2017 marks the 40th anniversary of Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, the Sex Pistols' game-changing debut album. So, with his former bandmates John Lydon and Glen Matlock having already issued memoirs in the past, it's perfect timing for the band's guitarist, Steve Jones, to drop his long-awaited memoir, Lonely Boy: Tales From a Sex Pistol.
If you live in the Los Angeles area, you've probably heard Jonesy's Jukebox, the guitarist's popular radio show, and if that's the case, you already know how refreshingly honest and funny the guy can be. That's the same kind of energy he brings to Lonely Boy.
The book tracks Jones' early years in West London, where he endures abuse at the hands of his stepfather, and eventually is transfixed by the power of glam rock, specifically Roxy Music and David Bowie. Punk scholars will eat up Jones' take on the formative days of the Sex Pistols, and all of the dysfunction that came along with their rise to prominence.
When Lonely Boy was announced, the portions of Jones' story I looked forward to reading the most were his years after the Sex Pistols' breakup, and the book didn't let me down. Jones' years living in New York City and Los Angeles get a lot of real estate in his memoir, and his struggles with drugs, alcohol, and sex addiction are handled with the punk icon's irresistible storytelling style that combines raw honesty and un-PC humor.
Oh, and don't worry, he also covers his time as a Neurotic Outsider.
