Brian Jones : The Last Decadent (Paperback)

~ Jeremy Reed (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From The Washington Post

An intelligent, lyrical exploration of Jones's complex psyche and persona.

Product Description

"This is the book that every Brian Jones fan has been waiting for, the most sensitive and honest portrait of Brian yet. Finally justice is done."-The Official Brian Jones Fanclub

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"An intelligent, lyrical exploration of Jone's complex psyche and persona."-The Washington Post

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"Jeremy Reed offers a new slant on things... A study of Jones as a decadent."-Uncut

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Brian Jones, rock 'n' roll godstar; founder member of the Rolling Stones, the murdered androgyne whose fragile psyche was ultimately broken by an industry which, nonetheless, provided him with the means to luxuriate in the bizarre and unorthodox.

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Jones's alcohol and drug excesses, his tormented and often psychotic states, his dandified propensity to cross-dress, his love of literature, privileged background and expensive speaking voice all placed him in the decadent tradition, the last of a rarefied aesthete's lineage. His tragic murder at the age of twenty seven further substantiated his place in the Byronic legend of the chosen one who dies young.

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In Brian Jones: The Last Decadent, author Jeremy Reed locates in Jones's obsessive fantasy world a terrain firmly aligned with the opium visions of Charles Baudelaire, the sartorial extravagence of Oscar Wilde, the sybaritic indulgences of Count Stenbock. Reed vividly recolours Brian Jones's brief, but incandescent and extraordinarily subversive life amidst the pop and fashion whirlwind of the Sixties, and in doing so presents perhaps the most illuminating and evocative portrait yet written of a fallen rock 'n' roll angel.

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Includes 16 pages of photographs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Creation Books; 1 edition (July 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1871592712
• ISBN-13: 978-1871592719
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,753,873 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY., September 23, 1999

By	Robert Weingartner (Staten Island, New York U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

It's amazing that no one has ever written a really good book about the Rolling stones founder Brian Jones. I myself have been a Brian Jones fan for over twenty years and during this time there have been seven books written about him and only one book was decent. Jeremy Reed's book is filled with unfounded rumours that Brian Jones was forming a supergroup with both John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix, and that he was murdered. Now there's another new unfounded rumour. Brian Jones was a bisexual because he wore womens hats and jewelry. Okay. If you like tabloid books you will love this one. The author did absolutely no research, he interviewed only one person that knew Brian Jones, and takes most of his information from other tabloid biographies about Brian Jones. I suggest DON"T WASTE YOUR MONEY.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Last but not Least ....Brian Jones, November 5, 2007

By	an honest reviewer - See all my reviews

Length:: 0:18 Mins

This book is satisfactory , no more than that.
It deals with other decadents from way long ago most frequently Oscar Wilde.
Reading about Brian Jones was the purpose of my purchase.
I really didn't want to read about Oscar Wilde and the comparisons between the two.
If you are interested in reading about decadents of long, long ago and Brian Jones as well, then this thin book is ideal for you.
If you are only interested in reading about Brian Jones, pass on this book.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Falsehoods and untruths - buy a book based on the facts of Brian's life and not a fantasy., October 27, 2006

By	glenrue (USA) - See all my reviews

This is the worst book about Brian ever. It is a thesis and the author's opinions. It is based on Nicholas Fitzgerald's book that was fiction and embellishment! There are better and more current books about Brian's murder. As far as the author projecting that Brian was bisexual or repressed that is nonsense! People alluding to that only want to sell books because sensationalism sells. When Brian was arrested for cannabis he was made to take a psychological profile - the results of which were disclosed, stating that he was HETEROSEXUAL. Many other men dressed in the dandy fashion of the time that Brian made famous and they weren't written about and compared to Lord Byron or the complex Oscar Wilde. When he was kicked out of England for impregnating a girlfriend at sixteen and went to Germany, Scandanavia etc. his parent's sent him money and many women cared for him, along with singing on corners for change. Mr. Reed would have you believe Brian hustled for men to support himself... Ridiculous and not factual!! He was there for barely 3 months, when his money ran out he went home. Brian himself told his friends about those days and hustling was not a part of them, I'm tired of people trying to cast aspersions on his sexuality, when former girlfriends and many friends including former bandmate Bill Wyman state emphatically Brian was straight. Also many poets and musicians, celebs in the 60's supported the gay rights movement, it didn't mean they were. Brian has children and grandchildren and I'm sure they don't like hearing him being trashed and lied about in order to sell books. He was no saint and he was not always nice to his girlfriends nor the best father, but he was very young (remember he died at 27, but deserves better than this book). I dont care if anyone agrees or not, but the people who were close to Brian and are not former friends trying to sell tell-all books (including some shameless rock celebs) truly remember him. This fantasy book along with it's Nicholas Fitzgerald predecessor deserve no stars!