ROLLING STONES - THE UNAUTHORISED BIOGRAPHY SET

In the forty two years since The Rolling Stones first appeared in the UK singles chart, Mick Jagger has carved for himself a career and an image that have set him apart as one of the truly great performers of the 20th century. As poutingly athletic on stage as ever he was, he has gouged so deep a wound on pop that no poor-selling solo album, so-so movie compromising elitism affected mannerism or any past or future folly will allow the man to outlive the legend

Covering an eye-stretching six decades, from Jagger’s enlivening of a conventional provincial upbringing with sexual adventure and attempts to forge a more glamorous future than that suggested by his graduation from a local state grammar to the London School of Economics, and concluding with his present life as a former national pariah-turned-knighted mainstay of rock’s ruling class, Mick Jagger:

The Unauthorised Biography presents a definitive perspective of the deeds and character of Michael Phllip Jagger

Although he wasn’t someone you’d trust with either your heart or your wallet, Brian Jones was the most rock ‘n’ roll of The Rolling Stones. the group that -alongside The Beatles - soundtracked the 1960s. He was the epitome of the doomed rock hero, characterised by a loveless upbringing, bohemian wanderings, illegitimate offspring, drug busts, neurotic self-absorption and a tragic death.

 As founder member of The Rolling Stones, it was Jones who determined the early musical direction of the band, secured the bookings and took care of the business. Yet, as their fame gathered momentum, Jones’s creative input was sidelined by the overpowering Jagger-Richards songwriting partnership and the inevitable effects of an increasing dependence on drink and drugs, culminating in his ‘sacking’ in June 1969, one month before his death.

 Brian Jones launches a six-volume study of The Rolling Stones with an enlightening account of the tortured life of the man who plummeted from the heights of adulation to the depths of despair, leaving the band he started to enjoy a further 30-plus years of music making.  

Often appearing as a mere onlooker who didn't really want to be there, Charlie Watts, 'the silent Stone' embraced fame reluctantly Yet, ironically, if any one of the Stones could have made it big without the rest, it surely would have been Watts, who showed as much early promise as an artist as he did a jazz drummer.

 Understated and seemingly underwhelmed, Watts provided a stark contrast to the brash Keith Richards and the bohemian Brian Jones, and was, in some ways, an unlikely candidate for the drummer’s stool. Forty years later, however, he is regarded by many as the one factor that has kept the band going, bringing vitality to their music as well as artistry to their album covers.

 Charlie Watts, remarkably the first biography of the drummer, continues Alan Clayson’s study of The Rolling Stones with an intriguing insight into the life of the man who has been keeping time for the Stones for over four decades.

If Mick Jagger is the face of The Rolling Stones, the flesh and blood is surely Keith Richards. Joint composer of most of their hits, and minister to overall effect via a guitar style that has earned him the moniker “The Human Riff”, Richards has played a key role in the bands distinctive sound.

 Sixties historian and rock journalist Alan Clayson leaves no stone unturned in this exhaustive account of Richards’ life from his early days in art school and the take-off of the Stones first single in 1963, to turbulent times in the ‘60s and ‘70s and his battle with heroin addiction, right through to the current activities of this quintessential rock icon. Keith Richards is the definitive biography of the original bad boy of rock ‘n’ roll.