Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
"German is party to all sort of Stones' doings, many of which are enjoyable, quite a few of which are scandalous. Great rock 'n' roll Babylon stuff."- Booklist (Starred Review)"The epic tale of an obsessive teenager who launched a Rolling Stones fanzine and spent the next two decades capturing the band's whirlwind metamorphosis from behind the scenes....First-rate, firsthand account of the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band, and a disenchanted chronicle of its increasingly crass commercialization."- Kirkus ReviewsAs a teenager, Bill German knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life: chronicle the career and adventures of his favorite rock band, the Rolling Stones. And in 1978, on his sixteenth birthday, he set out to make his dream a reality. Feverishly typed in his Brooklyn bedroom, and surreptitiously printed in his high school's mimeograph room German's Stones-only newsletter, Beggars Banquet, was born. His teachers discouraged it, his parents dismissed it as a phase, and his disco-loving classmates preferred the Bee Gees, but, for German, this primitive, pre-Internet fanzine was a labor of love. And a fateful encounter with his idols on the streets of New York soon proved his efforts weren't in vain.Impressed with Beggars Banquet, the Stones gave the 'zine instant cred on the rock scene by singing its praises--and by inviting German to hang with the band. At first a fish out of water in the company of rock royalty, German found himself spilling orange juice on a priceless rug in Mick Jagger's house and getting pegged as a narc by pals of Keith Richards and Ron Wood. But before long he became a familiar fixture in the inner sanctum, not just reporting Stones stories but living them. He was a player in the Mick-versus-Keith feud and was an eyewitness to Keith's midlife crisis and Ron's overindulgences. He even had a reluctant role in covering up Mick's peccadilloes. "In the span of a few months," German recalls, "I'd gone from wanting to know everything about my favorite rock stars to knowing too much."In this warts-and-all book, which includes many never-before-seen photographs, German takes us to the Stones' homes, recording sessions, and concerts around the world. He charts the band's rocky path from the unthinkable depths of a near breakup to the obscenely lucrative heights of their blockbuster tours. And ultimately, German reveals why his childhood dream come true became a passion he finally had to part with.Under Their Thumb is an up-close and extremely personal dispatch from the amazing, exclusive world of the Rolling Stones, by someone who was lucky enough to live it--and sober enough to remember it all.From the Hardcover edition.
Check nearby libraries
Buy this book
Previews available in: English
Subjects
Anecdotes, Biography & Autobiography, Nonfiction, Rolling Stones, Rock music fans, New York Times reviewedPeople
Bill GermanShowing 4 featured editions. View all 4 editions?
Edition | Availability |
---|---|
1
Under Their Thumb: How a Nice Boy from Brooklyn Got Mixed up with the Rolling Stones
2022, Leonard Corporation, Hal
in English
1493065084 9781493065080
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
2
Under Their Thumb: How a Nice Boy from Brooklyn Got Mixed up with the Rolling Stones
2009, Quarto Publishing Group UK
in English
1845134753 9781845134754
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
3
Under their thumb: now a nice boy from Brooklyn got mixed up with the Rolling Stones (and lived to tell about it)
2009, Villard Books
in English
- 1st ed.
1400066220 9781400066223
|
aaaa
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
4
Under Their Thumb
2009, Random House Publishing Group
Electronic resource
in English
0345513126 9780345513120
|
zzzz
Libraries near you:
WorldCat
|
Book Details
Table of Contents
Edition Notes
Classifications
The Physical Object
ID Numbers
Source records
Library of Congress MARC recordLibrary of Congress MARC record
Library of Congress MARC record
Internet Archive item record
Internet Archive item record
marc_openlibraries_sanfranciscopubliclibrary MARC record
Library of Congress MARC record
marc_columbia MARC record
harvard_bibliographic_metadata record
Links outside Open Library
Community Reviews (0)
Feedback?August 6, 2021 | Edited by New York Times Bestsellers Bot | Add NYT review links |
July 22, 2019 | Edited by MARC Bot | remove fake subjects |
July 16, 2019 | Edited by MARC Bot | import existing book |
July 4, 2017 | Edited by ImportBot | import new book |
December 11, 2009 | Created by WorkBot | add works page |