Lonely Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol by Steve Jones

DE CAPO PRESS  |  APRIL 2018

PAPERBACK | 352 PAGES | 6" x 1" x 9"

Foreword by Chrissie Hynde

Without the Sex Pistols there would be no punk as we know it today—and without Steve Jones there would be no Sex Pistols. Steve, with his schoolmate Paul Cook, were the original leaders to form the band that eventually went on to become the Sex Pistols. As the world celebrates the 40th anniversary of punk — the influence and cultural significance of which is felt in music, fashion, and the visual arts to this day—Steve tells his story for the very first time.

Steve Jones's modern Dickensian tale began in the street of Hammersmith and Shepherd's Bush, West London, where as a lonely, neglected boy living off his wits and petty thievery he was given purpose by the glam art rock of David Bowie and Roxy Music. He became one of the first generations of ragamuffin punks taken under the wings of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood.

In Lonely Boy, Steve describes the sadness of never having known his real dad, the abuse he suffered at the hands of his stepfather, and how his interest in music and fashion saved him from a potential life of crime spent in remand centers and prisons. He takes readers on his journey from the Kings Road of the early '70s through the years of the Sex Pistols, punk rock, and the recording of "Anarchy in the UK" and Never Mind the Bollocks. He recounts his infamous confrontation on Bill Grundy's Today program — the interview that ushered in the "Filth and the Fury" headlines that catapulted punk into the national consciousness. And he delves into the details of his self-imposed exile in New York and Los Angeles, where he battled alcohol, heroin, and sex addiction but eventually emerged to gain fresh acclaim as an actor and radio host. Lonely Boy is the story of an unlikely guitar hero who, with the Sex Pistols, transformed twentieth-century culture and kick-started a social revolution.

"The book shows off Jones' wry humor and blunt assessments of himself as he parses his life...As a whole, the book provides a fresh look at the punk movement 40 years removed from the release of Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols." ―RollingStone.com

"The book, like few other rock chronicles of recent vintage, actually reads the way its subject thinks...And it's all written in an unaffected patois peppered with cockney slang and coarse language...The real meat of the book, naturally, is his recounting of the short history of the Sex Pistols. It's well-trodden ground, but there's actually some fresh insight to be found through Jones' lens." ―Portland Mercury

"…the bluntness and unapologetic crudity with which [Jones] tells his story are tremendously appealing. And, of course, he has a heck of a story to tell. Beyond the Dickensian details of his bleak London childhood and the eye-opening litany of the addictions with which he has dealt over the years…Jones's focus is largely on the pride he takes in what the Sex Pistols meant, less as a cultural phenomenon or a political statement than as a really good rock 'n' roll band." ―The New York Times Book Review

Steve Jones formed the Sex Pistols in 1975 with Paul Cook, Glen Matlock, and John Johnny Rotten Lydon (adding John Simon Ritchie, aka Sid Vicious, in 1977 after Matlock's departure) and was their guitarist until the band broke up in 1978. He is a musician, record producer, and actor. Jones lives in Los Angeles where he hosts the radio show Jonesy's Jukebox.