Book description
A name synonymous with ground-breaking music, Tony Visconti has worked
with the most dynamic and influential names in pop, from T. Rex and Iggy
Pop to David Bowie and U2. This is the compelling life story of the man
who helped shape music history, and gives a unique, first-hand insight
into life in London during the late 1960s and '70s.
Soon after abandoning his native New York to pursue his musical career
in the UK, Visconti was soon in the thick of the emerging glam rock
movement, launching T. Rex to commercial success and working with the
then-unknown David Bowie.
Since his fateful move to the land of tea and beer drunk straight from
the can, Visconti has worked with such names as T. Rex, Thin Lizzy,
Wings, The Boomtown Rats, Marsha Hunt, Procol Harum, and more recently
Ziggy Marley, Mercury Rev, the Manic Street Preachers and Morrissey on
his acclaimed new album 'Ringleader of the Tormentors'.
Even Visconti's personal life betrays an existence utterly immersed in
music. Married to first to Siegrid Berman, then to Mary Hopkin and later
to May Pang, he counts many of the musicians and producers he has worked
with as close friends and is himself a celebrated musician.
This memoir takes you on a roller-coaster journey through the glory
days of pop music, when men wore sequins and pop could truly rock.
Visconti's unique access to the biggest names and hottest talent, both
on stage and off, for over five decades is complemented by unseen
photographs from his own personal archive, and offers a glimpse at music
history that few have witnessed so intimately. 'What makes this latest
instalment of the baby-boomer's tale so readable is his easy-going,
unjudgemental familiarity with the professional foibles of his clients.
Not many people can remark, as he does of Bob Geldof, that “singing is
not his forte”, without the slightest trace of bitchiness or reproach.'
The Sunday Times Culture magazine
'Without question, Visconti is one of the greatest and most innovative
music producers of all time. His gritty history of two decades of
British pop makes me want to brush the dust off my old Bowie and T. Rex
albums and skip-jive around the kitchen' Daily Mail
Four star review in MOJO: ' A life in music, rich in chemical romances,
bickering stars and some wonderful work, is recounted with great dignity.'
'Just as George Martin was the definitive '60s producer, so Tony
Visconti's work with David Bowie and Marc Bolan shaped rock's landscape
in the '70s.'
Q
'[Morrissey] is so spectacularly presented by producer Tony Visconti
that we end up not just with a Morrissey masterpiece … but also a
Visconti masterpiece … Ultimately, Visconti helps transform Morrissey's
dogged oddness and phenomenal fussiness into pure magic.'
Observer, 2006
'Visconti recently teamed up again with his old foil David Bowie to
record Bowie's best album in 20 years; now he has helmed Morrissey's
best in 15 years.'
Scotsman, 2006
'Visconti's sparky autobiography takes you stomping back to the
frantic, glory days of glam rock and pop'
London Lite
'His outsider's view of London's tiny, tatty underground scene of the
late 1960s is wonderfully vivid.' '…worth seeking out.' Sunday Times
Tony Visconti was born Brooklyn in 1944. His family's traditional love
of music ensured an early exposure to music that soon developed into a
life-long obsession. Following a chance meeting with his 'British music
industry cousin', Denny Cordell-Laverick, Visconti moved to the UK to
begin one of the most famous careers in music production, launching and
supporting some of the biggest names in pop history. He has now moved
back to New York where he lives with his third wife, Mai Pang, but
continues working within the UK music scene.
