Nankering with the Rolling Stones: The Untold Story of the Early Days [Paperback]

James Phelge (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2000

James Phelge lived with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones for over a year, from when they were just getting their start until their first taste of success at the top of the British charts. He slept in the same room with them and hung out with them constantly; the Stones even gave him writing credit on many of their early songs, though he had nothing to do with the music. Richards describes Phelge as the most disgusting man he ever knew, but he's also a clear-sighted raconteur, and his detailed account of the Stones' salad days is fresh, revealing, and uproarious.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1963, an unknown band called the Rollin' Stones was burning slow circles around London's graying greasers with American R&B covers. Before breaking into Chuck Berry's "Sweet Little Sixteen" one night, vocalist Mick Jagger announced that he and guitarists Brian Jones and Keith Richards were looking for a roommate. Phelge, then a fading beatnik looking for a new scene, fit the bill and lived with the band for a year in a four-pound-a-week flat in Chelsea. Mostly a series of snickering anecdotes, this "untold story" is far from definitive or shocking. When four piss-poor 20-somethings share a roof, they are likely to urinate in the neighbor's beer bottles, gob on the walls, stay up all night, have sex with minors and develop their own dialect. "Nankering" was their term for the funny voices they used to parody British working-class stiffs. And nanker they did until the Stones' success made a failure of their somewhat superficial, jocular friendship with the author. Giving sound reports after gigs, hanging out backstage and drinking with Jones or Richards made up the most of their relationship, but Phelge does not seem bitter about the end of the camaraderie. Instead, he concentrates on showing that the Stones were and still are true to their anti-establishment ideals. Die-hard fans will enjoy the way Phelge uses his quiet, watchful perspective to comment on the dynamics of the band and especially on Jones's isolation. 10 b&w photos not seen by PW. (Apr.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

James Phelge is the Mr Jimmy of You can't always get what you want. After sharing a three-room flat in Edith Grove with three of the Stones in 1963, he owned a guitar store frequented by many of the greatest rock guitarists of the day.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press (April 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556523734
• ISBN-13: 978-1556523731
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,036,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ah, joy! Now I know what Nanker-Phelge finally is (and why)!, December 19, 2002

By 

Jonathan Sacks (McLean, Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nankering with the Rolling Stones: The Untold Story of the Early Days (Paperback)

This book is precious and priceless!

Older Stones fans (like me), especially those familiar with Sixties London and the districts where The Stones lived in 1963, will delight in the easily readable and so evidently true stories of The Stones' very early days when Mick, Keith and Brian were more than teenagers but not quite mature adults. Phelge has covered many of the bases and truly gives you a taste of the environment that nurtured The Stones. You arre literally in the room with them, watching The Stones struggle hard, indeed, almost desperately for a commercial break, and against incredible odds in a still conservative post-war England. The book is chock-full of marvellous observations, wonderful insights, hilariously humorous incidents, and pathos. It clearly reflects Phelge's superb capabilities as a raconteur (and one not given to exaggeration) who tracked the evolution of The Stones even as he lived with Mick, Keith and Brian 40 years ago in their squalid, disorganized flat where cleaning up for the lads simply meant throwing crockery, cutlery and utensils out of the kitchen window into the communal garden below.

The book is filled with gems: Mick's yearning and wistfulness for a load of money as he lolls aimlessly in a freezing cold, food-free flat with his fellow Stones; chucking Ian Stewart out of the band because he did not look "with-it" enough for Andrew Loog Oldham, the first manager of The Stones along with Eric Easton; the unbelievably funny and ridiculous "Toilet Door Fiasco" with Keith and Phelge who drove their neighbors mad every day for months on end with their antics and purloining; the "Immaculate Dollies" with their [nice figures]; the "nankering" (face-making and squawking) and pranks that went with their looning around generally; the list is endless.

In addition, Phelge paints excellent portraits of The Stones' character and temperament. One sees the competitiveness and tension between Brian on the one hand, and Mick-and-Keith on the other hand, all starting very early on in their association. (They would carry this around with them for years until they ditched Brian with the worst of feelings in 1969.)

Younger Stones fans need to read this book in order to understand who The Stones were and where they came from, and how they started up the ladder that took them to stardom at the very top of the world where they have stayed since 1965. My younger office colleagues who like The Stones have absolutely no idea about any of this history and it is a shocking gap in their knowledge.

Overall, an amazing, informative, excellent book. At least 5 stars!

JS

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars See a side you've never seen before., March 30, 2000

By 

E. H. Scholl (Raleigh, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nankering with the Rolling Stones: The Untold Story of the Early Days (Paperback)

Definitely if you're a Rolling Stones fan, it is essential to read this book. As someone who has read quite a few supposed "biographies" of the Stones, I can tell you that I have not yet found one as genuine, funny, heart-warming and well-written as the story James Phelge relates of those early struggles at Edith Grove.

If you're not a Stones fan, read this book anyway. Because not too far into this book you soon forget that this is about the early years of men who are now known as "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World". This book is simply about four guys sharing a flat in London in the 60's, and the fun and hardships involved in their lives at that time. This is the story of a struggling band, of young men, of lives money poor, but rich in friendship. It is the story of men who follow their hearts. You will laugh out loud, and perhaps even find a tear in your eye.

I only wish I could give this book an extra star.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better then the last ten Stones albums, June 11, 2000

By 

patrice - See all my reviews

This review is from: Nankering with the Rolling Stones: The Untold Story of the Early Days (Paperback)

A real gem of a book. Genuinely hilarious in its depictions of some estranged young men and a very staid early 60's England. Also oddly melancholic, about a guy left behind when his pals become superstars. Phelge stepped aside, and Keith never bothered to look him up. Such is life. But the stories are wickedly funny. I must say I wonder how much has been embroidered by years of yarn spinning down the pub, nonetheless it mostly rings true and you're a fool not to read this.