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Too Late To Stop Now by Allan Jones

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Too Late To Stop Now

Narrator
Matt Bates
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing
Publish Date
25 May 2023
Run Time
13 hours 43 minutes
Format
Audiobook
$13.95

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What to expect

Bloomsbury presents Too Late To Stop Now by Allan Jones, read by Matt Bates.

More than 40 stories from the glory days of rock’n’roll, featuring Lou Reed, Elton John, Sting and The Clash.

Allan Jones brings stories – many previously unpublished – from the golden days of music reporting. Long nights of booze, drugs and unguarded conversations which include anecdotes, experiences and extravagant behaviour.

- A band's aftershow party in San Francisco being gatecrashed by cocaine-hungry Hells Angels
- Chrissie Hynde on how rock'n'roll killed The Pretenders
- What happened when Nick Lowe and 20 of his mates flew off to Texas to join the Confederate Air Force
- John Cale on his dark alliance with Lou Reed

Allan Jones remembers a world that once was – one of dark excess and excitement, outrageous deeds and extraordinary talent, featuring legends at both the beginnings and ends of their careers.

Critics Review

  • Music fans looking for more vintage fare will enjoy Too Late To Stop Now.

    The Independent

  • The old-school drinking and industrial drug abuse remain, as does the author's decisive indiscretion... many of the chapters unfold at greater length, leaving room for more nuanced reflection on the consequences of all the excessive ribaldry... But mostly, there is comedy... It's ridiculous fun.

    Uncut

  • This unputdownable book ... is rammed with finely recounted anecdotes. This is a first-class Rolls Royce Phantom of a book.

    Hard Rock Hell

  • That the book’s subtitle is More Rock’N’Roll War Stories speaks volumes. Because if you want blood, Allan Jones has got it.

    The Telegraph

See more reviews
  • Jones turns it up to 11 with his latest collection. These are captivating and absolutely delightful tales of rock’s wonder and power.

    Library Journal

  • There's unexpected music in Jones's sentences. (Genesis reminded him "less of a rock band than the bell-bottomed equivalent of the school chess team on an outing to an owl sanctuary.") Also unexpected: the disclosure that concludes Too Late to Stop Now. It's 2021, and Jones is invited to tag along on one last gig but realizes that, although "[f]orty-five years ago... I would have jumped on the bus without a second thought," he would prefer to go home to his memories. How lucky for rock diehards that he shares those memories here.

    Shelf Awareness

  • [Jones] knows when to joyfully exploit a glib moment and when to relent to the darkness, like when he goes into extensive detail with Chrissie Hynde about the tragic collapse of the original Pretenders. And there are times when he dead centers the bullseye while taking the measure of his subject. [... If you are looking for a book that gives] a real sense of what real rock and roll was like on either side of the Punk detonation, then look no further.

    Tracking Angle

  • Seldom has a rock ’n’ roll memoir been so falling-down funny. Jones doesn’t sit there politely with his notebook and write down the same rote publicist-approved quotes. He waits until they’re completely sloshed, without inhibitions, and then the truth comes out.

    The New York Journal of Books

  • [The book’s best pieces] combine Jones’ intimate interactions with his interview subjects over time with the sodden interviews recounting them to create insightful portraits of individuals and informed histories of their bands.

    Washington Independent Review of Books

User Reviews

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Details

Author
Allan Jones
Narrator
Matt Bates
Duration
13 hours 43 minutes
Release Date
25 May 2023
ISBN
9781448218288
Format
Audiobook
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing
Genre
Popular music, Music reviews and criticism, Reportage, journalism or collected columns, Memoirs, Musicians, singers, bands and groups, Music industry, Biography: arts and entertainment

Synopsis

Bloomsbury presents Too Late To Stop Now by Allan Jones, read by Matt Bates.More than 40 stories from the glory days of rock’n’roll, featuring Lou Reed, Elton John, Sting and The Clash.Allan Jones brings stories – many previously unpublished – from the golden days of music reporting. Long nights of booze, drugs and unguarded conversations which include anecdotes, experiences and extravagant behaviour.- A band's aftershow party in San Francisco being gatecrashed by cocaine-hungry Hells Angels- Chrissie Hynde on how rock'n'roll killed The Pretenders- What happened when Nick Lowe and 20 of his mates flew off to Texas to join the Confederate Air Force- John Cale on his dark alliance with Lou ReedAllan Jones remembers a world that once was – one of dark excess and excitement, outrageous deeds and extraordinary talent, featuring legends at both the beginnings and ends of their careers.

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