n' roll. Tony Sanchez seems a bit of a creep and I like Keith Richard's book waaaaaaay better, but it was still a good read - much more insight to Brian's demise.
February 27, 2012
A great, gossipy, malicious read. He does seem to be amazingly down on Anita Pallenberg though, which makes me wonder if anything passed between them besides her refusing to sleep with him.
April 9, 2018
This was my "light entertainment" reading material during a period of slight depression. I read it after "Life" by Keith Richards, so I already had some ideas of what I was going to find, only sleazier.
I am not taking sides and I think both Sanchez and Richards gave their own (whatever more convenient for them) version of the truth. After all, there is no such thing as a truly objective report. Clearly, it was in Richards' interest to minimize his escapades - for instance, none of the photos published in his autobiography show him as wasted and filthy as in lots of images available online. Even if Richards cannot deny his addiction, certainly he wanted to do some "damage control".
On the other hand, Sanchez was a hanger-on, a pusher and a junkie who gravitated around the band and felt free to pass judgement on them, even if he was certainly not riding a higher horse. From his account: Jagger was a pathetic, pimply lower class boy; Richards a mean junkie; Jones was stabbed in the back; Pallenberg a very questionable character and Faithful an angel who had sex with everybody (Sanchez included).
What is clear from the tone of the book, is the envy Sanchez felt for the young Stones, working class boys who found themselves millionaires before the age of thirty, The Stones could live extravagant, hedonistic lives, while Sanchez had to provide all sort of services for them. The envy is understandable but certainly not endearing.
I am not taking sides and I think both Sanchez and Richards gave their own (whatever more convenient for them) version of the truth. After all, there is no such thing as a truly objective report. Clearly, it was in Richards' interest to minimize his escapades - for instance, none of the photos published in his autobiography show him as wasted and filthy as in lots of images available online. Even if Richards cannot deny his addiction, certainly he wanted to do some "damage control".
On the other hand, Sanchez was a hanger-on, a pusher and a junkie who gravitated around the band and felt free to pass judgement on them, even if he was certainly not riding a higher horse. From his account: Jagger was a pathetic, pimply lower class boy; Richards a mean junkie; Jones was stabbed in the back; Pallenberg a very questionable character and Faithful an angel who had sex with everybody (Sanchez included).
What is clear from the tone of the book, is the envy Sanchez felt for the young Stones, working class boys who found themselves millionaires before the age of thirty, The Stones could live extravagant, hedonistic lives, while Sanchez had to provide all sort of services for them. The envy is understandable but certainly not endearing.
November 29, 2021
It All Sounds Real
There's been a million books written about the Stones by "insiders" who claim to have been in the band's inner circle ... and some have, albeit ever so briefly. But Sanchez really was there. He saw the band grow from innocent, young hopefuls to a mega force in the rock industry. And he saw the destructive force that was the Rolling Stones .machine.
Sanchez doesn't seem to pull many punches here as he chronicles life as a Keith Richard goofer. He doesn't apologize for what he did nor does he gloss over much of what transpired.
The book seems to tell it like it was ... warts and all. It's a good insider look about an important band.
There's been a million books written about the Stones by "insiders" who claim to have been in the band's inner circle ... and some have, albeit ever so briefly. But Sanchez really was there. He saw the band grow from innocent, young hopefuls to a mega force in the rock industry. And he saw the destructive force that was the Rolling Stones .machine.
Sanchez doesn't seem to pull many punches here as he chronicles life as a Keith Richard goofer. He doesn't apologize for what he did nor does he gloss over much of what transpired.
The book seems to tell it like it was ... warts and all. It's a good insider look about an important band.
February 19, 2021
Dreadfully overwritten by the ghost writer and often unintentionally funny. Contradictory by turns, on one page Brian Jones is quoted as saying the Stones should return to their R&B roots then several pages on he says ‘R&B is over’. He damns The Flying Burrito Brothers as ‘boring folk music’ while later praising Gram Parsons without seemingly knowing he was in the Burritos. However he saves the best for a later chapter where he suggests the Robert Johnson who died in 1938 auditioned to take Mick Taylor! The underlying message here is don’t do drugs boys and girls it’s extremely boring.
July 3, 2024
Brain, Keith, Anita, and Marrianne were such junkies. Drugs become more important than your spouse, or your kids. I am amazed Keith played as well as he did live from 1970-1978 with always shooting up. Mick did drugs too but it seems not to the extent of the others. Taking coke before every concert to have the energy he wanted to have on stage. He was also a sex addict which is why Jerry Hall finally left him. This book is the 2nd time I read it. I read it when I was in High School and it helped me not want to even try any type of drug. They are all destructive.
October 24, 2021
It's only rock & roll but I like it
I just love this book.
Having read it in a mens magazine 30 years ago, it's a book and a story that takes me on a buzz up and down memory lane.
Myths, facts, lies, fantasies and faults. Yes the book is not perfect in the sense of the truth. The readers must decide themselves. And who"s nose? I
Mosr important it tells both hilarious and horrifying story.
I just love this book.
Having read it in a mens magazine 30 years ago, it's a book and a story that takes me on a buzz up and down memory lane.
Myths, facts, lies, fantasies and faults. Yes the book is not perfect in the sense of the truth. The readers must decide themselves. And who"s nose? I
Mosr important it tells both hilarious and horrifying story.
March 21, 2023
Thoroughly enjoyed the book. Picked it up at a local record shop used for 6 dollars. I enjoyed the wild stories and it included everything you think when it comes to the 70s drugs, sex and rock and roll. Loved listing to my dad's records as I read about the Stones procession as a band as well as all the drama. Loved the first hand encounter and the way the stories are told. Some of the violence portrayed disturbed me which is rare.
March 15, 2021
First Stones book I read as a kid and loved it. As a grown up? Good Lord, I could not stop rolling my eyes, and if 10 percent of those direct quotes were even close to what anyone said directly to Spanish Tony, I'll die of shock. Finally put it down when, after all the reprintings, they still couldn't get Brian's age at his death right.
March 21, 2021
To be frank I don’t believe half the story, most are second hand, but at least it’s just his opinion.
However, this book has done something I could never imagine and I am thankful for: the Rolling Stones are human. Never meet your hero’s in case your expectations are too high. Not anymore! Brilliant.
However, this book has done something I could never imagine and I am thankful for: the Rolling Stones are human. Never meet your hero’s in case your expectations are too high. Not anymore! Brilliant.
September 17, 2021
Interesting inside look at the Stones and the people they hung around with. I was left with the impression that Spanish Tony made a bunch of stuff up, and/or passed off hearsay as personal knowledge. There were too many instances where he relayed the inner thoughts, feelings and motivations of the Stones and their friends as established facts. Again it was an interesting story.
July 23, 2022
Utterly honest and exposing of the most iconic band ever. I was endlessly fascinated learning about these eccentric humans beings and their even more eccentric lovers. Although going into it I would’ve loved to learn more about Charlie Watts my fav :(. But he is understandably excluded as his life if far less luxurious and devious as the other literal crack head members
July 26, 2022
The Rolling Stones - an early history
This book is more about the early Rolling Stones and includes Brian Jones and Mick Taylor. There is also a lot of information about drug used by the band and others in the 1960s & 1970s. The book covers more social history and less about music that was made.
This book is more about the early Rolling Stones and includes Brian Jones and Mick Taylor. There is also a lot of information about drug used by the band and others in the 1960s & 1970s. The book covers more social history and less about music that was made.
September 14, 2025
Meh. There were some really interesting parts, like reading how Brian Jones was almost denied service at a hotel in Sri Lanka, as well as other eye-opening bits of information. But it was like a drug overdose reading about the band constantly doing heaps of drugs. It got old. But it was entertaining and enlightening.
August 2, 2018
It reads like tabloid journalism. Author casts himself as the level-headed hero among a sea of spoiled rock-n-roll junkies. But, if all you're looking for is a few wild tales about the early days of the Stones, you may enjoy parts of this book.
December 1, 2021
Gotta remember the author’s lens is definitely through that of a scorned fibber and this is an absolutely incredible tale. I wanna dive more into this genre - behind the scenes of rock n roll type shit. Can’t wait to read the ones about rappers in 15 years
Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews