Tony Fletcher

Tony Fletcher is the author of seven non-fiction books and one novel. His biography of drummer Keith Moon, "Moon: The Life and Death of a Rock Legend," has been named in many a Best Music Book list, and his biography of R.E.M., updated in 2013 as "Perfect Circle," has been published in over half a dozen countries. His latest biography, "A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of The Smiths," was published in the UK by William Heinemann in September 2012, and by Crown Archetype in the USA in December 2012. A memoir of his South London schooldays, "Boy About Town," will be published in the UK by William Heinemann in July 2013.

Fletcher gained his entry into music journalism by founding a fanzine at his London school in 1977; by the time Jamming! ceased publication in 1986, it was selling 30,000 copies a month. Along the way he interviewed the likes of Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Paul Weller and U2, as well as dozens of up-and-coming, predominantly independent post-punk acts.

A contributor over the years to a multitude of magazines, newspapers, radio and television shows, primarily in the UK and USA, Fletcher now lives with his wife and two sons on a mountaintop near the village of Woodstock in New York State. There he runs, skis, maintains his web site www.ijamming.net, serves on his local school board, and plays Hammond B-3 and Rickenbacker in the Catskill 45s, a group that only performs songs from 45 calendar years ago.