We used to see this bloody book everywhere we turned.
Absolutely ubiquitous in British charity stores, it was. But is it any bloody good? Read on and find out...
THE ROD STEWART STORY
by George Tremlett
(Futura, pub 1975)
Good no-nonsense title gets straight to the point, not so much kiss-and-tell as telling it exactly as it was. If this book had appeared 20 years later it would have been a Ronseal advert. George talks straight; about Rod The Mod with his Sam Cooke habit; the legendary boozing of The Faces; through to Rod’s soft solo lover man days bringing all right up to date with Britt Ekland and leopard-skin print trousers. This is a man who travelled 6,000 miles to watch his beloved Scotland lose 5-1 to England at Wembley. On telly. At the back of the book is a priceless chronology, charting all the misdemeanours of the (very) Small Faces, relevant marriages and divorces and binges, and more. “September 7th 1975: Ted Wood, brother of Ron, releases his debut single ‘Am I Blue’ on the Penny Farthing label, produced by Ron Wood with Ian McLagan on organ, and Rod Stewart, Gary Glitter and Bobby Womack on backing vocals.” We haven’t heard it, but we’re willing to bet Chris Evans’ next gift to Billie that it’s better than Rod’s own commercial high and artistic low Atlantic Crossing, released within a month of it. Questions, dear reader, all answered by this fine book: What did Rod’s parents do? (Rod might have been a gravedigger, but no, dad didn’t make bagpipes from the bones.) When Rod went busking on the continent as a teenager, how much did it cost him to get across France and Spain? What did he use dustbins for at the age of 17? And finally, with which famous 60s band did Rod go to secondary modern? Answers: Owned a newsagent’s; £3; for cooking stew in; The Kinks.
Cost: £1.50
Bargain value: 4 (too pricey, but good photo insert)
Cover: 3 (dated, also weird reference to “Stewarty” on back)
Author’s authenticity count: 10 (George was also responsible for various other “Stories”, including The Osmonds, David Bowie, David Essex, Slade, and Alvin Stardust)
2 comments:
(From Facebook)
Boz Boswell at 5:40am June 24
See... money fucks up everything. Rod and the Faces were as good as it gets. You're almost right about Atlantic Crossing, that was the soundtrack to Rod unzipping and bending over, but the following year's A Night On The Town had some class tracks on it. Let's call it a last gasp. Or a dead-cat bounce.
Marjory Anderson Smith at 9:14am June 24
bit like alan shearers then. i still love rod mandolin wind gasoline alley.
[...] like an enormous drink full of Rod — Rod on ice. Like an enormous highball. And there’s another Rod Stewart highball that slips out of the outer jacket, kind of like the pod coming out of the mothership. And [...]
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