Glenn Hughes: The Autobiography [Paperback]

Joel McIver (Author), Glenn Hughes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2011

(Book). Vocalist, bassist and songwriter Glenn Hughes is a living, breathing personification of British rock, and the arc of his career and attendant lifestyle make for a compelling story. Starting with the Midlands beat combo Finders Keepers in the 1960s, he formed acclaimed funk-rock band Trapeze in the early 70s before joining Deep Purple at their commercial peak. Flying the world in Starship 1, the band's own Boeing 720 jet, Hughes enthusiastically embraced the rock superstar's lifestyle while playing on three Purple albums, including the classic Burn . When the band split in 1976 Hughes embarked on a breakneck run of solo albums, collaborations and even a brief, chaotic spell fronting Black Sabbath. All of this was accompanied by cocaine psychosis, crack addiction and other excesses, before Hughes survived a clean-up-or-die crisis, and embarked on a reinvigorated solo career enriched by a survivor's wisdom. In his autobiography, Hughes talks us through this whirlwind of a life with unflinching honesty and good humour, taking us right up to date with his triumphant re-emergence in current supergroup Black Country Communion. "I had a constant fascination with the darkside. It is another world, bordering on insanity, and demonic possession, or what I thought was my own soul-bending personal nirvana. Its good to be back in the middle of the boat, instead of hanging on for dear life in the last life boat." Glenn Hughes, April 2011

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joel McIver is the author of many books on rock music, including a bestselling biography of Metallica and books about Slayer, Black Sabbath and Queens Of The Stone Age. His 2009 biography of the late Metallica bassist Cliff Burton (To Live Is To Die: The Life And Death Of Cliff Burton) was nominated as the music book of the year by several reviewers. McIver also contributes to music and film magazines such as Rolling Stone and Classic Rock.

Product Details

• Paperback: 254 pages
• Publisher: Jawbone (November 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9781906002923
• ISBN-13: 978-1906002923
• ASIN: 1906002924
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.9 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #234,304 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Glenn is beautiful, but the worst edited memoir in history November 11, 2011

By Bo

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

There is no one who loves Glenn Hughes more then me, so let me be the first to say that Joel Mciver should give back whatever money he made on this project. I read a lot of memoirs and this is the worst job of editing I have ever come across. Things completely out of order, things repeated over and over, it gets better towards the end of the book but he really makes Glenn look bad here.

You'd think the Kindle version was accidentally the rough notes that Glenn delivered to his editor?

However the stories Glenn tells are great and even with the tough read, I loved every minute of it! Glenn Hughes is just a beautiful man who is making the most of his redemption and the greatest rock singer in history.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, thrilling tell-all from a stellar musician November 17, 2011

By violentfemmebot

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I was not able to put this book down after I picked it up. The pace is fast, and the content is pretty much "all killer, no-filler" that takes the reader, whether he/she is a Glenn Hughes fan or not, on one hell of a crazy SEX DRUGS N ROCK AND ROLL ride. This book is the sort you want all of your favorite celebrities to write; it dishes the dirt we want to know and then some.

This brisk quality *does* come at the expense of some details I would have liked to have learned. I would have liked to have learned more about the nitty gritty of Glenn's musical career, and his relationships, both in his career and personal (which are quite glossed over. Literally, all you really learn about any of the women he's been with is that they were "absolutely beautiful!", and all you really learn about Ritchie Blackmore is "he's eccentric!" and Ian Paice is "quiet" and so on). If you want to learn more about Glenn's musical career in Deep Purple, Jerry Bloom's incredible "Black Knight: Ritchie Blackmore" is the book you want, as it contains wonderful, detailed portraits of not only Blackmore, but also of Glenn and the rest of the band and how they interacted as musicians. Hell, I think it even has more information on Tommy Bolin than you'll find here. But I digress, because the book ITSELF states that none of this is the point.

The book states that it's mainly a document of Glenn's terrible addiction, and it does an absolutely stellar job of showing Glenn's decline from a soulful, eager young musician into a ego-driven hellbat of a drug fiend. It is an excellent cautionary tale that reminds readers that the danger of drugs is not so much that they'll physically kill you, but that they'll rob you of your very soul, spirit, health and essence. Reading through, you will discover it is a miracle that Glenn climbed out of the deep abyss that he dug for himself and made an excellent new career for himself with Black Country Communion.

Yes, there were small flaws - some of the organization of the material looked a little rushed and it could be confusing as to whether we were in, say, 1977 or 1980, the way the anecdotes skipped about - but as a book that you will enjoy reading, that will take you on a wild, star-studded ride (Glenn mingles with so many huge stars, including Ozzy Osbourne and David Bowie) and make you gasp and laugh and cry, this is an incredible, successful book. I recommend it not only to Glenn and Deep Purple fans, but to any fan of the '70s rockstar lifestyle or juicy tell-alls, or to anyone who has suffered through addiction.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Confusing and poorly written December 5, 2011

By Caetano Scatena

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm an avid reader of rock'n'roll biographies and have purchased quite a few in the last years, so I'd like to give my contribution on this issue.

Don't expect that gifted musicians can turn into great writers, and vice-versa. Eric Clapton is a good example, whose autobiography I consider just a barely-above-average easy-reading book, but still a quite pleasant book, if you know what to expect from it.

Still, I was lucky enough to read some really good books, like Sting's "Broken Music" and the excellent Andy Summers' "One Train Later", and these encouraged me to move forward on this subject, giving me more "critical mass" upon it.

I was disappointed to see how superficial GH's book was in every aspect: he barely describes his childhood/personal background, simply skips about any musical technics and skills (I'd like to ask him "Hey Glenn, how did you play that Purple song?", like many other fans, I suppose) and soon the book falls into a nonsense sequence of cocaine binges (with their effects) and odd stories from the road, which even being an interesting subject, are not described as I think they should be.

One particular thing that I did not like was the testimonials inserted in the middle of the chapters. Here, relatives, parents, friends, ex-partners and former colleagues have their say about the "greatness" of Glenn, which is quite unnecessary, when you consider the so gifted musician/singer he is. Even worse, when you realize that it breaks the text flow and confuse some stories even more.

This format and the general writing of the book disappointed me to the point that I found hard to read it till the end, which is a pity when you remember that this musician has lived one of the most thrilling and exciting careers of the showbiz.

All in all, I just have the impression that this book is part of some therapy for Glenn, as if he needed to put his devils out for once and good. I'm glad to know that at 60, he's still able to play and sing so well with a top-grade band like BCC, and in this sense I only wish him the best.

Let's hope that, in the future and with time and more focus, he can review what's written here and provide us with something more up to his musical achievements.