My favorite books about wanting to be a rock star in the eighties

Nearly twenty years ago, I wondered why nobody had written about being a rock fan in the nineteen-eighties, and then I came across Seb Hunter’s Hell Bent for Leather.

Hunter’s story was very similar to mine (we’re of a similar age and based in the UK), but whereas I still love the music and look back on my ultimately futile rock star aspirations with a certain sense of pride and warmth, Hunter is dismissive of his more successful attempt, and embarrassed by his allegiance to the spandex and six strings.

So why recommend this book, I hear you say? One word – passion. His stories and opinions, though I may not agree with all of them, clearly come from the heart and cut through his often cynical but incisive narrative.

Klosterman was brought up in a very different locale to Seb Hunter and myself – the tiny (population 498) town of Wyndmere, North Dakota – and Fargo Rock City provided an interesting juxtaposition to our UK stories.

The thing we all shared, though, was a passion for big riffs and bigger hair. While he didn’t want to be a rock star per se, Klosterman did immerse himself in the culture and ended up writing about it, earning his place on this list. Though some of his opinions won’t win him many feminist friends, his passion and enthusiasm for the genre make his book essential reading.

If you’re already aware of The Dirt (the book or the Netflix series), you know why it’s on my list, but for those who aren’t and may be thinking, “Hang on, Motley Crue didn’t want to be rock stars, they were rock stars,” then it’s the earlier chapters that we’re interested in.

Back when they were living in squats, playing backyard parties and spending more on guitar strings and booze than food. Told in their own words and voices, you really feel the hunger, the yearning, and the sheer desperation to succeed. Motley fought through poverty, adversity, and apathy to finally make it to the top, and then their story really gets interesting. 

Stop. Before you say, “Spandau Ballet? Rock Stars?” let me, or even better, Martin Kemp (in his book) tell you that he and his Blitz Kid brothers gave Motley a run for their money in their eighties rock star behavior, so yes, he’s on my list.

He’s also not so different from Seb Hunter and I, in that he wanted to be in a band, just like his friends Steve Strange, Midge Ure, Boy George and George Michael (their names may be familiar). Again, it’s his passion for the era that makes this compulsive reading as he chronicles the rise and fall of Spandau as well as a lot of the same social histories that I cover in my book, but from the VIP side of the velvet rope.

If I gave you a script of Stephen Pearcy’s younger days as a potential movie of the week you’d laugh me out of the room for it being too far-fetched.

Pearcy caught the wannabe rock star bug early like I did, and being based in LA it was almost a given that he’d follow his heroes Van Halen to stardom. Then his mum moved them to San Diego, he discovered drugs, and he was hit by a car, ending up in a hospital bed for months. Game over, no? No.

His drive, ambition, determination and, yes, passion to become a rock star led to his full recovery and the formation of Ratt, who sold approximately eight million more records than I did in my attempt at stardom. Fascinating reading.