Bøker av 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.

To fans and critics alike, the years 1973 to 1980 the Bon Scott era were the most significant of AC/DC s five-decade career. This richly illustrated book documents all the key events of that frenetic time.

The definitive biography of the musical trailblazer who launched the rockabilly craze with his classic "Blue Suede Shoes," was the influence behind countless other legendary hits, and who became a rock and roll legend in his own right, the original rockabilly cat--Carl Perkins. He was the King of Rockabilly, and one of rock and roll's true pioneers. A groundbreaking guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Carl Perkins inspired countless musicians in country, rock, and pop music. His influence is enormous. As Paul McCartney said, "If there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles." One Beatle was such a fan that he gave himself the stage name Carl Harrison. Now acclaimed music writer Jeff Apter recounts Carl Perkins's remarkable life story, the triumphs, tragedies, and career highlights that include some of the most pivotal moments in music history. Born in Tennessee to poor sharecroppers, Carl grew up listening to gospel and country music, learned blues guitar from a fellow field hand, and started writing songs at age fourteen. He plied his trade in rough and rowdy honky-tonks performing with his brothers before beginning his recording career at the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis. It was there that Carl became a member of the fabled "Million Dollar Quartet," alongside Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. In 1955 he wrote and recorded "Blue Suede Shoes," the first record by a Sun artist to sell over a million copies. But then a fateful car crash stalled his career, one of many tragedies in Carl's life. Over the following decades, Presley, Cash, and countless other artists from The Beatles, Tom Petty, and Bob Dylan to Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix performed and recorded his songs and became Carl's friends, collaborators, and champions. Rich with insider detail and background into Carl's private battles, humanitarian work, and personal inspirations, this is a fascinating, in-depth look at "Mr. Blue Suede Shoes" and his one-of-a-kind legacy.

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.

A comprehensive biography that documents how Keith Urban lived out his childhood dream - and the price he's had to pay to reach the top.

The first biography of guitar legend Angus Young, who has kept AC/DC at the top of the rock pile.Angus Young, the co-founder and the last surviving original member of AC/DC, has for more than 40 years been the face, sound and sometimes the exposed backside of the trailblazing rock band. In his trademark schoolboy outfit, guitar in hand, Angus has given his signature sound to songs such as 'A Long Way to the Top', 'Highway to Hell' and 'Back in Black', helping AC/DC become the biggest rock band on the planet.High Voltage is the first biography to focus exclusively on Angus. It tells of his remarkable rise from working-class Glasgow and Sydney to the biggest stages in the world. The youngest of eight kids, Angus always seemed destined for a life in music, and it was his passion and determination that saw AC/DC become hard rock's greatest act.Over the years, Angus has endured the devastating death of iconic vocalist Bon Scott, the forced retirement of his brother in arms, Malcolm Young, and more recently the loss from the band of singer Brian Johnson and drummer Phil Rudd. Yet somehow the little guitar maestro has kept AC/DC not just on the rails, but at the top of the rock pile.

Pop star, mentor and icon, George Young was one of the most important figures in Australian pop music history. Jeff Apter reveals the little-known facts that helped create a music empire.