Search results for ""Author Jeff Apter""

Bon Scott was once asked if he was AC or DC. 'Neither,' he grinned, 'I'm the lightning flash in the middle.' And that's how he lived his life.No one had the same skill with lyrics as Bon, who called his words 'toilet poetry', his 'dirty ditties'. He could also vividly depict life on the road, best heard in the AC/DC classics 'Long Way to the Top' and 'Highway to Hell'.When Bon appeared on Countdown in March 1975, the impression he left was indelible. The ugliest schoolgirl to ever grace the small screen, Bon was a mess of tattoos and pigtails, wearing an awkwardly short skirt, all the while puffing on a ciggie. His bandmates, not just the audience, were in hysterics. The video quickly became part of Oz rock folklore.Bon was always the joker in the AC/DC pack. He'd happily pose for a photograph with a joint dangling from his lips or be interviewed in cut-off shorts with a banana provocatively stuffed into his waistband. Anything to elicit a laugh. The off-stage stories surrounding Bon are legendary. After spending a lively couple of days with Bon, Ol' 55 singer Jim Manzie said, 'My rock-and-roll education was pretty much complete.'Bad Boy Boogie is the first biography to focus on Bon's remarkable gifts as a lyricist, frontman and rascal. In short, the real Bon Scott.

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Four Grammys. 20 US Number Ones. A Hollywood marriage. Who wouldn't want to be Keith Urban?Keith Urban came from humble origins. His father worked at the local tip and Keith was a high school dropout. But Keith had a plan: conquering Nashville. 'It's my destiny,' he said. And Keith was hell-bent on scaling that musical Everest. Whatever it took.It didn't come easy. Keith served his apprenticeship in the beer barns of Australia and his early trips to America were disastrous. But he never gave up, settling in Nashville in the 1990s and forming The Ranch. When the band fell apart, so did Keith, ending up in rehab (not for the last time). But Keith did eventually reach the top, through a combination of talent, charisma, sex appeal, dogged perseverance-and skin thick enough for a rhino. And along the way he married Nicole Kidman.As Keith has said, 'All those detours, especially the really dark ones, got me to where I am now. I would not want to change one leaf on any tree in the whole journey.'Keith Urban is the definitive biography of an Australian superstar.

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To fans and critics alike, the years 1973 to 1980 the Bon Scott era are the most significant of AC/DC s five-decade career. In a prolific and frequently brilliant run, they recorded six studio albums, established a diehard fan base that stretched from Australia to the UK, Europe to North America, toured relentlessly, and created no small amount of controversy and chaos. At one low point in Australia, the band s records were banned, their shows were cancelled, and they were hounded by police all because Angus Young dared bare his spotty backside at a press conference. In the midst of the mayhem, however, they were building a body of work that remains unmatched in hard rock. Many of AC/DC s classic songs were cut during this time `Dirty Deeds , `Rock And Roll Damnation , `High Voltage , `If You Want Blood (You Got It) , `Whole Lotta Rosie , `Long Way To The Top , `Let There Be Rock , and more and it says plenty that these fan favorites are still staples of the band s current live sets today. Illustrated throughout with rare photographs from the era, this book documents all the key events of this frenetic time, beginning with the band s very first shows in the bloodhouses of suburban Sydney even before the name AC/DC had been dreamed up by Margaret Young, Malcolm and Angus s big sister and culminating with 1979 s Highway To Hell, the album that paved the way for the mammoth success of Back In Black and all that was to follow, and the untimely death of Bon Scott, both an end and a new beginning for the band.

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Across five decades and counting, New Zealand-born singer/songwriter and Crowded House founder Neil Finn has become one of the best-loved figures in popular music, crafting enough hits along the way -- Weather With You, Locked Out, I Got You, Fall At Your Feet, It s Only Natural, and of course Don t Dream It s Over -- to forge his very own one-man Great Antipodean Songbook. One fateful day in April 1977, teenage Neil received a transcontinental phone call that would change his life. It was his older brother, Tim, calling from London, England, with a simple question: Do you want to join the band? That band, the art-rock combo Split Enz, would provide the launchpad for a career that has taken in widespread international success with Crowded House, as a solo artist, back with Tim in The Finn Brothers, and as a touring member of Fleetwood Mac. There have been bumps along the road, including repeated clashes with Tim and the tragic death of original Crowded House drummer Paul Hester, but taken as a whole, Finn s story is one of the most inspiring musical sagas of modern times. Australian author and journalist Jeff Apter has observed Neil s career from close quarters since the late 70s, from frantic early Enz gigs to private listening parties to huge reunion shows and numerous points in between, giving him the perfect perspective to write this intimate, even-handed biography.

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George Young wasn't so much on the charts for the best part of three decades: he and his musical partner Harry Vanda were the charts. George's journey began with the trailblazing Easybeats and continued, alongside Harry, as producer/songwriter for hire with John Paul Young, The Angels, Rose Tattoo, Cheetah, Ted Mulry, Stevie Wright and, most crucially, AC/DC. George and Harry also struck gold with Flash and the Pan, almost by accident.George Young helped create such classics as 'Friday on My Mind', 'Sorry', 'Love is in the Air', 'Evie', 'Yesterday's Hero', 'Down Among the Dead Men', 'Hey, St. Peter', 'Bad Boy for Love', 'Jailbreak' and 'It's a Long Way to the Top'. In 2001, APRA voted 'Friday on My Mind' the best and most significant Australian song of the past 75 years.In this long-overdue book, the first to focus exclusively on the life and work of George Young, writer Jeff Apter explores George's long and fruitful association with Harry; his rare ability to maintain a stable married life with his wife Sandra; and his handshake deal with Ted Albert that helped create a music empire. The book also reveals such little-known events as the accident that almost killed off 'Hey, St. Peter' before its release, and the tragedy that bonded George and Harry for life.

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Jeff Buckley made only one album, but the one he made has proved to be seminal. Grace emerged at a time when grunge gripped the charts. Buckley s refined melodies and wide vocal range made him stand apart from his contemporaries. His rendition of Leonard Cohen s Hallelujah is arguably the most memorable version ever recorded. His talent awed industry giants and moved the hearts of fans spanning generations. Grace made clear a remarkably talented force had come upon the world, and it promised a wellspring of astonishing music for years to come. But Buckley s untimely death in 1997 left his fans to wonder about all the sonic magic that could have been and to hold dear the few but brilliant songs he left behind. In the wake of his passing, Buckley has continued to garner new fans and influence countless artists. And while a number of posthumous releases of unpolished, deep cuts have helped satiate listeners over the years, it is his official studio album Grace that reverberates with timelessness: at its release in 1994, the album sounded like nothing that had come before and no album has repeated its essence since. Photographer Merri Cyr was there along the way. She has documented Buckley s career from his days at the East Village coffee shop Sin-e to his iconic Grace cover shoot to his rigorous tour around the world as he promoted his unprecedented debut. In 25 Years of Grace, Cyr joins forces with Jeff Buckley biographer Jeff Apter (A Pure Drop: The Life of Jeff Buckley) to produce an illustrated tribute to this classic album in celebration of its twenty-fifth anniversary. The book features brand new interviews with Buckley insiders Matt Johnson, Mick Grondahl, Michael Tighe, Gary Lucas, Karl Berger, Andy Wallace, George Stein, Steve Berkowitz, and others revealing the details about Buckley s signing to a major label, the role of the band in creating arrangements, finding the right creative direction for the multifaceted songsmith, the songwriting process and final song selections, key meetings and collaborations, recording techniques, memorable moments in the studio, and more. The book also includes reflections about Buckley and Grace from an array of music artists Butch Walker, Pete Yorn, Jimmy Gnecco, Glen Hansard, Holly Miranda, and Lenny Kaye, to name a few. Lavishly illustrated with many never-before-seen photographs, 25 Years of Grace takes a fresh look at the making and legacy of this classic album.

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