POW!

Before authoring eleven books, including best-selling biographies of Who drummer Keith Moon, R.E.M. and the Smiths, Tony Fletcher was a teenaged music magazine publisher (Jamming!) in his native England. But, with a degree of industry that sounds absolutely exhausting, he also ran a record label with Paul Weller of the Jam, interviewed rock stars, led a band, promoted concerts, worked as an on-air TV interviewer — and still found time for romance.

Fletcher chronicled the early days of his life and career in Boy About Town (2013), but he went on to have many more extraordinary experiences, which are detailed in this colorful and engaging memoir, where the story gets really interesting.

1980–’84 was an explosive time in British rock, as the disruptive energy of bands like the Clash and Sex Pistols gave way to more sophisticated and chart-friendly genres and bands. Fletcher was on the front lines, attending many of most the important concerts and befriending the top acts, many of whom became MTV regulars: Madness, Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Wham!, the Human League, Echo and the Bunnymen, Killing Joke Adam and the Ants. Then there’s the time he interviewed Paul McCartney…

This is a coming of age story, the tale of a naïve young man in a cultural whirlwind who learns some hard lessons about business, journalism, love and sex – all while trying to get his own band a record deal.